Windows Integration overview

Windows Client Code

The Windows client code is in the src/client/windows directory of the tree. Since the header files are fairly well commented some specifics are purposely omitted from this document.

Integration of minidump-generation

Once you build the solution inside src/client/windows, an output file of exception_handler.lib will be generated. You can either check this into your project's directory or build directly from the source, as the project itself does.

Enabling Breakpad in your application requires you to #include "exception_handler.h" and instantiate the ExceptionHandler object like so:

  handler = new ExceptionHandler(const wstring& dump_path,
                                                              FilterCallback filter,
                                                              MinidumpCallback callback,
                                                              void* callback_context,
                                                              int handler_types,
                                                              MINIDUMP_TYPE dump_type,
                                                              const wchar_t* pipe_name,
                                                              const CustomClientInfo* custom_info);

The parameters, in order, are:

  • pathname for minidumps to be written to - this is ignored if OOP dump generation is used
  • A callback that is called when the exception is first handled - you can return true/false here to continue/stop exception processing
  • A callback that is called after minidumps have been written
  • Context for the callbacks
  • Which exceptions to handle - see HandlerType enumeration in exception_handler.h
  • The type of minidump to generate, using the MINIDUMP_TYPE definitions in DbgHelp.h
  • A pipe name that can be used to communicate with a crash generation server
  • A pointer to a CustomClientInfo class that can be used to send custom data along with the minidump when using OOP generation

You can also see src/client/windows/tests/crash_generation_app/* for a sample app that uses OOP generation.

OOP Minidump Generation

For out of process minidump generation, more work is needed. If you look inside src/client/windows/crash_generation, you will see a file called crash_generation_server.h. This file is the interface for a crash generation server, which must be instantiated with the same pipe name that is passed to the client above. The logistics of running a separate process that instantiates the crash generation server is left up to you, however.

Build process specifics(symbol generation, upload)

The symbol creation step is talked about in the general overview doc, since it doesn‘t vary much by platform. You’ll need to make sure that the symbols are available wherever minidumps are uploaded to for processing.

Out in the field - uploading the minidump

Inside src/client/windows/sender is a class implementation called CrashReportSender. This class can be compiled into a separate standalone CLI or in the crash generation server and used to upload the report; it can know when to do so via one of the callbacks provided by the CrashGenerationServer or the ExceptionHandler object for in-process generation.