Patent ID: 7418697

Claim:
A method for debugging an application operating within a runtime environment and loaded into an application process, said method comprising: creating a hosting process separate from the application process and not based on said application to be debugged by a debugger, wherein said hosting process is created prior to invoking the debugger; starting said runtime environment in the hosting process prior to invoking the debugger; attaching a debugger to said hosting process prior to invoking the debugger, and causing the attached debugger to enter into a hosting process mode where the attached debugger is to debug the application as loaded from the application process into the hosting process; preloading, prior to invoking the debugger, selected assemblies into an application domain prior to receiving a request to debug; receiving said request to debug the application prior to invoking the debugger; and in response to receiving said request, loading the application from the application process into the hosting process; and invoking the debugger with respect to the hosting process and not the application process.