* README: Don't mention gdba.el.
[deliverable/binutils-gdb.git] / gdb / TODO
CommitLineData
c906108c 1If you find inaccuracies in this list, please send mail to
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2gdb-patches@sourceware.cygnus.com. If you would like to work on any
3of these, you should consider sending mail to the same address, to
4find out whether anyone else is working on it.
c906108c 5
138f88c0 6
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7 GDB 5.1 - Fixes
8 ===============
138f88c0 9
bc9e5bbf 10Below is a list of problems identified during the GDB 5.0 release
552054a8 11cycle. People hope to have these problems fixed in 5.1.
4fd99b5a 12
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13-- 2001-03-08
14
15Update GDB's coding standard documentation. Known topics:
16
17 o alloca/malloc et.al.
18
19 o typedef and structs
20
21 o ISO-C
22
23and most likely also:
24
25 o include conventions
26
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27--
28
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29Wow, three bug reports for the same problem in one day! We should
30probably make fixing this a real priority :-).
138f88c0 31
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32Anyway, thanks for reporting.
33
34The following patch will fix the problems with setting breakpoints in
35dynamically loaded objects:
36
37 http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-05/msg00230.html
38
39This patch isn't checked in yet (ping Michael/JimB), but I hope this
40will be in the next GDB release.
41
42There should really be a test in the testsuite for this problem, since
43it keeps coming up :-(. Any volunteers?
44
45Mark
bc9e5bbf 46
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47--
48
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49x86 linux GDB and SIGALRM (???)
50http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb/2000-q1/msg00803.html
51
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52This problem has been fixed, but a regression test still needs to be
53added to the testsuite:
54http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-05/msg00309.html
67edb2c6 55
bc9e5bbf 56Mark
67edb2c6 57
a50c34dc 58[The test has been submitted for approval - cagney]
b2f4b24d 59
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60--
61
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62RFD: infrun.c: No bpstat_stop_status call after proceed over break?
63http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-q1/msg00665.html
6bc37a96 64
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65GDB misses watchpoint triggers after proceeding over a breakpoint on
66x86 targets.
b2f4b24d 67
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68--
69
70GDB 5.0 doesn't work on Linux/SPARC
71
a50c34dc 72There are two parts to this.
552054a8 73
a50c34dc 74 o GDB 5.0 doesn't work on GNU/Linux/SPARC32
552054a8 75
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76 o GDB 5.0 doesn't work on the new target
77 GNU/Linux/SPARC64
552054a8 78
a50c34dc 79GDB does build on both these targets.
552054a8 80
a50c34dc 81The first problem is the one that should be fixed.
4afc966c 82
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83--
84
85 GDB 5.1 - New features
86 ======================
87
88The following new features should be included in 5.1.
89
90--
91
92Enable MI by default. Old code can be deleted after 5.1 is out.
93
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94Issues:
95
96 o syntax change where a list would
97 look like:
98 [ foo=a, foo=b, foo=c ]
99 instead of
100 { foo=a, foo=b, foo=c }
101
102 o kill off the idea of a reverse
103 query.
104
105 o review test cases
106
107 o enable it
108
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109--
110
111Pascal (Pierre Muller, David Taylor)
112
113Pierre Muller has contributed patches for adding Pascal Language
114support to GDB.
115
1162 pascal language patches inserted in database
117http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb/2000-q1/msg00521.html
118
119Indent -gnu ?
120http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb/2000-q1/msg00496.html
121
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122[I think this has been merged, need to confirm - cagney]
123
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124--
125
126Java (Anthony Green, David Taylor)
127
128Anthony Green has a number of Java patches that did not make it into
129the 5.0 release. The first two are in cvs now, but the third needs
130some fixing up before it can go in.
131
132Patch: java tests
133http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-q1/msg00512.html
134
135Patch: java booleans
136http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-q1/msg00515.html
137
138Patch: handle N_MAIN stab
139http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-q1/msg00527.html
140
a50c34dc 141-- 2001-03-08
552054a8 142
a50c34dc 143Add CRIS target.
552054a8 144
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145A predicate to this is the multi-arching of SOFTWARE_SINGLE_STEP(). A
146patch has been submitted.
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147
148--
149
150 GDB 5.1 - Cleanups
151 ==================
152
153The following code cleanups will hopefully be applied to GDB 5.1.
154
1a5cef06 155-- 2001-03-26
a50c34dc 156
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157Resolve the build status of all broken targets as identified by the
158MAINTAINERS file.
a50c34dc 159
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160 o arm-* vs NetBSD's lack of ``unix''
161 o arm-* vs IRIX (see below)
162
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163 o delete mpw?
164
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165-- 2001-03-15
166
167 Obsolete some targets.
168
169Possible selection criteria are:
170
171 o uses a deprecated feature
172
173 o doesn't build
174
175 o doesn't have a maintainer
176
177Steps:
178
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179 o Identify TUPPLE : CPU / HOST / TARGET
180 combinations.
181
182 TUPPLE CPU HOST TARGET ZAPPED
183 ------ --- ---- ------ ------
184 ns32k-*-mach3* ns32k ns32km3 ns32km3 yes
185 ns32k-umax-* ns32k umax - yes
186 ns32k-utek-sysv* ns32k merlin merlin yes
187 ns32k-utek-* ns32k - umax yes
52071915 188 tic80-* tic80 - tic80 yes
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189 m68*-isi-* m68k isi isi
190 m68*-sony-* m68k news news
191 m68030-sony-* m68k news1000 -
192 m68*-rom68k-* m68k - (monitor)
193 m68*-*bug-* m68k - (monitor)
194 m68*-monitor-* m68k - (monitor)
195 m68*-est-* m68k - (monitor)
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196 a29k-*-* a29k ultra3 - yes
197 a29k-*-sym1* a29k - ultra3 yes
198 a29k-*-kern* a29k - a29k-kern yes
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199 powerpcle-*-solaris* powerpc solaris solaris
200 powerpcle-*-cygwin* powerpc cygwin cygwin
201 powerpc-*-netware* powerpc - ppc-nw
76f4ea53 202 w65-*-* w65 - w65 yes
bb19ff3b 203 i[3456]86-*-sunos* i386 sun386 sun386
0d35ddba 204
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205 (DONE)
206
207 o post proposals to gdb@
208 (DONE)
209
210 o post revised proposals to gdb-announce@
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211 crossed with gdb@ reply-to to gdb@
212 (DONE)
213
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214 o clobber the tupple and files:
215 configure.host
216 configure.tgt
217 config/CPU/*HOST*
218 config/CPU/*TARGET*
0d35ddba 219 *-tdep.c *-nat.c *-xdep.c
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220
221 o update NEWS
222
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223--
224
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225Fix copyright notices.
226
227Turns out that ``1998-2000'' isn't considered valid :-(
228
229http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-05/msg00467.html
230
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231--
232
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233 GDB 5.1 - Known Problems
234 ========================
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235
236--
237
238z8k
239
240The z8k has suffered bit rot and is known to not build. The problem
241was occuring in the opcodes directory.
242
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243--
244
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245m88k
246
247The m88k has suffered bit rot and is known to not build.
248
249--
250
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251Solaris 8 x86 CURSES_H problem
252http://sources.redhat.com/ml/gdb/2000-07/msg00038.html
253
254The original problem was worked around with:
255
256 2000-06-06 Michael Snyder <msnyder@cygnus.com>
257
258 * configure.in: Enable autoconf to find curses.h on Solaris 2.8.
259 * configure: Regenerate.
260
261When building both GDB and SID using the same source tree the problem
262will still occure. sid/component/configure.in mis-configures
263<curses.h> and leaves wrong information in the config cache.
264
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265--
266
267 GDB 5.2 - Fixes
268 ===============
269
270--
271
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272Thread support. Right now, as soon as a thread finishes and exits,
273you're hosed. This problem is reported once a week or so.
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274
275--
276
277 GDB 5.2 - New features
278 ======================
279
280--
281
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282GCC 3.0 ABI support (but hopefully sooner...).
283
284--
285
286Objective C/C++ support (but hopefully sooner...).
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287
288--
289
290 GDB 5.2 - Cleanups
291 ==================
292
293The following cleanups have been identified as part of GDB 5.2.
