WinWinD

WinWinD (pronounced "win-wind") is a command-line debugger primarily used for debugging Windows kernel-mode and user-mode code. It is a deprecated predecessor to the more modern and actively maintained WinDbg debugger, both of which are part of the Debugging Tools for Windows suite.

Originally developed by DEC and later acquired by Microsoft, WinWinD provided a means to examine the state of a running program or a crash dump, allowing developers to identify and fix errors. Common debugging tasks that could be accomplished with WinWinD included setting breakpoints, stepping through code, inspecting variables, examining the call stack, and analyzing memory.

Key features of WinWinD included:

• Command-line interface: Interaction was primarily through text-based commands, requiring users to learn and remember specific commands for different debugging operations.
• Kernel-mode and user-mode debugging: Capable of debugging both applications running in user space and the Windows operating system kernel.
• Remote debugging: Support for debugging processes running on a different machine over a network connection.
• Symbol support: Used symbol files (.pdb) to resolve addresses to function names and variable names, making debugging more understandable.
• Crash dump analysis: Ability to analyze crash dump files (minidumps and full memory dumps) to determine the cause of system crashes.

While WinWinD was a powerful tool for its time, it has been largely superseded by WinDbg, which offers a graphical user interface, improved functionality, and ongoing updates. Although WinWinD may still be encountered in legacy environments or historical documentation, WinDbg is now the preferred debugger for most Windows development scenarios. Knowledge of WinWinD can still be beneficial for understanding debugging principles and interpreting older debugging documentation.