Check if two references are pointing to the same object in the VS2k8 debugger

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VS2008

I've lost about 6 hours over the last few days tracking down a bug that was caused by having two variables reference the same object when what I needed was to have the second one have its own copy of the first:

    MyObjectType foo = new MyObjectType()

// lots of intervening code   

    MyObjectType bar = foo;  //should have been = foo.Clone()

In C/C++ this sort of error was easy to confirm in the debugger since I could just check was address the two pointers stored. I've never been able to find a simple equivalent for .net though; am I blind or is this an oversight on MS's part?

Posted 13-Apr-10 3:16am

Dan Neely

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2 solutions

Solution 1

The .Equals(object ...) method will do what you need:

C++

foo.Equals(bar)

It compares the references for reference types. See: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bsc2ak47.aspx[^] for more info.

[Self-edit]: Decided to start writing in a language that is recognizably English, that way people looking at my answer might actually be able to read it :-).

Posted 13-Apr-10 3:40am

Keith Barrow

Updated 13-Apr-10 3:59am

v2

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Kythen · Accepted Answer · 2010-04-13T07:58:00

Solution 2

If you want to check for if two variables point to the same object instance, use Object.ReferenceEquals()[^].

Posted 13-Apr-10 7:58am

Kythen