294
295--
296
dafc8383 297Remove old code that does not use ui_out functions and all the related
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298"ifdef"s. This also allows the elimination of -DUI_OUT from
299Makefile.in and configure.in.
dafc8383
FN
300
301--
302
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303Compiler warnings.
304
305Eliminate all warnings for at least one host/target for the flags:
306-Wimplicit -Wreturn-type -Wcomment -Wtrigraphs -Wformat -Wparentheses
307-Wpointer-arith -Wuninitialized
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308
309--
310
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311Deprecate, if not delete, the following:
312
313 register[]
314 register_valid[]
315 register_buffer()
316 REGISTER_BYTE()
317 Replaced by, on the target side
318 supply_register()
319 and on core-gdb side:
320 {read,write}_register_gen()
321 Remote.c will need to use something
322 other than REGISTER_BYTE() and
323 REGISTER_RAW_SIZE() when unpacking
324 [gG] packets.
325
326 STORE_PSEUDO_REGISTER
327 FETCH_PSEUDO_REGISTER
328 Now handed by the methods
329 gdbarch_{read,write}_register()
330 which sits between core GDB and
331 the register cache.
332
333 REGISTER_CONVERTIBLE
334 REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_RAW
335 REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_VIRTUAL
336 I think these three are redundant.
337 gdbarch_register_{read,write} can
338 do any conversion it likes.
339
340 REGISTER_VIRTUAL_SIZE
341 MAX_REGISTER_VIRTUAL_SIZE
342 REGISTER_VIRTUAL_TYPE
343 I think these can be replaced by
344 the pair:
345 FRAME_REGISTER_TYPE(frame, regnum)
346 REGISTER_TYPE(regnum)
347
348 DO_REGISTERS_INFO
349 Replace with
350 FRAME_REGISTER_INFO (frame, ...)
351
352 REGISTER_SIM_REGNO()
353 If nothing else rename this so that
354 how it relates to rawreg and the
355 regnum is clear.
356
357 REGISTER_BYTES
358 The size of the cache can be computed
359 on the fly.
360
361--
362
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363Restructure gdb directory tree so that it avoids any 8.3 and 14
364filename problems.
365
366--
367
368Convert GDB build process to AUTOMAKE.
369
370See also sub-directory configure below.
371
372The current convention is (kind of) to use $(<header>_h) in all
373dependency lists. It isn't done in a consistent way.
374
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375--
376
377 GDB 5.2 - Known Problems
378 ========================
379
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380--
381
382 Code Cleanups: General
383 ======================
384
385The following are more general cleanups and fixes. They are not tied
386to any specific release.
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387
388--
389
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390Investigate changing --target=a29k-amd-udi to a29k-*-coff* and
391rationalize *.mt files. The got-ya is in remote-eb.c - it has its own
392custom tty manipulation - it should be using the serial object.
393
394--
395
a2061976 396Rename read_register{,_pid}() to read_unsigned_register{,_pid}().
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397
398--
399
400Can't build IRIX -> arm GDB.
401http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-04/msg00356.html
402
403David Whedon writes:
404> Now I'm building for an embedded arm target. If there is a way of turning
405> remote-rdi off, I couldn't find it. It looks like it gets built by default
406> in gdb/configure.tgt(line 58) Anyway, the build dies in
407> gdb/rdi-share/unixcomm.c. SERPORT1 et. al. never get defined because we
408> aren't one of the architectures supported.
409
410--
411
412Problem with weak functions
413http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb/2000-05/msg00060.html
414
415Dan Nicolaescu writes:
416> It seems that gdb-4.95.1 does not display correctly the function when
417> stoping in weak functions.
418>
419> It stops in a function that is defined as weak, not in the function
420> that is actually run...
421
422--
423
424Follow through `make check' with --enable-shared.
425
426When the srcware tree is configured with --enable-shared, the `expect'
427program won't run properly. Jim Wilson found out gdb has a local hack
428to set LD_LIBRARY_PATH, but, AFAIK, no other project has been hacked
429similarly.
430
431http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb/2000-q1/msg00845.html
432
433--
434
435Delete macro TARGET_BYTE_ORDER_SELECTABLE.
436
437Patches in the database.
438
439--
440
441printcmd.c (print_address_numeric):
442
443NOTE: This assumes that the significant address information is kept in
444the least significant bits of ADDR - the upper bits were either zero
445or sign extended. Should ADDRESS_TO_POINTER() or some
446ADDRESS_TO_PRINTABLE() be used to do the conversion?
447
448--
449
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450The BFD directory requires bug-fixed AUTOMAKE et.al.
451
452AUTOMAKE 1.4 incorrectly set the TEXINPUTS environment variable. It
453contained the full path to texinfo.tex when it should have only
454contained the directory. The bug has been fixed in the current
455AUTOMAKE sources. Automake snapshots can be found in:
456 ftp://sourceware.cygnus.com/pub/gdb/snapshots
457and ftp://sourceware.cygnus.com/pub/binutils
458
459--
460
461Find something better than DEFAULT_BFD_ARCH, DEFAULT_BFD_VEC to
462determine the default isa/byte-order.
463
464--
465
e26cc349 466Rely on BFD_BIG_ENDIAN and BFD_LITTLE_ENDIAN instead of host dependent
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467BIG_ENDIAN and LITTLE_ENDIAN.
468
469--
470
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471Eliminate more compiler warnings.
472
473Of course there also needs to be the usual debate over which warnings
474are valid and how to best go about this.
475
476One method: choose a single option; get agreement that it is
477reasonable; try it out to see if there isn't anything silly about it
478(-Wunused-parameters is an example of that) then incrementally hack
479away.
480
481The other method is to enable all warnings and eliminate them from one
482file at a time.
483
484--
485
4afc966c 486Elimination of ``(catch_errors_ftype *) func''.
bc9e5bbf 487
4afc966c 488Like make_cleanup_func it isn't portable.
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489http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-q1/msg00791.html
490http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-q1/msg00814.html
491
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492--
493
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494Nuke #define CONST_PTR.
495
496--
497
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498Nuke USG define.
499
500--
501
502[PATCH/5] src/intl/Makefile.in:distclean additions
503http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-04/msg00363.html
504
505Do not forget to merge the patch back into the trunk.
506
507--
508
509Rationalize the host-endian code (grep for HOST_BYTE_ORDER).
510
511At present defs.h includes <endian.h> (which is linux specific) yet
512almost nothing depends on it. Suggest "gdb_endian.h" which can also
513handle <machine/endian.h> and only include that where it is really
514needed.
515
516--
517
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518Replace savestring() with something from libiberty.
519
520An xstrldup()? but that would have different semantics.
521
522--
523
524Rationalize use of floatformat_unknown in GDB sources.
525
526Instead of defaulting to floatformat_unknown, should hosts/targets
527specify the value explicitly?
528
529http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-05/msg00447.html
530
531--
532
533Add a ``name'' member to include/floatformat.h:struct floatformat.
534Print that name in gdbarch.c.
535
536--
537
538Sort out the harris mess in include/floatformat.h (it hardwires two
539different floating point formats).
540
541--
542
543See of the GDB local floatformat_do_doublest() and libiberty's
544floatformat_to_double (which was once GDB's ...) can be merged some
545how.
546
547--
548
4fcf66da 549Eliminate mmalloc(), mstrsave() et.al. from GDB.
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550
551Also eliminate it from defs.h.
552
553--
554
555Eliminate PTR. ISO-C allows ``void *''.
556
557--
558
559Eliminate abort ().
560
561GDB should never abort. GDB should either throw ``error ()'' or
562``internal_error ()''. Better still GDB should naturally unwind with
563an error status.
564
565--
566
567GDB probably doesn't build on FreeBSD pre 2.2.x
568http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-05/msg00378.html
569
570Fixes to get FreeBSD working on 2.2.x, 3.x and 4.x caused the code to
571suffer bit rot.
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572
573--
574
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575Deprecate "fg". Apparently ``fg'' is actually continue.
576
577http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-05/msg00417.html
578
579--
580
581Deprecate current use of ``floatformat_unknown''.
582
583Require all targets to explicitly provide their float format instead
584of defaulting to floatformat unknown. Doing the latter leads to nasty
585bugs.
586
587http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-05/msg00447.html
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588
589--
590
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591Rationalize floatformat_to_double() vs floatformat_to_doublest().
