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[deliverable/binutils-gdb.git] / gdb / NEWS
1 What has changed in GDB?
2 (Organized release by release)
3
4 *** Changes since GDB 7.6
5
6 * GDB now supports Fission DWP file format version 2.
7 http://gcc.gnu.org/wiki/DebugFission
8
9 * New convenience function "$_isvoid", to check whether an expression
10 is void. A void expression is an expression where the type of the
11 result is "void". For example, some convenience variables may be
12 "void" when evaluated (e.g., "$_exitcode" before the execution of
13 the program being debugged; or an undefined convenience variable).
14 Another example, when calling a function whose return type is
15 "void".
16
17 * The "maintenance print objfiles" command now takes an optional regexp.
18
19 * The "catch syscall" command now works on arm*-linux* targets.
20
21 * GDB now consistently shows "<not saved>" when printing values of
22 registers the debug info indicates have not been saved in the frame
23 and there's nowhere to retrieve them from
24 (callee-saved/call-clobbered registers):
25
26 (gdb) p $rax
27 $1 = <not saved>
28
29 (gdb) info registers rax
30 rax <not saved>
31
32 Before, the former would print "<optimized out>", and the latter
33 "*value not available*".
34
35 * Python scripting
36
37 ** Frame filters and frame decorators have been added.
38 ** Temporary breakpoints are now supported.
39 ** Line tables representation has been added.
40
41 * New targets
42
43 Nios II ELF nios2*-*-elf
44 Nios II GNU/Linux nios2*-*-linux
45 Texas Instruments MSP430 msp430*-*-elf
46
47 * Removed native configurations
48
49 Support for these a.out NetBSD and OpenBSD obsolete configurations has
50 been removed. ELF variants of these configurations are kept supported.
51
52 arm*-*-netbsd* but arm*-*-netbsdelf* is kept supported.
53 i[34567]86-*-netbsd* but i[34567]86-*-netbsdelf* is kept supported.
54 i[34567]86-*-openbsd[0-2].* but i[34567]86-*-openbsd* is kept supported.
55 i[34567]86-*-openbsd3.[0-3]
56 m68*-*-netbsd* but m68*-*-netbsdelf* is kept supported.
57 sparc-*-netbsd* but sparc-*-netbsdelf* is kept supported.
58 vax-*-netbsd* but vax-*-netbsdelf* is kept supported.
59
60 * New commands:
61 catch rethrow
62 Like "catch throw", but catches a re-thrown exception.
63 maint check-psymtabs
64 Renamed from old "maint check-symtabs".
65 maint check-symtabs
66 Perform consistency checks on symtabs.
67 maint expand-symtabs
68 Expand symtabs matching an optional regexp.
69
70 show configuration
71 Display the details of GDB configure-time options.
72
73 maint set|show per-command
74 maint set|show per-command space
75 maint set|show per-command time
76 maint set|show per-command symtab
77 Enable display of per-command gdb resource usage.
78
79 remove-symbol-file FILENAME
80 remove-symbol-file -a ADDRESS
81 Remove a symbol file added via add-symbol-file. The file to remove
82 can be identified by its filename or by an address that lies within
83 the boundaries of this symbol file in memory.
84
85 info exceptions
86 info exceptions REGEXP
87 Display the list of Ada exceptions defined in the program being
88 debugged. If provided, only the exceptions whose names match REGEXP
89 are listed.
90
91 * New options
92
93 set debug symfile off|on
94 show debug symfile
95 Control display of debugging info regarding reading symbol files and
96 symbol tables within those files
97
98 set print raw frame-arguments
99 show print raw frame-arguments
100 Set/show whether to print frame arguments in raw mode,
101 disregarding any defined pretty-printers.
102
103 set remote trace-status-packet
104 show remote trace-status-packet
105 Set/show the use of remote protocol qTStatus packet.
106
107 set debug nios2
108 show debug nios2
109 Control display of debugging messages related to Nios II targets.
110
111 set range-stepping
112 show range-stepping
113 Control whether target-assisted range stepping is enabled.
114
115 set startup-with-shell
116 show startup-with-shell
117 Specifies whether Unix child processes are started via a shell or
118 directly.
119
120 set code-cache
121 show code-cache
122 Use the target memory cache for accesses to the code segment. This
123 improves performance of remote debugging (particularly disassembly).
124
125 * You can now use a literal value 'unlimited' for options that
126 interpret 0 or -1 as meaning "unlimited". E.g., "set
127 trace-buffer-size unlimited" is now an alias for "set
128 trace-buffer-size -1" and "set height unlimited" is now an alias for
129 "set height 0".
130
131 * The "set debug symtab-create" debugging option of GDB has been changed to
132 accept a verbosity level. 0 means "off", 1 provides basic debugging
133 output, and values of 2 or greater provides more verbose output.
134
135 * New command-line options
136 --configuration
137 Display the details of GDB configure-time options.
138
139 * The command 'tsave' can now support new option '-ctf' to save trace
140 buffer in Common Trace Format.
141
142 * Newly installed $prefix/bin/gcore acts as a shell interface for the
143 GDB command gcore.
144
145 * GDB now implements the the C++ 'typeid' operator.
146
147 * The new convenience variable $_exception holds the exception being
148 thrown or caught at an exception-related catchpoint.
149
150 * The exception-related catchpoints, like "catch throw", now accept a
151 regular expression which can be used to filter exceptions by type.
152
153 * The new convenience variable $_exitsignal is automatically set to
154 the terminating signal number when the program being debugged dies
155 due to an uncaught signal.
156
157 * MI changes
158
159 ** All MI commands now accept an optional "--language" option.
160
161 ** The -trace-save MI command can optionally save trace buffer in Common
162 Trace Format now.
163
164 ** The new command -dprintf-insert sets a dynamic printf breakpoint.
165
166 ** The command -data-list-register-values now accepts an optional
167 "--skip-unavailable" option. When used, only the available registers
168 are displayed.
169
170 ** The new command -trace-frame-collected dumps collected variables,
171 computed expressions, tvars, memory and registers in a traceframe.
172
173 ** The commands -stack-list-locals, -stack-list-arguments and
174 -stack-list-variables now accept an option "--skip-unavailable".
175 When used, only the available locals or arguments are displayed.
176
177 ** The -exec-run command now accepts an optional "--start" option.
178 When used, the command follows the same semantics as the "start"
179 command, stopping the program's execution at the start of its
180 main subprogram.
181
182 ** The new commands -catch-assert and -catch-exceptions insert
183 catchpoints stopping the program when Ada exceptions are raised.
184
185 ** The new command -info-ada-exceptions provides the equivalent of
186 the new "info exceptions" command.
187
188 * New system-wide configuration scripts
189 A GDB installation now provides scripts suitable for use as system-wide
190 configuration scripts for the following systems:
191 ** ElinOS
192 ** Wind River Linux
193
194 * GDB now supports target-assigned range stepping with remote targets.
195 This improves the performance of stepping source lines by reducing
196 the number of control packets from/to GDB. See "New remote packets"
197 below.
198
199 * GDB now understands the element 'tvar' in the XML traceframe info.
200 It has the id of the collected trace state variables.
201
202 * On S/390 targets that provide the transactional-execution feature,
203 the program interruption transaction diagnostic block (TDB) is now
204 represented as a number of additional "registers" in GDB.
205
206 * New remote packets
207
208 vCont;r
209
210 The vCont packet supports a new 'r' action, that tells the remote
211 stub to step through an address range itself, without GDB
212 involvemement at each single-step.
213
214 qXfer:libraries-svr4:read's annex
215 The previously unused annex of the qXfer:libraries-svr4:read packet
216 is now used to support passing an argument list. The remote stub
217 reports support for this argument list to GDB's qSupported query.
218 The defined arguments are "start" and "prev", used to reduce work
219 necessary for library list updating, resulting in significant
220 speedup.
221
222 * New features in the GDB remote stub, GDBserver
223
224 ** GDBserver now supports target-assisted range stepping. Currently
225 enabled on x86/x86_64 GNU/Linux targets.
226
227 ** GDBserver now adds element 'tvar' in the XML in the reply to
228 'qXfer:traceframe-info:read'. It has the id of the collected
229 trace state variables.
230
231 ** GDBserver now supports hardware watchpoints on the MIPS GNU/Linux
232 target.
233
234 * New 'z' formatter for printing and examining memory, this displays the
235 value as hexadecimal zero padded on the left to the size of the type.
236
237 * GDB can now use Windows x64 unwinding data.
238
239 * The "set remotebaud" command has been replaced by "set serial baud".
240 Similarly, "show remotebaud" has been replaced by "show serial baud".
241 The "set remotebaud" and "show remotebaud" commands are still available
242 to provide backward compatibility with older versions of GDB.
243
244 *** Changes in GDB 7.6
245
246 * Target record has been renamed to record-full.
247 Record/replay is now enabled with the "record full" command.
248 This also affects settings that are associated with full record/replay
249 that have been moved from "set/show record" to "set/show record full":
250
251 set|show record full insn-number-max
252 set|show record full stop-at-limit
253 set|show record full memory-query
254
255 * A new record target "record-btrace" has been added. The new target
256 uses hardware support to record the control-flow of a process. It
257 does not support replaying the execution, but it implements the
258 below new commands for investigating the recorded execution log.
259 This new recording method can be enabled using:
260
261 record btrace
262
263 The "record-btrace" target is only available on Intel Atom processors
264 and requires a Linux kernel 2.6.32 or later.
265
266 * Two new commands have been added for record/replay to give information
267 about the recorded execution without having to replay the execution.
268 The commands are only supported by "record btrace".
269
270 record instruction-history prints the execution history at
271 instruction granularity
272
273 record function-call-history prints the execution history at
274 function granularity
275
276 * New native configurations
277
278 ARM AArch64 GNU/Linux aarch64*-*-linux-gnu
279 FreeBSD/powerpc powerpc*-*-freebsd
280 x86_64/Cygwin x86_64-*-cygwin*
281 Tilera TILE-Gx GNU/Linux tilegx*-*-linux-gnu
282
283 * New targets
284
285 ARM AArch64 aarch64*-*-elf
286 ARM AArch64 GNU/Linux aarch64*-*-linux
287 Lynx 178 PowerPC powerpc-*-lynx*178
288 x86_64/Cygwin x86_64-*-cygwin*
289 Tilera TILE-Gx GNU/Linux tilegx*-*-linux
290
291 * If the configured location of system.gdbinit file (as given by the
292 --with-system-gdbinit option at configure time) is in the
293 data-directory (as specified by --with-gdb-datadir at configure
294 time) or in one of its subdirectories, then GDB will look for the
295 system-wide init file in the directory specified by the
296 --data-directory command-line option.
297
298 * New command line options:
299
300 -nh Disables auto-loading of ~/.gdbinit, but still executes all the
301 other initialization files, unlike -nx which disables all of them.
302
303 * Removed command line options
304
305 -epoch This was used by the gdb mode in Epoch, an ancient fork of
306 Emacs.
307
308 * The 'ptype' and 'whatis' commands now accept an argument to control
309 type formatting.
310
311 * 'info proc' now works on some core files.
312
313 * Python scripting
314
315 ** Vectors can be created with gdb.Type.vector.
316
317 ** Python's atexit.register now works in GDB.
318
319 ** Types can be pretty-printed via a Python API.
320
321 ** Python 3 is now supported (in addition to Python 2.4 or later)
322
323 ** New class gdb.Architecture exposes GDB's internal representation
324 of architecture in the Python API.
325
326 ** New method Frame.architecture returns the gdb.Architecture object
327 corresponding to the frame's architecture.
328
329 * New Python-based convenience functions:
330
331 ** $_memeq(buf1, buf2, length)
332 ** $_streq(str1, str2)
333 ** $_strlen(str)
334 ** $_regex(str, regex)
335
336 * The 'cd' command now defaults to using '~' (the home directory) if not
337 given an argument.
338
339 * The C++ ABI now defaults to the GNU v3 ABI. This has been the
340 default for GCC since November 2000.
341
342 * The command 'forward-search' can now be abbreviated as 'fo'.
343
344 * The command 'info tracepoints' can now display 'installed on target'
345 or 'not installed on target' for each non-pending location of tracepoint.
346
347 * New configure options
348
349 --enable-libmcheck/--disable-libmcheck
350 By default, development versions are built with -lmcheck on hosts
351 that support it, in order to help track memory corruption issues.
352 Release versions, on the other hand, are built without -lmcheck
353 by default. The --enable-libmcheck/--disable-libmcheck configure
354 options allow the user to override that default.
355 --with-babeltrace/--with-babeltrace-include/--with-babeltrace-lib
356 This configure option allows the user to build GDB with
357 libbabeltrace using which GDB can read Common Trace Format data.
358
359 * New commands (for set/show, see "New options" below)
360
361 catch signal
362 Catch signals. This is similar to "handle", but allows commands and
363 conditions to be attached.
364
365 maint info bfds
366 List the BFDs known to GDB.
367
368 python-interactive [command]
369 pi [command]
370 Start a Python interactive prompt, or evaluate the optional command
371 and print the result of expressions.
372
373 py [command]
374 "py" is a new alias for "python".
375
376 enable type-printer [name]...
377 disable type-printer [name]...
378 Enable or disable type printers.
379
380 * Removed commands
381
382 ** For the Renesas Super-H architecture, the "regs" command has been removed
383 (has been deprecated in GDB 7.5), and "info all-registers" should be used
384 instead.
385
386 * New options
387
388 set print type methods (on|off)
389 show print type methods
390 Control whether method declarations are displayed by "ptype".
391 The default is to show them.
392
393 set print type typedefs (on|off)
394 show print type typedefs
395 Control whether typedef definitions are displayed by "ptype".
396 The default is to show them.
397
398 set filename-display basename|relative|absolute
399 show filename-display
400 Control the way in which filenames is displayed.
401 The default is "relative", which preserves previous behavior.
402
403 set trace-buffer-size
404 show trace-buffer-size
405 Request target to change the size of trace buffer.
406
407 set remote trace-buffer-size-packet auto|on|off
408 show remote trace-buffer-size-packet
409 Control the use of the remote protocol `QTBuffer:size' packet.
410
411 set debug aarch64
412 show debug aarch64
413 Control display of debugging messages related to ARM AArch64.
414 The default is off.
415
416 set debug coff-pe-read
417 show debug coff-pe-read
418 Control display of debugging messages related to reading of COFF/PE
419 exported symbols.
420
421 set debug mach-o
422 show debug mach-o
423 Control display of debugging messages related to Mach-O symbols
424 processing.
425
426 set debug notification
427 show debug notification
428 Control display of debugging info for async remote notification.
429
430 * MI changes
431
432 ** Command parameter changes are now notified using new async record
433 "=cmd-param-changed".
434 ** Trace frame changes caused by command "tfind" are now notified using
435 new async record "=traceframe-changed".
436 ** The creation, deletion and modification of trace state variables
437 are now notified using new async records "=tsv-created",
438 "=tsv-deleted" and "=tsv-modified".
439 ** The start and stop of process record are now notified using new
440 async record "=record-started" and "=record-stopped".
441 ** Memory changes are now notified using new async record
442 "=memory-changed".
443 ** The data-disassemble command response will include a "fullname" field
444 containing the absolute file name when source has been requested.
445 ** New optional parameter COUNT added to the "-data-write-memory-bytes"
446 command, to allow pattern filling of memory areas.
447 ** New commands "-catch-load"/"-catch-unload" added for intercepting
448 library load/unload events.
449 ** The response to breakpoint commands and breakpoint async records
450 includes an "installed" field containing a boolean state about each
451 non-pending tracepoint location is whether installed on target or not.
452 ** Output of the "-trace-status" command includes a "trace-file" field
453 containing the name of the trace file being examined. This field is
454 optional, and only present when examining a trace file.
455 ** The "fullname" field is now always present along with the "file" field,
456 even if the file cannot be found by GDB.
457
458 * GDB now supports the "mini debuginfo" section, .gnu_debugdata.
459 You must have the LZMA library available when configuring GDB for this
460 feature to be enabled. For more information, see:
461 http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Features/MiniDebugInfo
462
463 * New remote packets
464
465 QTBuffer:size
466 Set the size of trace buffer. The remote stub reports support for this
467 packet to gdb's qSupported query.
468
469 Qbtrace:bts
470 Enable Branch Trace Store (BTS)-based branch tracing for the current
471 thread. The remote stub reports support for this packet to gdb's
472 qSupported query.
473
474 Qbtrace:off
475 Disable branch tracing for the current thread. The remote stub reports
476 support for this packet to gdb's qSupported query.
477
478 qXfer:btrace:read
479 Read the traced branches for the current thread. The remote stub
480 reports support for this packet to gdb's qSupported query.
481
482 *** Changes in GDB 7.5
483
484 * GDB now supports x32 ABI. Visit <http://sites.google.com/site/x32abi/>
485 for more x32 ABI info.
486
487 * GDB now supports access to MIPS DSP registers on Linux targets.
488
489 * GDB now supports debugging microMIPS binaries.
490
491 * The "info os" command on GNU/Linux can now display information on
492 several new classes of objects managed by the operating system:
493 "info os procgroups" lists process groups
494 "info os files" lists file descriptors
495 "info os sockets" lists internet-domain sockets
496 "info os shm" lists shared-memory regions
497 "info os semaphores" lists semaphores
498 "info os msg" lists message queues
499 "info os modules" lists loaded kernel modules
500
501 * GDB now has support for SDT (Static Defined Tracing) probes. Currently,
502 the only implemented backend is for SystemTap probes (<sys/sdt.h>). You
503 can set a breakpoint using the new "-probe, "-pstap" or "-probe-stap"
504 options and inspect the probe arguments using the new $_probe_arg family
505 of convenience variables. You can obtain more information about SystemTap
506 in <http://sourceware.org/systemtap/>.
507
508 * GDB now supports reversible debugging on ARM, it allows you to
509 debug basic ARM and THUMB instructions, and provides
510 record/replay support.
511
512 * The option "symbol-reloading" has been deleted as it is no longer used.
513
514 * Python scripting
515
516 ** GDB commands implemented in Python can now be put in command class
517 "gdb.COMMAND_USER".
518
519 ** The "maint set python print-stack on|off" is now deleted.
520
521 ** A new class, gdb.printing.FlagEnumerationPrinter, can be used to
522 apply "flag enum"-style pretty-printing to any enum.
523
524 ** gdb.lookup_symbol can now work when there is no current frame.
525
526 ** gdb.Symbol now has a 'line' attribute, holding the line number in
527 the source at which the symbol was defined.
528
529 ** gdb.Symbol now has the new attribute 'needs_frame' and the new
530 method 'value'. The former indicates whether the symbol needs a
531 frame in order to compute its value, and the latter computes the
532 symbol's value.
533
534 ** A new method 'referenced_value' on gdb.Value objects which can
535 dereference pointer as well as C++ reference values.
536
537 ** New methods 'global_block' and 'static_block' on gdb.Symtab objects
538 which return the global and static blocks (as gdb.Block objects),
539 of the underlying symbol table, respectively.
540
541 ** New function gdb.find_pc_line which returns the gdb.Symtab_and_line
542 object associated with a PC value.
543
544 ** gdb.Symtab_and_line has new attribute 'last' which holds the end
545 of the address range occupied by code for the current source line.
546
547 * Go language support.
548 GDB now supports debugging programs written in the Go programming
549 language.
550
551 * GDBserver now supports stdio connections.
552 E.g. (gdb) target remote | ssh myhost gdbserver - hello
553
554 * The binary "gdbtui" can no longer be built or installed.
555 Use "gdb -tui" instead.
556
557 * GDB will now print "flag" enums specially. A flag enum is one where
558 all the enumerator values have no bits in common when pairwise
559 "and"ed. When printing a value whose type is a flag enum, GDB will
560 show all the constants, e.g., for enum E { ONE = 1, TWO = 2}:
561 (gdb) print (enum E) 3
562 $1 = (ONE | TWO)
563
564 * The filename part of a linespec will now match trailing components
565 of a source file name. For example, "break gcc/expr.c:1000" will
566 now set a breakpoint in build/gcc/expr.c, but not
567 build/libcpp/expr.c.
568
569 * The "info proc" and "generate-core-file" commands will now also
570 work on remote targets connected to GDBserver on Linux.
571
572 * The command "info catch" has been removed. It has been disabled
573 since December 2007.
574
575 * The "catch exception" and "catch assert" commands now accept
576 a condition at the end of the command, much like the "break"
577 command does. For instance:
578
579 (gdb) catch exception Constraint_Error if Barrier = True
580
581 Previously, it was possible to add a condition to such catchpoints,
582 but it had to be done as a second step, after the catchpoint had been
583 created, using the "condition" command.
584
585 * The "info static-tracepoint-marker" command will now also work on
586 native Linux targets with in-process agent.
587
588 * GDB can now set breakpoints on inlined functions.
589
590 * The .gdb_index section has been updated to include symbols for
591 inlined functions. GDB will ignore older .gdb_index sections by
592 default, which could cause symbol files to be loaded more slowly
593 until their .gdb_index sections can be recreated. The new command
594 "set use-deprecated-index-sections on" will cause GDB to use any older
595 .gdb_index sections it finds. This will restore performance, but the
596 ability to set breakpoints on inlined functions will be lost in symbol
597 files with older .gdb_index sections.
598
599 The .gdb_index section has also been updated to record more information
600 about each symbol. This speeds up the "info variables", "info functions"
601 and "info types" commands when used with programs having the .gdb_index
602 section, as well as speeding up debugging with shared libraries using
603 the .gdb_index section.
604
605 * Ada support for GDB/MI Variable Objects has been added.
606
607 * GDB can now support 'breakpoint always-inserted mode' in 'record'
608 target.
609
610 * MI changes
611
612 ** New command -info-os is the MI equivalent of "info os".
613
614 ** Output logs ("set logging" and related) now include MI output.
615
616 * New commands
617
618 ** "set use-deprecated-index-sections on|off"
619 "show use-deprecated-index-sections on|off"
620 Controls the use of deprecated .gdb_index sections.
621
622 ** "catch load" and "catch unload" can be used to stop when a shared
623 library is loaded or unloaded, respectively.
624
625 ** "enable count" can be used to auto-disable a breakpoint after
626 several hits.
627
628 ** "info vtbl" can be used to show the virtual method tables for
629 C++ and Java objects.
630
631 ** "explore" and its sub commands "explore value" and "explore type"
632 can be used to recursively explore values and types of
633 expressions. These commands are available only if GDB is
634 configured with '--with-python'.
635
636 ** "info auto-load" shows status of all kinds of auto-loaded files,
637 "info auto-load gdb-scripts" shows status of auto-loading GDB canned
638 sequences of commands files, "info auto-load python-scripts"
639 shows status of auto-loading Python script files,
640 "info auto-load local-gdbinit" shows status of loading init file
641 (.gdbinit) from current directory and "info auto-load libthread-db" shows
642 status of inferior specific thread debugging shared library loading.
643
644 ** "info auto-load-scripts", "set auto-load-scripts on|off"
645 and "show auto-load-scripts" commands have been deprecated, use their
646 "info auto-load python-scripts", "set auto-load python-scripts on|off"
647 and "show auto-load python-scripts" counterparts instead.
648
649 ** "dprintf location,format,args..." creates a dynamic printf, which
650 is basically a breakpoint that does a printf and immediately
651 resumes your program's execution, so it is like a printf that you
652 can insert dynamically at runtime instead of at compiletime.
653
654 ** "set print symbol"
655 "show print symbol"
656 Controls whether GDB attempts to display the symbol, if any,
657 corresponding to addresses it prints. This defaults to "on", but
658 you can set it to "off" to restore GDB's previous behavior.
659
660 * Deprecated commands
661
662 ** For the Renesas Super-H architecture, the "regs" command has been
663 deprecated, and "info all-registers" should be used instead.
664
665 * New targets
666
667 Renesas RL78 rl78-*-elf
668 HP OpenVMS ia64 ia64-hp-openvms*
669
670 * GDBserver supports evaluation of breakpoint conditions. When
671 support is advertised by GDBserver, GDB may be told to send the
672 breakpoint conditions in bytecode form to GDBserver. GDBserver
673 will only report the breakpoint trigger to GDB when its condition
674 evaluates to true.
675
676 * New options
677
678 set mips compression
679 show mips compression
680 Select the compressed ISA encoding used in functions that have no symbol
681 information available. The encoding can be set to either of:
682 mips16
683 micromips
684 and is updated automatically from ELF file flags if available.
685
686 set breakpoint condition-evaluation
687 show breakpoint condition-evaluation
688 Control whether breakpoint conditions are evaluated by GDB ("host") or by
689 GDBserver ("target"). Default option "auto" chooses the most efficient
690 available mode.
691 This option can improve debugger efficiency depending on the speed of the
692 target.
693
694 set auto-load off
695 Disable auto-loading globally.
696
697 show auto-load
698 Show auto-loading setting of all kinds of auto-loaded files.
699
700 set auto-load gdb-scripts on|off
701 show auto-load gdb-scripts
702 Control auto-loading of GDB canned sequences of commands files.
703
704 set auto-load python-scripts on|off
705 show auto-load python-scripts
706 Control auto-loading of Python script files.
707
708 set auto-load local-gdbinit on|off
709 show auto-load local-gdbinit
710 Control loading of init file (.gdbinit) from current directory.
711
712 set auto-load libthread-db on|off
713 show auto-load libthread-db
714 Control auto-loading of inferior specific thread debugging shared library.
715
716 set auto-load scripts-directory <dir1>[:<dir2>...]
717 show auto-load scripts-directory
718 Set a list of directories from which to load auto-loaded scripts.
719 Automatically loaded Python scripts and GDB scripts are located in one
720 of the directories listed by this option.
721 The delimiter (':' above) may differ according to the host platform.
722
723 set auto-load safe-path <dir1>[:<dir2>...]
724 show auto-load safe-path
725 Set a list of directories from which it is safe to auto-load files.
726 The delimiter (':' above) may differ according to the host platform.
727
728 set debug auto-load on|off
729 show debug auto-load
730 Control display of debugging info for auto-loading the files above.
731
732 set dprintf-style gdb|call|agent
733 show dprintf-style
734 Control the way in which a dynamic printf is performed; "gdb"
735 requests a GDB printf command, while "call" causes dprintf to call a
736 function in the inferior. "agent" requests that the target agent
737 (such as GDBserver) do the printing.
