gdb/
[deliverable/binutils-gdb.git] / gdb / doc / gdb.texinfo
1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
2 @c Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996,
3 @c 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009,
4 @c 2010, 2011 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
5 @c
6 @c %**start of header
7 @c makeinfo ignores cmds prev to setfilename, so its arg cannot make use
8 @c of @set vars. However, you can override filename with makeinfo -o.
9 @setfilename gdb.info
10 @c
11 @include gdb-cfg.texi
12 @c
13 @settitle Debugging with @value{GDBN}
14 @setchapternewpage odd
15 @c %**end of header
16
17 @iftex
18 @c @smallbook
19 @c @cropmarks
20 @end iftex
21
22 @finalout
23 @syncodeindex ky cp
24 @syncodeindex tp cp
25
26 @c readline appendices use @vindex, @findex and @ftable,
27 @c annotate.texi and gdbmi use @findex.
28 @syncodeindex vr cp
29 @syncodeindex fn cp
30
31 @c !!set GDB manual's edition---not the same as GDB version!
32 @c This is updated by GNU Press.
33 @set EDITION Tenth
34
35 @c !!set GDB edit command default editor
36 @set EDITOR /bin/ex
37
38 @c THIS MANUAL REQUIRES TEXINFO 4.0 OR LATER.
39
40 @c This is a dir.info fragment to support semi-automated addition of
41 @c manuals to an info tree.
42 @dircategory Software development
43 @direntry
44 * Gdb: (gdb). The GNU debugger.
45 @end direntry
46
47 @copying
48 Copyright @copyright{} 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996,
49 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
50 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
51
52 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
53 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
54 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
55 Invariant Sections being ``Free Software'' and ``Free Software Needs
56 Free Documentation'', with the Front-Cover Texts being ``A GNU Manual,''
57 and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below.
58
59 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You are free to copy and modify
60 this GNU Manual. Buying copies from GNU Press supports the FSF in
61 developing GNU and promoting software freedom.''
62 @end copying
63
64 @ifnottex
65 This file documents the @sc{gnu} debugger @value{GDBN}.
66
67 This is the @value{EDITION} Edition, of @cite{Debugging with
68 @value{GDBN}: the @sc{gnu} Source-Level Debugger} for @value{GDBN}
69 @ifset VERSION_PACKAGE
70 @value{VERSION_PACKAGE}
71 @end ifset
72 Version @value{GDBVN}.
73
74 @insertcopying
75 @end ifnottex
76
77 @titlepage
78 @title Debugging with @value{GDBN}
79 @subtitle The @sc{gnu} Source-Level Debugger
80 @sp 1
81 @subtitle @value{EDITION} Edition, for @value{GDBN} version @value{GDBVN}
82 @ifset VERSION_PACKAGE
83 @sp 1
84 @subtitle @value{VERSION_PACKAGE}
85 @end ifset
86 @author Richard Stallman, Roland Pesch, Stan Shebs, et al.
87 @page
88 @tex
89 {\parskip=0pt
90 \hfill (Send bugs and comments on @value{GDBN} to @value{BUGURL}.)\par
91 \hfill {\it Debugging with @value{GDBN}}\par
92 \hfill \TeX{}info \texinfoversion\par
93 }
94 @end tex
95
96 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
97 Published by the Free Software Foundation @*
98 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
99 Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA@*
100 ISBN 978-0-9831592-3-0 @*
101
102 @insertcopying
103 @end titlepage
104 @page
105
106 @ifnottex
107 @node Top, Summary, (dir), (dir)
108
109 @top Debugging with @value{GDBN}
110
111 This file describes @value{GDBN}, the @sc{gnu} symbolic debugger.
112
113 This is the @value{EDITION} Edition, for @value{GDBN}
114 @ifset VERSION_PACKAGE
115 @value{VERSION_PACKAGE}
116 @end ifset
117 Version @value{GDBVN}.
118
119 Copyright (C) 1988-2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
120
121 This edition of the GDB manual is dedicated to the memory of Fred
122 Fish. Fred was a long-standing contributor to GDB and to Free
123 software in general. We will miss him.
124
125 @menu
126 * Summary:: Summary of @value{GDBN}
127 * Sample Session:: A sample @value{GDBN} session
128
129 * Invocation:: Getting in and out of @value{GDBN}
130 * Commands:: @value{GDBN} commands
131 * Running:: Running programs under @value{GDBN}
132 * Stopping:: Stopping and continuing
133 * Reverse Execution:: Running programs backward
134 * Process Record and Replay:: Recording inferior's execution and replaying it
135 * Stack:: Examining the stack
136 * Source:: Examining source files
137 * Data:: Examining data
138 * Optimized Code:: Debugging optimized code
139 * Macros:: Preprocessor Macros
140 * Tracepoints:: Debugging remote targets non-intrusively
141 * Overlays:: Debugging programs that use overlays
142
143 * Languages:: Using @value{GDBN} with different languages
144
145 * Symbols:: Examining the symbol table
146 * Altering:: Altering execution
147 * GDB Files:: @value{GDBN} files
148 * Targets:: Specifying a debugging target
149 * Remote Debugging:: Debugging remote programs
150 * Configurations:: Configuration-specific information
151 * Controlling GDB:: Controlling @value{GDBN}
152 * Extending GDB:: Extending @value{GDBN}
153 * Interpreters:: Command Interpreters
154 * TUI:: @value{GDBN} Text User Interface
155 * Emacs:: Using @value{GDBN} under @sc{gnu} Emacs
156 * GDB/MI:: @value{GDBN}'s Machine Interface.
157 * Annotations:: @value{GDBN}'s annotation interface.
158 * JIT Interface:: Using the JIT debugging interface.
159
160 * GDB Bugs:: Reporting bugs in @value{GDBN}
161
162 @ifset SYSTEM_READLINE
163 * Command Line Editing: (rluserman). Command Line Editing
164 * Using History Interactively: (history). Using History Interactively
165 @end ifset
166 @ifclear SYSTEM_READLINE
167 * Command Line Editing:: Command Line Editing
168 * Using History Interactively:: Using History Interactively
169 @end ifclear
170 * In Memoriam:: In Memoriam
171 * Formatting Documentation:: How to format and print @value{GDBN} documentation
172 * Installing GDB:: Installing GDB
173 * Maintenance Commands:: Maintenance Commands
174 * Remote Protocol:: GDB Remote Serial Protocol
175 * Agent Expressions:: The GDB Agent Expression Mechanism
176 * Target Descriptions:: How targets can describe themselves to
177 @value{GDBN}
178 * Operating System Information:: Getting additional information from
179 the operating system
180 * Trace File Format:: GDB trace file format
181 * Index Section Format:: .gdb_index section format
182 * Copying:: GNU General Public License says
183 how you can copy and share GDB
184 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation
185 * Index:: Index
186 @end menu
187
188 @end ifnottex
189
190 @contents
191
192 @node Summary
193 @unnumbered Summary of @value{GDBN}
194
195 The purpose of a debugger such as @value{GDBN} is to allow you to see what is
196 going on ``inside'' another program while it executes---or what another
197 program was doing at the moment it crashed.
198
199 @value{GDBN} can do four main kinds of things (plus other things in support of
200 these) to help you catch bugs in the act:
201
202 @itemize @bullet
203 @item
204 Start your program, specifying anything that might affect its behavior.
205
206 @item
207 Make your program stop on specified conditions.
208
209 @item
210 Examine what has happened, when your program has stopped.
211
212 @item
213 Change things in your program, so you can experiment with correcting the
214 effects of one bug and go on to learn about another.
215 @end itemize
216
217 You can use @value{GDBN} to debug programs written in C and C@t{++}.
218 For more information, see @ref{Supported Languages,,Supported Languages}.
219 For more information, see @ref{C,,C and C++}.
220
221 Support for D is partial. For information on D, see
222 @ref{D,,D}.
223
224 @cindex Modula-2
225 Support for Modula-2 is partial. For information on Modula-2, see
226 @ref{Modula-2,,Modula-2}.
227
228 Support for OpenCL C is partial. For information on OpenCL C, see
229 @ref{OpenCL C,,OpenCL C}.
230
231 @cindex Pascal
232 Debugging Pascal programs which use sets, subranges, file variables, or
233 nested functions does not currently work. @value{GDBN} does not support
234 entering expressions, printing values, or similar features using Pascal
235 syntax.
236
237 @cindex Fortran
238 @value{GDBN} can be used to debug programs written in Fortran, although
239 it may be necessary to refer to some variables with a trailing
240 underscore.
241
242 @value{GDBN} can be used to debug programs written in Objective-C,
243 using either the Apple/NeXT or the GNU Objective-C runtime.
244
245 @menu
246 * Free Software:: Freely redistributable software
247 * Contributors:: Contributors to GDB
248 @end menu
249
250 @node Free Software
251 @unnumberedsec Free Software
252
253 @value{GDBN} is @dfn{free software}, protected by the @sc{gnu}
254 General Public License
255 (GPL). The GPL gives you the freedom to copy or adapt a licensed
256 program---but every person getting a copy also gets with it the
257 freedom to modify that copy (which means that they must get access to
258 the source code), and the freedom to distribute further copies.
259 Typical software companies use copyrights to limit your freedoms; the
260 Free Software Foundation uses the GPL to preserve these freedoms.
261
262 Fundamentally, the General Public License is a license which says that
263 you have these freedoms and that you cannot take these freedoms away
264 from anyone else.
265
266 @unnumberedsec Free Software Needs Free Documentation
267
268 The biggest deficiency in the free software community today is not in
269 the software---it is the lack of good free documentation that we can
270 include with the free software. Many of our most important
271 programs do not come with free reference manuals and free introductory
272 texts. Documentation is an essential part of any software package;
273 when an important free software package does not come with a free
274 manual and a free tutorial, that is a major gap. We have many such
275 gaps today.
276
277 Consider Perl, for instance. The tutorial manuals that people
278 normally use are non-free. How did this come about? Because the
279 authors of those manuals published them with restrictive terms---no
280 copying, no modification, source files not available---which exclude
281 them from the free software world.
282
283 That wasn't the first time this sort of thing happened, and it was far
284 from the last. Many times we have heard a GNU user eagerly describe a
285 manual that he is writing, his intended contribution to the community,
286 only to learn that he had ruined everything by signing a publication
287 contract to make it non-free.
288
289 Free documentation, like free software, is a matter of freedom, not
290 price. The problem with the non-free manual is not that publishers
291 charge a price for printed copies---that in itself is fine. (The Free
292 Software Foundation sells printed copies of manuals, too.) The
293 problem is the restrictions on the use of the manual. Free manuals
294 are available in source code form, and give you permission to copy and
295 modify. Non-free manuals do not allow this.
296
297 The criteria of freedom for a free manual are roughly the same as for
298 free software. Redistribution (including the normal kinds of
299 commercial redistribution) must be permitted, so that the manual can
300 accompany every copy of the program, both on-line and on paper.
301
302 Permission for modification of the technical content is crucial too.
303 When people modify the software, adding or changing features, if they
304 are conscientious they will change the manual too---so they can
305 provide accurate and clear documentation for the modified program. A
306 manual that leaves you no choice but to write a new manual to document
307 a changed version of the program is not really available to our
308 community.
309
310 Some kinds of limits on the way modification is handled are
311 acceptable. For example, requirements to preserve the original
312 author's copyright notice, the distribution terms, or the list of
313 authors, are ok. It is also no problem to require modified versions
314 to include notice that they were modified. Even entire sections that
315 may not be deleted or changed are acceptable, as long as they deal
316 with nontechnical topics (like this one). These kinds of restrictions
317 are acceptable because they don't obstruct the community's normal use
318 of the manual.
319
320 However, it must be possible to modify all the @emph{technical}
321 content of the manual, and then distribute the result in all the usual
322 media, through all the usual channels. Otherwise, the restrictions
323 obstruct the use of the manual, it is not free, and we need another
324 manual to replace it.
325
326 Please spread the word about this issue. Our community continues to
327 lose manuals to proprietary publishing. If we spread the word that
328 free software needs free reference manuals and free tutorials, perhaps
329 the next person who wants to contribute by writing documentation will
330 realize, before it is too late, that only free manuals contribute to
331 the free software community.
332
333 If you are writing documentation, please insist on publishing it under
334 the GNU Free Documentation License or another free documentation
335 license. Remember that this decision requires your approval---you
336 don't have to let the publisher decide. Some commercial publishers
337 will use a free license if you insist, but they will not propose the
338 option; it is up to you to raise the issue and say firmly that this is
339 what you want. If the publisher you are dealing with refuses, please
340 try other publishers. If you're not sure whether a proposed license
341 is free, write to @email{licensing@@gnu.org}.
342
343 You can encourage commercial publishers to sell more free, copylefted
344 manuals and tutorials by buying them, and particularly by buying
345 copies from the publishers that paid for their writing or for major
346 improvements. Meanwhile, try to avoid buying non-free documentation
347 at all. Check the distribution terms of a manual before you buy it,
348 and insist that whoever seeks your business must respect your freedom.
349 Check the history of the book, and try to reward the publishers that
350 have paid or pay the authors to work on it.
351
352 The Free Software Foundation maintains a list of free documentation
353 published by other publishers, at
354 @url{http://www.fsf.org/doc/other-free-books.html}.
355
356 @node Contributors
357 @unnumberedsec Contributors to @value{GDBN}
358
359 Richard Stallman was the original author of @value{GDBN}, and of many
360 other @sc{gnu} programs. Many others have contributed to its
361 development. This section attempts to credit major contributors. One
362 of the virtues of free software is that everyone is free to contribute
363 to it; with regret, we cannot actually acknowledge everyone here. The
364 file @file{ChangeLog} in the @value{GDBN} distribution approximates a
365 blow-by-blow account.
366
367 Changes much prior to version 2.0 are lost in the mists of time.
368
369 @quotation
370 @emph{Plea:} Additions to this section are particularly welcome. If you
371 or your friends (or enemies, to be evenhanded) have been unfairly
372 omitted from this list, we would like to add your names!
373 @end quotation
374
375 So that they may not regard their many labors as thankless, we
376 particularly thank those who shepherded @value{GDBN} through major
377 releases:
378 Andrew Cagney (releases 6.3, 6.2, 6.1, 6.0, 5.3, 5.2, 5.1 and 5.0);
379 Jim Blandy (release 4.18);
380 Jason Molenda (release 4.17);
381 Stan Shebs (release 4.14);
382 Fred Fish (releases 4.16, 4.15, 4.13, 4.12, 4.11, 4.10, and 4.9);
383 Stu Grossman and John Gilmore (releases 4.8, 4.7, 4.6, 4.5, and 4.4);
384 John Gilmore (releases 4.3, 4.2, 4.1, 4.0, and 3.9);
385 Jim Kingdon (releases 3.5, 3.4, and 3.3);
386 and Randy Smith (releases 3.2, 3.1, and 3.0).
387
388 Richard Stallman, assisted at various times by Peter TerMaat, Chris
389 Hanson, and Richard Mlynarik, handled releases through 2.8.
390
391 Michael Tiemann is the author of most of the @sc{gnu} C@t{++} support
392 in @value{GDBN}, with significant additional contributions from Per
393 Bothner and Daniel Berlin. James Clark wrote the @sc{gnu} C@t{++}
394 demangler. Early work on C@t{++} was by Peter TerMaat (who also did
395 much general update work leading to release 3.0).
396
397 @value{GDBN} uses the BFD subroutine library to examine multiple
398 object-file formats; BFD was a joint project of David V.
399 Henkel-Wallace, Rich Pixley, Steve Chamberlain, and John Gilmore.
400
401 David Johnson wrote the original COFF support; Pace Willison did
402 the original support for encapsulated COFF.
403
404 Brent Benson of Harris Computer Systems contributed DWARF 2 support.
405
406 Adam de Boor and Bradley Davis contributed the ISI Optimum V support.
407 Per Bothner, Noboyuki Hikichi, and Alessandro Forin contributed MIPS
408 support.
409 Jean-Daniel Fekete contributed Sun 386i support.
410 Chris Hanson improved the HP9000 support.
411 Noboyuki Hikichi and Tomoyuki Hasei contributed Sony/News OS 3 support.
412 David Johnson contributed Encore Umax support.
413 Jyrki Kuoppala contributed Altos 3068 support.
414 Jeff Law contributed HP PA and SOM support.
415 Keith Packard contributed NS32K support.
416 Doug Rabson contributed Acorn Risc Machine support.
417 Bob Rusk contributed Harris Nighthawk CX-UX support.
418 Chris Smith contributed Convex support (and Fortran debugging).
419 Jonathan Stone contributed Pyramid support.
420 Michael Tiemann contributed SPARC support.
421 Tim Tucker contributed support for the Gould NP1 and Gould Powernode.
422 Pace Willison contributed Intel 386 support.
423 Jay Vosburgh contributed Symmetry support.
424 Marko Mlinar contributed OpenRISC 1000 support.
425
426 Andreas Schwab contributed M68K @sc{gnu}/Linux support.
427
428 Rich Schaefer and Peter Schauer helped with support of SunOS shared
429 libraries.
430
431 Jay Fenlason and Roland McGrath ensured that @value{GDBN} and GAS agree
432 about several machine instruction sets.
433
434 Patrick Duval, Ted Goldstein, Vikram Koka and Glenn Engel helped develop
435 remote debugging. Intel Corporation, Wind River Systems, AMD, and ARM
436 contributed remote debugging modules for the i960, VxWorks, A29K UDI,
437 and RDI targets, respectively.
438
439 Brian Fox is the author of the readline libraries providing
440 command-line editing and command history.
441
442 Andrew Beers of SUNY Buffalo wrote the language-switching code, the
443 Modula-2 support, and contributed the Languages chapter of this manual.
444
445 Fred Fish wrote most of the support for Unix System Vr4.
446 He also enhanced the command-completion support to cover C@t{++} overloaded
447 symbols.
448
449 Hitachi America (now Renesas America), Ltd. sponsored the support for
450 H8/300, H8/500, and Super-H processors.
451
452 NEC sponsored the support for the v850, Vr4xxx, and Vr5xxx processors.
453
454 Mitsubishi (now Renesas) sponsored the support for D10V, D30V, and M32R/D
455 processors.
456
457 Toshiba sponsored the support for the TX39 Mips processor.
458
459 Matsushita sponsored the support for the MN10200 and MN10300 processors.
460
461 Fujitsu sponsored the support for SPARClite and FR30 processors.
462
463 Kung Hsu, Jeff Law, and Rick Sladkey added support for hardware
464 watchpoints.
465
466 Michael Snyder added support for tracepoints.
467
468 Stu Grossman wrote gdbserver.
469
470 Jim Kingdon, Peter Schauer, Ian Taylor, and Stu Grossman made
471 nearly innumerable bug fixes and cleanups throughout @value{GDBN}.
472
473 The following people at the Hewlett-Packard Company contributed
474 support for the PA-RISC 2.0 architecture, HP-UX 10.20, 10.30, and 11.0
475 (narrow mode), HP's implementation of kernel threads, HP's aC@t{++}
476 compiler, and the Text User Interface (nee Terminal User Interface):
477 Ben Krepp, Richard Title, John Bishop, Susan Macchia, Kathy Mann,
478 Satish Pai, India Paul, Steve Rehrauer, and Elena Zannoni. Kim Haase
479 provided HP-specific information in this manual.
480
481 DJ Delorie ported @value{GDBN} to MS-DOS, for the DJGPP project.
482 Robert Hoehne made significant contributions to the DJGPP port.
483
484 Cygnus Solutions has sponsored @value{GDBN} maintenance and much of its
485 development since 1991. Cygnus engineers who have worked on @value{GDBN}
486 fulltime include Mark Alexander, Jim Blandy, Per Bothner, Kevin
487 Buettner, Edith Epstein, Chris Faylor, Fred Fish, Martin Hunt, Jim
488 Ingham, John Gilmore, Stu Grossman, Kung Hsu, Jim Kingdon, John Metzler,
489 Fernando Nasser, Geoffrey Noer, Dawn Perchik, Rich Pixley, Zdenek
490 Radouch, Keith Seitz, Stan Shebs, David Taylor, and Elena Zannoni. In
491 addition, Dave Brolley, Ian Carmichael, Steve Chamberlain, Nick Clifton,
492 JT Conklin, Stan Cox, DJ Delorie, Ulrich Drepper, Frank Eigler, Doug
493 Evans, Sean Fagan, David Henkel-Wallace, Richard Henderson, Jeff
494 Holcomb, Jeff Law, Jim Lemke, Tom Lord, Bob Manson, Michael Meissner,
495 Jason Merrill, Catherine Moore, Drew Moseley, Ken Raeburn, Gavin
496 Romig-Koch, Rob Savoye, Jamie Smith, Mike Stump, Ian Taylor, Angela
497 Thomas, Michael Tiemann, Tom Tromey, Ron Unrau, Jim Wilson, and David
498 Zuhn have made contributions both large and small.
499
500 Andrew Cagney, Fernando Nasser, and Elena Zannoni, while working for
501 Cygnus Solutions, implemented the original @sc{gdb/mi} interface.
502
503 Jim Blandy added support for preprocessor macros, while working for Red
504 Hat.
505
506 Andrew Cagney designed @value{GDBN}'s architecture vector. Many
507 people including Andrew Cagney, Stephane Carrez, Randolph Chung, Nick
508 Duffek, Richard Henderson, Mark Kettenis, Grace Sainsbury, Kei
509 Sakamoto, Yoshinori Sato, Michael Snyder, Andreas Schwab, Jason
510 Thorpe, Corinna Vinschen, Ulrich Weigand, and Elena Zannoni, helped
511 with the migration of old architectures to this new framework.
512
513 Andrew Cagney completely re-designed and re-implemented @value{GDBN}'s
514 unwinder framework, this consisting of a fresh new design featuring
515 frame IDs, independent frame sniffers, and the sentinel frame. Mark
516 Kettenis implemented the @sc{dwarf 2} unwinder, Jeff Johnston the
517 libunwind unwinder, and Andrew Cagney the dummy, sentinel, tramp, and
518 trad unwinders. The architecture-specific changes, each involving a
519 complete rewrite of the architecture's frame code, were carried out by
520 Jim Blandy, Joel Brobecker, Kevin Buettner, Andrew Cagney, Stephane
521 Carrez, Randolph Chung, Orjan Friberg, Richard Henderson, Daniel
522 Jacobowitz, Jeff Johnston, Mark Kettenis, Theodore A. Roth, Kei
523 Sakamoto, Yoshinori Sato, Michael Snyder, Corinna Vinschen, and Ulrich
524 Weigand.
525
526 Christian Zankel, Ross Morley, Bob Wilson, and Maxim Grigoriev from
527 Tensilica, Inc.@: contributed support for Xtensa processors. Others
528 who have worked on the Xtensa port of @value{GDBN} in the past include
529 Steve Tjiang, John Newlin, and Scott Foehner.
530
531 Michael Eager and staff of Xilinx, Inc., contributed support for the
532 Xilinx MicroBlaze architecture.
533
534 @node Sample Session
535 @chapter A Sample @value{GDBN} Session
536
537 You can use this manual at your leisure to read all about @value{GDBN}.
538 However, a handful of commands are enough to get started using the
539 debugger. This chapter illustrates those commands.
540
541 @iftex
542 In this sample session, we emphasize user input like this: @b{input},
543 to make it easier to pick out from the surrounding output.
544 @end iftex
545
546 @c FIXME: this example may not be appropriate for some configs, where
547 @c FIXME...primary interest is in remote use.
548
549 One of the preliminary versions of @sc{gnu} @code{m4} (a generic macro
550 processor) exhibits the following bug: sometimes, when we change its
551 quote strings from the default, the commands used to capture one macro
552 definition within another stop working. In the following short @code{m4}
553 session, we define a macro @code{foo} which expands to @code{0000}; we
554 then use the @code{m4} built-in @code{defn} to define @code{bar} as the
555 same thing. However, when we change the open quote string to
556 @code{<QUOTE>} and the close quote string to @code{<UNQUOTE>}, the same
557 procedure fails to define a new synonym @code{baz}:
558
559 @smallexample
560 $ @b{cd gnu/m4}
561 $ @b{./m4}
562 @b{define(foo,0000)}
563
564 @b{foo}
565 0000
566 @b{define(bar,defn(`foo'))}
567
568 @b{bar}
569 0000
570 @b{changequote(<QUOTE>,<UNQUOTE>)}
571
572 @b{define(baz,defn(<QUOTE>foo<UNQUOTE>))}
573 @b{baz}
574 @b{Ctrl-d}
575 m4: End of input: 0: fatal error: EOF in string
576 @end smallexample
577
578 @noindent
579 Let us use @value{GDBN} to try to see what is going on.
580
581 @smallexample
582 $ @b{@value{GDBP} m4}
583 @c FIXME: this falsifies the exact text played out, to permit smallbook
584 @c FIXME... format to come out better.
585 @value{GDBN} is free software and you are welcome to distribute copies
586 of it under certain conditions; type "show copying" to see
587 the conditions.
588 There is absolutely no warranty for @value{GDBN}; type "show warranty"
589 for details.
590
591 @value{GDBN} @value{GDBVN}, Copyright 1999 Free Software Foundation, Inc...
592 (@value{GDBP})
593 @end smallexample
594
595 @noindent
596 @value{GDBN} reads only enough symbol data to know where to find the
597 rest when needed; as a result, the first prompt comes up very quickly.
598 We now tell @value{GDBN} to use a narrower display width than usual, so
599 that examples fit in this manual.
600
601 @smallexample
602 (@value{GDBP}) @b{set width 70}
603 @end smallexample
604
605 @noindent
606 We need to see how the @code{m4} built-in @code{changequote} works.
607 Having looked at the source, we know the relevant subroutine is
608 @code{m4_changequote}, so we set a breakpoint there with the @value{GDBN}
609 @code{break} command.
610
611 @smallexample
612 (@value{GDBP}) @b{break m4_changequote}
613 Breakpoint 1 at 0x62f4: file builtin.c, line 879.
614 @end smallexample
615
616 @noindent
617 Using the @code{run} command, we start @code{m4} running under @value{GDBN}
618 control; as long as control does not reach the @code{m4_changequote}
619 subroutine, the program runs as usual:
620
621 @smallexample
622 (@value{GDBP}) @b{run}
623 Starting program: /work/Editorial/gdb/gnu/m4/m4
624 @b{define(foo,0000)}
625
626 @b{foo}
627 0000
628 @end smallexample
629
630 @noindent
631 To trigger the breakpoint, we call @code{changequote}. @value{GDBN}
632 suspends execution of @code{m4}, displaying information about the
633 context where it stops.
634
635 @smallexample
636 @b{changequote(<QUOTE>,<UNQUOTE>)}
637
638 Breakpoint 1, m4_changequote (argc=3, argv=0x33c70)
639 at builtin.c:879
640 879 if (bad_argc(TOKEN_DATA_TEXT(argv[0]),argc,1,3))
641 @end smallexample
642
643 @noindent
644 Now we use the command @code{n} (@code{next}) to advance execution to
645 the next line of the current function.
646
647 @smallexample
648 (@value{GDBP}) @b{n}
649 882 set_quotes((argc >= 2) ? TOKEN_DATA_TEXT(argv[1])\
650 : nil,
651 @end smallexample
652
653 @noindent
654 @code{set_quotes} looks like a promising subroutine. We can go into it
655 by using the command @code{s} (@code{step}) instead of @code{next}.
656 @code{step} goes to the next line to be executed in @emph{any}
657 subroutine, so it steps into @code{set_quotes}.
658
659 @smallexample
660 (@value{GDBP}) @b{s}
661 set_quotes (lq=0x34c78 "<QUOTE>", rq=0x34c88 "<UNQUOTE>")
662 at input.c:530
663 530 if (lquote != def_lquote)
664 @end smallexample
665
666 @noindent
667 The display that shows the subroutine where @code{m4} is now
668 suspended (and its arguments) is called a stack frame display. It
669 shows a summary of the stack. We can use the @code{backtrace}
670 command (which can also be spelled @code{bt}), to see where we are
671 in the stack as a whole: the @code{backtrace} command displays a
672 stack frame for each active subroutine.
673
674 @smallexample
675 (@value{GDBP}) @b{bt}
676 #0 set_quotes (lq=0x34c78 "<QUOTE>", rq=0x34c88 "<UNQUOTE>")
677 at input.c:530
678 #1 0x6344 in m4_changequote (argc=3, argv=0x33c70)
679 at builtin.c:882
680 #2 0x8174 in expand_macro (sym=0x33320) at macro.c:242
681 #3 0x7a88 in expand_token (obs=0x0, t=209696, td=0xf7fffa30)
682 at macro.c:71
683 #4 0x79dc in expand_input () at macro.c:40
684 #5 0x2930 in main (argc=0, argv=0xf7fffb20) at m4.c:195
685 @end smallexample
686
687 @noindent
688 We step through a few more lines to see what happens. The first two
689 times, we can use @samp{s}; the next two times we use @code{n} to avoid
690 falling into the @code{xstrdup} subroutine.
691
692 @smallexample
693 (@value{GDBP}) @b{s}
694 0x3b5c 532 if (rquote != def_rquote)
695 (@value{GDBP}) @b{s}
696 0x3b80 535 lquote = (lq == nil || *lq == '\0') ? \
697 def_lquote : xstrdup(lq);
698 (@value{GDBP}) @b{n}
699 536 rquote = (rq == nil || *rq == '\0') ? def_rquote\
700 : xstrdup(rq);
701 (@value{GDBP}) @b{n}
702 538 len_lquote = strlen(rquote);
703 @end smallexample
704
705 @noindent
706 The last line displayed looks a little odd; we can examine the variables
707 @code{lquote} and @code{rquote} to see if they are in fact the new left
708 and right quotes we specified. We use the command @code{p}
709 (@code{print}) to see their values.
710
711 @smallexample
712 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p lquote}
713 $1 = 0x35d40 "<QUOTE>"
714 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p rquote}
715 $2 = 0x35d50 "<UNQUOTE>"
716 @end smallexample
717
718 @noindent
719 @code{lquote} and @code{rquote} are indeed the new left and right quotes.
720 To look at some context, we can display ten lines of source
721 surrounding the current line with the @code{l} (@code{list}) command.
722
723 @smallexample
724 (@value{GDBP}) @b{l}
725 533 xfree(rquote);
726 534
727 535 lquote = (lq == nil || *lq == '\0') ? def_lquote\
728 : xstrdup (lq);
729 536 rquote = (rq == nil || *rq == '\0') ? def_rquote\
730 : xstrdup (rq);
731 537
732 538 len_lquote = strlen(rquote);
733 539 len_rquote = strlen(lquote);
734 540 @}
735 541
736 542 void
737 @end smallexample
738
739 @noindent
740 Let us step past the two lines that set @code{len_lquote} and
741 @code{len_rquote}, and then examine the values of those variables.
742
743 @smallexample
744 (@value{GDBP}) @b{n}
745 539 len_rquote = strlen(lquote);
746 (@value{GDBP}) @b{n}
747 540 @}
748 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p len_lquote}
749 $3 = 9
750 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p len_rquote}
751 $4 = 7
752 @end smallexample
753
754 @noindent
755 That certainly looks wrong, assuming @code{len_lquote} and
756 @code{len_rquote} are meant to be the lengths of @code{lquote} and
757 @code{rquote} respectively. We can set them to better values using
758 the @code{p} command, since it can print the value of
759 any expression---and that expression can include subroutine calls and
760 assignments.
761
762 @smallexample
763 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p len_lquote=strlen(lquote)}
764 $5 = 7
765 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p len_rquote=strlen(rquote)}
766 $6 = 9
767 @end smallexample
768
769 @noindent
770 Is that enough to fix the problem of using the new quotes with the
771 @code{m4} built-in @code{defn}? We can allow @code{m4} to continue
772 executing with the @code{c} (@code{continue}) command, and then try the
773 example that caused trouble initially:
774
775 @smallexample
776 (@value{GDBP}) @b{c}
777 Continuing.
778
779 @b{define(baz,defn(<QUOTE>foo<UNQUOTE>))}
780
781 baz
782 0000
783 @end smallexample
784
785 @noindent
786 Success! The new quotes now work just as well as the default ones. The
787 problem seems to have been just the two typos defining the wrong
788 lengths. We allow @code{m4} exit by giving it an EOF as input:
789
790 @smallexample
791 @b{Ctrl-d}
792 Program exited normally.
793 @end smallexample
794
795 @noindent
796 The message @samp{Program exited normally.} is from @value{GDBN}; it
797 indicates @code{m4} has finished executing. We can end our @value{GDBN}
798 session with the @value{GDBN} @code{quit} command.
799
800 @smallexample
801 (@value{GDBP}) @b{quit}
802 @end smallexample
803
804 @node Invocation
805 @chapter Getting In and Out of @value{GDBN}
806
807 This chapter discusses how to start @value{GDBN}, and how to get out of it.
808 The essentials are:
809 @itemize @bullet
810 @item
811 type @samp{@value{GDBP}} to start @value{GDBN}.
812 @item
813 type @kbd{quit} or @kbd{Ctrl-d} to exit.
814 @end itemize
815
816 @menu
817 * Invoking GDB:: How to start @value{GDBN}
818 * Quitting GDB:: How to quit @value{GDBN}
819 * Shell Commands:: How to use shell commands inside @value{GDBN}
820 * Logging Output:: How to log @value{GDBN}'s output to a file
821 @end menu
822
823 @node Invoking GDB
824 @section Invoking @value{GDBN}
825
826 Invoke @value{GDBN} by running the program @code{@value{GDBP}}. Once started,
827 @value{GDBN} reads commands from the terminal until you tell it to exit.
828
829 You can also run @code{@value{GDBP}} with a variety of arguments and options,
830 to specify more of your debugging environment at the outset.
831
832 The command-line options described here are designed
833 to cover a variety of situations; in some environments, some of these
834 options may effectively be unavailable.
835
836 The most usual way to start @value{GDBN} is with one argument,
837 specifying an executable program:
838
839 @smallexample
840 @value{GDBP} @var{program}
841 @end smallexample
842
843 @noindent
844 You can also start with both an executable program and a core file
845 specified:
846
847 @smallexample
848 @value{GDBP} @var{program} @var{core}
849 @end smallexample
850
851 You can, instead, specify a process ID as a second argument, if you want
852 to debug a running process:
853
854 @smallexample
855 @value{GDBP} @var{program} 1234
856 @end smallexample
857
858 @noindent
859 would attach @value{GDBN} to process @code{1234} (unless you also have a file
860 named @file{1234}; @value{GDBN} does check for a core file first).
861
862 Taking advantage of the second command-line argument requires a fairly
863 complete operating system; when you use @value{GDBN} as a remote
864 debugger attached to a bare board, there may not be any notion of
865 ``process'', and there is often no way to get a core dump. @value{GDBN}
866 will warn you if it is unable to attach or to read core dumps.
867
868 You can optionally have @code{@value{GDBP}} pass any arguments after the
869 executable file to the inferior using @code{--args}. This option stops
870 option processing.
871 @smallexample
872 @value{GDBP} --args gcc -O2 -c foo.c
873 @end smallexample
874 This will cause @code{@value{GDBP}} to debug @code{gcc}, and to set
875 @code{gcc}'s command-line arguments (@pxref{Arguments}) to @samp{-O2 -c foo.c}.
876
877 You can run @code{@value{GDBP}} without printing the front material, which describes
878 @value{GDBN}'s non-warranty, by specifying @code{-silent}:
879
880 @smallexample
881 @value{GDBP} -silent
882 @end smallexample
883
884 @noindent
885 You can further control how @value{GDBN} starts up by using command-line
886 options. @value{GDBN} itself can remind you of the options available.
887
888 @noindent
889 Type
890
891 @smallexample
892 @value{GDBP} -help
893 @end smallexample
894
895 @noindent
896 to display all available options and briefly describe their use
897 (@samp{@value{GDBP} -h} is a shorter equivalent).
898
899 All options and command line arguments you give are processed
900 in sequential order. The order makes a difference when the
901 @samp{-x} option is used.
902
903
904 @menu
905 * File Options:: Choosing files
906 * Mode Options:: Choosing modes
907 * Startup:: What @value{GDBN} does during startup
908 @end menu
909
910 @node File Options
911 @subsection Choosing Files
912
913 When @value{GDBN} starts, it reads any arguments other than options as
914 specifying an executable file and core file (or process ID). This is
915 the same as if the arguments were specified by the @samp{-se} and
916 @samp{-c} (or @samp{-p}) options respectively. (@value{GDBN} reads the
917 first argument that does not have an associated option flag as
918 equivalent to the @samp{-se} option followed by that argument; and the
919 second argument that does not have an associated option flag, if any, as
920 equivalent to the @samp{-c}/@samp{-p} option followed by that argument.)
921 If the second argument begins with a decimal digit, @value{GDBN} will
922 first attempt to attach to it as a process, and if that fails, attempt
923 to open it as a corefile. If you have a corefile whose name begins with
924 a digit, you can prevent @value{GDBN} from treating it as a pid by
925 prefixing it with @file{./}, e.g.@: @file{./12345}.
926
927 If @value{GDBN} has not been configured to included core file support,
928 such as for most embedded targets, then it will complain about a second
929 argument and ignore it.
930
931 Many options have both long and short forms; both are shown in the
932 following list. @value{GDBN} also recognizes the long forms if you truncate
933 them, so long as enough of the option is present to be unambiguous.
934 (If you prefer, you can flag option arguments with @samp{--} rather
935 than @samp{-}, though we illustrate the more usual convention.)
936
937 @c NOTE: the @cindex entries here use double dashes ON PURPOSE. This
938 @c way, both those who look for -foo and --foo in the index, will find
939 @c it.
940
941 @table @code
942 @item -symbols @var{file}
943 @itemx -s @var{file}
944 @cindex @code{--symbols}
945 @cindex @code{-s}
946 Read symbol table from file @var{file}.
947
948 @item -exec @var{file}
949 @itemx -e @var{file}
950 @cindex @code{--exec}
951 @cindex @code{-e}
952 Use file @var{file} as the executable file to execute when appropriate,
953 and for examining pure data in conjunction with a core dump.
954
955 @item -se @var{file}
956 @cindex @code{--se}
957 Read symbol table from file @var{file} and use it as the executable
958 file.
959
960 @item -core @var{file}
961 @itemx -c @var{file}
962 @cindex @code{--core}
963 @cindex @code{-c}
964 Use file @var{file} as a core dump to examine.
965
966 @item -pid @var{number}
967 @itemx -p @var{number}
968 @cindex @code{--pid}
969 @cindex @code{-p}
970 Connect to process ID @var{number}, as with the @code{attach} command.
971
972 @item -command @var{file}
973 @itemx -x @var{file}
974 @cindex @code{--command}
975 @cindex @code{-x}
976 Execute commands from file @var{file}. The contents of this file is
977 evaluated exactly as the @code{source} command would.
978 @xref{Command Files,, Command files}.
979
980 @item -eval-command @var{command}
981 @itemx -ex @var{command}
982 @cindex @code{--eval-command}
983 @cindex @code{-ex}
984 Execute a single @value{GDBN} command.
985
986 This option may be used multiple times to call multiple commands. It may
987 also be interleaved with @samp{-command} as required.
988
989 @smallexample
990 @value{GDBP} -ex 'target sim' -ex 'load' \
991 -x setbreakpoints -ex 'run' a.out
992 @end smallexample
993
994 @item -directory @var{directory}
995 @itemx -d @var{directory}
996 @cindex @code{--directory}
997 @cindex @code{-d}
998 Add @var{directory} to the path to search for source and script files.
999
1000 @item -r
1001 @itemx -readnow
1002 @cindex @code{--readnow}
1003 @cindex @code{-r}
1004 Read each symbol file's entire symbol table immediately, rather than
1005 the default, which is to read it incrementally as it is needed.
1006 This makes startup slower, but makes future operations faster.
1007
1008 @end table
1009
1010 @node Mode Options
1011 @subsection Choosing Modes
1012
1013 You can run @value{GDBN} in various alternative modes---for example, in
1014 batch mode or quiet mode.
1015
1016 @table @code
1017 @item -nx
1018 @itemx -n
1019 @cindex @code{--nx}
1020 @cindex @code{-n}
1021 Do not execute commands found in any initialization files. Normally,
1022 @value{GDBN} executes the commands in these files after all the command
1023 options and arguments have been processed. @xref{Command Files,,Command
1024 Files}.
1025
1026 @item -quiet
1027 @itemx -silent
1028 @itemx -q
1029 @cindex @code{--quiet}
1030 @cindex @code{--silent}
1031 @cindex @code{-q}
1032 ``Quiet''. Do not print the introductory and copyright messages. These
1033 messages are also suppressed in batch mode.
1034
1035 @item -batch
1036 @cindex @code{--batch}
1037 Run in batch mode. Exit with status @code{0} after processing all the
1038 command files specified with @samp{-x} (and all commands from
1039 initialization files, if not inhibited with @samp{-n}). Exit with
1040 nonzero status if an error occurs in executing the @value{GDBN} commands
1041 in the command files. Batch mode also disables pagination, sets unlimited
1042 terminal width and height @pxref{Screen Size}, and acts as if @kbd{set confirm
1043 off} were in effect (@pxref{Messages/Warnings}).
1044
1045 Batch mode may be useful for running @value{GDBN} as a filter, for
1046 example to download and run a program on another computer; in order to
1047 make this more useful, the message
1048
1049 @smallexample
1050 Program exited normally.
1051 @end smallexample
1052
1053 @noindent
1054 (which is ordinarily issued whenever a program running under
1055 @value{GDBN} control terminates) is not issued when running in batch
1056 mode.
1057
1058 @item -batch-silent
1059 @cindex @code{--batch-silent}
1060 Run in batch mode exactly like @samp{-batch}, but totally silently. All
1061 @value{GDBN} output to @code{stdout} is prevented (@code{stderr} is
1062 unaffected). This is much quieter than @samp{-silent} and would be useless
1063 for an interactive session.
1064
1065 This is particularly useful when using targets that give @samp{Loading section}
1066 messages, for example.
1067
1068 Note that targets that give their output via @value{GDBN}, as opposed to
1069 writing directly to @code{stdout}, will also be made silent.
1070
1071 @item -return-child-result
1072 @cindex @code{--return-child-result}
1073 The return code from @value{GDBN} will be the return code from the child
1074 process (the process being debugged), with the following exceptions:
1075
1076 @itemize @bullet
1077 @item
1078 @value{GDBN} exits abnormally. E.g., due to an incorrect argument or an
1079 internal error. In this case the exit code is the same as it would have been
1080 without @samp{-return-child-result}.
1081 @item
1082 The user quits with an explicit value. E.g., @samp{quit 1}.
1083 @item
1084 The child process never runs, or is not allowed to terminate, in which case
1085 the exit code will be -1.
1086 @end itemize
1087
1088 This option is useful in conjunction with @samp{-batch} or @samp{-batch-silent},
1089 when @value{GDBN} is being used as a remote program loader or simulator
1090 interface.
1091
1092 @item -nowindows
1093 @itemx -nw
1094 @cindex @code{--nowindows}
1095 @cindex @code{-nw}
1096 ``No windows''. If @value{GDBN} comes with a graphical user interface
1097 (GUI) built in, then this option tells @value{GDBN} to only use the command-line
1098 interface. If no GUI is available, this option has no effect.
1099
1100 @item -windows
1101 @itemx -w
1102 @cindex @code{--windows}
1103 @cindex @code{-w}
1104 If @value{GDBN} includes a GUI, then this option requires it to be
1105 used if possible.
1106
1107 @item -cd @var{directory}
1108 @cindex @code{--cd}
1109 Run @value{GDBN} using @var{directory} as its working directory,
1110 instead of the current directory.
