Setting conditional breakpoints using object ids
In native code, its sometimes useful to set a breakpoint condition so that a breakpoint will only stop for a particular instance of an object. To do this, I simply use the address of the object:
this == (CMyObject*)0x10fc10
In managed code, the garbage collector moves objects around, so even if you were writing in a language that had great support for pointers, setting a conditional breakpoint this way is probably useless. Instead, you can do this using object ids.
Step #1: Make an Object ID. To do this, get the object that you want to use in your condition into the watch window. Then right click on this object and invoke the ‘Make Object ID’ context menu. The watch window output will now include ‘{1#}’:
+ this {cswin.Form1, Text: Form1} {1#} cswin.Form1
The ‘1#’ indicates that this is the first object ID. Each object ID created will get a new object ID (2#, 3#, etc). There is more documentation under 'Object Identity' on MSDN.
Step #2: Set conditional breakpoint. Right click on your breakpoint and click ‘Condition…’, and set it to what you want. For example:
this == 1#
Happy debugging.
