Professional Visual Studio 2017

30Using the Debugging Windows

WHAT’S IN THIS CHAPTER?

• Learning basic debugging concepts in Visual Studio, including breakpoints and DataTips
• Understanding the debugging windows in Visual Studio

WROX.COM CODE DOWNLOADS FOR THIS CHAPTER

The wrox.com code downloads for this chapter can be found at www.wrox.com by searching for this book’s ISBN number (978-1-119-40458-3). The code and any related support files are located in their own folder for this chapter.

Debugging an application is one of the more challenging tasks developers must tackle, but correct use of the Visual Studio 2017 debugging windows can help you analyze the state of the application and determine the cause of any bugs. This chapter examines the numerous windows available in Visual Studio 2017 to support you in building and debugging applications.

THE CODE WINDOW

The most important window for debugging purposes is the code window. With the capability to set breakpoints and step through code, this window is the starting point for almost all debugging activities. Figure 30-1 shows a simple snippet of code with both a breakpoint (red dot) and the current execution point (yellow arrow) visible.

FIGURE 30-1

Breakpoints

The first stage in debugging an application is usually to identify the area causing the error by setting a breakpoint and gradually stepping through the code. Chapter 31, “Debugging ...