Debugger tips

There are quite a few useful debugging tips that can be used when debugging a code using visual studio.
Below are two unique ones that are also used in the Firefly code - but rather than the usual tips (such as conditional breakpoints, using the DebugHelper, listening to exceptions, etc.) these are used as attributes added to the code itself.

DebuggerStepThrough

Adding this attribute to methods / properties instructs the visual studio debugger to skip the code, so even if there is a breakpoint it will be skipped. While debugging the skipped code will appear in the call stack as "external code". This is useful when you debug a code step-by-step and would like to skip some parts you know for sure are not a part of the problem.

Example:

[DebuggerStepThrough]
class MyClass
{
    public bool Result = false;
    public void DoSomething()
    {
        Result = true;
    }
} 

DebuggerDisplay

Adding this attribute to classes allows you to set the informatin that will be displayed when the plus sign (+) is selected to expand the debugger display for an instance of the class.

Example:

[DebuggerDisplay("Count = {Count}")]
class MyClass
{
    public int Count;
    public void DoSomething()
    {
        Count = Count++;
    }
} 

Other useful attributes are DebuggerHidden, DebuggerBrowsable and DebuggerTypeProxy

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