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Symbol Servers

A debugger needs something called symbols to connect-the-dots between compiled code and the source code it was built from. This includes crash dumps.

Symbol data can be quite large and vary with each version built. For these reasons, it’s helpful to have a central place where they are available for use. Enter symbol servers.

Microsoft has a symbol server solution and even hosts a public server with symbols for their software. This makes their APIs less of a black box, ultimately helping you debug more effectively.

Once a server is set up, you configure the address in your environment, and you’re all set. You don’t need the files locally, and the debugger will grab what it needs on demand.

- Karl

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