1st Edition

The Debugger's Handbook

By J.F. DiMarzio Copyright 2007
482 Pages 67 B/W Illustrations
by Auerbach Publications

458 Pages
by Auerbach Publications

For today's programmers, it is impossible to foresee every input, every usage scenario, and every combination of applications that can cause errors when run simultaneously. Given all of these unknowns, writing absolutely bug-free code is unachievable. But it is possible, with the right knowledge, to produce nearly bug-free code and The Debugger's Handbook provides just the right guidance to do it.... Read more
BUGS: FACT OR FICTION?
The History of Bugs
The Rise of the Modern Programmer
Dissecting a Bug: Definition
Review Questions
Looking Ahead

WRITING BUG-FREE CODE PART I: THE DESIGN PROCESS
Planning Your Bug-Free Project
Review Questions
Looking Ahead

BUG-FREE CODE PART II: THE CODING PROCESS
It Is All in the Comments
Comment Characters of Multiple Languages
Introductory Comments
Using .NET Regions
Coding Standards
Functions, Subroutines, and Methods
Reusable Code
Review Questions
Looking Ahead

THROWING CUSTOM EXCEPTIONS
Unstructured Error Handling
Structured Error Handling
Throwing Custom Errors
Review Questions
Looking Ahead

DESIGN TIME DEBUGGING
Benefits of Removing Bugs at Design Time
Debugging in Visual Studio 2003
Visual Basic Debug Mode Editing
Review Questions
Looking Ahead

DEBUGGING AND VISUAL STUDIO 2005
Debugging with the New Features in Visual Studio 2005
Design Time Debugging
Debugging
Review Questions
Looking Ahead

TESTING
When Is It Time to Test?
Setting Up the Test Environment
Choosing the Test Team
Finding Bugs
Review Questions
Looking Ahead

COMMENTING YOUR CODE WITH XML
XML Tags
Review Questions
Looking Ahead

REAL-WORLD SCENARIOS: OPENING FILES
Opening Files
Executing the Close Method in the Wrong Place
Other Syntactical/File Navigation Errors

REAL-WORLD SCENARIOS: READING FILES
Opening a File as the Incorrect Type

REAL-WORLD SCENARIOS: SAVING PROGRAM SETTINGS

REAL-WORLD SCENARIOS: WORKING WITH OBJECTS
Not Defining the Object Correctly
Not Being Able to See an Object from All Forms

REAL-WORLD SCENARIOS: EDITING THE REGISTRY
Using SaveSetting and GetSetting

REAL-WORLD SCENARIOS: WINDOWS TERMINATION FUNCTIONALITY

REAL-WORLD SCENARIOS: OPENING A DATABASE
Passing String Credentials
Obtaining Connection Settings from a .udl File
Using ODBC Connections
Closing a Database

REAL-WORLD SCENARIOS: READING A DATABASE
Using a DataReader

REAL-WORLD SCENARIOS: SEARCHING A DATABASE
Querying Tables
Using Stored Procedures
INDEX

Biography

J.F. DiMarzio is an IT manager with 14 years of experience in the technology industry. His other books have been translated into five languages and sold worldwide. He currently works as a management consultant in the southeastern United States

". . . found the book very readable and easy to understand. The detailed explanations provide great insight for the reader. I really liked the author’s ability to make the steps very easy to follow while providing meaning and understanding. Overall, I definitely recommend this book."

– Scott Brookhart, in StickyMinds.com, 2007