Commit | Line | Data |
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4a44dc1a JK |
1 | If you find inaccuracies in this list, please send mail to |
2 | bug-gdb@prep.ai.mit.edu. | |
dd3b648e | 3 | |
4a44dc1a JK |
4 | General To Do List |
5 | ------------------ | |
6 | ||
7 | This to do list is probably not up to date, and opinions may vary | |
8 | about the importance or even desirability of some of the items. | |
dd3b648e | 9 | |
2b9fbee4 SS |
10 | START_INFERIOR_TRAPS_EXPECTED need never be defined to 2, since that |
11 | is its default value. Clean this up. | |
12 | ||
dd3b648e RP |
13 | It should be possible to use symbols from shared libraries before we know |
14 | exactly where the libraries will be loaded. E.g. "b perror" before running | |
15 | the program. This could maybe be done as an extension of the "breakpoint | |
16 | re-evaluation" after new symbols are loaded. | |
17 | ||
18 | Make single_step() insert and remove breakpoints in one operation. | |
19 | ||
20 | Speed up single stepping by avoiding extraneous ptrace calls. | |
21 | ||
22 | Speed up single stepping by not inserting and removing breakpoints | |
23 | each time the inferior starts and stops. | |
24 | ||
adf2bb58 JG |
25 | Breakpoints should not be inserted and deleted all the time. Only the |
26 | one(s) there should be removed when we have to step over one. Support | |
27 | breakpoints that don't have to be removed to step over them. | |
28 | ||
b1dcd6ac | 29 | Update gdbint.texinfo to include doc on the directory structure and |
dd3b648e RP |
30 | the various tricks of building gdb. |
31 | ||
32 | Do a tutorial in gdb.texinfo on how to do simple things in gdb. | |
33 | E.g. how to set a breakpoint that just prints something and continues. | |
34 | How to break on aborts. Etc. | |
35 | ||
dd3b648e RP |
36 | Provide "voodoo" debugging of core files. This creates a zombie |
37 | process as a child of the debugger, and loads it up with the data, | |
38 | stack, and regs of the core file. This allows you to call functions | |
39 | in the executable, to manipulate the data in the core file. | |
40 | ||
41 | GDB reopens the source file on every line, as you "next" through it. | |
42 | ||
43 | Referencing the vtbl member of a struct doesn't work. It prints OK | |
44 | if you print the struct, but it gets 0 if you try to deref it. | |
45 | ||
46 | Persistent command history: A feature where you could save off a list | |
47 | of the commands you did, so you can edit it into something that will bring | |
adf2bb58 | 48 | the target to the same place every time you source it. |
dd3b648e RP |
49 | This would also be useful for automated fast watchpointing; if you go |
50 | past the place where it watchpoints, you just start it over again and | |
51 | do it more carefully. | |
52 | ||
adf2bb58 JG |
53 | Deal with the SunOS 4.0 and 4.1.1 ptrace bug that loses the registers if |
54 | the stack is paged out. | |
dd3b648e RP |
55 | |
56 | Finish the C++ exception handling stub routines. Lint points them out | |
57 | as unused statics functions. | |
58 | ||
adf2bb58 | 59 | Perhaps "i source" should take an argument like that of "list". |
dd3b648e RP |
60 | |
61 | See if coredep.c's fetch_core_registers can be used on more machines. | |
62 | E.g. MIPS (mips-xdep.c). | |
63 | ||
dd3b648e RP |
64 | unpack_double() does not handle IEEE float on the target unless the host |
65 | is also IEEE. Death on a vax. | |
66 | ||
dd3b648e RP |
67 | Set up interface between GDB and INFO so that you can hop into interactive |
68 | INFO and back out again. When running under Emacs, should use Emacs | |
69 | info, else fork the info program. Installation of GDB should install | |
70 | its texinfo files into the info tree automagically, including the readline | |
adf2bb58 | 71 | texinfo files. |
dd3b648e | 72 | |
adf2bb58 | 73 | "help address" ought to find the "help set print address" entry. |
dd3b648e RP |
74 | |
75 | Remove the VTBL internal guts from printouts of C++ structs, unless | |
76 | vtblprint is set. | |
77 | ||
b1dcd6ac | 78 | Remove "at 0xnnnn" from the "b foo" response, if `print address off' and if |
dd3b648e RP |
79 | it matches the source line indicated. |
80 | ||
81 | The prompt at end of screen should accept space as well as CR. | |
82 | ||
dd3b648e RP |
83 | Check STORE_RETURN_VALUE on all architectures. Check near it in tm-sparc.h |
84 | for other bogosities. | |
85 | ||
86 | Check for storage leaks in GDB, I'm sure there are a lot! | |
87 | ||
88 | vtblprint of a vtbl should demangle the names it's printing. | |
89 | ||
4a44dc1a JK |
90 | Backtrace should point out what the currently selected frame is, in |
91 | its display, perhaps showing "@3 foo (bar, ...)" or ">3 foo (bar, | |
92 | ...)" rather than "#3 foo (bar, ...)". | |
dd3b648e RP |
93 | |
