How do I start a program with arguments when debugging?
I want to debug a program in Visual Studio 2008. The problem is that it exits if it doesn't get arguments. This is from the main method:
if (args == null || args.Length != 2 || args[0].ToUpper().Trim() != "RM")
{
Console.WriteLine("RM must be executed by the RSM.");
Console.WriteLine("Press any key to exit program...");
Console.Read();
Environment.Exit(-1);
}
I don't want to comment it out and and then back in when compiling. How can I start the program with arguments when debugging? It is set as the StartUp Project.
Go to Project-><Projectname> Properties
. Then click on the Debug
tab, and fill in your arguments in the textbox called Command line arguments
.
I would suggest using the directives like the following:
static void Main(string[] args)
{
#if DEBUG
args = new[] { "A" };
#endif
Console.WriteLine(args[0]);
}
Good luck!
My suggestion would be to use Unit Tests.
In your application do the following switches in Program.cs
:
#if DEBUG
public class Program
#else
class Program
#endif
and the same for static Main(string[] args)
.
Or alternatively use Friend Assemblies by adding
[assembly: InternalsVisibleTo("TestAssembly")]
to your AssemblyInfo.cs
.
Then create a unit test project and a test that looks a bit like so:
[TestClass]
public class TestApplication
{
[TestMethod]
public void TestMyArgument()
{
using (var sw = new StringWriter())
{
Console.SetOut(sw); // this makes any Console.Writes etc go to sw
Program.Main(new[] { "argument" });
var result = sw.ToString();
Assert.AreEqual("expected", result);
}
}
}
This way you can, in an automated way, test multiple inputs of arguments without having to edit your code or change a menu setting every time you want to check something different.