Tracing services

You can use the Tracer to monitor any active requestor session. However, a service usually runs in a new requestor session with a requestor ID that is not created until the service begins processing. At that point, the processing that the service performs in that requestor session occurs so quickly (in less than one second), that it can be hard to catch the event to trace it.

In this situation, it is recommended that you use the Trace Open Rule feature to trace the service rule. You can use this feature to trace a service request that is invoked from an external client application.

To use the Trace Open Rule feature to trace and debug a service rule:

  1. Open the service rule. Note which ruleset the service rule belongs to.
  2. Click Actions > Trace. The Tracer tool window opens.
  3. Click Settings to open the Tracer Settings window.
  4. In the Event Types to Trace section, select Services.
  5. In the Rulesets to Trace section, select the rulesets that contain the service rule and service activity.
  6. Click OK to close the Tracer Settings window.
  7. Run the rule.
  8. Watch the Tracer window as the rule runs. The window includes lines for the start and end of each service rule execution, lines for the start and end of request mapping, lines for the start and end of response mapping, and (if these options are selected in the Tracer Settings panel) lines for the start and end of parse rules, XML Stream rules, and HTML rules.

The Tracer offers the following trace options for services:

  • Services – The Tracer adds steps for when the service invocation begins and ends. Nested within those steps are entries that show when the inbound data mapping begins and ends, and when the outbound data mapping begins and ends.
  • Parse Rules  – The Tracer adds steps when a parse rule (delimited, structured, or XML) begins and ends processing.
  • Stream Rules   – The Tracer adds steps when an HTML rule or XML Stream rule begins and ends processing.