Building binaries with Common Object File Format (COFF) symbols is not supported in Visual C++ .NET 2003 and in Visual C++ 2005 (888328)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition
  • Microsoft Visual C++ .NET (2003)

INTRODUCTION

Building binaries with Common Object File Format (COFF) symbols is not supported in Microsoft Visual C++ .NET 2003 and in Microsoft Visual C++ 2005. Only the Program Database (PDB) format is supported.

MORE INFORMATION

The .pdb file name extension stands for "program database." It holds the new format for storing debugging information that was introduced in Visual C++ version 1.0. In the future, the PDB file will also store other project state information. One of the most important motivations for the change in format was to allow for incremental linking of debug versions of programs. This change was introduced in Visual C++ version 2.0.

For additional information about the Program Database (PDB) format, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

121366 PDB and DBG files - what they are and how they work

PDB files let you keep your symbols separate from your binary file instead of building the symbols into the binary file like COFF symbols. You do not have to incur the overhead of copying your debug symbols to every computer. However, you can still obtain debug information by using the PDB files when you debug. PDB files also contain better debug information and more details. Finally, you cannot generate COFF symbols at all because the compiler no longer supports them.

Note After Visual C++ 6, building binaries with COFF symbols is no longer supported. Only the PDB format is supported.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:1/12/2006
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