592
593Looks like GDB migrated floatformat_to_double() to libiberty but then
594turned around and created a ..._to_doublest() the latter containing
595several bug fixes.
596
597http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-05/msg00472.html
598
599--
600
601Move floatformat_ia64_ext to libiberty/include floatformat.[ch].
602
603http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-05/msg00466.html
604
605--
606
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607The ``maintenance deprecate set endian big'' command doesn't notice
608that it is deprecating ``set endian'' and not ``set endian big'' (big
609is implemented using an enum). Is anyone going to notice this?
610
611--
612
613When tab expanding something like ``set arch<tab>'' ignore the
614deprecated ``set archdebug'' and expand to ``set architecture''.
615
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616--
617
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618Eliminate ``arm_register_names[j] = (char *) regnames[j]'' and the
619like from arm-tdep.c.
620
621--
622
623Fix uses of ->function.cfunc = set_function().
624
625The command.c code calls sfunc() when a set command. Rather than
626change it suggest fixing the callback function so that it is more
627useful. See:
628
629http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-06/msg00062.html
630
631See also ``Fix implementation of ``target xxx''.'' below.
632
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633--
634
635IRIX 3.x support is probably broken.
636
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637--
638
639Delete sim/SIM_HAVE_BREAKPOINTS and gdb/SIM_HAS_BREAKPOINTS.
640http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-07/msg00042.html
641
642Apart from the d30v, are there any sim/common simulators that make use
643of this?
644
e26cc349 645A brief summary of what happened is that sim/common/sim-break.c was
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646created as a good idea. It turned out a better idea was to use
647SIM_SIGBREAK and have GDB pass back sim_resume (..., SIGBREAK).
648
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649--
650
651Move remote_remove_hw_breakpoint, remote_insert_hw_breakpoint,
652remote_remove_watchpoint, remote_insert_watchpoint into target vector.
653
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654--
655
656Eliminate ``extern'' from C files.
657
658--
659
660Replace ``STREQ()'' et.al. with ``strcmp() == 0'' et.al.
661
662Extreme care is recommeded - perhaps only modify tests that are
663exercised by the testsuite (as determined using some type of code
664coverage analysis).
665
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666--
667
668Replace the file gdb/CONTRIBUTE with a file that is generated from the
669gdb/doc/*.texinfo directory.
670
53904c9e 671--
78566ebe 672
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673 New Features and Fixes
674 ======================
bc9e5bbf 675
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676These are harder than cleanups but easier than work involving
677fundamental architectural change.
bc9e5bbf
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678
679--
680
0db23c95 681Hardware watchpoint problems on x86 OSes, including Linux:
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682
6831. Delete/disable hardware watchpoints should free hardware debug
684registers.
6852. Watch for different values on a viariable with one hardware debug
686register.
687
688According to Eli Zaretskii <eliz@delorie.com>:
689
690These are not GDB/ia32 issues per se: the above features are all
691implemented in the DJGPP port of GDB and work in v5.0. Every
692x86-based target should be able to lift the relevant parts of
693go32-nat.c and use them almost verbatim. You get debug register
694sharing through reference counts, and the ability to watch large
695regions (up to 16 bytes) using multiple registers. (The required
696infrastructure in high-level GDB application code, mostly in
697breakpoint.c, is also working since v5.0.)
698
699--
700
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701Add built-by, build-date, tm, xm, nm and anything else into gdb binary
702so that you can see how the GDB was created.
bc9e5bbf 703
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704--
705
4afc966c
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706Add an "info bfd" command that displays supported object formats,
707similarly to objdump -i.
5683e87a 708
4afc966c 709Is there a command already?
5683e87a
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710
711--
712
4afc966c 713Fix ``I'm sorry, Dave, I can't do that.'' from symfile.c.
bc9e5bbf 714
4afc966c 715This requires internationalization.
bc9e5bbf 716
4afc966c 717--
bc9e5bbf 718
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719Add support for:
720
721(gdb) p fwprintf(stdout,L"%S\n", f)
722No symbol "L" in current context.
723
724--
725
4afc966c 726Cleanup configury support for optional sub-directories.
7ae38352 727
4afc966c
AC
728Check how GCC handles multiple front ends for an example of how things
729could work. A tentative first step is to rationalize things so that
730all sub directories are handled in a fashion similar to gdb/mi.
731
732See also automake above.
7ae38352
AC
733
734--
735
4afc966c
AC
736Add a transcript mechanism to GDB.
737
738Such a mechanism might log all gdb input and output to a file in a
739form that would allow it to be replayed. It could involve ``gdb
740--transcript=FILE'' or it could involve ``(gdb) transcript file''.
67edb2c6
AC
741
742--
743
4afc966c 744Can the xdep files be replaced by autoconf?
bc9e5bbf 745
4afc966c 746--
bc9e5bbf 747
4afc966c 748Document trace machinery
bc9e5bbf 749
4afc966c
AC
750--
751
78566ebe
AC
752Document ui-out and ui-file.
753
754http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb/2000-04/msg00121.html
755
756--
757
758Update texinfo.tex to latest?
759
78566ebe
AC
760--
761
762Incorporate agentexpr.texi into gdb.texinfo
763
764agentexpr.texi mostly describes the details of the byte code used for
765tracepoints, not the internals of the support for this in GDB. So it
766looks like gdb.texinfo is a better place for this information.
767
768http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-04/msg00566.html
769
770--
771
4afc966c 772Document overlay machinery.
bc9e5bbf 773
7ae38352
AC
774--
775
4afc966c 776``(gdb) catch signal SIGNAL''
7ae38352 777
e26cc349 778Overlaps with ``handle SIGNAL'' but the implied behavior is different.
4afc966c
AC
779You can attach commands to a catch but not a handle. A handle has a
780limited number of hardwired actions.
7ae38352
AC
781
782--
783
1c5b31ef
AC
784Fix TUI
785
786 o readline/*.h bitrot
787
788 The TUI isn't up-to-date with
789 respect to the readline currently
790 bundled with GDB. Importing a
791 new readline is on the 5.1 wish
792 list so this can only get worse.
793
794 Grep for things like term_cursor_move.
795
796 (To be honest, I don't see anyone
797 importing a new readline before 5.1 is
798 out)
799
800 o tui.c:va_catch_errors() bitrot
801
802 This nasty piece of work used knowledge
803 of the internals of GDBs error functions :-(
804 Ever since those internals were cleaned
805 up this code has been broken. :-(
806
807 o tuiWin.c:c_makeVisibleWithNewHeight() broken
808 tuiLayout.c:_extractDisplayStartAddr() broken
809
810 Both these function call find_line_pc()
811 incorrectly (wrong args, wrong return value).
812
813 I suspect this bug has always been there!
814 It had been hidden because those files
815 didn't include the necessary header files
816 from gdb proper :-(
817
818 o tuiRegs() host dependant
819
820 Not suprisingly, this isn't a very portable
821 section of code. However, I'm sure people
822 could live with no regs in the short to
823 medium term.
824
825 o defs.h: #include "tui.h" et.al.
826
827 I'm not sure where this came from.
828 It was a really bad idea.
829
830 To get things to compile I did a nasty
831 hack (Just declare what was needed and
832 replace any expressions like xx->y.z()
833 in GDB proper with function calls). I
834 could commit it slightly cleaned up if
835 you like.
836
837 Medium Term. the #ifdef TUI and TuiDo()
838 should be changed to hooks (like GDBTK).
839 The gdb-events.[hc] is there for that
840 purpose (1)
841
842 o tui.c:_tuiReset() host dependant
843
844 tui.c contains a lump of termio[s]
845 I suspect an equivalent block of
846 code can be lifted from readline.
847 An equivalent readline function may
848 even be available.
849
850 o curses.h vs ncurses.h.
851
852 Simple portability problem.
853
854 o subsetCompare()
855
856 This function is a mystery - where is it?
857
858 o tui-file.[hc] cleanup
859
860 This can be significantly simplified.
861
862 o The code should be pacified. (-Werror -W...)
863
864 There are plenty of #includes,
865 duplicate #includes, missing function decls
866 and the like.
867
868 Some of the problems I found were through
869 fixing a few of the warnings.
870
871 o The code should be GNUtified.
872
873 It would be very nice to have this code
874 look like the rest of GDB. That way people
875 would be more accepting of it as a true
876 gdb component.