1111
1112 @item -data-directory @var{directory}
1113 @cindex @code{--data-directory}
1114 Run @value{GDBN} using @var{directory} as its data directory.
1115 The data directory is where @value{GDBN} searches for its
1116 auxiliary files. @xref{Data Files}.
1117
1118 @item -fullname
1119 @itemx -f
1120 @cindex @code{--fullname}
1121 @cindex @code{-f}
1122 @sc{gnu} Emacs sets this option when it runs @value{GDBN} as a
1123 subprocess. It tells @value{GDBN} to output the full file name and line
1124 number in a standard, recognizable fashion each time a stack frame is
1125 displayed (which includes each time your program stops). This
1126 recognizable format looks like two @samp{\032} characters, followed by
1127 the file name, line number and character position separated by colons,
1128 and a newline. The Emacs-to-@value{GDBN} interface program uses the two
1129 @samp{\032} characters as a signal to display the source code for the
1130 frame.
1131
1132 @item -epoch
1133 @cindex @code{--epoch}
1134 The Epoch Emacs-@value{GDBN} interface sets this option when it runs
1135 @value{GDBN} as a subprocess. It tells @value{GDBN} to modify its print
1136 routines so as to allow Epoch to display values of expressions in a
1137 separate window.
1138
1139 @item -annotate @var{level}
1140 @cindex @code{--annotate}
1141 This option sets the @dfn{annotation level} inside @value{GDBN}. Its
1142 effect is identical to using @samp{set annotate @var{level}}
1143 (@pxref{Annotations}). The annotation @var{level} controls how much
1144 information @value{GDBN} prints together with its prompt, values of
1145 expressions, source lines, and other types of output. Level 0 is the
1146 normal, level 1 is for use when @value{GDBN} is run as a subprocess of
1147 @sc{gnu} Emacs, level 3 is the maximum annotation suitable for programs
1148 that control @value{GDBN}, and level 2 has been deprecated.
1149
1150 The annotation mechanism has largely been superseded by @sc{gdb/mi}
1151 (@pxref{GDB/MI}).
1152
1153 @item --args
1154 @cindex @code{--args}
1155 Change interpretation of command line so that arguments following the
1156 executable file are passed as command line arguments to the inferior.
1157 This option stops option processing.
1158
1159 @item -baud @var{bps}
1160 @itemx -b @var{bps}
1161 @cindex @code{--baud}
1162 @cindex @code{-b}
1163 Set the line speed (baud rate or bits per second) of any serial
1164 interface used by @value{GDBN} for remote debugging.
1165
1166 @item -l @var{timeout}
1167 @cindex @code{-l}
1168 Set the timeout (in seconds) of any communication used by @value{GDBN}
1169 for remote debugging.
1170
1171 @item -tty @var{device}
1172 @itemx -t @var{device}
1173 @cindex @code{--tty}
1174 @cindex @code{-t}
1175 Run using @var{device} for your program's standard input and output.
1176 @c FIXME: kingdon thinks there is more to -tty. Investigate.
1177
1178 @c resolve the situation of these eventually
1179 @item -tui
1180 @cindex @code{--tui}
1181 Activate the @dfn{Text User Interface} when starting. The Text User
1182 Interface manages several text windows on the terminal, showing
1183 source, assembly, registers and @value{GDBN} command outputs
1184 (@pxref{TUI, ,@value{GDBN} Text User Interface}). Alternatively, the
1185 Text User Interface can be enabled by invoking the program
1186 @samp{@value{GDBTUI}}. Do not use this option if you run @value{GDBN} from
1187 Emacs (@pxref{Emacs, ,Using @value{GDBN} under @sc{gnu} Emacs}).
1188
1189 @c @item -xdb
1190 @c @cindex @code{--xdb}
1191 @c Run in XDB compatibility mode, allowing the use of certain XDB commands.
1192 @c For information, see the file @file{xdb_trans.html}, which is usually
1193 @c installed in the directory @code{/opt/langtools/wdb/doc} on HP-UX
1194 @c systems.
1195
1196 @item -interpreter @var{interp}
1197 @cindex @code{--interpreter}
1198 Use the interpreter @var{interp} for interface with the controlling
1199 program or device. This option is meant to be set by programs which
1200 communicate with @value{GDBN} using it as a back end.
1201 @xref{Interpreters, , Command Interpreters}.
1202
1203 @samp{--interpreter=mi} (or @samp{--interpreter=mi2}) causes
1204 @value{GDBN} to use the @dfn{@sc{gdb/mi} interface} (@pxref{GDB/MI, ,
1205 The @sc{gdb/mi} Interface}) included since @value{GDBN} version 6.0. The
1206 previous @sc{gdb/mi} interface, included in @value{GDBN} version 5.3 and
1207 selected with @samp{--interpreter=mi1}, is deprecated. Earlier
1208 @sc{gdb/mi} interfaces are no longer supported.
1209
1210 @item -write
1211 @cindex @code{--write}
1212 Open the executable and core files for both reading and writing. This
1213 is equivalent to the @samp{set write on} command inside @value{GDBN}
1214 (@pxref{Patching}).
1215
1216 @item -statistics
1217 @cindex @code{--statistics}
1218 This option causes @value{GDBN} to print statistics about time and
1219 memory usage after it completes each command and returns to the prompt.
1220
1221 @item -version
1222 @cindex @code{--version}
1223 This option causes @value{GDBN} to print its version number and
1224 no-warranty blurb, and exit.
1225
1226 @end table
1227
1228 @node Startup
1229 @subsection What @value{GDBN} Does During Startup
1230 @cindex @value{GDBN} startup
1231
1232 Here's the description of what @value{GDBN} does during session startup:
1233
1234 @enumerate
1235 @item
1236 Sets up the command interpreter as specified by the command line
1237 (@pxref{Mode Options, interpreter}).
1238
1239 @item
1240 @cindex init file
1241 Reads the system-wide @dfn{init file} (if @option{--with-system-gdbinit} was
1242 used when building @value{GDBN}; @pxref{System-wide configuration,
1243 ,System-wide configuration and settings}) and executes all the commands in
1244 that file.
1245
1246 @item
1247 Reads the init file (if any) in your home directory@footnote{On
1248 DOS/Windows systems, the home directory is the one pointed to by the
1249 @code{HOME} environment variable.} and executes all the commands in
1250 that file.
1251
1252 @item
1253 Processes command line options and operands.
1254
1255 @item
1256 Reads and executes the commands from init file (if any) in the current
1257 working directory. This is only done if the current directory is
1258 different from your home directory. Thus, you can have more than one
1259 init file, one generic in your home directory, and another, specific
1260 to the program you are debugging, in the directory where you invoke
1261 @value{GDBN}.
1262
1263 @item
1264 If the command line specified a program to debug, or a process to
1265 attach to, or a core file, @value{GDBN} loads any auto-loaded
1266 scripts provided for the program or for its loaded shared libraries.
1267 @xref{Auto-loading}.
1268
1269 If you wish to disable the auto-loading during startup,
1270 you must do something like the following:
1271
1272 @smallexample
1273 $ gdb -ex "set auto-load-scripts off" -ex "file myprogram"
1274 @end smallexample
1275
1276 The following does not work because the auto-loading is turned off too late:
1277
1278 @smallexample
1279 $ gdb -ex "set auto-load-scripts off" myprogram
1280 @end smallexample
1281
1282 @item
1283 Reads command files specified by the @samp{-x} option. @xref{Command
1284 Files}, for more details about @value{GDBN} command files.
1285
1286 @item
1287 Reads the command history recorded in the @dfn{history file}.
1288 @xref{Command History}, for more details about the command history and the
1289 files where @value{GDBN} records it.
1290 @end enumerate
1291
1292 Init files use the same syntax as @dfn{command files} (@pxref{Command
1293 Files}) and are processed by @value{GDBN} in the same way. The init
1294 file in your home directory can set options (such as @samp{set
1295 complaints}) that affect subsequent processing of command line options
1296 and operands. Init files are not executed if you use the @samp{-nx}
1297 option (@pxref{Mode Options, ,Choosing Modes}).
1298
1299 To display the list of init files loaded by gdb at startup, you
1300 can use @kbd{gdb --help}.
1301
1302 @cindex init file name
1303 @cindex @file{.gdbinit}
1304 @cindex @file{gdb.ini}
1305 The @value{GDBN} init files are normally called @file{.gdbinit}.
1306 The DJGPP port of @value{GDBN} uses the name @file{gdb.ini}, due to
1307 the limitations of file names imposed by DOS filesystems. The Windows
1308 ports of @value{GDBN} use the standard name, but if they find a
1309 @file{gdb.ini} file, they warn you about that and suggest to rename
1310 the file to the standard name.
1311
1312
1313 @node Quitting GDB
1314 @section Quitting @value{GDBN}
1315 @cindex exiting @value{GDBN}
1316 @cindex leaving @value{GDBN}
1317
1318 @table @code
1319 @kindex quit @r{[}@var{expression}@r{]}
1320 @kindex q @r{(@code{quit})}
1321 @item quit @r{[}@var{expression}@r{]}
1322 @itemx q
1323 To exit @value{GDBN}, use the @code{quit} command (abbreviated
1324 @code{q}), or type an end-of-file character (usually @kbd{Ctrl-d}). If you
1325 do not supply @var{expression}, @value{GDBN} will terminate normally;
1326 otherwise it will terminate using the result of @var{expression} as the
1327 error code.
1328 @end table
1329
1330 @cindex interrupt
1331 An interrupt (often @kbd{Ctrl-c}) does not exit from @value{GDBN}, but rather
1332 terminates the action of any @value{GDBN} command that is in progress and
1333 returns to @value{GDBN} command level. It is safe to type the interrupt
1334 character at any time because @value{GDBN} does not allow it to take effect
1335 until a time when it is safe.
1336
1337 If you have been using @value{GDBN} to control an attached process or
1338 device, you can release it with the @code{detach} command
1339 (@pxref{Attach, ,Debugging an Already-running Process}).
1340
1341 @node Shell Commands
1342 @section Shell Commands
1343
1344 If you need to execute occasional shell commands during your
1345 debugging session, there is no need to leave or suspend @value{GDBN}; you can
1346 just use the @code{shell} command.
1347
1348 @table @code
1349 @kindex shell
1350 @cindex shell escape
1351 @item shell @var{command string}
1352 Invoke a standard shell to execute @var{command string}.
1353 If it exists, the environment variable @code{SHELL} determines which
1354 shell to run. Otherwise @value{GDBN} uses the default shell
1355 (@file{/bin/sh} on Unix systems, @file{COMMAND.COM} on MS-DOS, etc.).
1356 @end table
1357
1358 The utility @code{make} is often needed in development environments.
1359 You do not have to use the @code{shell} command for this purpose in
1360 @value{GDBN}:
1361
1362 @table @code
1363 @kindex make
1364 @cindex calling make
1365 @item make @var{make-args}
1366 Execute the @code{make} program with the specified
1367 arguments. This is equivalent to @samp{shell make @var{make-args}}.
1368 @end table
1369
1370 @node Logging Output
1371 @section Logging Output
1372 @cindex logging @value{GDBN} output
1373 @cindex save @value{GDBN} output to a file
1374
1375 You may want to save the output of @value{GDBN} commands to a file.
1376 There are several commands to control @value{GDBN}'s logging.
1377
1378 @table @code
1379 @kindex set logging
1380 @item set logging on
1381 Enable logging.
1382 @item set logging off
1383 Disable logging.
1384 @cindex logging file name
1385 @item set logging file @var{file}
1386 Change the name of the current logfile. The default logfile is @file{gdb.txt}.
1387 @item set logging overwrite [on|off]
1388 By default, @value{GDBN} will append to the logfile. Set @code{overwrite} if
1389 you want @code{set logging on} to overwrite the logfile instead.
1390 @item set logging redirect [on|off]
1391 By default, @value{GDBN} output will go to both the terminal and the logfile.
1392 Set @code{redirect} if you want output to go only to the log file.
1393 @kindex show logging
1394 @item show logging
1395 Show the current values of the logging settings.
1396 @end table
1397
1398 @node Commands
1399 @chapter @value{GDBN} Commands
1400
1401 You can abbreviate a @value{GDBN} command to the first few letters of the command
1402 name, if that abbreviation is unambiguous; and you can repeat certain
1403 @value{GDBN} commands by typing just @key{RET}. You can also use the @key{TAB}
1404 key to get @value{GDBN} to fill out the rest of a word in a command (or to
1405 show you the alternatives available, if there is more than one possibility).
1406
1407 @menu
1408 * Command Syntax:: How to give commands to @value{GDBN}
1409 * Completion:: Command completion
1410 * Help:: How to ask @value{GDBN} for help
1411 @end menu
1412
1413 @node Command Syntax
1414 @section Command Syntax
1415
1416 A @value{GDBN} command is a single line of input. There is no limit on
1417 how long it can be. It starts with a command name, which is followed by
1418 arguments whose meaning depends on the command name. For example, the
1419 command @code{step} accepts an argument which is the number of times to
1420 step, as in @samp{step 5}. You can also use the @code{step} command
1421 with no arguments. Some commands do not allow any arguments.
1422
1423 @cindex abbreviation
1424 @value{GDBN} command names may always be truncated if that abbreviation is
1425 unambiguous. Other possible command abbreviations are listed in the
1426 documentation for individual commands. In some cases, even ambiguous
1427 abbreviations are allowed; for example, @code{s} is specially defined as
1428 equivalent to @code{step} even though there are other commands whose
1429 names start with @code{s}. You can test abbreviations by using them as
1430 arguments to the @code{help} command.
1431
1432 @cindex repeating commands
1433 @kindex RET @r{(repeat last command)}
1434 A blank line as input to @value{GDBN} (typing just @key{RET}) means to
1435 repeat the previous command. Certain commands (for example, @code{run})
1436 will not repeat this way; these are commands whose unintentional
1437 repetition might cause trouble and which you are unlikely to want to
1438 repeat. User-defined commands can disable this feature; see
1439 @ref{Define, dont-repeat}.
1440
1441 The @code{list} and @code{x} commands, when you repeat them with
1442 @key{RET}, construct new arguments rather than repeating
1443 exactly as typed. This permits easy scanning of source or memory.
1444
1445 @value{GDBN} can also use @key{RET} in another way: to partition lengthy
1446 output, in a way similar to the common utility @code{more}
1447 (@pxref{Screen Size,,Screen Size}). Since it is easy to press one
1448 @key{RET} too many in this situation, @value{GDBN} disables command
1449 repetition after any command that generates this sort of display.
1450
1451 @kindex # @r{(a comment)}
1452 @cindex comment
1453 Any text from a @kbd{#} to the end of the line is a comment; it does
1454 nothing. This is useful mainly in command files (@pxref{Command
1455 Files,,Command Files}).
1456
1457 @cindex repeating command sequences
1458 @kindex Ctrl-o @r{(operate-and-get-next)}
1459 The @kbd{Ctrl-o} binding is useful for repeating a complex sequence of
1460 commands. This command accepts the current line, like @key{RET}, and
1461 then fetches the next line relative to the current line from the history
1462 for editing.
1463
1464 @node Completion
1465 @section Command Completion
1466
1467 @cindex completion
1468 @cindex word completion
1469 @value{GDBN} can fill in the rest of a word in a command for you, if there is
1470 only one possibility; it can also show you what the valid possibilities
1471 are for the next word in a command, at any time. This works for @value{GDBN}
1472 commands, @value{GDBN} subcommands, and the names of symbols in your program.
1473
1474 Press the @key{TAB} key whenever you want @value{GDBN} to fill out the rest
1475 of a word. If there is only one possibility, @value{GDBN} fills in the
1476 word, and waits for you to finish the command (or press @key{RET} to
1477 enter it). For example, if you type
1478
1479 @c FIXME "@key" does not distinguish its argument sufficiently to permit
1480 @c complete accuracy in these examples; space introduced for clarity.
1481 @c If texinfo enhancements make it unnecessary, it would be nice to
1482 @c replace " @key" by "@key" in the following...
1483 @smallexample
1484 (@value{GDBP}) info bre @key{TAB}
1485 @end smallexample
1486
1487 @noindent
1488 @value{GDBN} fills in the rest of the word @samp{breakpoints}, since that is
1489 the only @code{info} subcommand beginning with @samp{bre}:
1490
1491 @smallexample
1492 (@value{GDBP}) info breakpoints
1493 @end smallexample
1494
1495 @noindent
1496 You can either press @key{RET} at this point, to run the @code{info
1497 breakpoints} command, or backspace and enter something else, if
1498 @samp{breakpoints} does not look like the command you expected. (If you
1499 were sure you wanted @code{info breakpoints} in the first place, you
1500 might as well just type @key{RET} immediately after @samp{info bre},
1501 to exploit command abbreviations rather than command completion).
1502
1503 If there is more than one possibility for the next word when you press
1504 @key{TAB}, @value{GDBN} sounds a bell. You can either supply more
1505 characters and try again, or just press @key{TAB} a second time;
1506 @value{GDBN} displays all the possible completions for that word. For
1507 example, you might want to set a breakpoint on a subroutine whose name
1508 begins with @samp{make_}, but when you type @kbd{b make_@key{TAB}} @value{GDBN}
1509 just sounds the bell. Typing @key{TAB} again displays all the
1510 function names in your program that begin with those characters, for
1511 example:
1512
1513 @smallexample
1514 (@value{GDBP}) b make_ @key{TAB}
1515 @exdent @value{GDBN} sounds bell; press @key{TAB} again, to see:
1516 make_a_section_from_file make_environ
1517 make_abs_section make_function_type
1518 make_blockvector make_pointer_type
1519 make_cleanup make_reference_type
1520 make_command make_symbol_completion_list
1521 (@value{GDBP}) b make_
1522 @end smallexample
1523
1524 @noindent
1525 After displaying the available possibilities, @value{GDBN} copies your
1526 partial input (@samp{b make_} in the example) so you can finish the
1527 command.
1528
1529 If you just want to see the list of alternatives in the first place, you
1530 can press @kbd{M-?} rather than pressing @key{TAB} twice. @kbd{M-?}
1531 means @kbd{@key{META} ?}. You can type this either by holding down a
1532 key designated as the @key{META} shift on your keyboard (if there is
1533 one) while typing @kbd{?}, or as @key{ESC} followed by @kbd{?}.
1534
1535 @cindex quotes in commands
1536 @cindex completion of quoted strings
1537 Sometimes the string you need, while logically a ``word'', may contain
1538 parentheses or other characters that @value{GDBN} normally excludes from
1539 its notion of a word. To permit word completion to work in this
1540 situation, you may enclose words in @code{'} (single quote marks) in
1541 @value{GDBN} commands.
1542
1543 The most likely situation where you might need this is in typing the
1544 name of a C@t{++} function. This is because C@t{++} allows function
1545 overloading (multiple definitions of the same function, distinguished
1546 by argument type). For example, when you want to set a breakpoint you
1547 may need to distinguish whether you mean the version of @code{name}
1548 that takes an @code{int} parameter, @code{name(int)}, or the version
1549 that takes a @code{float} parameter, @code{name(float)}. To use the
1550 word-completion facilities in this situation, type a single quote
1551 @code{'} at the beginning of the function name. This alerts
1552 @value{GDBN} that it may need to consider more information than usual
1553 when you press @key{TAB} or @kbd{M-?} to request word completion:
1554
1555 @smallexample
1556 (@value{GDBP}) b 'bubble( @kbd{M-?}
1557 bubble(double,double) bubble(int,int)
1558 (@value{GDBP}) b 'bubble(
1559 @end smallexample
1560
1561 In some cases, @value{GDBN} can tell that completing a name requires using
1562 quotes. When this happens, @value{GDBN} inserts the quote for you (while
1563 completing as much as it can) if you do not type the quote in the first
1564 place:
1565
1566 @smallexample
1567 (@value{GDBP}) b bub @key{TAB}
1568 @exdent @value{GDBN} alters your input line to the following, and rings a bell:
1569 (@value{GDBP}) b 'bubble(
1570 @end smallexample
1571
1572 @noindent
1573 In general, @value{GDBN} can tell that a quote is needed (and inserts it) if
1574 you have not yet started typing the argument list when you ask for
1575 completion on an overloaded symbol.
1576
1577 For more information about overloaded functions, see @ref{C Plus Plus
1578 Expressions, ,C@t{++} Expressions}. You can use the command @code{set
1579 overload-resolution off} to disable overload resolution;
1580 see @ref{Debugging C Plus Plus, ,@value{GDBN} Features for C@t{++}}.
1581
1582 @cindex completion of structure field names
1583 @cindex structure field name completion
1584 @cindex completion of union field names
1585 @cindex union field name completion
1586 When completing in an expression which looks up a field in a
1587 structure, @value{GDBN} also tries@footnote{The completer can be
1588 confused by certain kinds of invalid expressions. Also, it only
1589 examines the static type of the expression, not the dynamic type.} to
1590 limit completions to the field names available in the type of the
1591 left-hand-side:
1592
1593 @smallexample
1594 (@value{GDBP}) p gdb_stdout.@kbd{M-?}
1595 magic to_fputs to_rewind
1596 to_data to_isatty to_write
1597 to_delete to_put to_write_async_safe
1598 to_flush to_read
1599 @end smallexample
1600
1601 @noindent
1602 This is because the @code{gdb_stdout} is a variable of the type
1603 @code{struct ui_file} that is defined in @value{GDBN} sources as
1604 follows:
1605
1606 @smallexample
1607 struct ui_file
1608 @{
1609 int *magic;
1610 ui_file_flush_ftype *to_flush;
1611 ui_file_write_ftype *to_write;
1612 ui_file_write_async_safe_ftype *to_write_async_safe;
1613 ui_file_fputs_ftype *to_fputs;
1614 ui_file_read_ftype *to_read;
1615 ui_file_delete_ftype *to_delete;
1616 ui_file_isatty_ftype *to_isatty;
1617 ui_file_rewind_ftype *to_rewind;
1618 ui_file_put_ftype *to_put;
1619 void *to_data;
1620 @}
1621 @end smallexample
1622
1623
1624 @node Help
1625 @section Getting Help
1626 @cindex online documentation
1627 @kindex help
1628
1629 You can always ask @value{GDBN} itself for information on its commands,
1630 using the command @code{help}.
1631
1632 @table @code
1633 @kindex h @r{(@code{help})}
1634 @item help
1635 @itemx h
1636 You can use @code{help} (abbreviated @code{h}) with no arguments to
1637 display a short list of named classes of commands:
1638
1639 @smallexample
1640 (@value{GDBP}) help
1641 List of classes of commands:
1642
1643 aliases -- Aliases of other commands
1644 breakpoints -- Making program stop at certain points
1645 data -- Examining data
1646 files -- Specifying and examining files
1647 internals -- Maintenance commands
1648 obscure -- Obscure features
1649 running -- Running the program
1650 stack -- Examining the stack
1651 status -- Status inquiries
1652 support -- Support facilities
1653 tracepoints -- Tracing of program execution without
1654 stopping the program
1655 user-defined -- User-defined commands
1656
1657 Type "help" followed by a class name for a list of
1658 commands in that class.
1659 Type "help" followed by command name for full
1660 documentation.
1661 Command name abbreviations are allowed if unambiguous.
1662 (@value{GDBP})
1663 @end smallexample
1664 @c the above line break eliminates huge line overfull...
1665
1666 @item help @var{class}
1667 Using one of the general help classes as an argument, you can get a
1668 list of the individual commands in that class. For example, here is the
1669 help display for the class @code{status}:
1670
1671 @smallexample
1672 (@value{GDBP}) help status
1673 Status inquiries.
1674
1675 List of commands:
1676
1677 @c Line break in "show" line falsifies real output, but needed
1678 @c to fit in smallbook page size.
1679 info -- Generic command for showing things
1680 about the program being debugged
1681 show -- Generic command for showing things
1682 about the debugger
1683
1684 Type "help" followed by command name for full
1685 documentation.
1686 Command name abbreviations are allowed if unambiguous.
1687 (@value{GDBP})
1688 @end smallexample
1689
1690 @item help @var{command}
1691 With a command name as @code{help} argument, @value{GDBN} displays a
1692 short paragraph on how to use that command.
1693
1694 @kindex apropos
1695 @item apropos @var{args}
1696 The @code{apropos} command searches through all of the @value{GDBN}
1697 commands, and their documentation, for the regular expression specified in
1698 @var{args}. It prints out all matches found. For example:
1699
1700 @smallexample
1701 apropos reload
1702 @end smallexample
1703
1704 @noindent
1705 results in:
1706
1707 @smallexample
1708 @c @group
1709 set symbol-reloading -- Set dynamic symbol table reloading
1710 multiple times in one run
1711 show symbol-reloading -- Show dynamic symbol table reloading
1712 multiple times in one run
1713 @c @end group
1714 @end smallexample
1715
1716 @kindex complete
1717 @item complete @var{args}
1718 The @code{complete @var{args}} command lists all the possible completions
1719 for the beginning of a command. Use @var{args} to specify the beginning of the
1720 command you want completed. For example:
1721
1722 @smallexample
1723 complete i
1724 @end smallexample
1725
1726 @noindent results in:
1727
1728 @smallexample
1729 @group
1730 if
1731 ignore
1732 info
1733 inspect
1734 @end group
1735 @end smallexample
1736
1737 @noindent This is intended for use by @sc{gnu} Emacs.
1738 @end table
1739
1740 In addition to @code{help}, you can use the @value{GDBN} commands @code{info}
1741 and @code{show} to inquire about the state of your program, or the state
1742 of @value{GDBN} itself. Each command supports many topics of inquiry; this
1743 manual introduces each of them in the appropriate context. The listings
1744 under @code{info} and under @code{show} in the Index point to
1745 all the sub-commands. @xref{Index}.
1746
1747 @c @group
1748 @table @code
1749 @kindex info
1750 @kindex i @r{(@code{info})}
1751 @item info
1752 This command (abbreviated @code{i}) is for describing the state of your
1753 program. For example, you can show the arguments passed to a function
1754 with @code{info args}, list the registers currently in use with @code{info
1755 registers}, or list the breakpoints you have set with @code{info breakpoints}.
1756 You can get a complete list of the @code{info} sub-commands with
1757 @w{@code{help info}}.
1758
1759 @kindex set
1760 @item set
1761 You can assign the result of an expression to an environment variable with
1762 @code{set}. For example, you can set the @value{GDBN} prompt to a $-sign with
1763 @code{set prompt $}.
1764
1765 @kindex show
1766 @item show
1767 In contrast to @code{info}, @code{show} is for describing the state of
1768 @value{GDBN} itself.
1769 You can change most of the things you can @code{show}, by using the
1770 related command @code{set}; for example, you can control what number
1771 system is used for displays with @code{set radix}, or simply inquire
1772 which is currently in use with @code{show radix}.
1773
1774 @kindex info set
1775 To display all the settable parameters and their current
1776 values, you can use @code{show} with no arguments; you may also use
1777 @code{info set}. Both commands produce the same display.
1778 @c FIXME: "info set" violates the rule that "info" is for state of
1779 @c FIXME...program. Ck w/ GNU: "info set" to be called something else,
1780 @c FIXME...or change desc of rule---eg "state of prog and debugging session"?
1781 @end table
1782 @c @end group
1783
1784 Here are three miscellaneous @code{show} subcommands, all of which are
1785 exceptional in lacking corresponding @code{set} commands:
1786
1787 @table @code
1788 @kindex show version
1789 @cindex @value{GDBN} version number
1790 @item show version
1791 Show what version of @value{GDBN} is running. You should include this
1792 information in @value{GDBN} bug-reports. If multiple versions of
1793 @value{GDBN} are in use at your site, you may need to determine which
1794 version of @value{GDBN} you are running; as @value{GDBN} evolves, new
1795 commands are introduced, and old ones may wither away. Also, many
1796 system vendors ship variant versions of @value{GDBN}, and there are
1797 variant versions of @value{GDBN} in @sc{gnu}/Linux distributions as well.
1798 The version number is the same as the one announced when you start
1799 @value{GDBN}.
1800
1801 @kindex show copying
1802 @kindex info copying
1803 @cindex display @value{GDBN} copyright
1804 @item show copying
1805 @itemx info copying
1806 Display information about permission for copying @value{GDBN}.
1807
1808 @kindex show warranty
1809 @kindex info warranty
1810 @item show warranty
1811 @itemx info warranty
1812 Display the @sc{gnu} ``NO WARRANTY'' statement, or a warranty,
1813 if your version of @value{GDBN} comes with one.
1814
1815 @end table
1816
1817 @node Running
1818 @chapter Running Programs Under @value{GDBN}
1819
1820 When you run a program under @value{GDBN}, you must first generate
1821 debugging information when you compile it.
1822
1823 You may start @value{GDBN} with its arguments, if any, in an environment
1824 of your choice. If you are doing native debugging, you may redirect
1825 your program's input and output, debug an already running process, or
1826 kill a child process.
1827
1828 @menu
1829 * Compilation:: Compiling for debugging
1830 * Starting:: Starting your program
1831 * Arguments:: Your program's arguments
1832 * Environment:: Your program's environment
1833
1834 * Working Directory:: Your program's working directory
1835 * Input/Output:: Your program's input and output
1836 * Attach:: Debugging an already-running process
1837 * Kill Process:: Killing the child process
1838
1839 * Inferiors and Programs:: Debugging multiple inferiors and programs
1840 * Threads:: Debugging programs with multiple threads
1841 * Forks:: Debugging forks
1842 * Checkpoint/Restart:: Setting a @emph{bookmark} to return to later
1843 @end menu
1844
1845 @node Compilation
1846 @section Compiling for Debugging
1847
1848 In order to debug a program effectively, you need to generate
1849 debugging information when you compile it. This debugging information
1850 is stored in the object file; it describes the data type of each
1851 variable or function and the correspondence between source line numbers
1852 and addresses in the executable code.
1853
1854 To request debugging information, specify the @samp{-g} option when you run
1855 the compiler.
1856
1857 Programs that are to be shipped to your customers are compiled with
1858 optimizations, using the @samp{-O} compiler option. However, some
1859 compilers are unable to handle the @samp{-g} and @samp{-O} options
1860 together. Using those compilers, you cannot generate optimized
1861 executables containing debugging information.
1862
1863 @value{NGCC}, the @sc{gnu} C/C@t{++} compiler, supports @samp{-g} with or
1864 without @samp{-O}, making it possible to debug optimized code. We
1865 recommend that you @emph{always} use @samp{-g} whenever you compile a
1866 program. You may think your program is correct, but there is no sense
1867 in pushing your luck. For more information, see @ref{Optimized Code}.
1868
1869 Older versions of the @sc{gnu} C compiler permitted a variant option
1870 @w{@samp{-gg}} for debugging information. @value{GDBN} no longer supports this
1871 format; if your @sc{gnu} C compiler has this option, do not use it.
1872
1873 @value{GDBN} knows about preprocessor macros and can show you their
1874 expansion (@pxref{Macros}). Most compilers do not include information
1875 about preprocessor macros in the debugging information if you specify
1876 the @option{-g} flag alone, because this information is rather large.
1877 Version 3.1 and later of @value{NGCC}, the @sc{gnu} C compiler,
1878 provides macro information if you specify the options
1879 @option{-gdwarf-2} and @option{-g3}; the former option requests
1880 debugging information in the Dwarf 2 format, and the latter requests
1881 ``extra information''. In the future, we hope to find more compact
1882 ways to represent macro information, so that it can be included with
1883 @option{-g} alone.
1884
1885 @need 2000
1886 @node Starting
1887 @section Starting your Program
1888 @cindex starting
1889 @cindex running
1890
1891 @table @code
1892 @kindex run
1893 @kindex r @r{(@code{run})}
1894 @item run
1895 @itemx r
1896 Use the @code{run} command to start your program under @value{GDBN}.
1897 You must first specify the program name (except on VxWorks) with an
1898 argument to @value{GDBN} (@pxref{Invocation, ,Getting In and Out of
1899 @value{GDBN}}), or by using the @code{file} or @code{exec-file} command
1900 (@pxref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}).
1901
1902 @end table
1903
1904 If you are running your program in an execution environment that
1905 supports processes, @code{run} creates an inferior process and makes
1906 that process run your program. In some environments without processes,
1907 @code{run} jumps to the start of your program. Other targets,
1908 like @samp{remote}, are always running. If you get an error
1909 message like this one:
1910
1911 @smallexample
1912 The "remote" target does not support "run".
1913 Try "help target" or "continue".
1914 @end smallexample
1915
1916 @noindent
1917 then use @code{continue} to run your program. You may need @code{load}
1918 first (@pxref{load}).
1919
1920 The execution of a program is affected by certain information it
1921 receives from its superior. @value{GDBN} provides ways to specify this
1922 information, which you must do @emph{before} starting your program. (You
1923 can change it after starting your program, but such changes only affect
1924 your program the next time you start it.) This information may be
1925 divided into four categories:
1926
1927 @table @asis
1928 @item The @emph{arguments.}
1929 Specify the arguments to give your program as the arguments of the
1930 @code{run} command. If a shell is available on your target, the shell
1931 is used to pass the arguments, so that you may use normal conventions
1932 (such as wildcard expansion or variable substitution) in describing
1933 the arguments.
1934 In Unix systems, you can control which shell is used with the
1935 @code{SHELL} environment variable.
1936 @xref{Arguments, ,Your Program's Arguments}.
1937
1938 @item The @emph{environment.}
1939 Your program normally inherits its environment from @value{GDBN}, but you can
1940 use the @value{GDBN} commands @code{set environment} and @code{unset
1941 environment} to change parts of the environment that affect
1942 your program. @xref{Environment, ,Your Program's Environment}.
1943
1944 @item The @emph{working directory.}
1945 Your program inherits its working directory from @value{GDBN}. You can set
1946 the @value{GDBN} working directory with the @code{cd} command in @value{GDBN}.
1947 @xref{Working Directory, ,Your Program's Working Directory}.
1948
1949 @item The @emph{standard input and output.}
1950 Your program normally uses the same device for standard input and
1951 standard output as @value{GDBN} is using. You can redirect input and output
1952 in the @code{run} command line, or you can use the @code{tty} command to
1953 set a different device for your program.
1954 @xref{Input/Output, ,Your Program's Input and Output}.
1955
1956 @cindex pipes
1957 @emph{Warning:} While input and output redirection work, you cannot use
1958 pipes to pass the output of the program you are debugging to another
1959 program; if you attempt this, @value{GDBN} is likely to wind up debugging the
1960 wrong program.
1961 @end table
1962
1963 When you issue the @code{run} command, your program begins to execute
1964 immediately. @xref{Stopping, ,Stopping and Continuing}, for discussion
1965 of how to arrange for your program to stop. Once your program has
1966 stopped, you may call functions in your program, using the @code{print}
1967 or @code{call} commands. @xref{Data, ,Examining Data}.
1968
1969 If the modification time of your symbol file has changed since the last
1970 time @value{GDBN} read its symbols, @value{GDBN} discards its symbol
1971 table, and reads it again. When it does this, @value{GDBN} tries to retain
1972 your current breakpoints.
1973
1974 @table @code
1975 @kindex start
1976 @item start
1977 @cindex run to main procedure
1978 The name of the main procedure can vary from language to language.
1979 With C or C@t{++}, the main procedure name is always @code{main}, but
1980 other languages such as Ada do not require a specific name for their
1981 main procedure. The debugger provides a convenient way to start the
1982 execution of the program and to stop at the beginning of the main
1983 procedure, depending on the language used.
1984
1985 The @samp{start} command does the equivalent of setting a temporary
1986 breakpoint at the beginning of the main procedure and then invoking
1987 the @samp{run} command.
1988
1989 @cindex elaboration phase
1990 Some programs contain an @dfn{elaboration} phase where some startup code is
1991 executed before the main procedure is called. This depends on the
1992 languages used to write your program. In C@t{++}, for instance,
1993 constructors for static and global objects are executed before
1994 @code{main} is called. It is therefore possible that the debugger stops
1995 before reaching the main procedure. However, the temporary breakpoint
1996 will remain to halt execution.
1997
1998 Specify the arguments to give to your program as arguments to the
1999 @samp{start} command. These arguments will be given verbatim to the
2000 underlying @samp{run} command. Note that the same arguments will be
2001 reused if no argument is provided during subsequent calls to
2002 @samp{start} or @samp{run}.
2003
2004 It is sometimes necessary to debug the program during elaboration. In
2005 these cases, using the @code{start} command would stop the execution of
2006 your program too late, as the program would have already completed the
2007 elaboration phase. Under these circumstances, insert breakpoints in your
2008 elaboration code before running your program.
2009
2010 @kindex set exec-wrapper
2011 @item set exec-wrapper @var{wrapper}
2012 @itemx show exec-wrapper
2013 @itemx unset exec-wrapper
2014 When @samp{exec-wrapper} is set, the specified wrapper is used to
2015 launch programs for debugging. @value{GDBN} starts your program
2016 with a shell command of the form @kbd{exec @var{wrapper}
2017 @var{program}}. Quoting is added to @var{program} and its
2018 arguments, but not to @var{wrapper}, so you should add quotes if
2019 appropriate for your shell. The wrapper runs until it executes
2020 your program, and then @value{GDBN} takes control.
2021
2022 You can use any program that eventually calls @code{execve} with
2023 its arguments as a wrapper. Several standard Unix utilities do
2024 this, e.g.@: @code{env} and @code{nohup}. Any Unix shell script ending
2025 with @code{exec "$@@"} will also work.
2026
2027 For example, you can use @code{env} to pass an environment variable to
2028 the debugged program, without setting the variable in your shell's
2029 environment:
2030
2031 @smallexample
2032 (@value{GDBP}) set exec-wrapper env 'LD_PRELOAD=libtest.so'
2033 (@value{GDBP}) run
2034 @end smallexample
2035
2036 This command is available when debugging locally on most targets, excluding
2037 @sc{djgpp}, Cygwin, MS Windows, and QNX Neutrino.
2038
2039 @kindex set disable-randomization
2040 @item set disable-randomization
2041 @itemx set disable-randomization on
2042 This option (enabled by default in @value{GDBN}) will turn off the native
2043 randomization of the virtual address space of the started program. This option
2044 is useful for multiple debugging sessions to make the execution better
2045 reproducible and memory addresses reusable across debugging sessions.
2046
2047 This feature is implemented only on certain targets, including @sc{gnu}/Linux.
2048 On @sc{gnu}/Linux you can get the same behavior using
2049
2050 @smallexample
2051 (@value{GDBP}) set exec-wrapper setarch `uname -m` -R
2052 @end smallexample
2053
2054 @item set disable-randomization off
2055 Leave the behavior of the started executable unchanged. Some bugs rear their
2056 ugly heads only when the program is loaded at certain addresses. If your bug
2057 disappears when you run the program under @value{GDBN}, that might be because
2058 @value{GDBN} by default disables the address randomization on platforms, such
2059 as @sc{gnu}/Linux, which do that for stand-alone programs. Use @kbd{set
2060 disable-randomization off} to try to reproduce such elusive bugs.
2061
2062 On targets where it is available, virtual address space randomization
2063 protects the programs against certain kinds of security attacks. In these
2064 cases the attacker needs to know the exact location of a concrete executable
2065 code. Randomizing its location makes it impossible to inject jumps misusing
2066 a code at its expected addresses.
2067
2068 Prelinking shared libraries provides a startup performance advantage but it
2069 makes addresses in these libraries predictable for privileged processes by
2070 having just unprivileged access at the target system. Reading the shared
2071 library binary gives enough information for assembling the malicious code
2072 misusing it. Still even a prelinked shared library can get loaded at a new
2073 random address just requiring the regular relocation process during the
2074 startup. Shared libraries not already prelinked are always loaded at
2075 a randomly chosen address.
2076
2077 Position independent executables (PIE) contain position independent code
2078 similar to the shared libraries and therefore such executables get loaded at
2079 a randomly chosen address upon startup. PIE executables always load even
2080 already prelinked shared libraries at a random address. You can build such
2081 executable using @command{gcc -fPIE -pie}.
2082
2083 Heap (malloc storage), stack and custom mmap areas are always placed randomly
2084 (as long as the randomization is enabled).
2085
2086 @item show disable-randomization
2087 Show the current setting of the explicit disable of the native randomization of
2088 the virtual address space of the started program.
2089
2090 @end table
2091
2092 @node Arguments
2093 @section Your Program's Arguments
2094
2095 @cindex arguments (to your program)
2096 The arguments to your program can be specified by the arguments of the
2097 @code{run} command.
2098 They are passed to a shell, which expands wildcard characters and
2099 performs redirection of I/O, and thence to your program. Your
2100 @code{SHELL} environment variable (if it exists) specifies what shell
2101 @value{GDBN} uses. If you do not define @code{SHELL}, @value{GDBN} uses
2102 the default shell (@file{/bin/sh} on Unix).
2103
2104 On non-Unix systems, the program is usually invoked directly by
2105 @value{GDBN}, which emulates I/O redirection via the appropriate system
2106 calls, and the wildcard characters are expanded by the startup code of
2107 the program, not by the shell.
2108
2109 @code{run} with no arguments uses the same arguments used by the previous
2110 @code{run}, or those set by the @code{set args} command.
2111
2112 @table @code
2113 @kindex set args
2114 @item set args
2115 Specify the arguments to be used the next time your program is run. If
2116 @code{set args} has no arguments, @code{run} executes your program
2117 with no arguments. Once you have run your program with arguments,
2118 using @code{set args} before the next @code{run} is the only way to run
2119 it again without arguments.
2120
2121 @kindex show args
2122 @item show args
2123 Show the arguments to give your program when it is started.
2124 @end table
2125
2126 @node Environment
2127 @section Your Program's Environment
2128
2129 @cindex environment (of your program)
2130 The @dfn{environment} consists of a set of environment variables and
2131 their values. Environment variables conventionally record such things as
2132 your user name, your home directory, your terminal type, and your search
2133 path for programs to run. Usually you set up environment variables with
2134 the shell and they are inherited by all the other programs you run. When
2135 debugging, it can be useful to try running your program with a modified
2136 environment without having to start @value{GDBN} over again.
2137
2138 @table @code
2139 @kindex path
2140 @item path @var{directory}
2141 Add @var{directory} to the front of the @code{PATH} environment variable
2142 (the search path for executables) that will be passed to your program.
2143 The value of @code{PATH} used by @value{GDBN} does not change.
2144 You may specify several directory names, separated by whitespace or by a
2145 system-dependent separator character (@samp{:} on Unix, @samp{;} on
2146 MS-DOS and MS-Windows). If @var{directory} is already in the path, it
2147 is moved to the front, so it is searched sooner.
2148
2149 You can use the string @samp{$cwd} to refer to whatever is the current
2150 working directory at the time @value{GDBN} searches the path. If you
2151 use @samp{.} instead, it refers to the directory where you executed the
2152 @code{path} command. @value{GDBN} replaces @samp{.} in the
2153 @var{directory} argument (with the current path) before adding
2154 @var{directory} to the search path.
2155 @c 'path' is explicitly nonrepeatable, but RMS points out it is silly to
2156 @c document that, since repeating it would be a no-op.
2157
2158 @kindex show paths
2159 @item show paths
2160 Display the list of search paths for executables (the @code{PATH}
2161 environment variable).
2162
2163 @kindex show environment
2164 @item show environment @r{[}@var{varname}@r{]}
2165 Print the value of environment variable @var{varname} to be given to
2166 your program when it starts. If you do not supply @var{varname},
2167 print the names and values of all environment variables to be given to
2168 your program. You can abbreviate @code{environment} as @code{env}.
2169
2170 @kindex set environment
2171 @item set environment @var{varname} @r{[}=@var{value}@r{]}
2172 Set environment variable @var{varname} to @var{value}. The value
2173 changes for your program only, not for @value{GDBN} itself. @var{value} may
2174 be any string; the values of environment variables are just strings, and
2175 any interpretation is supplied by your program itself. The @var{value}
2176 parameter is optional; if it is eliminated, the variable is set to a
2177 null value.
