For professional software developers, debugging is a way of life. This book is the definitive guide to Windows debugging, providing developers with the strategies and techniques they need to fulfill one of their most important responsibilities efficiently and effectively. Debugging Windows Programs shows readers how to prevent bugs by taking full advantage of the Visual C++ development tools and writing code in a way that makes certain types of bugs impossible. They also will learn how to reveal bugs with debugging statements that force bugs to expose themselves when the program is executed, and how to make the most of debugging tools and features available in Windows, Visual C++, MFC, and ATL. The authors provide specific solutions to the most common debugging problems, including memory corruption, resource leaks, stack problems, release build problems, finding crash locations, and multithreading problems. These essential topics are covered: The debugging process Writing C++ code for debugging Strategically using assertions, trace statements, and exceptions Windows postmortem debugging using Dr. Watson and MAP files Using the Visual C++ debugger Debugging memory Debugging multithreaded programs Debugging COM Each chapter provides developers with exactly what they need to master the subject and improve development productivity and software quality. Comprehensive, current, and practical, Debugging Windows Programs helps developers understand the debugging process and make the most of the Visual C++ debugging tools. 020170238XB04062001

The First In-Depth, Real-World, Insider’s Guide to Powerful Windows Debugging For Windows developers, few tasks are more challenging than debugging–-or more crucial. Reliable and realistic information about Windows debugging has always been scarce. Now, with over 15 years of experience two of Microsoft’s system-level developers present a thorough and practical guide to Windows debugging ever written. Mario Hewardt and Daniel Pravat cover debugging throughout the entire application lifecycle and show how to make the most of the tools currently available–-including Microsoft’s powerful native debuggers and third-party solutions. To help you find real solutions fast, this book is organized around real-world debugging scenarios. Hewardt and Pravat use detailed code examples to illuminate the complex debugging challenges professional developers actually face. From core Windows operating system concepts to security, Windows® VistaTM and 64-bit debugging, they address emerging topics head-on–and nothing is ever oversimplified or glossed over!

Use Windows debuggers throughout the development cycle—and build better software Rethink your use of Windows debugging and tracing tools—and learn how to make them a key part of test-driven software development. Led by a member of the Windows Fundamentals Team at Microsoft, you’ll apply expert debugging and tracing techniques—and sharpen your C++ and C# code analysis skills—through practical examples and common scenarios. Learn why experienced developers use debuggers in every step of the development process, and not just when bugs appear. Discover how to: Go behind the scenes to examine how powerful Windows debuggers work Catch bugs early in the development cycle with static and runtime analysis tools Gain practical strategies to tackle the most common code defects Apply expert tricks to handle user-mode and kernel-mode debugging tasks Implement postmortem techniques such as JIT and dump debugging Debug the concurrency and security aspects of your software Use debuggers to analyze interactions between your code and the operating system Analyze software behavior with Xperf and the Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) framework

You get huge development advantages with Microsoft Visual Studio® .NET 2003—but you need a new bag of debugging tricks to take full advantage of them in today’s .NET and Win32® development worlds. Learn lethally effective, real-world application debugging techniques for .NET Framework 1.1 and Windows with this fully updated programming guide. Debugging expert John Robbins expands the first edition of his classic debugging book with all-new scenarios and bug-killing tools, tips, and techniques. You’ll see every .NET and Windows debugging scenario here—from XML Web services and Microsoft ASP.NET to Windows services and exceptions. Along with John’s expert guidance, you get more than 6 MB of his battle-tested source code—for the tools and tactics you need to ship better software faster! Topics covered include: Where bugs come from and how to think about solving them Debugging during coding Operating system debugging support and how Win32 debuggers work Advanced debugger usage and .NET debugging with Visual Studio .NET Advanced native code techniques with Visual Studio .NET and WinDBG Extending the Visual Studio .NET integrated development environment Managed exception monitoring Flow tracing and performance Finding source and line information with just a crash address Crash handlers Debugging Windows services and DLLs that load into services Multithreaded deadlocks Automated testing The Debug C run-time library A high-performance tracing tool for server applications Smoothing the working set Appendixes: Reading Dr. Watson log files, plus resources for .NET and Windows developers CD-ROM features: 6+ MB of professional-level source code samples written in Microsoft Visual C++®, Visual C#®, and Visual Basic® .NET Debugging Tools for Windows Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 SDK Windows Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) A Note Regarding the CD or DVD The print version of this book ships with a CD or DVD. For those customers purchasing one of the digital formats in which this book is available, we are pleased to offer the CD/DVD content as a free download via O'Reilly Media's Digital Distribution services. To download this content, please visit O'Reilly's web site, search for the title of this book to find its catalog page, and click on the link below the cover image (Examples, Companion Content, or Practice Files). Note that while we provide as much of the media content as we are able via free download, we are sometimes limited by licensing restrictions. Please direct any questions or concerns to [email protected].

