Java tip: Getting most out of exceptions

Exceptions should have two purposes: 1. Clean up after an error and 2. help you solve the issue. Sadly, many Java developers often forget about #2.

So you end up with an exception thrown in SignatureFileVerifier (no source). Or even in a native method. The error message is:

Invalid signature file digest for Manifest main attributes

Right. Which tells us exactly … nothing. The stack trace isn’t better:

java.lang.SecurityException: Invalid signature file digest for Manifest main attributes
	at sun.security.util.SignatureFileVerifier.processImpl(SignatureFileVerifier.java:221)
	at sun.security.util.SignatureFileVerifier.process(SignatureFileVerifier.java:176)
	at java.util.jar.JarVerifier.processEntry(JarVerifier.java:233)
	at java.util.jar.JarVerifier.update(JarVerifier.java:188)
	at java.util.jar.JarFile.initializeVerifier(JarFile.java:325)
	at java.util.jar.JarFile.getInputStream(JarFile.java:390)
	at sun.misc.URLClassPath$JarLoader$1.getInputStream(URLClassPath.java:620)
	at sun.misc.Resource.cachedInputStream(Resource.java:59)
	at sun.misc.Resource.getByteBuffer(Resource.java:84)
	at java.net.URLClassLoader.defineClass(URLClassLoader.java:249)
	at java.net.URLClassLoader.access$100(URLClassLoader.java:56)
	at java.net.URLClassLoader$1.run(URLClassLoader.java:195)
	at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
	at java.net.URLClassLoader.findClass(URLClassLoader.java:188)
	at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:307)
	at sun.misc.Launcher$AppClassLoader.loadClass(Launcher.java:268)
	at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:252)
	at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClassInternal(ClassLoader.java:320)
	at org.eclipse.jface.action.LegacyActionTools.initLocalizedModifiers(LegacyActionTools.java:699)
	at org.eclipse.jface.action.LegacyActionTools.findLocalizedModifier(LegacyActionTools.java:356)
	at org.eclipse.jface.action.LegacyActionTools.convertLocalizedAccelerator(LegacyActionTools.java:167)
	at org.eclipse.jface.action.Action.setText(Action.java:665)
	at de.pdark.epen.editor.actions.ForwardAction.(ForwardAction.java:29)
	at de.pdark.epen.editor.actions.ForwardActionTest.testCreate(ForwardActionTest.java:21)

So LegacyActionTools needs a class. Which one? Since I don’t have the source, how can I set a breakpoint?

Simple: Set the breakpoint in the constructor of the exception! Even native code has to pass through here, eventually.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 28th, 2010 at 12:12 and is filed under Software. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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