Tracing

You can set varying tracing levels for specific IBM® Explorer for z/OS® components.

During execution, trace entries are produced and placed in the workspace\.metadata\.trace file. The number of entries and the amount of detail that is generated is determined by the setting of the tracing level for various tracers. The tracers are listed on the Tracing preference page. A tracing level is specified for each tracer, and, if tracing is enabled, the .trace file is populated with entries that contain a level equal to or less than the specified level. A trace shows the flow of the execution of a program and can help with troubleshooting and debugging problems.

To set tracing levels for IBM Explorer for z/OS components, do these steps:

  1. Click Window > Preferences.
  2. In the list of preference pages, click Tracing.
    The Tracer Name list displays components for which tracing is available. The default is NONE, which means that no tracing is done for the component. Other available tracing levels include the following values:
    • FINE - records trace data for basic debugging information such as input and output date.
    • FINER - records trace data such as conversion data and traps that are to be ignored.
    • FINEST - records trace data such as entry and exit data for methods.
  3. To include trace entries regardless of their levels, change the tracing level to FINEST.
    The volume of data generated is greater, but might provide the information that is required to solve some problems.
  4. Click Restore Defaults after the trace is captured.