The .Net framework 2.0 gave some great tools for debugging – they are a great help when writing code.
Some of these features are the DebuggerDisplay and DebuggerStepThrough attributes. I seldom use any of them, as I prefer to just overriding the ToString method instead of using the DebuggerDisplay attribute. This makes it easy to instrument the code too, as I can reuse the ToString method implementation for tracing.
Another feature is the ability to develop custom debugger visualizers. They enable smart developers to build their own. I find some really useful, especially the WCF visualizer. But there a many – check out this list of custom .Net debugger visualizers.
These small enhancements make it so easy to get an overview of the current state, instead of inspecting properties.
Anders Lybecker is an chief architect at Avior A/S, a consultancy firm in Copenhagen, Denmark.
He holds a degree in software engineering specializing in software development.
His primary expertise are the Microsoft .Net framework and SQL Server which he has been working with since the start of this century!
He enjoys discussing technical topics, teaching and speaking at conferences. Related posts:
Tags: dotNet, Visual Studio, WCF