877
878 Until it is GNUtified it is going to stick
879 out like a sore thumb to the programmer.
880
881 o The code should be clearly copyrighted
882
883 (FSF, with due credit to HP)
7ae38352 884
bc9e5bbf
AC
885--
886
4afc966c
AC
887Add support for ``gdb --- PROGRAM ARGS ...''.
888Add support for ``gdb -cmd=...''
9debab2f 889
4afc966c
AC
890Along with many variations. Check:
891
892????? for a full discussion.
893
894for a discussion.
9debab2f
AC
895
896--
897
4afc966c 898Implement ``(gdb) !ls''.
e55e8cee 899
4afc966c
AC
900Which is very different from ``(gdb) ! ls''. Implementing the latter
901is trivial.
902
903http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb/2000-q1/msg00034.html
e55e8cee
AC
904
905--
906
b4a20239
AC
907Change the (char *list[]) to (const char (*)[]) so that dynamic lists can
908be passed.
909
910--
911
912When tab expanding something like ``set arch<tab>'' ignore the
913deprecated ``set archdebug'' and expand to ``set architecture''.
914
915--
916
4afc966c
AC
917Replace the code that uses the host FPU with an emulator of the target
918FPU.
7ae38352 919
4930751a
C
920--
921
922The "ocd reset" command needs to flush the dcache, which requires breaking
923the abstraction layer between the target independent and target code. One
924way to address this is provide a generic "reset" command and target vector.
925
926http://sources.redhat.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-10/msg00011.html
927
4afc966c
AC
928--
929
930 Thread Support
931 ==============
7ae38352
AC
932
933--
934
4afc966c
AC
935Generic: lin-thread cannot handle thread exit (Mark Kettenis, Michael
936Snyder) http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb/2000-q1/msg00525.html
7ae38352 937
4afc966c
AC
938The thread_db assisted debugging code doesn't handle exiting threads
939properly, at least in combination with glibc 2.1.3 (the framework is
940there, just not the actual code). There are at least two problems
941that prevent this from working.
942
943As an additional reference point, the pre thread_db code did not work
944either.
7ae38352
AC
945
946--
947
4afc966c
AC
948GNU/Linux/x86 and random thread signals (and Solaris/SPARC but not
949Solaris/x86).
950http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb/2000-q1/msg00336.html
7ae38352 951
4afc966c
AC
952Christopher Blizzard writes:
953
954So, I've done some more digging into this and it looks like Jim
955Kingdon has reported this problem in the past:
956
957http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/bug-gdb/1999-10/msg00058.html
958
959I can reproduce this problem both with and without Tom's patch. Has
960anyone seen this before? Maybe have a solution for it hanging around?
961:)
962
963There's a test case for this documented at:
964
965when debugging threaded applications you get extra SIGTRAPs
966http://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=9565
967
968[There should be a GDB testcase - cagney]
7ae38352
AC
969
970--
971
4afc966c
AC
972GDB5 TOT on unixware 7
973http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb/2000-04/msg00119.html
7ae38352 974
4afc966c
AC
975Robert Lipe writes:
976> I just spun the top of tree of the GDB5 branch on UnixWare 7. As a
977> practical matter, the current thread support is somewhat more annoying
978> than when GDB was thread-unaware.
7ae38352 979
7ae38352
AC
980--
981
4afc966c
AC
982 Language Support
983 ================
7ae38352 984
4afc966c 985New languages come onto the scene all the time.
7ae38352
AC
986
987--
988
4afc966c
AC
989Re: Various C++ things
990
26099b4a
AC
991value_headof/value_from_vtable_info are worthless, and should be
992removed. The one place in printcmd.c that uses it should use the RTTI
993functions.
4afc966c 994
26099b4a
AC
995RTTI for g++ should be using the typeinfo functions rather than the
996vtables. The typeinfo functions are always at offset 4 from the
997beginning of the vtable, and are always right. The vtables will have
998weird names like E::VB sometimes. The typeinfo function will always
999be "E type_info function", or somesuch.
4afc966c 1000
26099b4a
AC
1001value_virtual_fn_field needs to be fixed so there are no failures for
1002virtual functions for C++ using g++.
4afc966c 1003
26099b4a
AC
1004Testsuite cases are the major priority right now for C++ support,
1005since i have to make a lot of changes that could potentially break
1006each other.
7ae38352
AC
1007
1008--
1009
4afc966c 1010Add support for Modula3
7ae38352 1011
4afc966c 1012Get DEC/Compaq to contribute their Modula-3 support.
7ae38352
AC
1013
1014--
1015
4afc966c
AC
1016 Remote Protocol Support
1017 =======================
7ae38352
AC
1018
1019--
1020
a2061976
AC
1021Revised UDP support (was: Re: [Fwd: [patch] UDP transport support])
1022http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-04/msg00000.html
1023
1024(Broken) support for GDB's remote protocol across UDP is to be
1025included in the follow-on release.
1026
1027It should be noted that UDP can only work when the [Gg] packet fits in
1028a single UDP packet.
1029
1030There is also much debate over the merit of this.
1031
1032--
1033
1034Migrate qfThreadInfo packet -> qThreadInfo. (Andrew Cagney)
1035
1036Add support for packet enable/disable commands with these thread
1037packets. General cleanup.
1038
1039[PATCH] Document the ThreadInfo remote protocol queries
1040http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-q1/msg00832.html
1041
1042[PATCH] "info threads" queries for remote.c
1043http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-q1/msg00831.html
1044
1045--
1046
7ae38352
AC
1047Remote protocol doco feedback.
1048
1049Too much feedback to mention needs to be merged in (901660). Search
1050for the word ``remote''.
1051
4afc966c
AC
1052
1053http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb/2000-q1/msg00023.html
1054http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb/2000-q1/msg00056.html
1055http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb/2000-q1/msg00382.html
1056
7ae38352
AC
1057--
1058
4afc966c 1059GDB doesn't recover gracefully from remote protocol errors.
7ae38352 1060
4afc966c
AC
1061GDB wasn't checking for NAKs from the remote target. Instead a NAK is
1062ignored and a timeout is required before GDB retries. A pre-cursor to
1063fixing this this is making GDB's remote protocol packet more robust.
1064
1065While downloading to a remote protocol target, gdb ignores packet
d471ea57 1066errors in so far as it will continue to download with chunk N+1 even
4afc966c
AC
1067if chunk N was not correctly sent. This causes gdb.base/remote.exp to
1068take a painfully long time to run. As a PS that test needs to be
1069fixed so that it builds on 16 bit machines.
7ae38352
AC
1070
1071--
1072
a2061976
AC
1073Fix the ``!'' packet.
1074
1075JT reported that the existing targets do, in fact return ``OK'' so it
1076is possible to merge remote and extended-remote targets.
1077
1078--
1079
1080Drop ``<address>'' from the [SsCc] packets.
1081
1082I don't think that GDB generates them so having it in the protocol is
1083silly.
1084
1085--
1086
1087Fix doco on the ``q'' packet.
1088
1089It has evolved into a generic RPC. The notes should reflect this and,
1090perhaps, the ``Q'' packet can be deprecated.
1091
1092The doco should mention that ``OK'' is a valid packet response.
1093
1094The doco should explain why ``OK'' needs to be a valid packet
1095response.
1096
1097--
1098
4afc966c 1099Add the cycle step command.
7ae38352 1100
4afc966c 1101http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb/2000-q1/msg00237.html
7ae38352 1102
26099b4a
AC
1103--
1104
1105Resolve how to scale things to support very large packets.
1106
1107--
1108
1109Resolve how to handle a target that changes things like its endianess
1110on the fly - should it be returned in the ``T'' packet?
1111
1112Underlying problem is that the register file is target endian. If the
1113target endianess changes gdb doesn't know.
1114
7ae38352
AC
1115--
1116
4afc966c
AC
1117 Symbol Support
1118 ==============
7ae38352 1119
4afc966c
AC
1120If / when GDB starts to support the debugging of multi-processor
1121(rather than multi-thread) applications the symtab code will need to
e26cc349 1122be updated a little so that several independent symbol tables are
4afc966c
AC
1123active at a given time.
1124
1125The other interesting change is a clarification of the exact meaning
1126of CORE_ADDR and that has had consequences for a few targets (that
1127were abusing that data type).
