I have a requirement for developing a debugger extension for Visual Studio. The code is in C++, however, it is run in a simulator environment. The application is capable of receiving break points and displaying variable information.
I have looked into the Concord API, but it seems rather complex. Do I have to develop an Expression Evaluator, even though the code is in C++?
Basically I just want the program to run and hit the breakpoints that the user has created for starters.
Should I try and write a visual studio extension instead? Although I don't see any way of halting execution of a program in debug mode?
Thanks
Ah the joy of writing a custom debugger! I'm writing one now. See the visual studio custom debug engine sample to start with. Python Tools for Visual Studio, MIDebugEngine are more complex but also more complete and production code. Much easier to write the debugger in C#.
Some blogs that helped me a lot.
https://limbioliong.wordpress.com/2011/08/30/creating-a-com-server-using-c/
https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/jmstall/2009/07/09/icustomqueryinterface-and-clr-v4/
VS2005 SDK PDF has more detailed debugger documentation.
VS2015/17 C# Extension projects has a custom project type package which comes with a script debugger launcher to start with.
I am working on an SSIS package. The package has a script (C# language) task. I need to debug the script task. I set the break point. The script in script editor (Visual Studio) and the task in SSIS package editor, both, show break point in red color - means the break point is enabled. However, when I debug the package the break point does not hit.
The break point has no conditions on it, so I expect it to hit every time the package runs.
I am using Visual Studio 2008 on Windows 2003 R2 64-bit SP2.
After more research and trial-error, found that the SSIS package ignores the breakpoints in a Script Task when debugging on a 64-bit machine. To fix it -
Go to the Solution Explorer
Right click your SSIS project node > Properties
In Configuration Properties > Debugging > Debug Options > Set Run64BitRunTime to False.
After making this change, the breakpoints hit like magic.
I tried all the answers provided here with no success (using VS2015). After some more searching I found this question that is actually an answer which stated that newer C# features / syntax were causing the debugger to not fire correctly.
In their example (and also mine) using string interpolation was causing the breakpoints to not be hit.
Replacing
$"{someVariable} - {someOtherVariable}"
with
string.Format("{0} - {1}", someVariable, someOtherVariable);
did the trick for me.
EDIT
It appears this issue has now been fixed with SQL Server Integration Services Projects, but you need to be running VS2019 to download it.
Update: Guys, I againg lost any ability to set breakpoints (a request to MS)
My previous fixes are below.
Now I'm using logging and tracing instead of debugging.
C# new features (after C# 4.0) are blamed for killing debugging of the SSIS Script Task.
To return the breakpoint capability I do the following.
Remove C# new features
Run my Script Task once, successfully. I.e. without a crash.
Reopen the Vsta Project from my Script Task and put breakpoints there.
At the end, you have to see a red circle on your Script Task.
(Tested in VS 2017.)
Note. I have to mention that debugging works even if your use "Execute Task" only, not "Execute Package"!
Remove C# new features
To remove the C# new features, I can advise you two ways.
First, restrict Vsta Project properties to C# 4.0 (migrated packages may not support this).
Dobule click your "Script Task" to open "Script Task Editor".
Click "Edit Script..." button to open Visual Studio.
In "Solution Explorer" select the project and click the F4 key on your keyboard.
In opened "Properties" window in "C# Language Level" choise "C# 4.0"
Build your project and fix compilation errors.
Secondly, Vsta Projects in old/migrated packages may not show the above "C# Language Level" property.
So you can put your code in a fake project in Visual Studio 2010 and compile it there.
Run it once successfully
After you fix your C#, you have to run your Script Task once successfully.
You may want to put the return statement at the beginning of the Main() method to prevent any real execution.
Sorry, this doesn't always work and I don't realise why but you definitely need to fix your C# in the first place.
At least you will get a working Script Task and can debug it in an old fashioned way (logs by Dts.Events..., exceptions, etc.)
TL;DR
It looks like I even got severe cases when C# new features forced Script Tasks to fail silently with a success completion status.
As an example, add the following to your Script task.
string Bug { get; } // Only getter properties.
//...
var str = $"Now is {DateTime.Now}"; // String Interpolation in C#
//...
var dummy = val?.ToUpper(); // ?. and ?[] null-conditional Operators
And workarounds for this non-complete list:
string Bug { get; set; }
//...
var str = string.Format("Now is {0}", DateTime.Now);
// etc.
What I also do, I build my C# code in Visual Studio 2010. It simply doesn't compile the new .NET features and do not allows .NET Framework versions above 4.0. So far, so good.
Of course, other answers from this SO-question didn't help me.
In my case, none of these solutions worked. I finally got to know that the Resharper was culprit. After uninstalling it, it started working like charm.
In my case, I had to get rid of all features from C# 6: string interpolation, null conditional operators (?., ?(), ?[]) and expression-bodied members (=>) (there might be more in your case). You can check them all here. Of course, the same applies to C# 7 features.
The 32/64 bit changes from other answers didn't help, so I rolled back those and the debugging kept working just fine.
Use System.Diagnostics.Debugger class to add breakpoint programmatically:
System.Diagnostics.Debugger.Launch();
System.Diagnostics.Debugger.Break();
You can check if the debugger is attached or not:
if (System.Diagnostics.Debugger.IsAttached)
System.Diagnostics.Debugger.Break();
Follow these step:
Keep your project or solution opened.
Run your app to hit breakpoint.
Select your project in Just-In-Time Debugger.
I inherited an SSIS package where unfortunately the above answers didn't help.
In the end I found the script task's build properties for debug mode had had the optimize code ticked. Make sure this isn't ticked because for me visual studio would fire up for script debugging and close shortly after without breaking at all.
