Advanced Windows Debugging

by Mario Hewardt, Daniel Pravat

&> -- Bob Wilton, Escalation Engineer, Critical Problem Resolution Team, Microsoft “An excellent reference for both intermediate and advanced highly practical, and filled with tricks and strategies. This book stands out from all other Win32 debugging literature, thanks to its in-depth examples–including resolving intricate problems like stack and heap corruptions.” -- Kinshuman, Development Lead, Windows Core OS Division, Microsoft The First In-Depth, Real-World, Insider’s Guide to Powerful Windows Debugging For Windows developers, few tasks are more challenging than debugging–-or more crucial. Reliable and realistic information about Windows debugging has always been scarce. Now, with over 15 years of experience two of Microsoft’s system-level developers present a thorough and practical guide to Windows debugging ever written. Mario Hewardt and Daniel Pravat cover debugging throughout the entire application lifecycle and show how to make the most of the tools currently available–-including Microsoft’s powerful native debuggers and third-party solutions. To help you find real solutions fast , this book is organized around real-world debugging scenarios. Hewardt and Pravat use detailed code examples to illuminate the complex debugging challenges professional developers actually face. From core Windows operating system concepts to security, Windows® Vista™ and 64-bit debugging, they address emerging topics head-on–and nothing is ever oversimplified or glossed over! This book enables you to Whether you’re a system-level or application developer, Advanced Windows Debugging delivers the deep understanding of debugging that could save you weeks on your very next project. Part I Overview Chapter 1 Introduction to the Tools Chapter 2 Introduction to the Debuggers Chapter 3 Debugger Uncovered Chapter 4 Managing Symbol and Source Files Part II Applied Debugging Chapter 5 Memory Corruptions Part I – Stacks Chapter 6 Memory Corruptions Part I – Heaps Chapter 7 Security Chapter 8 Inter-process Communication Chapter 9 Resource Leaks Chapter 10 Synchronization Part III Advanced Topics Chapter 11 Writing Custom Debugger Extensions Chapter 12 64-bit Debugging Chapter 13 Postmortem Debugging Chapter 14 Power Tools Chapter 15 Windows Vista Fundamentals Appendix A Application Verifier Test Settings
If you like Advanced Windows Debugging , keep an eye out for COMING IN NOV. 2009.

Genres: Technology, Technical, Programming

840 pages, Paperback

First published October 29, 2007

Reviews

[Paweł Rusin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second re-read. First time I read this book, I didn't know much about how and why of debugging. I was ready this time. One of my favorite books on Windows programming and computer science in general. Slightly outdated nowadays though.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great reference which teaches you the approach to debugging crashes using WinDBG. I love that it teaches you the approach, because anyone can use WinDBG and learn the commands, but you need to be taught how to approach the problems.

My one gripe is that this book is not as "advanced" as the cover implies. It devotes a lot of time to getting familiar with WinDBG, which I wouldn't expect from a book billing itself as advanced. (maybe they figure that WinDBG/kernel mode debugging is an advanced topic? Either way, I wanted more time devoted to different types of crash analysis and different commands rather than "this is the debugger").

This is still going to live on my desk forever so I can pick it up throughout the day.

[Gishu Pillai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huge book - lot of specialized content if you want to tread into the deep waters of debugging on the windows platform.

Examples and associated content are a bit dated. I don't remember much content associated with .net or mixed-mode debugging. Visual studio has a lot of more usable tools w.r.t. debugging nowadays. So won't recommend 'buying' this one. Instead go through the "Defrag Tools" series on Channel9 https://channel9.msdn.com/Shows/Defra...

[Alex Allain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely detailed look at key Windows subsystems (such as the heap, the security model, and IPC) as well as basic debugging knowledge.

If nothing else, you will appreciate WinDBG and understand how to get symbols to actually load properly.