7ae38352 1128
d8038014
AC
1129--
1130
4afc966c 1131Investiagate ways of reducing memory.
d8038014
AC
1132
1133--
1134
4afc966c 1135Investigate ways of improving load time.
d8038014 1136
4afc966c
AC
1137--
1138
1139Get the d10v to use POINTER_TO_ADDRESS and ADDRESS_TO_POINTER.
1140
1141Consequence of recent symtab clarification. No marks for figuring out
1142who maintains the d10v.
d8038014 1143
0aaf65d7
AC
1144--
1145
4afc966c
AC
1146Get the MIPS to correctly sign extend all address <-> pointer
1147conversions.
0aaf65d7 1148
4afc966c
AC
1149Consequence of recent symtab clarification. No marks for figuring out
1150who maintains the MIPS.
0aaf65d7 1151
5d35f0ac
AC
1152--
1153
1154GDB truncates 64 bit enums.
1155
1156http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-06/msg00290.html
1157
26099b4a
AC
1158--
1159
1160 Testsuite Support
1161 =================
1162
1163There are never to many testcases.
1164
1165--
1166
1167Better thread testsuite.
1168
1169--
1170
1171Better C++ testsuite.
1172
1173--
1174
1175Look at adding a GDB specific testsuite directory so that white box
1176tests of key internals can be added (eg ui_file).
1177
1178--
1179
1180Separate out tests that involve the floating point (FP).
1181
1182(Something for people brining up new targets). FP and non-fp tests
1183are combined. I think there should be set of basic tests that
1184exercise pure integer support and then a more expanded set that
1185exercise FP and FP/integer interactions.
1186
1187As an example, the MIPS, for n32 as problems with passing FP's and
1188structs. Since most inferior call tests include FP it is difficult to
1189determine of the integer tests are ok.
1190
7ae38352
AC
1191--
1192
4afc966c
AC
1193 Architectural Changes: General
1194 ==============================
7ae38352
AC
1195
1196These are harder than simple cleanups / fixes and, consequently
1197involve more work. Typically an Architectural Change will be broken
1198down into a more digestible set of cleanups and fixes.
1199
1200--
1201
4afc966c
AC
1202Cleanup software single step.
1203
1204At present many targets implement software single step by directly
1205blatting memory (see rs6000-tdep.c). Those targets should register
1206the applicable breakpoints using the breakpoint framework. Perhaphs a
1207new internal breakpoint class ``step'' is needed.
1208
1209--
1210
7ae38352
AC
1211Replace READ_FP() with FRAME_HANDLE().
1212
1213READ_FP() is a hangover from the days of the vax when the ABI really
1214did have a frame pointer register. Modern architectures typically
1215construct a virtual frame-handle from the stack pointer and various
1216other bits of string.
1217
e26cc349 1218Unfortunately GDB still treats this synthetic FP register as though it
7ae38352
AC
1219is real. That in turn really confuses users (arm and ``print $fp'' VS
1220``info registers fp''). The synthetic FP should be separated out of
1221the true register set presented to the user.
1222
1223--
1224
2a00c9ce
AC
1225Register Cache Cleanup (below from Andrew Cagney)
1226
1227I would depict the current register architecture as something like:
1228
1229 High GDB --> Low GDB
1230 | |
1231 \|/ \|/
1232 --- REG NR -----
1233 |
1234 register + REGISTER_BYTE(reg_nr)
1235 |
1236 \|/
1237 -------------------------
1238 | extern register[] |
1239 -------------------------
1240
1241where neither the high (valops.c et.al.) or low gdb (*-tdep.c) are
1242really clear on what mechanisms they should be using to manipulate that
1243buffer. Further, much code assumes, dangerously, that registers are
1244contigious. Having got mips-tdep.c to support multiple ABIs, believe
1245me, that is a bad assumption. Finally, that register cache layout is
1246determined by the current remote/local target and _not_ the less
1247specific target ISA. In fact, in many cases it is determined by the
1248somewhat arbitrary layout of the [gG] packets!
1249
1250
1251How I would like the register file to work is more like:
1252
1253
1254 High GDB
1255 |
1256 \|/
1257 pseudo reg-nr
1258 |
1259 map pseudo <->
1260 random cache
1261 bytes
1262 |
1263 \|/
1264 ------------
1265 | register |
1266 | cache |
1267 ------------
1268 /|\
1269 |
1270 map random cache
1271 bytes to target
e26cc349 1272 dependent i-face
2a00c9ce
AC
1273 /|\
1274 |
e26cc349 1275 target dependent
2a00c9ce
AC
1276 such as [gG] packet
1277 or ptrace buffer
1278
1279The main objectives being:
1280
1281 o a clear separation between the low
1282 level target and the high level GDB
1283
1284 o a mechanism that solves the general
1285 problem of register aliases, overlaps
1286 etc instead of treating them as optional
1287 extras that can be wedged in as an after
1288 thought (that is a reasonable description
1289 of the current code).
1290
1291 Identify then solve the hard case and the
1292 rest just falls out. GDB solved the easy
1293 case and then tried to ignore the real
1294 world :-)
1295
1296 o a removal of the assumption that the
1297 mapping between the register cache
1298 and virtual registers is largely static.
1299 If you flip the USR/SSR stack register
1300 select bit in the status-register then
1301 the corresponding stack registers should
1302 reflect the change.
1303
1304 o a mechanism that clearly separates the
1305 gdb internal register cache from any
e26cc349 1306 target (not architecture) dependent
2a00c9ce
AC
1307 specifics such as [gG] packets.
1308
1309Of course, like anything, it sounds good in theory. In reality, it
1310would have to contend with many<->many relationships at both the
1311virt<->cache and cache<->target level. For instance:
1312
1313 virt<->cache
1314 Modifying an mmx register may involve
1315 scattering values across both FP and
1316 mmpx specific parts of a buffer
1317
1318 cache<->target
1319 When writing back a SP it may need to
1320 both be written to both SP and USP.
1321
1322
1323Hmm,
1324
1325Rather than let this like the last time it was discussed, just slip, I'm
1326first going to add this e-mail (+ references) to TODO. I'd then like to
1327sketch out a broad strategy I think could get us there.
1328
1329
1330First thing I'd suggest is separating out the ``extern registers[]''
1331code so that we can at least identify what is using it. At present
1332things are scattered across many files. That way we can at least
1333pretend that there is a cache instead of a global array :-)
1334
1335I'd then suggest someone putting up a proposal for the pseudo-reg /
1336high-level side interface so that code can be adopted to it. For old
1337code, initially a blanket rename of write_register_bytes() to
1338deprecated_write_register_bytes() would help.
1339
1340Following that would, finaly be the corresponding changes to the target.
bc9e5bbf
AC
1341
1342--
1343
67edb2c6
AC
1344Check that GDB can handle all BFD architectures (Andrew Cagney)
1345
1346There should be a test that checks that BFD/GDB are in sync with
1347regard to architecture changes. Something like a test that first
1348queries GDB for all supported architectures and then feeds each back
1349to GDB.. Anyone interested in learning how to write tests? :-)
1350
1351--
1352
4afc966c
AC
1353 Architectural Change: Multi-arch et al.
1354 =======================================
2a00c9ce 1355
4afc966c
AC
1356The long term objective is to remove all assumptions that there is a
1357single target with a single address space with a single instruction
1358set architecture and single application binary interface.
2a00c9ce 1359
4afc966c
AC
1360This is an ongoing effort. The first milestone is to enable
1361``multi-arch'' where by all architectural decisions are made at
1362runtime.
7ae38352 1363
4afc966c
AC
1364It should be noted that ``gdbarch'' is really ``gdbabi'' and
1365``gdbisa''. Once things are multi-arched breaking that down correctly
1366will become much easier.
7ae38352
AC
1367
1368--
1369
4afc966c 1370GDBARCH cleanup (Andrew Cagney)
7ae38352 1371
4afc966c
AC
1372The non-generated parts of gdbarch.{sh,h,c} should be separated out
1373into arch-utils.[hc].
1374
1375Document that gdbarch_init_ftype could easily fail because it didn't
1376identify an architecture.
ed952ac5
AC
1377
1378--
1379
4afc966c 1380Fix BELIEVE_PPC_PROMOTION. Change it to BELIEVE_PPC_PROMOTION_P?
ed952ac5 1381
4afc966c
AC
1382At present there is still #ifdef BELIEVE_PPC_PROMOTION code in the
1383symtab file.
ed952ac5 1384
4afc966c
AC
1385--
1386
8e6a3c35
AC
1387Fix target_signal_from_host() etc.