Pretty obscure but worth a mention.
We hit the same problem recently. For us the solution was to ensure that the script task project was marked to run as with the platform target set to x86.
Edit the script task
Click on the project and select properties
Select to set the platform target to x86
In addition to Jeff's suggestion, also change the Platform Target to "x86" (In the script's properties' Build tab. This FINALLY got me debugging again on a 64-bit system.
Microsoft released an update v3.2 of SQL Server Integration Services Projects where it resolves the issue with Roslyn and other C# language features introduced after .Net 4.5. C# features.
Bad news - this fix is for Visual Studio 2019 only, you have to upgrade your VS to use it.
I spent whole day on this and NONE of the solutions mentioned here worked for me.
In my case, the existing project was targeted to SQL Server 2016 which defaults ScriptLanguage Microsoft Visual c# 2015. This doesn't allow debugging in VS 2019. I have to target project to SQL Server 2019 to make debugging work. Of course, I am not going to checkin version change. It's only to debug script. Once script is working, I am going to revert target version to SQL server 2016.
Hope this saves time for someone.
I had the same problem as you #PAS. Using VS 2019 and Target server version 2016.
Just found out that if upgrading SSIS in Visual Studio (going into Extensions->Manage Extensions) to latest version (which now is 3.15) debugging is now working.
My breakpoints refused to hit no matter what I did. I ended up debugging and fixing the issues just using exception throws. Once I had fixed the issues I was having, the breakpoints started hitting!
So my breakpoints would only hit once the code did not experience any runtime issues... which is bizarre.
In my experience, it doesn't matter:
if Run64BitRuntime is true or false
if you build the 32 or 64 bits version of your package
But there is something very important, not mentioned in any other answer: you must run the whole package. If you run a Task or a Container the breakpoint will be ignored.
I'm using Visual Studio 2013, on a 64 bits machine.
I only had one Script component were no breakpoints were hit (I was doing some CRM stuff without needing source/target).
I trid to add a Source componenet with a simple fetchXML (even if I didn't needed it).
Then it worked! :-)
I found out that by copying a Script Component task, the VSTA project as a whole is copied as well. This is what you would expect, but what I did not expect is with that, the assembly name for example is also copied.
Running then Execute Task works fine, but running the whole package actually only runs the first script that was copied and resulted in exceptions being thrown before ever hitting the row processing function.
That was also the reason for me that breakpoints were not being hit.
I'm trying to debug tests from visual studio using nunit-console using a VS-macro, but I'm having issues when attaching the debugger / IDE to nunit-console / nunit-agent. I do have the macro working, if I just want to run the test, the issue is only when attaching the debugger.
I seem to have a deadlock issue of sorts. When I kickoff my macro, it freezes the IDE. After the attach, the test pauses at a break point (i think),but I cant see this, since the IDE is frozen. I cant stepthrough etc, since the macro is locking up the IDE, and I cant continue the test, since its halted at a breakpoint. Any ideas?
I cant use resharper / testdriven / extensions etc, no 3rd party, dont ask :(, so its the macro, something like it, or nothing.
Using Nunit 2.5.7, VS 2010, .net 4 projects.
What I have so far
process.Start() 'run nunit-console
If attachDebugger then
For Each debugProcess As EnvDTE.Process In DTE.Debugger.LocalProcesses
' no parent process ID on process type, so have to look at name for the agent.
If debugProcess.ProcessID = process.Id Or debugProcess.Name.Contains("nunit-agent") Then
debugProcess.Attach()
End If
Next
End If
process.WaitForExit()
DTE.Debugger.DetachAll()
It's just a guess, but I suspect that Visual Studio is running the macro on it's lonesome UI thread.
Perhaps you could try this:
In your Macro, spin up another thread and run the code you've written in that. Let the Macro exit immediately.
I can attach the debugger and get it to break - but it has trouble finding the .cs file, I think LinqPad deletes it as part of its build.. 8-(
If you call
Debugger.Launch();
Debugger.Break();
to initiate the breakpoint within your LINQPad script, LINQPad will guess that you want to use VS to debug your script and won't delete the .cs file.
Start LINQPad
In VS, open Debug -> Attach to Process...
Choose LINQPad.exe
Set breakpoint in your code called by LINQPad C# code, or write Debugger.Break() in your LINQPad script where you want the debugger to halt.
Execute the script from LINQPad and watch the magic.
If your LINQPad code is calling a method in some referenced C# assembly and you want to debug that assembly in Visual Studio 2015, this worked for me:
Build your solution.
Optionally, run your LINQPad script, let it crash, etc. In the lower right LINQPad status bar, notice the PID in light blue coloring.
In VS, CTRL + ALT + P to attach to process. Attach to the LINQPad UserQuery process with the PID you saw.
Place a breakpoint here in VS.
Run the linqpad query and pop over to VS. You should hit your breakpoint!
I would like to control options on the debugger without using the debugging GUI's, preferably from inside the code being debugged. I would think that would be quite difficult, but maybe my debugged code can request a service from independent code that will communicate with the debugger.
This relates to another question of mine on controlling when to break on exceptions.
You can write Visual Studio macros that can do anything the GUI can, but they can get rather involved. See the MSDN documentation on Automation and Extensibility for Visual Studio
Doing this from the code being debugged would be tricky, you would definitely need some new form of communication with VS, maybe a custom add-in. I don't think an independent service would fundamentally help here. The biggest problem is that your code will stop running when the debugger breaks.
I know that you can do it with WinDBG and OutputDebugString, but for Visual Studio, I think you have to spool off another process, pipe commands to that, and have that manipulate the Debugger API.