738
739 set dprintf-function <expr>
740 show dprintf-function
741 set dprintf-channel <expr>
742 show dprintf-channel
743 Set the function and optional first argument to the call when using
744 the "call" style of dynamic printf.
745
746 set disconnected-dprintf on|off
747 show disconnected-dprintf
748 Control whether agent-style dynamic printfs continue to be in effect
749 after GDB disconnects.
750
751 * New configure options
752
753 --with-auto-load-dir
754 Configure default value for the 'set auto-load scripts-directory'
755 setting above. It defaults to '$debugdir:$datadir/auto-load',
756 $debugdir representing global debugging info directories (available
757 via 'show debug-file-directory') and $datadir representing GDB's data
758 directory (available via 'show data-directory').
759
760 --with-auto-load-safe-path
761 Configure default value for the 'set auto-load safe-path' setting
762 above. It defaults to the --with-auto-load-dir setting.
763
764 --without-auto-load-safe-path
765 Set 'set auto-load safe-path' to '/', effectively disabling this
766 security feature.
767
768 * New remote packets
769
770 z0/z1 conditional breakpoints extension
771
772 The z0/z1 breakpoint insertion packets have been extended to carry
773 a list of conditional expressions over to the remote stub depending on the
774 condition evaluation mode. The use of this extension can be controlled
775 via the "set remote conditional-breakpoints-packet" command.
776
777 QProgramSignals:
778
779 Specify the signals which the remote stub may pass to the debugged
780 program without GDB involvement.
781
782 * New command line options
783
784 --init-command=FILE, -ix Like --command, -x but execute it
785 before loading inferior.
786 --init-eval-command=COMMAND, -iex Like --eval-command=COMMAND, -ex but
787 execute it before loading inferior.
788
789 *** Changes in GDB 7.4
790
791 * GDB now handles ambiguous linespecs more consistently; the existing
792 FILE:LINE support has been expanded to other types of linespecs. A
793 breakpoint will now be set on all matching locations in all
794 inferiors, and locations will be added or removed according to
795 inferior changes.
796
797 * GDB now allows you to skip uninteresting functions and files when
798 stepping with the "skip function" and "skip file" commands.
799
800 * GDB has two new commands: "set remote hardware-watchpoint-length-limit"
801 and "show remote hardware-watchpoint-length-limit". These allows to
802 set or show the maximum length limit (in bytes) of a remote
803 target hardware watchpoint.
804
805 This allows e.g. to use "unlimited" hardware watchpoints with the
806 gdbserver integrated in Valgrind version >= 3.7.0. Such Valgrind
807 watchpoints are slower than real hardware watchpoints but are
808 significantly faster than gdb software watchpoints.
809
810 * Python scripting
811
812 ** The register_pretty_printer function in module gdb.printing now takes
813 an optional `replace' argument. If True, the new printer replaces any
814 existing one.
815
816 ** The "maint set python print-stack on|off" command has been
817 deprecated and will be deleted in GDB 7.5.
818 A new command: "set python print-stack none|full|message" has
819 replaced it. Additionally, the default for "print-stack" is
820 now "message", which just prints the error message without
821 the stack trace.
822
823 ** A prompt substitution hook (prompt_hook) is now available to the
824 Python API.
825
826 ** A new Python module, gdb.prompt has been added to the GDB Python
827 modules library. This module provides functionality for
828 escape sequences in prompts (used by set/show
829 extended-prompt). These escape sequences are replaced by their
830 corresponding value.
831
832 ** Python commands and convenience-functions located in
833 'data-directory'/python/gdb/command and
834 'data-directory'/python/gdb/function are now automatically loaded
835 on GDB start-up.
836
837 ** Blocks now provide four new attributes. global_block and
838 static_block will return the global and static blocks
839 respectively. is_static and is_global are boolean attributes
840 that indicate if the block is one of those two types.
841
842 ** Symbols now provide the "type" attribute, the type of the symbol.
843
844 ** The "gdb.breakpoint" function has been deprecated in favor of
845 "gdb.breakpoints".
846
847 ** A new class "gdb.FinishBreakpoint" is provided to catch the return
848 of a function. This class is based on the "finish" command
849 available in the CLI.
850
851 ** Type objects for struct and union types now allow access to
852 the fields using standard Python dictionary (mapping) methods.
853 For example, "some_type['myfield']" now works, as does
854 "some_type.items()".
855
856 ** A new event "gdb.new_objfile" has been added, triggered by loading a
857 new object file.
858
859 ** A new function, "deep_items" has been added to the gdb.types
860 module in the GDB Python modules library. This function returns
861 an iterator over the fields of a struct or union type. Unlike
862 the standard Python "iteritems" method, it will recursively traverse
863 any anonymous fields.
864
865 * MI changes
866
867 ** "*stopped" events can report several new "reason"s, such as
868 "solib-event".
869
870 ** Breakpoint changes are now notified using new async records, like
871 "=breakpoint-modified".
872
873 ** New command -ada-task-info.
874
875 * libthread-db-search-path now supports two special values: $sdir and $pdir.
876 $sdir specifies the default system locations of shared libraries.
877 $pdir specifies the directory where the libpthread used by the application
878 lives.
879
880 GDB no longer looks in $sdir and $pdir after it has searched the directories
881 mentioned in libthread-db-search-path. If you want to search those
882 directories, they must be specified in libthread-db-search-path.
883 The default value of libthread-db-search-path on GNU/Linux and Solaris
884 systems is now "$sdir:$pdir".
885
886 $pdir is not supported by gdbserver, it is currently ignored.
887 $sdir is supported by gdbserver.
888
889 * New configure option --with-iconv-bin.
890 When using the internationalization support like the one in the GNU C
891 library, GDB will invoke the "iconv" program to get a list of supported
892 character sets. If this program lives in a non-standard location, one can
893 use this option to specify where to find it.
894
895 * When natively debugging programs on PowerPC BookE processors running
896 a Linux kernel version 2.6.34 or later, GDB supports masked hardware
897 watchpoints, which specify a mask in addition to an address to watch.
898 The mask specifies that some bits of an address (the bits which are
899 reset in the mask) should be ignored when matching the address accessed
900 by the inferior against the watchpoint address. See the "PowerPC Embedded"
901 section in the user manual for more details.
902
903 * The new option --once causes GDBserver to stop listening for connections once
904 the first connection is made. The listening port used by GDBserver will
905 become available after that.
906
907 * New commands "info macros" and "alias" have been added.
908
909 * New function parameters suffix @entry specifies value of function parameter
910 at the time the function got called. Entry values are available only since
911 gcc version 4.7.
912
913 * New commands
914
915 !SHELL COMMAND
916 "!" is now an alias of the "shell" command.
917 Note that no space is needed between "!" and SHELL COMMAND.
918
919 * Changed commands
920
921 watch EXPRESSION mask MASK_VALUE
922 The watch command now supports the mask argument which allows creation
923 of masked watchpoints, if the current architecture supports this feature.
924
925 info auto-load-scripts [REGEXP]
926 This command was formerly named "maintenance print section-scripts".
927 It is now generally useful and is no longer a maintenance-only command.
928
929 info macro [-all] [--] MACRO
930 The info macro command has new options `-all' and `--'. The first for
931 printing all definitions of a macro. The second for explicitly specifying
932 the end of arguments and the beginning of the macro name in case the macro
933 name starts with a hyphen.
934
935 collect[/s] EXPRESSIONS
936 The tracepoint collect command now takes an optional modifier "/s"
937 that directs it to dereference pointer-to-character types and
938 collect the bytes of memory up to a zero byte. The behavior is
939 similar to what you see when you use the regular print command on a
940 string. An optional integer following the "/s" sets a bound on the
941 number of bytes that will be collected.
942
943 tstart [NOTES]
944 The trace start command now interprets any supplied arguments as a
945 note to be recorded with the trace run, with an effect similar to
946 setting the variable trace-notes.
947
948 tstop [NOTES]
949 The trace stop command now interprets any arguments as a note to be
950 mentioned along with the tstatus report that the trace was stopped
951 with a command. The effect is similar to setting the variable
952 trace-stop-notes.
953
954 * Tracepoints can now be enabled and disabled at any time after a trace
955 experiment has been started using the standard "enable" and "disable"
956 commands. It is now possible to start a trace experiment with no enabled
957 tracepoints; GDB will display a warning, but will allow the experiment to
958 begin, assuming that tracepoints will be enabled as needed while the trace
959 is running.
960
961 * Fast tracepoints on 32-bit x86-architectures can now be placed at
962 locations with 4-byte instructions, when they were previously
963 limited to locations with instructions of 5 bytes or longer.
964
965 * New options
966
967 set debug dwarf2-read
968 show debug dwarf2-read
969 Turns on or off display of debugging messages related to reading
970 DWARF debug info. The default is off.
971
972 set debug symtab-create
973 show debug symtab-create
974 Turns on or off display of debugging messages related to symbol table
975 creation. The default is off.
976
977 set extended-prompt
978 show extended-prompt
979 Set the GDB prompt, and allow escape sequences to be inserted to
980 display miscellaneous information (see 'help set extended-prompt'
981 for the list of sequences). This prompt (and any information
982 accessed through the escape sequences) is updated every time the
983 prompt is displayed.
984
985 set print entry-values (both|compact|default|if-needed|no|only|preferred)
986 show print entry-values
987 Set printing of frame argument values at function entry. In some cases
988 GDB can determine the value of function argument which was passed by the
989 function caller, even if the value was modified inside the called function.
990
991 set debug entry-values
992 show debug entry-values
993 Control display of debugging info for determining frame argument values at
994 function entry and virtual tail call frames.
995
996 set basenames-may-differ
997 show basenames-may-differ
998 Set whether a source file may have multiple base names.
999 (A "base name" is the name of a file with the directory part removed.
1000 Example: The base name of "/home/user/hello.c" is "hello.c".)
1001 If set, GDB will canonicalize file names (e.g., expand symlinks)
1002 before comparing them. Canonicalization is an expensive operation,
1003 but it allows the same file be known by more than one base name.
1004 If not set (the default), all source files are assumed to have just
1005 one base name, and gdb will do file name comparisons more efficiently.
1006
1007 set trace-user
1008 show trace-user
1009 set trace-notes
1010 show trace-notes
1011 Set a user name and notes for the current and any future trace runs.
1012 This is useful for long-running and/or disconnected traces, to
1013 inform others (or yourself) as to who is running the trace, supply
1014 contact information, or otherwise explain what is going on.
1015
1016 set trace-stop-notes
1017 show trace-stop-notes
1018 Set a note attached to the trace run, that is displayed when the
1019 trace has been stopped by a tstop command. This is useful for
1020 instance as an explanation, if you are stopping a trace run that was
1021 started by someone else.
1022
1023 * New remote packets
1024
1025 QTEnable
1026
1027 Dynamically enable a tracepoint in a started trace experiment.
1028
1029 QTDisable
1030
1031 Dynamically disable a tracepoint in a started trace experiment.
1032
1033 QTNotes
1034
1035 Set the user and notes of the trace run.
1036
1037 qTP
1038
1039 Query the current status of a tracepoint.
1040
1041 qTMinFTPILen
1042
1043 Query the minimum length of instruction at which a fast tracepoint may
1044 be placed.
1045
1046 * Dcache size (number of lines) and line-size are now runtime-configurable
1047 via "set dcache line" and "set dcache line-size" commands.
1048
1049 * New targets
1050
1051 Texas Instruments TMS320C6x tic6x-*-*
1052
1053 * New Simulators
1054
1055 Renesas RL78 rl78-*-elf
1056
1057 *** Changes in GDB 7.3.1
1058
1059 * The build failure for NetBSD and OpenBSD targets have now been fixed.
1060
1061 *** Changes in GDB 7.3
1062
1063 * GDB has a new command: "thread find [REGEXP]".
1064 It finds the thread id whose name, target id, or thread extra info
1065 matches the given regular expression.
1066
1067 * The "catch syscall" command now works on mips*-linux* targets.
1068
1069 * The -data-disassemble MI command now supports modes 2 and 3 for
1070 dumping the instruction opcodes.
1071
1072 * New command line options
1073
1074 -data-directory DIR Specify DIR as the "data-directory".
1075 This is mostly for testing purposes.
1076
1077 * The "maint set python auto-load on|off" command has been renamed to
1078 "set auto-load-scripts on|off".
1079
1080 * GDB has a new command: "set directories".
1081 It is like the "dir" command except that it replaces the
1082 source path list instead of augmenting it.
1083
1084 * GDB now understands thread names.
1085
1086 On GNU/Linux, "info threads" will display the thread name as set by
1087 prctl or pthread_setname_np.
1088
1089 There is also a new command, "thread name", which can be used to
1090 assign a name internally for GDB to display.
1091
1092 * OpenCL C
1093 Initial support for the OpenCL C language (http://www.khronos.org/opencl)
1094 has been integrated into GDB.
1095
1096 * Python scripting
1097
1098 ** The function gdb.Write now accepts an optional keyword 'stream'.
1099 This keyword, when provided, will direct the output to either
1100 stdout, stderr, or GDB's logging output.
1101
1102 ** Parameters can now be be sub-classed in Python, and in particular
1103 you may implement the get_set_doc and get_show_doc functions.
1104 This improves how Parameter set/show documentation is processed
1105 and allows for more dynamic content.
1106
1107 ** Symbols, Symbol Table, Symbol Table and Line, Object Files,
1108 Inferior, Inferior Thread, Blocks, and Block Iterator APIs now
1109 have an is_valid method.
1110
1111 ** Breakpoints can now be sub-classed in Python, and in particular
1112 you may implement a 'stop' function that is executed each time
1113 the inferior reaches that breakpoint.
1114
1115 ** New function gdb.lookup_global_symbol looks up a global symbol.
1116
1117 ** GDB values in Python are now callable if the value represents a
1118 function. For example, if 'some_value' represents a function that
1119 takes two integer parameters and returns a value, you can call
1120 that function like so:
1121
1122 result = some_value (10,20)
1123
1124 ** Module gdb.types has been added.
1125 It contains a collection of utilities for working with gdb.Types objects:
1126 get_basic_type, has_field, make_enum_dict.
1127
1128 ** Module gdb.printing has been added.
1129 It contains utilities for writing and registering pretty-printers.
1130 New classes: PrettyPrinter, SubPrettyPrinter,
1131 RegexpCollectionPrettyPrinter.
1132 New function: register_pretty_printer.
1133
1134 ** New commands "info pretty-printers", "enable pretty-printer" and
1135 "disable pretty-printer" have been added.
1136
1137 ** gdb.parameter("directories") is now available.
1138
1139 ** New function gdb.newest_frame returns the newest frame in the
1140 selected thread.
1141
1142 ** The gdb.InferiorThread class has a new "name" attribute. This
1143 holds the thread's name.
1144
1145 ** Python Support for Inferior events.
1146 Python scripts can add observers to be notified of events
1147 occurring in the process being debugged.
1148 The following events are currently supported:
1149 - gdb.events.cont Continue event.
1150 - gdb.events.exited Inferior exited event.
1151 - gdb.events.stop Signal received, and Breakpoint hit events.
1152
1153 * C++ Improvements:
1154
1155 ** GDB now puts template parameters in scope when debugging in an
1156 instantiation. For example, if you have:
1157
1158 template<int X> int func (void) { return X; }
1159
1160 then if you step into func<5>, "print X" will show "5". This
1161 feature requires proper debuginfo support from the compiler; it
1162 was added to GCC 4.5.
1163
1164 ** The motion commands "next", "finish", "until", and "advance" now
1165 work better when exceptions are thrown. In particular, GDB will
1166 no longer lose control of the inferior; instead, the GDB will
1167 stop the inferior at the point at which the exception is caught.
1168 This functionality requires a change in the exception handling
1169 code that was introduced in GCC 4.5.
1170
1171 * GDB now follows GCC's rules on accessing volatile objects when
1172 reading or writing target state during expression evaluation.
1173 One notable difference to prior behavior is that "print x = 0"
1174 no longer generates a read of x; the value of the assignment is
1175 now always taken directly from the value being assigned.
1176
1177 * GDB now has some support for using labels in the program's source in
1178 linespecs. For instance, you can use "advance label" to continue
1179 execution to a label.
1180
1181 * GDB now has support for reading and writing a new .gdb_index
1182 section. This section holds a fast index of DWARF debugging
1183 information and can be used to greatly speed up GDB startup and
1184 operation. See the documentation for `save gdb-index' for details.
1185
1186 * The "watch" command now accepts an optional "-location" argument.
1187 When used, this causes GDB to watch the memory referred to by the
1188 expression. Such a watchpoint is never deleted due to it going out
1189 of scope.
1190
1191 * GDB now supports thread debugging of core dumps on GNU/Linux.
1192
1193 GDB now activates thread debugging using the libthread_db library
1194 when debugging GNU/Linux core dumps, similarly to when debugging
1195 live processes. As a result, when debugging a core dump file, GDB
1196 is now able to display pthread_t ids of threads. For example, "info
1197 threads" shows the same output as when debugging the process when it
1198 was live. In earlier releases, you'd see something like this:
1199
1200 (gdb) info threads
1201 * 1 LWP 6780 main () at main.c:10
1202
1203 While now you see this:
1204
1205 (gdb) info threads
1206 * 1 Thread 0x7f0f5712a700 (LWP 6780) main () at main.c:10
1207
1208 It is also now possible to inspect TLS variables when debugging core
1209 dumps.
1210
1211 When debugging a core dump generated on a machine other than the one
1212 used to run GDB, you may need to point GDB at the correct
1213 libthread_db library with the "set libthread-db-search-path"
1214 command. See the user manual for more details on this command.
1215
1216 * When natively debugging programs on PowerPC BookE processors running
1217 a Linux kernel version 2.6.34 or later, GDB supports ranged breakpoints,
1218 which stop execution of the inferior whenever it executes an instruction
1219 at any address within the specified range. See the "PowerPC Embedded"
1220 section in the user manual for more details.
1221
1222 * New features in the GDB remote stub, GDBserver
1223
1224 ** GDBserver is now supported on PowerPC LynxOS (versions 4.x and 5.x),
1225 and i686 LynxOS (version 5.x).
1226
1227 ** GDBserver is now supported on Blackfin Linux.
1228
1229 * New native configurations
1230
1231 ia64 HP-UX ia64-*-hpux*
1232
1233 * New targets:
1234
1235 Analog Devices, Inc. Blackfin Processor bfin-*
1236
1237 * Ada task switching is now supported on sparc-elf targets when
1238 debugging a program using the Ravenscar Profile. For more information,
1239 see the "Tasking Support when using the Ravenscar Profile" section
1240 in the GDB user manual.
1241
1242 * Guile support was removed.
1243
1244 * New features in the GNU simulator
1245
1246 ** The --map-info flag lists all known core mappings.
1247
1248 ** CFI flashes may be simulated via the "cfi" device.
1249
1250 *** Changes in GDB 7.2
1251
1252 * Shared library support for remote targets by default
1253
1254 When GDB is configured for a generic, non-OS specific target, like
1255 for example, --target=arm-eabi or one of the many *-*-elf targets,
1256 GDB now queries remote stubs for loaded shared libraries using the
1257 `qXfer:libraries:read' packet. Previously, shared library support
1258 was always disabled for such configurations.
1259
1260 * C++ Improvements:
1261
1262 ** Argument Dependent Lookup (ADL)
1263
1264 In C++ ADL lookup directs function search to the namespaces of its
1265 arguments even if the namespace has not been imported.
1266 For example:
1267 namespace A
1268 {
1269 class B { };
1270 void foo (B) { }
1271 }
1272 ...
1273 A::B b
1274 foo(b)
1275 Here the compiler will search for `foo' in the namespace of 'b'
1276 and find A::foo. GDB now supports this. This construct is commonly
1277 used in the Standard Template Library for operators.
1278
1279 ** Improved User Defined Operator Support
1280
1281 In addition to member operators, GDB now supports lookup of operators
1282 defined in a namespace and imported with a `using' directive, operators
1283 defined in the global scope, operators imported implicitly from an
1284 anonymous namespace, and the ADL operators mentioned in the previous
1285 entry.
1286 GDB now also supports proper overload resolution for all the previously
1287 mentioned flavors of operators.
1288
1289 ** static const class members
1290
1291 Printing of static const class members that are initialized in the
1292 class definition has been fixed.
1293
1294 * Windows Thread Information Block access.
1295
1296 On Windows targets, GDB now supports displaying the Windows Thread
1297 Information Block (TIB) structure. This structure is visible either
1298 by using the new command `info w32 thread-information-block' or, by
1299 dereferencing the new convenience variable named `$_tlb', a
1300 thread-specific pointer to the TIB. This feature is also supported
1301 when remote debugging using GDBserver.
1302
1303 * Static tracepoints
1304
1305 Static tracepoints are calls in the user program into a tracing
1306 library. One such library is a port of the LTTng kernel tracer to
1307 userspace --- UST (LTTng Userspace Tracer, http://lttng.org/ust).
1308 When debugging with GDBserver, GDB now supports combining the GDB
1309 tracepoint machinery with such libraries. For example: the user can
1310 use GDB to probe a static tracepoint marker (a call from the user
1311 program into the tracing library) with the new "strace" command (see
1312 "New commands" below). This creates a "static tracepoint" in the
1313 breakpoint list, that can be manipulated with the same feature set
1314 as fast and regular tracepoints. E.g., collect registers, local and
1315 global variables, collect trace state variables, and define
1316 tracepoint conditions. In addition, the user can collect extra
1317 static tracepoint marker specific data, by collecting the new
1318 $_sdata internal variable. When analyzing the trace buffer, you can
1319 inspect $_sdata like any other variable available to GDB. For more
1320 information, see the "Tracepoints" chapter in GDB user manual. New
1321 remote packets have been defined to support static tracepoints, see
1322 the "New remote packets" section below.
1323
1324 * Better reconstruction of tracepoints after disconnected tracing
1325
1326 GDB will attempt to download the original source form of tracepoint
1327 definitions when starting a trace run, and then will upload these
1328 upon reconnection to the target, resulting in a more accurate
1329 reconstruction of the tracepoints that are in use on the target.
1330
1331 * Observer mode
1332
1333 You can now exercise direct control over the ways that GDB can
1334 affect your program. For instance, you can disallow the setting of
1335 breakpoints, so that the program can run continuously (assuming
1336 non-stop mode). In addition, the "observer" variable is available
1337 to switch all of the different controls; in observer mode, GDB
1338 cannot affect the target's behavior at all, which is useful for
1339 tasks like diagnosing live systems in the field.
1340
1341 * The new convenience variable $_thread holds the number of the
1342 current thread.
1343
1344 * New remote packets
1345
1346 qGetTIBAddr
1347
1348 Return the address of the Windows Thread Information Block of a given thread.
1349
1350 qRelocInsn
1351
1352 In response to several of the tracepoint packets, the target may now
1353 also respond with a number of intermediate `qRelocInsn' request
1354 packets before the final result packet, to have GDB handle
1355 relocating an instruction to execute at a different address. This
1356 is particularly useful for stubs that support fast tracepoints. GDB
1357 reports support for this feature in the qSupported packet.
1358
1359 qTfSTM, qTsSTM
1360
1361 List static tracepoint markers in the target program.
1362
1363 qTSTMat
1364
1365 List static tracepoint markers at a given address in the target
1366 program.
1367
1368 qXfer:statictrace:read
1369
1370 Read the static trace data collected (by a `collect $_sdata'
1371 tracepoint action). The remote stub reports support for this packet
1372 to gdb's qSupported query.
1373
1374 QAllow
1375
1376 Send the current settings of GDB's permission flags.
1377
1378 QTDPsrc
1379
1380 Send part of the source (textual) form of a tracepoint definition,
1381 which includes location, conditional, and action list.
1382
1383 * The source command now accepts a -s option to force searching for the
1384 script in the source search path even if the script name specifies
1385 a directory.
1386
1387 * New features in the GDB remote stub, GDBserver
1388
1389 - GDBserver now support tracepoints (including fast tracepoints, and
1390 static tracepoints). The feature is currently supported by the
1391 i386-linux and amd64-linux builds. See the "Tracepoints support
1392 in gdbserver" section in the manual for more information.
1393
1394 GDBserver JIT compiles the tracepoint's conditional agent
1395 expression bytecode into native code whenever possible for low
1396 overhead dynamic tracepoints conditionals. For such tracepoints,
1397 an expression that examines program state is evaluated when the
1398 tracepoint is reached, in order to determine whether to capture
1399 trace data. If the condition is simple and false, processing the
1400 tracepoint finishes very quickly and no data is gathered.
1401
1402 GDBserver interfaces with the UST (LTTng Userspace Tracer) library
1403 for static tracepoints support.
1404
1405 - GDBserver now supports x86_64 Windows 64-bit debugging.
1406
1407 * GDB now sends xmlRegisters= in qSupported packet to indicate that
1408 it understands register description.
1409
1410 * The --batch flag now disables pagination and queries.
1411
1412 * X86 general purpose registers
1413
1414 GDB now supports reading/writing byte, word and double-word x86
1415 general purpose registers directly. This means you can use, say,
1416 $ah or $ax to refer, respectively, to the byte register AH and
1417 16-bit word register AX that are actually portions of the 32-bit
1418 register EAX or 64-bit register RAX.
1419
1420 * The `commands' command now accepts a range of breakpoints to modify.
1421 A plain `commands' following a command that creates multiple
1422 breakpoints affects all the breakpoints set by that command. This
1423 applies to breakpoints set by `rbreak', and also applies when a
1424 single `break' command creates multiple breakpoints (e.g.,
1425 breakpoints on overloaded c++ functions).
1426
1427 * The `rbreak' command now accepts a filename specification as part of
1428 its argument, limiting the functions selected by the regex to those
1429 in the specified file.
1430
1431 * Support for remote debugging Windows and SymbianOS shared libraries
1432 from Unix hosts has been improved. Non Windows GDB builds now can
1433 understand target reported file names that follow MS-DOS based file
1434 system semantics, such as file names that include drive letters and
1435 use the backslash character as directory separator. This makes it
1436 possible to transparently use the "set sysroot" and "set
1437 solib-search-path" on Unix hosts to point as host copies of the
1438 target's shared libraries. See the new command "set
1439 target-file-system-kind" described below, and the "Commands to
1440 specify files" section in the user manual for more information.
1441
1442 * New commands
1443
1444 eval template, expressions...
1445 Convert the values of one or more expressions under the control
1446 of the string template to a command line, and call it.