1388
1389The name is wrong for starters. ``target_signal'' should probably be
1390``gdb_signal''. ``from_host'' should be ``from_target_signal''.
e26cc349 1391After that it needs to be multi-arched and made independent of any
8e6a3c35
AC
1392host signal numbering.
1393
1394--
1395
4afc966c
AC
1396Update ALPHA so that it uses ``struct frame_extra_info'' instead of
1397EXTRA_FRAME_INFO.
1398
1399This is a barrier to replacing mips_extra_func_info with something
1400that works with multi-arch.
7ae38352
AC
1401
1402--
1403
4afc966c
AC
1404Multi-arch mips_extra_func_info.
1405
1406This first needs the alpha to be updated so that it uses ``struct
1407frame_extra_info''.
7ae38352
AC
1408
1409--
1410
4afc966c 1411Rationalize TARGET_SINGLE_FORMAT and TARGET_SINGLE_BIT et al.
7ae38352 1412
4afc966c 1413Surely one of them is redundant.
7ae38352
AC
1414
1415--
1416
4afc966c 1417Convert ALL architectures to MULTI-ARCH.
7ae38352
AC
1418
1419--
1420
1421Select the initial multi-arch ISA / ABI based on --target or similar.
1422
1423At present the default is based on what ever is first in the BFD
1424archures table. It should be determined based on the ``--target=...''
1425name.
1426
1427--
1428
bf64bfd6
AC
1429Make MIPS pure multi-arch.
1430
1431It is only at the multi-arch enabled stage.
1432
1433--
1434
7ae38352
AC
1435Truly multi-arch.
1436
1437Enable the code to recognize --enable-targets=.... like BINUTILS does.
1438
4afc966c
AC
1439Can the tm.h and nm.h files be eliminated by multi-arch.
1440
7ae38352
AC
1441--
1442
4afc966c
AC
1443 Architectural Change: MI, LIBGDB and scripting languages
1444 ========================================================
7ae38352 1445
4afc966c
AC
1446See also architectural changes related to the event loop. LIBGDB
1447can't be finished until there is a generic event loop being used by
1448all targets.
1449
1450The long term objective is it to be possible to integrate GDB into
1451scripting languages.
7ae38352
AC
1452
1453--
1454
4afc966c 1455Implement generic ``(gdb) commmand > file''
7ae38352 1456
4afc966c
AC
1457Once everything is going through ui_file it should be come fairly
1458easy.
1459
1460http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb/2000-04/msg00104.html
1461
1462--
1463
1464Replace gdb_stdtarg with gdb_targout (and possibly gdb_targerr).
1465
1466gdb_stdtarg is easily confused with gdb_stdarg.
1467
1468--
1469
1470Extra ui_file methods - dump.
1471
26099b4a 1472Very useful for whitebox testing.
4afc966c
AC
1473
1474--
1475
1476Eliminate error_begin().
1477
1478With ui_file, there is no need for the statefull error_begin ()
1479function.
1480
1481--
1482
1483Send normal output to gdb_stdout.
1484Send error messages to gdb_stderror.
1485Send debug and log output log gdb_stdlog.
1486
1487GDB still contains many cases where (f)printf or printf_filtered () is
1488used when it should be sending the messages to gdb_stderror or
1489gdb_stdlog. The thought of #defining printf to something has crossed
1490peoples minds ;-)
7ae38352
AC
1491
1492--
1493
1494Re-do GDB's output pager.
1495
1496GDB's output pager still relies on people correctly using *_filtered
1497for gdb_stdout and *_unfiltered for gdb_stdlog / gdb_stderr.
1498Hopefully, with all normal output going to gdb_stdout, the pager can
1499just look at the ui_file that the output is on and then use that to
1500decide what to do about paging. Sounds good in theory.
1501
1502--
1503
4afc966c
AC
1504Check/cleanup MI documentation.
1505
1506The list of commands specified in the documentation needs to be
1507checked against the mi-cmds.c table in a mechanical way (so that they
1508two can be kept up-to-date).
1509
1510--
1511
1512Convert MI into libgdb
1513
1514MI provides a text interface into what should be many of the libgdb
1515functions. The implementation of those functions should be separated
1516into the MI interface and the functions proper. Those functions being
1517moved to gdb/lib say.
1518
1519--
1520
1521Create libgdb.h
1522
1523The first part can already be found in defs.h.
1524
1525--
1526
1527MI's input does not use buffering.
1528
1529At present the MI interface reads raw characters of from an unbuffered
1530FD. This is to avoid several nasty buffer/race conditions. That code
1531should be changed so that it registers its self with the event loop
1532(on the input FD) and then push commands up to MI as they arrive.
1533
1534The serial code already does this.
1535
1536--
1537
e26cc349 1538Make MI interface accessible from existing CLI.
4afc966c
AC
1539
1540--
1541
1542Add a breakpoint-edit command to MI.
1543
1544It would be similar to MI's breakpoint create but would apply to an
1545existing breakpoint. It saves the need to delete/create breakpoints
1546when ever they are changed.
1547
1548--
1549
1550Add directory path to MI breakpoint.
1551
1552That way the GUI's task of finding the file within which the
1553breakpoint was set is simplified.
1554
1555--
1556
1557Add a mechanism to reject certain expression classes to MI
7ae38352
AC
1558
1559There are situtations where you don't want GDB's expression
1560parser/evaluator to perform inferior function calls or variable
4afc966c
AC
1561assignments. A way of restricting the expression parser so that such
1562operations are not accepted would be very helpful.
7ae38352
AC
1563
1564--
1565
1566Remove sideffects from libgdb breakpoint create function.
1567
1568The user can use the CLI to create a breakpoint with partial
1569information - no file (gdb would use the file from the last
1570breakpoint).
1571
1572The libgdb interface currently affects that environment which can lead
1573to confusion when a user is setting breakpoints via both the MI and
1574the CLI.
1575
1576This is also a good example of how getting the CLI ``right'' will be
1577hard.
1578
1579--
1580
4afc966c 1581Move gdb_lasterr to ui_out?
7ae38352 1582
4afc966c
AC
1583The way GDB throws errors and records them needs a re-think. ui_out
1584handles the correct output well. It doesn't resolve what to do with
1585output / error-messages when things go wrong.
7ae38352 1586
97c3646f
AC
1587--
1588
1589do_setshow_command contains a 1024 byte buffer.
1590
1591The function assumes that there will never be any more than 1024 bytes
1592of enum. It should use mem_file.
1593
1594--
1595
1596Should struct cmd_list_element . completer take the command as an
1597argument?
1598
1599--
1600
1601Should the bulk of top.c:line_completion_function() be moved to
1602command.[hc]? complete_on_cmdlist() and complete_on_enums() could
1603then be made private.
1604
1605--
1606
1607top.c (execute_command): Should a command being valid when the target
1608is running be made an attribute (predicate) to the command rather than
1609an explicit set of tests.
1610
1611--
1612
1613top.c (execute_command): Should the bulk of this function be moved
1614into command.[hc] so that top.c doesn't grub around in the command
1615internals?
1616
4afc966c
AC
1617--
1618
1619 Architectural Change: Async
1620 ===========================
1621
1622While GDB uses an event loop when prompting the user for input. That
1623event loop is not exploited by targets when they allow the target
1624program to continue. Typically targets still block in (target_wait())
1625until the program again halts.
1626
1627The closest a target comes to supporting full asynchronous mode are
1628the remote targets ``async'' and ``extended-async''.
7ae38352
AC
1629
1630--
1631
4afc966c 1632Asynchronous expression evaluator
7ae38352 1633
4afc966c 1634Inferior function calls hang GDB.
7ae38352
AC
1635
1636--
1637
1638Fix implementation of ``target xxx''.
1639
1640At present when the user specifies ``target xxxx'', the CLI maps that
1641directly onto a target open method. It is then assumed that the
1642target open method should do all sorts of complicated things as this
1643is the only chance it has. Check how the various remote targets
1644duplicate the target operations. Check also how the various targets
1645behave differently for purely arbitrary reasons.