2178 @c "any string" here does not include leading, trailing
2179 @c blanks. Gnu asks: does anyone care?
2180
2181 For example, this command:
2182
2183 @smallexample
2184 set env USER = foo
2185 @end smallexample
2186
2187 @noindent
2188 tells the debugged program, when subsequently run, that its user is named
2189 @samp{foo}. (The spaces around @samp{=} are used for clarity here; they
2190 are not actually required.)
2191
2192 @kindex unset environment
2193 @item unset environment @var{varname}
2194 Remove variable @var{varname} from the environment to be passed to your
2195 program. This is different from @samp{set env @var{varname} =};
2196 @code{unset environment} removes the variable from the environment,
2197 rather than assigning it an empty value.
2198 @end table
2199
2200 @emph{Warning:} On Unix systems, @value{GDBN} runs your program using
2201 the shell indicated
2202 by your @code{SHELL} environment variable if it exists (or
2203 @code{/bin/sh} if not). If your @code{SHELL} variable names a shell
2204 that runs an initialization file---such as @file{.cshrc} for C-shell, or
2205 @file{.bashrc} for BASH---any variables you set in that file affect
2206 your program. You may wish to move setting of environment variables to
2207 files that are only run when you sign on, such as @file{.login} or
2208 @file{.profile}.
2209
2210 @node Working Directory
2211 @section Your Program's Working Directory
2212
2213 @cindex working directory (of your program)
2214 Each time you start your program with @code{run}, it inherits its
2215 working directory from the current working directory of @value{GDBN}.
2216 The @value{GDBN} working directory is initially whatever it inherited
2217 from its parent process (typically the shell), but you can specify a new
2218 working directory in @value{GDBN} with the @code{cd} command.
2219
2220 The @value{GDBN} working directory also serves as a default for the commands
2221 that specify files for @value{GDBN} to operate on. @xref{Files, ,Commands to
2222 Specify Files}.
2223
2224 @table @code
2225 @kindex cd
2226 @cindex change working directory
2227 @item cd @var{directory}
2228 Set the @value{GDBN} working directory to @var{directory}.
2229
2230 @kindex pwd
2231 @item pwd
2232 Print the @value{GDBN} working directory.
2233 @end table
2234
2235 It is generally impossible to find the current working directory of
2236 the process being debugged (since a program can change its directory
2237 during its run). If you work on a system where @value{GDBN} is
2238 configured with the @file{/proc} support, you can use the @code{info
2239 proc} command (@pxref{SVR4 Process Information}) to find out the
2240 current working directory of the debuggee.
2241
2242 @node Input/Output
2243 @section Your Program's Input and Output
2244
2245 @cindex redirection
2246 @cindex i/o
2247 @cindex terminal
2248 By default, the program you run under @value{GDBN} does input and output to
2249 the same terminal that @value{GDBN} uses. @value{GDBN} switches the terminal
2250 to its own terminal modes to interact with you, but it records the terminal
2251 modes your program was using and switches back to them when you continue
2252 running your program.
2253
2254 @table @code
2255 @kindex info terminal
2256 @item info terminal
2257 Displays information recorded by @value{GDBN} about the terminal modes your
2258 program is using.
2259 @end table
2260
2261 You can redirect your program's input and/or output using shell
2262 redirection with the @code{run} command. For example,
2263
2264 @smallexample
2265 run > outfile
2266 @end smallexample
2267
2268 @noindent
2269 starts your program, diverting its output to the file @file{outfile}.
2270
2271 @kindex tty
2272 @cindex controlling terminal
2273 Another way to specify where your program should do input and output is
2274 with the @code{tty} command. This command accepts a file name as
2275 argument, and causes this file to be the default for future @code{run}
2276 commands. It also resets the controlling terminal for the child
2277 process, for future @code{run} commands. For example,
2278
2279 @smallexample
2280 tty /dev/ttyb
2281 @end smallexample
2282
2283 @noindent
2284 directs that processes started with subsequent @code{run} commands
2285 default to do input and output on the terminal @file{/dev/ttyb} and have
2286 that as their controlling terminal.
2287
2288 An explicit redirection in @code{run} overrides the @code{tty} command's
2289 effect on the input/output device, but not its effect on the controlling
2290 terminal.
2291
2292 When you use the @code{tty} command or redirect input in the @code{run}
2293 command, only the input @emph{for your program} is affected. The input
2294 for @value{GDBN} still comes from your terminal. @code{tty} is an alias
2295 for @code{set inferior-tty}.
2296
2297 @cindex inferior tty
2298 @cindex set inferior controlling terminal
2299 You can use the @code{show inferior-tty} command to tell @value{GDBN} to
2300 display the name of the terminal that will be used for future runs of your
2301 program.
2302
2303 @table @code
2304 @item set inferior-tty /dev/ttyb
2305 @kindex set inferior-tty
2306 Set the tty for the program being debugged to /dev/ttyb.
2307
2308 @item show inferior-tty
2309 @kindex show inferior-tty
2310 Show the current tty for the program being debugged.
2311 @end table
2312
2313 @node Attach
2314 @section Debugging an Already-running Process
2315 @kindex attach
2316 @cindex attach
2317
2318 @table @code
2319 @item attach @var{process-id}
2320 This command attaches to a running process---one that was started
2321 outside @value{GDBN}. (@code{info files} shows your active
2322 targets.) The command takes as argument a process ID. The usual way to
2323 find out the @var{process-id} of a Unix process is with the @code{ps} utility,
2324 or with the @samp{jobs -l} shell command.
2325
2326 @code{attach} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} a second time after
2327 executing the command.
2328 @end table
2329
2330 To use @code{attach}, your program must be running in an environment
2331 which supports processes; for example, @code{attach} does not work for
2332 programs on bare-board targets that lack an operating system. You must
2333 also have permission to send the process a signal.
2334
2335 When you use @code{attach}, the debugger finds the program running in
2336 the process first by looking in the current working directory, then (if
2337 the program is not found) by using the source file search path
2338 (@pxref{Source Path, ,Specifying Source Directories}). You can also use
2339 the @code{file} command to load the program. @xref{Files, ,Commands to
2340 Specify Files}.
2341
2342 The first thing @value{GDBN} does after arranging to debug the specified
2343 process is to stop it. You can examine and modify an attached process
2344 with all the @value{GDBN} commands that are ordinarily available when
2345 you start processes with @code{run}. You can insert breakpoints; you
2346 can step and continue; you can modify storage. If you would rather the
2347 process continue running, you may use the @code{continue} command after
2348 attaching @value{GDBN} to the process.
2349
2350 @table @code
2351 @kindex detach
2352 @item detach
2353 When you have finished debugging the attached process, you can use the
2354 @code{detach} command to release it from @value{GDBN} control. Detaching
2355 the process continues its execution. After the @code{detach} command,
2356 that process and @value{GDBN} become completely independent once more, and you
2357 are ready to @code{attach} another process or start one with @code{run}.
2358 @code{detach} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} again after
2359 executing the command.
2360 @end table
2361
2362 If you exit @value{GDBN} while you have an attached process, you detach
2363 that process. If you use the @code{run} command, you kill that process.
2364 By default, @value{GDBN} asks for confirmation if you try to do either of these
2365 things; you can control whether or not you need to confirm by using the
2366 @code{set confirm} command (@pxref{Messages/Warnings, ,Optional Warnings and
2367 Messages}).
2368
2369 @node Kill Process
2370 @section Killing the Child Process
2371
2372 @table @code
2373 @kindex kill
2374 @item kill
2375 Kill the child process in which your program is running under @value{GDBN}.
2376 @end table
2377
2378 This command is useful if you wish to debug a core dump instead of a
2379 running process. @value{GDBN} ignores any core dump file while your program
2380 is running.
2381
2382 On some operating systems, a program cannot be executed outside @value{GDBN}
2383 while you have breakpoints set on it inside @value{GDBN}. You can use the
2384 @code{kill} command in this situation to permit running your program
2385 outside the debugger.
2386
2387 The @code{kill} command is also useful if you wish to recompile and
2388 relink your program, since on many systems it is impossible to modify an
2389 executable file while it is running in a process. In this case, when you
2390 next type @code{run}, @value{GDBN} notices that the file has changed, and
2391 reads the symbol table again (while trying to preserve your current
2392 breakpoint settings).
2393
2394 @node Inferiors and Programs
2395 @section Debugging Multiple Inferiors and Programs
2396
2397 @value{GDBN} lets you run and debug multiple programs in a single
2398 session. In addition, @value{GDBN} on some systems may let you run
2399 several programs simultaneously (otherwise you have to exit from one
2400 before starting another). In the most general case, you can have
2401 multiple threads of execution in each of multiple processes, launched
2402 from multiple executables.
2403
2404 @cindex inferior
2405 @value{GDBN} represents the state of each program execution with an
2406 object called an @dfn{inferior}. An inferior typically corresponds to
2407 a process, but is more general and applies also to targets that do not
2408 have processes. Inferiors may be created before a process runs, and
2409 may be retained after a process exits. Inferiors have unique
2410 identifiers that are different from process ids. Usually each
2411 inferior will also have its own distinct address space, although some
2412 embedded targets may have several inferiors running in different parts
2413 of a single address space. Each inferior may in turn have multiple
2414 threads running in it.
2415
2416 To find out what inferiors exist at any moment, use @w{@code{info
2417 inferiors}}:
2418
2419 @table @code
2420 @kindex info inferiors
2421 @item info inferiors
2422 Print a list of all inferiors currently being managed by @value{GDBN}.
2423
2424 @value{GDBN} displays for each inferior (in this order):
2425
2426 @enumerate
2427 @item
2428 the inferior number assigned by @value{GDBN}
2429
2430 @item
2431 the target system's inferior identifier
2432
2433 @item
2434 the name of the executable the inferior is running.
2435
2436 @end enumerate
2437
2438 @noindent
2439 An asterisk @samp{*} preceding the @value{GDBN} inferior number
2440 indicates the current inferior.
2441
2442 For example,
2443 @end table
2444 @c end table here to get a little more width for example
2445
2446 @smallexample
2447 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
2448 Num Description Executable
2449 2 process 2307 hello
2450 * 1 process 3401 goodbye
2451 @end smallexample
2452
2453 To switch focus between inferiors, use the @code{inferior} command:
2454
2455 @table @code
2456 @kindex inferior @var{infno}
2457 @item inferior @var{infno}
2458 Make inferior number @var{infno} the current inferior. The argument
2459 @var{infno} is the inferior number assigned by @value{GDBN}, as shown
2460 in the first field of the @samp{info inferiors} display.
2461 @end table
2462
2463
2464 You can get multiple executables into a debugging session via the
2465 @code{add-inferior} and @w{@code{clone-inferior}} commands. On some
2466 systems @value{GDBN} can add inferiors to the debug session
2467 automatically by following calls to @code{fork} and @code{exec}. To
2468 remove inferiors from the debugging session use the
2469 @w{@code{remove-inferiors}} command.
2470
2471 @table @code
2472 @kindex add-inferior
2473 @item add-inferior [ -copies @var{n} ] [ -exec @var{executable} ]
2474 Adds @var{n} inferiors to be run using @var{executable} as the
2475 executable. @var{n} defaults to 1. If no executable is specified,
2476 the inferiors begins empty, with no program. You can still assign or
2477 change the program assigned to the inferior at any time by using the
2478 @code{file} command with the executable name as its argument.
2479
2480 @kindex clone-inferior
2481 @item clone-inferior [ -copies @var{n} ] [ @var{infno} ]
2482 Adds @var{n} inferiors ready to execute the same program as inferior
2483 @var{infno}. @var{n} defaults to 1. @var{infno} defaults to the
2484 number of the current inferior. This is a convenient command when you
2485 want to run another instance of the inferior you are debugging.
2486
2487 @smallexample
2488 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
2489 Num Description Executable
2490 * 1 process 29964 helloworld
2491 (@value{GDBP}) clone-inferior
2492 Added inferior 2.
2493 1 inferiors added.
2494 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
2495 Num Description Executable
2496 2 <null> helloworld
2497 * 1 process 29964 helloworld
2498 @end smallexample
2499
2500 You can now simply switch focus to inferior 2 and run it.
2501
2502 @kindex remove-inferiors
2503 @item remove-inferiors @var{infno}@dots{}
2504 Removes the inferior or inferiors @var{infno}@dots{}. It is not
2505 possible to remove an inferior that is running with this command. For
2506 those, use the @code{kill} or @code{detach} command first.
2507
2508 @end table
2509
2510 To quit debugging one of the running inferiors that is not the current
2511 inferior, you can either detach from it by using the @w{@code{detach
2512 inferior}} command (allowing it to run independently), or kill it
2513 using the @w{@code{kill inferiors}} command:
2514
2515 @table @code
2516 @kindex detach inferiors @var{infno}@dots{}
2517 @item detach inferior @var{infno}@dots{}
2518 Detach from the inferior or inferiors identified by @value{GDBN}
2519 inferior number(s) @var{infno}@dots{}. Note that the inferior's entry
2520 still stays on the list of inferiors shown by @code{info inferiors},
2521 but its Description will show @samp{<null>}.
2522
2523 @kindex kill inferiors @var{infno}@dots{}
2524 @item kill inferiors @var{infno}@dots{}
2525 Kill the inferior or inferiors identified by @value{GDBN} inferior
2526 number(s) @var{infno}@dots{}. Note that the inferior's entry still
2527 stays on the list of inferiors shown by @code{info inferiors}, but its
2528 Description will show @samp{<null>}.
2529 @end table
2530
2531 After the successful completion of a command such as @code{detach},
2532 @code{detach inferiors}, @code{kill} or @code{kill inferiors}, or after
2533 a normal process exit, the inferior is still valid and listed with
2534 @code{info inferiors}, ready to be restarted.
2535
2536
2537 To be notified when inferiors are started or exit under @value{GDBN}'s
2538 control use @w{@code{set print inferior-events}}:
2539
2540 @table @code
2541 @kindex set print inferior-events
2542 @cindex print messages on inferior start and exit
2543 @item set print inferior-events
2544 @itemx set print inferior-events on
2545 @itemx set print inferior-events off
2546 The @code{set print inferior-events} command allows you to enable or
2547 disable printing of messages when @value{GDBN} notices that new
2548 inferiors have started or that inferiors have exited or have been
2549 detached. By default, these messages will not be printed.
2550
2551 @kindex show print inferior-events
2552 @item show print inferior-events
2553 Show whether messages will be printed when @value{GDBN} detects that
2554 inferiors have started, exited or have been detached.
2555 @end table
2556
2557 Many commands will work the same with multiple programs as with a
2558 single program: e.g., @code{print myglobal} will simply display the
2559 value of @code{myglobal} in the current inferior.
2560
2561
2562 Occasionaly, when debugging @value{GDBN} itself, it may be useful to
2563 get more info about the relationship of inferiors, programs, address
2564 spaces in a debug session. You can do that with the @w{@code{maint
2565 info program-spaces}} command.
2566
2567 @table @code
2568 @kindex maint info program-spaces
2569 @item maint info program-spaces
2570 Print a list of all program spaces currently being managed by
2571 @value{GDBN}.
2572
2573 @value{GDBN} displays for each program space (in this order):
2574
2575 @enumerate
2576 @item
2577 the program space number assigned by @value{GDBN}
2578
2579 @item
2580 the name of the executable loaded into the program space, with e.g.,
2581 the @code{file} command.
2582
2583 @end enumerate
2584
2585 @noindent
2586 An asterisk @samp{*} preceding the @value{GDBN} program space number
2587 indicates the current program space.
2588
2589 In addition, below each program space line, @value{GDBN} prints extra
2590 information that isn't suitable to display in tabular form. For
2591 example, the list of inferiors bound to the program space.
2592
2593 @smallexample
2594 (@value{GDBP}) maint info program-spaces
2595 Id Executable
2596 2 goodbye
2597 Bound inferiors: ID 1 (process 21561)
2598 * 1 hello
2599 @end smallexample
2600
2601 Here we can see that no inferior is running the program @code{hello},
2602 while @code{process 21561} is running the program @code{goodbye}. On
2603 some targets, it is possible that multiple inferiors are bound to the
2604 same program space. The most common example is that of debugging both
2605 the parent and child processes of a @code{vfork} call. For example,
2606
2607 @smallexample
2608 (@value{GDBP}) maint info program-spaces
2609 Id Executable
2610 * 1 vfork-test
2611 Bound inferiors: ID 2 (process 18050), ID 1 (process 18045)
2612 @end smallexample
2613
2614 Here, both inferior 2 and inferior 1 are running in the same program
2615 space as a result of inferior 1 having executed a @code{vfork} call.
2616 @end table
2617
2618 @node Threads
2619 @section Debugging Programs with Multiple Threads
2620
2621 @cindex threads of execution
2622 @cindex multiple threads
2623 @cindex switching threads
2624 In some operating systems, such as HP-UX and Solaris, a single program
2625 may have more than one @dfn{thread} of execution. The precise semantics
2626 of threads differ from one operating system to another, but in general
2627 the threads of a single program are akin to multiple processes---except
2628 that they share one address space (that is, they can all examine and
2629 modify the same variables). On the other hand, each thread has its own
2630 registers and execution stack, and perhaps private memory.
2631
2632 @value{GDBN} provides these facilities for debugging multi-thread
2633 programs:
2634
2635 @itemize @bullet
2636 @item automatic notification of new threads
2637 @item @samp{thread @var{threadno}}, a command to switch among threads
2638 @item @samp{info threads}, a command to inquire about existing threads
2639 @item @samp{thread apply [@var{threadno}] [@var{all}] @var{args}},
2640 a command to apply a command to a list of threads
2641 @item thread-specific breakpoints
2642 @item @samp{set print thread-events}, which controls printing of
2643 messages on thread start and exit.
2644 @item @samp{set libthread-db-search-path @var{path}}, which lets
2645 the user specify which @code{libthread_db} to use if the default choice
2646 isn't compatible with the program.
2647 @end itemize
2648
2649 @quotation
2650 @emph{Warning:} These facilities are not yet available on every
2651 @value{GDBN} configuration where the operating system supports threads.
2652 If your @value{GDBN} does not support threads, these commands have no
2653 effect. For example, a system without thread support shows no output
2654 from @samp{info threads}, and always rejects the @code{thread} command,
2655 like this:
2656
2657 @smallexample
2658 (@value{GDBP}) info threads
2659 (@value{GDBP}) thread 1
2660 Thread ID 1 not known. Use the "info threads" command to
2661 see the IDs of currently known threads.
2662 @end smallexample
2663 @c FIXME to implementors: how hard would it be to say "sorry, this GDB
2664 @c doesn't support threads"?
2665 @end quotation
2666
2667 @cindex focus of debugging
2668 @cindex current thread
2669 The @value{GDBN} thread debugging facility allows you to observe all
2670 threads while your program runs---but whenever @value{GDBN} takes
2671 control, one thread in particular is always the focus of debugging.
2672 This thread is called the @dfn{current thread}. Debugging commands show
2673 program information from the perspective of the current thread.
2674
2675 @cindex @code{New} @var{systag} message
2676 @cindex thread identifier (system)
2677 @c FIXME-implementors!! It would be more helpful if the [New...] message
2678 @c included GDB's numeric thread handle, so you could just go to that
2679 @c thread without first checking `info threads'.
2680 Whenever @value{GDBN} detects a new thread in your program, it displays
2681 the target system's identification for the thread with a message in the
2682 form @samp{[New @var{systag}]}. @var{systag} is a thread identifier
2683 whose form varies depending on the particular system. For example, on
2684 @sc{gnu}/Linux, you might see
2685
2686 @smallexample
2687 [New Thread 0x41e02940 (LWP 25582)]
2688 @end smallexample
2689
2690 @noindent
2691 when @value{GDBN} notices a new thread. In contrast, on an SGI system,
2692 the @var{systag} is simply something like @samp{process 368}, with no
2693 further qualifier.
2694
2695 @c FIXME!! (1) Does the [New...] message appear even for the very first
2696 @c thread of a program, or does it only appear for the
2697 @c second---i.e.@: when it becomes obvious we have a multithread
2698 @c program?
2699 @c (2) *Is* there necessarily a first thread always? Or do some
2700 @c multithread systems permit starting a program with multiple
2701 @c threads ab initio?
2702
2703 @cindex thread number
2704 @cindex thread identifier (GDB)
2705 For debugging purposes, @value{GDBN} associates its own thread
2706 number---always a single integer---with each thread in your program.
2707
2708 @table @code
2709 @kindex info threads
2710 @item info threads @r{[}@var{id}@dots{}@r{]}
2711 Display a summary of all threads currently in your program. Optional
2712 argument @var{id}@dots{} is one or more thread ids separated by spaces, and
2713 means to print information only about the specified thread or threads.
2714 @value{GDBN} displays for each thread (in this order):
2715
2716 @enumerate
2717 @item
2718 the thread number assigned by @value{GDBN}
2719
2720 @item
2721 the target system's thread identifier (@var{systag})
2722
2723 @item
2724 the thread's name, if one is known. A thread can either be named by
2725 the user (see @code{thread name}, below), or, in some cases, by the
2726 program itself.
2727
2728 @item
2729 the current stack frame summary for that thread
2730 @end enumerate
2731
2732 @noindent
2733 An asterisk @samp{*} to the left of the @value{GDBN} thread number
2734 indicates the current thread.
2735
2736 For example,
2737 @end table
2738 @c end table here to get a little more width for example
2739
2740 @smallexample
2741 (@value{GDBP}) info threads
2742 Id Target Id Frame
2743 3 process 35 thread 27 0x34e5 in sigpause ()
2744 2 process 35 thread 23 0x34e5 in sigpause ()
2745 * 1 process 35 thread 13 main (argc=1, argv=0x7ffffff8)
2746 at threadtest.c:68
2747 @end smallexample
2748
2749 On Solaris, you can display more information about user threads with a
2750 Solaris-specific command:
2751
2752 @table @code
2753 @item maint info sol-threads
2754 @kindex maint info sol-threads
2755 @cindex thread info (Solaris)
2756 Display info on Solaris user threads.
2757 @end table
2758
2759 @table @code
2760 @kindex thread @var{threadno}
2761 @item thread @var{threadno}
2762 Make thread number @var{threadno} the current thread. The command
2763 argument @var{threadno} is the internal @value{GDBN} thread number, as
2764 shown in the first field of the @samp{info threads} display.
2765 @value{GDBN} responds by displaying the system identifier of the thread
2766 you selected, and its current stack frame summary:
2767
2768 @smallexample
2769 (@value{GDBP}) thread 2
2770 [Switching to thread 2 (Thread 0xb7fdab70 (LWP 12747))]
2771 #0 some_function (ignore=0x0) at example.c:8
2772 8 printf ("hello\n");
2773 @end smallexample
2774
2775 @noindent
2776 As with the @samp{[New @dots{}]} message, the form of the text after
2777 @samp{Switching to} depends on your system's conventions for identifying
2778 threads.
2779
2780 @vindex $_thread@r{, convenience variable}
2781 The debugger convenience variable @samp{$_thread} contains the number
2782 of the current thread. You may find this useful in writing breakpoint
2783 conditional expressions, command scripts, and so forth. See
2784 @xref{Convenience Vars,, Convenience Variables}, for general
2785 information on convenience variables.
2786
2787 @kindex thread apply
2788 @cindex apply command to several threads
2789 @item thread apply [@var{threadno} | all] @var{command}
2790 The @code{thread apply} command allows you to apply the named
2791 @var{command} to one or more threads. Specify the numbers of the
2792 threads that you want affected with the command argument
2793 @var{threadno}. It can be a single thread number, one of the numbers
2794 shown in the first field of the @samp{info threads} display; or it
2795 could be a range of thread numbers, as in @code{2-4}. To apply a
2796 command to all threads, type @kbd{thread apply all @var{command}}.
2797
2798 @kindex thread name
2799 @cindex name a thread
2800 @item thread name [@var{name}]
2801 This command assigns a name to the current thread. If no argument is
2802 given, any existing user-specified name is removed. The thread name
2803 appears in the @samp{info threads} display.
2804
2805 On some systems, such as @sc{gnu}/Linux, @value{GDBN} is able to
2806 determine the name of the thread as given by the OS. On these
2807 systems, a name specified with @samp{thread name} will override the
2808 system-give name, and removing the user-specified name will cause
2809 @value{GDBN} to once again display the system-specified name.
2810
2811 @kindex thread find
2812 @cindex search for a thread
2813 @item thread find [@var{regexp}]
2814 Search for and display thread ids whose name or @var{systag}
2815 matches the supplied regular expression.
2816
2817 As well as being the complement to the @samp{thread name} command,
2818 this command also allows you to identify a thread by its target
2819 @var{systag}. For instance, on @sc{gnu}/Linux, the target @var{systag}
2820 is the LWP id.
2821
2822 @smallexample
2823 (@value{GDBN}) thread find 26688
2824 Thread 4 has target id 'Thread 0x41e02940 (LWP 26688)'
2825 (@value{GDBN}) info thread 4
2826 Id Target Id Frame
2827 4 Thread 0x41e02940 (LWP 26688) 0x00000031ca6cd372 in select ()
2828 @end smallexample
2829
2830 @kindex set print thread-events
2831 @cindex print messages on thread start and exit
2832 @item set print thread-events
2833 @itemx set print thread-events on
2834 @itemx set print thread-events off
2835 The @code{set print thread-events} command allows you to enable or
2836 disable printing of messages when @value{GDBN} notices that new threads have
2837 started or that threads have exited. By default, these messages will
2838 be printed if detection of these events is supported by the target.
2839 Note that these messages cannot be disabled on all targets.
2840
2841 @kindex show print thread-events
2842 @item show print thread-events
2843 Show whether messages will be printed when @value{GDBN} detects that threads
2844 have started and exited.
2845 @end table
2846
2847 @xref{Thread Stops,,Stopping and Starting Multi-thread Programs}, for
2848 more information about how @value{GDBN} behaves when you stop and start
2849 programs with multiple threads.
2850
2851 @xref{Set Watchpoints,,Setting Watchpoints}, for information about
2852 watchpoints in programs with multiple threads.
2853
2854 @table @code
2855 @kindex set libthread-db-search-path
2856 @cindex search path for @code{libthread_db}
2857 @item set libthread-db-search-path @r{[}@var{path}@r{]}
2858 If this variable is set, @var{path} is a colon-separated list of
2859 directories @value{GDBN} will use to search for @code{libthread_db}.
2860 If you omit @var{path}, @samp{libthread-db-search-path} will be reset to
2861 its default value (@code{$sdir:$pdir} on @sc{gnu}/Linux and Solaris systems).
2862 Internally, the default value comes from the @code{LIBTHREAD_DB_SEARCH_PATH}
2863 macro.
2864
2865 On @sc{gnu}/Linux and Solaris systems, @value{GDBN} uses a ``helper''
2866 @code{libthread_db} library to obtain information about threads in the
2867 inferior process. @value{GDBN} will use @samp{libthread-db-search-path}
2868 to find @code{libthread_db}.
2869
2870 A special entry @samp{$sdir} for @samp{libthread-db-search-path}
2871 refers to the default system directories that are
2872 normally searched for loading shared libraries.
2873
2874 A special entry @samp{$pdir} for @samp{libthread-db-search-path}
2875 refers to the directory from which @code{libpthread}
2876 was loaded in the inferior process.
2877
2878 For any @code{libthread_db} library @value{GDBN} finds in above directories,
2879 @value{GDBN} attempts to initialize it with the current inferior process.
2880 If this initialization fails (which could happen because of a version
2881 mismatch between @code{libthread_db} and @code{libpthread}), @value{GDBN}
2882 will unload @code{libthread_db}, and continue with the next directory.
2883 If none of @code{libthread_db} libraries initialize successfully,
2884 @value{GDBN} will issue a warning and thread debugging will be disabled.
2885
2886 Setting @code{libthread-db-search-path} is currently implemented
2887 only on some platforms.
2888
2889 @kindex show libthread-db-search-path
2890 @item show libthread-db-search-path
2891 Display current libthread_db search path.
2892
2893 @kindex set debug libthread-db
2894 @kindex show debug libthread-db
2895 @cindex debugging @code{libthread_db}
2896 @item set debug libthread-db
2897 @itemx show debug libthread-db
2898 Turns on or off display of @code{libthread_db}-related events.
2899 Use @code{1} to enable, @code{0} to disable.
2900 @end table
2901
2902 @node Forks
2903 @section Debugging Forks
2904
2905 @cindex fork, debugging programs which call
2906 @cindex multiple processes
2907 @cindex processes, multiple
2908 On most systems, @value{GDBN} has no special support for debugging
2909 programs which create additional processes using the @code{fork}
2910 function. When a program forks, @value{GDBN} will continue to debug the
2911 parent process and the child process will run unimpeded. If you have
2912 set a breakpoint in any code which the child then executes, the child
2913 will get a @code{SIGTRAP} signal which (unless it catches the signal)
2914 will cause it to terminate.
2915
2916 However, if you want to debug the child process there is a workaround
2917 which isn't too painful. Put a call to @code{sleep} in the code which
2918 the child process executes after the fork. It may be useful to sleep
2919 only if a certain environment variable is set, or a certain file exists,
2920 so that the delay need not occur when you don't want to run @value{GDBN}
2921 on the child. While the child is sleeping, use the @code{ps} program to
2922 get its process ID. Then tell @value{GDBN} (a new invocation of
2923 @value{GDBN} if you are also debugging the parent process) to attach to
2924 the child process (@pxref{Attach}). From that point on you can debug
2925 the child process just like any other process which you attached to.
2926
2927 On some systems, @value{GDBN} provides support for debugging programs that
2928 create additional processes using the @code{fork} or @code{vfork} functions.
2929 Currently, the only platforms with this feature are HP-UX (11.x and later
2930 only?) and @sc{gnu}/Linux (kernel version 2.5.60 and later).
2931
2932 By default, when a program forks, @value{GDBN} will continue to debug
2933 the parent process and the child process will run unimpeded.
2934
2935 If you want to follow the child process instead of the parent process,
2936 use the command @w{@code{set follow-fork-mode}}.
2937
2938 @table @code
2939 @kindex set follow-fork-mode
2940 @item set follow-fork-mode @var{mode}
2941 Set the debugger response to a program call of @code{fork} or
2942 @code{vfork}. A call to @code{fork} or @code{vfork} creates a new
2943 process. The @var{mode} argument can be:
2944
2945 @table @code
2946 @item parent
2947 The original process is debugged after a fork. The child process runs
2948 unimpeded. This is the default.
2949
2950 @item child
2951 The new process is debugged after a fork. The parent process runs
2952 unimpeded.
2953
2954 @end table
2955
2956 @kindex show follow-fork-mode
2957 @item show follow-fork-mode
2958 Display the current debugger response to a @code{fork} or @code{vfork} call.
2959 @end table
2960
2961 @cindex debugging multiple processes
2962 On Linux, if you want to debug both the parent and child processes, use the
2963 command @w{@code{set detach-on-fork}}.
2964
2965 @table @code
2966 @kindex set detach-on-fork
2967 @item set detach-on-fork @var{mode}
2968 Tells gdb whether to detach one of the processes after a fork, or
2969 retain debugger control over them both.
2970
2971 @table @code
2972 @item on
2973 The child process (or parent process, depending on the value of
2974 @code{follow-fork-mode}) will be detached and allowed to run
2975 independently. This is the default.
2976
2977 @item off
2978 Both processes will be held under the control of @value{GDBN}.
2979 One process (child or parent, depending on the value of
2980 @code{follow-fork-mode}) is debugged as usual, while the other
2981 is held suspended.
2982
2983 @end table
2984
2985 @kindex show detach-on-fork
2986 @item show detach-on-fork
2987 Show whether detach-on-fork mode is on/off.
2988 @end table
2989
2990 If you choose to set @samp{detach-on-fork} mode off, then @value{GDBN}
2991 will retain control of all forked processes (including nested forks).
2992 You can list the forked processes under the control of @value{GDBN} by
2993 using the @w{@code{info inferiors}} command, and switch from one fork
2994 to another by using the @code{inferior} command (@pxref{Inferiors and
2995 Programs, ,Debugging Multiple Inferiors and Programs}).
2996
2997 To quit debugging one of the forked processes, you can either detach
2998 from it by using the @w{@code{detach inferiors}} command (allowing it
2999 to run independently), or kill it using the @w{@code{kill inferiors}}
3000 command. @xref{Inferiors and Programs, ,Debugging Multiple Inferiors
3001 and Programs}.
3002
3003 If you ask to debug a child process and a @code{vfork} is followed by an
3004 @code{exec}, @value{GDBN} executes the new target up to the first
3005 breakpoint in the new target. If you have a breakpoint set on
3006 @code{main} in your original program, the breakpoint will also be set on
3007 the child process's @code{main}.
3008
3009 On some systems, when a child process is spawned by @code{vfork}, you
3010 cannot debug the child or parent until an @code{exec} call completes.
3011
3012 If you issue a @code{run} command to @value{GDBN} after an @code{exec}
3013 call executes, the new target restarts. To restart the parent
3014 process, use the @code{file} command with the parent executable name
3015 as its argument. By default, after an @code{exec} call executes,
3016 @value{GDBN} discards the symbols of the previous executable image.
3017 You can change this behaviour with the @w{@code{set follow-exec-mode}}
3018 command.
3019
3020 @table @code
3021 @kindex set follow-exec-mode
3022 @item set follow-exec-mode @var{mode}
3023
3024 Set debugger response to a program call of @code{exec}. An
3025 @code{exec} call replaces the program image of a process.
3026
3027 @code{follow-exec-mode} can be:
3028
3029 @table @code
3030 @item new
3031 @value{GDBN} creates a new inferior and rebinds the process to this
3032 new inferior. The program the process was running before the
3033 @code{exec} call can be restarted afterwards by restarting the
3034 original inferior.
3035
3036 For example:
3037
3038 @smallexample
3039 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
3040 (gdb) info inferior
3041 Id Description Executable
3042 * 1 <null> prog1
3043 (@value{GDBP}) run
3044 process 12020 is executing new program: prog2
3045 Program exited normally.
3046 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
3047 Id Description Executable
3048 * 2 <null> prog2
3049 1 <null> prog1
3050 @end smallexample
3051
3052 @item same
3053 @value{GDBN} keeps the process bound to the same inferior. The new
3054 executable image replaces the previous executable loaded in the
3055 inferior. Restarting the inferior after the @code{exec} call, with
3056 e.g., the @code{run} command, restarts the executable the process was
3057 running after the @code{exec} call. This is the default mode.
3058
3059 For example:
3060
3061 @smallexample
3062 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
3063 Id Description Executable
3064 * 1 <null> prog1
3065 (@value{GDBP}) run
3066 process 12020 is executing new program: prog2
3067 Program exited normally.
3068 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
3069 Id Description Executable
3070 * 1 <null> prog2
3071 @end smallexample
3072
3073 @end table
3074 @end table
3075
3076 You can use the @code{catch} command to make @value{GDBN} stop whenever
3077 a @code{fork}, @code{vfork}, or @code{exec} call is made. @xref{Set
3078 Catchpoints, ,Setting Catchpoints}.
3079
3080 @node Checkpoint/Restart
3081 @section Setting a @emph{Bookmark} to Return to Later
3082
3083 @cindex checkpoint
3084 @cindex restart
3085 @cindex bookmark
3086 @cindex snapshot of a process
3087 @cindex rewind program state
3088
3089 On certain operating systems@footnote{Currently, only
3090 @sc{gnu}/Linux.}, @value{GDBN} is able to save a @dfn{snapshot} of a
3091 program's state, called a @dfn{checkpoint}, and come back to it
3092 later.
3093
3094 Returning to a checkpoint effectively undoes everything that has
3095 happened in the program since the @code{checkpoint} was saved. This
3096 includes changes in memory, registers, and even (within some limits)
3097 system state. Effectively, it is like going back in time to the
3098 moment when the checkpoint was saved.
3099
3100 Thus, if you're stepping thru a program and you think you're
3101 getting close to the point where things go wrong, you can save
3102 a checkpoint. Then, if you accidentally go too far and miss
3103 the critical statement, instead of having to restart your program
3104 from the beginning, you can just go back to the checkpoint and
3105 start again from there.
3106
3107 This can be especially useful if it takes a lot of time or
3108 steps to reach the point where you think the bug occurs.
3109
3110 To use the @code{checkpoint}/@code{restart} method of debugging:
3111
3112 @table @code
3113 @kindex checkpoint
3114 @item checkpoint
3115 Save a snapshot of the debugged program's current execution state.
3116 The @code{checkpoint} command takes no arguments, but each checkpoint
3117 is assigned a small integer id, similar to a breakpoint id.
3118
3119 @kindex info checkpoints
3120 @item info checkpoints
3121 List the checkpoints that have been saved in the current debugging
3122 session. For each checkpoint, the following information will be
3123 listed:
3124
3125 @table @code
3126 @item Checkpoint ID
3127 @item Process ID
3128 @item Code Address
3129 @item Source line, or label
3130 @end table
3131
3132 @kindex restart @var{checkpoint-id}
3133 @item restart @var{checkpoint-id}
3134 Restore the program state that was saved as checkpoint number
3135 @var{checkpoint-id}. All program variables, registers, stack frames
3136 etc.@: will be returned to the values that they had when the checkpoint
3137 was saved. In essence, gdb will ``wind back the clock'' to the point
3138 in time when the checkpoint was saved.
3139
3140 Note that breakpoints, @value{GDBN} variables, command history etc.
3141 are not affected by restoring a checkpoint. In general, a checkpoint
3142 only restores things that reside in the program being debugged, not in
3143 the debugger.
3144
3145 @kindex delete checkpoint @var{checkpoint-id}
3146 @item delete checkpoint @var{checkpoint-id}
3147 Delete the previously-saved checkpoint identified by @var{checkpoint-id}.
3148
3149 @end table
3150
3151 Returning to a previously saved checkpoint will restore the user state
3152 of the program being debugged, plus a significant subset of the system
3153 (OS) state, including file pointers. It won't ``un-write'' data from
3154 a file, but it will rewind the file pointer to the previous location,
3155 so that the previously written data can be overwritten. For files
3156 opened in read mode, the pointer will also be restored so that the
3157 previously read data can be read again.
3158
3159 Of course, characters that have been sent to a printer (or other
3160 external device) cannot be ``snatched back'', and characters received
3161 from eg.@: a serial device can be removed from internal program buffers,
3162 but they cannot be ``pushed back'' into the serial pipeline, ready to
3163 be received again. Similarly, the actual contents of files that have
3164 been changed cannot be restored (at this time).
3165
3166 However, within those constraints, you actually can ``rewind'' your
3167 program to a previously saved point in time, and begin debugging it
3168 again --- and you can change the course of events so as to debug a
3169 different execution path this time.
3170
3171 @cindex checkpoints and process id
3172 Finally, there is one bit of internal program state that will be
3173 different when you return to a checkpoint --- the program's process
3174 id. Each checkpoint will have a unique process id (or @var{pid}),
3175 and each will be different from the program's original @var{pid}.
3176 If your program has saved a local copy of its process id, this could
3177 potentially pose a problem.
3178
3179 @subsection A Non-obvious Benefit of Using Checkpoints
3180
3181 On some systems such as @sc{gnu}/Linux, address space randomization
3182 is performed on new processes for security reasons. This makes it
3183 difficult or impossible to set a breakpoint, or watchpoint, on an
3184 absolute address if you have to restart the program, since the
3185 absolute location of a symbol will change from one execution to the
3186 next.
3187
3188 A checkpoint, however, is an @emph{identical} copy of a process.
3189 Therefore if you create a checkpoint at (eg.@:) the start of main,
3190 and simply return to that checkpoint instead of restarting the
3191 process, you can avoid the effects of address randomization and
3192 your symbols will all stay in the same place.
3193
3194 @node Stopping
3195 @chapter Stopping and Continuing
3196
3197 The principal purposes of using a debugger are so that you can stop your
3198 program before it terminates; or so that, if your program runs into
3199 trouble, you can investigate and find out why.
3200
3201 Inside @value{GDBN}, your program may stop for any of several reasons,
3202 such as a signal, a breakpoint, or reaching a new line after a
3203 @value{GDBN} command such as @code{step}. You may then examine and
3204 change variables, set new breakpoints or remove old ones, and then
3205 continue execution. Usually, the messages shown by @value{GDBN} provide
3206 ample explanation of the status of your program---but you can also
3207 explicitly request this information at any time.
3208
3209 @table @code
3210 @kindex info program
3211 @item info program
3212 Display information about the status of your program: whether it is
3213 running or not, what process it is, and why it stopped.
3214 @end table
3215
3216 @menu
3217 * Breakpoints:: Breakpoints, watchpoints, and catchpoints
3218 * Continuing and Stepping:: Resuming execution
3219 * Signals:: Signals
3220 * Thread Stops:: Stopping and starting multi-thread programs
3221 @end menu
3222
3223 @node Breakpoints
3224 @section Breakpoints, Watchpoints, and Catchpoints
3225
3226 @cindex breakpoints
3227 A @dfn{breakpoint} makes your program stop whenever a certain point in
3228 the program is reached. For each breakpoint, you can add conditions to
3229 control in finer detail whether your program stops. You can set
3230 breakpoints with the @code{break} command and its variants (@pxref{Set
3231 Breaks, ,Setting Breakpoints}), to specify the place where your program
3232 should stop by line number, function name or exact address in the
3233 program.
3234
3235 On some systems, you can set breakpoints in shared libraries before
3236 the executable is run. There is a minor limitation on HP-UX systems:
3237 you must wait until the executable is run in order to set breakpoints
3238 in shared library routines that are not called directly by the program
3239 (for example, routines that are arguments in a @code{pthread_create}
3240 call).
3241
3242 @cindex watchpoints
3243 @cindex data breakpoints
3244 @cindex memory tracing
3245 @cindex breakpoint on memory address
3246 @cindex breakpoint on variable modification
3247 A @dfn{watchpoint} is a special breakpoint that stops your program
3248 when the value of an expression changes. The expression may be a value
3249 of a variable, or it could involve values of one or more variables
3250 combined by operators, such as @samp{a + b}. This is sometimes called
3251 @dfn{data breakpoints}. You must use a different command to set
3252 watchpoints (@pxref{Set Watchpoints, ,Setting Watchpoints}), but aside
3253 from that, you can manage a watchpoint like any other breakpoint: you
3254 enable, disable, and delete both breakpoints and watchpoints using the
3255 same commands.
3256
3257 You can arrange to have values from your program displayed automatically
3258 whenever @value{GDBN} stops at a breakpoint. @xref{Auto Display,,
3259 Automatic Display}.
3260
3261 @cindex catchpoints
3262 @cindex breakpoint on events
3263 A @dfn{catchpoint} is another special breakpoint that stops your program
3264 when a certain kind of event occurs, such as the throwing of a C@t{++}
3265 exception or the loading of a library. As with watchpoints, you use a
3266 different command to set a catchpoint (@pxref{Set Catchpoints, ,Setting
3267 Catchpoints}), but aside from that, you can manage a catchpoint like any
3268 other breakpoint. (To stop when your program receives a signal, use the
3269 @code{handle} command; see @ref{Signals, ,Signals}.)
3270
3271 @cindex breakpoint numbers
3272 @cindex numbers for breakpoints
3273 @value{GDBN} assigns a number to each breakpoint, watchpoint, or
3274 catchpoint when you create it; these numbers are successive integers
3275 starting with one. In many of the commands for controlling various
3276 features of breakpoints you use the breakpoint number to say which
3277 breakpoint you want to change. Each breakpoint may be @dfn{enabled} or
3278 @dfn{disabled}; if disabled, it has no effect on your program until you
3279 enable it again.