Get the essential, straightforward information you need—and master the core topics for debugging applications with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005. Debugging expert John Robbins offers practical answers to real-world development questions, including code samples in Microsoft Visual C# and Visual Basic. You’ll learn the debugging techniques and tools to debug more efficiently and help ensure top-quality code. Discover how to: Arm yourself with tools and techniques that contribute to long-term success in the debugging battlefield Implement John’s practical debugging process to sniff out bugs—including “freak” bugs Catch bugs during development with assertions, tracers, and comments Set advanced breakpoints in your debugger to specify exact trigger conditions Use the Watch window, Data Tips, and Visualizers to see key data quickly Employ other debugging tools, such as WinDBG, SOS, and ADPlus Write macros and add-ins to extend the Visual Studio integrated development environment Debug with Code Analysis—and learn to write your own rules PLUS—Get code samples on the Web

This resource helps technical support, escalation engineers, and Windows software testers master necessary prerequisites to understand and start debugging and crash dump analysis on Windows platforms.

Every software developer and IT professional understands the crucial importance of effective debugging. Often, debugging consumes most of a developer’s workday, and mastering the required techniques and skills can take a lifetime. In Effective Debugging, Diomidis Spinellis helps experienced programmers accelerate their journey to mastery, by systematically categorizing, explaining, and illustrating the most useful debugging methods, strategies, techniques, and tools. Drawing on more than thirty-five years of experience, Spinellis expands your arsenal of debugging techniques, helping you choose the best approaches for each challenge. He presents vendor-neutral, example-rich advice on general principles, high-level strategies, concrete techniques, high-efficiency tools, creative tricks, and the behavioral traits associated with effective debugging. Spinellis’s 66 expert techniques address every facet of debugging and are illustrated with step-by-step instructions and actual code. He addresses the full spectrum of problems that can arise in modern software systems, especially problems caused by complex interactions among components and services running on hosts scattered around the planet. Whether you’re debugging isolated runtime errors or catastrophic enterprise system failures, this guide will help you get the job done—more quickly, and with less pain. Key features include High-level strategies and methods for addressing diverse software failures Specific techniques to apply when programming, compiling, and running code Better ways to make the most of your debugger General-purpose skills and tools worth investing in Advanced ideas and techniques for escaping dead-ends and the maze of complexity Advice for making programs easier to debug Specialized approaches for debugging multithreaded, asynchronous, and embedded code Bug avoidance through improved software design, construction, and management

A reference book for technical support and escalation engineers troubleshooting and debugging complex software issues. The book is also invaluable for software maintenance and development engineers debugging Windows applications and services.

This resource can help technical support and escalation engineers and Windows software testers without the knowledge of assembly language master necessary prerequisites to understand and start debugging and crash dump analysis on X64 Windows platforms.

A guide to tracking down .NET application bugs. It is the only book to focus entirely on using powerful native debugging tools, including WinDBG, NTSD, and CDB, to debug .NET applications. Hewardt first introduces the key concepts needed to successfully use .NET's native debuggers. Next, he turns to sophisticated debugging techniques, using real-world examples that demonstrate many common C♯ programming errors.