1646
1647What should happen is that ``target xxxx'' should call a generic
1648``target'' function and that should then co-ordinate the opening of
1649``xxxx''. This becomes especially important when you're trying to
1650open an asynchronous target that may need to perform background tasks
1651as part of the ``attach'' phase.
1652
e26cc349 1653Unfortunately, due to limitations in the old/creaking command.h
7ae38352
AC
1654interface, that isn't possible. The function being called isn't told
1655of the ``xxx'' or any other context information.
1656
1657Consequently a precursor to fixing ``target xxxx'' is to clean up the
1658CLI code so that it passes to the callback function (attatched to a
1659command) useful information such as the actual command and a context
1660for that command. Other changes such as making ``struct command''
1661opaque may also help.
1662
53904c9e
AC
1663See also:
1664http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ml/gdb-patches/2000-06/msg00062.html
1665
7ae38352
AC
1666--
1667
4afc966c
AC
1668Make "target xxx" command interruptible.
1669
1670As things become async this becomes possible. A target would start
1671the connect and then return control to the event loop. A cntrl-c
1672would notify the target that the operation is to be abandoned and the
1673target code could respond.
7ae38352
AC
1674
1675--
1676
4afc966c
AC
1677Add a "suspend" subcommand of the "continue" command to suspend gdb
1678while continuing execution of the subprocess. Useful when you are
1679debugging servers and you want to dodge out and initiate a connection
1680to a server running under gdb.
1681
1682[hey async!!]
7ae38352 1683
2a00c9ce
AC
1684--
1685
26099b4a
AC
1686 TODO FAQ
1687 ========
1688
1689Frequently requested but not approved requests.
1690
1691--
1692
1693Eliminate unused argument warnings using ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED.
1694
1695The benefits on this one are thought to be marginal - GDBs design
1696means that unused parameters are very common. GCC 3.0 will also
1697include the option -Wno-unused-parameter which means that ``-Wall
1698-Wno-unused-parameters -Werror'' can be specified.
1699
1700--
1701
1702
1703
2a00c9ce
AC
1704 Legacy Wish List
1705 ================
1706
1707This list is not up to date, and opinions vary about the importance or
1708even desirability of some of the items. If you do fix something, it
1709always pays to check the below.
1710
1711--
c906108c 1712
b83266a0
SS
1713@c This does not work (yet if ever). FIXME.
1714@c @item --parse=@var{lang} @dots{}
1715@c Configure the @value{GDBN} expression parser to parse the listed languages.
1716@c @samp{all} configures @value{GDBN} for all supported languages. To get a
1717@c list of all supported languages, omit the argument. Without this
1718@c option, @value{GDBN} is configured to parse all supported languages.
1719
7ae38352 1720--
c906108c
SS
1721
1722START_INFERIOR_TRAPS_EXPECTED need never be defined to 2, since that
1723is its default value. Clean this up.
1724
7ae38352
AC
1725--
1726
c906108c
SS
1727It should be possible to use symbols from shared libraries before we know
1728exactly where the libraries will be loaded. E.g. "b perror" before running
1729the program. This could maybe be done as an extension of the "breakpoint
1730re-evaluation" after new symbols are loaded.
1731
7ae38352
AC
1732--
1733
c906108c
SS
1734Make single_step() insert and remove breakpoints in one operation.
1735
26099b4a
AC
1736[If this is talking about having single_step() insert the breakpoints,
1737run the target then pull the breakpoints then it is wrong. The
1738function has to return as control has to eventually be passed back to
1739the main event loop.]
1740
7ae38352
AC
1741--
1742
c906108c
SS
1743Speed up single stepping by avoiding extraneous ptrace calls.
1744
7ae38352
AC
1745--
1746
c906108c
SS
1747Speed up single stepping by not inserting and removing breakpoints
1748each time the inferior starts and stops.
1749
1750Breakpoints should not be inserted and deleted all the time. Only the
1751one(s) there should be removed when we have to step over one. Support
1752breakpoints that don't have to be removed to step over them.
1753
7ae38352 1754[this has resulted in numerous debates. The issue isn't clear cut]
c906108c 1755
7ae38352 1756--
c906108c
SS
1757
1758Provide "voodoo" debugging of core files. This creates a zombie
1759process as a child of the debugger, and loads it up with the data,
1760stack, and regs of the core file. This allows you to call functions
1761in the executable, to manipulate the data in the core file.
1762
7ae38352 1763[you wish]
c906108c 1764
7ae38352 1765--
c906108c 1766
7ae38352 1767GDB reopens the source file on every line, as you "next" through it.
c906108c 1768
7ae38352 1769[still true? I've a memory of this being fixed]
c906108c 1770
7ae38352 1771--
c906108c
SS
1772
1773Perhaps "i source" should take an argument like that of "list".
1774
7ae38352 1775--
c906108c
SS
1776
1777Remove "at 0xnnnn" from the "b foo" response, if `print address off' and if
1778it matches the source line indicated.
1779
7ae38352 1780--
c906108c 1781
7ae38352 1782The prompt at end of screen should accept space as well as CR.
c906108c 1783
7ae38352 1784--
c906108c
SS
1785
1786Backtrace should point out what the currently selected frame is, in
1787its display, perhaps showing "@3 foo (bar, ...)" or ">3 foo (bar,
1788...)" rather than "#3 foo (bar, ...)".
1789
7ae38352
AC
1790--
1791
c906108c
SS
1792"i program" should work for core files, and display more info, like what
1793actually caused it to die.
1794
7ae38352
AC
1795--
1796
c906108c
SS
1797"x/10i" should shorten the long name, if any, on subsequent lines.
1798
7ae38352 1799--
c906108c
SS
1800
1801"next" over a function that longjumps, never stops until next time you happen
1802to get to that spot by accident. E.g. "n" over execute_command which has
1803an error.
1804
7ae38352
AC
1805--
1806
c906108c
SS
1807"set zeroprint off", don't bother printing members of structs which
1808are entirely zero. Useful for those big structs with few useful
1809members.
1810
7ae38352
AC
1811--
1812
c906108c
SS
1813GDB does four ioctl's for every command, probably switching terminal modes
1814to/from inferior or for readline or something.
1815
7ae38352
AC
1816--
1817
c906108c
SS
1818terminal_ours versus terminal_inferior: cache state. Switch should be a noop
1819if the state is the same, too.
1820
7ae38352 1821--
c906108c
SS
1822
1823"i frame" shows wrong "arglist at" location, doesn't show where the args
1824should be found, only their actual values.
1825
7ae38352
AC
1826--
1827
c906108c
SS
1828There should be a way for "set" commands to validate the new setting
1829before it takes effect.
1830
7ae38352 1831--
c906108c
SS
1832
1833"ena d" is ambiguous, why? "ena delete" seems to think it is a command!
1834
7ae38352 1835--
c906108c
SS
1836
1837i line VAR produces "Line number not known for symbol ``var''.". I
1838thought we were stashing that info now!
1839
7ae38352
AC
1840--
1841
c906108c
SS
1842We should be able to write to random files at hex offsets like adb.
1843
7ae38352
AC
1844--
1845
7ae38352
AC
1846[elena - delete this]
1847
c906108c
SS
1848Handle add_file with separate text, data, and bss addresses. Maybe
1849handle separate addresses for each segment in the object file?
1850
7ae38352
AC
1851--
1852
1853[Jimb/Elena delete this one]
1854
c906108c
SS
1855Handle free_named_symtab to cope with multiply-loaded object files
1856in a dynamic linking environment. Should remember the last copy loaded,
1857but not get too snowed if it finds references to the older copy.
1858
7ae38352
AC
1859--
1860
1861[elena delete this also]
c906108c
SS
1862
1863Remove all references to:
1864 text_offset
1865 data_offset
1866 text_data_start
1867 text_end
1868 exec_data_offset
1869 ...
1870now that we have BFD. All remaining are in machine dependent files.
1871
7ae38352 1872--
c906108c
SS
1873
1874Re-organize help categories into things that tend to fit on a screen
1875and hang together.
1876
7ae38352 1877--
c906108c
SS
1878
1879Add in commands like ADB's for searching for patterns, etc. We should
1880be able to examine and patch raw unsymboled binaries as well in gdb as
1881we can in adb. (E.g. increase the timeout in /bin/login without source).
