Differences between debug, release, and distribution

Differences between debug, release, and distribution
Generally, debugging and release are differentiated.
Debug is used for debugging. debugging information is usually included. release removes debugging information and is optimized during compilation for release to users.

Distribution generally does not use this statement. If it is estimated that it is the same as release.

Debug is used when writing programs. release is used as the test product environment, and distribution is used to replace the certificate signature at the official release. You cannot test the certificate on your device.

Debug has debugging information, which is generally not optimized. That is to say, the debug version may be an order of magnitude slower than the release version.

The other two types have been clearly explained above.

However, distribution actually uses the compiled version of the enterprise certificate. Although this is not a special requirement, many programmers who participate in the enterprise certificate release have followed this agreement.

Differences between DEBUG and Release

DEBU is a debugging version. It can be said that the system is still under development and the Release is a released version. The main difference that the system can use for users is that the information generated during runtime is different and the running performance is different.

What are the differences between release and debug in VC?

Debug is usually called a Debug version. It contains debugging information without any optimization, so that programmers can Debug programs easily. Release is called a Release version. It is often optimized to optimize the code size and running speed, so that users can use it well.
The real secret of Debug and Release lies in a set of compilation options. The options for the two are listed below (of course, there are other options, such as/Fd/Fo, but the difference is not important. Usually they will not cause the Release version error and will not be discussed here)
Debug version
Parameter description
/MDd/MLd or/MTd use the Debug runtime library (the runtime function library of the Debug version)
/Od turn off the optimization Switch
/D "_ DEBUG" is equivalent to # define _ DEBUG. Enable the compile and DEBUG code switch (mainly for the assert function)
/ZI creates the Edit and continue database, so that the source code does not need to be re-compiled if the source code is modified during the debugging process.
/GZ helps capture Memory Errors
/Gm enables the minimize reconnection switch to reduce the link time

Release Version

Parameter description
/MD/ML or/MT use the runtime function library of the released version
/O1 or/O2 optimization switch to minimize or minimize the program
/D "NDEBUG" Disable the Conditional compilation and debugging code switch (that is, do not compile the assert function)
/GF combines repeated strings and puts string constants in read-only memory to prevent Modification

In fact, there is no essential limit between Debug and Release. They are just a set of compilation options, and the compiler only acts according to the predefined options. In fact, we can even modify these options to get optimized debugging versions or release versions with trace statements.
Under which circumstances will the Release version go wrong?
With the above introduction, let's compare these options one by one to see how Release errors are generated.
1. Runtime Library: Specifies the Runtime function Library to be linked, which usually only affects the performance of the program. The Runtime Library of the debug version contains debugging information and uses some protection mechanisms to help identify errors. Therefore, the performance is inferior to that of the release version. The Runtime Library provided by the compiler is usually stable and does not cause Release errors. However, the Debug Runtime Library enhances error detection, such as heap memory allocation, sometimes there may be Debug errors but Release is normal. It should be pointed out that, if the Debug is wrong, even if the Release is normal, the program must have a Bug, but it may be that a certain run of the Release version is not shown.
2. Optimization: This is the main cause of errors, because the source program is basically translated directly when optimization is disabled, and the compiler will make a series of assumptions after optimization is enabled. There are several types of errors:
1. Frame Pointer (FPO for short): All call information (return address, parameters) and automatic variables are stored in the stack during function calling. If the declaration and implementation of a function are different (parameters, return values, and call methods), an error occurs. However, in the Debug mode, stack access is implemented through the address saved by the EBP register, if no errors such as array out-of-bounds (or "not many" out-of-bounds) occur, the function can normally be executed. In the Release mode, optimization will omit the EBP stack base address pointer, in this way, accessing the stack through a global pointer will cause the program to crash if the returned address is incorrect.
The strong type feature of C ++ can check the majority of such errors, but if forced type conversion is used, it will not work. You can go to the full text in...>