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Debugging Orchestrations by using Custom Code

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If your orchestration is going to be exercised in a test environment or you are creating a prototype and want to modify the values of message fields and orchestration variables, you can write the output to the Visual Studio console by using the following code in an Expression shape:

System.Diagnostics.Debug.WriteLine(iResult);

You need to place this Expression shape immediately after the shape that performs the operation so that you can output the result for debugging.

Alternatively, you can write a simple custom debugger by creating a debugging DLL with a class that includes a method which takes as input a message with a format defined in your orchestration and referenced in the debug DLL. For more information about passing a message as a parameter, see How to Use Expressions to Create Objects and Call Object Methods.

This method can bring up a debug dialog that includes a combo box or other control to allow user modification of values, puts the edited message back together, and passes it back out as the return value.

Set up a Boolean variable to indicate whether or not your orchestration is in debug mode, then wherever you have a point in your orchestration at which you would like to be able to modify values, you can add a Decide shape with one live branch that runs only when your debug mode variable is set to True, or when a particular condition arises that you want to examine. You call your method from an Expression shape in the live branch of the Decide. When you no longer need to debug, you set your debug mode variable to False, or remove the Decide shape(s) altogether and recompile.

To Debug a .NET component called by an Orchestration

The following steps demonstrate how to debug a .NET component called by an Orchestration:

  1. Open the Visual Studio project for your component.

  2. Set a breakpoint in your component on the method that is called by the orchestration.

  3. Click the Debug menu and select Attach to Process… to display the Attach to Process dialog.

  4. Click the Select… button next to the Attach to: text box to display the Select Code Type dialog.

  5. Click to select the option to Debug these code types: and select Managed and then click the OK button.

  6. Click to select the BTSNTSvc.exe process from Available Processes and then click the Attach button.

  7. Send a message to your orchestration through a receive port.

  8. The .NET component should be stopped in the breakpoint.

  9. You can perform debugging as usual with Visual Studio.

    Note

    For best results, the .NET component should be registered in the Global Assembly Cache (GAC).

See Also

Orchestration Debugger User Interface
Debugging Orchestrations