WADA Update: Added Filter By Identity

Howdy,

Once again about WADA, but this one will be short. I’ve added a new functionality, which is:

 

• Filter W3WPs by related Identity (as of the application pool)

 

Thanks to my colleague Patrick  for suggesting this functionality!

The UI has changed a little, offering the new drop down for the identities:

The WADA 1.1 download is still available at the Visual Studio Gallery.

 

Please note: The Application Pool- and Identities-Filters are mutually exclusive.

 

Best regards,

Martin

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WADA Or the Art of Attaching W3WP Processes to the VS2010 Debugger

Hi fellows,

Today I released the first version of the WADA Visual Studio 2010 extension for web developers – it enables you to being able to attach processes to the VS debugger – not simple processes, but the w3wp. I guess, some of you know the issue:

• > 1 application pools
• > 1 w3wp processes

How could we know which process is right for being debugged by us? First, we could use one of the numerous scripts out there (like iisapp.vbs for Windows 2k3), but they provide poor integration into the VS2010 IDE (actually none at all). This is where the strengths of using WADA come into play.

What this Tool Can Do:

• List all w3wp processes, along with the application pool names
• List w3wp processes for a specific application pool
• Attach a selected process to the debugger

Why should I Choose This over Scripts?

1. You can remain in the IDE
2. Directly attach W3WP to the Debugger (not possible with e.g. iisapp.vbs)
3. Filter by Application Pool of Interest (not possible with e.g. iisapp.vbs)
4. No more need for manually matching IDs (from script output) against the “Attach to Process” window’s process list

Is it Bulletproof?

No. Not at all. Please be aware that this extension comes in its first version and may contain errors and/or undesired behaviour. It also assumes that you have administrative rights on the machine you are working with it (also VS must be run in administrator mode). Hence, I’d like to emphasize that I cannot be held liable for any usage of the code causing undesired behaviour, loss of data, any damages caused to any soft- or hardware (including source code) of the user. Please do not try it in production environments. It is intended for testing purposes only.

In case you intend to test it, it would be really nice if you provided some feedback on it using the post.

Screenshot

Usage

1. Go to View -> Other Windows -> WADA Advanced Attacher
2. Select Application Pool of Interest (optional, otherwise all will be considered)
3. Click “Get Procs” (ensure that “Only W3WP” is checked)
4. Select Process from list
5. Click “Attach”

Download

WADA 1.0 (Visual Studio Gallery)

Installation is done simply through double-clicking on the downloaded .vsix package.

I hope you enjoy it!

Best regards,

Martin

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