Discuss how to use IDEA to debug Node.js

Node.js is a popular server-side runtime environment that allows JavaScript to run on the server side. It is also a flexible and powerful framework and thus has been used to develop a wide variety of applications. Node.js provides a large number of modules that allow us to complete complex tasks in a few lines of code, which is especially useful when integrating with third-party services. At the same time, Node.js also has a wealth of debugging tools, IDEA is one of them. In this article, we will explore how to use IDEA for debugging Node.js.

Install the debugger plug-in

First, we need to install the debugger plug-in for Node.js in IDEA. Just search for and install the "NodeJS" plug-in in the plug-in library. We need to restart IDEA for the plug-in to take effect.

Create Node.js project

Next, we need to create a Node.js project. Select "Create New Project" in IDEA's welcome screen and select the "Node.js Express App" template. Following the wizard's instructions, you can easily create an Express application.

Configuring the Debugger

Now, we need to configure IDEA to enable Node.js debugging. Click the "Run" menu and select "Edit Configurations". Create a new configuration and select "Node.js". Enter the project's main file name in the "JavaScript file" field, for example "app.js". Enter the root directory of the project in the "Working directory" field. Select "Debug" and click "OK" to complete the configuration.

Start debugging

By pressing "Shift F9" or clicking the "Debug" button, IDEA will start the Node.js project and then jump to the break point. At this point, we can use debugging tools to step through the code and debug it.

Set breakpoints

When debugging Node.js, setting breakpoints is very useful. Click the code line number in the project file, and IDEA will add a breakpoint on that line. When the code reaches this line, the debugger pauses execution, allowing us to inspect the code and locate code defects.

View variables and expressions

We can use the built-in panel in IDEA to view the current variables and expressions. In debug mode, the "Variables" and "Watches" tool windows can be found in the left panel. In these panels we can view the current variable values ​​and expression results and monitor their values ​​during program execution.

Debug Remote Server

IDEA also allows us to connect the debugger to a remote Node.js instance of the cloud server. To do this, we need to use JavaScript Debug to start a debugging session on the remote server and provide a WebSocket connection.

In IDEA, we can use the "Attach to Node.js/Chrome" configuration to attach to the Node.js process of the remote server. In this way, we can debug the Node.js code on the remote server just like debugging local code in the local IDE.

Summary

Node.js is a flexible and powerful platform with good scalability and maintainability. It can help developers easily build various applications. IDEA provides many powerful debugging tools to help developers easily debug Node.js code.

In this article, we explore how to debug Node.js in IDEA and list some best practices and recommendations. Choosing a reliable IDE and using its debugger plug-in allows developers to debug code faster and deploy applications to production faster.

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