Debugging an IEnumerable method

Question

I have a method with returns an IEnumerable<T> and I'm trying to debug the code inside that method.

Each time I step through the code in Visual Studio during debug, it steps over the method in question.

When I place a breakpoint inside the method it never gets hit. The code is definately running as I've tested by yield return'ing fake T's from the method.

Is it not possible to debug IEnumerable methods this way or am I do something else wrong?

Answer 1

That method only gets hit when you use the items in the IEnumerable. Remember, IEnumerable lazy loads the items, so just because you're calling the method that returns the IEnumerable, doesn't mean the method is actually getting called at that point. If you want it to get hit right when you call it, add a ToList() at the end of your method call:

var result = myEnumerableMethod().ToList();