Debug mode

You can execute a ruleset in debug mode to test rules, inspect execution of rules and engine state, and set breakpoints on classes, objects, rules, decision tables and trees, and rule flows.

In Rule Designer, you can debug both rule code and Java™ code in a project.

The Debug views are useful when you start testing and debugging the execution of your rules. The debugger monitors business rule execution by checking the ruleset, connecting to a rule engine, sending the ruleset to the engine, resetting the engine, and executing all the rules.

Debug actions

With the debugger, you can control the process of business rule execution:
  • Step into, step over, and step return in any rule or code statement:
    • Step over: to go to the next rule statement.
    • Step into: to go to the next rule statement or stop in the next Java statement.
    • Step return: to go to the next rule statement that is not defined in the current rule artifact.
  • Drop to frame or use step filters. Use Window > Preferences > Java > Debug > Step Filtering to set debug filters.
  • Resume, suspend, and terminate.
  • Set breakpoints on rules, classes, and objects.

Debug mode performance

You can improve the performance of ruleset parsing when you are debugging a rule project in Eclipse by disabling this option: Window > Preferences > Java > Debug > Suspend execution on compilation error
Note: The improvement factor depends on your Java virtual machine. Even when this preference is turned off, the debug mode remains slower than the regular run mode.