Debug

The Debug utility allows an interface to file debug and exception information in a uniform format. It supports different levels of information (in the ascending order): OFF, ERROR, WARNING, MESSAGE and ON. A given debug level is enabled if it is set to at least that level. For example, if the debug state is ERROR, only errors will be filed. If the debug state is WARNING, only errors and warnings will be filed. If the debug state is MESSAGE, everything will be filed. MESSAGE and ON are the same level except MESSAGE writes to a file, whereas ON writes to System.out.

Debugging is an intensive operation and can hurt performance. Java evaluates the arguments to message() and warning() even when debugging is turned off. It is recommended that the debug state be checked before invoking any message() or warning() methods to avoid unnecessary argument evaluation and maximize application performance.