debug options while running from command line

..i am just beginning java and i am currently working from a text file and command line to compile and run.....
my question is whether there is a way using this method (as opposed to an IDE which i will do later) to show my
program variables in the command window while i am executing i guess in other words is there some sort of debug option or
is that strictly why there are IDES ???

thanks

bob szypula wrote:..my question is whether there is a way using this method (as opposed to an IDE which i will do later) to show my
program variables in the command window while i am executing
thanks

i use System.out.println() to watch program variable if i am running from command line

There is a tool included in the JDK called jdb. It's a debugger that works on the command line. It's much more primitive than debuggers that are built-in into IDEs, and I don't think many people are seriously using jdb to debug their code. It could be handy though, if you need to test something for example on a server where you have no graphical user environment.

For something more powerful than jdb, there's the very capable JSwat debugger.

thanks for those suggestions!!