94 | "i program" should work for core files, and display more info, like what | |
95 | actually caused it to die. | |
96 | ||
dd3b648e RP |
97 | "x/10i" should shorten the long name, if any, on subsequent lines. |
98 | ||
99 | Check through the code for FIXME comments and fix them. dbxread.c, | |
054308ad | 100 | blockframe.c, and plenty more. (I count 634 as of 940621 - sts) |
dd3b648e RP |
101 | |
102 | "next" over a function that longjumps, never stops until next time you happen | |
103 | to get to that spot by accident. E.g. "n" over execute_command which has | |
104 | an error. | |
105 | ||
adf2bb58 | 106 | Watchpoints seem not entirely reliable, though they haven't failed me recently. |
dd3b648e RP |
107 | |
108 | "set zeroprint off", don't bother printing members of structs which are entirely | |
109 | zero. Useful for those big structs with few useful members. | |
110 | ||
111 | GDB does four ioctl's for every command, probably switching terminal modes | |
112 | to/from inferior or for readline or something. | |
113 | ||
114 | terminal_ours versus terminal_inferior: cache state. Switch should be a noop | |
115 | if the state is the same, too. | |
116 | ||
117 | ptype $i6 = void??! | |
118 | ||
119 | Clean up invalid_float handling so gdb doesn't coredump when it tries to | |
120 | access a NaN. While this might work on SPARC, other machines are not | |
121 | configured right. | |
122 | ||
123 | "b value_at ; commands ; continue ; end" stops EVERY OTHER TIME! | |
124 | Then once you enter a command, it does the command, runs two more | |
125 | times, and then stops again! Bizarre... (This behaviour has been | |
126 | modified, but it is not yet 100% predictable when e.g. the commands | |
127 | call functions in the child, and while there, the child is interrupted | |
128 | with a signal, or hits a breakpoint.) | |
129 | ||
dd3b648e RP |
130 | help completion, help history should work. |
131 | ||
dd3b648e RP |
132 | Check that we can handle stack trace through varargs AND alloca in same |
133 | function, on 29K. | |
134 | ||
135 | wait_for_inferior loops forever if wait() gives it an error. | |
136 | ||
dd3b648e RP |
137 | "i frame" shows wrong "arglist at" location, doesn't show where the args |
138 | should be found, only their actual values. | |
139 | ||
dd3b648e RP |
140 | There should be a way for "set" commands to validate the new setting |
141 | before it takes effect. | |
142 | ||
dd3b648e RP |
143 | A mess of floating point opcodes are missing from sparc-opcode.h. |
144 | Also, a little program should test the table for bits that are | |
145 | overspecified or underspecified. E.g. if the must-be-ones bits | |
146 | and the must-be-zeroes bits leave some fields unexamined, and the format | |
147 | string leaves them unprinted, then point this out. If multiple | |
148 | non-alias patterns match, point this out too. Finally, there should | |
149 | be a sparc-optest.s file that tries each pattern out. This file | |
150 | should end up coming back the same (modulo transformation comments) | |
151 | if fed to "gas" then the .o is fed to gdb for disassembly. | |
152 | ||
dd3b648e RP |
153 | Eliminate all the core_file_command's in all the xdep files. |
154 | Eliminate separate declarations of registers[] everywhere. | |
155 | ||
156 | "ena d" is ambiguous, why? "ena delete" seems to think it is a command! | |
157 | ||
77eb2e8f JK |
158 | Perhaps move the tdep, xdep, and nat files, into the config |
159 | subdirectories. If not, at least straighten out their names so that | |
dd3b648e RP |
160 | they all start with the machine name. |
161 | ||
162 | inferior_status should include stop_print_frame. It won't need to be | |
163 | reset in wait_for_inferior after bpstat_stop_status call, then. | |
164 | ||
165 | i line VAR produces "Line number not known for symbol ``var''.". I | |
166 | thought we were stashing that info now! | |
167 | ||
dd3b648e RP |
168 | We should be able to write to random files at hex offsets like adb. |
169 | ||
dd3b648e RP |
170 | Make "target xxx" command interruptible. |
171 | ||
172 | Handle add_file with separate text, data, and bss addresses. Maybe | |
173 | handle separate addresses for each segment in the object file? | |
174 | ||
175 | Handle free_named_symtab to cope with multiply-loaded object files | |
176 | in a dynamic linking environment. Should remember the last copy loaded, | |
177 | but not get too snowed if it finds references to the older copy. | |
178 | ||
dd3b648e | 179 | Generalize and Standardize the RPC interface to a target program, |
adf2bb58 JG |
180 | improve it beyond the "ptrace" interface, and see if it can become a |
181 | standard for remote debugging. | |
dd3b648e RP |
182 | |
183 | Remove all references to: | |
184 | text_offset | |
185 | data_offset | |
186 | text_data_start | |
