What Really Happens When You Hit a Breakpoint • Sy Brand • GOTO 2025

This presentation was recorded at GOTO Copenhagen 2025. #GOTOcon #GOTOcph
https://gotocph.com

Sy Brand - Author of "Building a Debugger" and C++ Staff Software Engineer at Fastly @SyBrandPlusCats 

ORIGINAL TALK TITLE
How Debuggers Work

RESOURCES
https://bsky.app/profile/tartanllama.xyz
https://mastodon.social/@TartanLlama
https://x.com/tartanllama
https://github.com/TartanLLama
https://stackoverflow.com/users/496161/tartanllama
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sy-brand-36520857
https://sybrand.ink
https://blog.tartanllama.xyz

ABSTRACT
Have you ever set a breakpoint and wondered "how does this work?"

Sy will demystify the internal workings of debuggers, showing you what's under the hood of tools you use every day.

You'll learn how debuggers step through code, inspect memory, call functions in the running program and more, giving you a deeper mastery of your debugger and an understanding of fundamental operating systems technologies. [...]

TIMECODES
00:00 Intro
00:46 What kind of debuggers?
01:16 Agenda
01:46 Debug scenario architecture
03:22 Manipulating memory
06:09 Breakpoints
14:38 Watchpoints
17:13 Stepping
21:08 Stack unwinding
29:39 Reading a variable
35:12 Calling a function
41:02 Summary
41:24 Outro

Download slides and read the full abstract here:
https://gotocph.com/2025/sessions/3629

RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Sy Brand • Building a Debugger • https://amzn.to/4cWWr84
Charles Humble • Professional Skills for Software Engineers • https://www.conissaunce.com/professional-skills-shortcut
Cathy O'Neil • Weapons of Math Destruction • https://amzn.to/42jYkba
Jonathan B. Rosenberg • How Debuggers Work • https://amzn.to/3SnFHgv
Nora Sandler • Writing a C Compiler • https://amzn.to/3Z6SMhU

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