This page contains general information regarding debugging and various debugging techniques

Basic Debugging Methods in Visual Studio 2022

Rubber Ducky Method

The rubber ducky method i based on explaining your code line from line as if you were talking to or explaining your code to a friend, a dog or whatever. The idea behind this method is that once you start going through your code in an explanatory manor, then you’ll start to notice possible mistakes or possible improvements to your code

Breakpoints

Refer to this video for a more in-depth explanation 📽️

Breakpoints are one of the most basic and useful debugging tools:

• Click in the left margin of your code (gray area) or press F9 to set a breakpoint - it will appear as a red dot
• When you run your program in debug mode (F5), it will pause at the breakpoint
• Right-click a breakpoint to set conditions (e.g., only break when x > 10) or actions (e.g., log a message)
• This allows you to inspect variable values and program flow

Debug Mode Controls

Once your program is paused at a breakpoint, you can:

• Press F10 to step over - execute the current line and move to the next one
• Press F11 to step into - go inside a method call to see what happens
• Press F5 to continue running until the next breakpoint

Watch Window

The Watch window helps you monitor variables: