Debugging Symbols -- They're Not Just for Debug Builds Anymore

I started another new project this week.

Typically one of the first tasks on any new development project is to create a Development Plan that provides consistent guidelines and processes for the Development team. On this new project, another Microsoft consultant had already created a draft of the Development Plan, but in the process of reviewing it, I added some content from a Development Plan that I had created a few years ago.

In the process of reviewing my old document, I came across the following:

Installation

...

Debug Symbols

All Debug builds should create symbol files for debugging purposes. These symbols are included as part of the setup to facilitate debugging in other environments such as DEV.

Important

Do not include Debug symbols in the Release configuration of the setup projects.

When I read this, I actually let out an audible laugh (okay, I suppose it was more of a chuckle). It must have been the old C++ developer in me that originally put this in the Development Plan (thinking you should never provide PDB files in your Release builds because it makes it all too easy for an outsider to understand your code).

Well, any .NET developer who has ever fired up Reflector on somebody else's assembly (which hasn't been obfuscated, obviously) knows very well how easy it is to decompile -- er, I mean disassemble -- source code. In fact, regardless of whether you have the PDB files, you can actually debug .NET code -- including setting breakpoints and examining variables -- using tools like WinDbg. I've had to do a little of this in the past and while it's not exactly easy -- especially for a developer who doesn't use WinDbg frequently -- it does help out in a pinch when troubleshooting some nasty problem in Production.

However, including debugging symbols (i.e. PDB files) in Release builds certainly makes debugging .NET code easier. This is a key point that John Robbins makes in Debugging Microsoft .NET 2.0 Applications. In fact, here's a direct quote from page 38:

Build All Builds with Debugging Symbols

...build all builds, including release builds, with full debugging symbols. [...]

In other words, the Development Plan should say:

Important

Always include Debug symbols in the Release configuration of the setup projects -- or, preferably, make them available from a symbol server.

Regarding John's book...I strongly recommend this book to anyone who considers himself or herself a "serious developer." It is chock full of great tips and recommendations for developing .NET solutions.

Comments

• Anonymous
  January 29, 2010
  Hi Jeremy, You blog is full of real tech. information. I was wondering if you can share your Development Plan format to us? Interested in knowing what could make a perfect Development Plan. Thanks and keep up the good work! K.

• Anonymous
  March 10, 2010
  The comment has been removed