3280
3281 @cindex breakpoint ranges
3282 @cindex ranges of breakpoints
3283 Some @value{GDBN} commands accept a range of breakpoints on which to
3284 operate. A breakpoint range is either a single breakpoint number, like
3285 @samp{5}, or two such numbers, in increasing order, separated by a
3286 hyphen, like @samp{5-7}. When a breakpoint range is given to a command,
3287 all breakpoints in that range are operated on.
3288
3289 @menu
3290 * Set Breaks:: Setting breakpoints
3291 * Set Watchpoints:: Setting watchpoints
3292 * Set Catchpoints:: Setting catchpoints
3293 * Delete Breaks:: Deleting breakpoints
3294 * Disabling:: Disabling breakpoints
3295 * Conditions:: Break conditions
3296 * Break Commands:: Breakpoint command lists
3297 * Save Breakpoints:: How to save breakpoints in a file
3298 * Error in Breakpoints:: ``Cannot insert breakpoints''
3299 * Breakpoint-related Warnings:: ``Breakpoint address adjusted...''
3300 @end menu
3301
3302 @node Set Breaks
3303 @subsection Setting Breakpoints
3304
3305 @c FIXME LMB what does GDB do if no code on line of breakpt?
3306 @c consider in particular declaration with/without initialization.
3307 @c
3308 @c FIXME 2 is there stuff on this already? break at fun start, already init?
3309
3310 @kindex break
3311 @kindex b @r{(@code{break})}
3312 @vindex $bpnum@r{, convenience variable}
3313 @cindex latest breakpoint
3314 Breakpoints are set with the @code{break} command (abbreviated
3315 @code{b}). The debugger convenience variable @samp{$bpnum} records the
3316 number of the breakpoint you've set most recently; see @ref{Convenience
3317 Vars,, Convenience Variables}, for a discussion of what you can do with
3318 convenience variables.
3319
3320 @table @code
3321 @item break @var{location}
3322 Set a breakpoint at the given @var{location}, which can specify a
3323 function name, a line number, or an address of an instruction.
3324 (@xref{Specify Location}, for a list of all the possible ways to
3325 specify a @var{location}.) The breakpoint will stop your program just
3326 before it executes any of the code in the specified @var{location}.
3327
3328 When using source languages that permit overloading of symbols, such as
3329 C@t{++}, a function name may refer to more than one possible place to break.
3330 @xref{Ambiguous Expressions,,Ambiguous Expressions}, for a discussion of
3331 that situation.
3332
3333 It is also possible to insert a breakpoint that will stop the program
3334 only if a specific thread (@pxref{Thread-Specific Breakpoints})
3335 or a specific task (@pxref{Ada Tasks}) hits that breakpoint.
3336
3337 @item break
3338 When called without any arguments, @code{break} sets a breakpoint at
3339 the next instruction to be executed in the selected stack frame
3340 (@pxref{Stack, ,Examining the Stack}). In any selected frame but the
3341 innermost, this makes your program stop as soon as control
3342 returns to that frame. This is similar to the effect of a
3343 @code{finish} command in the frame inside the selected frame---except
3344 that @code{finish} does not leave an active breakpoint. If you use
3345 @code{break} without an argument in the innermost frame, @value{GDBN} stops
3346 the next time it reaches the current location; this may be useful
3347 inside loops.
3348
3349 @value{GDBN} normally ignores breakpoints when it resumes execution, until at
3350 least one instruction has been executed. If it did not do this, you
3351 would be unable to proceed past a breakpoint without first disabling the
3352 breakpoint. This rule applies whether or not the breakpoint already
3353 existed when your program stopped.
3354
3355 @item break @dots{} if @var{cond}
3356 Set a breakpoint with condition @var{cond}; evaluate the expression
3357 @var{cond} each time the breakpoint is reached, and stop only if the
3358 value is nonzero---that is, if @var{cond} evaluates as true.
3359 @samp{@dots{}} stands for one of the possible arguments described
3360 above (or no argument) specifying where to break. @xref{Conditions,
3361 ,Break Conditions}, for more information on breakpoint conditions.
3362
3363 @kindex tbreak
3364 @item tbreak @var{args}
3365 Set a breakpoint enabled only for one stop. @var{args} are the
3366 same as for the @code{break} command, and the breakpoint is set in the same
3367 way, but the breakpoint is automatically deleted after the first time your
3368 program stops there. @xref{Disabling, ,Disabling Breakpoints}.
3369
3370 @kindex hbreak
3371 @cindex hardware breakpoints
3372 @item hbreak @var{args}
3373 Set a hardware-assisted breakpoint. @var{args} are the same as for the
3374 @code{break} command and the breakpoint is set in the same way, but the
3375 breakpoint requires hardware support and some target hardware may not
3376 have this support. The main purpose of this is EPROM/ROM code
3377 debugging, so you can set a breakpoint at an instruction without
3378 changing the instruction. This can be used with the new trap-generation
3379 provided by SPARClite DSU and most x86-based targets. These targets
3380 will generate traps when a program accesses some data or instruction
3381 address that is assigned to the debug registers. However the hardware
3382 breakpoint registers can take a limited number of breakpoints. For
3383 example, on the DSU, only two data breakpoints can be set at a time, and
3384 @value{GDBN} will reject this command if more than two are used. Delete
3385 or disable unused hardware breakpoints before setting new ones
3386 (@pxref{Disabling, ,Disabling Breakpoints}).
3387 @xref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions}.
3388 For remote targets, you can restrict the number of hardware
3389 breakpoints @value{GDBN} will use, see @ref{set remote
3390 hardware-breakpoint-limit}.
3391
3392 @kindex thbreak
3393 @item thbreak @var{args}
3394 Set a hardware-assisted breakpoint enabled only for one stop. @var{args}
3395 are the same as for the @code{hbreak} command and the breakpoint is set in
3396 the same way. However, like the @code{tbreak} command,
3397 the breakpoint is automatically deleted after the
3398 first time your program stops there. Also, like the @code{hbreak}
3399 command, the breakpoint requires hardware support and some target hardware
3400 may not have this support. @xref{Disabling, ,Disabling Breakpoints}.
3401 See also @ref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions}.
3402
3403 @kindex rbreak
3404 @cindex regular expression
3405 @cindex breakpoints at functions matching a regexp
3406 @cindex set breakpoints in many functions
3407 @item rbreak @var{regex}
3408 Set breakpoints on all functions matching the regular expression
3409 @var{regex}. This command sets an unconditional breakpoint on all
3410 matches, printing a list of all breakpoints it set. Once these
3411 breakpoints are set, they are treated just like the breakpoints set with
3412 the @code{break} command. You can delete them, disable them, or make
3413 them conditional the same way as any other breakpoint.
3414
3415 The syntax of the regular expression is the standard one used with tools
3416 like @file{grep}. Note that this is different from the syntax used by
3417 shells, so for instance @code{foo*} matches all functions that include
3418 an @code{fo} followed by zero or more @code{o}s. There is an implicit
3419 @code{.*} leading and trailing the regular expression you supply, so to
3420 match only functions that begin with @code{foo}, use @code{^foo}.
3421
3422 @cindex non-member C@t{++} functions, set breakpoint in
3423 When debugging C@t{++} programs, @code{rbreak} is useful for setting
3424 breakpoints on overloaded functions that are not members of any special
3425 classes.
3426
3427 @cindex set breakpoints on all functions
3428 The @code{rbreak} command can be used to set breakpoints in
3429 @strong{all} the functions in a program, like this:
3430
3431 @smallexample
3432 (@value{GDBP}) rbreak .
3433 @end smallexample
3434
3435 @item rbreak @var{file}:@var{regex}
3436 If @code{rbreak} is called with a filename qualification, it limits
3437 the search for functions matching the given regular expression to the
3438 specified @var{file}. This can be used, for example, to set breakpoints on
3439 every function in a given file:
3440
3441 @smallexample
3442 (@value{GDBP}) rbreak file.c:.
3443 @end smallexample
3444
3445 The colon separating the filename qualifier from the regex may
3446 optionally be surrounded by spaces.
3447
3448 @kindex info breakpoints
3449 @cindex @code{$_} and @code{info breakpoints}
3450 @item info breakpoints @r{[}@var{n}@dots{}@r{]}
3451 @itemx info break @r{[}@var{n}@dots{}@r{]}
3452 Print a table of all breakpoints, watchpoints, and catchpoints set and
3453 not deleted. Optional argument @var{n} means print information only
3454 about the specified breakpoint(s) (or watchpoint(s) or catchpoint(s)).
3455 For each breakpoint, following columns are printed:
3456
3457 @table @emph
3458 @item Breakpoint Numbers
3459 @item Type
3460 Breakpoint, watchpoint, or catchpoint.
3461 @item Disposition
3462 Whether the breakpoint is marked to be disabled or deleted when hit.
3463 @item Enabled or Disabled
3464 Enabled breakpoints are marked with @samp{y}. @samp{n} marks breakpoints
3465 that are not enabled.
3466 @item Address
3467 Where the breakpoint is in your program, as a memory address. For a
3468 pending breakpoint whose address is not yet known, this field will
3469 contain @samp{<PENDING>}. Such breakpoint won't fire until a shared
3470 library that has the symbol or line referred by breakpoint is loaded.
3471 See below for details. A breakpoint with several locations will
3472 have @samp{<MULTIPLE>} in this field---see below for details.
3473 @item What
3474 Where the breakpoint is in the source for your program, as a file and
3475 line number. For a pending breakpoint, the original string passed to
3476 the breakpoint command will be listed as it cannot be resolved until
3477 the appropriate shared library is loaded in the future.
3478 @end table
3479
3480 @noindent
3481 If a breakpoint is conditional, @code{info break} shows the condition on
3482 the line following the affected breakpoint; breakpoint commands, if any,
3483 are listed after that. A pending breakpoint is allowed to have a condition
3484 specified for it. The condition is not parsed for validity until a shared
3485 library is loaded that allows the pending breakpoint to resolve to a
3486 valid location.
3487
3488 @noindent
3489 @code{info break} with a breakpoint
3490 number @var{n} as argument lists only that breakpoint. The
3491 convenience variable @code{$_} and the default examining-address for
3492 the @code{x} command are set to the address of the last breakpoint
3493 listed (@pxref{Memory, ,Examining Memory}).
3494
3495 @noindent
3496 @code{info break} displays a count of the number of times the breakpoint
3497 has been hit. This is especially useful in conjunction with the
3498 @code{ignore} command. You can ignore a large number of breakpoint
3499 hits, look at the breakpoint info to see how many times the breakpoint
3500 was hit, and then run again, ignoring one less than that number. This
3501 will get you quickly to the last hit of that breakpoint.
3502 @end table
3503
3504 @value{GDBN} allows you to set any number of breakpoints at the same place in
3505 your program. There is nothing silly or meaningless about this. When
3506 the breakpoints are conditional, this is even useful
3507 (@pxref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions}).
3508
3509 @cindex multiple locations, breakpoints
3510 @cindex breakpoints, multiple locations
3511 It is possible that a breakpoint corresponds to several locations
3512 in your program. Examples of this situation are:
3513
3514 @itemize @bullet
3515 @item
3516 For a C@t{++} constructor, the @value{NGCC} compiler generates several
3517 instances of the function body, used in different cases.
3518
3519 @item
3520 For a C@t{++} template function, a given line in the function can
3521 correspond to any number of instantiations.
3522
3523 @item
3524 For an inlined function, a given source line can correspond to
3525 several places where that function is inlined.
3526 @end itemize
3527
3528 In all those cases, @value{GDBN} will insert a breakpoint at all
3529 the relevant locations@footnote{
3530 As of this writing, multiple-location breakpoints work only if there's
3531 line number information for all the locations. This means that they
3532 will generally not work in system libraries, unless you have debug
3533 info with line numbers for them.}.
3534
3535 A breakpoint with multiple locations is displayed in the breakpoint
3536 table using several rows---one header row, followed by one row for
3537 each breakpoint location. The header row has @samp{<MULTIPLE>} in the
3538 address column. The rows for individual locations contain the actual
3539 addresses for locations, and show the functions to which those
3540 locations belong. The number column for a location is of the form
3541 @var{breakpoint-number}.@var{location-number}.
3542
3543 For example:
3544
3545 @smallexample
3546 Num Type Disp Enb Address What
3547 1 breakpoint keep y <MULTIPLE>
3548 stop only if i==1
3549 breakpoint already hit 1 time
3550 1.1 y 0x080486a2 in void foo<int>() at t.cc:8
3551 1.2 y 0x080486ca in void foo<double>() at t.cc:8
3552 @end smallexample
3553
3554 Each location can be individually enabled or disabled by passing
3555 @var{breakpoint-number}.@var{location-number} as argument to the
3556 @code{enable} and @code{disable} commands. Note that you cannot
3557 delete the individual locations from the list, you can only delete the
3558 entire list of locations that belong to their parent breakpoint (with
3559 the @kbd{delete @var{num}} command, where @var{num} is the number of
3560 the parent breakpoint, 1 in the above example). Disabling or enabling
3561 the parent breakpoint (@pxref{Disabling}) affects all of the locations
3562 that belong to that breakpoint.
3563
3564 @cindex pending breakpoints
3565 It's quite common to have a breakpoint inside a shared library.
3566 Shared libraries can be loaded and unloaded explicitly,
3567 and possibly repeatedly, as the program is executed. To support
3568 this use case, @value{GDBN} updates breakpoint locations whenever
3569 any shared library is loaded or unloaded. Typically, you would
3570 set a breakpoint in a shared library at the beginning of your
3571 debugging session, when the library is not loaded, and when the
3572 symbols from the library are not available. When you try to set
3573 breakpoint, @value{GDBN} will ask you if you want to set
3574 a so called @dfn{pending breakpoint}---breakpoint whose address
3575 is not yet resolved.
3576
3577 After the program is run, whenever a new shared library is loaded,
3578 @value{GDBN} reevaluates all the breakpoints. When a newly loaded
3579 shared library contains the symbol or line referred to by some
3580 pending breakpoint, that breakpoint is resolved and becomes an
3581 ordinary breakpoint. When a library is unloaded, all breakpoints
3582 that refer to its symbols or source lines become pending again.
3583
3584 This logic works for breakpoints with multiple locations, too. For
3585 example, if you have a breakpoint in a C@t{++} template function, and
3586 a newly loaded shared library has an instantiation of that template,
3587 a new location is added to the list of locations for the breakpoint.
3588
3589 Except for having unresolved address, pending breakpoints do not
3590 differ from regular breakpoints. You can set conditions or commands,
3591 enable and disable them and perform other breakpoint operations.
3592
3593 @value{GDBN} provides some additional commands for controlling what
3594 happens when the @samp{break} command cannot resolve breakpoint
3595 address specification to an address:
3596
3597 @kindex set breakpoint pending
3598 @kindex show breakpoint pending
3599 @table @code
3600 @item set breakpoint pending auto
3601 This is the default behavior. When @value{GDBN} cannot find the breakpoint
3602 location, it queries you whether a pending breakpoint should be created.
3603
3604 @item set breakpoint pending on
3605 This indicates that an unrecognized breakpoint location should automatically
3606 result in a pending breakpoint being created.
3607
3608 @item set breakpoint pending off
3609 This indicates that pending breakpoints are not to be created. Any
3610 unrecognized breakpoint location results in an error. This setting does
3611 not affect any pending breakpoints previously created.
3612
3613 @item show breakpoint pending
3614 Show the current behavior setting for creating pending breakpoints.
3615 @end table
3616
3617 The settings above only affect the @code{break} command and its
3618 variants. Once breakpoint is set, it will be automatically updated
3619 as shared libraries are loaded and unloaded.
3620
3621 @cindex automatic hardware breakpoints
3622 For some targets, @value{GDBN} can automatically decide if hardware or
3623 software breakpoints should be used, depending on whether the
3624 breakpoint address is read-only or read-write. This applies to
3625 breakpoints set with the @code{break} command as well as to internal
3626 breakpoints set by commands like @code{next} and @code{finish}. For
3627 breakpoints set with @code{hbreak}, @value{GDBN} will always use hardware
3628 breakpoints.
3629
3630 You can control this automatic behaviour with the following commands::
3631
3632 @kindex set breakpoint auto-hw
3633 @kindex show breakpoint auto-hw
3634 @table @code
3635 @item set breakpoint auto-hw on
3636 This is the default behavior. When @value{GDBN} sets a breakpoint, it
3637 will try to use the target memory map to decide if software or hardware
3638 breakpoint must be used.
3639
3640 @item set breakpoint auto-hw off
3641 This indicates @value{GDBN} should not automatically select breakpoint
3642 type. If the target provides a memory map, @value{GDBN} will warn when
3643 trying to set software breakpoint at a read-only address.
3644 @end table
3645
3646 @value{GDBN} normally implements breakpoints by replacing the program code
3647 at the breakpoint address with a special instruction, which, when
3648 executed, given control to the debugger. By default, the program
3649 code is so modified only when the program is resumed. As soon as
3650 the program stops, @value{GDBN} restores the original instructions. This
3651 behaviour guards against leaving breakpoints inserted in the
3652 target should gdb abrubptly disconnect. However, with slow remote
3653 targets, inserting and removing breakpoint can reduce the performance.
3654 This behavior can be controlled with the following commands::
3655
3656 @kindex set breakpoint always-inserted
3657 @kindex show breakpoint always-inserted
3658 @table @code
3659 @item set breakpoint always-inserted off
3660 All breakpoints, including newly added by the user, are inserted in
3661 the target only when the target is resumed. All breakpoints are
3662 removed from the target when it stops.
3663
3664 @item set breakpoint always-inserted on
3665 Causes all breakpoints to be inserted in the target at all times. If
3666 the user adds a new breakpoint, or changes an existing breakpoint, the
3667 breakpoints in the target are updated immediately. A breakpoint is
3668 removed from the target only when breakpoint itself is removed.
3669
3670 @cindex non-stop mode, and @code{breakpoint always-inserted}
3671 @item set breakpoint always-inserted auto
3672 This is the default mode. If @value{GDBN} is controlling the inferior
3673 in non-stop mode (@pxref{Non-Stop Mode}), gdb behaves as if
3674 @code{breakpoint always-inserted} mode is on. If @value{GDBN} is
3675 controlling the inferior in all-stop mode, @value{GDBN} behaves as if
3676 @code{breakpoint always-inserted} mode is off.
3677 @end table
3678
3679 @cindex negative breakpoint numbers
3680 @cindex internal @value{GDBN} breakpoints
3681 @value{GDBN} itself sometimes sets breakpoints in your program for
3682 special purposes, such as proper handling of @code{longjmp} (in C
3683 programs). These internal breakpoints are assigned negative numbers,
3684 starting with @code{-1}; @samp{info breakpoints} does not display them.
3685 You can see these breakpoints with the @value{GDBN} maintenance command
3686 @samp{maint info breakpoints} (@pxref{maint info breakpoints}).
3687
3688
3689 @node Set Watchpoints
3690 @subsection Setting Watchpoints
3691
3692 @cindex setting watchpoints
3693 You can use a watchpoint to stop execution whenever the value of an
3694 expression changes, without having to predict a particular place where
3695 this may happen. (This is sometimes called a @dfn{data breakpoint}.)
3696 The expression may be as simple as the value of a single variable, or
3697 as complex as many variables combined by operators. Examples include:
3698
3699 @itemize @bullet
3700 @item
3701 A reference to the value of a single variable.
3702
3703 @item
3704 An address cast to an appropriate data type. For example,
3705 @samp{*(int *)0x12345678} will watch a 4-byte region at the specified
3706 address (assuming an @code{int} occupies 4 bytes).
3707
3708 @item
3709 An arbitrarily complex expression, such as @samp{a*b + c/d}. The
3710 expression can use any operators valid in the program's native
3711 language (@pxref{Languages}).
3712 @end itemize
3713
3714 You can set a watchpoint on an expression even if the expression can
3715 not be evaluated yet. For instance, you can set a watchpoint on
3716 @samp{*global_ptr} before @samp{global_ptr} is initialized.
3717 @value{GDBN} will stop when your program sets @samp{global_ptr} and
3718 the expression produces a valid value. If the expression becomes
3719 valid in some other way than changing a variable (e.g.@: if the memory
3720 pointed to by @samp{*global_ptr} becomes readable as the result of a
3721 @code{malloc} call), @value{GDBN} may not stop until the next time
3722 the expression changes.
3723
3724 @cindex software watchpoints
3725 @cindex hardware watchpoints
3726 Depending on your system, watchpoints may be implemented in software or
3727 hardware. @value{GDBN} does software watchpointing by single-stepping your
3728 program and testing the variable's value each time, which is hundreds of
3729 times slower than normal execution. (But this may still be worth it, to
3730 catch errors where you have no clue what part of your program is the
3731 culprit.)
3732
3733 On some systems, such as HP-UX, PowerPC, @sc{gnu}/Linux and most other
3734 x86-based targets, @value{GDBN} includes support for hardware
3735 watchpoints, which do not slow down the running of your program.
3736
3737 @table @code
3738 @kindex watch
3739 @item watch @r{[}-l@r{|}-location@r{]} @var{expr} @r{[}thread @var{threadnum}@r{]} @r{[}mask @var{maskvalue}@r{]}
3740 Set a watchpoint for an expression. @value{GDBN} will break when the
3741 expression @var{expr} is written into by the program and its value
3742 changes. The simplest (and the most popular) use of this command is
3743 to watch the value of a single variable:
3744
3745 @smallexample
3746 (@value{GDBP}) watch foo
3747 @end smallexample
3748
3749 If the command includes a @code{@r{[}thread @var{threadnum}@r{]}}
3750 argument, @value{GDBN} breaks only when the thread identified by
3751 @var{threadnum} changes the value of @var{expr}. If any other threads
3752 change the value of @var{expr}, @value{GDBN} will not break. Note
3753 that watchpoints restricted to a single thread in this way only work
3754 with Hardware Watchpoints.
3755
3756 Ordinarily a watchpoint respects the scope of variables in @var{expr}
3757 (see below). The @code{-location} argument tells @value{GDBN} to
3758 instead watch the memory referred to by @var{expr}. In this case,
3759 @value{GDBN} will evaluate @var{expr}, take the address of the result,
3760 and watch the memory at that address. The type of the result is used
3761 to determine the size of the watched memory. If the expression's
3762 result does not have an address, then @value{GDBN} will print an
3763 error.
3764
3765 The @code{@r{[}mask @var{maskvalue}@r{]}} argument allows creation
3766 of masked watchpoints, if the current architecture supports this
3767 feature (e.g., PowerPC Embedded architecture, see @ref{PowerPC
3768 Embedded}.) A @dfn{masked watchpoint} specifies a mask in addition
3769 to an address to watch. The mask specifies that some bits of an address
3770 (the bits which are reset in the mask) should be ignored when matching
3771 the address accessed by the inferior against the watchpoint address.
3772 Thus, a masked watchpoint watches many addresses simultaneously---those
3773 addresses whose unmasked bits are identical to the unmasked bits in the
3774 watchpoint address. The @code{mask} argument implies @code{-location}.
3775 Examples:
3776
3777 @smallexample
3778 (@value{GDBP}) watch foo mask 0xffff00ff
3779 (@value{GDBP}) watch *0xdeadbeef mask 0xffffff00
3780 @end smallexample
3781
3782 @kindex rwatch
3783 @item rwatch @r{[}-l@r{|}-location@r{]} @var{expr} @r{[}thread @var{threadnum}@r{]} @r{[}mask @var{maskvalue}@r{]}
3784 Set a watchpoint that will break when the value of @var{expr} is read
3785 by the program.
3786
3787 @kindex awatch
3788 @item awatch @r{[}-l@r{|}-location@r{]} @var{expr} @r{[}thread @var{threadnum}@r{]} @r{[}mask @var{maskvalue}@r{]}
3789 Set a watchpoint that will break when @var{expr} is either read from
3790 or written into by the program.
3791
3792 @kindex info watchpoints @r{[}@var{n}@dots{}@r{]}
3793 @item info watchpoints @r{[}@var{n}@dots{}@r{]}
3794 This command prints a list of watchpoints, using the same format as
3795 @code{info break} (@pxref{Set Breaks}).
3796 @end table
3797
3798 If you watch for a change in a numerically entered address you need to
3799 dereference it, as the address itself is just a constant number which will
3800 never change. @value{GDBN} refuses to create a watchpoint that watches
3801 a never-changing value:
3802
3803 @smallexample
3804 (@value{GDBP}) watch 0x600850
3805 Cannot watch constant value 0x600850.
3806 (@value{GDBP}) watch *(int *) 0x600850
3807 Watchpoint 1: *(int *) 6293584
3808 @end smallexample
3809
3810 @value{GDBN} sets a @dfn{hardware watchpoint} if possible. Hardware
3811 watchpoints execute very quickly, and the debugger reports a change in
3812 value at the exact instruction where the change occurs. If @value{GDBN}
3813 cannot set a hardware watchpoint, it sets a software watchpoint, which
3814 executes more slowly and reports the change in value at the next
3815 @emph{statement}, not the instruction, after the change occurs.
3816
3817 @cindex use only software watchpoints
3818 You can force @value{GDBN} to use only software watchpoints with the
3819 @kbd{set can-use-hw-watchpoints 0} command. With this variable set to
3820 zero, @value{GDBN} will never try to use hardware watchpoints, even if
3821 the underlying system supports them. (Note that hardware-assisted
3822 watchpoints that were set @emph{before} setting
3823 @code{can-use-hw-watchpoints} to zero will still use the hardware
3824 mechanism of watching expression values.)
3825
3826 @table @code
3827 @item set can-use-hw-watchpoints
3828 @kindex set can-use-hw-watchpoints
3829 Set whether or not to use hardware watchpoints.
3830
3831 @item show can-use-hw-watchpoints
3832 @kindex show can-use-hw-watchpoints
3833 Show the current mode of using hardware watchpoints.
3834 @end table
3835
3836 For remote targets, you can restrict the number of hardware
3837 watchpoints @value{GDBN} will use, see @ref{set remote
3838 hardware-breakpoint-limit}.
3839
3840 When you issue the @code{watch} command, @value{GDBN} reports
3841
3842 @smallexample
3843 Hardware watchpoint @var{num}: @var{expr}
3844 @end smallexample
3845
3846 @noindent
3847 if it was able to set a hardware watchpoint.
3848
3849 Currently, the @code{awatch} and @code{rwatch} commands can only set
3850 hardware watchpoints, because accesses to data that don't change the
3851 value of the watched expression cannot be detected without examining
3852 every instruction as it is being executed, and @value{GDBN} does not do
3853 that currently. If @value{GDBN} finds that it is unable to set a
3854 hardware breakpoint with the @code{awatch} or @code{rwatch} command, it
3855 will print a message like this:
3856
3857 @smallexample
3858 Expression cannot be implemented with read/access watchpoint.
3859 @end smallexample
3860
3861 Sometimes, @value{GDBN} cannot set a hardware watchpoint because the
3862 data type of the watched expression is wider than what a hardware
3863 watchpoint on the target machine can handle. For example, some systems
3864 can only watch regions that are up to 4 bytes wide; on such systems you
3865 cannot set hardware watchpoints for an expression that yields a
3866 double-precision floating-point number (which is typically 8 bytes
3867 wide). As a work-around, it might be possible to break the large region
3868 into a series of smaller ones and watch them with separate watchpoints.
3869
3870 If you set too many hardware watchpoints, @value{GDBN} might be unable
3871 to insert all of them when you resume the execution of your program.
3872 Since the precise number of active watchpoints is unknown until such
3873 time as the program is about to be resumed, @value{GDBN} might not be
3874 able to warn you about this when you set the watchpoints, and the
3875 warning will be printed only when the program is resumed:
3876
3877 @smallexample
3878 Hardware watchpoint @var{num}: Could not insert watchpoint
3879 @end smallexample
3880
3881 @noindent
3882 If this happens, delete or disable some of the watchpoints.
3883
3884 Watching complex expressions that reference many variables can also
3885 exhaust the resources available for hardware-assisted watchpoints.
3886 That's because @value{GDBN} needs to watch every variable in the
3887 expression with separately allocated resources.
3888
3889 If you call a function interactively using @code{print} or @code{call},
3890 any watchpoints you have set will be inactive until @value{GDBN} reaches another
3891 kind of breakpoint or the call completes.
3892
3893 @value{GDBN} automatically deletes watchpoints that watch local
3894 (automatic) variables, or expressions that involve such variables, when
3895 they go out of scope, that is, when the execution leaves the block in
3896 which these variables were defined. In particular, when the program
3897 being debugged terminates, @emph{all} local variables go out of scope,
3898 and so only watchpoints that watch global variables remain set. If you
3899 rerun the program, you will need to set all such watchpoints again. One
3900 way of doing that would be to set a code breakpoint at the entry to the
3901 @code{main} function and when it breaks, set all the watchpoints.
3902
3903 @cindex watchpoints and threads
3904 @cindex threads and watchpoints
3905 In multi-threaded programs, watchpoints will detect changes to the
3906 watched expression from every thread.
3907
3908 @quotation
3909 @emph{Warning:} In multi-threaded programs, software watchpoints
3910 have only limited usefulness. If @value{GDBN} creates a software
3911 watchpoint, it can only watch the value of an expression @emph{in a
3912 single thread}. If you are confident that the expression can only
3913 change due to the current thread's activity (and if you are also
3914 confident that no other thread can become current), then you can use
3915 software watchpoints as usual. However, @value{GDBN} may not notice
3916 when a non-current thread's activity changes the expression. (Hardware
3917 watchpoints, in contrast, watch an expression in all threads.)
3918 @end quotation
3919
3920 @xref{set remote hardware-watchpoint-limit}.
3921
3922 @node Set Catchpoints
3923 @subsection Setting Catchpoints
3924 @cindex catchpoints, setting
3925 @cindex exception handlers
3926 @cindex event handling
3927
3928 You can use @dfn{catchpoints} to cause the debugger to stop for certain
3929 kinds of program events, such as C@t{++} exceptions or the loading of a
3930 shared library. Use the @code{catch} command to set a catchpoint.
3931
3932 @table @code
3933 @kindex catch
3934 @item catch @var{event}
3935 Stop when @var{event} occurs. @var{event} can be any of the following:
3936 @table @code
3937 @item throw
3938 @cindex stop on C@t{++} exceptions
3939 The throwing of a C@t{++} exception.
3940
3941 @item catch
3942 The catching of a C@t{++} exception.
3943
3944 @item exception
3945 @cindex Ada exception catching
3946 @cindex catch Ada exceptions
3947 An Ada exception being raised. If an exception name is specified
3948 at the end of the command (eg @code{catch exception Program_Error}),
3949 the debugger will stop only when this specific exception is raised.
3950 Otherwise, the debugger stops execution when any Ada exception is raised.
3951
3952 When inserting an exception catchpoint on a user-defined exception whose
3953 name is identical to one of the exceptions defined by the language, the
3954 fully qualified name must be used as the exception name. Otherwise,
3955 @value{GDBN} will assume that it should stop on the pre-defined exception
3956 rather than the user-defined one. For instance, assuming an exception
3957 called @code{Constraint_Error} is defined in package @code{Pck}, then
3958 the command to use to catch such exceptions is @kbd{catch exception
3959 Pck.Constraint_Error}.
3960
3961 @item exception unhandled
3962 An exception that was raised but is not handled by the program.
3963
3964 @item assert
3965 A failed Ada assertion.
3966
3967 @item exec
3968 @cindex break on fork/exec
3969 A call to @code{exec}. This is currently only available for HP-UX
3970 and @sc{gnu}/Linux.
3971
3972 @item syscall
3973 @itemx syscall @r{[}@var{name} @r{|} @var{number}@r{]} @dots{}
3974 @cindex break on a system call.
3975 A call to or return from a system call, a.k.a.@: @dfn{syscall}. A
3976 syscall is a mechanism for application programs to request a service
3977 from the operating system (OS) or one of the OS system services.
3978 @value{GDBN} can catch some or all of the syscalls issued by the
3979 debuggee, and show the related information for each syscall. If no
3980 argument is specified, calls to and returns from all system calls
3981 will be caught.
3982
3983 @var{name} can be any system call name that is valid for the
3984 underlying OS. Just what syscalls are valid depends on the OS. On
3985 GNU and Unix systems, you can find the full list of valid syscall
3986 names on @file{/usr/include/asm/unistd.h}.
3987
3988 @c For MS-Windows, the syscall names and the corresponding numbers
3989 @c can be found, e.g., on this URL:
3990 @c http://www.metasploit.com/users/opcode/syscalls.html
3991 @c but we don't support Windows syscalls yet.
3992
3993 Normally, @value{GDBN} knows in advance which syscalls are valid for
3994 each OS, so you can use the @value{GDBN} command-line completion
3995 facilities (@pxref{Completion,, command completion}) to list the
3996 available choices.
3997
3998 You may also specify the system call numerically. A syscall's
3999 number is the value passed to the OS's syscall dispatcher to
4000 identify the requested service. When you specify the syscall by its
4001 name, @value{GDBN} uses its database of syscalls to convert the name
4002 into the corresponding numeric code, but using the number directly
4003 may be useful if @value{GDBN}'s database does not have the complete
4004 list of syscalls on your system (e.g., because @value{GDBN} lags
4005 behind the OS upgrades).
4006
4007 The example below illustrates how this command works if you don't provide
4008 arguments to it:
4009
4010 @smallexample
4011 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall
4012 Catchpoint 1 (syscall)
4013 (@value{GDBP}) r
4014 Starting program: /tmp/catch-syscall
4015
4016 Catchpoint 1 (call to syscall 'close'), \
4017 0xffffe424 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
4018 (@value{GDBP}) c
4019 Continuing.
4020
4021 Catchpoint 1 (returned from syscall 'close'), \
4022 0xffffe424 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
4023 (@value{GDBP})
4024 @end smallexample
4025
4026 Here is an example of catching a system call by name:
4027
4028 @smallexample
4029 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall chroot
4030 Catchpoint 1 (syscall 'chroot' [61])
4031 (@value{GDBP}) r
4032 Starting program: /tmp/catch-syscall
4033
4034 Catchpoint 1 (call to syscall 'chroot'), \
4035 0xffffe424 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
4036 (@value{GDBP}) c
4037 Continuing.
4038
4039 Catchpoint 1 (returned from syscall 'chroot'), \
4040 0xffffe424 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
4041 (@value{GDBP})
4042 @end smallexample
4043
4044 An example of specifying a system call numerically. In the case
4045 below, the syscall number has a corresponding entry in the XML
4046 file, so @value{GDBN} finds its name and prints it:
4047
4048 @smallexample
4049 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall 252
4050 Catchpoint 1 (syscall(s) 'exit_group')
4051 (@value{GDBP}) r
4052 Starting program: /tmp/catch-syscall
4053
4054 Catchpoint 1 (call to syscall 'exit_group'), \
4055 0xffffe424 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
4056 (@value{GDBP}) c
4057 Continuing.
4058
4059 Program exited normally.
4060 (@value{GDBP})
4061 @end smallexample
4062
4063 However, there can be situations when there is no corresponding name
4064 in XML file for that syscall number. In this case, @value{GDBN} prints
4065 a warning message saying that it was not able to find the syscall name,
4066 but the catchpoint will be set anyway. See the example below:
4067
4068 @smallexample
4069 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall 764
4070 warning: The number '764' does not represent a known syscall.
4071 Catchpoint 2 (syscall 764)
4072 (@value{GDBP})
4073 @end smallexample
4074
4075 If you configure @value{GDBN} using the @samp{--without-expat} option,
4076 it will not be able to display syscall names. Also, if your
4077 architecture does not have an XML file describing its system calls,
4078 you will not be able to see the syscall names. It is important to
4079 notice that these two features are used for accessing the syscall
4080 name database. In either case, you will see a warning like this:
4081
4082 @smallexample
4083 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall
4084 warning: Could not open "syscalls/i386-linux.xml"
4085 warning: Could not load the syscall XML file 'syscalls/i386-linux.xml'.
4086 GDB will not be able to display syscall names.
4087 Catchpoint 1 (syscall)
4088 (@value{GDBP})
4089 @end smallexample
4090
4091 Of course, the file name will change depending on your architecture and system.
4092
4093 Still using the example above, you can also try to catch a syscall by its
4094 number. In this case, you would see something like:
4095
4096 @smallexample
4097 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall 252
4098 Catchpoint 1 (syscall(s) 252)
4099 @end smallexample
4100
4101 Again, in this case @value{GDBN} would not be able to display syscall's names.
4102
4103 @item fork
4104 A call to @code{fork}. This is currently only available for HP-UX
4105 and @sc{gnu}/Linux.
4106
4107 @item vfork
4108 A call to @code{vfork}. This is currently only available for HP-UX
4109 and @sc{gnu}/Linux.
4110
4111 @end table
4112
4113 @item tcatch @var{event}
4114 Set a catchpoint that is enabled only for one stop. The catchpoint is
4115 automatically deleted after the first time the event is caught.
4116
4117 @end table
4118
4119 Use the @code{info break} command to list the current catchpoints.
4120
4121 There are currently some limitations to C@t{++} exception handling
4122 (@code{catch throw} and @code{catch catch}) in @value{GDBN}:
4123
4124 @itemize @bullet
4125 @item
4126 If you call a function interactively, @value{GDBN} normally returns
4127 control to you when the function has finished executing. If the call
4128 raises an exception, however, the call may bypass the mechanism that
4129 returns control to you and cause your program either to abort or to
4130 simply continue running until it hits a breakpoint, catches a signal
4131 that @value{GDBN} is listening for, or exits. This is the case even if
4132 you set a catchpoint for the exception; catchpoints on exceptions are
4133 disabled within interactive calls.
4134
4135 @item
4136 You cannot raise an exception interactively.
4137
4138 @item
4139 You cannot install an exception handler interactively.
4140 @end itemize
4141
4142 @cindex raise exceptions
4143 Sometimes @code{catch} is not the best way to debug exception handling:
4144 if you need to know exactly where an exception is raised, it is better to
4145 stop @emph{before} the exception handler is called, since that way you
4146 can see the stack before any unwinding takes place. If you set a
4147 breakpoint in an exception handler instead, it may not be easy to find
4148 out where the exception was raised.
4149
4150 To stop just before an exception handler is called, you need some
4151 knowledge of the implementation. In the case of @sc{gnu} C@t{++}, exceptions are
4152 raised by calling a library function named @code{__raise_exception}
4153 which has the following ANSI C interface:
4154
4155 @smallexample
4156 /* @var{addr} is where the exception identifier is stored.
4157 @var{id} is the exception identifier. */
4158 void __raise_exception (void **addr, void *id);
4159 @end smallexample
4160
4161 @noindent
4162 To make the debugger catch all exceptions before any stack
4163 unwinding takes place, set a breakpoint on @code{__raise_exception}
4164 (@pxref{Breakpoints, ,Breakpoints; Watchpoints; and Exceptions}).
4165
4166 With a conditional breakpoint (@pxref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions})
4167 that depends on the value of @var{id}, you can stop your program when
4168 a specific exception is raised. You can use multiple conditional
4169 breakpoints to stop your program when any of a number of exceptions are
4170 raised.
4171
4172
4173 @node Delete Breaks
4174 @subsection Deleting Breakpoints
4175
4176 @cindex clearing breakpoints, watchpoints, catchpoints
4177 @cindex deleting breakpoints, watchpoints, catchpoints
4178 It is often necessary to eliminate a breakpoint, watchpoint, or
4179 catchpoint once it has done its job and you no longer want your program
4180 to stop there. This is called @dfn{deleting} the breakpoint. A
4181 breakpoint that has been deleted no longer exists; it is forgotten.
4182
4183 With the @code{clear} command you can delete breakpoints according to
4184 where they are in your program. With the @code{delete} command you can
4185 delete individual breakpoints, watchpoints, or catchpoints by specifying
4186 their breakpoint numbers.
4187
4188 It is not necessary to delete a breakpoint to proceed past it. @value{GDBN}
4189 automatically ignores breakpoints on the first instruction to be executed
4190 when you continue execution without changing the execution address.
4191
4192 @table @code
4193 @kindex clear
4194 @item clear
4195 Delete any breakpoints at the next instruction to be executed in the
4196 selected stack frame (@pxref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}). When
4197 the innermost frame is selected, this is a good way to delete a
4198 breakpoint where your program just stopped.
4199
4200 @item clear @var{location}
4201 Delete any breakpoints set at the specified @var{location}.
4202 @xref{Specify Location}, for the various forms of @var{location}; the
4203 most useful ones are listed below:
4204
4205 @table @code
4206 @item clear @var{function}
4207 @itemx clear @var{filename}:@var{function}
4208 Delete any breakpoints set at entry to the named @var{function}.
4209
4210 @item clear @var{linenum}
4211 @itemx clear @var{filename}:@var{linenum}
4212 Delete any breakpoints set at or within the code of the specified
4213 @var{linenum} of the specified @var{filename}.
4214 @end table
4215
4216 @cindex delete breakpoints
4217 @kindex delete
4218 @kindex d @r{(@code{delete})}
4219 @item delete @r{[}breakpoints@r{]} @r{[}@var{range}@dots{}@r{]}
4220 Delete the breakpoints, watchpoints, or catchpoints of the breakpoint
4221 ranges specified as arguments. If no argument is specified, delete all
4222 breakpoints (@value{GDBN} asks confirmation, unless you have @code{set
4223 confirm off}). You can abbreviate this command as @code{d}.
4224 @end table
4225
4226 @node Disabling
4227 @subsection Disabling Breakpoints
4228
4229 @cindex enable/disable a breakpoint
4230 Rather than deleting a breakpoint, watchpoint, or catchpoint, you might
4231 prefer to @dfn{disable} it. This makes the breakpoint inoperative as if
4232 it had been deleted, but remembers the information on the breakpoint so
4233 that you can @dfn{enable} it again later.
4234
4235 You disable and enable breakpoints, watchpoints, and catchpoints with
4236 the @code{enable} and @code{disable} commands, optionally specifying
4237 one or more breakpoint numbers as arguments. Use @code{info break} to
4238 print a list of all breakpoints, watchpoints, and catchpoints if you
4239 do not know which numbers to use.
4240
4241 Disabling and enabling a breakpoint that has multiple locations
4242 affects all of its locations.
4243
4244 A breakpoint, watchpoint, or catchpoint can have any of four different
4245 states of enablement:
4246
4247 @itemize @bullet
4248 @item
4249 Enabled. The breakpoint stops your program. A breakpoint set
4250 with the @code{break} command starts out in this state.
4251 @item
4252 Disabled. The breakpoint has no effect on your program.
4253 @item
4254 Enabled once. The breakpoint stops your program, but then becomes
4255 disabled.
4256 @item
4257 Enabled for deletion. The breakpoint stops your program, but
4258 immediately after it does so it is deleted permanently. A breakpoint
4259 set with the @code{tbreak} command starts out in this state.
4260 @end itemize
4261
4262 You can use the following commands to enable or disable breakpoints,
4263 watchpoints, and catchpoints:
4264
4265 @table @code
4266 @kindex disable
4267 @kindex dis @r{(@code{disable})}
4268 @item disable @r{[}breakpoints@r{]} @r{[}@var{range}@dots{}@r{]}
4269 Disable the specified breakpoints---or all breakpoints, if none are
4270 listed. A disabled breakpoint has no effect but is not forgotten. All
4271 options such as ignore-counts, conditions and commands are remembered in
4272 case the breakpoint is enabled again later. You may abbreviate
4273 @code{disable} as @code{dis}.
4274
4275 @kindex enable
4276 @item enable @r{[}breakpoints@r{]} @r{[}@var{range}@dots{}@r{]}
4277 Enable the specified breakpoints (or all defined breakpoints). They
4278 become effective once again in stopping your program.
4279
4280 @item enable @r{[}breakpoints@r{]} once @var{range}@dots{}
4281 Enable the specified breakpoints temporarily. @value{GDBN} disables any
4282 of these breakpoints immediately after stopping your program.