1447
1448 set target-file-system-kind unix|dos-based|auto
1449 show target-file-system-kind
1450 Set or show the assumed file system kind for target reported file
1451 names.
1452
1453 save breakpoints <filename>
1454 Save all current breakpoint definitions to a file suitable for use
1455 in a later debugging session. To read the saved breakpoint
1456 definitions, use the `source' command.
1457
1458 `save tracepoints' is a new alias for `save-tracepoints'. The latter
1459 is now deprecated.
1460
1461 info static-tracepoint-markers
1462 Display information about static tracepoint markers in the target.
1463
1464 strace FN | FILE:LINE | *ADDR | -m MARKER_ID
1465 Define a static tracepoint by probing a marker at the given
1466 function, line, address, or marker ID.
1467
1468 set observer on|off
1469 show observer
1470 Enable and disable observer mode.
1471
1472 set may-write-registers on|off
1473 set may-write-memory on|off
1474 set may-insert-breakpoints on|off
1475 set may-insert-tracepoints on|off
1476 set may-insert-fast-tracepoints on|off
1477 set may-interrupt on|off
1478 Set individual permissions for GDB effects on the target. Note that
1479 some of these settings can have undesirable or surprising
1480 consequences, particularly when changed in the middle of a session.
1481 For instance, disabling the writing of memory can prevent
1482 breakpoints from being inserted, cause single-stepping to fail, or
1483 even crash your program, if you disable after breakpoints have been
1484 inserted. However, GDB should not crash.
1485
1486 set record memory-query on|off
1487 show record memory-query
1488 Control whether to stop the inferior if memory changes caused
1489 by an instruction cannot be recorded.
1490
1491 * Changed commands
1492
1493 disassemble
1494 The disassemble command now supports "start,+length" form of two arguments.
1495
1496 * Python scripting
1497
1498 ** GDB now provides a new directory location, called the python directory,
1499 where Python scripts written for GDB can be installed. The location
1500 of that directory is <data-directory>/python, where <data-directory>
1501 is the GDB data directory. For more details, see section `Scripting
1502 GDB using Python' in the manual.
1503
1504 ** The GDB Python API now has access to breakpoints, symbols, symbol
1505 tables, program spaces, inferiors, threads and frame's code blocks.
1506 Additionally, GDB Parameters can now be created from the API, and
1507 manipulated via set/show in the CLI.
1508
1509 ** New functions gdb.target_charset, gdb.target_wide_charset,
1510 gdb.progspaces, gdb.current_progspace, and gdb.string_to_argv.
1511
1512 ** New exception gdb.GdbError.
1513
1514 ** Pretty-printers are now also looked up in the current program space.
1515
1516 ** Pretty-printers can now be individually enabled and disabled.
1517
1518 ** GDB now looks for names of Python scripts to auto-load in a
1519 special section named `.debug_gdb_scripts', in addition to looking
1520 for a OBJFILE-gdb.py script when OBJFILE is read by the debugger.
1521
1522 * Tracepoint actions were unified with breakpoint commands. In particular,
1523 there are no longer differences in "info break" output for breakpoints and
1524 tracepoints and the "commands" command can be used for both tracepoints and
1525 regular breakpoints.
1526
1527 * New targets
1528
1529 ARM Symbian arm*-*-symbianelf*
1530
1531 * D language support.
1532 GDB now supports debugging programs written in the D programming
1533 language.
1534
1535 * GDB now supports the extended ptrace interface for PowerPC which is
1536 available since Linux kernel version 2.6.34. This automatically enables
1537 any hardware breakpoints and additional hardware watchpoints available in
1538 the processor. The old ptrace interface exposes just one hardware
1539 watchpoint and no hardware breakpoints.
1540
1541 * GDB is now able to use the Data Value Compare (DVC) register available on
1542 embedded PowerPC processors to implement in hardware simple watchpoint
1543 conditions of the form:
1544
1545 watch ADDRESS|VARIABLE if ADDRESS|VARIABLE == CONSTANT EXPRESSION
1546
1547 This works in native GDB running on Linux kernels with the extended ptrace
1548 interface mentioned above.
1549
1550 *** Changes in GDB 7.1
1551
1552 * C++ Improvements
1553
1554 ** Namespace Support
1555
1556 GDB now supports importing of namespaces in C++. This enables the
1557 user to inspect variables from imported namespaces. Support for
1558 namepace aliasing has also been added. So, if a namespace is
1559 aliased in the current scope (e.g. namepace C=A; ) the user can
1560 print variables using the alias (e.g. (gdb) print C::x).
1561
1562 ** Bug Fixes
1563
1564 All known bugs relating to the printing of virtual base class were
1565 fixed. It is now possible to call overloaded static methods using a
1566 qualified name.
1567
1568 ** Cast Operators
1569
1570 The C++ cast operators static_cast<>, dynamic_cast<>, const_cast<>,
1571 and reinterpret_cast<> are now handled by the C++ expression parser.
1572
1573 * New targets
1574
1575 Xilinx MicroBlaze microblaze-*-*
1576 Renesas RX rx-*-elf
1577
1578 * New Simulators
1579
1580 Xilinx MicroBlaze microblaze
1581 Renesas RX rx
1582
1583 * Multi-program debugging.
1584
1585 GDB now has support for multi-program (a.k.a. multi-executable or
1586 multi-exec) debugging. This allows for debugging multiple inferiors
1587 simultaneously each running a different program under the same GDB
1588 session. See "Debugging Multiple Inferiors and Programs" in the
1589 manual for more information. This implied some user visible changes
1590 in the multi-inferior support. For example, "info inferiors" now
1591 lists inferiors that are not running yet or that have exited
1592 already. See also "New commands" and "New options" below.
1593
1594 * New tracing features
1595
1596 GDB's tracepoint facility now includes several new features:
1597
1598 ** Trace state variables
1599
1600 GDB tracepoints now include support for trace state variables, which
1601 are variables managed by the target agent during a tracing
1602 experiment. They are useful for tracepoints that trigger each
1603 other, so for instance one tracepoint can count hits in a variable,
1604 and then a second tracepoint has a condition that is true when the
1605 count reaches a particular value. Trace state variables share the
1606 $-syntax of GDB convenience variables, and can appear in both
1607 tracepoint actions and condition expressions. Use the "tvariable"
1608 command to create, and "info tvariables" to view; see "Trace State
1609 Variables" in the manual for more detail.
1610
1611 ** Fast tracepoints
1612
1613 GDB now includes an option for defining fast tracepoints, which
1614 targets may implement more efficiently, such as by installing a jump
1615 into the target agent rather than a trap instruction. The resulting
1616 speedup can be by two orders of magnitude or more, although the
1617 tradeoff is that some program locations on some target architectures
1618 might not allow fast tracepoint installation, for instance if the
1619 instruction to be replaced is shorter than the jump. To request a
1620 fast tracepoint, use the "ftrace" command, with syntax identical to
1621 the regular trace command.
1622
1623 ** Disconnected tracing
1624
1625 It is now possible to detach GDB from the target while it is running
1626 a trace experiment, then reconnect later to see how the experiment
1627 is going. In addition, a new variable disconnected-tracing lets you
1628 tell the target agent whether to continue running a trace if the
1629 connection is lost unexpectedly.
1630
1631 ** Trace files
1632
1633 GDB now has the ability to save the trace buffer into a file, and
1634 then use that file as a target, similarly to you can do with
1635 corefiles. You can select trace frames, print data that was
1636 collected in them, and use tstatus to display the state of the
1637 tracing run at the moment that it was saved. To create a trace
1638 file, use "tsave <filename>", and to use it, do "target tfile
1639 <name>".
1640
1641 ** Circular trace buffer
1642
1643 You can ask the target agent to handle the trace buffer as a
1644 circular buffer, discarding the oldest trace frames to make room for
1645 newer ones, by setting circular-trace-buffer to on. This feature may
1646 not be available for all target agents.
1647
1648 * Changed commands
1649
1650 disassemble
1651 The disassemble command, when invoked with two arguments, now requires
1652 the arguments to be comma-separated.
1653
1654 info variables
1655 The info variables command now displays variable definitions. Files
1656 which only declare a variable are not shown.
1657
1658 source
1659 The source command is now capable of sourcing Python scripts.
1660 This feature is dependent on the debugger being build with Python
1661 support.
1662
1663 Related to this enhancement is also the introduction of a new command
1664 "set script-extension" (see below).
1665
1666 * New commands (for set/show, see "New options" below)
1667
1668 record save [<FILENAME>]
1669 Save a file (in core file format) containing the process record
1670 execution log for replay debugging at a later time.
1671
1672 record restore <FILENAME>
1673 Restore the process record execution log that was saved at an
1674 earlier time, for replay debugging.
1675
1676 add-inferior [-copies <N>] [-exec <FILENAME>]
1677 Add a new inferior.
1678
1679 clone-inferior [-copies <N>] [ID]
1680 Make a new inferior ready to execute the same program another
1681 inferior has loaded.
1682
1683 remove-inferior ID
1684 Remove an inferior.
1685
1686 maint info program-spaces
1687 List the program spaces loaded into GDB.
1688
1689 set remote interrupt-sequence [Ctrl-C | BREAK | BREAK-g]
1690 show remote interrupt-sequence
1691 Allow the user to select one of ^C, a BREAK signal or BREAK-g
1692 as the sequence to the remote target in order to interrupt the execution.
1693 Ctrl-C is a default. Some system prefers BREAK which is high level of
1694 serial line for some certain time. Linux kernel prefers BREAK-g, a.k.a
1695 Magic SysRq g. It is BREAK signal and character 'g'.
1696
1697 set remote interrupt-on-connect [on | off]
1698 show remote interrupt-on-connect
1699 When interrupt-on-connect is ON, gdb sends interrupt-sequence to
1700 remote target when gdb connects to it. This is needed when you debug
1701 Linux kernel.
1702
1703 set remotebreak [on | off]
1704 show remotebreak
1705 Deprecated. Use "set/show remote interrupt-sequence" instead.
1706
1707 tvariable $NAME [ = EXP ]
1708 Create or modify a trace state variable.
1709
1710 info tvariables
1711 List trace state variables and their values.
1712
1713 delete tvariable $NAME ...
1714 Delete one or more trace state variables.
1715
1716 teval EXPR, ...
1717 Evaluate the given expressions without collecting anything into the
1718 trace buffer. (Valid in tracepoint actions only.)
1719
1720 ftrace FN / FILE:LINE / *ADDR
1721 Define a fast tracepoint at the given function, line, or address.
1722
1723 * New expression syntax
1724
1725 GDB now parses the 0b prefix of binary numbers the same way as GCC does.
1726 GDB now parses 0b101010 identically with 42.
1727
1728 * New options
1729
1730 set follow-exec-mode new|same
1731 show follow-exec-mode
1732 Control whether GDB reuses the same inferior across an exec call or
1733 creates a new one. This is useful to be able to restart the old
1734 executable after the inferior having done an exec call.
1735
1736 set default-collect EXPR, ...
1737 show default-collect
1738 Define a list of expressions to be collected at each tracepoint.
1739 This is a useful way to ensure essential items are not overlooked,
1740 such as registers or a critical global variable.
1741
1742 set disconnected-tracing
1743 show disconnected-tracing
1744 If set to 1, the target is instructed to continue tracing if it
1745 loses its connection to GDB. If 0, the target is to stop tracing
1746 upon disconnection.
1747
1748 set circular-trace-buffer
1749 show circular-trace-buffer
1750 If set to on, the target is instructed to use a circular trace buffer
1751 and discard the oldest trace frames instead of stopping the trace due
1752 to a full trace buffer. If set to off, the trace stops when the buffer
1753 fills up. Some targets may not support this.
1754
1755 set script-extension off|soft|strict
1756 show script-extension
1757 If set to "off", the debugger does not perform any script language
1758 recognition, and all sourced files are assumed to be GDB scripts.
1759 If set to "soft" (the default), files are sourced according to
1760 filename extension, falling back to GDB scripts if the first
1761 evaluation failed.
1762 If set to "strict", files are sourced according to filename extension.
1763
1764 set ada trust-PAD-over-XVS on|off
1765 show ada trust-PAD-over-XVS
1766 If off, activate a workaround against a bug in the debugging information
1767 generated by the compiler for PAD types (see gcc/exp_dbug.ads in
1768 the GCC sources for more information about the GNAT encoding and
1769 PAD types in particular). It is always safe to set this option to
1770 off, but this introduces a slight performance penalty. The default
1771 is on.
1772
1773 * Python API Improvements
1774
1775 ** GDB provides the new class gdb.LazyString. This is useful in
1776 some pretty-printing cases. The new method gdb.Value.lazy_string
1777 provides a simple way to create objects of this type.
1778
1779 ** The fields returned by gdb.Type.fields now have an
1780 `is_base_class' attribute.
1781
1782 ** The new method gdb.Type.range returns the range of an array type.
1783
1784 ** The new method gdb.parse_and_eval can be used to parse and
1785 evaluate an expression.
1786
1787 * New remote packets
1788
1789 QTDV
1790 Define a trace state variable.
1791
1792 qTV
1793 Get the current value of a trace state variable.
1794
1795 QTDisconnected
1796 Set desired tracing behavior upon disconnection.
1797
1798 QTBuffer:circular
1799 Set the trace buffer to be linear or circular.
1800
1801 qTfP, qTsP
1802 Get data about the tracepoints currently in use.
1803
1804 * Bug fixes
1805
1806 Process record now works correctly with hardware watchpoints.
1807
1808 Multiple bug fixes have been made to the mips-irix port, making it
1809 much more reliable. In particular:
1810 - Debugging threaded applications is now possible again. Previously,
1811 GDB would hang while starting the program, or while waiting for
1812 the program to stop at a breakpoint.
1813 - Attaching to a running process no longer hangs.
1814 - An error occurring while loading a core file has been fixed.
1815 - Changing the value of the PC register now works again. This fixes
1816 problems observed when using the "jump" command, or when calling
1817 a function from GDB, or even when assigning a new value to $pc.
1818 - With the "finish" and "return" commands, the return value for functions
1819 returning a small array is now correctly printed.
1820 - It is now possible to break on shared library code which gets executed
1821 during a shared library init phase (code executed while executing
1822 their .init section). Previously, the breakpoint would have no effect.
1823 - GDB is now able to backtrace through the signal handler for
1824 non-threaded programs.
1825
1826 PIE (Position Independent Executable) programs debugging is now supported.
1827 This includes debugging execution of PIC (Position Independent Code) shared
1828 libraries although for that, it should be possible to run such libraries as an
1829 executable program.
1830
1831 *** Changes in GDB 7.0
1832
1833 * GDB now has an interface for JIT compilation. Applications that
1834 dynamically generate code can create symbol files in memory and register
1835 them with GDB. For users, the feature should work transparently, and
1836 for JIT developers, the interface is documented in the GDB manual in the
1837 "JIT Compilation Interface" chapter.
1838
1839 * Tracepoints may now be conditional. The syntax is as for
1840 breakpoints; either an "if" clause appended to the "trace" command,
1841 or the "condition" command is available. GDB sends the condition to
1842 the target for evaluation using the same bytecode format as is used
1843 for tracepoint actions.
1844
1845 * The disassemble command now supports: an optional /r modifier, print the
1846 raw instructions in hex as well as in symbolic form, and an optional /m
1847 modifier to print mixed source+assembly.
1848
1849 * Process record and replay
1850
1851 In a architecture environment that supports ``process record and
1852 replay'', ``process record and replay'' target can record a log of
1853 the process execution, and replay it with both forward and reverse
1854 execute commands.
1855
1856 * Reverse debugging: GDB now has new commands reverse-continue, reverse-
1857 step, reverse-next, reverse-finish, reverse-stepi, reverse-nexti, and
1858 set execution-direction {forward|reverse}, for targets that support
1859 reverse execution.
1860
1861 * GDB now supports hardware watchpoints on MIPS/Linux systems. This
1862 feature is available with a native GDB running on kernel version
1863 2.6.28 or later.
1864
1865 * GDB now has support for multi-byte and wide character sets on the
1866 target. Strings whose character type is wchar_t, char16_t, or
1867 char32_t are now correctly printed. GDB supports wide- and unicode-
1868 literals in C, that is, L'x', L"string", u'x', u"string", U'x', and
1869 U"string" syntax. And, GDB allows the "%ls" and "%lc" formats in
1870 `printf'. This feature requires iconv to work properly; if your
1871 system does not have a working iconv, GDB can use GNU libiconv. See
1872 the installation instructions for more information.
1873
1874 * GDB now supports automatic retrieval of shared library files from
1875 remote targets. To use this feature, specify a system root that begins
1876 with the `remote:' prefix, either via the `set sysroot' command or via
1877 the `--with-sysroot' configure-time option.
1878
1879 * "info sharedlibrary" now takes an optional regex of libraries to show,
1880 and it now reports if a shared library has no debugging information.
1881
1882 * Commands `set debug-file-directory', `set solib-search-path' and `set args'
1883 now complete on file names.
1884
1885 * When completing in expressions, gdb will attempt to limit
1886 completions to allowable structure or union fields, where appropriate.
1887 For instance, consider:
1888
1889 # struct example { int f1; double f2; };
1890 # struct example variable;
1891 (gdb) p variable.
1892
1893 If the user types TAB at the end of this command line, the available
1894 completions will be "f1" and "f2".
1895
1896 * Inlined functions are now supported. They show up in backtraces, and
1897 the "step", "next", and "finish" commands handle them automatically.
1898
1899 * GDB now supports the token-splicing (##) and stringification (#)
1900 operators when expanding macros. It also supports variable-arity
1901 macros.
1902
1903 * GDB now supports inspecting extra signal information, exported by
1904 the new $_siginfo convenience variable. The feature is currently
1905 implemented on linux ARM, i386 and amd64.
1906
1907 * GDB can now display the VFP floating point registers and NEON vector
1908 registers on ARM targets. Both ARM GNU/Linux native GDB and gdbserver
1909 can provide these registers (requires Linux 2.6.30 or later). Remote
1910 and simulator targets may also provide them.
1911
1912 * New remote packets
1913
1914 qSearch:memory:
1915 Search memory for a sequence of bytes.
1916
1917 QStartNoAckMode
1918 Turn off `+'/`-' protocol acknowledgments to permit more efficient
1919 operation over reliable transport links. Use of this packet is
1920 controlled by the `set remote noack-packet' command.
1921
1922 vKill
1923 Kill the process with the specified process ID. Use this in preference
1924 to `k' when multiprocess protocol extensions are supported.
1925
1926 qXfer:osdata:read
1927 Obtains additional operating system information
1928
1929 qXfer:siginfo:read
1930 qXfer:siginfo:write
1931 Read or write additional signal information.
1932
1933 * Removed remote protocol undocumented extension
1934
1935 An undocumented extension to the remote protocol's `S' stop reply
1936 packet that permited the stub to pass a process id was removed.
1937 Remote servers should use the `T' stop reply packet instead.
1938
1939 * GDB now supports multiple function calling conventions according to the
1940 DWARF-2 DW_AT_calling_convention function attribute.
1941
1942 * The SH target utilizes the aforementioned change to distinguish between gcc
1943 and Renesas calling convention. It also adds the new CLI commands
1944 `set/show sh calling-convention'.
1945
1946 * GDB can now read compressed debug sections, as produced by GNU gold
1947 with the --compress-debug-sections=zlib flag.
1948
1949 * 64-bit core files are now supported on AIX.
1950
1951 * Thread switching is now supported on Tru64.
1952
1953 * Watchpoints can now be set on unreadable memory locations, e.g. addresses
1954 which will be allocated using malloc later in program execution.
1955
1956 * The qXfer:libraries:read remote procotol packet now allows passing a
1957 list of section offsets.
1958
1959 * On GNU/Linux, GDB can now attach to stopped processes. Several race
1960 conditions handling signals delivered during attach or thread creation
1961 have also been fixed.
1962
1963 * GDB now supports the use of DWARF boolean types for Ada's type Boolean.
1964 From the user's standpoint, all unqualified instances of True and False
1965 are treated as the standard definitions, regardless of context.
1966
1967 * GDB now parses C++ symbol and type names more flexibly. For
1968 example, given:
1969
1970 template<typename T> class C { };
1971 C<char const *> c;
1972
1973 GDB will now correctly handle all of:
1974
1975 ptype C<char const *>
1976 ptype C<char const*>
1977 ptype C<const char *>
1978 ptype C<const char*>
1979
1980 * New features in the GDB remote stub, gdbserver
1981
1982 - The "--wrapper" command-line argument tells gdbserver to use a
1983 wrapper program to launch programs for debugging.
1984
1985 - On PowerPC and S/390 targets, it is now possible to use a single
1986 gdbserver executable to debug both 32-bit and 64-bit programs.
1987 (This requires gdbserver itself to be built as a 64-bit executable.)
1988
1989 - gdbserver uses the new noack protocol mode for TCP connections to
1990 reduce communications latency, if also supported and enabled in GDB.
1991
1992 - Support for the sparc64-linux-gnu target is now included in
1993 gdbserver.
1994
1995 - The amd64-linux build of gdbserver now supports debugging both
1996 32-bit and 64-bit programs.
1997
1998 - The i386-linux, amd64-linux, and i386-win32 builds of gdbserver
1999 now support hardware watchpoints, and will use them automatically
2000 as appropriate.
2001
2002 * Python scripting
2003
2004 GDB now has support for scripting using Python. Whether this is
2005 available is determined at configure time.
2006
2007 New GDB commands can now be written in Python.
2008
2009 * Ada tasking support
2010
2011 Ada tasks can now be inspected in GDB. The following commands have
2012 been introduced:
2013
2014 info tasks
2015 Print the list of Ada tasks.
2016 info task N
2017 Print detailed information about task number N.
2018 task
2019 Print the task number of the current task.
2020 task N
2021 Switch the context of debugging to task number N.
2022
2023 * Support for user-defined prefixed commands. The "define" command can
2024 add new commands to existing prefixes, e.g. "target".
2025
2026 * Multi-inferior, multi-process debugging.
2027
2028 GDB now has generalized support for multi-inferior debugging. See
2029 "Debugging Multiple Inferiors" in the manual for more information.
2030 Although availability still depends on target support, the command
2031 set is more uniform now. The GNU/Linux specific multi-forks support
2032 has been migrated to this new framework. This implied some user
2033 visible changes; see "New commands" and also "Removed commands"
2034 below.
2035
2036 * Target descriptions can now describe the target OS ABI. See the
2037 "Target Description Format" section in the user manual for more
2038 information.
2039
2040 * Target descriptions can now describe "compatible" architectures
2041 to indicate that the target can execute applications for a different
2042 architecture in addition to those for the main target architecture.
2043 See the "Target Description Format" section in the user manual for
2044 more information.
2045
2046 * Multi-architecture debugging.
2047
2048 GDB now includes general supports for debugging applications on
2049 hybrid systems that use more than one single processor architecture
2050 at the same time. Each such hybrid architecture still requires
2051 specific support to be added. The only hybrid architecture supported
2052 in this version of GDB is the Cell Broadband Engine.
2053
2054 * GDB now supports integrated debugging of Cell/B.E. applications that
2055 use both the PPU and SPU architectures. To enable support for hybrid
2056 Cell/B.E. debugging, you need to configure GDB to support both the
2057 powerpc-linux or powerpc64-linux and the spu-elf targets, using the
2058 --enable-targets configure option.
2059
2060 * Non-stop mode debugging.
2061
2062 For some targets, GDB now supports an optional mode of operation in
2063 which you can examine stopped threads while other threads continue
2064 to execute freely. This is referred to as non-stop mode, with the
2065 old mode referred to as all-stop mode. See the "Non-Stop Mode"
2066 section in the user manual for more information.
2067
2068 To be able to support remote non-stop debugging, a remote stub needs
2069 to implement the non-stop mode remote protocol extensions, as
2070 described in the "Remote Non-Stop" section of the user manual. The
2071 GDB remote stub, gdbserver, has been adjusted to support these
2072 extensions on linux targets.
2073
2074 * New commands (for set/show, see "New options" below)
2075
2076 catch syscall [NAME(S) | NUMBER(S)]
2077 Catch system calls. Arguments, which should be names of system
2078 calls or their numbers, mean catch only those syscalls. Without
2079 arguments, every syscall will be caught. When the inferior issues
2080 any of the specified syscalls, GDB will stop and announce the system
2081 call, both when it is called and when its call returns. This
2082 feature is currently available with a native GDB running on the
2083 Linux Kernel, under the following architectures: x86, x86_64,
2084 PowerPC and PowerPC64.
2085
2086 find [/size-char] [/max-count] start-address, end-address|+search-space-size,
2087 val1 [, val2, ...]
2088 Search memory for a sequence of bytes.
2089
2090 maint set python print-stack
2091 maint show python print-stack
2092 Show a stack trace when an error is encountered in a Python script.
2093
2094 python [CODE]
2095 Invoke CODE by passing it to the Python interpreter.
2096
2097 macro define
2098 macro list
2099 macro undef
2100 These allow macros to be defined, undefined, and listed
2101 interactively.
2102
2103 info os processes
2104 Show operating system information about processes.
2105
2106 info inferiors
2107 List the inferiors currently under GDB's control.
2108
2109 inferior NUM
2110 Switch focus to inferior number NUM.
2111
2112 detach inferior NUM
2113 Detach from inferior number NUM.
2114
2115 kill inferior NUM
2116 Kill inferior number NUM.
2117
2118 * New options
2119
2120 set spu stop-on-load
2121 show spu stop-on-load
2122 Control whether to stop for new SPE threads during Cell/B.E. debugging.
2123
2124 set spu auto-flush-cache
2125 show spu auto-flush-cache
2126 Control whether to automatically flush the software-managed cache
2127 during Cell/B.E. debugging.
2128
2129 set sh calling-convention
2130 show sh calling-convention
2131 Control the calling convention used when calling SH target functions.
2132
2133 set debug timestamp
2134 show debug timestamp
2135 Control display of timestamps with GDB debugging output.
2136
2137 set disassemble-next-line
2138 show disassemble-next-line
2139 Control display of disassembled source lines or instructions when
2140 the debuggee stops.
2141
2142 set remote noack-packet
2143 show remote noack-packet
2144 Set/show the use of remote protocol QStartNoAckMode packet. See above
2145 under "New remote packets."
2146
2147 set remote query-attached-packet
2148 show remote query-attached-packet
2149 Control use of remote protocol `qAttached' (query-attached) packet.
2150
2151 set remote read-siginfo-object
2152 show remote read-siginfo-object
2153 Control use of remote protocol `qXfer:siginfo:read' (read-siginfo-object)
2154 packet.
