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IBM developer kits

The IBM Centre for Java Technology Development provides Developer Kits for creating and testing Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition applets and applications on some of IBM's most popular platforms.

This page contains a useful set of links to support documentation if you encounter a problem with an IBM SDK for Java.

Troubleshooting problems

Many problems in IBM Runtimes for Java can be pre-emptively determined using the IBM Monitoring and Diagnostic Tools for Java - Health Center. The Health Center can be used to monitor for problems in a running application.

*Java troubleshooting problems*
Troubleshoot	Java 6	Java 5	Java 1.4.2
Out of memory error	Memory	Memory	Memory
Performance problem	Performance	Performance	Performance
A crash	Crash	Crash	Crash
An error message	Messages and codes	Messages and codes	Messages and codes
Compatibility between versions of Java	Compatibility	Compatibility	Compatibility
Interoperability	Interoperability	Interoperability	Interoperability

Error messages that are produced by the IBM Runtimes for Java are prefixed with either "JVM" (for example JVMCL002 or JVMJ9VM005), or with "UTE" (for example, UTE004). These error messages, along with their meaning and the action to take, are detailed in the "Reference" or "Appendix" section of the Java Diagnostics Guides.

Note that the compatibility documentations contain information about compatibilities between the latest two Java versions and not all previous versions. For example, the 1.4.2 compatibility page details only 1.4.2 incompatibility with 1.4.1. Therefore, to find out the compatibility of 1.4.2 with all previous versions, you would need to look at all compatibility pages within the 1.4.2 documentation.

Looking for known problems

Determine if a problem is already resolved

Issues reported to IBM support that have been resolved are documented as either an Authorized Program Analysis Report (APAR) or a Technote.

An APAR is a description of a fix for an identified and accepted defect. (See Understanding Java APARs for more detail)
A Technote is another name for a FAQ which is normally written in 'problem' and 'resolution' format.

You can search to see if a problem you are experiencing has been resolved previously using the following steps:

If you have the IBM Support Assistant (ISA) Workbench installed:

Start ISA
On the ISA welcome page click Find Information.
From the Search Information window, click on the Advanced Search link in the IBM Support Assistant Search pane.
The Advanced Search Options dialog will be displayed which allows you target your search to particular IBM information sources.
From the IBM Software Support Documents pane ensure that Enable search target is checked.
In the Document Category group box select the specific document type radio button.
To search through APARs:
- Deselect all the checkboxes apart from the one named IBM APARs, then click OK.
- Enter your APAR search terms in the Search dialog box and click the Go! button.
- The Java APAR problem conclusion will state the name of the IBM SDK Service Refresh containing a fix.
- Download the Service Refresh from the JDK download page for your platform (AIX/Linux/Z/OS).
To search through Technotes:
- Deselect all the checkboxes apart from the one named IBM Technotes, then click OK.
- Enter your Technote search terms in the Search dialog box and click the Go! button.

If you do not have ISA installed:

The IBM support web site has a section devoted to the IBM Runtimes for Java technology.
The Runtimes page provides a focused search allowing you to focus your search to specific content types. (Search tips). Use these searches when searching for IBM Java problems:

Runtimes for Java APAR search form.
- The Java APAR problem conclusion will state the name of the IBM SDK Service Refresh containing a fix.
- Download the Service Refresh from the JDK download page for your platform (AIX/Linux/Z/OS).
Runtimes for Java technotes search form
- The web page looks identical to the APAR search. However the 'Document Type' drop-down is populated with only Technote related items.

Review the list of available defects in the latest service refresh fixes list.
Search these forums:

If you can't see your problem after searching open a service request..

Find information about software updates for known defect

IBM product defects and fixes are documented using APARs, which are identified using an ID with the following format: AANNNNN; for example IZ52407. You can find information about an APAR and how to obtain a software update for that APAR using the following steps:

If you have an APAR record number, you can find the APAR using this Runtimes for Java APAR search form.
In the APAR Problem conclusion it will state which Service Refresh will contain the fix
Go to the JDK download page for you platform (AIX/Linux/Z/OS) to obtain the software update for the fix.

Find information about software updates for preventative maintenance

A list of defect fixes is available in each software update. You can search those lists to determine whether you should install an update using the following steps:

Review the list of available defects in the latest service refresh fixes list.
Identify the service refresh currently installed for the deployed application: - Run java -version or java -fullversion on the command line as described here to determine the Java version.
Compare the currently installed level with the latest level.
If new fixes are required go to the JDK download page for you platform (AIX/Linux/Z/OS) to obtain the software update for the fix.

Reporting issues to IBM support

Obtain an IBM support contract

You can access and manage you contracts online from the Contracts page of the Customer Support OnLine website. If you need help setting up a contract see, the Contracts FAQ .

Raise a Java problem with IBM support

To submit a problem to IBM, you must first:

Have a valid software support contract in place identified by an IBM customer number.
Be registered with IBM.

If you have ISA installed:

Start ISA.
On the ISA Welcome Page click Manage Service Request.
Follow the instructions in the Guided Activity Assistant.

Alternatively, once you are registered and have a customer number, use one of the contact methods listed at IBM Customer Support.

You can find general contact and support information for each country is available from the Directory of IBM worldwide contacts.

What to submit when raising a Java problem to IBM support

When submitting a problem related to the IBM Java Runtime, it is useful to provide the following information:

Submit data for a problem raised with IBM support

Data can be exchanged with IBM support using the information on the Software support - Exchanging Data page.

Discuss an issue without a support contract

If you do not have a support contract, you can discuss issues with IBM, however there is no guarantee that the issue will be fixed. The following mechanisms are available to informally report issues to IBM: