In Delphi 12, I made a Windows service that I know is running because I can see that it is executing some queries in the database, but there are some functionalities that are not working well.

I try to do an "Attach to Process" (start Delphi as administrator) and I put breakpoints everywhere in the code. When I do "Attach", it sends me directly to a tab that says "CPU" with assembler code, and I press F9 to continue the execution, but it does not stop on any of the breakpoints. I know that it is running because I see that it continues making queries to the DB automatically.

Am I missing some configuration, or something in the code that allows me to do debugging?

In Delphi 12, I made a Windows service that I know is running because I can see that it is executing some queries in the database, but there are some functionalities that are not working well.

I try to do an "Attach to Process" (start Delphi as administrator) and I put breakpoints everywhere in the code. When I do "Attach", it sends me directly to a tab that says "CPU" with assembler code, and I press F9 to continue the execution, but it does not stop on any of the breakpoints. I know that it is running because I see that it continues making queries to the DB automatically.

Am I missing some configuration, or something in the code that allows me to do debugging?

• debugging
• delphi
• delphi-12-athens
• attach-to-process

• Debugging a service like this is tricky, and I would not recommend it. There are two common approaches. Use logging to learn about its behaviour. And you should have good logging anyway, especially in a service. Or have the process be coded so that it can operate in a standard process, and not as a service, as an option. Typically switched by a command line option. This makes debugging using the IDE trivially easy. – David Heffernan Commented 17 hours ago
• @DavidHeffernan Debugging a service like this is perfectly normal, I'd say. Why do you recommend against it? Did you mean simply because it is tricky (and Delphi does not seem to behave well always - my experience, too, from attaching to service processes with newer Delphi versions), or do you see some deeper reason not to do it? Your alternative suggestions are good, too, but why would debugging the service be not recommended? – Matthias B Commented 17 hours ago
• I have no answer to your question, but I can tell you that I experience the same. Sometimes breakpoints don't work at all, and even though Attach to process seems to have been successful, there is nothing I can do in the debugger. I'm hoping for improvements from Embarcadero, but in the meantime, I'm also curious about any tipos on how to make debugging with "Attach to Process" more stable and predictable. – Matthias B Commented 16 hours ago
• @MatthiasB I just find it to be flaky and unreliable – David Heffernan Commented 10 hours ago

1 Answer 1

I tried installing it from the same Debug folder of my project and running it from the services screen. Then I attached it to process and it worked perfectly.