2155
2156 set remote write-siginfo-object
2157 show remote write-siginfo-object
2158 Control use of remote protocol `qXfer:siginfo:write' (write-siginfo-object)
2159 packet.
2160
2161 set remote reverse-continue
2162 show remote reverse-continue
2163 Control use of remote protocol 'bc' (reverse-continue) packet.
2164
2165 set remote reverse-step
2166 show remote reverse-step
2167 Control use of remote protocol 'bs' (reverse-step) packet.
2168
2169 set displaced-stepping
2170 show displaced-stepping
2171 Control displaced stepping mode. Displaced stepping is a way to
2172 single-step over breakpoints without removing them from the debuggee.
2173 Also known as "out-of-line single-stepping".
2174
2175 set debug displaced
2176 show debug displaced
2177 Control display of debugging info for displaced stepping.
2178
2179 maint set internal-error
2180 maint show internal-error
2181 Control what GDB does when an internal error is detected.
2182
2183 maint set internal-warning
2184 maint show internal-warning
2185 Control what GDB does when an internal warning is detected.
2186
2187 set exec-wrapper
2188 show exec-wrapper
2189 unset exec-wrapper
2190 Use a wrapper program to launch programs for debugging.
2191
2192 set multiple-symbols (all|ask|cancel)
2193 show multiple-symbols
2194 The value of this variable can be changed to adjust the debugger behavior
2195 when an expression or a breakpoint location contains an ambiguous symbol
2196 name (an overloaded function name, for instance).
2197
2198 set breakpoint always-inserted
2199 show breakpoint always-inserted
2200 Keep breakpoints always inserted in the target, as opposed to inserting
2201 them when resuming the target, and removing them when the target stops.
2202 This option can improve debugger performance on slow remote targets.
2203
2204 set arm fallback-mode (arm|thumb|auto)
2205 show arm fallback-mode
2206 set arm force-mode (arm|thumb|auto)
2207 show arm force-mode
2208 These commands control how ARM GDB determines whether instructions
2209 are ARM or Thumb. The default for both settings is auto, which uses
2210 the current CPSR value for instructions without symbols; previous
2211 versions of GDB behaved as if "set arm fallback-mode arm".
2212
2213 set disable-randomization
2214 show disable-randomization
2215 Standalone programs run with the virtual address space randomization enabled
2216 by default on some platforms. This option keeps the addresses stable across
2217 multiple debugging sessions.
2218
2219 set non-stop
2220 show non-stop
2221 Control whether other threads are stopped or not when some thread hits
2222 a breakpoint.
2223
2224 set target-async
2225 show target-async
2226 Requests that asynchronous execution is enabled in the target, if available.
2227 In this case, it's possible to resume target in the background, and interact
2228 with GDB while the target is running. "show target-async" displays the
2229 current state of asynchronous execution of the target.
2230
2231 set target-wide-charset
2232 show target-wide-charset
2233 The target-wide-charset is the name of the character set that GDB
2234 uses when printing characters whose type is wchar_t.
2235
2236 set tcp auto-retry (on|off)
2237 show tcp auto-retry
2238 set tcp connect-timeout
2239 show tcp connect-timeout
2240 These commands allow GDB to retry failed TCP connections to a remote stub
2241 with a specified timeout period; this is useful if the stub is launched
2242 in parallel with GDB but may not be ready to accept connections immediately.
2243
2244 set libthread-db-search-path
2245 show libthread-db-search-path
2246 Control list of directories which GDB will search for appropriate
2247 libthread_db.
2248
2249 set schedule-multiple (on|off)
2250 show schedule-multiple
2251 Allow GDB to resume all threads of all processes or only threads of
2252 the current process.
2253
2254 set stack-cache
2255 show stack-cache
2256 Use more aggressive caching for accesses to the stack. This improves
2257 performance of remote debugging (particularly backtraces) without
2258 affecting correctness.
2259
2260 set interactive-mode (on|off|auto)
2261 show interactive-mode
2262 Control whether GDB runs in interactive mode (on) or not (off).
2263 When in interactive mode, GDB waits for the user to answer all
2264 queries. Otherwise, GDB does not wait and assumes the default
2265 answer. When set to auto (the default), GDB determines which
2266 mode to use based on the stdin settings.
2267
2268 * Removed commands
2269
2270 info forks
2271 For program forks, this is replaced by the new more generic `info
2272 inferiors' command. To list checkpoints, you can still use the
2273 `info checkpoints' command, which was an alias for the `info forks'
2274 command.
2275
2276 fork NUM
2277 Replaced by the new `inferior' command. To switch between
2278 checkpoints, you can still use the `restart' command, which was an
2279 alias for the `fork' command.
2280
2281 process PID
2282 This is removed, since some targets don't have a notion of
2283 processes. To switch between processes, you can still use the
2284 `inferior' command using GDB's own inferior number.
2285
2286 delete fork NUM
2287 For program forks, this is replaced by the new more generic `kill
2288 inferior' command. To delete a checkpoint, you can still use the
2289 `delete checkpoint' command, which was an alias for the `delete
2290 fork' command.
2291
2292 detach fork NUM
2293 For program forks, this is replaced by the new more generic `detach
2294 inferior' command. To detach a checkpoint, you can still use the
2295 `detach checkpoint' command, which was an alias for the `detach
2296 fork' command.
2297
2298 * New native configurations
2299
2300 x86/x86_64 Darwin i[34567]86-*-darwin*
2301
2302 x86_64 MinGW x86_64-*-mingw*
2303
2304 * New targets
2305
2306 Lattice Mico32 lm32-*
2307 x86 DICOS i[34567]86-*-dicos*
2308 x86_64 DICOS x86_64-*-dicos*
2309 S+core 3 score-*-*
2310
2311 * The GDB remote stub, gdbserver, now supports x86 Windows CE
2312 (mingw32ce) debugging.
2313
2314 * Removed commands
2315
2316 catch load
2317 catch unload
2318 These commands were actually not implemented on any target.
2319
2320 *** Changes in GDB 6.8
2321
2322 * New native configurations
2323
2324 NetBSD/hppa hppa*-*netbsd*
2325 Xtensa GNU/Linux xtensa*-*-linux*
2326
2327 * New targets
2328
2329 NetBSD/hppa hppa*-*-netbsd*
2330 Xtensa GNU/Lunux xtensa*-*-linux*
2331
2332 * Change in command line behavior -- corefiles vs. process ids.
2333
2334 When the '-p NUMBER' or '--pid NUMBER' options are used, and
2335 attaching to process NUMBER fails, GDB no longer attempts to open a
2336 core file named NUMBER. Attaching to a program using the -c option
2337 is no longer supported. Instead, use the '-p' or '--pid' options.
2338
2339 * GDB can now be built as a native debugger for debugging Windows x86
2340 (mingw32) Portable Executable (PE) programs.
2341
2342 * Pending breakpoints no longer change their number when their address
2343 is resolved.
2344
2345 * GDB now supports breakpoints with multiple locations,
2346 including breakpoints on C++ constructors, inside C++ templates,
2347 and in inlined functions.
2348
2349 * GDB's ability to debug optimized code has been improved. GDB more
2350 accurately identifies function bodies and lexical blocks that occupy
2351 more than one contiguous range of addresses.
2352
2353 * Target descriptions can now describe registers for PowerPC.
2354
2355 * The GDB remote stub, gdbserver, now supports the AltiVec and SPE
2356 registers on PowerPC targets.
2357
2358 * The GDB remote stub, gdbserver, now supports thread debugging on GNU/Linux
2359 targets even when the libthread_db library is not available.
2360
2361 * The GDB remote stub, gdbserver, now supports the new file transfer
2362 commands (remote put, remote get, and remote delete).
2363
2364 * The GDB remote stub, gdbserver, now supports run and attach in
2365 extended-remote mode.
2366
2367 * hppa*64*-*-hpux11* target broken
2368 The debugger is unable to start a program and fails with the following
2369 error: "Error trying to get information about dynamic linker".
2370 The gdb-6.7 release is also affected.
2371
2372 * GDB now supports the --enable-targets= configure option to allow
2373 building a single GDB executable that supports multiple remote
2374 target architectures.
2375
2376 * GDB now supports debugging C and C++ programs which use the
2377 Decimal Floating Point extension. In addition, the PowerPC target
2378 now has a set of pseudo-registers to inspect decimal float values
2379 stored in two consecutive float registers.
2380
2381 * The -break-insert MI command can optionally create pending
2382 breakpoints now.
2383
2384 * Improved support for debugging Ada
2385 Many improvements to the Ada language support have been made. These
2386 include:
2387 - Better support for Ada2005 interface types
2388 - Improved handling of arrays and slices in general
2389 - Better support for Taft-amendment types
2390 - The '{type} ADDRESS' expression is now allowed on the left hand-side
2391 of an assignment
2392 - Improved command completion in Ada
2393 - Several bug fixes
2394
2395 * GDB on GNU/Linux and HP/UX can now debug through "exec" of a new
2396 process.
2397
2398 * New commands
2399
2400 set print frame-arguments (all|scalars|none)
2401 show print frame-arguments
2402 The value of this variable can be changed to control which argument
2403 values should be printed by the debugger when displaying a frame.
2404
2405 remote put
2406 remote get
2407 remote delete
2408 Transfer files to and from a remote target, and delete remote files.
2409
2410 * New MI commands
2411
2412 -target-file-put
2413 -target-file-get
2414 -target-file-delete
2415 Transfer files to and from a remote target, and delete remote files.
2416
2417 * New remote packets
2418
2419 vFile:open:
2420 vFile:close:
2421 vFile:pread:
2422 vFile:pwrite:
2423 vFile:unlink:
2424 Open, close, read, write, and delete files on the remote system.
2425
2426 vAttach
2427 Attach to an existing process on the remote system, in extended-remote
2428 mode.
2429
2430 vRun
2431 Run a new process on the remote system, in extended-remote mode.
2432
2433 *** Changes in GDB 6.7
2434
2435 * Resolved 101 resource leaks, null pointer dereferences, etc. in gdb,
2436 bfd, libiberty and opcodes, as revealed by static analysis donated by
2437 Coverity, Inc. (http://scan.coverity.com).
2438
2439 * When looking up multiply-defined global symbols, GDB will now prefer the
2440 symbol definition in the current shared library if it was built using the
2441 -Bsymbolic linker option.
2442
2443 * When the Text User Interface (TUI) is not configured, GDB will now
2444 recognize the -tui command-line option and print a message that the TUI
2445 is not supported.
2446
2447 * The GDB remote stub, gdbserver, now has lower overhead for high
2448 frequency signals (e.g. SIGALRM) via the QPassSignals packet.
2449
2450 * GDB for MIPS targets now autodetects whether a remote target provides
2451 32-bit or 64-bit register values.
2452
2453 * Support for C++ member pointers has been improved.
2454
2455 * GDB now understands XML target descriptions, which specify the
2456 target's overall architecture. GDB can read a description from
2457 a local file or over the remote serial protocol.
2458
2459 * Vectors of single-byte data use a new integer type which is not
2460 automatically displayed as character or string data.
2461
2462 * The /s format now works with the print command. It displays
2463 arrays of single-byte integers and pointers to single-byte integers
2464 as strings.
2465
2466 * Target descriptions can now describe target-specific registers,
2467 for architectures which have implemented the support (currently
2468 only ARM, M68K, and MIPS).
2469
2470 * GDB and the GDB remote stub, gdbserver, now support the XScale
2471 iWMMXt coprocessor.
2472
2473 * The GDB remote stub, gdbserver, has been updated to support
2474 ARM Windows CE (mingw32ce) debugging, and GDB Windows CE support
2475 has been rewritten to use the standard GDB remote protocol.
2476
2477 * GDB can now step into C++ functions which are called through thunks.
2478
2479 * GDB for the Cell/B.E. SPU now supports overlay debugging.
2480
2481 * The GDB remote protocol "qOffsets" packet can now honor ELF segment
2482 layout. It also supports a TextSeg= and DataSeg= response when only
2483 segment base addresses (rather than offsets) are available.
2484
2485 * The /i format now outputs any trailing branch delay slot instructions
2486 immediately following the last instruction within the count specified.
2487
2488 * The GDB remote protocol "T" stop reply packet now supports a
2489 "library" response. Combined with the new "qXfer:libraries:read"
2490 packet, this response allows GDB to debug shared libraries on targets
2491 where the operating system manages the list of loaded libraries (e.g.
2492 Windows and SymbianOS).
2493
2494 * The GDB remote stub, gdbserver, now supports dynamic link libraries
2495 (DLLs) on Windows and Windows CE targets.
2496
2497 * GDB now supports a faster verification that a .debug file matches its binary
2498 according to its build-id signature, if the signature is present.
2499
2500 * New commands
2501
2502 set remoteflow
2503 show remoteflow
2504 Enable or disable hardware flow control (RTS/CTS) on the serial port
2505 when debugging using remote targets.
2506
2507 set mem inaccessible-by-default
2508 show mem inaccessible-by-default
2509 If the target supplies a memory map, for instance via the remote
2510 protocol's "qXfer:memory-map:read" packet, setting this variable
2511 prevents GDB from accessing memory outside the memory map. This
2512 is useful for targets with memory mapped registers or which react
2513 badly to accesses of unmapped address space.
2514
2515 set breakpoint auto-hw
2516 show breakpoint auto-hw
2517 If the target supplies a memory map, for instance via the remote
2518 protocol's "qXfer:memory-map:read" packet, setting this variable
2519 lets GDB use hardware breakpoints automatically for memory regions
2520 where it can not use software breakpoints. This covers both the
2521 "break" command and internal breakpoints used for other commands
2522 including "next" and "finish".
2523
2524 catch exception
2525 catch exception unhandled
2526 Stop the program execution when Ada exceptions are raised.
2527
2528 catch assert
2529 Stop the program execution when an Ada assertion failed.
2530
2531 set sysroot
2532 show sysroot
2533 Set an alternate system root for target files. This is a more
2534 general version of "set solib-absolute-prefix", which is now
2535 an alias to "set sysroot".
2536
2537 info spu
2538 Provide extended SPU facility status information. This set of
2539 commands is available only when debugging the Cell/B.E. SPU
2540 architecture.
2541
2542 * New native configurations
2543
2544 OpenBSD/sh sh*-*openbsd*
2545
2546 set tdesc filename
2547 unset tdesc filename
2548 show tdesc filename
2549 Use the specified local file as an XML target description, and do
2550 not query the target for its built-in description.
2551
2552 * New targets
2553
2554 OpenBSD/sh sh*-*-openbsd*
2555 MIPS64 GNU/Linux (gdbserver) mips64-linux-gnu
2556 Toshiba Media Processor mep-elf
2557
2558 * New remote packets
2559
2560 QPassSignals:
2561 Ignore the specified signals; pass them directly to the debugged program
2562 without stopping other threads or reporting them to GDB.
2563
2564 qXfer:features:read:
2565 Read an XML target description from the target, which describes its
2566 features.
2567
2568 qXfer:spu:read:
2569 qXfer:spu:write:
2570 Read or write contents of an spufs file on the target system. These
2571 packets are available only on the Cell/B.E. SPU architecture.
2572
2573 qXfer:libraries:read:
2574 Report the loaded shared libraries. Combined with new "T" packet
2575 response, this packet allows GDB to debug shared libraries on
2576 targets where the operating system manages the list of loaded
2577 libraries (e.g. Windows and SymbianOS).
2578
2579 * Removed targets
2580
2581 Support for these obsolete configurations has been removed.
2582
2583 alpha*-*-osf1*
2584 alpha*-*-osf2*
2585 d10v-*-*
2586 hppa*-*-hiux*
2587 i[34567]86-ncr-*
2588 i[34567]86-*-dgux*
2589 i[34567]86-*-lynxos*
2590 i[34567]86-*-netware*
2591 i[34567]86-*-sco3.2v5*
2592 i[34567]86-*-sco3.2v4*
2593 i[34567]86-*-sco*
2594 i[34567]86-*-sysv4.2*
2595 i[34567]86-*-sysv4*
2596 i[34567]86-*-sysv5*
2597 i[34567]86-*-unixware2*
2598 i[34567]86-*-unixware*
2599 i[34567]86-*-sysv*
2600 i[34567]86-*-isc*
2601 m68*-cisco*-*
2602 m68*-tandem-*
2603 mips*-*-pe
2604 rs6000-*-lynxos*
2605 sh*-*-pe
2606
2607 * Other removed features
2608
2609 target abug
2610 target cpu32bug
2611 target est
2612 target rom68k
2613
2614 Various m68k-only ROM monitors.
2615
2616 target hms
2617 target e7000
2618 target sh3
2619 target sh3e
2620
2621 Various Renesas ROM monitors and debugging interfaces for SH and
2622 H8/300.
2623
2624 target ocd
2625
2626 Support for a Macraigor serial interface to on-chip debugging.
2627 GDB does not directly support the newer parallel or USB
2628 interfaces.
2629
2630 DWARF 1 support
2631
2632 A debug information format. The predecessor to DWARF 2 and
2633 DWARF 3, which are still supported.
2634
2635 Support for the HP aCC compiler on HP-UX/PA-RISC
2636
2637 SOM-encapsulated symbolic debugging information, automatic
2638 invocation of pxdb, and the aCC custom C++ ABI. This does not
2639 affect HP-UX for Itanium or GCC for HP-UX/PA-RISC. Code compiled
2640 with aCC can still be debugged on an assembly level.
2641
2642 MIPS ".pdr" sections
2643
2644 A MIPS-specific format used to describe stack frame layout
2645 in debugging information.
2646
2647 Scheme support
2648
2649 GDB could work with an older version of Guile to debug
2650 the interpreter and Scheme programs running in it.
2651
2652 set mips stack-arg-size
2653 set mips saved-gpreg-size
2654
2655 Use "set mips abi" to control parameter passing for MIPS.
2656
2657 *** Changes in GDB 6.6
2658
2659 * New targets
2660
2661 Xtensa xtensa-elf
2662 Cell Broadband Engine SPU spu-elf
2663
2664 * GDB can now be configured as a cross-debugger targeting native Windows
2665 (mingw32) or Cygwin. It can communicate with a remote debugging stub
2666 running on a Windows system over TCP/IP to debug Windows programs.
2667
2668 * The GDB remote stub, gdbserver, has been updated to support Windows and
2669 Cygwin debugging. Both single-threaded and multi-threaded programs are
2670 supported.
2671
2672 * The "set trust-readonly-sections" command works again. This command was
2673 broken in GDB 6.3, 6.4, and 6.5.
2674
2675 * The "load" command now supports writing to flash memory, if the remote
2676 stub provides the required support.
2677
2678 * Support for GNU/Linux Thread Local Storage (TLS, per-thread variables) no
2679 longer requires symbolic debug information (e.g. DWARF-2).
2680
2681 * New commands
2682
2683 set substitute-path
2684 unset substitute-path
2685 show substitute-path
2686 Manage a list of substitution rules that GDB uses to rewrite the name
2687 of the directories where the sources are located. This can be useful
2688 for instance when the sources were moved to a different location
2689 between compilation and debugging.
2690
2691 set trace-commands
2692 show trace-commands
2693 Print each CLI command as it is executed. Each command is prefixed with
2694 a number of `+' symbols representing the nesting depth.
2695 The source command now has a `-v' option to enable the same feature.
2696
2697 * REMOVED features
2698
2699 The ARM Demon monitor support (RDP protocol, "target rdp").
2700
2701 Kernel Object Display, an embedded debugging feature which only worked with
2702 an obsolete version of Cisco IOS.
2703
2704 The 'set download-write-size' and 'show download-write-size' commands.
2705
2706 * New remote packets
2707
2708 qSupported:
2709 Tell a stub about GDB client features, and request remote target features.
2710 The first feature implemented is PacketSize, which allows the target to
2711 specify the size of packets it can handle - to minimize the number of
2712 packets required and improve performance when connected to a remote
2713 target.
2714
2715 qXfer:auxv:read:
2716 Fetch an OS auxilliary vector from the remote stub. This packet is a
2717 more efficient replacement for qPart:auxv:read.
2718
2719 qXfer:memory-map:read:
2720 Fetch a memory map from the remote stub, including information about
2721 RAM, ROM, and flash memory devices.
2722
2723 vFlashErase:
2724 vFlashWrite:
2725 vFlashDone:
2726 Erase and program a flash memory device.
2727
2728 * Removed remote packets
2729
2730 qPart:auxv:read:
2731 This packet has been replaced by qXfer:auxv:read. Only GDB 6.4 and 6.5
2732 used it, and only gdbserver implemented it.
2733
2734 *** Changes in GDB 6.5
2735
2736 * New targets
2737
2738 Renesas M32C/M16C m32c-elf
2739
2740 Morpho Technologies ms1 ms1-elf
2741
2742 * New commands
2743
2744 init-if-undefined Initialize a convenience variable, but
2745 only if it doesn't already have a value.
2746
2747 The following commands are presently only implemented for native GNU/Linux:
2748
2749 checkpoint Save a snapshot of the program state.
2750
2751 restart <n> Return the program state to a
2752 previously saved state.
2753
2754 info checkpoints List currently saved checkpoints.
2755
2756 delete-checkpoint <n> Delete a previously saved checkpoint.
2757
2758 set|show detach-on-fork Tell gdb whether to detach from a newly
2759 forked process, or to keep debugging it.
2760
2761 info forks List forks of the user program that
2762 are available to be debugged.
2763
2764 fork <n> Switch to debugging one of several
2765 forks of the user program that are
2766 available to be debugged.
2767
2768 delete-fork <n> Delete a fork from the list of forks
2769 that are available to be debugged (and
2770 kill the forked process).
2771
2772 detach-fork <n> Delete a fork from the list of forks
2773 that are available to be debugged (and
2774 allow the process to continue).
2775
2776 * New architecture
2777
2778 Morpho Technologies ms2 ms1-elf
2779
2780 * Improved Windows host support
2781
2782 GDB now builds as a cross debugger hosted on i686-mingw32, including
2783 native console support, and remote communications using either
2784 network sockets or serial ports.
2785
2786 * Improved Modula-2 language support
2787
2788 GDB can now print most types in the Modula-2 syntax. This includes:
2789 basic types, set types, record types, enumerated types, range types,
2790 pointer types and ARRAY types. Procedure var parameters are correctly
2791 printed and hexadecimal addresses and character constants are also
2792 written in the Modula-2 syntax. Best results can be obtained by using
2793 GNU Modula-2 together with the -gdwarf-2 command line option.
2794
2795 * REMOVED features
2796
2797 The ARM rdi-share module.
2798
2799 The Netware NLM debug server.
2800
2801 *** Changes in GDB 6.4
2802
2803 * New native configurations
2804
2805 OpenBSD/arm arm*-*-openbsd*
2806 OpenBSD/mips64 mips64-*-openbsd*
2807
2808 * New targets
2809
2810 Morpho Technologies ms1 ms1-elf
2811
2812 * New command line options
2813
2814 --batch-silent As for --batch, but totally silent.
2815 --return-child-result The debugger will exist with the same value
2816 the child (debugged) program exited with.
2817 --eval-command COMMAND, -ex COMMAND
2818 Execute a single GDB CLI command. This may be
2819 specified multiple times and in conjunction
2820 with the --command (-x) option.
2821
2822 * Deprecated commands removed
2823
2824 The following commands, that were deprecated in 2000, have been
2825 removed:
2826
2827 Command Replacement
2828 set|show arm disassembly-flavor set|show arm disassembler
2829 othernames set arm disassembler
2830 set|show remotedebug set|show debug remote
2831 set|show archdebug set|show debug arch
2832 set|show eventdebug set|show debug event
2833 regs info registers
2834
2835 * New BSD user-level threads support
2836
2837 It is now possible to debug programs using the user-level threads
2838 library on OpenBSD and FreeBSD. Currently supported (target)
2839 configurations are:
2840
2841 FreeBSD/amd64 x86_64-*-freebsd*
2842 FreeBSD/i386 i386-*-freebsd*
2843 OpenBSD/i386 i386-*-openbsd*
2844
2845 Note that the new kernel threads libraries introduced in FreeBSD 5.x
2846 are not yet supported.
2847
2848 * New support for Matsushita MN10300 w/sim added
2849 (Work in progress). mn10300-elf.
2850
2851 * REMOVED configurations and files
2852
2853 VxWorks and the XDR protocol *-*-vxworks
2854 Motorola MCORE mcore-*-*
2855 National Semiconductor NS32000 ns32k-*-*
2856
2857 * New "set print array-indexes" command
2858
2859 After turning this setting "on", GDB prints the index of each element
2860 when displaying arrays. The default is "off" to preserve the previous
2861 behavior.
2862
2863 * VAX floating point support
2864
2865 GDB now supports the not-quite-ieee VAX F and D floating point formats.
2866
2867 * User-defined command support
2868
2869 In addition to using $arg0..$arg9 for argument passing, it is now possible
2870 to use $argc to determine now many arguments have been passed. See the
2871 section on user-defined commands in the user manual for more information.
2872
2873 *** Changes in GDB 6.3:
2874
2875 * New command line option
2876
2877 GDB now accepts -l followed by a number to set the timeout for remote
2878 debugging.
2879
2880 * GDB works with GCC -feliminate-dwarf2-dups
2881
2882 GDB now supports a more compact representation of DWARF-2 debug
2883 information using DW_FORM_ref_addr references. These are produced
2884 by GCC with the option -feliminate-dwarf2-dups and also by some
2885 proprietary compilers. With GCC, you must use GCC 3.3.4 or later
2886 to use -feliminate-dwarf2-dups.
2887
2888 * Internationalization
2889
2890 When supported by the host system, GDB will be built with
2891 internationalization (libintl). The task of marking up the sources is
2892 continued, we're looking forward to our first translation.
2893
2894 * Ada
2895
2896 Initial support for debugging programs compiled with the GNAT
2897 implementation of the Ada programming language has been integrated
2898 into GDB. In this release, support is limited to expression evaluation.
2899
2900 * New native configurations
2901
2902 GNU/Linux/m32r m32r-*-linux-gnu
2903
2904 * Remote 'p' packet
2905
2906 GDB's remote protocol now includes support for the 'p' packet. This
2907 packet is used to fetch individual registers from a remote inferior.
2908
2909 * END-OF-LIFE registers[] compatibility module
2910
2911 GDB's internal register infrastructure has been completely rewritten.
2912 The new infrastructure making possible the implementation of key new
2913 features including 32x64 (e.g., 64-bit amd64 GDB debugging a 32-bit
2914 i386 application).
