Book reviews-Windows Advanced debugging

Book reviews-Windows Advanced debugging

Address: http://www.cnblogs.com/AndersLiu/archive/2009/07/04/book-review-advanced-windows-debugging.html

Author: Anders Liu

Debugging is the process of finding the root cause of the problem by trying to run the program. This is different from the test. The test is the process of discovering the problem, but it does not go into the location or cause of the problem. Debugging is the capability that developers must possess. Even in large enterprises with a very detailed division of labor-design, development, and testing are often done by different engineers-debugging is often (or even necessary) developed by the developer.

There are two levels of debugging. One is basic debugging, which we are exposed to every day. Generally, a complete integrated development environment usually comes with a debugger. Nowadays, the developer's Development habit is to start the debugger and debug it after writing a piece of code with complete syntax. This type of debugging is usually in a specific language, source code level, or user State. It is usually sufficient for upper-layer logic errors. However, if you encounter deeper problems, you can do nothing through basic debugging.

The other is advanced debugging, which usually uses an independent debugger (not integrated with the development environment) and can be debugged without the source code; you can even debug the underlying problems of the Operating System (kernel debugging ). Advanced debugging is not necessary for developers (or even many developers are not familiar with advanced debugging), but mastering Advanced debugging can greatly improve their own skills, advanced development technologies are essential.

Windows Advanced debugging (AWD) explains how to perform advanced debugging on a Windows operating system. In fact, "Advanced debugging" is just "another debugging method". It also has its own degree of entry, advanced, and proficient. The book AWD should belong to the "entry" and "advanced" Levels in Liu's opinion. It is particularly suitable for mastering certain development and Basic Debugging technologies, A friend who wants to learn advanced debugging.

AWD is divided into three parts. The first part mainly describes the basic tools required for advanced debugging, including the debugger and symbol files. Although many hosts are introduced in the first chapter, windbg.exe is the most used in the book.

The second part introduces a variety of debugging scenarios from the perspective of practice, such as memory, resources, inter-process communication and synchronization. This part is the core of the entire book. After a close reading, we can not only master the basic methods of advanced debugging, but also have a deeper understanding of the operating system principles.

The third part is the advanced topic in advanced debugging. This part of content may not be necessary for most developers, or even be useless for daily work. However, this part is essential for those who are very fascinated by debugging technology or system developers. As Raymond McCollum said, most books often "left for readers to practice" or "see other advanced reference books" when dealing with such advanced topics, and these books belong to those "Advanced reference books ".

As mentioned above, this book belongs to the level of "entry" and "advanced", rather than focusing on this book. Advanced debugging technology itself is relatively complex, but this book does not seem confused. Instead, it starts with a variety of common debugging scenarios and describes how to use a debugger to complete specific debugging tasks. In this way, developers new to the debugging field can quickly get started and feel the pleasure and pleasure of debugging. Even if you are familiar with debuggers, you can use this book as a reference to quickly find Debugging commands in various scenarios.

The regret in AWD is that every debugger is not introduced in detail, so readers have to "participate in other articles or books" to master the basic operations of various debuggers. Of course, if this is not the case, your book is not as simple as 500 pages.

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