187 | text_end | |
188 | exec_data_offset | |
189 | ... | |
190 | now that we have BFD. All remaining are in machine dependent files. | |
191 | ||
192 | When quitting with a running program, if a core file was previously | |
193 | examined, you get "Couldn't read float regs from core file"...if | |
194 | indeed it can't. generic_mourn_inferior... | |
195 | ||
4a44dc1a JK |
196 | Have remote targets give a warning on a signal argument to |
197 | target_resume. Or better yet, extend the protocols so that it works | |
198 | like it does on the Unix-like systems. | |
dd3b648e | 199 | |
dd3b648e RP |
200 | Sort help and info output. |
201 | ||
202 | Re-organize help categories into things that tend to fit on a screen | |
203 | and hang together. | |
204 | ||
dd3b648e RP |
205 | renote-nindy.c handles interrupts poorly; it error()s out of badly |
206 | chosen places, e.g. leaving current_frame zero, which causes core dumps | |
207 | on the next command. | |
208 | ||
209 | Add in commands like ADB's for searching for patterns, etc. We should | |
210 | be able to examine and patch raw unsymboled binaries as well in gdb as | |
211 | we can in adb. (E.g. increase the timeout in /bin/login without source). | |
212 | ||
213 | Those xdep files that call register_addr without defining it are | |
214 | probably simply broken. When reconfiguring this part of gdb, I could | |
215 | only make guesses about how to redo some of those files, and I | |
216 | probably guessed wrong, or left them "for later" when I have a | |
217 | machine that can attempt to build them. | |
218 | ||
dd3b648e RP |
219 | When doing "step" or "next", if a few lines of source are skipped between |
220 | the previous line and the current one, print those lines, not just the | |
221 | last line of a multiline statement. | |
222 | ||
223 | When searching for C++ superclasses in value_cast in valops.c, we must | |
224 | not search the "fields", only the "superclasses". There might be a | |
225 | struct with a field name that matches the superclass name. This can | |
226 | happen when the struct was defined before the superclass (before the | |
227 | name became a typedef). | |
228 | ||
36b9d39c JG |
229 | Handling of "&" address-of operator needs some serious overhaul |
230 | for ANSI C and consistency on arrays and functions. | |
231 | For "float point[15];": | |
dd3b648e | 232 | ptype &point[4] ==> Attempt to take address of non-lvalue. |
36b9d39c JG |
233 | For "char *malloc();": |
234 | ptype malloc ==> "char *()"; should be same as | |
235 | ptype &malloc ==> "char *(*)()" | |
9da0e790 | 236 | call printf ("%x\n", malloc) ==> weird value, should be same as |
36b9d39c | 237 | call printf ("%x\n", &malloc) ==> correct value |
dd3b648e | 238 | |
4a44dc1a JK |
239 | Fix dbxread.c symbol reading in the presence of interrupts. It |
240 | currently leaves a cleanup to blow away the entire symbol table when a | |
241 | QUIT occurs. (What's wrong with that? -kingdon, 28 Oct 1993). | |
ef98d5ac JG |
242 | |
243 | Mipsread.c reads include files depth-first, because the dependencies | |
244 | in the psymtabs are way too inclusive (it seems to me). Figure out what | |
245 | really depends on what, to avoid recursing 20 or 30 times while reading | |
246 | real symtabs. | |
247 | ||
248 | value_add() should be subtracting the lower bound of arrays, if known, | |
249 | and possibly checking against the upper bound for error reporting. | |
250 | ||
251 | mipsread.c symbol table allocation and deallocation should be checked. | |
252 | My suspicion is that it's full of memory leaks. | |
253 | ||
254 | SunOS should have a target_lookup_symbol() for common'd things allocated | |
255 | by the shared library linker ld.so. | |
256 | ||
257 | When listing source lines, check for a preceding \n, to verify that | |
258 | the file hasn't changed out from under us. | |
259 | ||
260 | When listing source lines, eat leading whitespace corresponding to the | |
261 | line-number prefix we print. This avoids long lines wrapping. | |
262 | ||
263 | mipsread.c needs to check for old symtabs and psymtabs for the same | |
264 | files, the way it happens for dbxread.c and coffread.c, for VxWorks | |
265 | incremental symbol table reloading. | |
266 | ||
4a44dc1a JK |
267 | Get all the remote systems (where the protocol allows it) to be able to |
268 | stop the remote system when the GDB user types ^C (like remote.c | |
269 | does). For ebmon, use ^Ak. | |
ce31a796 JK |
270 | |
271 | Possible feature: A version of the "disassemble" command which shows | |
2af4851f JK |
272 | both source and assembly code ("set symbol-filename on" is a partial |
273 | solution). | |
054308ad SS |
274 | |
275 | xcoffexec.c should be eliminated, contents going into either exec.c | |
276 | or rs6000-nat.c. | |
277 |