2915
2916 GDB 6.3 will be the last release to include the the registers[]
2917 compatibility module that allowed out-of-date configurations to
2918 continue to work. This change directly impacts the following
2919 configurations:
2920
2921 hppa-*-hpux
2922 ia64-*-aix
2923 mips-*-irix*
2924 *-*-lynx
2925 mips-*-linux-gnu
2926 sds protocol
2927 xdr protocol
2928 powerpc bdm protocol
2929
2930 Unless there is activity to revive these configurations, they will be
2931 made OBSOLETE in GDB 6.4, and REMOVED from GDB 6.5.
2932
2933 * OBSOLETE configurations and files
2934
2935 Configurations that have been declared obsolete in this release have
2936 been commented out. Unless there is activity to revive these
2937 configurations, the next release of GDB will have their sources
2938 permanently REMOVED.
2939
2940 h8300-*-*
2941 mcore-*-*
2942 mn10300-*-*
2943 ns32k-*-*
2944 sh64-*-*
2945 v850-*-*
2946
2947 *** Changes in GDB 6.2.1:
2948
2949 * MIPS `break main; run' gave an heuristic-fence-post warning
2950
2951 When attempting to run even a simple program, a warning about
2952 heuristic-fence-post being hit would be reported. This problem has
2953 been fixed.
2954
2955 * MIPS IRIX 'long double' crashed GDB
2956
2957 When examining a long double variable, GDB would get a segmentation
2958 fault. The crash has been fixed (but GDB 6.2 cannot correctly examine
2959 IRIX long double values).
2960
2961 * VAX and "next"
2962
2963 A bug in the VAX stack code was causing problems with the "next"
2964 command. This problem has been fixed.
2965
2966 *** Changes in GDB 6.2:
2967
2968 * Fix for ``many threads''
2969
2970 On GNU/Linux systems that use the NPTL threads library, a program
2971 rapidly creating and deleting threads would confuse GDB leading to the
2972 error message:
2973
2974 ptrace: No such process.
2975 thread_db_get_info: cannot get thread info: generic error
2976
2977 This problem has been fixed.
2978
2979 * "-async" and "-noasync" options removed.
2980
2981 Support for the broken "-noasync" option has been removed (it caused
2982 GDB to dump core).
2983
2984 * New ``start'' command.
2985
2986 This command runs the program until the begining of the main procedure.
2987
2988 * New BSD Kernel Data Access Library (libkvm) interface
2989
2990 Using ``target kvm'' it is now possible to debug kernel core dumps and
2991 live kernel memory images on various FreeBSD, NetBSD and OpenBSD
2992 platforms. Currently supported (native-only) configurations are:
2993
2994 FreeBSD/amd64 x86_64-*-freebsd*
2995 FreeBSD/i386 i?86-*-freebsd*
2996 NetBSD/i386 i?86-*-netbsd*
2997 NetBSD/m68k m68*-*-netbsd*
2998 NetBSD/sparc sparc-*-netbsd*
2999 OpenBSD/amd64 x86_64-*-openbsd*
3000 OpenBSD/i386 i?86-*-openbsd*
3001 OpenBSD/m68k m68*-openbsd*
3002 OpenBSD/sparc sparc-*-openbsd*
3003
3004 * Signal trampoline code overhauled
3005
3006 Many generic problems with GDB's signal handling code have been fixed.
3007 These include: backtraces through non-contiguous stacks; recognition
3008 of sa_sigaction signal trampolines; backtrace from a NULL pointer
3009 call; backtrace through a signal trampoline; step into and out of
3010 signal handlers; and single-stepping in the signal trampoline.
3011
3012 Please note that kernel bugs are a limiting factor here. These
3013 features have been shown to work on an s390 GNU/Linux system that
3014 include a 2.6.8-rc1 kernel. Ref PR breakpoints/1702.
3015
3016 * Cygwin support for DWARF 2 added.
3017
3018 * New native configurations
3019
3020 GNU/Linux/hppa hppa*-*-linux*
3021 OpenBSD/hppa hppa*-*-openbsd*
3022 OpenBSD/m68k m68*-*-openbsd*
3023 OpenBSD/m88k m88*-*-openbsd*
3024 OpenBSD/powerpc powerpc-*-openbsd*
3025 NetBSD/vax vax-*-netbsd*
3026 OpenBSD/vax vax-*-openbsd*
3027
3028 * END-OF-LIFE frame compatibility module
3029
3030 GDB's internal frame infrastructure has been completely rewritten.
3031 The new infrastructure making it possible to support key new features
3032 including DWARF 2 Call Frame Information. To aid in the task of
3033 migrating old configurations to this new infrastructure, a
3034 compatibility module, that allowed old configurations to continue to
3035 work, was also included.
3036
3037 GDB 6.2 will be the last release to include this frame compatibility
3038 module. This change directly impacts the following configurations:
3039
3040 h8300-*-*
3041 mcore-*-*
3042 mn10300-*-*
3043 ns32k-*-*
3044 sh64-*-*
3045 v850-*-*
3046 xstormy16-*-*
3047
3048 Unless there is activity to revive these configurations, they will be
3049 made OBSOLETE in GDB 6.3, and REMOVED from GDB 6.4.
3050
3051 * REMOVED configurations and files
3052
3053 Sun 3, running SunOS 3 m68*-*-sunos3*
3054 Sun 3, running SunOS 4 m68*-*-sunos4*
3055 Sun 2, running SunOS 3 m68000-*-sunos3*
3056 Sun 2, running SunOS 4 m68000-*-sunos4*
3057 Motorola 680x0 running LynxOS m68*-*-lynxos*
3058 AT&T 3b1/Unix pc m68*-att-*
3059 Bull DPX2 (68k, System V release 3) m68*-bull-sysv*
3060 decstation mips-dec-* mips-little-*
3061 riscos mips-*-riscos* mips-*-sysv*
3062 sonymips mips-sony-*
3063 sysv mips*-*-sysv4* (IRIX 5/6 not included)
3064
3065 *** Changes in GDB 6.1.1:
3066
3067 * TUI (Text-mode User Interface) built-in (also included in GDB 6.1)
3068
3069 The TUI (Text-mode User Interface) is now built as part of a default
3070 GDB configuration. It is enabled by either selecting the TUI with the
3071 command line option "-i=tui" or by running the separate "gdbtui"
3072 program. For more information on the TUI, see the manual "Debugging
3073 with GDB".
3074
3075 * Pending breakpoint support (also included in GDB 6.1)
3076
3077 Support has been added to allow you to specify breakpoints in shared
3078 libraries that have not yet been loaded. If a breakpoint location
3079 cannot be found, and the "breakpoint pending" option is set to auto,
3080 GDB queries you if you wish to make the breakpoint pending on a future
3081 shared-library load. If and when GDB resolves the breakpoint symbol,
3082 the pending breakpoint is removed as one or more regular breakpoints
3083 are created.
3084
3085 Pending breakpoints are very useful for GCJ Java debugging.
3086
3087 * Fixed ISO-C build problems
3088
3089 The files bfd/elf-bfd.h, gdb/dictionary.c and gdb/types.c contained
3090 non ISO-C code that stopped them being built using a more strict ISO-C
3091 compiler (e.g., IBM's C compiler).
3092
3093 * Fixed build problem on IRIX 5
3094
3095 Due to header problems with <sys/proc.h>, the file gdb/proc-api.c
3096 wasn't able to compile compile on an IRIX 5 system.
3097
3098 * Added execute permission to gdb/gdbserver/configure
3099
3100 The shell script gdb/testsuite/gdb.stabs/configure lacked execute
3101 permission. This bug would cause configure to fail on a number of
3102 systems (Solaris, IRIX). Ref: server/519.
3103
3104 * Fixed build problem on hpux2.0w-hp-hpux11.00 using the HP ANSI C compiler
3105
3106 Older HPUX ANSI C compilers did not accept variable array sizes. somsolib.c
3107 has been updated to use constant array sizes.
3108
3109 * Fixed a panic in the DWARF Call Frame Info code on Solaris 2.7
3110
3111 GCC 3.3.2, on Solaris 2.7, includes the DW_EH_PE_funcrel encoding in
3112 its generated DWARF Call Frame Info. This encoding was causing GDB to
3113 panic, that panic has been fixed. Ref: gdb/1628.
3114
3115 * Fixed a problem when examining parameters in shared library code.
3116
3117 When examining parameters in optimized shared library code generated
3118 by a mainline GCC, GDB would incorrectly report ``Variable "..." is
3119 not available''. GDB now correctly displays the variable's value.
3120
3121 *** Changes in GDB 6.1:
3122
3123 * Removed --with-mmalloc
3124
3125 Support for the mmalloc memory manager has been removed, as it
3126 conflicted with the internal gdb byte cache.
3127
3128 * Changes in AMD64 configurations
3129
3130 The AMD64 target now includes the %cs and %ss registers. As a result
3131 the AMD64 remote protocol has changed; this affects the floating-point
3132 and SSE registers. If you rely on those registers for your debugging,
3133 you should upgrade gdbserver on the remote side.
3134
3135 * Revised SPARC target
3136
3137 The SPARC target has been completely revised, incorporating the
3138 FreeBSD/sparc64 support that was added for GDB 6.0. As a result
3139 support for LynxOS and SunOS 4 has been dropped. Calling functions
3140 from within GDB on operating systems with a non-executable stack
3141 (Solaris, OpenBSD) now works.
3142
3143 * New C++ demangler
3144
3145 GDB has a new C++ demangler which does a better job on the mangled
3146 names generated by current versions of g++. It also runs faster, so
3147 with this and other changes gdb should now start faster on large C++
3148 programs.
3149
3150 * DWARF 2 Location Expressions
3151
3152 GDB support for location expressions has been extended to support function
3153 arguments and frame bases. Older versions of GDB could crash when they
3154 encountered these.
3155
3156 * C++ nested types and namespaces
3157
3158 GDB's support for nested types and namespaces in C++ has been
3159 improved, especially if you use the DWARF 2 debugging format. (This
3160 is the default for recent versions of GCC on most platforms.)
3161 Specifically, if you have a class "Inner" defined within a class or
3162 namespace "Outer", then GDB realizes that the class's name is
3163 "Outer::Inner", not simply "Inner". This should greatly reduce the
3164 frequency of complaints about not finding RTTI symbols. In addition,
3165 if you are stopped at inside of a function defined within a namespace,
3166 GDB modifies its name lookup accordingly.
3167
3168 * New native configurations
3169
3170 NetBSD/amd64 x86_64-*-netbsd*
3171 OpenBSD/amd64 x86_64-*-openbsd*
3172 OpenBSD/alpha alpha*-*-openbsd*
3173 OpenBSD/sparc sparc-*-openbsd*
3174 OpenBSD/sparc64 sparc64-*-openbsd*
3175
3176 * New debugging protocols
3177
3178 M32R with SDI protocol m32r-*-elf*
3179
3180 * "set prompt-escape-char" command deleted.
3181
3182 The command "set prompt-escape-char" has been deleted. This command,
3183 and its very obscure effet on GDB's prompt, was never documented,
3184 tested, nor mentioned in the NEWS file.
3185
3186 * OBSOLETE configurations and files
3187
3188 Configurations that have been declared obsolete in this release have
3189 been commented out. Unless there is activity to revive these
3190 configurations, the next release of GDB will have their sources
3191 permanently REMOVED.
3192
3193 Sun 3, running SunOS 3 m68*-*-sunos3*
3194 Sun 3, running SunOS 4 m68*-*-sunos4*
3195 Sun 2, running SunOS 3 m68000-*-sunos3*
3196 Sun 2, running SunOS 4 m68000-*-sunos4*
3197 Motorola 680x0 running LynxOS m68*-*-lynxos*
3198 AT&T 3b1/Unix pc m68*-att-*
3199 Bull DPX2 (68k, System V release 3) m68*-bull-sysv*
3200 decstation mips-dec-* mips-little-*
3201 riscos mips-*-riscos* mips-*-sysv*
3202 sonymips mips-sony-*
3203 sysv mips*-*-sysv4* (IRIX 5/6 not included)
3204
3205 * REMOVED configurations and files
3206
3207 SGI Irix-4.x mips-sgi-irix4 or iris4
3208 SGI Iris (MIPS) running Irix V3: mips-sgi-irix or iris
3209 Z8000 simulator z8k-zilog-none or z8ksim
3210 Matsushita MN10200 w/simulator mn10200-*-*
3211 H8/500 simulator h8500-hitachi-hms or h8500hms
3212 HP/PA running BSD hppa*-*-bsd*
3213 HP/PA running OSF/1 hppa*-*-osf*
3214 HP/PA Pro target hppa*-*-pro*
3215 PMAX (MIPS) running Mach 3.0 mips*-*-mach3*
3216 386BSD i[3456]86-*-bsd*
3217 Sequent family i[3456]86-sequent-sysv4*
3218 i[3456]86-sequent-sysv*
3219 i[3456]86-sequent-bsd*
3220 SPARC running LynxOS sparc-*-lynxos*
3221 SPARC running SunOS 4 sparc-*-sunos4*
3222 Tsqware Sparclet sparclet-*-*
3223 Fujitsu SPARClite sparclite-fujitsu-none or sparclite
3224
3225 *** Changes in GDB 6.0:
3226
3227 * Objective-C
3228
3229 Support for debugging the Objective-C programming language has been
3230 integrated into GDB.
3231
3232 * New backtrace mechanism (includes DWARF 2 Call Frame Information).
3233
3234 DWARF 2's Call Frame Information makes available compiler generated
3235 information that more exactly describes the program's run-time stack.
3236 By using this information, GDB is able to provide more robust stack
3237 backtraces.
3238
3239 The i386, amd64 (nee, x86-64), Alpha, m68hc11, ia64, and m32r targets
3240 have been updated to use a new backtrace mechanism which includes
3241 DWARF 2 CFI support.
3242
3243 * Hosted file I/O.
3244
3245 GDB's remote protocol has been extended to include support for hosted
3246 file I/O (where the remote target uses GDB's file system). See GDB's
3247 remote protocol documentation for details.
3248
3249 * All targets using the new architecture framework.
3250
3251 All of GDB's targets have been updated to use the new internal
3252 architecture framework. The way is now open for future GDB releases
3253 to include cross-architecture native debugging support (i386 on amd64,
3254 ppc32 on ppc64).
3255
3256 * GNU/Linux's Thread Local Storage (TLS)
3257
3258 GDB now includes support for for the GNU/Linux implementation of
3259 per-thread variables.
3260
3261 * GNU/Linux's Native POSIX Thread Library (NPTL)
3262
3263 GDB's thread code has been updated to work with either the new
3264 GNU/Linux NPTL thread library or the older "LinuxThreads" library.
3265
3266 * Separate debug info.
3267
3268 GDB, in conjunction with BINUTILS, now supports a mechanism for
3269 automatically loading debug information from a separate file. Instead
3270 of shipping full debug and non-debug versions of system libraries,
3271 system integrators can now instead ship just the stripped libraries
3272 and optional debug files.
3273
3274 * DWARF 2 Location Expressions
3275
3276 DWARF 2 Location Expressions allow the compiler to more completely
3277 describe the location of variables (even in optimized code) to the
3278 debugger.
3279
3280 GDB now includes preliminary support for location expressions (support
3281 for DW_OP_piece is still missing).
3282
3283 * Java
3284
3285 A number of long standing bugs that caused GDB to die while starting a
3286 Java application have been fixed. GDB's Java support is now
3287 considered "useable".
3288
3289 * GNU/Linux support for fork, vfork, and exec.
3290
3291 The "catch fork", "catch exec", "catch vfork", and "set follow-fork-mode"
3292 commands are now implemented for GNU/Linux. They require a 2.5.x or later
3293 kernel.
3294
3295 * GDB supports logging output to a file
3296
3297 There are two new commands, "set logging" and "show logging", which can be
3298 used to capture GDB's output to a file.
3299
3300 * The meaning of "detach" has changed for gdbserver
3301
3302 The "detach" command will now resume the application, as documented. To
3303 disconnect from gdbserver and leave it stopped, use the new "disconnect"
3304 command.
3305
3306 * d10v, m68hc11 `regs' command deprecated
3307
3308 The `info registers' command has been updated so that it displays the
3309 registers using a format identical to the old `regs' command.
3310
3311 * Profiling support
3312
3313 A new command, "maint set profile on/off", has been added. This command can
3314 be used to enable or disable profiling while running GDB, to profile a
3315 session or a set of commands. In addition there is a new configure switch,
3316 "--enable-profiling", which will cause GDB to be compiled with profiling
3317 data, for more informative profiling results.
3318
3319 * Default MI syntax changed to "mi2".
3320
3321 The default MI (machine interface) syntax, enabled by the command line
3322 option "-i=mi", has been changed to "mi2". The previous MI syntax,
3323 "mi1", can be enabled by specifying the option "-i=mi1".
3324
3325 Support for the original "mi0" syntax (included in GDB 5.0) has been
3326 removed.
3327
3328 Fix for gdb/192: removed extraneous space when displaying frame level.
3329 Fix for gdb/672: update changelist is now output in mi list format.
3330 Fix for gdb/702: a -var-assign that updates the value now shows up
3331 in a subsequent -var-update.
3332
3333 * New native configurations.
3334
3335 FreeBSD/amd64 x86_64-*-freebsd*
3336
3337 * Multi-arched targets.
3338
3339 HP/PA HPUX11 hppa*-*-hpux*
3340 Renesas M32R/D w/simulator m32r-*-elf*
3341
3342 * OBSOLETE configurations and files
3343
3344 Configurations that have been declared obsolete in this release have
3345 been commented out. Unless there is activity to revive these
3346 configurations, the next release of GDB will have their sources
3347 permanently REMOVED.
3348
3349 Z8000 simulator z8k-zilog-none or z8ksim
3350 Matsushita MN10200 w/simulator mn10200-*-*
3351 H8/500 simulator h8500-hitachi-hms or h8500hms
3352 HP/PA running BSD hppa*-*-bsd*
3353 HP/PA running OSF/1 hppa*-*-osf*
3354 HP/PA Pro target hppa*-*-pro*
3355 PMAX (MIPS) running Mach 3.0 mips*-*-mach3*
3356 Sequent family i[3456]86-sequent-sysv4*
3357 i[3456]86-sequent-sysv*
3358 i[3456]86-sequent-bsd*
3359 Tsqware Sparclet sparclet-*-*
3360 Fujitsu SPARClite sparclite-fujitsu-none or sparclite
3361
3362 * REMOVED configurations and files
3363
3364 V850EA ISA
3365 Motorola Delta 88000 running Sys V m88k-motorola-sysv or delta88
3366 IBM AIX PS/2 i[3456]86-*-aix
3367 i386 running Mach 3.0 i[3456]86-*-mach3*
3368 i386 running Mach i[3456]86-*-mach*
3369 i386 running OSF/1 i[3456]86-*osf1mk*
3370 HP/Apollo 68k Family m68*-apollo*-sysv*,
3371 m68*-apollo*-bsd*,
3372 m68*-hp-bsd*, m68*-hp-hpux*
3373 Argonaut Risc Chip (ARC) arc-*-*
3374 Mitsubishi D30V d30v-*-*
3375 Fujitsu FR30 fr30-*-elf*
3376 OS/9000 i[34]86-*-os9k
3377 I960 with MON960 i960-*-coff
3378
3379 * MIPS $fp behavior changed
3380
3381 The convenience variable $fp, for the MIPS, now consistently returns
3382 the address of the current frame's base. Previously, depending on the
3383 context, $fp could refer to either $sp or the current frame's base
3384 address. See ``8.10 Registers'' in the manual ``Debugging with GDB:
3385 The GNU Source-Level Debugger''.
3386
3387 *** Changes in GDB 5.3:
3388
3389 * GNU/Linux shared library multi-threaded performance improved.
3390
3391 When debugging a multi-threaded application on GNU/Linux, GDB now uses
3392 `/proc', in preference to `ptrace' for memory reads. This may result
3393 in an improvement in the start-up time of multi-threaded, shared
3394 library applications when run under GDB. One GDB user writes: ``loads
3395 shared libs like mad''.
3396
3397 * ``gdbserver'' now supports multi-threaded applications on some targets
3398
3399 Support for debugging multi-threaded applications which use
3400 the GNU/Linux LinuxThreads package has been added for
3401 arm*-*-linux*-gnu*, i[3456]86-*-linux*-gnu*, mips*-*-linux*-gnu*,
3402 powerpc*-*-linux*-gnu*, and sh*-*-linux*-gnu*.
3403
3404 * GDB now supports C/C++ preprocessor macros.
3405
3406 GDB now expands preprocessor macro invocations in C/C++ expressions,
3407 and provides various commands for showing macro definitions and how
3408 they expand.
3409
3410 The new command `macro expand EXPRESSION' expands any macro
3411 invocations in expression, and shows the result.
3412
3413 The new command `show macro MACRO-NAME' shows the definition of the
3414 macro named MACRO-NAME, and where it was defined.
3415
3416 Most compilers don't include information about macros in the debugging
3417 information by default. In GCC 3.1, for example, you need to compile
3418 your program with the options `-gdwarf-2 -g3'. If the macro
3419 information is present in the executable, GDB will read it.
3420
3421 * Multi-arched targets.
3422
3423 DEC Alpha (partial) alpha*-*-*
3424 DEC VAX (partial) vax-*-*
3425 NEC V850 v850-*-*
3426 National Semiconductor NS32000 (partial) ns32k-*-*
3427 Motorola 68000 (partial) m68k-*-*
3428 Motorola MCORE mcore-*-*
3429
3430 * New targets.
3431
3432 Fujitsu FRV architecture added by Red Hat frv*-*-*
3433
3434
3435 * New native configurations
3436
3437 Alpha NetBSD alpha*-*-netbsd*
3438 SH NetBSD sh*-*-netbsdelf*
3439 MIPS NetBSD mips*-*-netbsd*
3440 UltraSPARC NetBSD sparc64-*-netbsd*
3441
3442 * OBSOLETE configurations and files
3443
3444 Configurations that have been declared obsolete in this release have
3445 been commented out. Unless there is activity to revive these
3446 configurations, the next release of GDB will have their sources
3447 permanently REMOVED.
3448
3449 Mitsubishi D30V d30v-*-*
3450 OS/9000 i[34]86-*-os9k
3451 IBM AIX PS/2 i[3456]86-*-aix
3452 Fujitsu FR30 fr30-*-elf*
3453 Motorola Delta 88000 running Sys V m88k-motorola-sysv or delta88
3454 Argonaut Risc Chip (ARC) arc-*-*
3455 i386 running Mach 3.0 i[3456]86-*-mach3*
3456 i386 running Mach i[3456]86-*-mach*
3457 i386 running OSF/1 i[3456]86-*osf1mk*
3458 HP/Apollo 68k Family m68*-apollo*-sysv*,
3459 m68*-apollo*-bsd*,
3460 m68*-hp-bsd*, m68*-hp-hpux*
3461 I960 with MON960 i960-*-coff
3462
3463 * OBSOLETE languages
3464
3465 CHILL, a Pascal like language used by telecommunications companies.
3466
3467 * REMOVED configurations and files
3468
3469 AMD 29k family via UDI a29k-amd-udi, udi29k
3470 A29K VxWorks a29k-*-vxworks
3471 AMD 29000 embedded, using EBMON a29k-none-none
3472 AMD 29000 embedded with COFF a29k-none-coff
3473 AMD 29000 embedded with a.out a29k-none-aout
3474
3475 testsuite/gdb.hp/gdb.threads-hp/ directory
3476
3477 * New command "set max-user-call-depth <nnn>"
3478
3479 This command allows the user to limit the call depth of user-defined
3480 commands. The default is 1024.
3481
3482 * Changes in FreeBSD/i386 native debugging.
3483
3484 Support for the "generate-core-file" has been added.
3485
3486 * New commands "dump", "append", and "restore".
3487
3488 These commands allow data to be copied from target memory
3489 to a bfd-format or binary file (dump and append), and back
3490 from a file into memory (restore).
3491
3492 * Improved "next/step" support on multi-processor Alpha Tru64.
3493
3494 The previous single-step mechanism could cause unpredictable problems,
3495 including the random appearance of SIGSEGV or SIGTRAP signals. The use
3496 of a software single-step mechanism prevents this.
3497
3498 *** Changes in GDB 5.2.1:
3499
3500 * New targets.
3501
3502 Atmel AVR avr*-*-*
3503
3504 * Bug fixes
3505
3506 gdb/182: gdb/323: gdb/237: On alpha, gdb was reporting:
3507 mdebugread.c:2443: gdb-internal-error: sect_index_data not initialized
3508 Fix, by Joel Brobecker imported from mainline.
3509
3510 gdb/439: gdb/291: On some ELF object files, gdb was reporting:
3511 dwarf2read.c:1072: gdb-internal-error: sect_index_text not initialize
3512 Fix, by Fred Fish, imported from mainline.
3513
3514 Dwarf2 .debug_frame & .eh_frame handler improved in many ways.
3515 Surprisingly enough, it works now.
3516 By Michal Ludvig, imported from mainline.
3517
3518 i386 hardware watchpoint support:
3519 avoid misses on second run for some targets.
3520 By Pierre Muller, imported from mainline.
3521
3522 *** Changes in GDB 5.2:
3523
3524 * New command "set trust-readonly-sections on[off]".
3525
3526 This command is a hint that tells gdb that read-only sections
3527 really are read-only (ie. that their contents will not change).
3528 In this mode, gdb will go to the object file rather than the
3529 target to read memory from read-only sections (such as ".text").
3530 This can be a significant performance improvement on some
3531 (notably embedded) targets.
3532
3533 * New command "generate-core-file" (or "gcore").
3534
3535 This new gdb command allows the user to drop a core file of the child
3536 process state at any time. So far it's been implemented only for
3537 GNU/Linux and Solaris, but should be relatively easily ported to other
3538 hosts. Argument is core file name (defaults to core.<pid>).
3539
3540 * New command line option
3541
3542 GDB now accepts --pid or -p followed by a process id.
3543
3544 * Change in command line behavior -- corefiles vs. process ids.
