Debugging Windows Programs

Book excerpt: 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