Unit testing on a build server : Release or Debug code?

Question

In .NET(C#) is there any advantage/disadvantage to go with debug/release build for unit testing?

Which target configuration do you usually use for unit testing on a build server? Does it matter?

What about code coverage (for this one I'm guessing debug versions are needed).

Answer 1

You must test the code the way it will ultimately run on the client's machine. In most sane deployment scenarios that will be code compiled in the Release configuration.

Answer 2

It is easier (for me) to get to the root of an exception when testing debug code.

Answer 3

I'd recommend running the release code. For a couple of reasons.

1) It is the code that the customers will be using.

2) Some code has special debug conditionals that will produce differences between the debug and release builds.

Answer 4

I would use release build when possible, to get everything as close to the final product as possible.

There are small differences between debug mode and release mode that normally only make a difference for performance, but not result. However, if there is some timing problems with the code they may only show in release mode, so you could take the opportunity to possibly catch those.