A couple of months ago I set a goal: I wanted to release a new version of the one tool every XPages developer needs (well… besides Designer of course): the XPage Debug Toolbar. I had a couple of great ideas and started working on them. And here we are: just in time for IBM Connect I bring you… version 3 of the toolbar! I’m pretty excited about this new version: check it out and hopefully you’ll be too.
So what’s new?
If you clicked the image above you might have noticed a new tab: files. It allows you to view server-based log files (inspired by the XPages Log File Reader).
I added the option to store messages from the toolbar in documents (“persistent logging”), independent from displaying the toolbar. This allows you to configure the toolbar to store, for example, error and warning messages for all users (including those that don’t have access to the toolbar) in a database you can specify. The document/ field format used is that of OpenLog. The persistent logging feature can also store runtime errors thrown by the server if you set a custom error page in your application’s properties. Have a look at the sample database in the release: it is configured to store warnings and errors in the current databases and contains a sample form/ view.
I’ve completely redesigned the inspector: it is now a lot more user friendly, easier to work with and gives a much better overview of all the (declared) methods/ fields in a class.
The timers tab is gone. I’ve added an option to the messages tab to also show milliseconds with every message. I also improved the layout of the toolbar so it’s better readable if you’re using jQuery Mobile or Bootstrap. There are a couple of other usability changes you’ll discover soon enough if you start working with it.
A video on all the new features is on my todo list and will come (I think). In the meantime, check out this video on NotesIn9 I did on the toolbar basics. If you have any questions about my toolbar, you can also catch me at IBM Connect next week in Orlando. I’ll tell you everything you want to know over a beer 🙂
You can get the toolbar in 2 different ways: from the project site on OpenNTF or from my public repository on GitHub. You can also preview it online on this demo server.
Oh and by the way: if you’re into mobile XPage development with Teamstudio’s Unplugged, check out the mobile version of the Debug Toolbar I built for the new (and free) Unplugged Mobile Controls on OpenNTF.
