.NET Tuning, Debugging, and Optimization

Microsoft .NET applications must be thoroughly tested, debugged, and optimized before deployment, to ensure high performance and robust solutions. This course is designed for intermediate programmers to quickly come up to speed on techniques for debugging and optimizing .NET programs. It also covers tuning applications after they have been deployed.

This course is designed for using the C# programming language. However, the techniques for debugging a .NET program do not generally depend on the programming language used to develop the application. Therefore, this course would also be useful to programmers who use other .NET languages, such as VB.NET. However, all example code and lab exercises are provided in C#.

The course incorporates a case study approach, involving use of many important features of the .NET Framework, including Windows Forms, ASP.NET Web Forms, Web services, and XML. The case study can serve as an effective vehicle for review or gaining exposure to these technologies, and so can be suitable for project leaders and architects who need a good understanding of .NET but may not have the time to take a complete curriculum of courses.

This course is practical, with many example program that demonstrate effective debugging and optimizing techniques. The goal is to quickly bring you up to speed in the development of effective and reliable .NET applications. The student will receive a comprehensive set of materials, including course notes, programming examples, and lab exercises.

Prerequisites: The student should be an experienced .NET application developer.

On completion of this course, the student should be able to

• Acquire a working knowledge of .NET diagnostic classes and tools
• Learn how to debug .NET applications
• Become proficient in optimizing and tuning .NET applications

4 Days

Instructor-led course, with practical computer-based exercises.

• 1. Overview of .NET Debuggers
  • Compile-time Errors and Run-time Errors
  • Configuring Debug, Release, and Special Builds
  • Visual Studio .NET Debugger
  • The Windows-based DbgCLR Debugger
  • The CorDbg Command-line Debugger
  • Just-In-Time Debugging

• 2. Error and Exception Handling
  • Using Exception Handlers
  • Checked Integer Arithmetic
  • The Exceptions Dialog Box
  • The $exception Pseudovariable
  • User Defined Exceptions
  • Best Practices in Exception Handling

• 3. Debugging and Tracing
  • Attaching to Processes
  • Tracing
  • Event Logs

• 4. Debugging Web Forms Applications
  • Enabling ASP.NET Debugging
  • Debugging Web Forms Applications Using Visual Studio
  • Debugging Web Forms Applications Using .NET SDK
  • Tracing and Event Logs with ASP.NET
  • Debugging Client Scripts

• 5. Debugging Web Services
  • Enabling Web Services Debugging
  • Debugging Web Services Using Visual Studio
  • Debugging Web Services Using .NET SDK
  • XML Serialization Issues
  • HTTP Headers Issues

• 6. More About Tracing
  • Using the BooleanSwitch and TraceSwitch Classes
  • Print Debugging Information with the Debug Class
  • Instrumenting Release Builds with the Trace Class
  • Using Listeners
  • Implementing Custom Listeners

• 7. Fundamentals of Optimization
  • Compiler Optimization
  • Performance Measurements
  • Responsive User Interfaces
  • Multithreaded Windows Forms Applications
  • Best Practices for High Performance

• 8. Application Profiling
  • Profiling Techniques
  • Tracing and Instrumenting an Application
  • Using Performance Counters
  • Resource Utilization Profiling
  • Profiling Code Hotspots

• 9. Optimizing ASP .NET Applications and Web Services
  • Caching in ASP.NET
  • Monitoring ASP.NET Application Performance
  • Using Microsoft Application Center Test (ACT)
  • Best Practices for High Performance

• 10. Remote Debugging
  • Remote Debugging Setup
  • Debugging Windows Forms Programs Remotely
  • Debugging Web Applications and Services Remotely

• 11. Tuning
  • Configuration Files in .NET
  • Tuning Windows Forms Configuration Files
  • Tuning ASP.NET Configuration Files

• Appendix A. Mixed-Mode Debugging

Course exercises require Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 Enterprise Edition on Windows 2000 or XP. Internet Information Services should be installed. See the appropriate course Setup Guide for details.

A good hardware profile for this course would have a Pentium 500-MHz or equivalent CPU, 512 MB of RAM, and at least 3 GB of free disk space for tools installation and courseware. Copyright © 2004 o Object Innovations, Inc.

References