4283
4284 @item enable @r{[}breakpoints@r{]} delete @var{range}@dots{}
4285 Enable the specified breakpoints to work once, then die. @value{GDBN}
4286 deletes any of these breakpoints as soon as your program stops there.
4287 Breakpoints set by the @code{tbreak} command start out in this state.
4288 @end table
4289
4290 @c FIXME: I think the following ``Except for [...] @code{tbreak}'' is
4291 @c confusing: tbreak is also initially enabled.
4292 Except for a breakpoint set with @code{tbreak} (@pxref{Set Breaks,
4293 ,Setting Breakpoints}), breakpoints that you set are initially enabled;
4294 subsequently, they become disabled or enabled only when you use one of
4295 the commands above. (The command @code{until} can set and delete a
4296 breakpoint of its own, but it does not change the state of your other
4297 breakpoints; see @ref{Continuing and Stepping, ,Continuing and
4298 Stepping}.)
4299
4300 @node Conditions
4301 @subsection Break Conditions
4302 @cindex conditional breakpoints
4303 @cindex breakpoint conditions
4304
4305 @c FIXME what is scope of break condition expr? Context where wanted?
4306 @c in particular for a watchpoint?
4307 The simplest sort of breakpoint breaks every time your program reaches a
4308 specified place. You can also specify a @dfn{condition} for a
4309 breakpoint. A condition is just a Boolean expression in your
4310 programming language (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}). A breakpoint with
4311 a condition evaluates the expression each time your program reaches it,
4312 and your program stops only if the condition is @emph{true}.
4313
4314 This is the converse of using assertions for program validation; in that
4315 situation, you want to stop when the assertion is violated---that is,
4316 when the condition is false. In C, if you want to test an assertion expressed
4317 by the condition @var{assert}, you should set the condition
4318 @samp{! @var{assert}} on the appropriate breakpoint.
4319
4320 Conditions are also accepted for watchpoints; you may not need them,
4321 since a watchpoint is inspecting the value of an expression anyhow---but
4322 it might be simpler, say, to just set a watchpoint on a variable name,
4323 and specify a condition that tests whether the new value is an interesting
4324 one.
4325
4326 Break conditions can have side effects, and may even call functions in
4327 your program. This can be useful, for example, to activate functions
4328 that log program progress, or to use your own print functions to
4329 format special data structures. The effects are completely predictable
4330 unless there is another enabled breakpoint at the same address. (In
4331 that case, @value{GDBN} might see the other breakpoint first and stop your
4332 program without checking the condition of this one.) Note that
4333 breakpoint commands are usually more convenient and flexible than break
4334 conditions for the
4335 purpose of performing side effects when a breakpoint is reached
4336 (@pxref{Break Commands, ,Breakpoint Command Lists}).
4337
4338 Break conditions can be specified when a breakpoint is set, by using
4339 @samp{if} in the arguments to the @code{break} command. @xref{Set
4340 Breaks, ,Setting Breakpoints}. They can also be changed at any time
4341 with the @code{condition} command.
4342
4343 You can also use the @code{if} keyword with the @code{watch} command.
4344 The @code{catch} command does not recognize the @code{if} keyword;
4345 @code{condition} is the only way to impose a further condition on a
4346 catchpoint.
4347
4348 @table @code
4349 @kindex condition
4350 @item condition @var{bnum} @var{expression}
4351 Specify @var{expression} as the break condition for breakpoint,
4352 watchpoint, or catchpoint number @var{bnum}. After you set a condition,
4353 breakpoint @var{bnum} stops your program only if the value of
4354 @var{expression} is true (nonzero, in C). When you use
4355 @code{condition}, @value{GDBN} checks @var{expression} immediately for
4356 syntactic correctness, and to determine whether symbols in it have
4357 referents in the context of your breakpoint. If @var{expression} uses
4358 symbols not referenced in the context of the breakpoint, @value{GDBN}
4359 prints an error message:
4360
4361 @smallexample
4362 No symbol "foo" in current context.
4363 @end smallexample
4364
4365 @noindent
4366 @value{GDBN} does
4367 not actually evaluate @var{expression} at the time the @code{condition}
4368 command (or a command that sets a breakpoint with a condition, like
4369 @code{break if @dots{}}) is given, however. @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}.
4370
4371 @item condition @var{bnum}
4372 Remove the condition from breakpoint number @var{bnum}. It becomes
4373 an ordinary unconditional breakpoint.
4374 @end table
4375
4376 @cindex ignore count (of breakpoint)
4377 A special case of a breakpoint condition is to stop only when the
4378 breakpoint has been reached a certain number of times. This is so
4379 useful that there is a special way to do it, using the @dfn{ignore
4380 count} of the breakpoint. Every breakpoint has an ignore count, which
4381 is an integer. Most of the time, the ignore count is zero, and
4382 therefore has no effect. But if your program reaches a breakpoint whose
4383 ignore count is positive, then instead of stopping, it just decrements
4384 the ignore count by one and continues. As a result, if the ignore count
4385 value is @var{n}, the breakpoint does not stop the next @var{n} times
4386 your program reaches it.
4387
4388 @table @code
4389 @kindex ignore
4390 @item ignore @var{bnum} @var{count}
4391 Set the ignore count of breakpoint number @var{bnum} to @var{count}.
4392 The next @var{count} times the breakpoint is reached, your program's
4393 execution does not stop; other than to decrement the ignore count, @value{GDBN}
4394 takes no action.
4395
4396 To make the breakpoint stop the next time it is reached, specify
4397 a count of zero.
4398
4399 When you use @code{continue} to resume execution of your program from a
4400 breakpoint, you can specify an ignore count directly as an argument to
4401 @code{continue}, rather than using @code{ignore}. @xref{Continuing and
4402 Stepping,,Continuing and Stepping}.
4403
4404 If a breakpoint has a positive ignore count and a condition, the
4405 condition is not checked. Once the ignore count reaches zero,
4406 @value{GDBN} resumes checking the condition.
4407
4408 You could achieve the effect of the ignore count with a condition such
4409 as @w{@samp{$foo-- <= 0}} using a debugger convenience variable that
4410 is decremented each time. @xref{Convenience Vars, ,Convenience
4411 Variables}.
4412 @end table
4413
4414 Ignore counts apply to breakpoints, watchpoints, and catchpoints.
4415
4416
4417 @node Break Commands
4418 @subsection Breakpoint Command Lists
4419
4420 @cindex breakpoint commands
4421 You can give any breakpoint (or watchpoint or catchpoint) a series of
4422 commands to execute when your program stops due to that breakpoint. For
4423 example, you might want to print the values of certain expressions, or
4424 enable other breakpoints.
4425
4426 @table @code
4427 @kindex commands
4428 @kindex end@r{ (breakpoint commands)}
4429 @item commands @r{[}@var{range}@dots{}@r{]}
4430 @itemx @dots{} @var{command-list} @dots{}
4431 @itemx end
4432 Specify a list of commands for the given breakpoints. The commands
4433 themselves appear on the following lines. Type a line containing just
4434 @code{end} to terminate the commands.
4435
4436 To remove all commands from a breakpoint, type @code{commands} and
4437 follow it immediately with @code{end}; that is, give no commands.
4438
4439 With no argument, @code{commands} refers to the last breakpoint,
4440 watchpoint, or catchpoint set (not to the breakpoint most recently
4441 encountered). If the most recent breakpoints were set with a single
4442 command, then the @code{commands} will apply to all the breakpoints
4443 set by that command. This applies to breakpoints set by
4444 @code{rbreak}, and also applies when a single @code{break} command
4445 creates multiple breakpoints (@pxref{Ambiguous Expressions,,Ambiguous
4446 Expressions}).
4447 @end table
4448
4449 Pressing @key{RET} as a means of repeating the last @value{GDBN} command is
4450 disabled within a @var{command-list}.
4451
4452 You can use breakpoint commands to start your program up again. Simply
4453 use the @code{continue} command, or @code{step}, or any other command
4454 that resumes execution.
4455
4456 Any other commands in the command list, after a command that resumes
4457 execution, are ignored. This is because any time you resume execution
4458 (even with a simple @code{next} or @code{step}), you may encounter
4459 another breakpoint---which could have its own command list, leading to
4460 ambiguities about which list to execute.
4461
4462 @kindex silent
4463 If the first command you specify in a command list is @code{silent}, the
4464 usual message about stopping at a breakpoint is not printed. This may
4465 be desirable for breakpoints that are to print a specific message and
4466 then continue. If none of the remaining commands print anything, you
4467 see no sign that the breakpoint was reached. @code{silent} is
4468 meaningful only at the beginning of a breakpoint command list.
4469
4470 The commands @code{echo}, @code{output}, and @code{printf} allow you to
4471 print precisely controlled output, and are often useful in silent
4472 breakpoints. @xref{Output, ,Commands for Controlled Output}.
4473
4474 For example, here is how you could use breakpoint commands to print the
4475 value of @code{x} at entry to @code{foo} whenever @code{x} is positive.
4476
4477 @smallexample
4478 break foo if x>0
4479 commands
4480 silent
4481 printf "x is %d\n",x
4482 cont
4483 end
4484 @end smallexample
4485
4486 One application for breakpoint commands is to compensate for one bug so
4487 you can test for another. Put a breakpoint just after the erroneous line
4488 of code, give it a condition to detect the case in which something
4489 erroneous has been done, and give it commands to assign correct values
4490 to any variables that need them. End with the @code{continue} command
4491 so that your program does not stop, and start with the @code{silent}
4492 command so that no output is produced. Here is an example:
4493
4494 @smallexample
4495 break 403
4496 commands
4497 silent
4498 set x = y + 4
4499 cont
4500 end
4501 @end smallexample
4502
4503 @node Save Breakpoints
4504 @subsection How to save breakpoints to a file
4505
4506 To save breakpoint definitions to a file use the @w{@code{save
4507 breakpoints}} command.
4508
4509 @table @code
4510 @kindex save breakpoints
4511 @cindex save breakpoints to a file for future sessions
4512 @item save breakpoints [@var{filename}]
4513 This command saves all current breakpoint definitions together with
4514 their commands and ignore counts, into a file @file{@var{filename}}
4515 suitable for use in a later debugging session. This includes all
4516 types of breakpoints (breakpoints, watchpoints, catchpoints,
4517 tracepoints). To read the saved breakpoint definitions, use the
4518 @code{source} command (@pxref{Command Files}). Note that watchpoints
4519 with expressions involving local variables may fail to be recreated
4520 because it may not be possible to access the context where the
4521 watchpoint is valid anymore. Because the saved breakpoint definitions
4522 are simply a sequence of @value{GDBN} commands that recreate the
4523 breakpoints, you can edit the file in your favorite editing program,
4524 and remove the breakpoint definitions you're not interested in, or
4525 that can no longer be recreated.
4526 @end table
4527
4528 @c @ifclear BARETARGET
4529 @node Error in Breakpoints
4530 @subsection ``Cannot insert breakpoints''
4531
4532 If you request too many active hardware-assisted breakpoints and
4533 watchpoints, you will see this error message:
4534
4535 @c FIXME: the precise wording of this message may change; the relevant
4536 @c source change is not committed yet (Sep 3, 1999).
4537 @smallexample
4538 Stopped; cannot insert breakpoints.
4539 You may have requested too many hardware breakpoints and watchpoints.
4540 @end smallexample
4541
4542 @noindent
4543 This message is printed when you attempt to resume the program, since
4544 only then @value{GDBN} knows exactly how many hardware breakpoints and
4545 watchpoints it needs to insert.
4546
4547 When this message is printed, you need to disable or remove some of the
4548 hardware-assisted breakpoints and watchpoints, and then continue.
4549
4550 @node Breakpoint-related Warnings
4551 @subsection ``Breakpoint address adjusted...''
4552 @cindex breakpoint address adjusted
4553
4554 Some processor architectures place constraints on the addresses at
4555 which breakpoints may be placed. For architectures thus constrained,
4556 @value{GDBN} will attempt to adjust the breakpoint's address to comply
4557 with the constraints dictated by the architecture.
4558
4559 One example of such an architecture is the Fujitsu FR-V. The FR-V is
4560 a VLIW architecture in which a number of RISC-like instructions may be
4561 bundled together for parallel execution. The FR-V architecture
4562 constrains the location of a breakpoint instruction within such a
4563 bundle to the instruction with the lowest address. @value{GDBN}
4564 honors this constraint by adjusting a breakpoint's address to the
4565 first in the bundle.
4566
4567 It is not uncommon for optimized code to have bundles which contain
4568 instructions from different source statements, thus it may happen that
4569 a breakpoint's address will be adjusted from one source statement to
4570 another. Since this adjustment may significantly alter @value{GDBN}'s
4571 breakpoint related behavior from what the user expects, a warning is
4572 printed when the breakpoint is first set and also when the breakpoint
4573 is hit.
4574
4575 A warning like the one below is printed when setting a breakpoint
4576 that's been subject to address adjustment:
4577
4578 @smallexample
4579 warning: Breakpoint address adjusted from 0x00010414 to 0x00010410.
4580 @end smallexample
4581
4582 Such warnings are printed both for user settable and @value{GDBN}'s
4583 internal breakpoints. If you see one of these warnings, you should
4584 verify that a breakpoint set at the adjusted address will have the
4585 desired affect. If not, the breakpoint in question may be removed and
4586 other breakpoints may be set which will have the desired behavior.
4587 E.g., it may be sufficient to place the breakpoint at a later
4588 instruction. A conditional breakpoint may also be useful in some
4589 cases to prevent the breakpoint from triggering too often.
4590
4591 @value{GDBN} will also issue a warning when stopping at one of these
4592 adjusted breakpoints:
4593
4594 @smallexample
4595 warning: Breakpoint 1 address previously adjusted from 0x00010414
4596 to 0x00010410.
4597 @end smallexample
4598
4599 When this warning is encountered, it may be too late to take remedial
4600 action except in cases where the breakpoint is hit earlier or more
4601 frequently than expected.
4602
4603 @node Continuing and Stepping
4604 @section Continuing and Stepping
4605
4606 @cindex stepping
4607 @cindex continuing
4608 @cindex resuming execution
4609 @dfn{Continuing} means resuming program execution until your program
4610 completes normally. In contrast, @dfn{stepping} means executing just
4611 one more ``step'' of your program, where ``step'' may mean either one
4612 line of source code, or one machine instruction (depending on what
4613 particular command you use). Either when continuing or when stepping,
4614 your program may stop even sooner, due to a breakpoint or a signal. (If
4615 it stops due to a signal, you may want to use @code{handle}, or use
4616 @samp{signal 0} to resume execution. @xref{Signals, ,Signals}.)
4617
4618 @table @code
4619 @kindex continue
4620 @kindex c @r{(@code{continue})}
4621 @kindex fg @r{(resume foreground execution)}
4622 @item continue @r{[}@var{ignore-count}@r{]}
4623 @itemx c @r{[}@var{ignore-count}@r{]}
4624 @itemx fg @r{[}@var{ignore-count}@r{]}
4625 Resume program execution, at the address where your program last stopped;
4626 any breakpoints set at that address are bypassed. The optional argument
4627 @var{ignore-count} allows you to specify a further number of times to
4628 ignore a breakpoint at this location; its effect is like that of
4629 @code{ignore} (@pxref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions}).
4630
4631 The argument @var{ignore-count} is meaningful only when your program
4632 stopped due to a breakpoint. At other times, the argument to
4633 @code{continue} is ignored.
4634
4635 The synonyms @code{c} and @code{fg} (for @dfn{foreground}, as the
4636 debugged program is deemed to be the foreground program) are provided
4637 purely for convenience, and have exactly the same behavior as
4638 @code{continue}.
4639 @end table
4640
4641 To resume execution at a different place, you can use @code{return}
4642 (@pxref{Returning, ,Returning from a Function}) to go back to the
4643 calling function; or @code{jump} (@pxref{Jumping, ,Continuing at a
4644 Different Address}) to go to an arbitrary location in your program.
4645
4646 A typical technique for using stepping is to set a breakpoint
4647 (@pxref{Breakpoints, ,Breakpoints; Watchpoints; and Catchpoints}) at the
4648 beginning of the function or the section of your program where a problem
4649 is believed to lie, run your program until it stops at that breakpoint,
4650 and then step through the suspect area, examining the variables that are
4651 interesting, until you see the problem happen.
4652
4653 @table @code
4654 @kindex step
4655 @kindex s @r{(@code{step})}
4656 @item step
4657 Continue running your program until control reaches a different source
4658 line, then stop it and return control to @value{GDBN}. This command is
4659 abbreviated @code{s}.
4660
4661 @quotation
4662 @c "without debugging information" is imprecise; actually "without line
4663 @c numbers in the debugging information". (gcc -g1 has debugging info but
4664 @c not line numbers). But it seems complex to try to make that
4665 @c distinction here.
4666 @emph{Warning:} If you use the @code{step} command while control is
4667 within a function that was compiled without debugging information,
4668 execution proceeds until control reaches a function that does have
4669 debugging information. Likewise, it will not step into a function which
4670 is compiled without debugging information. To step through functions
4671 without debugging information, use the @code{stepi} command, described
4672 below.
4673 @end quotation
4674
4675 The @code{step} command only stops at the first instruction of a source
4676 line. This prevents the multiple stops that could otherwise occur in
4677 @code{switch} statements, @code{for} loops, etc. @code{step} continues
4678 to stop if a function that has debugging information is called within
4679 the line. In other words, @code{step} @emph{steps inside} any functions
4680 called within the line.
4681
4682 Also, the @code{step} command only enters a function if there is line
4683 number information for the function. Otherwise it acts like the
4684 @code{next} command. This avoids problems when using @code{cc -gl}
4685 on MIPS machines. Previously, @code{step} entered subroutines if there
4686 was any debugging information about the routine.
4687
4688 @item step @var{count}
4689 Continue running as in @code{step}, but do so @var{count} times. If a
4690 breakpoint is reached, or a signal not related to stepping occurs before
4691 @var{count} steps, stepping stops right away.
4692
4693 @kindex next
4694 @kindex n @r{(@code{next})}
4695 @item next @r{[}@var{count}@r{]}
4696 Continue to the next source line in the current (innermost) stack frame.
4697 This is similar to @code{step}, but function calls that appear within
4698 the line of code are executed without stopping. Execution stops when
4699 control reaches a different line of code at the original stack level
4700 that was executing when you gave the @code{next} command. This command
4701 is abbreviated @code{n}.
4702
4703 An argument @var{count} is a repeat count, as for @code{step}.
4704
4705
4706 @c FIX ME!! Do we delete this, or is there a way it fits in with
4707 @c the following paragraph? --- Vctoria
4708 @c
4709 @c @code{next} within a function that lacks debugging information acts like
4710 @c @code{step}, but any function calls appearing within the code of the
4711 @c function are executed without stopping.
4712
4713 The @code{next} command only stops at the first instruction of a
4714 source line. This prevents multiple stops that could otherwise occur in
4715 @code{switch} statements, @code{for} loops, etc.
4716
4717 @kindex set step-mode
4718 @item set step-mode
4719 @cindex functions without line info, and stepping
4720 @cindex stepping into functions with no line info
4721 @itemx set step-mode on
4722 The @code{set step-mode on} command causes the @code{step} command to
4723 stop at the first instruction of a function which contains no debug line
4724 information rather than stepping over it.
4725
4726 This is useful in cases where you may be interested in inspecting the
4727 machine instructions of a function which has no symbolic info and do not
4728 want @value{GDBN} to automatically skip over this function.
4729
4730 @item set step-mode off
4731 Causes the @code{step} command to step over any functions which contains no
4732 debug information. This is the default.
4733
4734 @item show step-mode
4735 Show whether @value{GDBN} will stop in or step over functions without
4736 source line debug information.
4737
4738 @kindex finish
4739 @kindex fin @r{(@code{finish})}
4740 @item finish
4741 Continue running until just after function in the selected stack frame
4742 returns. Print the returned value (if any). This command can be
4743 abbreviated as @code{fin}.
4744
4745 Contrast this with the @code{return} command (@pxref{Returning,
4746 ,Returning from a Function}).
4747
4748 @kindex until
4749 @kindex u @r{(@code{until})}
4750 @cindex run until specified location
4751 @item until
4752 @itemx u
4753 Continue running until a source line past the current line, in the
4754 current stack frame, is reached. This command is used to avoid single
4755 stepping through a loop more than once. It is like the @code{next}
4756 command, except that when @code{until} encounters a jump, it
4757 automatically continues execution until the program counter is greater
4758 than the address of the jump.
4759
4760 This means that when you reach the end of a loop after single stepping
4761 though it, @code{until} makes your program continue execution until it
4762 exits the loop. In contrast, a @code{next} command at the end of a loop
4763 simply steps back to the beginning of the loop, which forces you to step
4764 through the next iteration.
4765
4766 @code{until} always stops your program if it attempts to exit the current
4767 stack frame.
4768
4769 @code{until} may produce somewhat counterintuitive results if the order
4770 of machine code does not match the order of the source lines. For
4771 example, in the following excerpt from a debugging session, the @code{f}
4772 (@code{frame}) command shows that execution is stopped at line
4773 @code{206}; yet when we use @code{until}, we get to line @code{195}:
4774
4775 @smallexample
4776 (@value{GDBP}) f
4777 #0 main (argc=4, argv=0xf7fffae8) at m4.c:206
4778 206 expand_input();
4779 (@value{GDBP}) until
4780 195 for ( ; argc > 0; NEXTARG) @{
4781 @end smallexample
4782
4783 This happened because, for execution efficiency, the compiler had
4784 generated code for the loop closure test at the end, rather than the
4785 start, of the loop---even though the test in a C @code{for}-loop is
4786 written before the body of the loop. The @code{until} command appeared
4787 to step back to the beginning of the loop when it advanced to this
4788 expression; however, it has not really gone to an earlier
4789 statement---not in terms of the actual machine code.
4790
4791 @code{until} with no argument works by means of single
4792 instruction stepping, and hence is slower than @code{until} with an
4793 argument.
4794
4795 @item until @var{location}
4796 @itemx u @var{location}
4797 Continue running your program until either the specified location is
4798 reached, or the current stack frame returns. @var{location} is any of
4799 the forms described in @ref{Specify Location}.
4800 This form of the command uses temporary breakpoints, and
4801 hence is quicker than @code{until} without an argument. The specified
4802 location is actually reached only if it is in the current frame. This
4803 implies that @code{until} can be used to skip over recursive function
4804 invocations. For instance in the code below, if the current location is
4805 line @code{96}, issuing @code{until 99} will execute the program up to
4806 line @code{99} in the same invocation of factorial, i.e., after the inner
4807 invocations have returned.
4808
4809 @smallexample
4810 94 int factorial (int value)
4811 95 @{
4812 96 if (value > 1) @{
4813 97 value *= factorial (value - 1);
4814 98 @}
4815 99 return (value);
4816 100 @}
4817 @end smallexample
4818
4819
4820 @kindex advance @var{location}
4821 @itemx advance @var{location}
4822 Continue running the program up to the given @var{location}. An argument is
4823 required, which should be of one of the forms described in
4824 @ref{Specify Location}.
4825 Execution will also stop upon exit from the current stack
4826 frame. This command is similar to @code{until}, but @code{advance} will
4827 not skip over recursive function calls, and the target location doesn't
4828 have to be in the same frame as the current one.
4829
4830
4831 @kindex stepi
4832 @kindex si @r{(@code{stepi})}
4833 @item stepi
4834 @itemx stepi @var{arg}
4835 @itemx si
4836 Execute one machine instruction, then stop and return to the debugger.
4837
4838 It is often useful to do @samp{display/i $pc} when stepping by machine
4839 instructions. This makes @value{GDBN} automatically display the next
4840 instruction to be executed, each time your program stops. @xref{Auto
4841 Display,, Automatic Display}.
4842
4843 An argument is a repeat count, as in @code{step}.
4844
4845 @need 750
4846 @kindex nexti
4847 @kindex ni @r{(@code{nexti})}
4848 @item nexti
4849 @itemx nexti @var{arg}
4850 @itemx ni
4851 Execute one machine instruction, but if it is a function call,
4852 proceed until the function returns.
4853
4854 An argument is a repeat count, as in @code{next}.
4855 @end table
4856
4857 @node Signals
4858 @section Signals
4859 @cindex signals
4860
4861 A signal is an asynchronous event that can happen in a program. The
4862 operating system defines the possible kinds of signals, and gives each
4863 kind a name and a number. For example, in Unix @code{SIGINT} is the
4864 signal a program gets when you type an interrupt character (often @kbd{Ctrl-c});
4865 @code{SIGSEGV} is the signal a program gets from referencing a place in
4866 memory far away from all the areas in use; @code{SIGALRM} occurs when
4867 the alarm clock timer goes off (which happens only if your program has
4868 requested an alarm).
4869
4870 @cindex fatal signals
4871 Some signals, including @code{SIGALRM}, are a normal part of the
4872 functioning of your program. Others, such as @code{SIGSEGV}, indicate
4873 errors; these signals are @dfn{fatal} (they kill your program immediately) if the
4874 program has not specified in advance some other way to handle the signal.
4875 @code{SIGINT} does not indicate an error in your program, but it is normally
4876 fatal so it can carry out the purpose of the interrupt: to kill the program.
4877
4878 @value{GDBN} has the ability to detect any occurrence of a signal in your
4879 program. You can tell @value{GDBN} in advance what to do for each kind of
4880 signal.
4881
4882 @cindex handling signals
4883 Normally, @value{GDBN} is set up to let the non-erroneous signals like
4884 @code{SIGALRM} be silently passed to your program
4885 (so as not to interfere with their role in the program's functioning)
4886 but to stop your program immediately whenever an error signal happens.
4887 You can change these settings with the @code{handle} command.
4888
4889 @table @code
4890 @kindex info signals
4891 @kindex info handle
4892 @item info signals
4893 @itemx info handle
4894 Print a table of all the kinds of signals and how @value{GDBN} has been told to
4895 handle each one. You can use this to see the signal numbers of all
4896 the defined types of signals.
4897
4898 @item info signals @var{sig}
4899 Similar, but print information only about the specified signal number.
4900
4901 @code{info handle} is an alias for @code{info signals}.
4902
4903 @kindex handle
4904 @item handle @var{signal} @r{[}@var{keywords}@dots{}@r{]}
4905 Change the way @value{GDBN} handles signal @var{signal}. @var{signal}
4906 can be the number of a signal or its name (with or without the
4907 @samp{SIG} at the beginning); a list of signal numbers of the form
4908 @samp{@var{low}-@var{high}}; or the word @samp{all}, meaning all the
4909 known signals. Optional arguments @var{keywords}, described below,
4910 say what change to make.
4911 @end table
4912
4913 @c @group
4914 The keywords allowed by the @code{handle} command can be abbreviated.
4915 Their full names are:
4916
4917 @table @code
4918 @item nostop
4919 @value{GDBN} should not stop your program when this signal happens. It may
4920 still print a message telling you that the signal has come in.
4921
4922 @item stop
4923 @value{GDBN} should stop your program when this signal happens. This implies
4924 the @code{print} keyword as well.
4925
4926 @item print
4927 @value{GDBN} should print a message when this signal happens.
4928
4929 @item noprint
4930 @value{GDBN} should not mention the occurrence of the signal at all. This
4931 implies the @code{nostop} keyword as well.
4932
4933 @item pass
4934 @itemx noignore
4935 @value{GDBN} should allow your program to see this signal; your program
4936 can handle the signal, or else it may terminate if the signal is fatal
4937 and not handled. @code{pass} and @code{noignore} are synonyms.
4938
4939 @item nopass
4940 @itemx ignore
4941 @value{GDBN} should not allow your program to see this signal.
4942 @code{nopass} and @code{ignore} are synonyms.
4943 @end table
4944 @c @end group
4945
4946 When a signal stops your program, the signal is not visible to the
4947 program until you
4948 continue. Your program sees the signal then, if @code{pass} is in
4949 effect for the signal in question @emph{at that time}. In other words,
4950 after @value{GDBN} reports a signal, you can use the @code{handle}
4951 command with @code{pass} or @code{nopass} to control whether your
4952 program sees that signal when you continue.
4953
4954 The default is set to @code{nostop}, @code{noprint}, @code{pass} for
4955 non-erroneous signals such as @code{SIGALRM}, @code{SIGWINCH} and
4956 @code{SIGCHLD}, and to @code{stop}, @code{print}, @code{pass} for the
4957 erroneous signals.
4958
4959 You can also use the @code{signal} command to prevent your program from
4960 seeing a signal, or cause it to see a signal it normally would not see,
4961 or to give it any signal at any time. For example, if your program stopped
4962 due to some sort of memory reference error, you might store correct
4963 values into the erroneous variables and continue, hoping to see more
4964 execution; but your program would probably terminate immediately as
4965 a result of the fatal signal once it saw the signal. To prevent this,
4966 you can continue with @samp{signal 0}. @xref{Signaling, ,Giving your
4967 Program a Signal}.
4968
4969 @cindex extra signal information
4970 @anchor{extra signal information}
4971
4972 On some targets, @value{GDBN} can inspect extra signal information
4973 associated with the intercepted signal, before it is actually
4974 delivered to the program being debugged. This information is exported
4975 by the convenience variable @code{$_siginfo}, and consists of data
4976 that is passed by the kernel to the signal handler at the time of the
4977 receipt of a signal. The data type of the information itself is
4978 target dependent. You can see the data type using the @code{ptype
4979 $_siginfo} command. On Unix systems, it typically corresponds to the
4980 standard @code{siginfo_t} type, as defined in the @file{signal.h}
4981 system header.
4982
4983 Here's an example, on a @sc{gnu}/Linux system, printing the stray
4984 referenced address that raised a segmentation fault.
4985
4986 @smallexample
4987 @group
4988 (@value{GDBP}) continue
4989 Program received signal SIGSEGV, Segmentation fault.
4990 0x0000000000400766 in main ()
4991 69 *(int *)p = 0;
4992 (@value{GDBP}) ptype $_siginfo
4993 type = struct @{
4994 int si_signo;
4995 int si_errno;
4996 int si_code;
4997 union @{
4998 int _pad[28];
4999 struct @{...@} _kill;
5000 struct @{...@} _timer;
5001 struct @{...@} _rt;
5002 struct @{...@} _sigchld;
5003 struct @{...@} _sigfault;
5004 struct @{...@} _sigpoll;
5005 @} _sifields;
5006 @}
5007 (@value{GDBP}) ptype $_siginfo._sifields._sigfault
5008 type = struct @{
5009 void *si_addr;
5010 @}
5011 (@value{GDBP}) p $_siginfo._sifields._sigfault.si_addr
5012 $1 = (void *) 0x7ffff7ff7000
5013 @end group
5014 @end smallexample
5015
5016 Depending on target support, @code{$_siginfo} may also be writable.
5017
5018 @node Thread Stops
5019 @section Stopping and Starting Multi-thread Programs
5020
5021 @cindex stopped threads
5022 @cindex threads, stopped
5023
5024 @cindex continuing threads
5025 @cindex threads, continuing
5026
5027 @value{GDBN} supports debugging programs with multiple threads
5028 (@pxref{Threads,, Debugging Programs with Multiple Threads}). There
5029 are two modes of controlling execution of your program within the
5030 debugger. In the default mode, referred to as @dfn{all-stop mode},
5031 when any thread in your program stops (for example, at a breakpoint
5032 or while being stepped), all other threads in the program are also stopped by
5033 @value{GDBN}. On some targets, @value{GDBN} also supports
5034 @dfn{non-stop mode}, in which other threads can continue to run freely while
5035 you examine the stopped thread in the debugger.
5036
5037 @menu
5038 * All-Stop Mode:: All threads stop when GDB takes control
5039 * Non-Stop Mode:: Other threads continue to execute
5040 * Background Execution:: Running your program asynchronously
5041 * Thread-Specific Breakpoints:: Controlling breakpoints
5042 * Interrupted System Calls:: GDB may interfere with system calls
5043 * Observer Mode:: GDB does not alter program behavior
5044 @end menu
5045
5046 @node All-Stop Mode
5047 @subsection All-Stop Mode
5048
5049 @cindex all-stop mode
5050
5051 In all-stop mode, whenever your program stops under @value{GDBN} for any reason,
5052 @emph{all} threads of execution stop, not just the current thread. This
5053 allows you to examine the overall state of the program, including
5054 switching between threads, without worrying that things may change
5055 underfoot.
5056
5057 Conversely, whenever you restart the program, @emph{all} threads start
5058 executing. @emph{This is true even when single-stepping} with commands
5059 like @code{step} or @code{next}.
5060
5061 In particular, @value{GDBN} cannot single-step all threads in lockstep.
5062 Since thread scheduling is up to your debugging target's operating
5063 system (not controlled by @value{GDBN}), other threads may
5064 execute more than one statement while the current thread completes a
5065 single step. Moreover, in general other threads stop in the middle of a
5066 statement, rather than at a clean statement boundary, when the program
5067 stops.
5068
5069 You might even find your program stopped in another thread after
5070 continuing or even single-stepping. This happens whenever some other
5071 thread runs into a breakpoint, a signal, or an exception before the
5072 first thread completes whatever you requested.
5073
5074 @cindex automatic thread selection
5075 @cindex switching threads automatically
5076 @cindex threads, automatic switching
5077 Whenever @value{GDBN} stops your program, due to a breakpoint or a
5078 signal, it automatically selects the thread where that breakpoint or
5079 signal happened. @value{GDBN} alerts you to the context switch with a
5080 message such as @samp{[Switching to Thread @var{n}]} to identify the
5081 thread.
5082
5083 On some OSes, you can modify @value{GDBN}'s default behavior by
5084 locking the OS scheduler to allow only a single thread to run.
5085
5086 @table @code
5087 @item set scheduler-locking @var{mode}
5088 @cindex scheduler locking mode
5089 @cindex lock scheduler
5090 Set the scheduler locking mode. If it is @code{off}, then there is no
5091 locking and any thread may run at any time. If @code{on}, then only the
5092 current thread may run when the inferior is resumed. The @code{step}
5093 mode optimizes for single-stepping; it prevents other threads
5094 from preempting the current thread while you are stepping, so that
5095 the focus of debugging does not change unexpectedly.
5096 Other threads only rarely (or never) get a chance to run
5097 when you step. They are more likely to run when you @samp{next} over a
5098 function call, and they are completely free to run when you use commands
5099 like @samp{continue}, @samp{until}, or @samp{finish}. However, unless another
5100 thread hits a breakpoint during its timeslice, @value{GDBN} does not change
5101 the current thread away from the thread that you are debugging.
5102
5103 @item show scheduler-locking
5104 Display the current scheduler locking mode.
5105 @end table
5106
5107 @cindex resume threads of multiple processes simultaneously
5108 By default, when you issue one of the execution commands such as
5109 @code{continue}, @code{next} or @code{step}, @value{GDBN} allows only
5110 threads of the current inferior to run. For example, if @value{GDBN}
5111 is attached to two inferiors, each with two threads, the
5112 @code{continue} command resumes only the two threads of the current
5113 inferior. This is useful, for example, when you debug a program that
5114 forks and you want to hold the parent stopped (so that, for instance,
5115 it doesn't run to exit), while you debug the child. In other
5116 situations, you may not be interested in inspecting the current state
5117 of any of the processes @value{GDBN} is attached to, and you may want
5118 to resume them all until some breakpoint is hit. In the latter case,
5119 you can instruct @value{GDBN} to allow all threads of all the
5120 inferiors to run with the @w{@code{set schedule-multiple}} command.
5121
5122 @table @code
5123 @kindex set schedule-multiple
5124 @item set schedule-multiple
5125 Set the mode for allowing threads of multiple processes to be resumed
5126 when an execution command is issued. When @code{on}, all threads of
5127 all processes are allowed to run. When @code{off}, only the threads
5128 of the current process are resumed. The default is @code{off}. The
5129 @code{scheduler-locking} mode takes precedence when set to @code{on},
5130 or while you are stepping and set to @code{step}.
5131
5132 @item show schedule-multiple
5133 Display the current mode for resuming the execution of threads of
5134 multiple processes.
5135 @end table
5136
5137 @node Non-Stop Mode
5138 @subsection Non-Stop Mode
5139
5140 @cindex non-stop mode
5141
5142 @c This section is really only a place-holder, and needs to be expanded
5143 @c with more details.
5144
5145 For some multi-threaded targets, @value{GDBN} supports an optional
5146 mode of operation in which you can examine stopped program threads in
5147 the debugger while other threads continue to execute freely. This
5148 minimizes intrusion when debugging live systems, such as programs
5149 where some threads have real-time constraints or must continue to
5150 respond to external events. This is referred to as @dfn{non-stop} mode.
5151
5152 In non-stop mode, when a thread stops to report a debugging event,
5153 @emph{only} that thread is stopped; @value{GDBN} does not stop other
5154 threads as well, in contrast to the all-stop mode behavior. Additionally,
5155 execution commands such as @code{continue} and @code{step} apply by default
5156 only to the current thread in non-stop mode, rather than all threads as
5157 in all-stop mode. This allows you to control threads explicitly in
5158 ways that are not possible in all-stop mode --- for example, stepping
5159 one thread while allowing others to run freely, stepping
5160 one thread while holding all others stopped, or stepping several threads
5161 independently and simultaneously.
5162
5163 To enter non-stop mode, use this sequence of commands before you run
5164 or attach to your program:
5165
5166 @smallexample
5167 # Enable the async interface.
5168 set target-async 1
5169
5170 # If using the CLI, pagination breaks non-stop.
5171 set pagination off
5172
5173 # Finally, turn it on!
5174 set non-stop on
5175 @end smallexample
5176
5177 You can use these commands to manipulate the non-stop mode setting:
5178
5179 @table @code
5180 @kindex set non-stop
5181 @item set non-stop on
5182 Enable selection of non-stop mode.
5183 @item set non-stop off
5184 Disable selection of non-stop mode.
5185 @kindex show non-stop
5186 @item show non-stop
5187 Show the current non-stop enablement setting.
5188 @end table
5189
5190 Note these commands only reflect whether non-stop mode is enabled,
5191 not whether the currently-executing program is being run in non-stop mode.
5192 In particular, the @code{set non-stop} preference is only consulted when
5193 @value{GDBN} starts or connects to the target program, and it is generally
5194 not possible to switch modes once debugging has started. Furthermore,
5195 since not all targets support non-stop mode, even when you have enabled
5196 non-stop mode, @value{GDBN} may still fall back to all-stop operation by
5197 default.
5198
5199 In non-stop mode, all execution commands apply only to the current thread
5200 by default. That is, @code{continue} only continues one thread.
5201 To continue all threads, issue @code{continue -a} or @code{c -a}.
5202
5203 You can use @value{GDBN}'s background execution commands
5204 (@pxref{Background Execution}) to run some threads in the background
5205 while you continue to examine or step others from @value{GDBN}.
5206 The MI execution commands (@pxref{GDB/MI Program Execution}) are
5207 always executed asynchronously in non-stop mode.
5208
5209 Suspending execution is done with the @code{interrupt} command when
5210 running in the background, or @kbd{Ctrl-c} during foreground execution.
5211 In all-stop mode, this stops the whole process;
5212 but in non-stop mode the interrupt applies only to the current thread.
5213 To stop the whole program, use @code{interrupt -a}.
5214
5215 Other execution commands do not currently support the @code{-a} option.
5216
5217 In non-stop mode, when a thread stops, @value{GDBN} doesn't automatically make
5218 that thread current, as it does in all-stop mode. This is because the
5219 thread stop notifications are asynchronous with respect to @value{GDBN}'s
5220 command interpreter, and it would be confusing if @value{GDBN} unexpectedly
5221 changed to a different thread just as you entered a command to operate on the
5222 previously current thread.
5223
5224 @node Background Execution
5225 @subsection Background Execution
5226
5227 @cindex foreground execution
5228 @cindex background execution
5229 @cindex asynchronous execution
5230 @cindex execution, foreground, background and asynchronous
5231
5232 @value{GDBN}'s execution commands have two variants: the normal
5233 foreground (synchronous) behavior, and a background
5234 (asynchronous) behavior. In foreground execution, @value{GDBN} waits for
5235 the program to report that some thread has stopped before prompting for
5236 another command. In background execution, @value{GDBN} immediately gives
5237 a command prompt so that you can issue other commands while your program runs.
5238
5239 You need to explicitly enable asynchronous mode before you can use
5240 background execution commands. You can use these commands to
5241 manipulate the asynchronous mode setting:
5242
5243 @table @code
5244 @kindex set target-async
5245 @item set target-async on
5246 Enable asynchronous mode.
5247 @item set target-async off
5248 Disable asynchronous mode.
5249 @kindex show target-async
5250 @item show target-async
5251 Show the current target-async setting.
5252 @end table
5253
5254 If the target doesn't support async mode, @value{GDBN} issues an error
5255 message if you attempt to use the background execution commands.
5256
5257 To specify background execution, add a @code{&} to the command. For example,
5258 the background form of the @code{continue} command is @code{continue&}, or
5259 just @code{c&}. The execution commands that accept background execution
5260 are:
5261
5262 @table @code
5263 @kindex run&
5264 @item run
5265 @xref{Starting, , Starting your Program}.
5266
5267 @item attach
5268 @kindex attach&
5269 @xref{Attach, , Debugging an Already-running Process}.
5270
5271 @item step
5272 @kindex step&
5273 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, step}.
5274
5275 @item stepi
5276 @kindex stepi&
5277 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, stepi}.
5278
5279 @item next
5280 @kindex next&
5281 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, next}.
5282
5283 @item nexti
5284 @kindex nexti&
5285 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, nexti}.
5286
5287 @item continue
5288 @kindex continue&
5289 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, continue}.
5290
5291 @item finish
5292 @kindex finish&
5293 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, finish}.
5294
5295 @item until
5296 @kindex until&
5297 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, until}.
5298
5299 @end table
5300
5301 Background execution is especially useful in conjunction with non-stop
5302 mode for debugging programs with multiple threads; see @ref{Non-Stop Mode}.
5303 However, you can also use these commands in the normal all-stop mode with
5304 the restriction that you cannot issue another execution command until the
5305 previous one finishes. Examples of commands that are valid in all-stop
5306 mode while the program is running include @code{help} and @code{info break}.
5307
5308 You can interrupt your program while it is running in the background by
5309 using the @code{interrupt} command.
5310
5311 @table @code
5312 @kindex interrupt
5313 @item interrupt
5314 @itemx interrupt -a
5315
5316 Suspend execution of the running program. In all-stop mode,
5317 @code{interrupt} stops the whole process, but in non-stop mode, it stops
5318 only the current thread. To stop the whole program in non-stop mode,
5319 use @code{interrupt -a}.
5320 @end table
5321
5322 @node Thread-Specific Breakpoints
5323 @subsection Thread-Specific Breakpoints
5324
5325 When your program has multiple threads (@pxref{Threads,, Debugging
5326 Programs with Multiple Threads}), you can choose whether to set
5327 breakpoints on all threads, or on a particular thread.
5328
5329 @table @code
5330 @cindex breakpoints and threads
5331 @cindex thread breakpoints
5332 @kindex break @dots{} thread @var{threadno}
5333 @item break @var{linespec} thread @var{threadno}
5334 @itemx break @var{linespec} thread @var{threadno} if @dots{}
5335 @var{linespec} specifies source lines; there are several ways of
5336 writing them (@pxref{Specify Location}), but the effect is always to
5337 specify some source line.
5338
5339 Use the qualifier @samp{thread @var{threadno}} with a breakpoint command
5340 to specify that you only want @value{GDBN} to stop the program when a
5341 particular thread reaches this breakpoint. @var{threadno} is one of the
5342 numeric thread identifiers assigned by @value{GDBN}, shown in the first
5343 column of the @samp{info threads} display.
