How to Display Debugging Messages in Windows 95

• Microsoft Win32 Application Programming Interface (API) included with:

      - Microsoft Windows 95 version 4.0
  

SUMMARY

In Windows 95, 16-bit and 32-bit Windows-based applications may use OutputDebugString() to display debug messages. Furthermore, the 16-bit and 32-bit system DLLs may also display debug messages. This article describes how to view these messages during application developement.

MORE INFORMATION

It is possible to use the 16-bit DBWIN application to display debug messages from 16-bit Windows-based applications and from the debugging versions of system DLLs (such as GDI.EXE, USER.EXE, and KRNL386.EXE). To receive debug messages via DBWIN, you must install the Windows 95 SDK debug components.

To receive messages from 32-bit Windows-based applications under Windows 95, you must debug the application with a Win32 debugger such as WinDbg, or install WDEB386 as a .VxD or in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. To receive messages from the debugging versions of the 32-bit system DLLs (KERNEL32.DLL, USER32.DLL, and GDI32.DLL), you must install the Windows 95 SDK debugging components, in conjunction with WDEB386.

You can use WDEB386 to display debug messages from both 16-bit and 32-bit Windows-based applications and from the debugging versions of system components. Because WDEB386 works over a serial communications port, it is necessary to use a serial terminal or second computer to operate it. For more information about configuring and using WDEB386, please search for articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base by using this word:

   WDEB386

Also, you can write 32-bit application-level debuggers that display debug messages from the debuggee by handling the DEBUG_EVENT structure member OUTPUT_DEBUG_STRING_EVENT.