Debugging 101

Visual Studio is a great tool. It has many features that help you during development and the debugging process. So, it is natural to start by looking at Visual Studio first. I will not spend much time on debugging basics in Visual Studio. Still, I think revisiting the most apparent tools we have is immensely clarifying.

Debug builds versus Release builds

Let’s talk about that dropdown at the top in Visual Studio, where you can choose between Debug and Release. I am sure you have a feeling about what this is all about. You pick Debug when you are still writing the code, and want to debug your software. You choose Release when you are ready to release your product.

However, there is a bit more you should know about those options. Let me start by saying that you can still debug your code if it is built in Release mode. It’s just a bit harder.

Let me compare the results of a Debug setting and a Release setting. The following table shows the main...