Nov 9, 2024 · It's the file Visual Studio needs to be able to debug your application. This MSDN page has more information. A program database (PDB) file holds debugging and project state information that allows incremental linking of a Debug configuration of your program.

Oct 14, 2024 · Program database (.pdb) files, also called symbol files, map identifiers and statements in your project's source code to corresponding identifiers and instructions in compiled apps. These mapping files link the debugger to your source code, which enables debugging.

Mar 31, 2025 · By default, when /DEBUG is specified, the linker creates a program database (PDB) which holds debugging information. The default file name for the PDB has the base name of the program and the extension .pdb. Use /PDB:filename to specify the name of the PDB file. If /DEBUG is not specified, the /PDB option is ignored. A PDB file can be up to 2GB ...

Jan 11, 2024 · A PDB file is created when you compile a C/C++ program with /ZI or /Zi or a Visual Basic, Visual C#, or JScript program with the /debug option. Object files contain references into the .pdb file for debugging information.

Oct 10, 2010 · Program Debug Database file (pdb) is a file format by Microsoft for storing debugging information. When you build a project using Visual Studio or command prompt the compiler creates these symbol files.

Jul 14, 2011 · The debug database files (.pdb or "symbol files") contain debug information, such as line numbers, to enable easier debugging. When present, exception stack traces will contain the actual source file full path and line number. It is up to you whether to distribute these along with your application.

When a program is debugged, the debugger loads debugging information from the PDB file and uses it to locate symbols or relate current execution state of a program source code. Microsoft Visual Studio uses PDB files as its primary file format for debugging information.

Feb 13, 2020 · Visual Studio currently provides the option to debug code outside your project source code, such as .NET or third-party code your project calls by specifying the location of the .pdb (and optionally, the source files of the external code). However, in many cases finding the correct symbol files or source code may not be feasible.

Feb 8, 2016 · For C or C++ code, that Debugger relies upon a file, with the extension “.pdb”, called the “Program DataBase”, or simply “the PDB”. The PDB is written by the Linker when you build your program; it contains line-number and symbols information.

Mar 24, 2022 · Visual Studio uses PDB files to store debugging information about a program, including symbol information, which is too large to be stored in the program itself. The symbol information consists of a list of all symbols in a program module with addresses, the name of the file, and the line the symbol was declared on.