Typically debugging enterprise Java EE applications is somewhat a complicated process, and our application server needs to be started in "debug mode". The procedure for doing this is different depending on the application server, but typically involves passing some command line parameters to the shell script or executable that starts the application server. Our code must also be compiled with debugging enabled. This is usually done either setting a parameter on the IDE or passing some arguments to the javac executable. Also, our debugger must be "attached" to the application server so that it can see the code running in a separate JVM.

Thankfully, all of the steps described in the previous paragraph are automated when using NetBeans with the bundled GlassFish application server. When using this combination, all we need to do is open our Enterprise Application Project then right-click on it and select Debug. At this point the application server is started...