Step into Java EE code in Eclipse

Question

Debugging sessions in Eclipse and Java EE code are a pain and I'm hoping someone has a better method than mine.

Here is a typical call stack between 2 EJB stateless bean methods (using TomEE 1.0) :

NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Method, Object, Object[]) line: not available [native method]  
NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Object, Object[]) line: 39  
DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Object, Object[]) line: 25  
Method.invoke(Object, Object...) line: 597  
ReflectionInvocationContext$BeanInvocation(ReflectionInvocationContext$Invocation).invoke() line: 181   
ReflectionInvocationContext.proceed() line: 163 
StatsInterceptor.record(InvocationContext, Method) line: 176    
StatsInterceptor.invoke(InvocationContext) line: 95 
GeneratedMethodAccessor35.invoke(Object, Object[]) line: not available  
DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Object, Object[]) line: 25  
Method.invoke(Object, Object...) line: 597  
ReflectionInvocationContext$InterceptorInvocation(ReflectionInvocationContext$Invocation).invoke() line: 181    
ReflectionInvocationContext.proceed() line: 163 
CdiInterceptor.invoke(InvocationContext) line: 129  
CdiInterceptor.access$000(CdiInterceptor, InvocationContext) line: 45   
CdiInterceptor$1.call() line: 66    
CdiInterceptor.aroundInvoke(InvocationContext) line: 72 
GeneratedMethodAccessor34.invoke(Object, Object[]) line: not available  
DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Object, Object[]) line: 25  
Method.invoke(Object, Object...) line: 597  
ReflectionInvocationContext$InterceptorInvocation(ReflectionInvocationContext$Invocation).invoke() line: 181    
ReflectionInvocationContext.proceed() line: 163 
InterceptorStack.invoke(Object...) line: 138    
StatelessContainer._invoke(Method, Method, Object[], Instance, ThreadContext, InterfaceType) line: 226  
StatelessContainer.invoke(Object, InterfaceType, Class, Method, Object[], Object) line: 178 
StatelessEjbObjectHandler(EjbObjectProxyHandler).synchronizedBusinessMethod(Class<?>, Method, Object[], Object) line: 260   
StatelessEjbObjectHandler(EjbObjectProxyHandler).businessMethod(Class<?>, Method, Object[], Object) line: 240   
StatelessEjbObjectHandler(EjbObjectProxyHandler)._invoke(Object, Class, Method, Object[]) line: 91  
StatelessEjbObjectHandler(BaseEjbProxyHandler).invoke(Object, Method, Object[]) line: 284   
MyService$LocalBeanProxy.removeScheduledEvent(ScheduledEvent) line: not available   

That's 30 lines of Java EE plumbing method calls that I don't want to inspect!

My only reliable way to skip all this when stepping into a method is to put a breakpoint in the next method call, then hit "Step Over" instead of "Step Into". However, setting breakpoints all the time like that is a major hassle compared to a simple "Step Into". I have to repeat the same thing when I need to step out of the method I'm inspecting.

I know about step filters in Eclipse and tried using those but some automatically-generated proxy classes are injected in my own packages so I can't easily use that.

Does anybody have a good solution for this?

update

Using the following step filters skips all unwanted steps for now :

*$$*  // for CGLib proxies
*$LocalBeanProxy  // for other EJB proxies
java.*
net.sf.*
sun.*

edit 2

Here's an example from the MyService class:

public void removeScheduledEvent(ScheduledEvent event) {
    // ...
    otherEJB.doStuff(event);
}

Since otherEJB is an EJB bean running in a stateless container, the 30 calls above are inserted automatically via proxies.

Answer 1

Some info about Eclipse step filters:

Eclipse debugging / step into method skipping AOP wiring

How to filter dynamically generated classes in debug view?

Actual step filters I use with TomEE:

*$LocalBeanProxy
*$CGLibInterceptor
net.sf.*
org.apache.geronimo.*
org.apache.naming.*
org.apache.openejb.*
org.apache.tomee.*
org.apache.webbeans.*

Answer 2

When debugging, simply hold CtrlAlt, hover over the method name where you want to stop again, until it turns into a hyperlink, then click the method name. That feature is called Step into Selection.