3545
3546 There is a subtle behavior in the way in which GDB handles
3547 command line arguments. The first non-flag argument is always
3548 a program to debug, but the second non-flag argument may either
3549 be a corefile or a process id. Previously, GDB would attempt to
3550 open the second argument as a corefile, and if that failed, would
3551 issue a superfluous error message and then attempt to attach it as
3552 a process. Now, if the second argument begins with a non-digit,
3553 it will be treated as a corefile. If it begins with a digit,
3554 GDB will attempt to attach it as a process, and if no such process
3555 is found, will then attempt to open it as a corefile.
3556
3557 * Changes in ARM configurations.
3558
3559 Multi-arch support is enabled for all ARM configurations. The ARM/NetBSD
3560 configuration is fully multi-arch.
3561
3562 * New native configurations
3563
3564 ARM NetBSD arm*-*-netbsd*
3565 x86 OpenBSD i[3456]86-*-openbsd*
3566 AMD x86-64 running GNU/Linux x86_64-*-linux-*
3567 Sparc64 running FreeBSD sparc64-*-freebsd*
3568
3569 * New targets
3570
3571 Sanyo XStormy16 xstormy16-elf
3572
3573 * OBSOLETE configurations and files
3574
3575 Configurations that have been declared obsolete in this release have
3576 been commented out. Unless there is activity to revive these
3577 configurations, the next release of GDB will have their sources
3578 permanently REMOVED.
3579
3580 AMD 29k family via UDI a29k-amd-udi, udi29k
3581 A29K VxWorks a29k-*-vxworks
3582 AMD 29000 embedded, using EBMON a29k-none-none
3583 AMD 29000 embedded with COFF a29k-none-coff
3584 AMD 29000 embedded with a.out a29k-none-aout
3585
3586 testsuite/gdb.hp/gdb.threads-hp/ directory
3587
3588 * REMOVED configurations and files
3589
3590 TI TMS320C80 tic80-*-*
3591 WDC 65816 w65-*-*
3592 PowerPC Solaris powerpcle-*-solaris*
3593 PowerPC Windows NT powerpcle-*-cygwin32
3594 PowerPC Netware powerpc-*-netware*
3595 Harris/CXUX m88k m88*-harris-cxux*
3596 Most ns32k hosts and targets ns32k-*-mach3* ns32k-umax-*
3597 ns32k-utek-sysv* ns32k-utek-*
3598 SunOS 4.0.Xi on i386 i[3456]86-*-sunos*
3599 Ultracomputer (29K) running Sym1 a29k-nyu-sym1 a29k-*-kern*
3600 Sony NEWS (68K) running NEWSOS 3.x m68*-sony-sysv news
3601 ISI Optimum V (3.05) under 4.3bsd. m68*-isi-*
3602 Apple Macintosh (MPW) host and target N/A host, powerpc-*-macos*
3603
3604 * Changes to command line processing
3605
3606 The new `--args' feature can be used to specify command-line arguments
3607 for the inferior from gdb's command line.
3608
3609 * Changes to key bindings
3610
3611 There is a new `operate-and-get-next' function bound to `C-o'.
3612
3613 *** Changes in GDB 5.1.1
3614
3615 Fix compile problem on DJGPP.
3616
3617 Fix a problem with floating-point registers on the i386 being
3618 corrupted.
3619
3620 Fix to stop GDB crashing on .debug_str debug info.
3621
3622 Numerous documentation fixes.
3623
3624 Numerous testsuite fixes.
3625
3626 *** Changes in GDB 5.1:
3627
3628 * New native configurations
3629
3630 Alpha FreeBSD alpha*-*-freebsd*
3631 x86 FreeBSD 3.x and 4.x i[3456]86*-freebsd[34]*
3632 MIPS GNU/Linux mips*-*-linux*
3633 MIPS SGI Irix 6.x mips*-sgi-irix6*
3634 ia64 AIX ia64-*-aix*
3635 s390 and s390x GNU/Linux {s390,s390x}-*-linux*
3636
3637 * New targets
3638
3639 Motorola 68HC11 and 68HC12 m68hc11-elf
3640 CRIS cris-axis
3641 UltraSparc running GNU/Linux sparc64-*-linux*
3642
3643 * OBSOLETE configurations and files
3644
3645 x86 FreeBSD before 2.2 i[3456]86*-freebsd{1,2.[01]}*,
3646 Harris/CXUX m88k m88*-harris-cxux*
3647 Most ns32k hosts and targets ns32k-*-mach3* ns32k-umax-*
3648 ns32k-utek-sysv* ns32k-utek-*
3649 TI TMS320C80 tic80-*-*
3650 WDC 65816 w65-*-*
3651 Ultracomputer (29K) running Sym1 a29k-nyu-sym1 a29k-*-kern*
3652 PowerPC Solaris powerpcle-*-solaris*
3653 PowerPC Windows NT powerpcle-*-cygwin32
3654 PowerPC Netware powerpc-*-netware*
3655 SunOS 4.0.Xi on i386 i[3456]86-*-sunos*
3656 Sony NEWS (68K) running NEWSOS 3.x m68*-sony-sysv news
3657 ISI Optimum V (3.05) under 4.3bsd. m68*-isi-*
3658 Apple Macintosh (MPW) host N/A
3659
3660 stuff.c (Program to stuff files into a specially prepared space in kdb)
3661 kdb-start.c (Main loop for the standalone kernel debugger)
3662
3663 Configurations that have been declared obsolete in this release have
3664 been commented out. Unless there is activity to revive these
3665 configurations, the next release of GDB will have their sources
3666 permanently REMOVED.
3667
3668 * REMOVED configurations and files
3669
3670 Altos 3068 m68*-altos-*
3671 Convex c1-*-*, c2-*-*
3672 Pyramid pyramid-*-*
3673 ARM RISCix arm-*-* (as host)
3674 Tahoe tahoe-*-*
3675 ser-ocd.c *-*-*
3676
3677 * GDB has been converted to ISO C.
3678
3679 GDB's source code has been converted to ISO C. In particular, the
3680 sources are fully protoized, and rely on standard headers being
3681 present.
3682
3683 * Other news:
3684
3685 * "info symbol" works on platforms which use COFF, ECOFF, XCOFF, and NLM.
3686
3687 * The MI enabled by default.
3688
3689 The new machine oriented interface (MI) introduced in GDB 5.0 has been
3690 revised and enabled by default. Packages which use GDB as a debugging
3691 engine behind a UI or another front end are encouraged to switch to
3692 using the GDB/MI interface, instead of the old annotations interface
3693 which is now deprecated.
3694
3695 * Support for debugging Pascal programs.
3696
3697 GDB now includes support for debugging Pascal programs. The following
3698 main features are supported:
3699
3700 - Pascal-specific data types such as sets;
3701
3702 - automatic recognition of Pascal sources based on file-name
3703 extension;
3704
3705 - Pascal-style display of data types, variables, and functions;
3706
3707 - a Pascal expression parser.
3708
3709 However, some important features are not yet supported.
3710
3711 - Pascal string operations are not supported at all;
3712
3713 - there are some problems with boolean types;
3714
3715 - Pascal type hexadecimal constants are not supported
3716 because they conflict with the internal variables format;
3717
3718 - support for Pascal objects and classes is not full yet;
3719
3720 - unlike Pascal, GDB is case-sensitive for symbol names.
3721
3722 * Changes in completion.
3723
3724 Commands such as `shell', `run' and `set args', which pass arguments
3725 to inferior programs, now complete on file names, similar to what
3726 users expect at the shell prompt.
3727
3728 Commands which accept locations, such as `disassemble', `print',
3729 `breakpoint', `until', etc. now complete on filenames as well as
3730 program symbols. Thus, if you type "break foob TAB", and the source
3731 files linked into the programs include `foobar.c', that file name will
3732 be one of the candidates for completion. However, file names are not
3733 considered for completion after you typed a colon that delimits a file
3734 name from a name of a function in that file, as in "break foo.c:bar".
3735
3736 `set demangle-style' completes on available demangling styles.
3737
3738 * New platform-independent commands:
3739
3740 It is now possible to define a post-hook for a command as well as a
3741 hook that runs before the command. For more details, see the
3742 documentation of `hookpost' in the GDB manual.
3743
3744 * Changes in GNU/Linux native debugging.
3745
3746 Support for debugging multi-threaded programs has been completely
3747 revised for all platforms except m68k and sparc. You can now debug as
3748 many threads as your system allows you to have.
3749
3750 Attach/detach is supported for multi-threaded programs.
3751
3752 Support for SSE registers was added for x86. This doesn't work for
3753 multi-threaded programs though.
3754
3755 * Changes in MIPS configurations.
3756
3757 Multi-arch support is enabled for all MIPS configurations.
3758
3759 GDB can now be built as native debugger on SGI Irix 6.x systems for
3760 debugging n32 executables. (Debugging 64-bit executables is not yet
3761 supported.)
3762
3763 * Unified support for hardware watchpoints in all x86 configurations.
3764
3765 Most (if not all) native x86 configurations support hardware-assisted
3766 breakpoints and watchpoints in a unified manner. This support
3767 implements debug register sharing between watchpoints, which allows to
3768 put a virtually infinite number of watchpoints on the same address,
3769 and also supports watching regions up to 16 bytes with several debug
3770 registers.
3771
3772 The new maintenance command `maintenance show-debug-regs' toggles
3773 debugging print-outs in functions that insert, remove, and test
3774 watchpoints and hardware breakpoints.
3775
3776 * Changes in the DJGPP native configuration.
3777
3778 New command ``info dos sysinfo'' displays assorted information about
3779 the CPU, OS, memory, and DPMI server.
3780
3781 New commands ``info dos gdt'', ``info dos ldt'', and ``info dos idt''
3782 display information about segment descriptors stored in GDT, LDT, and
3783 IDT.
3784
3785 New commands ``info dos pde'' and ``info dos pte'' display entries
3786 from Page Directory and Page Tables (for now works with CWSDPMI only).
3787 New command ``info dos address-pte'' displays the Page Table entry for
3788 a given linear address.
3789
3790 GDB can now pass command lines longer than 126 characters to the
3791 program being debugged (requires an update to the libdbg.a library
3792 which is part of the DJGPP development kit).
3793
3794 DWARF2 debug info is now supported.
3795
3796 It is now possible to `step' and `next' through calls to `longjmp'.
3797
3798 * Changes in documentation.
3799
3800 All GDB documentation was converted to GFDL, the GNU Free
3801 Documentation License.
3802
3803 Tracepoints-related commands are now fully documented in the GDB
3804 manual.
3805
3806 TUI, the Text-mode User Interface, is now documented in the manual.
3807
3808 Tracepoints-related commands are now fully documented in the GDB
3809 manual.
3810
3811 The "GDB Internals" manual now has an index. It also includes
3812 documentation of `ui_out' functions, GDB coding standards, x86
3813 hardware watchpoints, and memory region attributes.
3814
3815 * GDB's version number moved to ``version.in''
3816
3817 The Makefile variable VERSION has been replaced by the file
3818 ``version.in''. People creating GDB distributions should update the
3819 contents of this file.
3820
3821 * gdba.el deleted
3822
3823 GUD support is now a standard part of the EMACS distribution.
3824
3825 *** Changes in GDB 5.0:
3826
3827 * Improved support for debugging FP programs on x86 targets
3828
3829 Unified and much-improved support for debugging floating-point
3830 programs on all x86 targets. In particular, ``info float'' now
3831 displays the FP registers in the same format on all x86 targets, with
3832 greater level of detail.
3833
3834 * Improvements and bugfixes in hardware-assisted watchpoints
3835
3836 It is now possible to watch array elements, struct members, and
3837 bitfields with hardware-assisted watchpoints. Data-read watchpoints
3838 on x86 targets no longer erroneously trigger when the address is
3839 written.
3840
3841 * Improvements in the native DJGPP version of GDB
3842
3843 The distribution now includes all the scripts and auxiliary files
3844 necessary to build the native DJGPP version on MS-DOS/MS-Windows
3845 machines ``out of the box''.
3846
3847 The DJGPP version can now debug programs that use signals. It is
3848 possible to catch signals that happened in the debuggee, deliver
3849 signals to it, interrupt it with Ctrl-C, etc. (Previously, a signal
3850 would kill the program being debugged.) Programs that hook hardware
3851 interrupts (keyboard, timer, etc.) can also be debugged.
3852
3853 It is now possible to debug DJGPP programs that redirect their
3854 standard handles or switch them to raw (as opposed to cooked) mode, or
3855 even close them. The command ``run < foo > bar'' works as expected,
3856 and ``info terminal'' reports useful information about the debuggee's
3857 terminal, including raw/cooked mode, redirection, etc.
3858
3859 The DJGPP version now uses termios functions for console I/O, which
3860 enables debugging graphics programs. Interrupting GDB with Ctrl-C
3861 also works.
3862
3863 DOS-style file names with drive letters are now fully supported by
3864 GDB.
3865
3866 It is now possible to debug DJGPP programs that switch their working
3867 directory. It is also possible to rerun the debuggee any number of
3868 times without restarting GDB; thus, you can use the same setup,
3869 breakpoints, etc. for many debugging sessions.
3870
3871 * New native configurations
3872
3873 ARM GNU/Linux arm*-*-linux*
3874 PowerPC GNU/Linux powerpc-*-linux*
3875
3876 * New targets
3877
3878 Motorola MCore mcore-*-*
3879 x86 VxWorks i[3456]86-*-vxworks*
3880 PowerPC VxWorks powerpc-*-vxworks*
3881 TI TMS320C80 tic80-*-*
3882
3883 * OBSOLETE configurations
3884
3885 Altos 3068 m68*-altos-*
3886 Convex c1-*-*, c2-*-*
3887 Pyramid pyramid-*-*
3888 ARM RISCix arm-*-* (as host)
3889 Tahoe tahoe-*-*
3890
3891 Configurations that have been declared obsolete will be commented out,
3892 but the code will be left in place. If there is no activity to revive
3893 these configurations before the next release of GDB, the sources will
3894 be permanently REMOVED.
3895
3896 * Gould support removed
3897
3898 Support for the Gould PowerNode and NP1 has been removed.
3899
3900 * New features for SVR4
3901
3902 On SVR4 native platforms (such as Solaris), if you attach to a process
3903 without first loading a symbol file, GDB will now attempt to locate and
3904 load symbols from the running process's executable file.
3905
3906 * Many C++ enhancements
3907
3908 C++ support has been greatly improved. Overload resolution now works properly
3909 in almost all cases. RTTI support is on the way.
3910
3911 * Remote targets can connect to a sub-program
3912
3913 A popen(3) style serial-device has been added. This device starts a
3914 sub-process (such as a stand-alone simulator) and then communicates
3915 with that. The sub-program to run is specified using the syntax
3916 ``|<program> <args>'' vis:
3917
3918 (gdb) set remotedebug 1
3919 (gdb) target extended-remote |mn10300-elf-sim program-args
3920
3921 * MIPS 64 remote protocol
3922
3923 A long standing bug in the mips64 remote protocol where by GDB
3924 expected certain 32 bit registers (ex SR) to be transfered as 32
3925 instead of 64 bits has been fixed.
3926
3927 The command ``set remote-mips64-transfers-32bit-regs on'' has been
3928 added to provide backward compatibility with older versions of GDB.
3929
3930 * ``set remotebinarydownload'' replaced by ``set remote X-packet''
3931
3932 The command ``set remotebinarydownload'' command has been replaced by
3933 ``set remote X-packet''. Other commands in ``set remote'' family
3934 include ``set remote P-packet''.
3935
3936 * Breakpoint commands accept ranges.
3937
3938 The breakpoint commands ``enable'', ``disable'', and ``delete'' now
3939 accept a range of breakpoints, e.g. ``5-7''. The tracepoint command
3940 ``tracepoint passcount'' also accepts a range of tracepoints.
3941
3942 * ``apropos'' command added.
3943
3944 The ``apropos'' command searches through command names and
3945 documentation strings, printing out matches, making it much easier to
3946 try to find a command that does what you are looking for.
3947
3948 * New MI interface
3949
3950 A new machine oriented interface (MI) has been added to GDB. This
3951 interface is designed for debug environments running GDB as a separate
3952 process. This is part of the long term libGDB project. See the
3953 "GDB/MI" chapter of the GDB manual for further information. It can be
3954 enabled by configuring with:
3955
3956 .../configure --enable-gdbmi
3957
3958 *** Changes in GDB-4.18:
3959
3960 * New native configurations
3961
3962 HP-UX 10.20 hppa*-*-hpux10.20
3963 HP-UX 11.x hppa*-*-hpux11.0*
3964 M68K GNU/Linux m68*-*-linux*
3965
3966 * New targets
3967
3968 Fujitsu FR30 fr30-*-elf*
3969 Intel StrongARM strongarm-*-*
3970 Mitsubishi D30V d30v-*-*
3971
3972 * OBSOLETE configurations
3973
3974 Gould PowerNode, NP1 np1-*-*, pn-*-*
3975
3976 Configurations that have been declared obsolete will be commented out,
3977 but the code will be left in place. If there is no activity to revive
3978 these configurations before the next release of GDB, the sources will
3979 be permanently REMOVED.
3980
3981 * ANSI/ISO C
3982
3983 As a compatibility experiment, GDB's source files buildsym.h and
3984 buildsym.c have been converted to pure standard C, no longer
3985 containing any K&R compatibility code. We believe that all systems in
3986 use today either come with a standard C compiler, or have a GCC port
3987 available. If this is not true, please report the affected
3988 configuration to bug-gdb@gnu.org immediately. See the README file for
3989 information about getting a standard C compiler if you don't have one
3990 already.
3991
3992 * Readline 2.2
3993
3994 GDB now uses readline 2.2.
3995
3996 * set extension-language
3997
3998 You can now control the mapping between filename extensions and source
3999 languages by using the `set extension-language' command. For instance,
4000 you can ask GDB to treat .c files as C++ by saying
4001 set extension-language .c c++
4002 The command `info extensions' lists all of the recognized extensions
4003 and their associated languages.
4004
4005 * Setting processor type for PowerPC and RS/6000
4006
4007 When GDB is configured for a powerpc*-*-* or an rs6000*-*-* target,
4008 you can use the `set processor' command to specify what variant of the
4009 PowerPC family you are debugging. The command
4010
4011 set processor NAME
4012
4013 sets the PowerPC/RS6000 variant to NAME. GDB knows about the
4014 following PowerPC and RS6000 variants:
4015
4016 ppc-uisa PowerPC UISA - a PPC processor as viewed by user-level code
4017 rs6000 IBM RS6000 ("POWER") architecture, user-level view
4018 403 IBM PowerPC 403
4019 403GC IBM PowerPC 403GC
4020 505 Motorola PowerPC 505
4021 860 Motorola PowerPC 860 or 850
4022 601 Motorola PowerPC 601
4023 602 Motorola PowerPC 602
4024 603 Motorola/IBM PowerPC 603 or 603e
4025 604 Motorola PowerPC 604 or 604e
4026 750 Motorola/IBM PowerPC 750 or 750
4027
4028 At the moment, this command just tells GDB what to name the
4029 special-purpose processor registers. Since almost all the affected
4030 registers are inaccessible to user-level programs, this command is
4031 only useful for remote debugging in its present form.
4032
4033 * HP-UX support
4034
4035 Thanks to a major code donation from Hewlett-Packard, GDB now has much
4036 more extensive support for HP-UX. Added features include shared
4037 library support, kernel threads and hardware watchpoints for 11.00,
4038 support for HP's ANSI C and C++ compilers, and a compatibility mode
4039 for xdb and dbx commands.
4040
4041 * Catchpoints
4042
4043 HP's donation includes the new concept of catchpoints, which is a
4044 generalization of the old catch command. On HP-UX, it is now possible
4045 to catch exec, fork, and vfork, as well as library loading.
4046
4047 This means that the existing catch command has changed; its first
4048 argument now specifies the type of catch to be set up. See the
4049 output of "help catch" for a list of catchpoint types.
4050
4051 * Debugging across forks
4052
4053 On HP-UX, you can choose which process to debug when a fork() happens
4054 in the inferior.
4055
4056 * TUI
4057
4058 HP has donated a curses-based terminal user interface (TUI). To get
4059 it, build with --enable-tui. Although this can be enabled for any
4060 configuration, at present it only works for native HP debugging.
4061
4062 * GDB remote protocol additions
4063
4064 A new protocol packet 'X' that writes binary data is now available.
4065 Default behavior is to try 'X', then drop back to 'M' if the stub
4066 fails to respond. The settable variable `remotebinarydownload'
4067 allows explicit control over the use of 'X'.
4068
4069 For 64-bit targets, the memory packets ('M' and 'm') can now contain a
4070 full 64-bit address. The command
4071
4072 set remoteaddresssize 32
4073
4074 can be used to revert to the old behaviour. For existing remote stubs
4075 the change should not be noticed, as the additional address information
4076 will be discarded.
4077
4078 In order to assist in debugging stubs, you may use the maintenance
4079 command `packet' to send any text string to the stub. For instance,
4080
4081 maint packet heythere
4082
4083 sends the packet "$heythere#<checksum>". Note that it is very easy to
4084 disrupt a debugging session by sending the wrong packet at the wrong
4085 time.
4086
4087 The compare-sections command allows you to compare section data on the
4088 target to what is in the executable file without uploading or
4089 downloading, by comparing CRC checksums.
4090
4091 * Tracing can collect general expressions
4092
4093 You may now collect general expressions at tracepoints. This requires
4094 further additions to the target-side stub; see tracepoint.c and
4095 doc/agentexpr.texi for further details.
4096
4097 * mask-address variable for Mips
4098
4099 For Mips targets, you may control the zeroing of the upper 32 bits of
4100 a 64-bit address by entering `set mask-address on'. This is mainly
4101 of interest to users of embedded R4xxx and R5xxx processors.
4102
4103 * Higher serial baud rates
4104
4105 GDB's serial code now allows you to specify baud rates 57600, 115200,
4106 230400, and 460800 baud. (Note that your host system may not be able
4107 to achieve all of these rates.)
4108
4109 * i960 simulator
4110
4111 The i960 configuration now includes an initial implementation of a
4112 builtin simulator, contributed by Jim Wilson.
4113
4114
4115 *** Changes in GDB-4.17:
4116
4117 * New native configurations
4118
4119 Alpha GNU/Linux alpha*-*-linux*
4120 Unixware 2.x i[3456]86-unixware2*
4121 Irix 6.x mips*-sgi-irix6*
4122 PowerPC GNU/Linux powerpc-*-linux*
4123 PowerPC Solaris powerpcle-*-solaris*
4124 Sparc GNU/Linux sparc-*-linux*
4125 Motorola sysV68 R3V7.1 m68k-motorola-sysv
4126
4127 * New targets
4128
4129 Argonaut Risc Chip (ARC) arc-*-*
4130 Hitachi H8/300S h8300*-*-*
4131 Matsushita MN10200 w/simulator mn10200-*-*
4132 Matsushita MN10300 w/simulator mn10300-*-*
4133 MIPS NEC VR4100 mips64*vr4100*{,el}-*-elf*
4134 MIPS NEC VR5000 mips64*vr5000*{,el}-*-elf*
4135 MIPS Toshiba TX39 mips64*tx39*{,el}-*-elf*
4136 Mitsubishi D10V w/simulator d10v-*-*
4137 Mitsubishi M32R/D w/simulator m32r-*-elf*
4138 Tsqware Sparclet sparclet-*-*
4139 NEC V850 w/simulator v850-*-*
4140
4141 * New debugging protocols
4142
4143 ARM with RDI protocol arm*-*-*
4144 M68K with dBUG monitor m68*-*-{aout,coff,elf}
4145 DDB and LSI variants of PMON protocol mips*-*-*
4146 PowerPC with DINK32 monitor powerpc{,le}-*-eabi
4147 PowerPC with SDS protocol powerpc{,le}-*-eabi
4148 Macraigor OCD (Wiggler) devices powerpc{,le}-*-eabi
4149
4150 * DWARF 2
4151
4152 All configurations can now understand and use the DWARF 2 debugging
4153 format. The choice is automatic, if the symbol file contains DWARF 2
4154 information.
4155
4156 * Java frontend
4157
4158 GDB now includes basic Java language support. This support is
4159 only useful with Java compilers that produce native machine code.
4160
4161 * solib-absolute-prefix and solib-search-path
4162
4163 For SunOS and SVR4 shared libraries, you may now set the prefix for
4164 loading absolute shared library symbol files, and the search path for
4165 locating non-absolute shared library symbol files.
4166
4167 * Live range splitting
4168
4169 GDB can now effectively debug code for which GCC has performed live
4170 range splitting as part of its optimization. See gdb/doc/LRS for
4171 more details on the expected format of the stabs information.
4172
4173 * Hurd support
4174
4175 GDB's support for the GNU Hurd, including thread debugging, has been
4176 updated to work with current versions of the Hurd.
4177
4178 * ARM Thumb support
4179
4180 GDB's ARM target configuration now handles the ARM7T (Thumb) 16-bit
4181 instruction set. ARM GDB automatically detects when Thumb
4182 instructions are in use, and adjusts disassembly and backtracing
4183 accordingly.
4184
4185 * MIPS16 support
4186
4187 GDB's MIPS target configurations now handle the MIP16 16-bit
4188 instruction set.
4189
4190 * Overlay support
4191
4192 GDB now includes support for overlays; if an executable has been
4193 linked such that multiple sections are based at the same address, GDB
4194 will decide which section to use for symbolic info. You can choose to
4195 control the decision manually, using overlay commands, or implement
4196 additional target-side support and use "overlay load-target" to bring
4197 in the overlay mapping. Do "help overlay" for more detail.
4198
4199 * info symbol
4200
4201 The command "info symbol <address>" displays information about
4202 the symbol at the specified address.
4203
4204 * Trace support
4205
4206 The standard remote protocol now includes an extension that allows
4207 asynchronous collection and display of trace data. This requires
4208 extensive support in the target-side debugging stub. Tracing mode
4209 includes a new interaction mode in GDB and new commands: see the
4210 file tracepoint.c for more details.
4211
4212 * MIPS simulator
4213
4214 Configurations for embedded MIPS now include a simulator contributed
4215 by Cygnus Solutions. The simulator supports the instruction sets
4216 of most MIPS variants.
4217
4218 * Sparc simulator
4219
4220 Sparc configurations may now include the ERC32 simulator contributed
4221 by the European Space Agency. The simulator is not built into
4222 Sparc targets by default; configure with --enable-sim to include it.
4223
4224 * set architecture
4225
4226 For target configurations that may include multiple variants of a
4227 basic architecture (such as MIPS and SH), you may now set the
4228 architecture explicitly. "set arch" sets, "info arch" lists
4229 the possible architectures.
