The IDebug Frequently Asked Questions List

1. What is IDebug?

   The IDebug debugging framework an advanced debugging framework for Java. This framework provides the standard core debugging and specification constructs such as assertions, debug levels and categories, stack traces, and specialized exceptions. Debugging functionality can be fine-tuned to a per-thread and/or a per-class basis, debugging contexts can be stored and recovered from persistent store, and several aspects of the debugging run-time are configurable at the meta-level.

2. Where did the name "IDebug" come from?

   The name IDebug has three influences:

   1. The name of the research group that originally developed IDebug is Infospheres, thus "Infospheres Debugging Framework" leads to "IDebug".
   2. Who does debugging? I do debugging, thus IDebug.
   3. We all are getting tired of the products called JThis and JThat, so we figured we would pick another letter to abuse. The letter 'I' is just prior to 'J', so why not move forward?
   
   
3. What is the IDebug license like?

   IDebug is released under a BSD-based license.

4. What is the history of IDebug?

   The initial idea for a unified debugging framework was proposed by Infosphere group members during the development of the Infospheres Infrastructure in the Summer of 1996. We developed several ad-hoc frameworks over the next year or two, learning from each experience.

   A serious effort to design a debugging framework as an independent product began in a brainstorming session in late 1997 and was going to be used for the development of the Infospheres Infrastructure 2.0. When development on the II-2 release halted in early 1998, development on IDebug continued.

   Early releases of IDebug have been used by several students at Caltech as part of the CS141 course at Caltech as well as other non-Caltech collaborators. IDebug is also used in the development of Jiki.

   Serious development toward a commercial release began in 1999 by KindSoftware, the current maintainers of IDebug.

5. How do I get the source?

   The full source is now included with the IDebug release.

6. How do I just get the executable/classfiles/jarfiles?

   You need to download the IDebug full release as linked on the IDebug release page.

7. What tools are used to develop IDebug?

   GNU Make	Jass	Jacob	JDE
   JDK		Hyperbole	Infodock
   OO-Browser	RedHat Linux	Solaris	XEmacs

8. How is the version number of IDebug determined?

   The version number is a monotonically increasing number followed by the release month and year.

9. How does IDebug compare to JavaLog and Log4j?

   I'll comment on this in a future release. They do look quite similar though, on first glance, IDebug looks significantly more powerful and flexible.

10. What is KindDebug?

    IDebug is now known as KindDebug. The next release will reflect this new name.

If you have any questions that you'd like added to this FAQ, please email your suggestions to kiniry@acm.org. Thanks!