Common Debug Methods

Debug.WriteLine()

The WriteLine() method is used to output debugging information to the listener (usually the output window). It can accept strings or objects, and optionally attach a category.

Debug.WriteLine("This is a debugging message");
Debug.WriteLine("Debugging information", "Category");

Debug.Assert()

The Assert() method is used to verify that a conditional expression is true. If it is false, an assertion failure is thrown and the program is interrupted during debugging.

int value = 10;
Debug.Assert(value > 0, "value should be greater than 0");

Debug.Fail()

The Fail() method is used to display an error message during debugging, prompting developers about unforeseen circumstances.

Debug.Fail("An unforeseen error occurred");

Debug.Indent() and Debug.Unindent()

These methods are used to adjust the indentation level of the output information, making it easy to maintain a good format in complex debugging information.

Debug.Indent();
Debug.WriteLine("Indent one level");
Debug.Unindent();
Debug.WriteLine("Cancel indentation");

Configuring Listeners

By default, the output of Debug.WriteLine() is displayed in the "Output" window of Visual Studio. We can also configure other listeners, such as TextWriterTraceListener, to write output to a file.

TextWriterTraceListener myListener = new TextWriterTraceListener("debug_output.txt");
Debug.Listeners.Add(myListener);
Debug.WriteLine("Debugging information written to file");
Debug.Flush();