1.7. Inspect an Object at Runtime

The debugger in Visual Studio 2005 now supports a new feature known as DataTips. Using DataTips, you can examine the values in a complex data type while you are debugging the application, otherwise known as debug time. This is a marked improvement over Visual Studio .NET 2003, where only simple data types can be examined by placing the cursor over a variable name.

Figure 1-26 shows the DataTips display for the FormClosingEventArgs object. To see this result, simply position your cursor over the name of the variable or object that you are interested in while the program is stopped at a breakpoint. Not only can you view the values of variables and objects, you can also edit and change their values during debug time.

Figure 1-26. Using the DataTips in Visual Studio 2005