Debugging a Project Assembly Which is Part of Another Process

Question

I have a solution which contains multiple C# projects. One of these projects is an executable, the rest are DLLs.

The problem is, some of the projects do not actually run on the same process as the executable start-up project. This is because some of the projects are really extensions to a WCF service that allow the service to play with the executable.

My question is: is it possible in any way, shape, or form to set a breakpoint in said projects? I am aware of the ability to "attach to process", but I'm not sure it is a good solution for me.

I want to:

• Be able to see the source as I break
• Not have two copies of Visual Studio open if possible

EDIT: the only reason I am not sure of 'attach to process' would work well for me is because I have little experience with that feature - perhaps it is what I should be using? Can I still load .pdb files?

EDIT 2: If one of the commenters would like to submit their comment as an answer, I will accept

Answer 1

Attaching to the WCF service seems to be the exact tool for the job:

1. It allows you to attach to a running process, even if you've only got the code and PDBs for a plugin/extension for that process. You can set breakpoints in your own code and they'll be hit when the 3rd-party process calls them.

2. You can attach to any process from an existing VS instance, even if that instance is used to debug a different executable, in this case your main EXE project. You can start debugging your app, then attach to the service before making the service call.

Make sure, though that the DLLs called by the WCF service are the same ones as you have in your VS instance - if they're called from the same location as the VS build output, you'll be fine. If not, make sure they're in sync.