Debug compiled Java .class files in VS Code

Question

I'm taking a CS Data Structures course, and I want to try and work with VS Code instead of the current editor that I'm using (BlueJ). However, my work is evaluated based on whether it can satisfy a certain set of tests presented by a compiled tester file (a .class file that I can use to run/check my work), something that VS Code doesn't seem to particularly like.

This tester is what contains the program's main() method, so I either need to use BlueJ (which already supports running compiled classes) or run the file from the command line (something that I know how to do, but have found somewhat tedious) in order to run the method. Is there a way that I could configure a VS Code Java debugger to execute the main() method located within my compiled tester file?

A note: These tester files do not come with editable .java counterparts; if we were able to see what the tester checks for, that would ruin the point of the tester!

Answer 1

Not exactly what you want, But:
For tedious commands, you could set up an alias in your $HOME/.bash_aliases file.
Bash Aliases .

ie one i aliased earlier :

alias ds="java -cp $HOME/javaWorkScripts/jspDatabaseApp/bin/ FormatTabContents $HOME/VSCODE\\ Research/SURFACE-TIDE-JSP-DATABASE-APP-22-DEC-2018.txt "

From now on, you could just type ds in terminal to run the command.

Answer 2

You can decompile and debug the class in IntelliJ easily. Then set break points on main method and check it. You can decompile the class in VS code easily but I doubt you will be able to debug the .class file in VS Code.