5344
5345 If you do not specify @samp{thread @var{threadno}} when you set a
5346 breakpoint, the breakpoint applies to @emph{all} threads of your
5347 program.
5348
5349 You can use the @code{thread} qualifier on conditional breakpoints as
5350 well; in this case, place @samp{thread @var{threadno}} before or
5351 after the breakpoint condition, like this:
5352
5353 @smallexample
5354 (@value{GDBP}) break frik.c:13 thread 28 if bartab > lim
5355 @end smallexample
5356
5357 @end table
5358
5359 @node Interrupted System Calls
5360 @subsection Interrupted System Calls
5361
5362 @cindex thread breakpoints and system calls
5363 @cindex system calls and thread breakpoints
5364 @cindex premature return from system calls
5365 There is an unfortunate side effect when using @value{GDBN} to debug
5366 multi-threaded programs. If one thread stops for a
5367 breakpoint, or for some other reason, and another thread is blocked in a
5368 system call, then the system call may return prematurely. This is a
5369 consequence of the interaction between multiple threads and the signals
5370 that @value{GDBN} uses to implement breakpoints and other events that
5371 stop execution.
5372
5373 To handle this problem, your program should check the return value of
5374 each system call and react appropriately. This is good programming
5375 style anyways.
5376
5377 For example, do not write code like this:
5378
5379 @smallexample
5380 sleep (10);
5381 @end smallexample
5382
5383 The call to @code{sleep} will return early if a different thread stops
5384 at a breakpoint or for some other reason.
5385
5386 Instead, write this:
5387
5388 @smallexample
5389 int unslept = 10;
5390 while (unslept > 0)
5391 unslept = sleep (unslept);
5392 @end smallexample
5393
5394 A system call is allowed to return early, so the system is still
5395 conforming to its specification. But @value{GDBN} does cause your
5396 multi-threaded program to behave differently than it would without
5397 @value{GDBN}.
5398
5399 Also, @value{GDBN} uses internal breakpoints in the thread library to
5400 monitor certain events such as thread creation and thread destruction.
5401 When such an event happens, a system call in another thread may return
5402 prematurely, even though your program does not appear to stop.
5403
5404 @node Observer Mode
5405 @subsection Observer Mode
5406
5407 If you want to build on non-stop mode and observe program behavior
5408 without any chance of disruption by @value{GDBN}, you can set
5409 variables to disable all of the debugger's attempts to modify state,
5410 whether by writing memory, inserting breakpoints, etc. These operate
5411 at a low level, intercepting operations from all commands.
5412
5413 When all of these are set to @code{off}, then @value{GDBN} is said to
5414 be @dfn{observer mode}. As a convenience, the variable
5415 @code{observer} can be set to disable these, plus enable non-stop
5416 mode.
5417
5418 Note that @value{GDBN} will not prevent you from making nonsensical
5419 combinations of these settings. For instance, if you have enabled
5420 @code{may-insert-breakpoints} but disabled @code{may-write-memory},
5421 then breakpoints that work by writing trap instructions into the code
5422 stream will still not be able to be placed.
5423
5424 @table @code
5425
5426 @kindex observer
5427 @item set observer on
5428 @itemx set observer off
5429 When set to @code{on}, this disables all the permission variables
5430 below (except for @code{insert-fast-tracepoints}), plus enables
5431 non-stop debugging. Setting this to @code{off} switches back to
5432 normal debugging, though remaining in non-stop mode.
5433
5434 @item show observer
5435 Show whether observer mode is on or off.
5436
5437 @kindex may-write-registers
5438 @item set may-write-registers on
5439 @itemx set may-write-registers off
5440 This controls whether @value{GDBN} will attempt to alter the values of
5441 registers, such as with assignment expressions in @code{print}, or the
5442 @code{jump} command. It defaults to @code{on}.
5443
5444 @item show may-write-registers
5445 Show the current permission to write registers.
5446
5447 @kindex may-write-memory
5448 @item set may-write-memory on
5449 @itemx set may-write-memory off
5450 This controls whether @value{GDBN} will attempt to alter the contents
5451 of memory, such as with assignment expressions in @code{print}. It
5452 defaults to @code{on}.
5453
5454 @item show may-write-memory
5455 Show the current permission to write memory.
5456
5457 @kindex may-insert-breakpoints
5458 @item set may-insert-breakpoints on
5459 @itemx set may-insert-breakpoints off
5460 This controls whether @value{GDBN} will attempt to insert breakpoints.
5461 This affects all breakpoints, including internal breakpoints defined
5462 by @value{GDBN}. It defaults to @code{on}.
5463
5464 @item show may-insert-breakpoints
5465 Show the current permission to insert breakpoints.
5466
5467 @kindex may-insert-tracepoints
5468 @item set may-insert-tracepoints on
5469 @itemx set may-insert-tracepoints off
5470 This controls whether @value{GDBN} will attempt to insert (regular)
5471 tracepoints at the beginning of a tracing experiment. It affects only
5472 non-fast tracepoints, fast tracepoints being under the control of
5473 @code{may-insert-fast-tracepoints}. It defaults to @code{on}.
5474
5475 @item show may-insert-tracepoints
5476 Show the current permission to insert tracepoints.
5477
5478 @kindex may-insert-fast-tracepoints
5479 @item set may-insert-fast-tracepoints on
5480 @itemx set may-insert-fast-tracepoints off
5481 This controls whether @value{GDBN} will attempt to insert fast
5482 tracepoints at the beginning of a tracing experiment. It affects only
5483 fast tracepoints, regular (non-fast) tracepoints being under the
5484 control of @code{may-insert-tracepoints}. It defaults to @code{on}.
5485
5486 @item show may-insert-fast-tracepoints
5487 Show the current permission to insert fast tracepoints.
5488
5489 @kindex may-interrupt
5490 @item set may-interrupt on
5491 @itemx set may-interrupt off
5492 This controls whether @value{GDBN} will attempt to interrupt or stop
5493 program execution. When this variable is @code{off}, the
5494 @code{interrupt} command will have no effect, nor will
5495 @kbd{Ctrl-c}. It defaults to @code{on}.
5496
5497 @item show may-interrupt
5498 Show the current permission to interrupt or stop the program.
5499
5500 @end table
5501
5502 @node Reverse Execution
5503 @chapter Running programs backward
5504 @cindex reverse execution
5505 @cindex running programs backward
5506
5507 When you are debugging a program, it is not unusual to realize that
5508 you have gone too far, and some event of interest has already happened.
5509 If the target environment supports it, @value{GDBN} can allow you to
5510 ``rewind'' the program by running it backward.
5511
5512 A target environment that supports reverse execution should be able
5513 to ``undo'' the changes in machine state that have taken place as the
5514 program was executing normally. Variables, registers etc.@: should
5515 revert to their previous values. Obviously this requires a great
5516 deal of sophistication on the part of the target environment; not
5517 all target environments can support reverse execution.
5518
5519 When a program is executed in reverse, the instructions that
5520 have most recently been executed are ``un-executed'', in reverse
5521 order. The program counter runs backward, following the previous
5522 thread of execution in reverse. As each instruction is ``un-executed'',
5523 the values of memory and/or registers that were changed by that
5524 instruction are reverted to their previous states. After executing
5525 a piece of source code in reverse, all side effects of that code
5526 should be ``undone'', and all variables should be returned to their
5527 prior values@footnote{
5528 Note that some side effects are easier to undo than others. For instance,
5529 memory and registers are relatively easy, but device I/O is hard. Some
5530 targets may be able undo things like device I/O, and some may not.
5531
5532 The contract between @value{GDBN} and the reverse executing target
5533 requires only that the target do something reasonable when
5534 @value{GDBN} tells it to execute backwards, and then report the
5535 results back to @value{GDBN}. Whatever the target reports back to
5536 @value{GDBN}, @value{GDBN} will report back to the user. @value{GDBN}
5537 assumes that the memory and registers that the target reports are in a
5538 consistant state, but @value{GDBN} accepts whatever it is given.
5539 }.
5540
5541 If you are debugging in a target environment that supports
5542 reverse execution, @value{GDBN} provides the following commands.
5543
5544 @table @code
5545 @kindex reverse-continue
5546 @kindex rc @r{(@code{reverse-continue})}
5547 @item reverse-continue @r{[}@var{ignore-count}@r{]}
5548 @itemx rc @r{[}@var{ignore-count}@r{]}
5549 Beginning at the point where your program last stopped, start executing
5550 in reverse. Reverse execution will stop for breakpoints and synchronous
5551 exceptions (signals), just like normal execution. Behavior of
5552 asynchronous signals depends on the target environment.
5553
5554 @kindex reverse-step
5555 @kindex rs @r{(@code{step})}
5556 @item reverse-step @r{[}@var{count}@r{]}
5557 Run the program backward until control reaches the start of a
5558 different source line; then stop it, and return control to @value{GDBN}.
5559
5560 Like the @code{step} command, @code{reverse-step} will only stop
5561 at the beginning of a source line. It ``un-executes'' the previously
5562 executed source line. If the previous source line included calls to
5563 debuggable functions, @code{reverse-step} will step (backward) into
5564 the called function, stopping at the beginning of the @emph{last}
5565 statement in the called function (typically a return statement).
5566
5567 Also, as with the @code{step} command, if non-debuggable functions are
5568 called, @code{reverse-step} will run thru them backward without stopping.
5569
5570 @kindex reverse-stepi
5571 @kindex rsi @r{(@code{reverse-stepi})}
5572 @item reverse-stepi @r{[}@var{count}@r{]}
5573 Reverse-execute one machine instruction. Note that the instruction
5574 to be reverse-executed is @emph{not} the one pointed to by the program
5575 counter, but the instruction executed prior to that one. For instance,
5576 if the last instruction was a jump, @code{reverse-stepi} will take you
5577 back from the destination of the jump to the jump instruction itself.
5578
5579 @kindex reverse-next
5580 @kindex rn @r{(@code{reverse-next})}
5581 @item reverse-next @r{[}@var{count}@r{]}
5582 Run backward to the beginning of the previous line executed in
5583 the current (innermost) stack frame. If the line contains function
5584 calls, they will be ``un-executed'' without stopping. Starting from
5585 the first line of a function, @code{reverse-next} will take you back
5586 to the caller of that function, @emph{before} the function was called,
5587 just as the normal @code{next} command would take you from the last
5588 line of a function back to its return to its caller
5589 @footnote{Unless the code is too heavily optimized.}.
5590
5591 @kindex reverse-nexti
5592 @kindex rni @r{(@code{reverse-nexti})}
5593 @item reverse-nexti @r{[}@var{count}@r{]}
5594 Like @code{nexti}, @code{reverse-nexti} executes a single instruction
5595 in reverse, except that called functions are ``un-executed'' atomically.
5596 That is, if the previously executed instruction was a return from
5597 another function, @code{reverse-nexti} will continue to execute
5598 in reverse until the call to that function (from the current stack
5599 frame) is reached.
5600
5601 @kindex reverse-finish
5602 @item reverse-finish
5603 Just as the @code{finish} command takes you to the point where the
5604 current function returns, @code{reverse-finish} takes you to the point
5605 where it was called. Instead of ending up at the end of the current
5606 function invocation, you end up at the beginning.
5607
5608 @kindex set exec-direction
5609 @item set exec-direction
5610 Set the direction of target execution.
5611 @itemx set exec-direction reverse
5612 @cindex execute forward or backward in time
5613 @value{GDBN} will perform all execution commands in reverse, until the
5614 exec-direction mode is changed to ``forward''. Affected commands include
5615 @code{step, stepi, next, nexti, continue, and finish}. The @code{return}
5616 command cannot be used in reverse mode.
5617 @item set exec-direction forward
5618 @value{GDBN} will perform all execution commands in the normal fashion.
5619 This is the default.
5620 @end table
5621
5622
5623 @node Process Record and Replay
5624 @chapter Recording Inferior's Execution and Replaying It
5625 @cindex process record and replay
5626 @cindex recording inferior's execution and replaying it
5627
5628 On some platforms, @value{GDBN} provides a special @dfn{process record
5629 and replay} target that can record a log of the process execution, and
5630 replay it later with both forward and reverse execution commands.
5631
5632 @cindex replay mode
5633 When this target is in use, if the execution log includes the record
5634 for the next instruction, @value{GDBN} will debug in @dfn{replay
5635 mode}. In the replay mode, the inferior does not really execute code
5636 instructions. Instead, all the events that normally happen during
5637 code execution are taken from the execution log. While code is not
5638 really executed in replay mode, the values of registers (including the
5639 program counter register) and the memory of the inferior are still
5640 changed as they normally would. Their contents are taken from the
5641 execution log.
5642
5643 @cindex record mode
5644 If the record for the next instruction is not in the execution log,
5645 @value{GDBN} will debug in @dfn{record mode}. In this mode, the
5646 inferior executes normally, and @value{GDBN} records the execution log
5647 for future replay.
5648
5649 The process record and replay target supports reverse execution
5650 (@pxref{Reverse Execution}), even if the platform on which the
5651 inferior runs does not. However, the reverse execution is limited in
5652 this case by the range of the instructions recorded in the execution
5653 log. In other words, reverse execution on platforms that don't
5654 support it directly can only be done in the replay mode.
5655
5656 When debugging in the reverse direction, @value{GDBN} will work in
5657 replay mode as long as the execution log includes the record for the
5658 previous instruction; otherwise, it will work in record mode, if the
5659 platform supports reverse execution, or stop if not.
5660
5661 For architecture environments that support process record and replay,
5662 @value{GDBN} provides the following commands:
5663
5664 @table @code
5665 @kindex target record
5666 @kindex record
5667 @kindex rec
5668 @item target record
5669 This command starts the process record and replay target. The process
5670 record and replay target can only debug a process that is already
5671 running. Therefore, you need first to start the process with the
5672 @kbd{run} or @kbd{start} commands, and then start the recording with
5673 the @kbd{target record} command.
5674
5675 Both @code{record} and @code{rec} are aliases of @code{target record}.
5676
5677 @cindex displaced stepping, and process record and replay
5678 Displaced stepping (@pxref{Maintenance Commands,, displaced stepping})
5679 will be automatically disabled when process record and replay target
5680 is started. That's because the process record and replay target
5681 doesn't support displaced stepping.
5682
5683 @cindex non-stop mode, and process record and replay
5684 @cindex asynchronous execution, and process record and replay
5685 If the inferior is in the non-stop mode (@pxref{Non-Stop Mode}) or in
5686 the asynchronous execution mode (@pxref{Background Execution}), the
5687 process record and replay target cannot be started because it doesn't
5688 support these two modes.
5689
5690 @kindex record stop
5691 @kindex rec s
5692 @item record stop
5693 Stop the process record and replay target. When process record and
5694 replay target stops, the entire execution log will be deleted and the
5695 inferior will either be terminated, or will remain in its final state.
5696
5697 When you stop the process record and replay target in record mode (at
5698 the end of the execution log), the inferior will be stopped at the
5699 next instruction that would have been recorded. In other words, if
5700 you record for a while and then stop recording, the inferior process
5701 will be left in the same state as if the recording never happened.
5702
5703 On the other hand, if the process record and replay target is stopped
5704 while in replay mode (that is, not at the end of the execution log,
5705 but at some earlier point), the inferior process will become ``live''
5706 at that earlier state, and it will then be possible to continue the
5707 usual ``live'' debugging of the process from that state.
5708
5709 When the inferior process exits, or @value{GDBN} detaches from it,
5710 process record and replay target will automatically stop itself.
5711
5712 @kindex record save
5713 @item record save @var{filename}
5714 Save the execution log to a file @file{@var{filename}}.
5715 Default filename is @file{gdb_record.@var{process_id}}, where
5716 @var{process_id} is the process ID of the inferior.
5717
5718 @kindex record restore
5719 @item record restore @var{filename}
5720 Restore the execution log from a file @file{@var{filename}}.
5721 File must have been created with @code{record save}.
5722
5723 @kindex set record insn-number-max
5724 @item set record insn-number-max @var{limit}
5725 Set the limit of instructions to be recorded. Default value is 200000.
5726
5727 If @var{limit} is a positive number, then @value{GDBN} will start
5728 deleting instructions from the log once the number of the record
5729 instructions becomes greater than @var{limit}. For every new recorded
5730 instruction, @value{GDBN} will delete the earliest recorded
5731 instruction to keep the number of recorded instructions at the limit.
5732 (Since deleting recorded instructions loses information, @value{GDBN}
5733 lets you control what happens when the limit is reached, by means of
5734 the @code{stop-at-limit} option, described below.)
5735
5736 If @var{limit} is zero, @value{GDBN} will never delete recorded
5737 instructions from the execution log. The number of recorded
5738 instructions is unlimited in this case.
5739
5740 @kindex show record insn-number-max
5741 @item show record insn-number-max
5742 Show the limit of instructions to be recorded.
5743
5744 @kindex set record stop-at-limit
5745 @item set record stop-at-limit
5746 Control the behavior when the number of recorded instructions reaches
5747 the limit. If ON (the default), @value{GDBN} will stop when the limit
5748 is reached for the first time and ask you whether you want to stop the
5749 inferior or continue running it and recording the execution log. If
5750 you decide to continue recording, each new recorded instruction will
5751 cause the oldest one to be deleted.
5752
5753 If this option is OFF, @value{GDBN} will automatically delete the
5754 oldest record to make room for each new one, without asking.
5755
5756 @kindex show record stop-at-limit
5757 @item show record stop-at-limit
5758 Show the current setting of @code{stop-at-limit}.
5759
5760 @kindex set record memory-query
5761 @item set record memory-query
5762 Control the behavior when @value{GDBN} is unable to record memory
5763 changes caused by an instruction. If ON, @value{GDBN} will query
5764 whether to stop the inferior in that case.
5765
5766 If this option is OFF (the default), @value{GDBN} will automatically
5767 ignore the effect of such instructions on memory. Later, when
5768 @value{GDBN} replays this execution log, it will mark the log of this
5769 instruction as not accessible, and it will not affect the replay
5770 results.
5771
5772 @kindex show record memory-query
5773 @item show record memory-query
5774 Show the current setting of @code{memory-query}.
5775
5776 @kindex info record
5777 @item info record
5778 Show various statistics about the state of process record and its
5779 in-memory execution log buffer, including:
5780
5781 @itemize @bullet
5782 @item
5783 Whether in record mode or replay mode.
5784 @item
5785 Lowest recorded instruction number (counting from when the current execution log started recording instructions).
5786 @item
5787 Highest recorded instruction number.
5788 @item
5789 Current instruction about to be replayed (if in replay mode).
5790 @item
5791 Number of instructions contained in the execution log.
5792 @item
5793 Maximum number of instructions that may be contained in the execution log.
5794 @end itemize
5795
5796 @kindex record delete
5797 @kindex rec del
5798 @item record delete
5799 When record target runs in replay mode (``in the past''), delete the
5800 subsequent execution log and begin to record a new execution log starting
5801 from the current address. This means you will abandon the previously
5802 recorded ``future'' and begin recording a new ``future''.
5803 @end table
5804
5805
5806 @node Stack
5807 @chapter Examining the Stack
5808
5809 When your program has stopped, the first thing you need to know is where it
5810 stopped and how it got there.
5811
5812 @cindex call stack
5813 Each time your program performs a function call, information about the call
5814 is generated.
5815 That information includes the location of the call in your program,
5816 the arguments of the call,
5817 and the local variables of the function being called.
5818 The information is saved in a block of data called a @dfn{stack frame}.
5819 The stack frames are allocated in a region of memory called the @dfn{call
5820 stack}.
5821
5822 When your program stops, the @value{GDBN} commands for examining the
5823 stack allow you to see all of this information.
5824
5825 @cindex selected frame
5826 One of the stack frames is @dfn{selected} by @value{GDBN} and many
5827 @value{GDBN} commands refer implicitly to the selected frame. In
5828 particular, whenever you ask @value{GDBN} for the value of a variable in
5829 your program, the value is found in the selected frame. There are
5830 special @value{GDBN} commands to select whichever frame you are
5831 interested in. @xref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}.
5832
5833 When your program stops, @value{GDBN} automatically selects the
5834 currently executing frame and describes it briefly, similar to the
5835 @code{frame} command (@pxref{Frame Info, ,Information about a Frame}).
5836
5837 @menu
5838 * Frames:: Stack frames
5839 * Backtrace:: Backtraces
5840 * Selection:: Selecting a frame
5841 * Frame Info:: Information on a frame
5842
5843 @end menu
5844
5845 @node Frames
5846 @section Stack Frames
5847
5848 @cindex frame, definition
5849 @cindex stack frame
5850 The call stack is divided up into contiguous pieces called @dfn{stack
5851 frames}, or @dfn{frames} for short; each frame is the data associated
5852 with one call to one function. The frame contains the arguments given
5853 to the function, the function's local variables, and the address at
5854 which the function is executing.
5855
5856 @cindex initial frame
5857 @cindex outermost frame
5858 @cindex innermost frame
5859 When your program is started, the stack has only one frame, that of the
5860 function @code{main}. This is called the @dfn{initial} frame or the
5861 @dfn{outermost} frame. Each time a function is called, a new frame is
5862 made. Each time a function returns, the frame for that function invocation
5863 is eliminated. If a function is recursive, there can be many frames for
5864 the same function. The frame for the function in which execution is
5865 actually occurring is called the @dfn{innermost} frame. This is the most
5866 recently created of all the stack frames that still exist.
5867
5868 @cindex frame pointer
5869 Inside your program, stack frames are identified by their addresses. A
5870 stack frame consists of many bytes, each of which has its own address; each
5871 kind of computer has a convention for choosing one byte whose
5872 address serves as the address of the frame. Usually this address is kept
5873 in a register called the @dfn{frame pointer register}
5874 (@pxref{Registers, $fp}) while execution is going on in that frame.
5875
5876 @cindex frame number
5877 @value{GDBN} assigns numbers to all existing stack frames, starting with
5878 zero for the innermost frame, one for the frame that called it,
5879 and so on upward. These numbers do not really exist in your program;
5880 they are assigned by @value{GDBN} to give you a way of designating stack
5881 frames in @value{GDBN} commands.
5882
5883 @c The -fomit-frame-pointer below perennially causes hbox overflow
5884 @c underflow problems.
5885 @cindex frameless execution
5886 Some compilers provide a way to compile functions so that they operate
5887 without stack frames. (For example, the @value{NGCC} option
5888 @smallexample
5889 @samp{-fomit-frame-pointer}
5890 @end smallexample
5891 generates functions without a frame.)
5892 This is occasionally done with heavily used library functions to save
5893 the frame setup time. @value{GDBN} has limited facilities for dealing
5894 with these function invocations. If the innermost function invocation
5895 has no stack frame, @value{GDBN} nevertheless regards it as though
5896 it had a separate frame, which is numbered zero as usual, allowing
5897 correct tracing of the function call chain. However, @value{GDBN} has
5898 no provision for frameless functions elsewhere in the stack.
5899
5900 @table @code
5901 @kindex frame@r{, command}
5902 @cindex current stack frame
5903 @item frame @var{args}
5904 The @code{frame} command allows you to move from one stack frame to another,
5905 and to print the stack frame you select. @var{args} may be either the
5906 address of the frame or the stack frame number. Without an argument,
5907 @code{frame} prints the current stack frame.
5908
5909 @kindex select-frame
5910 @cindex selecting frame silently
5911 @item select-frame
5912 The @code{select-frame} command allows you to move from one stack frame
5913 to another without printing the frame. This is the silent version of
5914 @code{frame}.
5915 @end table
5916
5917 @node Backtrace
5918 @section Backtraces
5919
5920 @cindex traceback
5921 @cindex call stack traces
5922 A backtrace is a summary of how your program got where it is. It shows one
5923 line per frame, for many frames, starting with the currently executing
5924 frame (frame zero), followed by its caller (frame one), and on up the
5925 stack.
5926
5927 @table @code
5928 @kindex backtrace
5929 @kindex bt @r{(@code{backtrace})}
5930 @item backtrace
5931 @itemx bt
5932 Print a backtrace of the entire stack: one line per frame for all
5933 frames in the stack.
5934
5935 You can stop the backtrace at any time by typing the system interrupt
5936 character, normally @kbd{Ctrl-c}.
5937
5938 @item backtrace @var{n}
5939 @itemx bt @var{n}
5940 Similar, but print only the innermost @var{n} frames.
5941
5942 @item backtrace -@var{n}
5943 @itemx bt -@var{n}
5944 Similar, but print only the outermost @var{n} frames.
5945
5946 @item backtrace full
5947 @itemx bt full
5948 @itemx bt full @var{n}
5949 @itemx bt full -@var{n}
5950 Print the values of the local variables also. @var{n} specifies the
5951 number of frames to print, as described above.
5952 @end table
5953
5954 @kindex where
5955 @kindex info stack
5956 The names @code{where} and @code{info stack} (abbreviated @code{info s})
5957 are additional aliases for @code{backtrace}.
5958
5959 @cindex multiple threads, backtrace
5960 In a multi-threaded program, @value{GDBN} by default shows the
5961 backtrace only for the current thread. To display the backtrace for
5962 several or all of the threads, use the command @code{thread apply}
5963 (@pxref{Threads, thread apply}). For example, if you type @kbd{thread
5964 apply all backtrace}, @value{GDBN} will display the backtrace for all
5965 the threads; this is handy when you debug a core dump of a
5966 multi-threaded program.
5967
5968 Each line in the backtrace shows the frame number and the function name.
5969 The program counter value is also shown---unless you use @code{set
5970 print address off}. The backtrace also shows the source file name and
5971 line number, as well as the arguments to the function. The program
5972 counter value is omitted if it is at the beginning of the code for that
5973 line number.
5974
5975 Here is an example of a backtrace. It was made with the command
5976 @samp{bt 3}, so it shows the innermost three frames.
5977
5978 @smallexample
5979 @group
5980 #0 m4_traceon (obs=0x24eb0, argc=1, argv=0x2b8c8)
5981 at builtin.c:993
5982 #1 0x6e38 in expand_macro (sym=0x2b600, data=...) at macro.c:242
5983 #2 0x6840 in expand_token (obs=0x0, t=177664, td=0xf7fffb08)
5984 at macro.c:71
5985 (More stack frames follow...)
5986 @end group
5987 @end smallexample
5988
5989 @noindent
5990 The display for frame zero does not begin with a program counter
5991 value, indicating that your program has stopped at the beginning of the
5992 code for line @code{993} of @code{builtin.c}.
5993
5994 @noindent
5995 The value of parameter @code{data} in frame 1 has been replaced by
5996 @code{@dots{}}. By default, @value{GDBN} prints the value of a parameter
5997 only if it is a scalar (integer, pointer, enumeration, etc). See command
5998 @kbd{set print frame-arguments} in @ref{Print Settings} for more details
5999 on how to configure the way function parameter values are printed.
6000
6001 @cindex optimized out, in backtrace
6002 @cindex function call arguments, optimized out
6003 If your program was compiled with optimizations, some compilers will
6004 optimize away arguments passed to functions if those arguments are
6005 never used after the call. Such optimizations generate code that
6006 passes arguments through registers, but doesn't store those arguments
6007 in the stack frame. @value{GDBN} has no way of displaying such
6008 arguments in stack frames other than the innermost one. Here's what
6009 such a backtrace might look like:
6010
6011 @smallexample
6012 @group
6013 #0 m4_traceon (obs=0x24eb0, argc=1, argv=0x2b8c8)
6014 at builtin.c:993
6015 #1 0x6e38 in expand_macro (sym=<optimized out>) at macro.c:242
6016 #2 0x6840 in expand_token (obs=0x0, t=<optimized out>, td=0xf7fffb08)
6017 at macro.c:71
6018 (More stack frames follow...)
6019 @end group
6020 @end smallexample
6021
6022 @noindent
6023 The values of arguments that were not saved in their stack frames are
6024 shown as @samp{<optimized out>}.
6025
6026 If you need to display the values of such optimized-out arguments,
6027 either deduce that from other variables whose values depend on the one
6028 you are interested in, or recompile without optimizations.
6029
6030 @cindex backtrace beyond @code{main} function
6031 @cindex program entry point
6032 @cindex startup code, and backtrace
6033 Most programs have a standard user entry point---a place where system
6034 libraries and startup code transition into user code. For C this is
6035 @code{main}@footnote{
6036 Note that embedded programs (the so-called ``free-standing''
6037 environment) are not required to have a @code{main} function as the
6038 entry point. They could even have multiple entry points.}.
6039 When @value{GDBN} finds the entry function in a backtrace
6040 it will terminate the backtrace, to avoid tracing into highly
6041 system-specific (and generally uninteresting) code.
6042
6043 If you need to examine the startup code, or limit the number of levels
6044 in a backtrace, you can change this behavior:
6045
6046 @table @code
6047 @item set backtrace past-main
6048 @itemx set backtrace past-main on
6049 @kindex set backtrace
6050 Backtraces will continue past the user entry point.
6051
6052 @item set backtrace past-main off
6053 Backtraces will stop when they encounter the user entry point. This is the
6054 default.
6055
6056 @item show backtrace past-main
6057 @kindex show backtrace
6058 Display the current user entry point backtrace policy.
6059
6060 @item set backtrace past-entry
6061 @itemx set backtrace past-entry on
6062 Backtraces will continue past the internal entry point of an application.
6063 This entry point is encoded by the linker when the application is built,
6064 and is likely before the user entry point @code{main} (or equivalent) is called.
6065
6066 @item set backtrace past-entry off
6067 Backtraces will stop when they encounter the internal entry point of an
6068 application. This is the default.
6069
6070 @item show backtrace past-entry
6071 Display the current internal entry point backtrace policy.
6072
6073 @item set backtrace limit @var{n}
6074 @itemx set backtrace limit 0
6075 @cindex backtrace limit
6076 Limit the backtrace to @var{n} levels. A value of zero means
6077 unlimited.
6078
6079 @item show backtrace limit
6080 Display the current limit on backtrace levels.
6081 @end table
6082
6083 @node Selection
6084 @section Selecting a Frame
6085
6086 Most commands for examining the stack and other data in your program work on
6087 whichever stack frame is selected at the moment. Here are the commands for
6088 selecting a stack frame; all of them finish by printing a brief description
6089 of the stack frame just selected.
6090
6091 @table @code
6092 @kindex frame@r{, selecting}
6093 @kindex f @r{(@code{frame})}
6094 @item frame @var{n}
6095 @itemx f @var{n}
6096 Select frame number @var{n}. Recall that frame zero is the innermost
6097 (currently executing) frame, frame one is the frame that called the
6098 innermost one, and so on. The highest-numbered frame is the one for
6099 @code{main}.
6100
6101 @item frame @var{addr}
6102 @itemx f @var{addr}
6103 Select the frame at address @var{addr}. This is useful mainly if the
6104 chaining of stack frames has been damaged by a bug, making it
6105 impossible for @value{GDBN} to assign numbers properly to all frames. In
6106 addition, this can be useful when your program has multiple stacks and
6107 switches between them.
6108
6109 On the SPARC architecture, @code{frame} needs two addresses to
6110 select an arbitrary frame: a frame pointer and a stack pointer.
6111
6112 On the MIPS and Alpha architecture, it needs two addresses: a stack
6113 pointer and a program counter.
6114
6115 On the 29k architecture, it needs three addresses: a register stack
6116 pointer, a program counter, and a memory stack pointer.
6117
6118 @kindex up
6119 @item up @var{n}
6120 Move @var{n} frames up the stack. For positive numbers @var{n}, this
6121 advances toward the outermost frame, to higher frame numbers, to frames
6122 that have existed longer. @var{n} defaults to one.
6123
6124 @kindex down
6125 @kindex do @r{(@code{down})}
6126 @item down @var{n}
6127 Move @var{n} frames down the stack. For positive numbers @var{n}, this
6128 advances toward the innermost frame, to lower frame numbers, to frames
6129 that were created more recently. @var{n} defaults to one. You may
6130 abbreviate @code{down} as @code{do}.
6131 @end table
6132
6133 All of these commands end by printing two lines of output describing the
6134 frame. The first line shows the frame number, the function name, the
6135 arguments, and the source file and line number of execution in that
6136 frame. The second line shows the text of that source line.
6137
6138 @need 1000
6139 For example:
6140
6141 @smallexample
6142 @group
6143 (@value{GDBP}) up
6144 #1 0x22f0 in main (argc=1, argv=0xf7fffbf4, env=0xf7fffbfc)
6145 at env.c:10
6146 10 read_input_file (argv[i]);
6147 @end group
6148 @end smallexample
6149
6150 After such a printout, the @code{list} command with no arguments
6151 prints ten lines centered on the point of execution in the frame.
6152 You can also edit the program at the point of execution with your favorite
6153 editing program by typing @code{edit}.
6154 @xref{List, ,Printing Source Lines},
6155 for details.
6156
6157 @table @code
6158 @kindex down-silently
6159 @kindex up-silently
6160 @item up-silently @var{n}
6161 @itemx down-silently @var{n}
6162 These two commands are variants of @code{up} and @code{down},
6163 respectively; they differ in that they do their work silently, without
6164 causing display of the new frame. They are intended primarily for use
6165 in @value{GDBN} command scripts, where the output might be unnecessary and
6166 distracting.
6167 @end table
6168
6169 @node Frame Info
6170 @section Information About a Frame
6171
6172 There are several other commands to print information about the selected
6173 stack frame.
6174
6175 @table @code
6176 @item frame
6177 @itemx f
6178 When used without any argument, this command does not change which
6179 frame is selected, but prints a brief description of the currently
6180 selected stack frame. It can be abbreviated @code{f}. With an
6181 argument, this command is used to select a stack frame.
6182 @xref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}.
6183
6184 @kindex info frame
6185 @kindex info f @r{(@code{info frame})}
6186 @item info frame
6187 @itemx info f
6188 This command prints a verbose description of the selected stack frame,
6189 including:
6190
6191 @itemize @bullet
6192 @item
6193 the address of the frame
6194 @item
6195 the address of the next frame down (called by this frame)
6196 @item
6197 the address of the next frame up (caller of this frame)
6198 @item
6199 the language in which the source code corresponding to this frame is written
6200 @item
6201 the address of the frame's arguments
6202 @item
6203 the address of the frame's local variables
6204 @item
6205 the program counter saved in it (the address of execution in the caller frame)
6206 @item
6207 which registers were saved in the frame
6208 @end itemize
6209
6210 @noindent The verbose description is useful when
6211 something has gone wrong that has made the stack format fail to fit
6212 the usual conventions.
6213
6214 @item info frame @var{addr}
6215 @itemx info f @var{addr}
6216 Print a verbose description of the frame at address @var{addr}, without
6217 selecting that frame. The selected frame remains unchanged by this
6218 command. This requires the same kind of address (more than one for some
6219 architectures) that you specify in the @code{frame} command.
6220 @xref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}.
6221
6222 @kindex info args
6223 @item info args
6224 Print the arguments of the selected frame, each on a separate line.
6225
6226 @item info locals
6227 @kindex info locals
6228 Print the local variables of the selected frame, each on a separate
6229 line. These are all variables (declared either static or automatic)
6230 accessible at the point of execution of the selected frame.
6231
6232 @kindex info catch
6233 @cindex catch exceptions, list active handlers
6234 @cindex exception handlers, how to list
6235 @item info catch
6236 Print a list of all the exception handlers that are active in the
6237 current stack frame at the current point of execution. To see other
6238 exception handlers, visit the associated frame (using the @code{up},
6239 @code{down}, or @code{frame} commands); then type @code{info catch}.
6240 @xref{Set Catchpoints, , Setting Catchpoints}.
6241
6242 @end table
6243
6244
6245 @node Source
6246 @chapter Examining Source Files
6247
6248 @value{GDBN} can print parts of your program's source, since the debugging
6249 information recorded in the program tells @value{GDBN} what source files were
6250 used to build it. When your program stops, @value{GDBN} spontaneously prints
6251 the line where it stopped. Likewise, when you select a stack frame
6252 (@pxref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}), @value{GDBN} prints the line where
6253 execution in that frame has stopped. You can print other portions of
6254 source files by explicit command.
6255
6256 If you use @value{GDBN} through its @sc{gnu} Emacs interface, you may
6257 prefer to use Emacs facilities to view source; see @ref{Emacs, ,Using
6258 @value{GDBN} under @sc{gnu} Emacs}.
6259
6260 @menu
6261 * List:: Printing source lines
6262 * Specify Location:: How to specify code locations
6263 * Edit:: Editing source files
6264 * Search:: Searching source files
6265 * Source Path:: Specifying source directories
6266 * Machine Code:: Source and machine code
6267 @end menu
6268
6269 @node List
6270 @section Printing Source Lines
6271
6272 @kindex list
6273 @kindex l @r{(@code{list})}
6274 To print lines from a source file, use the @code{list} command
6275 (abbreviated @code{l}). By default, ten lines are printed.
6276 There are several ways to specify what part of the file you want to
6277 print; see @ref{Specify Location}, for the full list.
6278
6279 Here are the forms of the @code{list} command most commonly used:
6280
6281 @table @code
6282 @item list @var{linenum}
6283 Print lines centered around line number @var{linenum} in the
6284 current source file.
6285
6286 @item list @var{function}
6287 Print lines centered around the beginning of function
6288 @var{function}.
6289
6290 @item list
6291 Print more lines. If the last lines printed were printed with a
6292 @code{list} command, this prints lines following the last lines
6293 printed; however, if the last line printed was a solitary line printed
6294 as part of displaying a stack frame (@pxref{Stack, ,Examining the
6295 Stack}), this prints lines centered around that line.
6296
6297 @item list -
6298 Print lines just before the lines last printed.
6299 @end table
6300
6301 @cindex @code{list}, how many lines to display
6302 By default, @value{GDBN} prints ten source lines with any of these forms of
6303 the @code{list} command. You can change this using @code{set listsize}:
6304
6305 @table @code
6306 @kindex set listsize
6307 @item set listsize @var{count}
6308 Make the @code{list} command display @var{count} source lines (unless
6309 the @code{list} argument explicitly specifies some other number).
6310
6311 @kindex show listsize
6312 @item show listsize
6313 Display the number of lines that @code{list} prints.
6314 @end table
6315
6316 Repeating a @code{list} command with @key{RET} discards the argument,
6317 so it is equivalent to typing just @code{list}. This is more useful
6318 than listing the same lines again. An exception is made for an
6319 argument of @samp{-}; that argument is preserved in repetition so that
6320 each repetition moves up in the source file.
6321
6322 In general, the @code{list} command expects you to supply zero, one or two
6323 @dfn{linespecs}. Linespecs specify source lines; there are several ways
6324 of writing them (@pxref{Specify Location}), but the effect is always
6325 to specify some source line.
6326
6327 Here is a complete description of the possible arguments for @code{list}:
6328
6329 @table @code
6330 @item list @var{linespec}
6331 Print lines centered around the line specified by @var{linespec}.
6332
6333 @item list @var{first},@var{last}
6334 Print lines from @var{first} to @var{last}. Both arguments are
6335 linespecs. When a @code{list} command has two linespecs, and the
6336 source file of the second linespec is omitted, this refers to
6337 the same source file as the first linespec.
6338
6339 @item list ,@var{last}
6340 Print lines ending with @var{last}.
6341
6342 @item list @var{first},
6343 Print lines starting with @var{first}.
6344
6345 @item list +
6346 Print lines just after the lines last printed.
6347
6348 @item list -
6349 Print lines just before the lines last printed.
6350
6351 @item list
6352 As described in the preceding table.
6353 @end table
6354
6355 @node Specify Location
6356 @section Specifying a Location
6357 @cindex specifying location
6358 @cindex linespec
6359
6360 Several @value{GDBN} commands accept arguments that specify a location
6361 of your program's code. Since @value{GDBN} is a source-level
6362 debugger, a location usually specifies some line in the source code;
6363 for that reason, locations are also known as @dfn{linespecs}.
6364
6365 Here are all the different ways of specifying a code location that
6366 @value{GDBN} understands:
6367
6368 @table @code
6369 @item @var{linenum}
6370 Specifies the line number @var{linenum} of the current source file.
6371
6372 @item -@var{offset}
6373 @itemx +@var{offset}
6374 Specifies the line @var{offset} lines before or after the @dfn{current
6375 line}. For the @code{list} command, the current line is the last one
6376 printed; for the breakpoint commands, this is the line at which
6377 execution stopped in the currently selected @dfn{stack frame}
6378 (@pxref{Frames, ,Frames}, for a description of stack frames.) When
6379 used as the second of the two linespecs in a @code{list} command,
6380 this specifies the line @var{offset} lines up or down from the first
6381 linespec.
6382
6383 @item @var{filename}:@var{linenum}
6384 Specifies the line @var{linenum} in the source file @var{filename}.
6385
6386 @item @var{function}
6387 Specifies the line that begins the body of the function @var{function}.
6388 For example, in C, this is the line with the open brace.
6389
6390 @item @var{function}:@var{label}
6391 Specifies the line where @var{label} appears in @var{function}.
6392
6393 @item @var{filename}:@var{function}
6394 Specifies the line that begins the body of the function @var{function}
6395 in the file @var{filename}. You only need the file name with a
6396 function name to avoid ambiguity when there are identically named
6397 functions in different source files.
6398
6399 @item @var{label}
6400 Specifies the line at which the label named @var{label} appears.
6401 @value{GDBN} searches for the label in the function corresponding to
6402 the currently selected stack frame. If there is no current selected
6403 stack frame (for instance, if the inferior is not running), then
6404 @value{GDBN} will not search for a label.
6405
6406 @item *@var{address}
6407 Specifies the program address @var{address}. For line-oriented
6408 commands, such as @code{list} and @code{edit}, this specifies a source
6409 line that contains @var{address}. For @code{break} and other
6410 breakpoint oriented commands, this can be used to set breakpoints in
6411 parts of your program which do not have debugging information or
6412 source files.
6413
6414 Here @var{address} may be any expression valid in the current working
6415 language (@pxref{Languages, working language}) that specifies a code
6416 address. In addition, as a convenience, @value{GDBN} extends the
6417 semantics of expressions used in locations to cover the situations
6418 that frequently happen during debugging. Here are the various forms
6419 of @var{address}:
6420
6421 @table @code
6422 @item @var{expression}
6423 Any expression valid in the current working language.
6424
6425 @item @var{funcaddr}
6426 An address of a function or procedure derived from its name. In C,
6427 C@t{++}, Java, Objective-C, Fortran, minimal, and assembly, this is
6428 simply the function's name @var{function} (and actually a special case
6429 of a valid expression). In Pascal and Modula-2, this is
6430 @code{&@var{function}}. In Ada, this is @code{@var{function}'Address}
6431 (although the Pascal form also works).
6432
6433 This form specifies the address of the function's first instruction,
6434 before the stack frame and arguments have been set up.
6435
6436 @item '@var{filename}'::@var{funcaddr}
6437 Like @var{funcaddr} above, but also specifies the name of the source
6438 file explicitly. This is useful if the name of the function does not
6439 specify the function unambiguously, e.g., if there are several
6440 functions with identical names in different source files.
6441 @end table
6442
6443 @end table
6444
6445
6446 @node Edit
6447 @section Editing Source Files
6448 @cindex editing source files
6449
6450 @kindex edit
6451 @kindex e @r{(@code{edit})}
6452 To edit the lines in a source file, use the @code{edit} command.
6453 The editing program of your choice
6454 is invoked with the current line set to
6455 the active line in the program.
