February 2005 - Posts

• The Debugger Rules

  I alluded to some debugger cardinal rules in a prior post . However, they may well be something that debugger writers know, but haven't written down. To remedy, I'll start the list here. My first two rules: 1) Never lie to the user. Telling them incorrect Read More... Posted Wednesday, February 23, 2005 7:47 PM by Matt Pietrek | 8 Comments

• Debuggers and "Hard mode"/"Soft Mode"

  Mike Stall has an interesting post on hardmode vs. softmode debugging. I did a double-take when I saw "hardmode" and "softmode". Mike's using those terms in a completely different context from their original usage. Back in the day (i.e., 16-bit Windows), Read More... Posted Monday, February 14, 2005 1:08 PM by Matt Pietrek | 4 Comments

• Why does the PDB format change every release?

  In another post , Steve Loughran asks "Why does the PDB format change every release? What is wrong with having one standard layout for debug symbols and leaving it alone?" A good question, and one that I wondered about many years ago. The answer is that Read More... Posted Saturday, February 05, 2005 5:51 PM by Matt Pietrek | 6 Comments

• More Windows x64 fun

  I'm really getting a kick out of playing with Windows on x64. Since my last post , I've successfully built my PEDUMP as a native Win64 app, and it's running well against everything I throw at it. Yesterday I got to 95% completion with my native command Read More... Posted Friday, February 04, 2005 7:38 PM by Matt Pietrek | 3 Comments

• Visual Studio 2005 (Whidbey) and Programs Using DBGHELP

  Yesterday I spent a long time tracking down a problem with PDB symbol access. I figured I could spare some poor soul from going through the same pain as I did by documenting what I found out. The synopsis: If you're using DBGHELP to read PDB symbols, Read More... Posted Friday, February 04, 2005 7:25 PM by Matt Pietrek | 3 Comments

• A kid in a Win64 Candy Store

  Just today I finally got a 64 bit version of Windows (the x64 flavor) going on my 2nd development box. I've just installed the CLR and the VC command line tools, and I'm itching to play with all things 64-bit. I'll probably start by building my PEDump Read More... Posted Tuesday, February 01, 2005 3:50 PM by Matt Pietrek | 1 Comments