1882
7ae38352
AC
1883[actually, add ADB interface :-]
1884
1885--
c906108c
SS
1886
1887When doing "step" or "next", if a few lines of source are skipped between
1888the previous line and the current one, print those lines, not just the
1889last line of a multiline statement.
1890
7ae38352 1891--
c906108c
SS
1892
1893Handling of "&" address-of operator needs some serious overhaul
1894for ANSI C and consistency on arrays and functions.
1895 For "float point[15];":
1896ptype &point[4] ==> Attempt to take address of non-lvalue.
1897 For "char *malloc();":
1898ptype malloc ==> "char *()"; should be same as
1899ptype &malloc ==> "char *(*)()"
1900call printf ("%x\n", malloc) ==> weird value, should be same as
1901call printf ("%x\n", &malloc) ==> correct value
1902
7ae38352
AC
1903--
1904
c906108c
SS
1905Fix dbxread.c symbol reading in the presence of interrupts. It
1906currently leaves a cleanup to blow away the entire symbol table when a
1907QUIT occurs. (What's wrong with that? -kingdon, 28 Oct 1993).
1908
7ae38352
AC
1909[I suspect that the grype was that, on a slow system, you might want
1910to cntrl-c and get just half the symbols and then load the rest later
1911- scary to be honest]
1912
1913--
1914
c906108c
SS
1915Mipsread.c reads include files depth-first, because the dependencies
1916in the psymtabs are way too inclusive (it seems to me). Figure out what
1917really depends on what, to avoid recursing 20 or 30 times while reading
1918real symtabs.
1919
7ae38352
AC
1920--
1921
c906108c
SS
1922value_add() should be subtracting the lower bound of arrays, if known,
1923and possibly checking against the upper bound for error reporting.
1924
7ae38352 1925--
c906108c
SS
1926
1927When listing source lines, check for a preceding \n, to verify that
1928the file hasn't changed out from under us.
1929
7ae38352
AC
1930[fixed by some other means I think. That hack wouldn't actually work
1931reliably - the file might move such that another \n appears. ]
c906108c 1932
7ae38352 1933--
c906108c
SS
1934
1935Get all the remote systems (where the protocol allows it) to be able to
1936stop the remote system when the GDB user types ^C (like remote.c
1937does). For ebmon, use ^Ak.
1938
7ae38352
AC
1939--
1940
c906108c
SS
1941Possible feature: A version of the "disassemble" command which shows
1942both source and assembly code ("set symbol-filename on" is a partial
1943solution).
1944
7ae38352
AC
1945[has this been done? It was certainly done for MI and GDBtk]
1946
1947--
1948
c906108c
SS
1949investigate "x/s 0" (right now stops early) (I think maybe GDB is
1950using a 0 address for bad purposes internally).
1951
7ae38352
AC
1952--
1953
c906108c
SS
1954Make "info path" and path_command work again (but independent of the
1955environment either of gdb or that we'll pass to the inferior).
1956
7ae38352
AC
1957--
1958
c906108c
SS
1959Make GDB understand the GCC feature for putting octal constants in
1960enums. Make it so overflow on an enum constant does not error_type
1961the whole type. Allow arbitrarily large enums with type attributes.
1962Put all this stuff in the testsuite.
1963
7ae38352
AC
1964--
1965
c906108c
SS
1966Make TYPE_CODE_ERROR with a non-zero TYPE_LENGTH more useful (print
1967the value in hex; process type attributes). Add this to the
1968testsuite. This way future compilers can add new types and old
1969versions of GDB can do something halfway reasonable.
1970
7ae38352 1971--
c906108c
SS
1972
1973Fix mdebugread.c:parse_type to do fundamental types right (see
1974rs6000_builtin_type in stabsread.c for what "right" is--the point is
1975that the debug format fixes the sizes of these things and it shouldn't
1976depend on stuff like TARGET_PTR_BIT and so on. For mdebug, there seem
1977to be separate bt* codes for 64 bit and 32 bit things, and GDB should
1978be aware of that). Also use a switch statement for clarity and speed.
1979
7ae38352
AC
1980--
1981
c906108c
SS
1982Investigate adding symbols in target_load--some targets do, some
1983don't.
1984
7ae38352
AC
1985--
1986
c906108c
SS
1987Put dirname in psymtabs and change lookup*symtab to use dirname (so
1988/foo/bar.c works whether compiled by cc /foo/bar.c, or cd /foo; cc
1989bar.c).
1990
7ae38352
AC
1991--
1992
c906108c
SS
1993Merge xcoffread.c and coffread.c. Use breakpoint_re_set instead of
1994fixup_breakpoints.
1995
7ae38352 1996--
c906108c
SS
1997
1998Make a watchpoint which contains a function call an error (it is
1999broken now, making it work is probably not worth the effort).
2000
7ae38352 2001--
c906108c
SS
2002
2003New test case based on weird.exp but in which type numbers are not
2004renumbered (thus multiply defining a type). This currently causes an
2005infinite loop on "p v_comb".
2006
7ae38352 2007--
c906108c 2008
7ae38352 2009[Hey! Hint Hint Delete Delete!!!]
c906108c
SS
2010
2011Fix 386 floating point so that floating point registers are real
2012registers (but code can deal at run-time if they are missing, like
2013mips and 68k). This would clean up "info float" and related stuff.
2014
7ae38352 2015--
c906108c
SS
2016
2017gcc -g -c enummask.c then gdb enummask.o, then "p v". GDB complains
2018about not being able to access memory location 0.
2019
2020-------------------- enummask.c
2021enum mask
2022{
2023 ANIMAL = 0,
2024 VEGETABLE = 1,
2025 MINERAL = 2,
2026 BASIC_CATEGORY = 3,
2027
2028 WHITE = 0,
2029 BLUE = 4,
2030 GREEN = 8,
2031 BLACK = 0xc,
2032 COLOR = 0xc,
2033
2034 ALIVE = 0x10,
2035
2036 LARGE = 0x20
2037} v;
2038
7ae38352
AC
2039--
2040
c906108c
SS
2041If try to modify value in file with "set write off" should give
2042appropriate error not "cannot access memory at address 0x65e0".
2043
7ae38352 2044--
c906108c 2045
c906108c
SS
2046Allow core file without exec file on RS/6000.
2047
7ae38352
AC
2048--
2049
c906108c
SS
2050Make sure "shell" with no arguments works right on DOS.
2051
7ae38352
AC
2052--
2053
c906108c
SS
2054Make gdb.ini (as well as .gdbinit) be checked on all platforms, so
2055the same directory can be NFS-mounted on unix or DOS, and work the
2056same way.
2057
7ae38352
AC
2058--
2059
2060[Is this another delete???]
c906108c
SS
2061
2062Get SECT_OFF_TEXT stuff out of objfile_relocate (might be needed to
2063get RS/6000 to work right, might not be immediately relevant).
2064
7ae38352 2065--
c906108c
SS
2066
2067Work out some kind of way to allow running the inferior to be done as
2068a sub-execution of, eg. breakpoint command lists. Currently running
2069the inferior interupts any command list execution. This would require
2070some rewriting of wait_for_inferior & friends, and hence should
2071probably be done in concert with the above.
2072
7ae38352
AC
2073--
2074
c906108c
SS
2075Add function arguments to gdb user defined functions.
2076
7ae38352
AC
2077--
2078
c906108c
SS
2079Add convenience variables that refer to exec file, symbol file,
2080selected frame source file, selected frame function, selected frame
2081line number, etc.
2082
7ae38352
AC
2083--
2084
c906108c
SS
2085Modify the handling of symbols grouped through BINCL/EINCL stabs to
2086allocate a partial symtab for each BINCL/EINCL grouping. This will
2087seriously decrease the size of inter-psymtab dependencies and hence
2088lessen the amount that needs to be read in when a new source file is
2089accessed.
2090
7ae38352 2091--
c906108c 2092
c906108c
SS
2093Add a command for searching memory, a la adb. It specifies size,
2094mask, value, start address. ADB searches until it finds it or hits
2095an error (or is interrupted).
2096
7ae38352
AC
2097--
2098
b83266a0
SS
2099Remove the range and type checking code and documentation, if not
2100going to implement.
2101
c906108c
SS
2102# Local Variables:
2103# mode: text
2104# End:
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