6456 Alternatively, there are several ways to specify what part of the file you
6457 want to print if you want to see other parts of the program:
6458
6459 @table @code
6460 @item edit @var{location}
6461 Edit the source file specified by @code{location}. Editing starts at
6462 that @var{location}, e.g., at the specified source line of the
6463 specified file. @xref{Specify Location}, for all the possible forms
6464 of the @var{location} argument; here are the forms of the @code{edit}
6465 command most commonly used:
6466
6467 @table @code
6468 @item edit @var{number}
6469 Edit the current source file with @var{number} as the active line number.
6470
6471 @item edit @var{function}
6472 Edit the file containing @var{function} at the beginning of its definition.
6473 @end table
6474
6475 @end table
6476
6477 @subsection Choosing your Editor
6478 You can customize @value{GDBN} to use any editor you want
6479 @footnote{
6480 The only restriction is that your editor (say @code{ex}), recognizes the
6481 following command-line syntax:
6482 @smallexample
6483 ex +@var{number} file
6484 @end smallexample
6485 The optional numeric value +@var{number} specifies the number of the line in
6486 the file where to start editing.}.
6487 By default, it is @file{@value{EDITOR}}, but you can change this
6488 by setting the environment variable @code{EDITOR} before using
6489 @value{GDBN}. For example, to configure @value{GDBN} to use the
6490 @code{vi} editor, you could use these commands with the @code{sh} shell:
6491 @smallexample
6492 EDITOR=/usr/bin/vi
6493 export EDITOR
6494 gdb @dots{}
6495 @end smallexample
6496 or in the @code{csh} shell,
6497 @smallexample
6498 setenv EDITOR /usr/bin/vi
6499 gdb @dots{}
6500 @end smallexample
6501
6502 @node Search
6503 @section Searching Source Files
6504 @cindex searching source files
6505
6506 There are two commands for searching through the current source file for a
6507 regular expression.
6508
6509 @table @code
6510 @kindex search
6511 @kindex forward-search
6512 @item forward-search @var{regexp}
6513 @itemx search @var{regexp}
6514 The command @samp{forward-search @var{regexp}} checks each line,
6515 starting with the one following the last line listed, for a match for
6516 @var{regexp}. It lists the line that is found. You can use the
6517 synonym @samp{search @var{regexp}} or abbreviate the command name as
6518 @code{fo}.
6519
6520 @kindex reverse-search
6521 @item reverse-search @var{regexp}
6522 The command @samp{reverse-search @var{regexp}} checks each line, starting
6523 with the one before the last line listed and going backward, for a match
6524 for @var{regexp}. It lists the line that is found. You can abbreviate
6525 this command as @code{rev}.
6526 @end table
6527
6528 @node Source Path
6529 @section Specifying Source Directories
6530
6531 @cindex source path
6532 @cindex directories for source files
6533 Executable programs sometimes do not record the directories of the source
6534 files from which they were compiled, just the names. Even when they do,
6535 the directories could be moved between the compilation and your debugging
6536 session. @value{GDBN} has a list of directories to search for source files;
6537 this is called the @dfn{source path}. Each time @value{GDBN} wants a source file,
6538 it tries all the directories in the list, in the order they are present
6539 in the list, until it finds a file with the desired name.
6540
6541 For example, suppose an executable references the file
6542 @file{/usr/src/foo-1.0/lib/foo.c}, and our source path is
6543 @file{/mnt/cross}. The file is first looked up literally; if this
6544 fails, @file{/mnt/cross/usr/src/foo-1.0/lib/foo.c} is tried; if this
6545 fails, @file{/mnt/cross/foo.c} is opened; if this fails, an error
6546 message is printed. @value{GDBN} does not look up the parts of the
6547 source file name, such as @file{/mnt/cross/src/foo-1.0/lib/foo.c}.
6548 Likewise, the subdirectories of the source path are not searched: if
6549 the source path is @file{/mnt/cross}, and the binary refers to
6550 @file{foo.c}, @value{GDBN} would not find it under
6551 @file{/mnt/cross/usr/src/foo-1.0/lib}.
6552
6553 Plain file names, relative file names with leading directories, file
6554 names containing dots, etc.@: are all treated as described above; for
6555 instance, if the source path is @file{/mnt/cross}, and the source file
6556 is recorded as @file{../lib/foo.c}, @value{GDBN} would first try
6557 @file{../lib/foo.c}, then @file{/mnt/cross/../lib/foo.c}, and after
6558 that---@file{/mnt/cross/foo.c}.
6559
6560 Note that the executable search path is @emph{not} used to locate the
6561 source files.
6562
6563 Whenever you reset or rearrange the source path, @value{GDBN} clears out
6564 any information it has cached about where source files are found and where
6565 each line is in the file.
6566
6567 @kindex directory
6568 @kindex dir
6569 When you start @value{GDBN}, its source path includes only @samp{cdir}
6570 and @samp{cwd}, in that order.
6571 To add other directories, use the @code{directory} command.
6572
6573 The search path is used to find both program source files and @value{GDBN}
6574 script files (read using the @samp{-command} option and @samp{source} command).
6575
6576 In addition to the source path, @value{GDBN} provides a set of commands
6577 that manage a list of source path substitution rules. A @dfn{substitution
6578 rule} specifies how to rewrite source directories stored in the program's
6579 debug information in case the sources were moved to a different
6580 directory between compilation and debugging. A rule is made of
6581 two strings, the first specifying what needs to be rewritten in
6582 the path, and the second specifying how it should be rewritten.
6583 In @ref{set substitute-path}, we name these two parts @var{from} and
6584 @var{to} respectively. @value{GDBN} does a simple string replacement
6585 of @var{from} with @var{to} at the start of the directory part of the
6586 source file name, and uses that result instead of the original file
6587 name to look up the sources.
6588
6589 Using the previous example, suppose the @file{foo-1.0} tree has been
6590 moved from @file{/usr/src} to @file{/mnt/cross}, then you can tell
6591 @value{GDBN} to replace @file{/usr/src} in all source path names with
6592 @file{/mnt/cross}. The first lookup will then be
6593 @file{/mnt/cross/foo-1.0/lib/foo.c} in place of the original location
6594 of @file{/usr/src/foo-1.0/lib/foo.c}. To define a source path
6595 substitution rule, use the @code{set substitute-path} command
6596 (@pxref{set substitute-path}).
6597
6598 To avoid unexpected substitution results, a rule is applied only if the
6599 @var{from} part of the directory name ends at a directory separator.
6600 For instance, a rule substituting @file{/usr/source} into
6601 @file{/mnt/cross} will be applied to @file{/usr/source/foo-1.0} but
6602 not to @file{/usr/sourceware/foo-2.0}. And because the substitution
6603 is applied only at the beginning of the directory name, this rule will
6604 not be applied to @file{/root/usr/source/baz.c} either.
6605
6606 In many cases, you can achieve the same result using the @code{directory}
6607 command. However, @code{set substitute-path} can be more efficient in
6608 the case where the sources are organized in a complex tree with multiple
6609 subdirectories. With the @code{directory} command, you need to add each
6610 subdirectory of your project. If you moved the entire tree while
6611 preserving its internal organization, then @code{set substitute-path}
6612 allows you to direct the debugger to all the sources with one single
6613 command.
6614
6615 @code{set substitute-path} is also more than just a shortcut command.
6616 The source path is only used if the file at the original location no
6617 longer exists. On the other hand, @code{set substitute-path} modifies
6618 the debugger behavior to look at the rewritten location instead. So, if
6619 for any reason a source file that is not relevant to your executable is
6620 located at the original location, a substitution rule is the only
6621 method available to point @value{GDBN} at the new location.
6622
6623 @cindex @samp{--with-relocated-sources}
6624 @cindex default source path substitution
6625 You can configure a default source path substitution rule by
6626 configuring @value{GDBN} with the
6627 @samp{--with-relocated-sources=@var{dir}} option. The @var{dir}
6628 should be the name of a directory under @value{GDBN}'s configured
6629 prefix (set with @samp{--prefix} or @samp{--exec-prefix}), and
6630 directory names in debug information under @var{dir} will be adjusted
6631 automatically if the installed @value{GDBN} is moved to a new
6632 location. This is useful if @value{GDBN}, libraries or executables
6633 with debug information and corresponding source code are being moved
6634 together.
6635
6636 @table @code
6637 @item directory @var{dirname} @dots{}
6638 @item dir @var{dirname} @dots{}
6639 Add directory @var{dirname} to the front of the source path. Several
6640 directory names may be given to this command, separated by @samp{:}
6641 (@samp{;} on MS-DOS and MS-Windows, where @samp{:} usually appears as
6642 part of absolute file names) or
6643 whitespace. You may specify a directory that is already in the source
6644 path; this moves it forward, so @value{GDBN} searches it sooner.
6645
6646 @kindex cdir
6647 @kindex cwd
6648 @vindex $cdir@r{, convenience variable}
6649 @vindex $cwd@r{, convenience variable}
6650 @cindex compilation directory
6651 @cindex current directory
6652 @cindex working directory
6653 @cindex directory, current
6654 @cindex directory, compilation
6655 You can use the string @samp{$cdir} to refer to the compilation
6656 directory (if one is recorded), and @samp{$cwd} to refer to the current
6657 working directory. @samp{$cwd} is not the same as @samp{.}---the former
6658 tracks the current working directory as it changes during your @value{GDBN}
6659 session, while the latter is immediately expanded to the current
6660 directory at the time you add an entry to the source path.
6661
6662 @item directory
6663 Reset the source path to its default value (@samp{$cdir:$cwd} on Unix systems). This requires confirmation.
6664
6665 @c RET-repeat for @code{directory} is explicitly disabled, but since
6666 @c repeating it would be a no-op we do not say that. (thanks to RMS)
6667
6668 @item set directories @var{path-list}
6669 @kindex set directories
6670 Set the source path to @var{path-list}.
6671 @samp{$cdir:$cwd} are added if missing.
6672
6673 @item show directories
6674 @kindex show directories
6675 Print the source path: show which directories it contains.
6676
6677 @anchor{set substitute-path}
6678 @item set substitute-path @var{from} @var{to}
6679 @kindex set substitute-path
6680 Define a source path substitution rule, and add it at the end of the
6681 current list of existing substitution rules. If a rule with the same
6682 @var{from} was already defined, then the old rule is also deleted.
6683
6684 For example, if the file @file{/foo/bar/baz.c} was moved to
6685 @file{/mnt/cross/baz.c}, then the command
6686
6687 @smallexample
6688 (@value{GDBP}) set substitute-path /usr/src /mnt/cross
6689 @end smallexample
6690
6691 @noindent
6692 will tell @value{GDBN} to replace @samp{/usr/src} with
6693 @samp{/mnt/cross}, which will allow @value{GDBN} to find the file
6694 @file{baz.c} even though it was moved.
6695
6696 In the case when more than one substitution rule have been defined,
6697 the rules are evaluated one by one in the order where they have been
6698 defined. The first one matching, if any, is selected to perform
6699 the substitution.
6700
6701 For instance, if we had entered the following commands:
6702
6703 @smallexample
6704 (@value{GDBP}) set substitute-path /usr/src/include /mnt/include
6705 (@value{GDBP}) set substitute-path /usr/src /mnt/src
6706 @end smallexample
6707
6708 @noindent
6709 @value{GDBN} would then rewrite @file{/usr/src/include/defs.h} into
6710 @file{/mnt/include/defs.h} by using the first rule. However, it would
6711 use the second rule to rewrite @file{/usr/src/lib/foo.c} into
6712 @file{/mnt/src/lib/foo.c}.
6713
6714
6715 @item unset substitute-path [path]
6716 @kindex unset substitute-path
6717 If a path is specified, search the current list of substitution rules
6718 for a rule that would rewrite that path. Delete that rule if found.
6719 A warning is emitted by the debugger if no rule could be found.
6720
6721 If no path is specified, then all substitution rules are deleted.
6722
6723 @item show substitute-path [path]
6724 @kindex show substitute-path
6725 If a path is specified, then print the source path substitution rule
6726 which would rewrite that path, if any.
6727
6728 If no path is specified, then print all existing source path substitution
6729 rules.
6730
6731 @end table
6732
6733 If your source path is cluttered with directories that are no longer of
6734 interest, @value{GDBN} may sometimes cause confusion by finding the wrong
6735 versions of source. You can correct the situation as follows:
6736
6737 @enumerate
6738 @item
6739 Use @code{directory} with no argument to reset the source path to its default value.
6740
6741 @item
6742 Use @code{directory} with suitable arguments to reinstall the
6743 directories you want in the source path. You can add all the
6744 directories in one command.
6745 @end enumerate
6746
6747 @node Machine Code
6748 @section Source and Machine Code
6749 @cindex source line and its code address
6750
6751 You can use the command @code{info line} to map source lines to program
6752 addresses (and vice versa), and the command @code{disassemble} to display
6753 a range of addresses as machine instructions. You can use the command
6754 @code{set disassemble-next-line} to set whether to disassemble next
6755 source line when execution stops. When run under @sc{gnu} Emacs
6756 mode, the @code{info line} command causes the arrow to point to the
6757 line specified. Also, @code{info line} prints addresses in symbolic form as
6758 well as hex.
6759
6760 @table @code
6761 @kindex info line
6762 @item info line @var{linespec}
6763 Print the starting and ending addresses of the compiled code for
6764 source line @var{linespec}. You can specify source lines in any of
6765 the ways documented in @ref{Specify Location}.
6766 @end table
6767
6768 For example, we can use @code{info line} to discover the location of
6769 the object code for the first line of function
6770 @code{m4_changequote}:
6771
6772 @c FIXME: I think this example should also show the addresses in
6773 @c symbolic form, as they usually would be displayed.
6774 @smallexample
6775 (@value{GDBP}) info line m4_changequote
6776 Line 895 of "builtin.c" starts at pc 0x634c and ends at 0x6350.
6777 @end smallexample
6778
6779 @noindent
6780 @cindex code address and its source line
6781 We can also inquire (using @code{*@var{addr}} as the form for
6782 @var{linespec}) what source line covers a particular address:
6783 @smallexample
6784 (@value{GDBP}) info line *0x63ff
6785 Line 926 of "builtin.c" starts at pc 0x63e4 and ends at 0x6404.
6786 @end smallexample
6787
6788 @cindex @code{$_} and @code{info line}
6789 @cindex @code{x} command, default address
6790 @kindex x@r{(examine), and} info line
6791 After @code{info line}, the default address for the @code{x} command
6792 is changed to the starting address of the line, so that @samp{x/i} is
6793 sufficient to begin examining the machine code (@pxref{Memory,
6794 ,Examining Memory}). Also, this address is saved as the value of the
6795 convenience variable @code{$_} (@pxref{Convenience Vars, ,Convenience
6796 Variables}).
6797
6798 @table @code
6799 @kindex disassemble
6800 @cindex assembly instructions
6801 @cindex instructions, assembly
6802 @cindex machine instructions
6803 @cindex listing machine instructions
6804 @item disassemble
6805 @itemx disassemble /m
6806 @itemx disassemble /r
6807 This specialized command dumps a range of memory as machine
6808 instructions. It can also print mixed source+disassembly by specifying
6809 the @code{/m} modifier and print the raw instructions in hex as well as
6810 in symbolic form by specifying the @code{/r}.
6811 The default memory range is the function surrounding the
6812 program counter of the selected frame. A single argument to this
6813 command is a program counter value; @value{GDBN} dumps the function
6814 surrounding this value. When two arguments are given, they should
6815 be separated by a comma, possibly surrounded by whitespace. The
6816 arguments specify a range of addresses to dump, in one of two forms:
6817
6818 @table @code
6819 @item @var{start},@var{end}
6820 the addresses from @var{start} (inclusive) to @var{end} (exclusive)
6821 @item @var{start},+@var{length}
6822 the addresses from @var{start} (inclusive) to
6823 @code{@var{start}+@var{length}} (exclusive).
6824 @end table
6825
6826 @noindent
6827 When 2 arguments are specified, the name of the function is also
6828 printed (since there could be several functions in the given range).
6829
6830 The argument(s) can be any expression yielding a numeric value, such as
6831 @samp{0x32c4}, @samp{&main+10} or @samp{$pc - 8}.
6832
6833 If the range of memory being disassembled contains current program counter,
6834 the instruction at that location is shown with a @code{=>} marker.
6835 @end table
6836
6837 The following example shows the disassembly of a range of addresses of
6838 HP PA-RISC 2.0 code:
6839
6840 @smallexample
6841 (@value{GDBP}) disas 0x32c4, 0x32e4
6842 Dump of assembler code from 0x32c4 to 0x32e4:
6843 0x32c4 <main+204>: addil 0,dp
6844 0x32c8 <main+208>: ldw 0x22c(sr0,r1),r26
6845 0x32cc <main+212>: ldil 0x3000,r31
6846 0x32d0 <main+216>: ble 0x3f8(sr4,r31)
6847 0x32d4 <main+220>: ldo 0(r31),rp
6848 0x32d8 <main+224>: addil -0x800,dp
6849 0x32dc <main+228>: ldo 0x588(r1),r26
6850 0x32e0 <main+232>: ldil 0x3000,r31
6851 End of assembler dump.
6852 @end smallexample
6853
6854 Here is an example showing mixed source+assembly for Intel x86, when the
6855 program is stopped just after function prologue:
6856
6857 @smallexample
6858 (@value{GDBP}) disas /m main
6859 Dump of assembler code for function main:
6860 5 @{
6861 0x08048330 <+0>: push %ebp
6862 0x08048331 <+1>: mov %esp,%ebp
6863 0x08048333 <+3>: sub $0x8,%esp
6864 0x08048336 <+6>: and $0xfffffff0,%esp
6865 0x08048339 <+9>: sub $0x10,%esp
6866
6867 6 printf ("Hello.\n");
6868 => 0x0804833c <+12>: movl $0x8048440,(%esp)
6869 0x08048343 <+19>: call 0x8048284 <puts@@plt>
6870
6871 7 return 0;
6872 8 @}
6873 0x08048348 <+24>: mov $0x0,%eax
6874 0x0804834d <+29>: leave
6875 0x0804834e <+30>: ret
6876
6877 End of assembler dump.
6878 @end smallexample
6879
6880 Here is another example showing raw instructions in hex for AMD x86-64,
6881
6882 @smallexample
6883 (gdb) disas /r 0x400281,+10
6884 Dump of assembler code from 0x400281 to 0x40028b:
6885 0x0000000000400281: 38 36 cmp %dh,(%rsi)
6886 0x0000000000400283: 2d 36 34 2e 73 sub $0x732e3436,%eax
6887 0x0000000000400288: 6f outsl %ds:(%rsi),(%dx)
6888 0x0000000000400289: 2e 32 00 xor %cs:(%rax),%al
6889 End of assembler dump.
6890 @end smallexample
6891
6892 Some architectures have more than one commonly-used set of instruction
6893 mnemonics or other syntax.
6894
6895 For programs that were dynamically linked and use shared libraries,
6896 instructions that call functions or branch to locations in the shared
6897 libraries might show a seemingly bogus location---it's actually a
6898 location of the relocation table. On some architectures, @value{GDBN}
6899 might be able to resolve these to actual function names.
6900
6901 @table @code
6902 @kindex set disassembly-flavor
6903 @cindex Intel disassembly flavor
6904 @cindex AT&T disassembly flavor
6905 @item set disassembly-flavor @var{instruction-set}
6906 Select the instruction set to use when disassembling the
6907 program via the @code{disassemble} or @code{x/i} commands.
6908
6909 Currently this command is only defined for the Intel x86 family. You
6910 can set @var{instruction-set} to either @code{intel} or @code{att}.
6911 The default is @code{att}, the AT&T flavor used by default by Unix
6912 assemblers for x86-based targets.
6913
6914 @kindex show disassembly-flavor
6915 @item show disassembly-flavor
6916 Show the current setting of the disassembly flavor.
6917 @end table
6918
6919 @table @code
6920 @kindex set disassemble-next-line
6921 @kindex show disassemble-next-line
6922 @item set disassemble-next-line
6923 @itemx show disassemble-next-line
6924 Control whether or not @value{GDBN} will disassemble the next source
6925 line or instruction when execution stops. If ON, @value{GDBN} will
6926 display disassembly of the next source line when execution of the
6927 program being debugged stops. This is @emph{in addition} to
6928 displaying the source line itself, which @value{GDBN} always does if
6929 possible. If the next source line cannot be displayed for some reason
6930 (e.g., if @value{GDBN} cannot find the source file, or there's no line
6931 info in the debug info), @value{GDBN} will display disassembly of the
6932 next @emph{instruction} instead of showing the next source line. If
6933 AUTO, @value{GDBN} will display disassembly of next instruction only
6934 if the source line cannot be displayed. This setting causes
6935 @value{GDBN} to display some feedback when you step through a function
6936 with no line info or whose source file is unavailable. The default is
6937 OFF, which means never display the disassembly of the next line or
6938 instruction.
6939 @end table
6940
6941
6942 @node Data
6943 @chapter Examining Data
6944
6945 @cindex printing data
6946 @cindex examining data
6947 @kindex print
6948 @kindex inspect
6949 @c "inspect" is not quite a synonym if you are using Epoch, which we do not
6950 @c document because it is nonstandard... Under Epoch it displays in a
6951 @c different window or something like that.
6952 The usual way to examine data in your program is with the @code{print}
6953 command (abbreviated @code{p}), or its synonym @code{inspect}. It
6954 evaluates and prints the value of an expression of the language your
6955 program is written in (@pxref{Languages, ,Using @value{GDBN} with
6956 Different Languages}). It may also print the expression using a
6957 Python-based pretty-printer (@pxref{Pretty Printing}).
6958
6959 @table @code
6960 @item print @var{expr}
6961 @itemx print /@var{f} @var{expr}
6962 @var{expr} is an expression (in the source language). By default the
6963 value of @var{expr} is printed in a format appropriate to its data type;
6964 you can choose a different format by specifying @samp{/@var{f}}, where
6965 @var{f} is a letter specifying the format; see @ref{Output Formats,,Output
6966 Formats}.
6967
6968 @item print
6969 @itemx print /@var{f}
6970 @cindex reprint the last value
6971 If you omit @var{expr}, @value{GDBN} displays the last value again (from the
6972 @dfn{value history}; @pxref{Value History, ,Value History}). This allows you to
6973 conveniently inspect the same value in an alternative format.
6974 @end table
6975
6976 A more low-level way of examining data is with the @code{x} command.
6977 It examines data in memory at a specified address and prints it in a
6978 specified format. @xref{Memory, ,Examining Memory}.
6979
6980 If you are interested in information about types, or about how the
6981 fields of a struct or a class are declared, use the @code{ptype @var{exp}}
6982 command rather than @code{print}. @xref{Symbols, ,Examining the Symbol
6983 Table}.
6984
6985 @menu
6986 * Expressions:: Expressions
6987 * Ambiguous Expressions:: Ambiguous Expressions
6988 * Variables:: Program variables
6989 * Arrays:: Artificial arrays
6990 * Output Formats:: Output formats
6991 * Memory:: Examining memory
6992 * Auto Display:: Automatic display
6993 * Print Settings:: Print settings
6994 * Pretty Printing:: Python pretty printing
6995 * Value History:: Value history
6996 * Convenience Vars:: Convenience variables
6997 * Registers:: Registers
6998 * Floating Point Hardware:: Floating point hardware
6999 * Vector Unit:: Vector Unit
7000 * OS Information:: Auxiliary data provided by operating system
7001 * Memory Region Attributes:: Memory region attributes
7002 * Dump/Restore Files:: Copy between memory and a file
7003 * Core File Generation:: Cause a program dump its core
7004 * Character Sets:: Debugging programs that use a different
7005 character set than GDB does
7006 * Caching Remote Data:: Data caching for remote targets
7007 * Searching Memory:: Searching memory for a sequence of bytes
7008 @end menu
7009
7010 @node Expressions
7011 @section Expressions
7012
7013 @cindex expressions
7014 @code{print} and many other @value{GDBN} commands accept an expression and
7015 compute its value. Any kind of constant, variable or operator defined
7016 by the programming language you are using is valid in an expression in
7017 @value{GDBN}. This includes conditional expressions, function calls,
7018 casts, and string constants. It also includes preprocessor macros, if
7019 you compiled your program to include this information; see
7020 @ref{Compilation}.
7021
7022 @cindex arrays in expressions
7023 @value{GDBN} supports array constants in expressions input by
7024 the user. The syntax is @{@var{element}, @var{element}@dots{}@}. For example,
7025 you can use the command @code{print @{1, 2, 3@}} to create an array
7026 of three integers. If you pass an array to a function or assign it
7027 to a program variable, @value{GDBN} copies the array to memory that
7028 is @code{malloc}ed in the target program.
7029
7030 Because C is so widespread, most of the expressions shown in examples in
7031 this manual are in C. @xref{Languages, , Using @value{GDBN} with Different
7032 Languages}, for information on how to use expressions in other
7033 languages.
7034
7035 In this section, we discuss operators that you can use in @value{GDBN}
7036 expressions regardless of your programming language.
7037
7038 @cindex casts, in expressions
7039 Casts are supported in all languages, not just in C, because it is so
7040 useful to cast a number into a pointer in order to examine a structure
7041 at that address in memory.
7042 @c FIXME: casts supported---Mod2 true?
7043
7044 @value{GDBN} supports these operators, in addition to those common
7045 to programming languages:
7046
7047 @table @code
7048 @item @@
7049 @samp{@@} is a binary operator for treating parts of memory as arrays.
7050 @xref{Arrays, ,Artificial Arrays}, for more information.
7051
7052 @item ::
7053 @samp{::} allows you to specify a variable in terms of the file or
7054 function where it is defined. @xref{Variables, ,Program Variables}.
7055
7056 @cindex @{@var{type}@}
7057 @cindex type casting memory
7058 @cindex memory, viewing as typed object
7059 @cindex casts, to view memory
7060 @item @{@var{type}@} @var{addr}
7061 Refers to an object of type @var{type} stored at address @var{addr} in
7062 memory. @var{addr} may be any expression whose value is an integer or
7063 pointer (but parentheses are required around binary operators, just as in
7064 a cast). This construct is allowed regardless of what kind of data is
7065 normally supposed to reside at @var{addr}.
7066 @end table
7067
7068 @node Ambiguous Expressions
7069 @section Ambiguous Expressions
7070 @cindex ambiguous expressions
7071
7072 Expressions can sometimes contain some ambiguous elements. For instance,
7073 some programming languages (notably Ada, C@t{++} and Objective-C) permit
7074 a single function name to be defined several times, for application in
7075 different contexts. This is called @dfn{overloading}. Another example
7076 involving Ada is generics. A @dfn{generic package} is similar to C@t{++}
7077 templates and is typically instantiated several times, resulting in
7078 the same function name being defined in different contexts.
7079
7080 In some cases and depending on the language, it is possible to adjust
7081 the expression to remove the ambiguity. For instance in C@t{++}, you
7082 can specify the signature of the function you want to break on, as in
7083 @kbd{break @var{function}(@var{types})}. In Ada, using the fully
7084 qualified name of your function often makes the expression unambiguous
7085 as well.
7086
7087 When an ambiguity that needs to be resolved is detected, the debugger
7088 has the capability to display a menu of numbered choices for each
7089 possibility, and then waits for the selection with the prompt @samp{>}.
7090 The first option is always @samp{[0] cancel}, and typing @kbd{0 @key{RET}}
7091 aborts the current command. If the command in which the expression was
7092 used allows more than one choice to be selected, the next option in the
7093 menu is @samp{[1] all}, and typing @kbd{1 @key{RET}} selects all possible
7094 choices.
7095
7096 For example, the following session excerpt shows an attempt to set a
7097 breakpoint at the overloaded symbol @code{String::after}.
7098 We choose three particular definitions of that function name:
7099
7100 @c FIXME! This is likely to change to show arg type lists, at least
7101 @smallexample
7102 @group
7103 (@value{GDBP}) b String::after
7104 [0] cancel
7105 [1] all
7106 [2] file:String.cc; line number:867
7107 [3] file:String.cc; line number:860
7108 [4] file:String.cc; line number:875
7109 [5] file:String.cc; line number:853
7110 [6] file:String.cc; line number:846
7111 [7] file:String.cc; line number:735
7112 > 2 4 6
7113 Breakpoint 1 at 0xb26c: file String.cc, line 867.
7114 Breakpoint 2 at 0xb344: file String.cc, line 875.
7115 Breakpoint 3 at 0xafcc: file String.cc, line 846.
7116 Multiple breakpoints were set.
7117 Use the "delete" command to delete unwanted
7118 breakpoints.
7119 (@value{GDBP})
7120 @end group
7121 @end smallexample
7122
7123 @table @code
7124 @kindex set multiple-symbols
7125 @item set multiple-symbols @var{mode}
7126 @cindex multiple-symbols menu
7127
7128 This option allows you to adjust the debugger behavior when an expression
7129 is ambiguous.
7130
7131 By default, @var{mode} is set to @code{all}. If the command with which
7132 the expression is used allows more than one choice, then @value{GDBN}
7133 automatically selects all possible choices. For instance, inserting
7134 a breakpoint on a function using an ambiguous name results in a breakpoint
7135 inserted on each possible match. However, if a unique choice must be made,
7136 then @value{GDBN} uses the menu to help you disambiguate the expression.
7137 For instance, printing the address of an overloaded function will result
7138 in the use of the menu.
7139
7140 When @var{mode} is set to @code{ask}, the debugger always uses the menu
7141 when an ambiguity is detected.
7142
7143 Finally, when @var{mode} is set to @code{cancel}, the debugger reports
7144 an error due to the ambiguity and the command is aborted.
7145
7146 @kindex show multiple-symbols
7147 @item show multiple-symbols
7148 Show the current value of the @code{multiple-symbols} setting.
7149 @end table
7150
7151 @node Variables
7152 @section Program Variables
7153
7154 The most common kind of expression to use is the name of a variable
7155 in your program.
7156
7157 Variables in expressions are understood in the selected stack frame
7158 (@pxref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}); they must be either:
7159
7160 @itemize @bullet
7161 @item
7162 global (or file-static)
7163 @end itemize
7164
7165 @noindent or
7166
7167 @itemize @bullet
7168 @item
7169 visible according to the scope rules of the
7170 programming language from the point of execution in that frame
7171 @end itemize
7172
7173 @noindent This means that in the function
7174
7175 @smallexample
7176 foo (a)
7177 int a;
7178 @{
7179 bar (a);
7180 @{
7181 int b = test ();
7182 bar (b);
7183 @}
7184 @}
7185 @end smallexample
7186
7187 @noindent
7188 you can examine and use the variable @code{a} whenever your program is
7189 executing within the function @code{foo}, but you can only use or
7190 examine the variable @code{b} while your program is executing inside
7191 the block where @code{b} is declared.
7192
7193 @cindex variable name conflict
7194 There is an exception: you can refer to a variable or function whose
7195 scope is a single source file even if the current execution point is not
7196 in this file. But it is possible to have more than one such variable or
7197 function with the same name (in different source files). If that
7198 happens, referring to that name has unpredictable effects. If you wish,
7199 you can specify a static variable in a particular function or file,
7200 using the colon-colon (@code{::}) notation:
7201
7202 @cindex colon-colon, context for variables/functions
7203 @ifnotinfo
7204 @c info cannot cope with a :: index entry, but why deprive hard copy readers?
7205 @cindex @code{::}, context for variables/functions
7206 @end ifnotinfo
7207 @smallexample
7208 @var{file}::@var{variable}
7209 @var{function}::@var{variable}
7210 @end smallexample
7211
7212 @noindent
7213 Here @var{file} or @var{function} is the name of the context for the
7214 static @var{variable}. In the case of file names, you can use quotes to
7215 make sure @value{GDBN} parses the file name as a single word---for example,
7216 to print a global value of @code{x} defined in @file{f2.c}:
7217
7218 @smallexample
7219 (@value{GDBP}) p 'f2.c'::x
7220 @end smallexample
7221
7222 @cindex C@t{++} scope resolution
7223 This use of @samp{::} is very rarely in conflict with the very similar
7224 use of the same notation in C@t{++}. @value{GDBN} also supports use of the C@t{++}
7225 scope resolution operator in @value{GDBN} expressions.
7226 @c FIXME: Um, so what happens in one of those rare cases where it's in
7227 @c conflict?? --mew
7228
7229 @cindex wrong values
7230 @cindex variable values, wrong
7231 @cindex function entry/exit, wrong values of variables
7232 @cindex optimized code, wrong values of variables
7233 @quotation
7234 @emph{Warning:} Occasionally, a local variable may appear to have the
7235 wrong value at certain points in a function---just after entry to a new
7236 scope, and just before exit.
7237 @end quotation
7238 You may see this problem when you are stepping by machine instructions.
7239 This is because, on most machines, it takes more than one instruction to
7240 set up a stack frame (including local variable definitions); if you are
7241 stepping by machine instructions, variables may appear to have the wrong
7242 values until the stack frame is completely built. On exit, it usually
7243 also takes more than one machine instruction to destroy a stack frame;
7244 after you begin stepping through that group of instructions, local
7245 variable definitions may be gone.
7246
7247 This may also happen when the compiler does significant optimizations.
7248 To be sure of always seeing accurate values, turn off all optimization
7249 when compiling.
7250
7251 @cindex ``No symbol "foo" in current context''
7252 Another possible effect of compiler optimizations is to optimize
7253 unused variables out of existence, or assign variables to registers (as
7254 opposed to memory addresses). Depending on the support for such cases
7255 offered by the debug info format used by the compiler, @value{GDBN}
7256 might not be able to display values for such local variables. If that
7257 happens, @value{GDBN} will print a message like this:
7258
7259 @smallexample
7260 No symbol "foo" in current context.
7261 @end smallexample
7262
7263 To solve such problems, either recompile without optimizations, or use a
7264 different debug info format, if the compiler supports several such
7265 formats. For example, @value{NGCC}, the @sc{gnu} C/C@t{++} compiler,
7266 usually supports the @option{-gstabs+} option. @option{-gstabs+}
7267 produces debug info in a format that is superior to formats such as
7268 COFF. You may be able to use DWARF 2 (@option{-gdwarf-2}), which is also
7269 an effective form for debug info. @xref{Debugging Options,,Options
7270 for Debugging Your Program or GCC, gcc.info, Using the @sc{gnu}
7271 Compiler Collection (GCC)}.
7272 @xref{C, ,C and C@t{++}}, for more information about debug info formats
7273 that are best suited to C@t{++} programs.
7274
7275 If you ask to print an object whose contents are unknown to
7276 @value{GDBN}, e.g., because its data type is not completely specified
7277 by the debug information, @value{GDBN} will say @samp{<incomplete
7278 type>}. @xref{Symbols, incomplete type}, for more about this.
7279
7280 Strings are identified as arrays of @code{char} values without specified
7281 signedness. Arrays of either @code{signed char} or @code{unsigned char} get
7282 printed as arrays of 1 byte sized integers. @code{-fsigned-char} or
7283 @code{-funsigned-char} @value{NGCC} options have no effect as @value{GDBN}
7284 defines literal string type @code{"char"} as @code{char} without a sign.
7285 For program code
7286
7287 @smallexample
7288 char var0[] = "A";
7289 signed char var1[] = "A";
7290 @end smallexample
7291
7292 You get during debugging
7293 @smallexample
7294 (gdb) print var0
7295 $1 = "A"
7296 (gdb) print var1
7297 $2 = @{65 'A', 0 '\0'@}
7298 @end smallexample
7299
7300 @node Arrays
7301 @section Artificial Arrays
7302
7303 @cindex artificial array
7304 @cindex arrays
7305 @kindex @@@r{, referencing memory as an array}
7306 It is often useful to print out several successive objects of the
7307 same type in memory; a section of an array, or an array of
7308 dynamically determined size for which only a pointer exists in the
7309 program.
7310
7311 You can do this by referring to a contiguous span of memory as an
7312 @dfn{artificial array}, using the binary operator @samp{@@}. The left
7313 operand of @samp{@@} should be the first element of the desired array
7314 and be an individual object. The right operand should be the desired length
7315 of the array. The result is an array value whose elements are all of
7316 the type of the left argument. The first element is actually the left
7317 argument; the second element comes from bytes of memory immediately
7318 following those that hold the first element, and so on. Here is an
7319 example. If a program says
7320
7321 @smallexample
7322 int *array = (int *) malloc (len * sizeof (int));
7323 @end smallexample
7324
7325 @noindent
7326 you can print the contents of @code{array} with
7327
7328 @smallexample
7329 p *array@@len
7330 @end smallexample
7331
7332 The left operand of @samp{@@} must reside in memory. Array values made
7333 with @samp{@@} in this way behave just like other arrays in terms of
7334 subscripting, and are coerced to pointers when used in expressions.
7335 Artificial arrays most often appear in expressions via the value history
7336 (@pxref{Value History, ,Value History}), after printing one out.
7337
7338 Another way to create an artificial array is to use a cast.
7339 This re-interprets a value as if it were an array.
7340 The value need not be in memory:
7341 @smallexample
7342 (@value{GDBP}) p/x (short[2])0x12345678
7343 $1 = @{0x1234, 0x5678@}
7344 @end smallexample
7345
7346 As a convenience, if you leave the array length out (as in
7347 @samp{(@var{type}[])@var{value}}) @value{GDBN} calculates the size to fill
7348 the value (as @samp{sizeof(@var{value})/sizeof(@var{type})}:
7349 @smallexample
7350 (@value{GDBP}) p/x (short[])0x12345678
7351 $2 = @{0x1234, 0x5678@}
7352 @end smallexample
7353
7354 Sometimes the artificial array mechanism is not quite enough; in
7355 moderately complex data structures, the elements of interest may not
7356 actually be adjacent---for example, if you are interested in the values
7357 of pointers in an array. One useful work-around in this situation is
7358 to use a convenience variable (@pxref{Convenience Vars, ,Convenience
7359 Variables}) as a counter in an expression that prints the first
7360 interesting value, and then repeat that expression via @key{RET}. For
7361 instance, suppose you have an array @code{dtab} of pointers to
7362 structures, and you are interested in the values of a field @code{fv}
7363 in each structure. Here is an example of what you might type:
7364
7365 @smallexample
7366 set $i = 0
7367 p dtab[$i++]->fv
7368 @key{RET}
7369 @key{RET}
7370 @dots{}
7371 @end smallexample
7372
7373 @node Output Formats
7374 @section Output Formats
7375
7376 @cindex formatted output
7377 @cindex output formats
7378 By default, @value{GDBN} prints a value according to its data type. Sometimes
7379 this is not what you want. For example, you might want to print a number
7380 in hex, or a pointer in decimal. Or you might want to view data in memory
7381 at a certain address as a character string or as an instruction. To do
7382 these things, specify an @dfn{output format} when you print a value.
7383
7384 The simplest use of output formats is to say how to print a value
7385 already computed. This is done by starting the arguments of the
7386 @code{print} command with a slash and a format letter. The format
7387 letters supported are:
7388
7389 @table @code
7390 @item x
7391 Regard the bits of the value as an integer, and print the integer in
7392 hexadecimal.
7393
7394 @item d
7395 Print as integer in signed decimal.
7396
7397 @item u
7398 Print as integer in unsigned decimal.
7399
7400 @item o
7401 Print as integer in octal.
7402
7403 @item t
7404 Print as integer in binary. The letter @samp{t} stands for ``two''.
7405 @footnote{@samp{b} cannot be used because these format letters are also
7406 used with the @code{x} command, where @samp{b} stands for ``byte'';
7407 see @ref{Memory,,Examining Memory}.}
7408
7409 @item a
7410 @cindex unknown address, locating
7411 @cindex locate address
7412 Print as an address, both absolute in hexadecimal and as an offset from
7413 the nearest preceding symbol. You can use this format used to discover
7414 where (in what function) an unknown address is located:
7415
7416 @smallexample
7417 (@value{GDBP}) p/a 0x54320
7418 $3 = 0x54320 <_initialize_vx+396>
7419 @end smallexample
7420
7421 @noindent
7422 The command @code{info symbol 0x54320} yields similar results.
7423 @xref{Symbols, info symbol}.
7424
7425 @item c
7426 Regard as an integer and print it as a character constant. This
7427 prints both the numerical value and its character representation. The
7428 character representation is replaced with the octal escape @samp{\nnn}
7429 for characters outside the 7-bit @sc{ascii} range.
7430
7431 Without this format, @value{GDBN} displays @code{char},
7432 @w{@code{unsigned char}}, and @w{@code{signed char}} data as character
7433 constants. Single-byte members of vectors are displayed as integer
7434 data.
7435
7436 @item f
7437 Regard the bits of the value as a floating point number and print
7438 using typical floating point syntax.
7439
7440 @item s
7441 @cindex printing strings
7442 @cindex printing byte arrays
7443 Regard as a string, if possible. With this format, pointers to single-byte
7444 data are displayed as null-terminated strings and arrays of single-byte data
7445 are displayed as fixed-length strings. Other values are displayed in their
7446 natural types.
7447
7448 Without this format, @value{GDBN} displays pointers to and arrays of
7449 @code{char}, @w{@code{unsigned char}}, and @w{@code{signed char}} as
7450 strings. Single-byte members of a vector are displayed as an integer
7451 array.
7452
7453 @item r
7454 @cindex raw printing
7455 Print using the @samp{raw} formatting. By default, @value{GDBN} will
7456 use a Python-based pretty-printer, if one is available (@pxref{Pretty
7457 Printing}). This typically results in a higher-level display of the
7458 value's contents. The @samp{r} format bypasses any Python
7459 pretty-printer which might exist.
7460 @end table
7461
7462 For example, to print the program counter in hex (@pxref{Registers}), type
7463
7464 @smallexample
7465 p/x $pc
7466 @end smallexample
7467
7468 @noindent
7469 Note that no space is required before the slash; this is because command
7470 names in @value{GDBN} cannot contain a slash.
7471
7472 To reprint the last value in the value history with a different format,
7473 you can use the @code{print} command with just a format and no
7474 expression. For example, @samp{p/x} reprints the last value in hex.
7475
7476 @node Memory
7477 @section Examining Memory
7478
7479 You can use the command @code{x} (for ``examine'') to examine memory in
7480 any of several formats, independently of your program's data types.
7481
7482 @cindex examining memory
7483 @table @code
7484 @kindex x @r{(examine memory)}
7485 @item x/@var{nfu} @var{addr}
7486 @itemx x @var{addr}
7487 @itemx x
7488 Use the @code{x} command to examine memory.
7489 @end table
7490
7491 @var{n}, @var{f}, and @var{u} are all optional parameters that specify how
7492 much memory to display and how to format it; @var{addr} is an
7493 expression giving the address where you want to start displaying memory.
7494 If you use defaults for @var{nfu}, you need not type the slash @samp{/}.
7495 Several commands set convenient defaults for @var{addr}.
7496
7497 @table @r
7498 @item @var{n}, the repeat count
7499 The repeat count is a decimal integer; the default is 1. It specifies
7500 how much memory (counting by units @var{u}) to display.
7501 @c This really is **decimal**; unaffected by 'set radix' as of GDB
7502 @c 4.1.2.
7503
7504 @item @var{f}, the display format
7505 The display format is one of the formats used by @code{print}
7506 (@samp{x}, @samp{d}, @samp{u}, @samp{o}, @samp{t}, @samp{a}, @samp{c},
7507 @samp{f}, @samp{s}), and in addition @samp{i} (for machine instructions).
7508 The default is @samp{x} (hexadecimal) initially. The default changes
7509 each time you use either @code{x} or @code{print}.
7510
7511 @item @var{u}, the unit size
7512 The unit size is any of
7513
7514 @table @code
7515 @item b
7516 Bytes.
7517 @item h
7518 Halfwords (two bytes).
7519 @item w
7520 Words (four bytes). This is the initial default.
7521 @item g
7522 Giant words (eight bytes).
7523 @end table
7524
7525 Each time you specify a unit size with @code{x}, that size becomes the
7526 default unit the next time you use @code{x}. For the @samp{i} format,
7527 the unit size is ignored and is normally not written. For the @samp{s} format,
7528 the unit size defaults to @samp{b}, unless it is explicitly given.