4230
4231 *** Changes in GDB-4.16:
4232
4233 * New native configurations
4234
4235 Windows 95, x86 Windows NT i[345]86-*-cygwin32
4236 M68K NetBSD m68k-*-netbsd*
4237 PowerPC AIX 4.x powerpc-*-aix*
4238 PowerPC MacOS powerpc-*-macos*
4239 PowerPC Windows NT powerpcle-*-cygwin32
4240 RS/6000 AIX 4.x rs6000-*-aix4*
4241
4242 * New targets
4243
4244 ARM with RDP protocol arm-*-*
4245 I960 with MON960 i960-*-coff
4246 MIPS VxWorks mips*-*-vxworks*
4247 MIPS VR4300 with PMON mips64*vr4300{,el}-*-elf*
4248 PowerPC with PPCBUG monitor powerpc{,le}-*-eabi*
4249 Hitachi SH3 sh-*-*
4250 Matra Sparclet sparclet-*-*
4251
4252 * PowerPC simulator
4253
4254 The powerpc-eabi configuration now includes the PSIM simulator,
4255 contributed by Andrew Cagney, with assistance from Mike Meissner.
4256 PSIM is a very elaborate model of the PowerPC, including not only
4257 basic instruction set execution, but also details of execution unit
4258 performance and I/O hardware. See sim/ppc/README for more details.
4259
4260 * Solaris 2.5
4261
4262 GDB now works with Solaris 2.5.
4263
4264 * Windows 95/NT native
4265
4266 GDB will now work as a native debugger on Windows 95 and Windows NT.
4267 To build it from source, you must use the "gnu-win32" environment,
4268 which uses a DLL to emulate enough of Unix to run the GNU tools.
4269 Further information, binaries, and sources are available at
4270 ftp.cygnus.com, under pub/gnu-win32.
4271
4272 * dont-repeat command
4273
4274 If a user-defined command includes the command `dont-repeat', then the
4275 command will not be repeated if the user just types return. This is
4276 useful if the command is time-consuming to run, so that accidental
4277 extra keystrokes don't run the same command many times.
4278
4279 * Send break instead of ^C
4280
4281 The standard remote protocol now includes an option to send a break
4282 rather than a ^C to the target in order to interrupt it. By default,
4283 GDB will send ^C; to send a break, set the variable `remotebreak' to 1.
4284
4285 * Remote protocol timeout
4286
4287 The standard remote protocol includes a new variable `remotetimeout'
4288 that allows you to set the number of seconds before GDB gives up trying
4289 to read from the target. The default value is 2.
4290
4291 * Automatic tracking of dynamic object loading (HPUX and Solaris only)
4292
4293 By default GDB will automatically keep track of objects as they are
4294 loaded and unloaded by the dynamic linker. By using the command `set
4295 stop-on-solib-events 1' you can arrange for GDB to stop the inferior
4296 when shared library events occur, thus allowing you to set breakpoints
4297 in shared libraries which are explicitly loaded by the inferior.
4298
4299 Note this feature does not work on hpux8. On hpux9 you must link
4300 /usr/lib/end.o into your program. This feature should work
4301 automatically on hpux10.
4302
4303 * Irix 5.x hardware watchpoint support
4304
4305 Irix 5 configurations now support the use of hardware watchpoints.
4306
4307 * Mips protocol "SYN garbage limit"
4308
4309 When debugging a Mips target using the `target mips' protocol, you
4310 may set the number of characters that GDB will ignore by setting
4311 the `syn-garbage-limit'. A value of -1 means that GDB will ignore
4312 every character. The default value is 1050.
4313
4314 * Recording and replaying remote debug sessions
4315
4316 If you set `remotelogfile' to the name of a file, gdb will write to it
4317 a recording of a remote debug session. This recording may then be
4318 replayed back to gdb using "gdbreplay". See gdbserver/README for
4319 details. This is useful when you have a problem with GDB while doing
4320 remote debugging; you can make a recording of the session and send it
4321 to someone else, who can then recreate the problem.
4322
4323 * Speedups for remote debugging
4324
4325 GDB includes speedups for downloading and stepping MIPS systems using
4326 the IDT monitor, fast downloads to the Hitachi SH E7000 emulator,
4327 and more efficient S-record downloading.
4328
4329 * Memory use reductions and statistics collection
4330
4331 GDB now uses less memory and reports statistics about memory usage.
4332 Try the `maint print statistics' command, for example.
4333
4334 *** Changes in GDB-4.15:
4335
4336 * Psymtabs for XCOFF
4337
4338 The symbol reader for AIX GDB now uses partial symbol tables. This
4339 can greatly improve startup time, especially for large executables.
4340
4341 * Remote targets use caching
4342
4343 Remote targets now use a data cache to speed up communication with the
4344 remote side. The data cache could lead to incorrect results because
4345 it doesn't know about volatile variables, thus making it impossible to
4346 debug targets which use memory mapped I/O devices. `set remotecache
4347 off' turns the the data cache off.
4348
4349 * Remote targets may have threads
4350
4351 The standard remote protocol now includes support for multiple threads
4352 in the target system, using new protocol commands 'H' and 'T'. See
4353 gdb/remote.c for details.
4354
4355 * NetROM support
4356
4357 If GDB is configured with `--enable-netrom', then it will include
4358 support for the NetROM ROM emulator from XLNT Designs. The NetROM
4359 acts as though it is a bank of ROM on the target board, but you can
4360 write into it over the network. GDB's support consists only of
4361 support for fast loading into the emulated ROM; to debug, you must use
4362 another protocol, such as standard remote protocol. The usual
4363 sequence is something like
4364
4365 target nrom <netrom-hostname>
4366 load <prog>
4367 target remote <netrom-hostname>:1235
4368
4369 * Macintosh host
4370
4371 GDB now includes support for the Apple Macintosh, as a host only. It
4372 may be run as either an MPW tool or as a standalone application, and
4373 it can debug through the serial port. All the usual GDB commands are
4374 available, but to the target command, you must supply "serial" as the
4375 device type instead of "/dev/ttyXX". See mpw-README in the main
4376 directory for more information on how to build. The MPW configuration
4377 scripts */mpw-config.in support only a few targets, and only the
4378 mips-idt-ecoff target has been tested.
4379
4380 * Autoconf
4381
4382 GDB configuration now uses autoconf. This is not user-visible,
4383 but does simplify configuration and building.
4384
4385 * hpux10
4386
4387 GDB now supports hpux10.
4388
4389 *** Changes in GDB-4.14:
4390
4391 * New native configurations
4392
4393 x86 FreeBSD i[345]86-*-freebsd
4394 x86 NetBSD i[345]86-*-netbsd
4395 NS32k NetBSD ns32k-*-netbsd
4396 Sparc NetBSD sparc-*-netbsd
4397
4398 * New targets
4399
4400 A29K VxWorks a29k-*-vxworks
4401 HP PA PRO embedded (WinBond W89K & Oki OP50N) hppa*-*-pro*
4402 CPU32 EST-300 emulator m68*-*-est*
4403 PowerPC ELF powerpc-*-elf
4404 WDC 65816 w65-*-*
4405
4406 * Alpha OSF/1 support for procfs
4407
4408 GDB now supports procfs under OSF/1-2.x and higher, which makes it
4409 possible to attach to running processes. As the mounting of the /proc
4410 filesystem is optional on the Alpha, GDB automatically determines
4411 the availability of /proc during startup. This can lead to problems
4412 if /proc is unmounted after GDB has been started.
4413
4414 * Arguments to user-defined commands
4415
4416 User commands may accept up to 10 arguments separated by whitespace.
4417 Arguments are accessed within the user command via $arg0..$arg9. A
4418 trivial example:
4419 define adder
4420 print $arg0 + $arg1 + $arg2
4421
4422 To execute the command use:
4423 adder 1 2 3
4424
4425 Defines the command "adder" which prints the sum of its three arguments.
4426 Note the arguments are text substitutions, so they may reference variables,
4427 use complex expressions, or even perform inferior function calls.
4428
4429 * New `if' and `while' commands
4430
4431 This makes it possible to write more sophisticated user-defined
4432 commands. Both commands take a single argument, which is the
4433 expression to evaluate, and must be followed by the commands to
4434 execute, one per line, if the expression is nonzero, the list being
4435 terminated by the word `end'. The `if' command list may include an
4436 `else' word, which causes the following commands to be executed only
4437 if the expression is zero.
4438
4439 * Fortran source language mode
4440
4441 GDB now includes partial support for Fortran 77. It will recognize
4442 Fortran programs and can evaluate a subset of Fortran expressions, but
4443 variables and functions may not be handled correctly. GDB will work
4444 with G77, but does not yet know much about symbols emitted by other
4445 Fortran compilers.
4446
4447 * Better HPUX support
4448
4449 Most debugging facilities now work on dynamic executables for HPPAs
4450 running hpux9 or later. You can attach to running dynamically linked
4451 processes, but by default the dynamic libraries will be read-only, so
4452 for instance you won't be able to put breakpoints in them. To change
4453 that behavior do the following before running the program:
4454
4455 adb -w a.out
4456 __dld_flags?W 0x5
4457 control-d
4458
4459 This will cause the libraries to be mapped private and read-write.
4460 To revert to the normal behavior, do this:
4461
4462 adb -w a.out
4463 __dld_flags?W 0x4
4464 control-d
4465
4466 You cannot set breakpoints or examine data in the library until after
4467 the library is loaded if the function/data symbols do not have
4468 external linkage.
4469
4470 GDB can now also read debug symbols produced by the HP C compiler on
4471 HPPAs (sorry, no C++, Fortran or 68k support).
4472
4473 * Target byte order now dynamically selectable
4474
4475 You can choose which byte order to use with a target system, via the
4476 commands "set endian big" and "set endian little", and you can see the
4477 current setting by using "show endian". You can also give the command
4478 "set endian auto", in which case GDB will use the byte order
4479 associated with the executable. Currently, only embedded MIPS
4480 configurations support dynamic selection of target byte order.
4481
4482 * New DOS host serial code
4483
4484 This version uses DPMI interrupts to handle buffered I/O, so you
4485 no longer need to run asynctsr when debugging boards connected to
4486 a PC's serial port.
4487
4488 *** Changes in GDB-4.13:
4489
4490 * New "complete" command
4491
4492 This lists all the possible completions for the rest of the line, if it
4493 were to be given as a command itself. This is intended for use by emacs.
4494
4495 * Trailing space optional in prompt
4496
4497 "set prompt" no longer adds a space for you after the prompt you set. This
4498 allows you to set a prompt which ends in a space or one that does not.
4499
4500 * Breakpoint hit counts
4501
4502 "info break" now displays a count of the number of times the breakpoint
4503 has been hit. This is especially useful in conjunction with "ignore"; you
4504 can ignore a large number of breakpoint hits, look at the breakpoint info
4505 to see how many times the breakpoint was hit, then run again, ignoring one
4506 less than that number, and this will get you quickly to the last hit of
4507 that breakpoint.
4508
4509 * Ability to stop printing at NULL character
4510
4511 "set print null-stop" will cause GDB to stop printing the characters of
4512 an array when the first NULL is encountered. This is useful when large
4513 arrays actually contain only short strings.
4514
4515 * Shared library breakpoints
4516
4517 In SunOS 4.x, SVR4, and Alpha OSF/1 configurations, you can now set
4518 breakpoints in shared libraries before the executable is run.
4519
4520 * Hardware watchpoints
4521
4522 There is a new hardware breakpoint for the watch command for sparclite
4523 targets. See gdb/sparclite/hw_breakpoint.note.
4524
4525 Hardware watchpoints are also now supported under GNU/Linux.
4526
4527 * Annotations
4528
4529 Annotations have been added. These are for use with graphical interfaces,
4530 and are still experimental. Currently only gdba.el uses these.
4531
4532 * Improved Irix 5 support
4533
4534 GDB now works properly with Irix 5.2.
4535
4536 * Improved HPPA support
4537
4538 GDB now works properly with the latest GCC and GAS.
4539
4540 * New native configurations
4541
4542 Sequent PTX4 i[34]86-sequent-ptx4
4543 HPPA running OSF/1 hppa*-*-osf*
4544 Atari TT running SVR4 m68*-*-sysv4*
4545 RS/6000 LynxOS rs6000-*-lynxos*
4546
4547 * New targets
4548
4549 OS/9000 i[34]86-*-os9k
4550 MIPS R4000 mips64*{,el}-*-{ecoff,elf}
4551 Sparc64 sparc64-*-*
4552
4553 * Hitachi SH7000 and E7000-PC ICE support
4554
4555 There is now support for communicating with the Hitachi E7000-PC ICE.
4556 This is available automatically when GDB is configured for the SH.
4557
4558 * Fixes
4559
4560 As usual, a variety of small fixes and improvements, both generic
4561 and configuration-specific. See the ChangeLog for more detail.
4562
4563 *** Changes in GDB-4.12:
4564
4565 * Irix 5 is now supported
4566
4567 * HPPA support
4568
4569 GDB-4.12 on the HPPA has a number of changes which make it unable
4570 to debug the output from the currently released versions of GCC and
4571 GAS (GCC 2.5.8 and GAS-2.2 or PAGAS-1.36). Until the next major release
4572 of GCC and GAS, versions of these tools designed to work with GDB-4.12
4573 can be retrieved via anonymous ftp from jaguar.cs.utah.edu:/dist.
4574
4575
4576 *** Changes in GDB-4.11:
4577
4578 * User visible changes:
4579
4580 * Remote Debugging
4581
4582 The "set remotedebug" option is now consistent between the mips remote
4583 target, remote targets using the gdb-specific protocol, UDI (AMD's
4584 debug protocol for the 29k) and the 88k bug monitor. It is now an
4585 integer specifying a debug level (normally 0 or 1, but 2 means more
4586 debugging info for the mips target).
4587
4588 * DEC Alpha native support
4589
4590 GDB now works on the DEC Alpha. GCC 2.4.5 does not produce usable
4591 debug info, but GDB works fairly well with the DEC compiler and should
4592 work with a future GCC release. See the README file for a few
4593 Alpha-specific notes.
4594
4595 * Preliminary thread implementation
4596
4597 GDB now has preliminary thread support for both SGI/Irix and LynxOS.
4598
4599 * LynxOS native and target support for 386
4600
4601 This release has been hosted on LynxOS 2.2, and also can be configured
4602 to remotely debug programs running under LynxOS (see gdb/gdbserver/README
4603 for details).
4604
4605 * Improvements in C++ mangling/demangling.
4606
4607 This release has much better g++ debugging, specifically in name
4608 mangling/demangling, virtual function calls, print virtual table,
4609 call methods, ...etc.
4610
4611 *** Changes in GDB-4.10:
4612
4613 * User visible changes:
4614
4615 Remote debugging using the GDB-specific (`target remote') protocol now
4616 supports the `load' command. This is only useful if you have some
4617 other way of getting the stub to the target system, and you can put it
4618 somewhere in memory where it won't get clobbered by the download.
4619
4620 Filename completion now works.
4621
4622 When run under emacs mode, the "info line" command now causes the
4623 arrow to point to the line specified. Also, "info line" prints
4624 addresses in symbolic form (as well as hex).
4625
4626 All vxworks based targets now support a user settable option, called
4627 vxworks-timeout. This option represents the number of seconds gdb
4628 should wait for responses to rpc's. You might want to use this if
4629 your vxworks target is, perhaps, a slow software simulator or happens
4630 to be on the far side of a thin network line.
4631
4632 * DEC alpha support
4633
4634 This release contains support for using a DEC alpha as a GDB host for
4635 cross debugging. Native alpha debugging is not supported yet.
4636
4637
4638 *** Changes in GDB-4.9:
4639
4640 * Testsuite
4641
4642 This is the first GDB release which is accompanied by a matching testsuite.
4643 The testsuite requires installation of dejagnu, which should be available
4644 via ftp from most sites that carry GNU software.
4645
4646 * C++ demangling
4647
4648 'Cfront' style demangling has had its name changed to 'ARM' style, to
4649 emphasize that it was written from the specifications in the C++ Annotated
4650 Reference Manual, not necessarily to be compatible with AT&T cfront. Despite
4651 disclaimers, it still generated too much confusion with users attempting to
4652 use gdb with AT&T cfront.
4653
4654 * Simulators
4655
4656 GDB now uses a standard remote interface to a simulator library.
4657 So far, the library contains simulators for the Zilog Z8001/2, the
4658 Hitachi H8/300, H8/500 and Super-H.
4659
4660 * New targets supported
4661
4662 H8/300 simulator h8300-hitachi-hms or h8300hms
4663 H8/500 simulator h8500-hitachi-hms or h8500hms
4664 SH simulator sh-hitachi-hms or sh
4665 Z8000 simulator z8k-zilog-none or z8ksim
4666 IDT MIPS board over serial line mips-idt-ecoff
4667
4668 Cross-debugging to GO32 targets is supported. It requires a custom
4669 version of the i386-stub.c module which is integrated with the
4670 GO32 memory extender.
4671
4672 * New remote protocols
4673
4674 MIPS remote debugging protocol.
4675
4676 * New source languages supported
4677
4678 This version includes preliminary support for Chill, a Pascal like language
4679 used by telecommunications companies. Chill support is also being integrated
4680 into the GNU compiler, but we don't know when it will be publically available.
4681
4682
4683 *** Changes in GDB-4.8:
4684
4685 * HP Precision Architecture supported
4686
4687 GDB now supports HP PA-RISC machines running HPUX. A preliminary
4688 version of this support was available as a set of patches from the
4689 University of Utah. GDB does not support debugging of programs
4690 compiled with the HP compiler, because HP will not document their file
4691 format. Instead, you must use GCC (version 2.3.2 or later) and PA-GAS
4692 (as available from jaguar.cs.utah.edu:/dist/pa-gas.u4.tar.Z).
4693
4694 Many problems in the preliminary version have been fixed.
4695
4696 * Faster and better demangling
4697
4698 We have improved template demangling and fixed numerous bugs in the GNU style
4699 demangler. It can now handle type modifiers such as `static' or `const'. Wide
4700 character types (wchar_t) are now supported. Demangling of each symbol is now
4701 only done once, and is cached when the symbol table for a file is read in.
4702 This results in a small increase in memory usage for C programs, a moderate
4703 increase in memory usage for C++ programs, and a fantastic speedup in
4704 symbol lookups.
4705
4706 `Cfront' style demangling still doesn't work with AT&T cfront. It was written
4707 from the specifications in the Annotated Reference Manual, which AT&T's
4708 compiler does not actually implement.
4709
4710 * G++ multiple inheritance compiler problem
4711
4712 In the 2.3.2 release of gcc/g++, how the compiler resolves multiple
4713 inheritance lattices was reworked to properly discover ambiguities. We
4714 recently found an example which causes this new algorithm to fail in a
4715 very subtle way, producing bad debug information for those classes.
4716 The file 'gcc.patch' (in this directory) can be applied to gcc to
4717 circumvent the problem. A future GCC release will contain a complete
4718 fix.
4719
4720 The previous G++ debug info problem (mentioned below for the gdb-4.7
4721 release) is fixed in gcc version 2.3.2.
4722
4723 * Improved configure script
4724
4725 The `configure' script will now attempt to guess your system type if
4726 you don't supply a host system type. The old scheme of supplying a
4727 host system triplet is preferable over using this. All the magic is
4728 done in the new `config.guess' script. Examine it for details.
4729
4730 We have also brought our configure script much more in line with the FSF's
4731 version. It now supports the --with-xxx options. In particular,
4732 `--with-minimal-bfd' can be used to make the GDB binary image smaller.
4733 The resulting GDB will not be able to read arbitrary object file formats --
4734 only the format ``expected'' to be used on the configured target system.
4735 We hope to make this the default in a future release.
4736
4737 * Documentation improvements
4738
4739 There's new internal documentation on how to modify GDB, and how to
4740 produce clean changes to the code. We implore people to read it
4741 before submitting changes.
4742
4743 The GDB manual uses new, sexy Texinfo conditionals, rather than arcane
4744 M4 macros. The new texinfo.tex is provided in this release. Pre-built
4745 `info' files are also provided. To build `info' files from scratch,
4746 you will need the latest `makeinfo' release, which will be available in
4747 a future texinfo-X.Y release.
4748
4749 *NOTE* The new texinfo.tex can cause old versions of TeX to hang.
4750 We're not sure exactly which versions have this problem, but it has
4751 been seen in 3.0. We highly recommend upgrading to TeX version 3.141
4752 or better. If that isn't possible, there is a patch in
4753 `texinfo/tex3patch' that will modify `texinfo/texinfo.tex' to work
4754 around this problem.
4755
4756 * New features
4757
4758 GDB now supports array constants that can be used in expressions typed in by
4759 the user. The syntax is `{element, element, ...}'. Ie: you can now type
4760 `print {1, 2, 3}', and it will build up an array in memory malloc'd in
4761 the target program.
4762
4763 The new directory `gdb/sparclite' contains a program that demonstrates
4764 how the sparc-stub.c remote stub runs on a Fujitsu SPARClite processor.
4765
4766 * New native hosts supported
4767
4768 HP/PA-RISC under HPUX using GNU tools hppa1.1-hp-hpux
4769 386 CPUs running SCO Unix 3.2v4 i386-unknown-sco3.2v4
4770
4771 * New targets supported
4772
4773 AMD 29k family via UDI a29k-amd-udi or udi29k
4774
4775 * New file formats supported
4776
4777 BFD now supports reading HP/PA-RISC executables (SOM file format?),
4778 HPUX core files, and SCO 3.2v2 core files.
4779
4780 * Major bug fixes
4781
4782 Attaching to processes now works again; thanks for the many bug reports.
4783
4784 We have also stomped on a bunch of core dumps caused by
4785 printf_filtered("%s") problems.
4786
4787 We eliminated a copyright problem on the rpc and ptrace header files
4788 for VxWorks, which was discovered at the last minute during the 4.7
4789 release. You should now be able to build a VxWorks GDB.
4790
4791 You can now interrupt gdb while an attached process is running. This
4792 will cause the attached process to stop, and give control back to GDB.
4793
4794 We fixed problems caused by using too many file descriptors
4795 for reading symbols from object files and libraries. This was
4796 especially a problem for programs that used many (~100) shared
4797 libraries.
4798
4799 The `step' command now only enters a subroutine if there is line number
4800 information for the subroutine. Otherwise it acts like the `next'
4801 command. Previously, `step' would enter subroutines if there was
4802 any debugging information about the routine. This avoids problems
4803 when using `cc -g1' on MIPS machines.
4804
4805 * Internal improvements
4806
4807 GDB's internal interfaces have been improved to make it easier to support
4808 debugging of multiple languages in the future.
4809
4810 GDB now uses a common structure for symbol information internally.
4811 Minimal symbols (derived from linkage symbols in object files), partial
4812 symbols (from a quick scan of debug information), and full symbols
4813 contain a common subset of information, making it easier to write
4814 shared code that handles any of them.
4815
4816 * New command line options
4817
4818 We now accept --silent as an alias for --quiet.
4819
4820 * Mmalloc licensing
4821
4822 The memory-mapped-malloc library is now licensed under the GNU Library
4823 General Public License.
4824
4825 *** Changes in GDB-4.7:
4826
4827 * Host/native/target split
4828
4829 GDB has had some major internal surgery to untangle the support for
4830 hosts and remote targets. Now, when you configure GDB for a remote
4831 target, it will no longer load in all of the support for debugging
4832 local programs on the host. When fully completed and tested, this will
4833 ensure that arbitrary host/target combinations are possible.
4834
4835 The primary conceptual shift is to separate the non-portable code in
4836 GDB into three categories. Host specific code is required any time GDB
4837 is compiled on that host, regardless of the target. Target specific
4838 code relates to the peculiarities of the target, but can be compiled on
4839 any host. Native specific code is everything else: it can only be
4840 built when the host and target are the same system. Child process
4841 handling and core file support are two common `native' examples.
4842
4843 GDB's use of /proc for controlling Unix child processes is now cleaner.
4844 It has been split out into a single module under the `target_ops' vector,
4845 plus two native-dependent functions for each system that uses /proc.
4846
4847 * New hosts supported
4848
4849 HP/Apollo 68k (under the BSD domain) m68k-apollo-bsd or apollo68bsd
4850 386 CPUs running various BSD ports i386-unknown-bsd or 386bsd
4851 386 CPUs running SCO Unix i386-unknown-scosysv322 or i386sco
4852
4853 * New targets supported
4854
4855 Fujitsu SPARClite sparclite-fujitsu-none or sparclite
4856 68030 and CPU32 m68030-*-*, m68332-*-*
4857
4858 * New native hosts supported
4859
4860 386 CPUs running various BSD ports i386-unknown-bsd or 386bsd
4861 (386bsd is not well tested yet)
4862 386 CPUs running SCO Unix i386-unknown-scosysv322 or sco
4863
4864 * New file formats supported
4865
4866 BFD now supports COFF files for the Zilog Z8000 microprocessor. It
4867 supports reading of `a.out.adobe' object files, which are an a.out
4868 format extended with minimal information about multiple sections.
4869
4870 * New commands
4871
4872 `show copying' is the same as the old `info copying'.
4873 `show warranty' is the same as `info warrantee'.
4874 These were renamed for consistency. The old commands continue to work.
4875
4876 `info handle' is a new alias for `info signals'.
4877
4878 You can now define pre-command hooks, which attach arbitrary command
4879 scripts to any command. The commands in the hook will be executed
4880 prior to the user's command. You can also create a hook which will be
4881 executed whenever the program stops. See gdb.texinfo.
4882
4883 * C++ improvements
4884
4885 We now deal with Cfront style name mangling, and can even extract type
4886 info from mangled symbols. GDB can automatically figure out which
4887 symbol mangling style your C++ compiler uses.
4888
4889 Calling of methods and virtual functions has been improved as well.
4890
4891 * Major bug fixes
4892
4893 The crash that occured when debugging Sun Ansi-C compiled binaries is
4894 fixed. This was due to mishandling of the extra N_SO stabs output
4895 by the compiler.
4896
4897 We also finally got Ultrix 4.2 running in house, and fixed core file
4898 support, with help from a dozen people on the net.
4899
4900 John M. Farrell discovered that the reason that single-stepping was so
4901 slow on all of the Mips based platforms (primarily SGI and DEC) was
4902 that we were trying to demangle and lookup a symbol used for internal
4903 purposes on every instruction that was being stepped through. Changing
4904 the name of that symbol so that it couldn't be mistaken for a C++
4905 mangled symbol sped things up a great deal.
