Quick Tip: Finding hidden exceptions in your .NET application

Using exceptions to control program flow is a hotly debated subject. Wherever you stand, remember that there are performance implications. It doesn’t hurt to be aware of when exceptions are being thrown. Sometimes they can sneak right by without you ever having seen it.

Have you ever come across an empty catch block? Or one that does nothing useful with the exception and does not rethrow? Luckily, Visual Studio has a setting that can help ensure these don’t slip by. In the Debug->Exceptions menu item is the following dialog:

After checking the Thrown column for Common Language Runtime Exceptions, your debugger will break for any exception, even if it has been handled.