Debugging release build executable

Debugging release build executable

Project Settings

In order to get a debug-able release build, some project settings have to be tuned so that debug information gets generated into the executable during the build process.

First, you have to specify the Debug Information Format, typically we would use /Zi:

 C/C++ / General -> Debug Information Format

 

Linker’s debug setting should be modified accordingly:

 Linker / Debugging -> Generate Debug Info "Yes(/Debug)"

 

With all these settings, after a successful build, you should be able to get a release build with debug information.

Debugging

There is no difference in debugging a release build against a debug build, just open up your debugger and start your application.

Sometimes you may see some discrepancies in source code while debugging release builds, this is actually due to some optimization that has been performed by the compiler under release build, it should not affect your debugging experience much though.

Happy Debugging!