Debugging a .NET extension using Visual Studio Code

Debugging in Visual Studio Code is configured using launch.json, where the executable program and its launch parameters are specified. This launch.json is already present in the examples from our GitHub repository:

• program: "C:/Program Files/ENCY Software/ENCY/Bin64/ency.exe";
• args: ["/EXTENSION_DEBUG_FOLDER="${workspaceFolder}/project/main/bin/Debug""].

This means that selecting Run -> Start Debugging will lead to:

• Visual Studio Code executes preLaunchTask:
  • Compiles your project, placing the DLL in the path specified in the .csproj file (<OutDir>bin\$(Configuration)\</OutDir>);
  • Copies settings.json to the same folder;
• C:/Program Files/ENCY Software/ENCY/Bin64/ency.exe is launched with the parameter /EXTENSION_DEBUG_FOLDER="${workspaceFolder}/project/main/bin/Debug";
• ENCY, in addition to the extensions already registered, analyzes the directory ${workspaceFolder}/project/main/bin/Debug, loading just compiled dll file according to the settings.json file;
• Your breakpoints in Visual Studio Code will be hit as your extension is used in the ENCY application.