RAD Studio (Common)
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Overview of Remote Debugging

Remote debugging enables you to debug one or more applications on a remote machine when the IDE is running only on your local machine. This allows debugging on a machine where it is impractical to install the entire IDE and rebuild a project. Remote debugging is useful for applications that run differently on your local machine than on an end user's machine.

The remote debugger executable is named rmtdbg105.exe. The executable and its supporting files must be present on the remote machine. The easiest way to install the executable is directly from the RAD Studio installation disk. However, if the installation disk is not available, you can copy the required files from a machine that has the full RAD Studio IDE installed.

Three types of files are involved in remote debugging:  

  • Source files
  • Executable files
  • Symbol files
 

Diagram 

Source files are compiled using the IDE on the local machine. The executable files and symbol files produced after compilation must be copied to the remote machine.

Source Files

When you debug a project on a remote machine, the source files for the project must be open on the local machine. The source files display in the editor window to show a program's current execution point. You do not use source files on the remote machine.

Executable Files

Executable files are the .dll files and .exe files that are mapped into the application's address space. You generate these files on the local machine, then copy them to the remote machine.

Symbol Files

Symbol files are generated on the local machine at compile time. These are used by the debugger to get information such as the mapping of machine instructions to source line numbers or the names and types of variables declared in the source files. The extension for the symbol files depends on the language, as shown in the following table:

Language 
Debug symbol file extension 
Delphi for Win32  
.rsm  
Delphi for .NET  
.rsm and .pdb  
C++  
.tds  
C#  
.pdb  

You must set up specific options to generate symbol files on the local machine, then copy the files to the remote machine.

To use remote debugging, you must be able to log on to the remote machine and you must have write access to at least one directory.

Note: The remote debugger does not provide a mechanism for interacting with an application on the remote machine. If you need to interact with the application, you must establish a remote desktop connection.

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