4906
4907 Rich Pixley sped up symbol lookups in general by getting much smarter
4908 about when C++ symbol mangling is necessary. This should make symbol
4909 completion (TAB on the command line) much faster. It's not as fast as
4910 we'd like, but it's significantly faster than gdb-4.6.
4911
4912 * AMD 29k support
4913
4914 A new user controllable variable 'call_scratch_address' can
4915 specify the location of a scratch area to be used when GDB
4916 calls a function in the target. This is necessary because the
4917 usual method of putting the scratch area on the stack does not work
4918 in systems that have separate instruction and data spaces.
4919
4920 We integrated changes to support the 29k UDI (Universal Debugger
4921 Interface), but discovered at the last minute that we didn't have all
4922 of the appropriate copyright paperwork. We are working with AMD to
4923 resolve this, and hope to have it available soon.
4924
4925 * Remote interfaces
4926
4927 We have sped up the remote serial line protocol, especially for targets
4928 with lots of registers. It now supports a new `expedited status' ('T')
4929 message which can be used in place of the existing 'S' status message.
4930 This allows the remote stub to send only the registers that GDB
4931 needs to make a quick decision about single-stepping or conditional
4932 breakpoints, eliminating the need to fetch the entire register set for
4933 each instruction being stepped through.
4934
4935 The GDB remote serial protocol now implements a write-through cache for
4936 registers, only re-reading the registers if the target has run.
4937
4938 There is also a new remote serial stub for SPARC processors. You can
4939 find it in gdb-4.7/gdb/sparc-stub.c. This was written to support the
4940 Fujitsu SPARClite processor, but will run on any stand-alone SPARC
4941 processor with a serial port.
4942
4943 * Configuration
4944
4945 Configure.in files have become much easier to read and modify. A new
4946 `table driven' format makes it more obvious what configurations are
4947 supported, and what files each one uses.
4948
4949 * Library changes
4950
4951 There is a new opcodes library which will eventually contain all of the
4952 disassembly routines and opcode tables. At present, it only contains
4953 Sparc and Z8000 routines. This will allow the assembler, debugger, and
4954 disassembler (binutils/objdump) to share these routines.
4955
4956 The libiberty library is now copylefted under the GNU Library General
4957 Public License. This allows more liberal use, and was done so libg++
4958 can use it. This makes no difference to GDB, since the Library License
4959 grants all the rights from the General Public License.
4960
4961 * Documentation
4962
4963 The file gdb-4.7/gdb/doc/stabs.texinfo is a (relatively) complete
4964 reference to the stabs symbol info used by the debugger. It is (as far
4965 as we know) the only published document on this fascinating topic. We
4966 encourage you to read it, compare it to the stabs information on your
4967 system, and send improvements on the document in general (to
4968 bug-gdb@prep.ai.mit.edu).
4969
4970 And, of course, many bugs have been fixed.
4971
4972
4973 *** Changes in GDB-4.6:
4974
4975 * Better support for C++ function names
4976
4977 GDB now accepts as input the "demangled form" of C++ overloaded function
4978 names and member function names, and can do command completion on such names
4979 (using TAB, TAB-TAB, and ESC-?). The names have to be quoted with a pair of
4980 single quotes. Examples are 'func (int, long)' and 'obj::operator==(obj&)'.
4981 Make use of command completion, it is your friend.
4982
4983 GDB also now accepts a variety of C++ mangled symbol formats. They are
4984 the GNU g++ style, the Cfront (ARM) style, and the Lucid (lcc) style.
4985 You can tell GDB which format to use by doing a 'set demangle-style {gnu,
4986 lucid, cfront, auto}'. 'gnu' is the default. Do a 'set demangle-style foo'
4987 for the list of formats.
4988
4989 * G++ symbol mangling problem
4990
4991 Recent versions of gcc have a bug in how they emit debugging information for
4992 C++ methods (when using dbx-style stabs). The file 'gcc.patch' (in this
4993 directory) can be applied to gcc to fix the problem. Alternatively, if you
4994 can't fix gcc, you can #define GCC_MANGLE_BUG when compling gdb/symtab.c. The
4995 usual symptom is difficulty with setting breakpoints on methods. GDB complains
4996 about the method being non-existent. (We believe that version 2.2.2 of GCC has
4997 this problem.)
4998
4999 * New 'maintenance' command
5000
5001 All of the commands related to hacking GDB internals have been moved out of
5002 the main command set, and now live behind the 'maintenance' command. This
5003 can also be abbreviated as 'mt'. The following changes were made:
5004
5005 dump-me -> maintenance dump-me
5006 info all-breakpoints -> maintenance info breakpoints
5007 printmsyms -> maintenance print msyms
5008 printobjfiles -> maintenance print objfiles
5009 printpsyms -> maintenance print psymbols
5010 printsyms -> maintenance print symbols
5011
5012 The following commands are new:
5013
5014 maintenance demangle Call internal GDB demangler routine to
5015 demangle a C++ link name and prints the result.
5016 maintenance print type Print a type chain for a given symbol
5017
5018 * Change to .gdbinit file processing
5019
5020 We now read the $HOME/.gdbinit file before processing the argv arguments
5021 (e.g. reading symbol files or core files). This allows global parameters to
5022 be set, which will apply during the symbol reading. The ./.gdbinit is still
5023 read after argv processing.
5024
5025 * New hosts supported
5026
5027 Solaris-2.0 !!! sparc-sun-solaris2 or sun4sol2
5028
5029 GNU/Linux support i386-unknown-linux or linux
5030
5031 We are also including code to support the HP/PA running BSD and HPUX. This
5032 is almost guaranteed not to work, as we didn't have time to test or build it
5033 for this release. We are including it so that the more adventurous (or
5034 masochistic) of you can play with it. We also had major problems with the
5035 fact that the compiler that we got from HP doesn't support the -g option.
5036 It costs extra.
5037
5038 * New targets supported
5039
5040 Hitachi H8/300 h8300-hitachi-hms or h8300hms
5041
5042 * More smarts about finding #include files
5043
5044 GDB now remembers the compilation directory for all include files, and for
5045 all files from which C is generated (like yacc and lex sources). This
5046 greatly improves GDB's ability to find yacc/lex sources, and include files,
5047 especially if you are debugging your program from a directory different from
5048 the one that contains your sources.
5049
5050 We also fixed a bug which caused difficulty with listing and setting
5051 breakpoints in include files which contain C code. (In the past, you had to
5052 try twice in order to list an include file that you hadn't looked at before.)
5053
5054 * Interesting infernals change
5055
5056 GDB now deals with arbitrary numbers of sections, where the symbols for each
5057 section must be relocated relative to that section's landing place in the
5058 target's address space. This work was needed to support ELF with embedded
5059 stabs used by Solaris-2.0.
5060
5061 * Bug fixes (of course!)
5062
5063 There have been loads of fixes for the following things:
5064 mips, rs6000, 29k/udi, m68k, g++, type handling, elf/dwarf, m88k,
5065 i960, stabs, DOS(GO32), procfs, etc...
5066
5067 See the ChangeLog for details.
5068
5069 *** Changes in GDB-4.5:
5070
5071 * New machines supported (host and target)
5072
5073 IBM RS6000 running AIX rs6000-ibm-aix or rs6000
5074
5075 SGI Irix-4.x mips-sgi-irix4 or iris4
5076
5077 * New malloc package
5078
5079 GDB now uses a new memory manager called mmalloc, based on gmalloc.
5080 Mmalloc is capable of handling mutiple heaps of memory. It is also
5081 capable of saving a heap to a file, and then mapping it back in later.
5082 This can be used to greatly speedup the startup of GDB by using a
5083 pre-parsed symbol table which lives in a mmalloc managed heap. For
5084 more details, please read mmalloc/mmalloc.texi.
5085
5086 * info proc
5087
5088 The 'info proc' command (SVR4 only) has been enhanced quite a bit. See
5089 'help info proc' for details.
5090
5091 * MIPS ecoff symbol table format
5092
5093 The code that reads MIPS symbol table format is now supported on all hosts.
5094 Thanks to MIPS for releasing the sym.h and symconst.h files to make this
5095 possible.
5096
5097 * File name changes for MS-DOS
5098
5099 Many files in the config directories have been renamed to make it easier to
5100 support GDB on MS-DOSe systems (which have very restrictive file name
5101 conventions :-( ). MS-DOSe host support (under DJ Delorie's GO32
5102 environment) is close to working but has some remaining problems. Note
5103 that debugging of DOS programs is not supported, due to limitations
5104 in the ``operating system'', but it can be used to host cross-debugging.
5105
5106 * Cross byte order fixes
5107
5108 Many fixes have been made to support cross debugging of Sparc and MIPS
5109 targets from hosts whose byte order differs.
5110
5111 * New -mapped and -readnow options
5112
5113 If memory-mapped files are available on your system through the 'mmap'
5114 system call, you can use the -mapped option on the `file' or
5115 `symbol-file' commands to cause GDB to write the symbols from your
5116 program into a reusable file. If the program you are debugging is
5117 called `/path/fred', the mapped symbol file will be `./fred.syms'.
5118 Future GDB debugging sessions will notice the presence of this file,
5119 and will quickly map in symbol information from it, rather than reading
5120 the symbol table from the executable program. Using the '-mapped'
5121 option in a GDB `file' or `symbol-file' command has the same effect as
5122 starting GDB with the '-mapped' command-line option.
5123
5124 You can cause GDB to read the entire symbol table immediately by using
5125 the '-readnow' option with any of the commands that load symbol table
5126 information (or on the GDB command line). This makes the command
5127 slower, but makes future operations faster.
5128
5129 The -mapped and -readnow options are typically combined in order to
5130 build a `fred.syms' file that contains complete symbol information.
5131 A simple GDB invocation to do nothing but build a `.syms' file for future
5132 use is:
5133
5134 gdb -batch -nx -mapped -readnow programname
5135
5136 The `.syms' file is specific to the host machine on which GDB is run.
5137 It holds an exact image of GDB's internal symbol table. It cannot be
5138 shared across multiple host platforms.
5139
5140 * longjmp() handling
5141
5142 GDB is now capable of stepping and nexting over longjmp(), _longjmp(), and
5143 siglongjmp() without losing control. This feature has not yet been ported to
5144 all systems. It currently works on many 386 platforms, all MIPS-based
5145 platforms (SGI, DECstation, etc), and Sun3/4.
5146
5147 * Solaris 2.0
5148
5149 Preliminary work has been put in to support the new Solaris OS from Sun. At
5150 this time, it can control and debug processes, but it is not capable of
5151 reading symbols.
5152
5153 * Bug fixes
5154
5155 As always, many many bug fixes. The major areas were with g++, and mipsread.
5156 People using the MIPS-based platforms should experience fewer mysterious
5157 crashes and trashed symbol tables.
5158
5159 *** Changes in GDB-4.4:
5160
5161 * New machines supported (host and target)
5162
5163 SCO Unix on i386 IBM PC clones i386-sco-sysv or i386sco
5164 (except core files)
5165 BSD Reno on Vax vax-dec-bsd
5166 Ultrix on Vax vax-dec-ultrix
5167
5168 * New machines supported (target)
5169
5170 AMD 29000 embedded, using EBMON a29k-none-none
5171
5172 * C++ support
5173
5174 GDB continues to improve its handling of C++. `References' work better.
5175 The demangler has also been improved, and now deals with symbols mangled as
5176 per the Annotated C++ Reference Guide.
5177
5178 GDB also now handles `stabs' symbol information embedded in MIPS
5179 `ecoff' symbol tables. Since the ecoff format was not easily
5180 extensible to handle new languages such as C++, this appeared to be a
5181 good way to put C++ debugging info into MIPS binaries. This option
5182 will be supported in the GNU C compiler, version 2, when it is
5183 released.
5184
5185 * New features for SVR4
5186
5187 GDB now handles SVR4 shared libraries, in the same fashion as SunOS
5188 shared libraries. Debugging dynamically linked programs should present
5189 only minor differences from debugging statically linked programs.
5190
5191 The `info proc' command will print out information about any process
5192 on an SVR4 system (including the one you are debugging). At the moment,
5193 it prints the address mappings of the process.
5194
5195 If you bring up GDB on another SVR4 system, please send mail to
5196 bug-gdb@prep.ai.mit.edu to let us know what changes were reqired (if any).
5197
5198 * Better dynamic linking support in SunOS
5199
5200 Reading symbols from shared libraries which contain debugging symbols
5201 now works properly. However, there remain issues such as automatic
5202 skipping of `transfer vector' code during function calls, which
5203 make it harder to debug code in a shared library, than to debug the
5204 same code linked statically.
5205
5206 * New Getopt
5207
5208 GDB is now using the latest `getopt' routines from the FSF. This
5209 version accepts the -- prefix for options with long names. GDB will
5210 continue to accept the old forms (-option and +option) as well.
5211 Various single letter abbreviations for options have been explicity
5212 added to the option table so that they won't get overshadowed in the
5213 future by other options that begin with the same letter.
5214
5215 * Bugs fixed
5216
5217 The `cleanup_undefined_types' bug that many of you noticed has been squashed.
5218 Many assorted bugs have been handled. Many more remain to be handled.
5219 See the various ChangeLog files (primarily in gdb and bfd) for details.
5220
5221
5222 *** Changes in GDB-4.3:
5223
5224 * New machines supported (host and target)
5225
5226 Amiga 3000 running Amix m68k-cbm-svr4 or amix
5227 NCR 3000 386 running SVR4 i386-ncr-svr4 or ncr3000
5228 Motorola Delta 88000 running Sys V m88k-motorola-sysv or delta88
5229
5230 * Almost SCO Unix support
5231
5232 We had hoped to support:
5233 SCO Unix on i386 IBM PC clones i386-sco-sysv or i386sco
5234 (except for core file support), but we discovered very late in the release
5235 that it has problems with process groups that render gdb unusable. Sorry
5236 about that. I encourage people to fix it and post the fixes.
5237
5238 * Preliminary ELF and DWARF support
5239
5240 GDB can read ELF object files on System V Release 4, and can handle
5241 debugging records for C, in DWARF format, in ELF files. This support
5242 is preliminary. If you bring up GDB on another SVR4 system, please
5243 send mail to bug-gdb@prep.ai.mit.edu to let us know what changes were
5244 reqired (if any).
5245
5246 * New Readline
5247
5248 GDB now uses the latest `readline' library. One user-visible change
5249 is that two tabs will list possible command completions, which previously
5250 required typing M-? (meta-question mark, or ESC ?).
5251
5252 * Bugs fixed
5253
5254 The `stepi' bug that many of you noticed has been squashed.
5255 Many bugs in C++ have been handled. Many more remain to be handled.
5256 See the various ChangeLog files (primarily in gdb and bfd) for details.
5257
5258 * State of the MIPS world (in case you wondered):
5259
5260 GDB can understand the symbol tables emitted by the compilers
5261 supplied by most vendors of MIPS-based machines, including DEC. These
5262 symbol tables are in a format that essentially nobody else uses.
5263
5264 Some versions of gcc come with an assembler post-processor called
5265 mips-tfile. This program is required if you want to do source-level
5266 debugging of gcc-compiled programs. I believe FSF does not ship
5267 mips-tfile with gcc version 1, but it will eventually come with gcc
5268 version 2.
5269
5270 Debugging of g++ output remains a problem. g++ version 1.xx does not
5271 really support it at all. (If you're lucky, you should be able to get
5272 line numbers and stack traces to work, but no parameters or local
5273 variables.) With some work it should be possible to improve the
5274 situation somewhat.
5275
5276 When gcc version 2 is released, you will have somewhat better luck.
5277 However, even then you will get confusing results for inheritance and
5278 methods.
5279
5280 We will eventually provide full debugging of g++ output on
5281 DECstations. This will probably involve some kind of stabs-in-ecoff
5282 encapulation, but the details have not been worked out yet.
5283
5284
5285 *** Changes in GDB-4.2:
5286
5287 * Improved configuration
5288
5289 Only one copy of `configure' exists now, and it is not self-modifying.
5290 Porting BFD is simpler.
5291
5292 * Stepping improved
5293
5294 The `step' and `next' commands now only stop at the first instruction
5295 of a source line. This prevents the multiple stops that used to occur
5296 in switch statements, for-loops, etc. `Step' continues to stop if a
5297 function that has debugging information is called within the line.
5298
5299 * Bug fixing
5300
5301 Lots of small bugs fixed. More remain.
5302
5303 * New host supported (not target)
5304
5305 Intel 386 PC clone running Mach i386-none-mach
5306
5307
5308 *** Changes in GDB-4.1:
5309
5310 * Multiple source language support
5311
5312 GDB now has internal scaffolding to handle several source languages.
5313 It determines the type of each source file from its filename extension,
5314 and will switch expression parsing and number formatting to match the
5315 language of the function in the currently selected stack frame.
5316 You can also specifically set the language to be used, with
5317 `set language c' or `set language modula-2'.
5318
5319 * GDB and Modula-2
5320
5321 GDB now has preliminary support for the GNU Modula-2 compiler,
5322 currently under development at the State University of New York at
5323 Buffalo. Development of both GDB and the GNU Modula-2 compiler will
5324 continue through the fall of 1991 and into 1992.
5325
5326 Other Modula-2 compilers are currently not supported, and attempting to
5327 debug programs compiled with them will likely result in an error as the
5328 symbol table is read. Feel free to work on it, though!
5329
5330 There are hooks in GDB for strict type checking and range checking,
5331 in the `Modula-2 philosophy', but they do not currently work.
5332
5333 * set write on/off
5334
5335 GDB can now write to executable and core files (e.g. patch
5336 a variable's value). You must turn this switch on, specify
5337 the file ("exec foo" or "core foo"), *then* modify it, e.g.
5338 by assigning a new value to a variable. Modifications take
5339 effect immediately.
5340
5341 * Automatic SunOS shared library reading
5342
5343 When you run your program, GDB automatically determines where its
5344 shared libraries (if any) have been loaded, and reads their symbols.
5345 The `share' command is no longer needed. This also works when
5346 examining core files.
5347
5348 * set listsize
5349
5350 You can specify the number of lines that the `list' command shows.
5351 The default is 10.
5352
5353 * New machines supported (host and target)
5354
5355 SGI Iris (MIPS) running Irix V3: mips-sgi-irix or iris
5356 Sony NEWS (68K) running NEWSOS 3.x: m68k-sony-sysv or news
5357 Ultracomputer (29K) running Sym1: a29k-nyu-sym1 or ultra3
5358
5359 * New hosts supported (not targets)
5360
5361 IBM RT/PC: romp-ibm-aix or rtpc
5362
5363 * New targets supported (not hosts)
5364
5365 AMD 29000 embedded with COFF a29k-none-coff
5366 AMD 29000 embedded with a.out a29k-none-aout
5367 Ultracomputer remote kernel debug a29k-nyu-kern
5368
5369 * New remote interfaces
5370
5371 AMD 29000 Adapt
5372 AMD 29000 Minimon
5373
5374
5375 *** Changes in GDB-4.0:
5376
5377 * New Facilities
5378
5379 Wide output is wrapped at good places to make the output more readable.
5380
5381 Gdb now supports cross-debugging from a host machine of one type to a
5382 target machine of another type. Communication with the target system
5383 is over serial lines. The ``target'' command handles connecting to the
5384 remote system; the ``load'' command will download a program into the
5385 remote system. Serial stubs for the m68k and i386 are provided. Gdb
5386 also supports debugging of realtime processes running under VxWorks,
5387 using SunRPC Remote Procedure Calls over TCP/IP to talk to a debugger
5388 stub on the target system.
5389
5390 New CPUs supported include the AMD 29000 and Intel 960.
5391
5392 GDB now reads object files and symbol tables via a ``binary file''
5393 library, which allows a single copy of GDB to debug programs of multiple
5394 object file types such as a.out and coff.
5395
5396 There is now a GDB reference card in "doc/refcard.tex". (Make targets
5397 refcard.dvi and refcard.ps are available to format it).
5398
5399
5400 * Control-Variable user interface simplified
5401
5402 All variables that control the operation of the debugger can be set
5403 by the ``set'' command, and displayed by the ``show'' command.
5404
5405 For example, ``set prompt new-gdb=>'' will change your prompt to new-gdb=>.
5406 ``Show prompt'' produces the response:
5407 Gdb's prompt is new-gdb=>.
5408
5409 What follows are the NEW set commands. The command ``help set'' will
5410 print a complete list of old and new set commands. ``help set FOO''
5411 will give a longer description of the variable FOO. ``show'' will show
5412 all of the variable descriptions and their current settings.
5413
5414 confirm on/off: Enables warning questions for operations that are
5415 hard to recover from, e.g. rerunning the program while
5416 it is already running. Default is ON.
5417
5418 editing on/off: Enables EMACS style command line editing
5419 of input. Previous lines can be recalled with
5420 control-P, the current line can be edited with control-B,
5421 you can search for commands with control-R, etc.
5422 Default is ON.
5423
5424 history filename NAME: NAME is where the gdb command history
5425 will be stored. The default is .gdb_history,
5426 or the value of the environment variable
5427 GDBHISTFILE.
5428
5429 history size N: The size, in commands, of the command history. The
5430 default is 256, or the value of the environment variable
5431 HISTSIZE.
5432
5433 history save on/off: If this value is set to ON, the history file will
5434 be saved after exiting gdb. If set to OFF, the
5435 file will not be saved. The default is OFF.
5436
5437 history expansion on/off: If this value is set to ON, then csh-like
5438 history expansion will be performed on
5439 command line input. The default is OFF.
5440
5441 radix N: Sets the default radix for input and output. It can be set
5442 to 8, 10, or 16. Note that the argument to "radix" is interpreted
5443 in the current radix, so "set radix 10" is always a no-op.
5444
5445 height N: This integer value is the number of lines on a page. Default
5446 is 24, the current `stty rows'' setting, or the ``li#''
5447 setting from the termcap entry matching the environment
5448 variable TERM.
5449
5450 width N: This integer value is the number of characters on a line.
5451 Default is 80, the current `stty cols'' setting, or the ``co#''
5452 setting from the termcap entry matching the environment
5453 variable TERM.
5454
5455 Note: ``set screensize'' is obsolete. Use ``set height'' and
5456 ``set width'' instead.
5457
5458 print address on/off: Print memory addresses in various command displays,
5459 such as stack traces and structure values. Gdb looks
5460 more ``symbolic'' if you turn this off; it looks more
5461 ``machine level'' with it on. Default is ON.
5462
5463 print array on/off: Prettyprint arrays. New convenient format! Default
5464 is OFF.
5465
5466 print demangle on/off: Print C++ symbols in "source" form if on,
5467 "raw" form if off.
5468
5469 print asm-demangle on/off: Same, for assembler level printouts
5470 like instructions.
5471
5472 print vtbl on/off: Prettyprint C++ virtual function tables. Default is OFF.
5473
5474
5475 * Support for Epoch Environment.
5476
5477 The epoch environment is a version of Emacs v18 with windowing. One
5478 new command, ``inspect'', is identical to ``print'', except that if you
5479 are running in the epoch environment, the value is printed in its own
5480 window.
5481
5482
5483 * Support for Shared Libraries
5484
5485 GDB can now debug programs and core files that use SunOS shared libraries.
5486 Symbols from a shared library cannot be referenced
5487 before the shared library has been linked with the program (this
5488 happens after you type ``run'' and before the function main() is entered).
5489 At any time after this linking (including when examining core files
5490 from dynamically linked programs), gdb reads the symbols from each
5491 shared library when you type the ``sharedlibrary'' command.
5492 It can be abbreviated ``share''.
5493
5494 sharedlibrary REGEXP: Load shared object library symbols for files
5495 matching a unix regular expression. No argument
5496 indicates to load symbols for all shared libraries.
5497
5498 info sharedlibrary: Status of loaded shared libraries.
5499
5500
5501 * Watchpoints
5502
5503 A watchpoint stops execution of a program whenever the value of an
5504 expression changes. Checking for this slows down execution
5505 tremendously whenever you are in the scope of the expression, but is
5506 quite useful for catching tough ``bit-spreader'' or pointer misuse
5507 problems. Some machines such as the 386 have hardware for doing this
5508 more quickly, and future versions of gdb will use this hardware.
5509
5510 watch EXP: Set a watchpoint (breakpoint) for an expression.
5511
5512 info watchpoints: Information about your watchpoints.
5513
5514 delete N: Deletes watchpoint number N (same as breakpoints).
5515 disable N: Temporarily turns off watchpoint number N (same as breakpoints).
5516 enable N: Re-enables watchpoint number N (same as breakpoints).
5517
5518
5519 * C++ multiple inheritance
5520
5521 When used with a GCC version 2 compiler, GDB supports multiple inheritance
5522 for C++ programs.
5523
5524 * C++ exception handling
5525
5526 Gdb now supports limited C++ exception handling. Besides the existing
5527 ability to breakpoint on an exception handler, gdb can breakpoint on
5528 the raising of an exception (before the stack is peeled back to the
5529 handler's context).
5530
5531 catch FOO: If there is a FOO exception handler in the dynamic scope,
5532 set a breakpoint to catch exceptions which may be raised there.
5533 Multiple exceptions (``catch foo bar baz'') may be caught.
5534
5535 info catch: Lists all exceptions which may be caught in the
5536 current stack frame.
5537
5538
5539 * Minor command changes
5540
5541 The command ``call func (arg, arg, ...)'' now acts like the print
5542 command, except it does not print or save a value if the function's result
5543 is void. This is similar to dbx usage.
5544
5545 The ``up'' and ``down'' commands now always print the frame they end up
5546 at; ``up-silently'' and `down-silently'' can be used in scripts to change
5547 frames without printing.
5548
5549 * New directory command
5550
5551 'dir' now adds directories to the FRONT of the source search path.
5552 The path starts off empty. Source files that contain debug information
5553 about the directory in which they were compiled can be found even
5554 with an empty path; Sun CC and GCC include this information. If GDB can't
5555 find your source file in the current directory, type "dir .".
5556
5557 * Configuring GDB for compilation
5558
5559 For normal use, type ``./configure host''. See README or gdb.texinfo
5560 for more details.
5561
5562 GDB now handles cross debugging. If you are remotely debugging between
5563 two different machines, type ``./configure host -target=targ''.
5564 Host is the machine where GDB will run; targ is the machine
5565 where the program that you are debugging will run.
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