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DbgPrint routine

In Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and earlier versions of Windows, the DbgPrint routine sends a message to the kernel debugger. In Windows Vista and later versions of Windows, DbgPrint sends a message only if certain conditions apply.

Syntax

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ULONG DbgPrint(
  __in  PCHAR Format,
   arguments
);

Parameters

Format [in]: Specifies a pointer to the format string to print. The Format string supports all the printf-style format specification fields. However, the Unicode format codes (%C, %S, %lc, %ls, %wc, %ws, and %wZ) can only be used with IRQL = PASSIVE_LEVEL.
arguments: Specifies arguments for the format string, as in printf.

Return value

If successful, DbgPrint returns the NTSTATUS code STATUS_SUCCESS; otherwise it returns the appropriate error code.

Remarks

DbgPrint and DbgPrintEx can be called at IRQL<=DIRQL. However, Unicode format codes (%wc and %ws) can be used only at IRQL PASSIVE_LEVEL. Also, because the debugger uses interprocess interrupts (IPIs) to communicate with other processors, calling DbgPrint at IRQL>DIRQL can cause deadlocks.

Only kernel-mode drivers can call the DbgPrint routine.

In Windows Vista and later versions of Windows, DbgPrint sends a message only if certain conditions apply. Specifically, it behaves like the DbgPrintEx routine with the DEFAULT component and a message importance level of DPFLTR_INFO_LEVEL. In other words, the following two function calls are identical:

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DbgPrint ( Format, arguments )

DbgPrintEx ( DPFLTR_DEFAULT_ID, DPFLTR_INFO_LEVEL, Format, arguments )

For more information about message filtering, components, and message importance level, see Reading and Filtering Debugging Messages.

Note Regardless of which version of Windows you are using, it is recommended that you use DbgPrintEx instead of DbgPrint, since this allows you to control the conditions under which the message is sent.

Unless it is absolutely necessary, you should not obtain a string from user input or another process and pass it to DbgPrint. If you do use a string that you did not create, you must verify that this is a valid format string, and that the format codes match the argument list in type and quantity. The best coding practice is for all Format strings to be static and defined at compile time.

There is no upper limit to the size of the Format string or the number of arguments. However, any single call to DbgPrint will only transmit 512 bytes of information. There is also a limit to the size of the DbgPrint buffer. See The DbgPrint Buffer and the Debugger for details.

Requirements