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Part 7 - Advanced debugging using watch window

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Part 4 - Command window
Part 5 - Immediate window
Part 6 - Watch window



We discussed the basics of watch window in visual studio in Part 6. Please watch Part 6 before proceeding.



When the application is in debug mode and if we navigate to Debug - Windows - Watch, you will see that there are 4 watch windows.
multiple watch windows in visual studio

Have you ever wondered the use of multiple watch windows?
Multiple watch windows are useful when you want to compare 2 object properties during debugging.

Let's understand their purpose with an example. Create a new console application with name = ConsoleApplication1. Copy and paste the following code.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
namespace ConsoleApplication1
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main()
        {
            List<Customer> customers = Customer.GetAllCustomers();
            foreach (Customer customer in customers)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("First Name = {0} & Last Name = {1}",
                    customer.FirstName, customer.LastName);
            }
        }
    }

    class Customer
    {
        public int ID { get; set; }
        public string FirstName { get; set; }
        public string LastName { get; set; }
        public string Gender { get; set; }
        public int Salary { get; set; }

        public static List<Customer> GetAllCustomers()
        {
            List<Customer> listCustomers = new List<Customer>();

            Customer customer1 = new Customer
            {
                ID = 101,
                FirstName = "Mark",
                LastName = "Scotts",
                Gender = "Male",
                Salary = 55000
            };

            Customer customer2 = new Customer
            {
                ID = 102,
                FirstName = "Steve",
                LastName = "Wicht",
                Gender = "Male",
                Salary = 45000
            };

            Customer customer3 = new Customer
            {
                ID = 103,
                FirstName = "Pam",
                LastName = "P",
                Gender = "Female",
                Salary = 65000
            };

            Customer customer4 = new Customer
            {
                ID = 104,
                FirstName = "Todd",
                LastName = "Snider",
                Gender = "Male",
                Salary = 45000
            };

            Customer customer5 = new Customer
            {
                ID = 105,
                FirstName = "Valarie",
                LastName = "Ward",
                Gender = "Female",
                Salary = 35000
            };

            listCustomers.Add(customer1);
            listCustomers.Add(customer2);
            listCustomers.Add(customer3);
            listCustomers.Add(customer4);
            listCustomers.Add(customer5);

            return listCustomers;
        }
    }
}

Place a breakpoint on the foreach loop in the Main() method and run the application in debug mode. When the application execution stops at the break point, open 2 watch windows by going to Debug - Windows - Watch menu.

In Watch 1 window, type customer[0] in Name column and press Enter key. Along the same lines in Watch 2 window, type customer[1] in Name column and press Enter key. Notice that now you have the opportunity 2 inspect 2 customer object properties.
comparing multiple objects in multiple watch windows

Is it possible to get a copy of the object from one watch window to another watch window.
Yes, simply drag and drop. If you change a property of the object in one watch window, the change will be automatically reflected in the other watch window.

Is it possible to replace the current object instance with a new object instance
Yes, simply create a new object instance in immediate window. For example the Watch 1 window below displays the first customer object in customers collection.
watch window displaying object properties

To replace the current Customer object in customers[0] location. Open Immediate window by going to Debug - Windows - Immediate. Type the following command in Immediate window and press Enter key.
customers[0] = new Customer()

Notice that the Watch 1 windows now displays, the default values of the new Customer object that we have just created.
watch window displaying the current values of the newly allocated object

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