7529 Use @kbd{x /hs} to display 16-bit char strings and @kbd{x /ws} to display
7530 32-bit strings. The next use of @kbd{x /s} will again display 8-bit strings.
7531 Note that the results depend on the programming language of the
7532 current compilation unit. If the language is C, the @samp{s}
7533 modifier will use the UTF-16 encoding while @samp{w} will use
7534 UTF-32. The encoding is set by the programming language and cannot
7535 be altered.
7536
7537 @item @var{addr}, starting display address
7538 @var{addr} is the address where you want @value{GDBN} to begin displaying
7539 memory. The expression need not have a pointer value (though it may);
7540 it is always interpreted as an integer address of a byte of memory.
7541 @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}, for more information on expressions. The default for
7542 @var{addr} is usually just after the last address examined---but several
7543 other commands also set the default address: @code{info breakpoints} (to
7544 the address of the last breakpoint listed), @code{info line} (to the
7545 starting address of a line), and @code{print} (if you use it to display
7546 a value from memory).
7547 @end table
7548
7549 For example, @samp{x/3uh 0x54320} is a request to display three halfwords
7550 (@code{h}) of memory, formatted as unsigned decimal integers (@samp{u}),
7551 starting at address @code{0x54320}. @samp{x/4xw $sp} prints the four
7552 words (@samp{w}) of memory above the stack pointer (here, @samp{$sp};
7553 @pxref{Registers, ,Registers}) in hexadecimal (@samp{x}).
7554
7555 Since the letters indicating unit sizes are all distinct from the
7556 letters specifying output formats, you do not have to remember whether
7557 unit size or format comes first; either order works. The output
7558 specifications @samp{4xw} and @samp{4wx} mean exactly the same thing.
7559 (However, the count @var{n} must come first; @samp{wx4} does not work.)
7560
7561 Even though the unit size @var{u} is ignored for the formats @samp{s}
7562 and @samp{i}, you might still want to use a count @var{n}; for example,
7563 @samp{3i} specifies that you want to see three machine instructions,
7564 including any operands. For convenience, especially when used with
7565 the @code{display} command, the @samp{i} format also prints branch delay
7566 slot instructions, if any, beyond the count specified, which immediately
7567 follow the last instruction that is within the count. The command
7568 @code{disassemble} gives an alternative way of inspecting machine
7569 instructions; see @ref{Machine Code,,Source and Machine Code}.
7570
7571 All the defaults for the arguments to @code{x} are designed to make it
7572 easy to continue scanning memory with minimal specifications each time
7573 you use @code{x}. For example, after you have inspected three machine
7574 instructions with @samp{x/3i @var{addr}}, you can inspect the next seven
7575 with just @samp{x/7}. If you use @key{RET} to repeat the @code{x} command,
7576 the repeat count @var{n} is used again; the other arguments default as
7577 for successive uses of @code{x}.
7578
7579 When examining machine instructions, the instruction at current program
7580 counter is shown with a @code{=>} marker. For example:
7581
7582 @smallexample
7583 (@value{GDBP}) x/5i $pc-6
7584 0x804837f <main+11>: mov %esp,%ebp
7585 0x8048381 <main+13>: push %ecx
7586 0x8048382 <main+14>: sub $0x4,%esp
7587 => 0x8048385 <main+17>: movl $0x8048460,(%esp)
7588 0x804838c <main+24>: call 0x80482d4 <puts@@plt>
7589 @end smallexample
7590
7591 @cindex @code{$_}, @code{$__}, and value history
7592 The addresses and contents printed by the @code{x} command are not saved
7593 in the value history because there is often too much of them and they
7594 would get in the way. Instead, @value{GDBN} makes these values available for
7595 subsequent use in expressions as values of the convenience variables
7596 @code{$_} and @code{$__}. After an @code{x} command, the last address
7597 examined is available for use in expressions in the convenience variable
7598 @code{$_}. The contents of that address, as examined, are available in
7599 the convenience variable @code{$__}.
7600
7601 If the @code{x} command has a repeat count, the address and contents saved
7602 are from the last memory unit printed; this is not the same as the last
7603 address printed if several units were printed on the last line of output.
7604
7605 @cindex remote memory comparison
7606 @cindex verify remote memory image
7607 When you are debugging a program running on a remote target machine
7608 (@pxref{Remote Debugging}), you may wish to verify the program's image in the
7609 remote machine's memory against the executable file you downloaded to
7610 the target. The @code{compare-sections} command is provided for such
7611 situations.
7612
7613 @table @code
7614 @kindex compare-sections
7615 @item compare-sections @r{[}@var{section-name}@r{]}
7616 Compare the data of a loadable section @var{section-name} in the
7617 executable file of the program being debugged with the same section in
7618 the remote machine's memory, and report any mismatches. With no
7619 arguments, compares all loadable sections. This command's
7620 availability depends on the target's support for the @code{"qCRC"}
7621 remote request.
7622 @end table
7623
7624 @node Auto Display
7625 @section Automatic Display
7626 @cindex automatic display
7627 @cindex display of expressions
7628
7629 If you find that you want to print the value of an expression frequently
7630 (to see how it changes), you might want to add it to the @dfn{automatic
7631 display list} so that @value{GDBN} prints its value each time your program stops.
7632 Each expression added to the list is given a number to identify it;
7633 to remove an expression from the list, you specify that number.
7634 The automatic display looks like this:
7635
7636 @smallexample
7637 2: foo = 38
7638 3: bar[5] = (struct hack *) 0x3804
7639 @end smallexample
7640
7641 @noindent
7642 This display shows item numbers, expressions and their current values. As with
7643 displays you request manually using @code{x} or @code{print}, you can
7644 specify the output format you prefer; in fact, @code{display} decides
7645 whether to use @code{print} or @code{x} depending your format
7646 specification---it uses @code{x} if you specify either the @samp{i}
7647 or @samp{s} format, or a unit size; otherwise it uses @code{print}.
7648
7649 @table @code
7650 @kindex display
7651 @item display @var{expr}
7652 Add the expression @var{expr} to the list of expressions to display
7653 each time your program stops. @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}.
7654
7655 @code{display} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} again after using it.
7656
7657 @item display/@var{fmt} @var{expr}
7658 For @var{fmt} specifying only a display format and not a size or
7659 count, add the expression @var{expr} to the auto-display list but
7660 arrange to display it each time in the specified format @var{fmt}.
7661 @xref{Output Formats,,Output Formats}.
7662
7663 @item display/@var{fmt} @var{addr}
7664 For @var{fmt} @samp{i} or @samp{s}, or including a unit-size or a
7665 number of units, add the expression @var{addr} as a memory address to
7666 be examined each time your program stops. Examining means in effect
7667 doing @samp{x/@var{fmt} @var{addr}}. @xref{Memory, ,Examining Memory}.
7668 @end table
7669
7670 For example, @samp{display/i $pc} can be helpful, to see the machine
7671 instruction about to be executed each time execution stops (@samp{$pc}
7672 is a common name for the program counter; @pxref{Registers, ,Registers}).
7673
7674 @table @code
7675 @kindex delete display
7676 @kindex undisplay
7677 @item undisplay @var{dnums}@dots{}
7678 @itemx delete display @var{dnums}@dots{}
7679 Remove items from the list of expressions to display. Specify the
7680 numbers of the displays that you want affected with the command
7681 argument @var{dnums}. It can be a single display number, one of the
7682 numbers shown in the first field of the @samp{info display} display;
7683 or it could be a range of display numbers, as in @code{2-4}.
7684
7685 @code{undisplay} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} after using it.
7686 (Otherwise you would just get the error @samp{No display number @dots{}}.)
7687
7688 @kindex disable display
7689 @item disable display @var{dnums}@dots{}
7690 Disable the display of item numbers @var{dnums}. A disabled display
7691 item is not printed automatically, but is not forgotten. It may be
7692 enabled again later. Specify the numbers of the displays that you
7693 want affected with the command argument @var{dnums}. It can be a
7694 single display number, one of the numbers shown in the first field of
7695 the @samp{info display} display; or it could be a range of display
7696 numbers, as in @code{2-4}.
7697
7698 @kindex enable display
7699 @item enable display @var{dnums}@dots{}
7700 Enable display of item numbers @var{dnums}. It becomes effective once
7701 again in auto display of its expression, until you specify otherwise.
7702 Specify the numbers of the displays that you want affected with the
7703 command argument @var{dnums}. It can be a single display number, one
7704 of the numbers shown in the first field of the @samp{info display}
7705 display; or it could be a range of display numbers, as in @code{2-4}.
7706
7707 @item display
7708 Display the current values of the expressions on the list, just as is
7709 done when your program stops.
7710
7711 @kindex info display
7712 @item info display
7713 Print the list of expressions previously set up to display
7714 automatically, each one with its item number, but without showing the
7715 values. This includes disabled expressions, which are marked as such.
7716 It also includes expressions which would not be displayed right now
7717 because they refer to automatic variables not currently available.
7718 @end table
7719
7720 @cindex display disabled out of scope
7721 If a display expression refers to local variables, then it does not make
7722 sense outside the lexical context for which it was set up. Such an
7723 expression is disabled when execution enters a context where one of its
7724 variables is not defined. For example, if you give the command
7725 @code{display last_char} while inside a function with an argument
7726 @code{last_char}, @value{GDBN} displays this argument while your program
7727 continues to stop inside that function. When it stops elsewhere---where
7728 there is no variable @code{last_char}---the display is disabled
7729 automatically. The next time your program stops where @code{last_char}
7730 is meaningful, you can enable the display expression once again.
7731
7732 @node Print Settings
7733 @section Print Settings
7734
7735 @cindex format options
7736 @cindex print settings
7737 @value{GDBN} provides the following ways to control how arrays, structures,
7738 and symbols are printed.
7739
7740 @noindent
7741 These settings are useful for debugging programs in any language:
7742
7743 @table @code
7744 @kindex set print
7745 @item set print address
7746 @itemx set print address on
7747 @cindex print/don't print memory addresses
7748 @value{GDBN} prints memory addresses showing the location of stack
7749 traces, structure values, pointer values, breakpoints, and so forth,
7750 even when it also displays the contents of those addresses. The default
7751 is @code{on}. For example, this is what a stack frame display looks like with
7752 @code{set print address on}:
7753
7754 @smallexample
7755 @group
7756 (@value{GDBP}) f
7757 #0 set_quotes (lq=0x34c78 "<<", rq=0x34c88 ">>")
7758 at input.c:530
7759 530 if (lquote != def_lquote)
7760 @end group
7761 @end smallexample
7762
7763 @item set print address off
7764 Do not print addresses when displaying their contents. For example,
7765 this is the same stack frame displayed with @code{set print address off}:
7766
7767 @smallexample
7768 @group
7769 (@value{GDBP}) set print addr off
7770 (@value{GDBP}) f
7771 #0 set_quotes (lq="<<", rq=">>") at input.c:530
7772 530 if (lquote != def_lquote)
7773 @end group
7774 @end smallexample
7775
7776 You can use @samp{set print address off} to eliminate all machine
7777 dependent displays from the @value{GDBN} interface. For example, with
7778 @code{print address off}, you should get the same text for backtraces on
7779 all machines---whether or not they involve pointer arguments.
7780
7781 @kindex show print
7782 @item show print address
7783 Show whether or not addresses are to be printed.
7784 @end table
7785
7786 When @value{GDBN} prints a symbolic address, it normally prints the
7787 closest earlier symbol plus an offset. If that symbol does not uniquely
7788 identify the address (for example, it is a name whose scope is a single
7789 source file), you may need to clarify. One way to do this is with
7790 @code{info line}, for example @samp{info line *0x4537}. Alternately,
7791 you can set @value{GDBN} to print the source file and line number when
7792 it prints a symbolic address:
7793
7794 @table @code
7795 @item set print symbol-filename on
7796 @cindex source file and line of a symbol
7797 @cindex symbol, source file and line
7798 Tell @value{GDBN} to print the source file name and line number of a
7799 symbol in the symbolic form of an address.
7800
7801 @item set print symbol-filename off
7802 Do not print source file name and line number of a symbol. This is the
7803 default.
7804
7805 @item show print symbol-filename
7806 Show whether or not @value{GDBN} will print the source file name and
7807 line number of a symbol in the symbolic form of an address.
7808 @end table
7809
7810 Another situation where it is helpful to show symbol filenames and line
7811 numbers is when disassembling code; @value{GDBN} shows you the line
7812 number and source file that corresponds to each instruction.
7813
7814 Also, you may wish to see the symbolic form only if the address being
7815 printed is reasonably close to the closest earlier symbol:
7816
7817 @table @code
7818 @item set print max-symbolic-offset @var{max-offset}
7819 @cindex maximum value for offset of closest symbol
7820 Tell @value{GDBN} to only display the symbolic form of an address if the
7821 offset between the closest earlier symbol and the address is less than
7822 @var{max-offset}. The default is 0, which tells @value{GDBN}
7823 to always print the symbolic form of an address if any symbol precedes it.
7824
7825 @item show print max-symbolic-offset
7826 Ask how large the maximum offset is that @value{GDBN} prints in a
7827 symbolic address.
7828 @end table
7829
7830 @cindex wild pointer, interpreting
7831 @cindex pointer, finding referent
7832 If you have a pointer and you are not sure where it points, try
7833 @samp{set print symbol-filename on}. Then you can determine the name
7834 and source file location of the variable where it points, using
7835 @samp{p/a @var{pointer}}. This interprets the address in symbolic form.
7836 For example, here @value{GDBN} shows that a variable @code{ptt} points
7837 at another variable @code{t}, defined in @file{hi2.c}:
7838
7839 @smallexample
7840 (@value{GDBP}) set print symbol-filename on
7841 (@value{GDBP}) p/a ptt
7842 $4 = 0xe008 <t in hi2.c>
7843 @end smallexample
7844
7845 @quotation
7846 @emph{Warning:} For pointers that point to a local variable, @samp{p/a}
7847 does not show the symbol name and filename of the referent, even with
7848 the appropriate @code{set print} options turned on.
7849 @end quotation
7850
7851 Other settings control how different kinds of objects are printed:
7852
7853 @table @code
7854 @item set print array
7855 @itemx set print array on
7856 @cindex pretty print arrays
7857 Pretty print arrays. This format is more convenient to read,
7858 but uses more space. The default is off.
7859
7860 @item set print array off
7861 Return to compressed format for arrays.
7862
7863 @item show print array
7864 Show whether compressed or pretty format is selected for displaying
7865 arrays.
7866
7867 @cindex print array indexes
7868 @item set print array-indexes
7869 @itemx set print array-indexes on
7870 Print the index of each element when displaying arrays. May be more
7871 convenient to locate a given element in the array or quickly find the
7872 index of a given element in that printed array. The default is off.
7873
7874 @item set print array-indexes off
7875 Stop printing element indexes when displaying arrays.
7876
7877 @item show print array-indexes
7878 Show whether the index of each element is printed when displaying
7879 arrays.
7880
7881 @item set print elements @var{number-of-elements}
7882 @cindex number of array elements to print
7883 @cindex limit on number of printed array elements
7884 Set a limit on how many elements of an array @value{GDBN} will print.
7885 If @value{GDBN} is printing a large array, it stops printing after it has
7886 printed the number of elements set by the @code{set print elements} command.
7887 This limit also applies to the display of strings.
7888 When @value{GDBN} starts, this limit is set to 200.
7889 Setting @var{number-of-elements} to zero means that the printing is unlimited.
7890
7891 @item show print elements
7892 Display the number of elements of a large array that @value{GDBN} will print.
7893 If the number is 0, then the printing is unlimited.
7894
7895 @item set print frame-arguments @var{value}
7896 @kindex set print frame-arguments
7897 @cindex printing frame argument values
7898 @cindex print all frame argument values
7899 @cindex print frame argument values for scalars only
7900 @cindex do not print frame argument values
7901 This command allows to control how the values of arguments are printed
7902 when the debugger prints a frame (@pxref{Frames}). The possible
7903 values are:
7904
7905 @table @code
7906 @item all
7907 The values of all arguments are printed.
7908
7909 @item scalars
7910 Print the value of an argument only if it is a scalar. The value of more
7911 complex arguments such as arrays, structures, unions, etc, is replaced
7912 by @code{@dots{}}. This is the default. Here is an example where
7913 only scalar arguments are shown:
7914
7915 @smallexample
7916 #1 0x08048361 in call_me (i=3, s=@dots{}, ss=0xbf8d508c, u=@dots{}, e=green)
7917 at frame-args.c:23
7918 @end smallexample
7919
7920 @item none
7921 None of the argument values are printed. Instead, the value of each argument
7922 is replaced by @code{@dots{}}. In this case, the example above now becomes:
7923
7924 @smallexample
7925 #1 0x08048361 in call_me (i=@dots{}, s=@dots{}, ss=@dots{}, u=@dots{}, e=@dots{})
7926 at frame-args.c:23
7927 @end smallexample
7928 @end table
7929
7930 By default, only scalar arguments are printed. This command can be used
7931 to configure the debugger to print the value of all arguments, regardless
7932 of their type. However, it is often advantageous to not print the value
7933 of more complex parameters. For instance, it reduces the amount of
7934 information printed in each frame, making the backtrace more readable.
7935 Also, it improves performance when displaying Ada frames, because
7936 the computation of large arguments can sometimes be CPU-intensive,
7937 especially in large applications. Setting @code{print frame-arguments}
7938 to @code{scalars} (the default) or @code{none} avoids this computation,
7939 thus speeding up the display of each Ada frame.
7940
7941 @item show print frame-arguments
7942 Show how the value of arguments should be displayed when printing a frame.
7943
7944 @item set print repeats
7945 @cindex repeated array elements
7946 Set the threshold for suppressing display of repeated array
7947 elements. When the number of consecutive identical elements of an
7948 array exceeds the threshold, @value{GDBN} prints the string
7949 @code{"<repeats @var{n} times>"}, where @var{n} is the number of
7950 identical repetitions, instead of displaying the identical elements
7951 themselves. Setting the threshold to zero will cause all elements to
7952 be individually printed. The default threshold is 10.
7953
7954 @item show print repeats
7955 Display the current threshold for printing repeated identical
7956 elements.
7957
7958 @item set print null-stop
7959 @cindex @sc{null} elements in arrays
7960 Cause @value{GDBN} to stop printing the characters of an array when the first
7961 @sc{null} is encountered. This is useful when large arrays actually
7962 contain only short strings.
7963 The default is off.
7964
7965 @item show print null-stop
7966 Show whether @value{GDBN} stops printing an array on the first
7967 @sc{null} character.
7968
7969 @item set print pretty on
7970 @cindex print structures in indented form
7971 @cindex indentation in structure display
7972 Cause @value{GDBN} to print structures in an indented format with one member
7973 per line, like this:
7974
7975 @smallexample
7976 @group
7977 $1 = @{
7978 next = 0x0,
7979 flags = @{
7980 sweet = 1,
7981 sour = 1
7982 @},
7983 meat = 0x54 "Pork"
7984 @}
7985 @end group
7986 @end smallexample
7987
7988 @item set print pretty off
7989 Cause @value{GDBN} to print structures in a compact format, like this:
7990
7991 @smallexample
7992 @group
7993 $1 = @{next = 0x0, flags = @{sweet = 1, sour = 1@}, \
7994 meat = 0x54 "Pork"@}
7995 @end group
7996 @end smallexample
7997
7998 @noindent
7999 This is the default format.
8000
8001 @item show print pretty
8002 Show which format @value{GDBN} is using to print structures.
8003
8004 @item set print sevenbit-strings on
8005 @cindex eight-bit characters in strings
8006 @cindex octal escapes in strings
8007 Print using only seven-bit characters; if this option is set,
8008 @value{GDBN} displays any eight-bit characters (in strings or
8009 character values) using the notation @code{\}@var{nnn}. This setting is
8010 best if you are working in English (@sc{ascii}) and you use the
8011 high-order bit of characters as a marker or ``meta'' bit.
8012
8013 @item set print sevenbit-strings off
8014 Print full eight-bit characters. This allows the use of more
8015 international character sets, and is the default.
8016
8017 @item show print sevenbit-strings
8018 Show whether or not @value{GDBN} is printing only seven-bit characters.
8019
8020 @item set print union on
8021 @cindex unions in structures, printing
8022 Tell @value{GDBN} to print unions which are contained in structures
8023 and other unions. This is the default setting.
8024
8025 @item set print union off
8026 Tell @value{GDBN} not to print unions which are contained in
8027 structures and other unions. @value{GDBN} will print @code{"@{...@}"}
8028 instead.
8029
8030 @item show print union
8031 Ask @value{GDBN} whether or not it will print unions which are contained in
8032 structures and other unions.
8033
8034 For example, given the declarations
8035
8036 @smallexample
8037 typedef enum @{Tree, Bug@} Species;
8038 typedef enum @{Big_tree, Acorn, Seedling@} Tree_forms;
8039 typedef enum @{Caterpillar, Cocoon, Butterfly@}
8040 Bug_forms;
8041
8042 struct thing @{
8043 Species it;
8044 union @{
8045 Tree_forms tree;
8046 Bug_forms bug;
8047 @} form;
8048 @};
8049
8050 struct thing foo = @{Tree, @{Acorn@}@};
8051 @end smallexample
8052
8053 @noindent
8054 with @code{set print union on} in effect @samp{p foo} would print
8055
8056 @smallexample
8057 $1 = @{it = Tree, form = @{tree = Acorn, bug = Cocoon@}@}
8058 @end smallexample
8059
8060 @noindent
8061 and with @code{set print union off} in effect it would print
8062
8063 @smallexample
8064 $1 = @{it = Tree, form = @{...@}@}
8065 @end smallexample
8066
8067 @noindent
8068 @code{set print union} affects programs written in C-like languages
8069 and in Pascal.
8070 @end table
8071
8072 @need 1000
8073 @noindent
8074 These settings are of interest when debugging C@t{++} programs:
8075
8076 @table @code
8077 @cindex demangling C@t{++} names
8078 @item set print demangle
8079 @itemx set print demangle on
8080 Print C@t{++} names in their source form rather than in the encoded
8081 (``mangled'') form passed to the assembler and linker for type-safe
8082 linkage. The default is on.
8083
8084 @item show print demangle
8085 Show whether C@t{++} names are printed in mangled or demangled form.
8086
8087 @item set print asm-demangle
8088 @itemx set print asm-demangle on
8089 Print C@t{++} names in their source form rather than their mangled form, even
8090 in assembler code printouts such as instruction disassemblies.
8091 The default is off.
8092
8093 @item show print asm-demangle
8094 Show whether C@t{++} names in assembly listings are printed in mangled
8095 or demangled form.
8096
8097 @cindex C@t{++} symbol decoding style
8098 @cindex symbol decoding style, C@t{++}
8099 @kindex set demangle-style
8100 @item set demangle-style @var{style}
8101 Choose among several encoding schemes used by different compilers to
8102 represent C@t{++} names. The choices for @var{style} are currently:
8103
8104 @table @code
8105 @item auto
8106 Allow @value{GDBN} to choose a decoding style by inspecting your program.
8107
8108 @item gnu
8109 Decode based on the @sc{gnu} C@t{++} compiler (@code{g++}) encoding algorithm.
8110 This is the default.
8111
8112 @item hp
8113 Decode based on the HP ANSI C@t{++} (@code{aCC}) encoding algorithm.
8114
8115 @item lucid
8116 Decode based on the Lucid C@t{++} compiler (@code{lcc}) encoding algorithm.
8117
8118 @item arm
8119 Decode using the algorithm in the @cite{C@t{++} Annotated Reference Manual}.
8120 @strong{Warning:} this setting alone is not sufficient to allow
8121 debugging @code{cfront}-generated executables. @value{GDBN} would
8122 require further enhancement to permit that.
8123
8124 @end table
8125 If you omit @var{style}, you will see a list of possible formats.
8126
8127 @item show demangle-style
8128 Display the encoding style currently in use for decoding C@t{++} symbols.
8129
8130 @item set print object
8131 @itemx set print object on
8132 @cindex derived type of an object, printing
8133 @cindex display derived types
8134 When displaying a pointer to an object, identify the @emph{actual}
8135 (derived) type of the object rather than the @emph{declared} type, using
8136 the virtual function table.
8137
8138 @item set print object off
8139 Display only the declared type of objects, without reference to the
8140 virtual function table. This is the default setting.
8141
8142 @item show print object
8143 Show whether actual, or declared, object types are displayed.
8144
8145 @item set print static-members
8146 @itemx set print static-members on
8147 @cindex static members of C@t{++} objects
8148 Print static members when displaying a C@t{++} object. The default is on.
8149
8150 @item set print static-members off
8151 Do not print static members when displaying a C@t{++} object.
8152
8153 @item show print static-members
8154 Show whether C@t{++} static members are printed or not.
8155
8156 @item set print pascal_static-members
8157 @itemx set print pascal_static-members on
8158 @cindex static members of Pascal objects
8159 @cindex Pascal objects, static members display
8160 Print static members when displaying a Pascal object. The default is on.
8161
8162 @item set print pascal_static-members off
8163 Do not print static members when displaying a Pascal object.
8164
8165 @item show print pascal_static-members
8166 Show whether Pascal static members are printed or not.
8167
8168 @c These don't work with HP ANSI C++ yet.
8169 @item set print vtbl
8170 @itemx set print vtbl on
8171 @cindex pretty print C@t{++} virtual function tables
8172 @cindex virtual functions (C@t{++}) display
8173 @cindex VTBL display
8174 Pretty print C@t{++} virtual function tables. The default is off.
8175 (The @code{vtbl} commands do not work on programs compiled with the HP
8176 ANSI C@t{++} compiler (@code{aCC}).)
8177
8178 @item set print vtbl off
8179 Do not pretty print C@t{++} virtual function tables.
8180
8181 @item show print vtbl
8182 Show whether C@t{++} virtual function tables are pretty printed, or not.
8183 @end table
8184
8185 @node Pretty Printing
8186 @section Pretty Printing
8187
8188 @value{GDBN} provides a mechanism to allow pretty-printing of values using
8189 Python code. It greatly simplifies the display of complex objects. This
8190 mechanism works for both MI and the CLI.
8191
8192 @menu
8193 * Pretty-Printer Introduction:: Introduction to pretty-printers
8194 * Pretty-Printer Example:: An example pretty-printer
8195 * Pretty-Printer Commands:: Pretty-printer commands
8196 @end menu
8197
8198 @node Pretty-Printer Introduction
8199 @subsection Pretty-Printer Introduction
8200
8201 When @value{GDBN} prints a value, it first sees if there is a pretty-printer
8202 registered for the value. If there is then @value{GDBN} invokes the
8203 pretty-printer to print the value. Otherwise the value is printed normally.
8204
8205 Pretty-printers are normally named. This makes them easy to manage.
8206 The @samp{info pretty-printer} command will list all the installed
8207 pretty-printers with their names.
8208 If a pretty-printer can handle multiple data types, then its
8209 @dfn{subprinters} are the printers for the individual data types.
8210 Each such subprinter has its own name.
8211 The format of the name is @var{printer-name};@var{subprinter-name}.
8212
8213 Pretty-printers are installed by @dfn{registering} them with @value{GDBN}.
8214 Typically they are automatically loaded and registered when the corresponding
8215 debug information is loaded, thus making them available without having to
8216 do anything special.
8217
8218 There are three places where a pretty-printer can be registered.
8219
8220 @itemize @bullet
8221 @item
8222 Pretty-printers registered globally are available when debugging
8223 all inferiors.
8224
8225 @item
8226 Pretty-printers registered with a program space are available only
8227 when debugging that program.
8228 @xref{Progspaces In Python}, for more details on program spaces in Python.
8229
8230 @item
8231 Pretty-printers registered with an objfile are loaded and unloaded
8232 with the corresponding objfile (e.g., shared library).
8233 @xref{Objfiles In Python}, for more details on objfiles in Python.
8234 @end itemize
8235
8236 @xref{Selecting Pretty-Printers}, for further information on how
8237 pretty-printers are selected,
8238
8239 @xref{Writing a Pretty-Printer}, for implementing pretty printers
8240 for new types.
8241
8242 @node Pretty-Printer Example
8243 @subsection Pretty-Printer Example
8244
8245 Here is how a C@t{++} @code{std::string} looks without a pretty-printer:
8246
8247 @smallexample
8248 (@value{GDBP}) print s
8249 $1 = @{
8250 static npos = 4294967295,
8251 _M_dataplus = @{
8252 <std::allocator<char>> = @{
8253 <__gnu_cxx::new_allocator<char>> = @{
8254 <No data fields>@}, <No data fields>
8255 @},
8256 members of std::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>,
8257 std::allocator<char> >::_Alloc_hider:
8258 _M_p = 0x804a014 "abcd"
8259 @}
8260 @}
8261 @end smallexample
8262
8263 With a pretty-printer for @code{std::string} only the contents are printed:
8264
8265 @smallexample
8266 (@value{GDBP}) print s
8267 $2 = "abcd"
8268 @end smallexample
8269
8270 @node Pretty-Printer Commands
8271 @subsection Pretty-Printer Commands
8272 @cindex pretty-printer commands
8273
8274 @table @code
8275 @kindex info pretty-printer
8276 @item info pretty-printer [@var{object-regexp} [@var{name-regexp}]]
8277 Print the list of installed pretty-printers.
8278 This includes disabled pretty-printers, which are marked as such.
8279
8280 @var{object-regexp} is a regular expression matching the objects
8281 whose pretty-printers to list.
8282 Objects can be @code{global}, the program space's file
8283 (@pxref{Progspaces In Python}),
8284 and the object files within that program space (@pxref{Objfiles In Python}).
8285 @xref{Selecting Pretty-Printers}, for details on how @value{GDBN}
8286 looks up a printer from these three objects.
8287
8288 @var{name-regexp} is a regular expression matching the name of the printers
8289 to list.
8290
8291 @kindex disable pretty-printer
8292 @item disable pretty-printer [@var{object-regexp} [@var{name-regexp}]]
8293 Disable pretty-printers matching @var{object-regexp} and @var{name-regexp}.
8294 A disabled pretty-printer is not forgotten, it may be enabled again later.
8295
8296 @kindex enable pretty-printer
8297 @item enable pretty-printer [@var{object-regexp} [@var{name-regexp}]]
8298 Enable pretty-printers matching @var{object-regexp} and @var{name-regexp}.
8299 @end table
8300
8301 Example:
8302
8303 Suppose we have three pretty-printers installed: one from library1.so
8304 named @code{foo} that prints objects of type @code{foo}, and
8305 another from library2.so named @code{bar} that prints two types of objects,
8306 @code{bar1} and @code{bar2}.
8307
8308 @smallexample
8309 (gdb) info pretty-printer
8310 library1.so:
8311 foo
8312 library2.so:
8313 bar
8314 bar1
8315 bar2
8316 (gdb) info pretty-printer library2
8317 library2.so:
8318 bar
8319 bar1
8320 bar2
8321 (gdb) disable pretty-printer library1
8322 1 printer disabled
8323 2 of 3 printers enabled
8324 (gdb) info pretty-printer
8325 library1.so:
8326 foo [disabled]
8327 library2.so:
8328 bar
8329 bar1
8330 bar2
8331 (gdb) disable pretty-printer library2 bar:bar1
8332 1 printer disabled
8333 1 of 3 printers enabled
8334 (gdb) info pretty-printer library2
8335 library1.so:
8336 foo [disabled]
8337 library2.so:
8338 bar
8339 bar1 [disabled]
8340 bar2
8341 (gdb) disable pretty-printer library2 bar
8342 1 printer disabled
8343 0 of 3 printers enabled
8344 (gdb) info pretty-printer library2
8345 library1.so:
8346 foo [disabled]
8347 library2.so:
8348 bar [disabled]
8349 bar1 [disabled]
8350 bar2
8351 @end smallexample
8352
8353 Note that for @code{bar} the entire printer can be disabled,
8354 as can each individual subprinter.
8355
8356 @node Value History
8357 @section Value History
8358
8359 @cindex value history
8360 @cindex history of values printed by @value{GDBN}
8361 Values printed by the @code{print} command are saved in the @value{GDBN}
8362 @dfn{value history}. This allows you to refer to them in other expressions.
8363 Values are kept until the symbol table is re-read or discarded
8364 (for example with the @code{file} or @code{symbol-file} commands).
8365 When the symbol table changes, the value history is discarded,
8366 since the values may contain pointers back to the types defined in the
8367 symbol table.
8368
8369 @cindex @code{$}
8370 @cindex @code{$$}
8371 @cindex history number
8372 The values printed are given @dfn{history numbers} by which you can
8373 refer to them. These are successive integers starting with one.
8374 @code{print} shows you the history number assigned to a value by
8375 printing @samp{$@var{num} = } before the value; here @var{num} is the
8376 history number.
8377
8378 To refer to any previous value, use @samp{$} followed by the value's
8379 history number. The way @code{print} labels its output is designed to
8380 remind you of this. Just @code{$} refers to the most recent value in
8381 the history, and @code{$$} refers to the value before that.
8382 @code{$$@var{n}} refers to the @var{n}th value from the end; @code{$$2}
8383 is the value just prior to @code{$$}, @code{$$1} is equivalent to
8384 @code{$$}, and @code{$$0} is equivalent to @code{$}.
8385
8386 For example, suppose you have just printed a pointer to a structure and
8387 want to see the contents of the structure. It suffices to type
8388
8389 @smallexample
8390 p *$
8391 @end smallexample
8392
8393 If you have a chain of structures where the component @code{next} points
8394 to the next one, you can print the contents of the next one with this:
8395
8396 @smallexample
8397 p *$.next
8398 @end smallexample
8399
8400 @noindent
8401 You can print successive links in the chain by repeating this
8402 command---which you can do by just typing @key{RET}.
8403
8404 Note that the history records values, not expressions. If the value of
8405 @code{x} is 4 and you type these commands:
8406
8407 @smallexample
8408 print x
8409 set x=5
8410 @end smallexample
8411
8412 @noindent
8413 then the value recorded in the value history by the @code{print} command
8414 remains 4 even though the value of @code{x} has changed.
8415
8416 @table @code
8417 @kindex show values
8418 @item show values
8419 Print the last ten values in the value history, with their item numbers.
8420 This is like @samp{p@ $$9} repeated ten times, except that @code{show
8421 values} does not change the history.
8422
8423 @item show values @var{n}
8424 Print ten history values centered on history item number @var{n}.
8425
8426 @item show values +
8427 Print ten history values just after the values last printed. If no more
8428 values are available, @code{show values +} produces no display.
8429 @end table
8430
8431 Pressing @key{RET} to repeat @code{show values @var{n}} has exactly the
8432 same effect as @samp{show values +}.
8433
8434 @node Convenience Vars
8435 @section Convenience Variables
8436
8437 @cindex convenience variables
8438 @cindex user-defined variables
8439 @value{GDBN} provides @dfn{convenience variables} that you can use within
8440 @value{GDBN} to hold on to a value and refer to it later. These variables
8441 exist entirely within @value{GDBN}; they are not part of your program, and
8442 setting a convenience variable has no direct effect on further execution
8443 of your program. That is why you can use them freely.
8444
8445 Convenience variables are prefixed with @samp{$}. Any name preceded by
8446 @samp{$} can be used for a convenience variable, unless it is one of
8447 the predefined machine-specific register names (@pxref{Registers, ,Registers}).
8448 (Value history references, in contrast, are @emph{numbers} preceded
8449 by @samp{$}. @xref{Value History, ,Value History}.)
8450
8451 You can save a value in a convenience variable with an assignment
8452 expression, just as you would set a variable in your program.
8453 For example:
8454
8455 @smallexample
8456 set $foo = *object_ptr
8457 @end smallexample
8458
8459 @noindent
8460 would save in @code{$foo} the value contained in the object pointed to by
8461 @code{object_ptr}.
8462
8463 Using a convenience variable for the first time creates it, but its
8464 value is @code{void} until you assign a new value. You can alter the
8465 value with another assignment at any time.
8466
8467 Convenience variables have no fixed types. You can assign a convenience
8468 variable any type of value, including structures and arrays, even if
8469 that variable already has a value of a different type. The convenience
8470 variable, when used as an expression, has the type of its current value.
8471
8472 @table @code
8473 @kindex show convenience
8474 @cindex show all user variables
8475 @item show convenience
8476 Print a list of convenience variables used so far, and their values.
8477 Abbreviated @code{show conv}.
8478
8479 @kindex init-if-undefined
8480 @cindex convenience variables, initializing
8481 @item init-if-undefined $@var{variable} = @var{expression}
8482 Set a convenience variable if it has not already been set. This is useful
8483 for user-defined commands that keep some state. It is similar, in concept,
8484 to using local static variables with initializers in C (except that
8485 convenience variables are global). It can also be used to allow users to
8486 override default values used in a command script.
8487
8488 If the variable is already defined then the expression is not evaluated so
8489 any side-effects do not occur.
8490 @end table
8491
8492 One of the ways to use a convenience variable is as a counter to be
8493 incremented or a pointer to be advanced. For example, to print
8494 a field from successive elements of an array of structures:
8495
8496 @smallexample
8497 set $i = 0
8498 print bar[$i++]->contents
8499 @end smallexample
8500
8501 @noindent
8502 Repeat that command by typing @key{RET}.
8503
8504 Some convenience variables are created automatically by @value{GDBN} and given
8505 values likely to be useful.
8506
8507 @table @code
8508 @vindex $_@r{, convenience variable}
8509 @item $_
8510 The variable @code{$_} is automatically set by the @code{x} command to
8511 the last address examined (@pxref{Memory, ,Examining Memory}). Other
8512 commands which provide a default address for @code{x} to examine also
8513 set @code{$_} to that address; these commands include @code{info line}
8514 and @code{info breakpoint}. The type of @code{$_} is @code{void *}
8515 except when set by the @code{x} command, in which case it is a pointer
8516 to the type of @code{$__}.
8517
8518 @vindex $__@r{, convenience variable}
8519 @item $__
8520 The variable @code{$__} is automatically set by the @code{x} command
8521 to the value found in the last address examined. Its type is chosen
8522 to match the format in which the data was printed.
8523
8524 @item $_exitcode
8525 @vindex $_exitcode@r{, convenience variable}
8526 The variable @code{$_exitcode} is automatically set to the exit code when
8527 the program being debugged terminates.
8528
8529 @item $_sdata
8530 @vindex $_sdata@r{, inspect, convenience variable}
8531 The variable @code{$_sdata} contains extra collected static tracepoint
8532 data. @xref{Tracepoint Actions,,Tracepoint Action Lists}. Note that
8533 @code{$_sdata} could be empty, if not inspecting a trace buffer, or
8534 if extra static tracepoint data has not been collected.
8535
8536 @item $_siginfo
8537 @vindex $_siginfo@r{, convenience variable}
8538 The variable @code{$_siginfo} contains extra signal information
8539 (@pxref{extra signal information}). Note that @code{$_siginfo}
8540 could be empty, if the application has not yet received any signals.
8541 For example, it will be empty before you execute the @code{run} command.
8542
8543 @item $_tlb
8544 @vindex $_tlb@r{, convenience variable}
8545 The variable @code{$_tlb} is automatically set when debugging
8546 applications running on MS-Windows in native mode or connected to
8547 gdbserver that supports the @code{qGetTIBAddr} request.
8548 @xref{General Query Packets}.
8549 This variable contains the address of the thread information block.
8550
8551 @end table
8552
8553 On HP-UX systems, if you refer to a function or variable name that
8554 begins with a dollar sign, @value{GDBN} searches for a user or system
8555 name first, before it searches for a convenience variable.
8556
8557 @cindex convenience functions
8558 @value{GDBN} also supplies some @dfn{convenience functions}. These
8559 have a syntax similar to convenience variables. A convenience
8560 function can be used in an expression just like an ordinary function;
8561 however, a convenience function is implemented internally to
8562 @value{GDBN}.
8563
8564 @table @code
8565 @item help function
8566 @kindex help function
8567 @cindex show all convenience functions
8568 Print a list of all convenience functions.
8569 @end table
8570
8571 @node Registers
8572 @section Registers
8573
8574 @cindex registers
8575 You can refer to machine register contents, in expressions, as variables
8576 with names starting with @samp{$}. The names of registers are different
8577 for each machine; use @code{info registers} to see the names used on
8578 your machine.
8579
8580 @table @code
8581 @kindex info registers
8582 @item info registers
8583 Print the names and values of all registers except floating-point
8584 and vector registers (in the selected stack frame).
8585
8586 @kindex info all-registers
8587 @cindex floating point registers
8588 @item info all-registers
8589 Print the names and values of all registers, including floating-point
8590 and vector registers (in the selected stack frame).
8591
8592 @item info registers @var{regname} @dots{}
8593 Print the @dfn{relativized} value of each specified register @var{regname}.
8594 As discussed in detail below, register values are normally relative to
8595 the selected stack frame. @var{regname} may be any register name valid on
8596 the machine you are using, with or without the initial @samp{$}.
8597 @end table
8598
8599 @cindex stack pointer register
8600 @cindex program counter register
8601 @cindex process status register
8602 @cindex frame pointer register
8603 @cindex standard registers
8604 @value{GDBN} has four ``standard'' register names that are available (in
8605 expressions) on most machines---whenever they do not conflict with an
8606 architecture's canonical mnemonics for registers. The register names
8607 @code{$pc} and @code{$sp} are used for the program counter register and
8608 the stack pointer. @code{$fp} is used for a register that contains a
8609 pointer to the current stack frame, and @code{$ps} is used for a
8610 register that contains the processor status. For example,
8611 you could print the program counter in hex with
8612
8613 @smallexample
8614 p/x $pc
8615 @end smallexample
8616
8617 @noindent
8618 or print the instruction to be executed next with
8619
8620 @smallexample
8621 x/i $pc
8622 @end smallexample
8623
8624 @noindent
8625 or add four to the stack pointer@footnote{This is a way of removing
8626 one word from the stack, on machines where stacks grow downward in
8627 memory (most machines, nowadays). This assumes that the innermost
8628 stack frame is selected; setting @code{$sp} is not allowed when other
8629 stack frames are selected. To pop entire frames off the stack,
8630 regardless of machine architecture, use @code{return};
8631 see @ref{Returning, ,Returning from a Function}.} with
8632
8633 @smallexample
8634 set $sp += 4
8635 @end smallexample
8636
8637 Whenever possible, these four standard register names are available on
8638 your machine even though the machine has different canonical mnemonics,
8639 so long as there is no conflict. The @code{info registers} command
8640 shows the canonical names. For example, on the SPARC, @code{info
8641 registers} displays the processor status register as @code{$psr} but you
8642 can also refer to it as @code{$ps}; and on x86-based machines @code{$ps}
8643 is an alias for the @sc{eflags} register.
8644
8645 @value{GDBN} always considers the contents of an ordinary register as an
8646 integer when the register is examined in this way. Some machines have
8647 special registers which can hold nothing but floating point; these
8648 registers are considered to have floating point values. There is no way
8649 to refer to the contents of an ordinary register as floating point value
8650 (although you can @emph{print} it as a floating point value with
8651 @samp{print/f $@var{regname}}).
8652
8653 Some registers have distinct ``raw'' and ``virtual'' data formats. This
8654 means that the data format in which the register contents are saved by
8655 the operating system is not the same one that your program normally
8656 sees. For example, the registers of the 68881 floating point
8657 coprocessor are always saved in ``extended'' (raw) format, but all C
8658 programs expect to work with ``double'' (virtual) format. In such
8659 cases, @value{GDBN} normally works with the virtual format only (the format
8660 that makes sense for your program), but the @code{info registers} command
8661 prints the data in both formats.
8662
8663 @cindex SSE registers (x86)
8664 @cindex MMX registers (x86)
8665 Some machines have special registers whose contents can be interpreted
8666 in several different ways. For example, modern x86-based machines
8667 have SSE and MMX registers that can hold several values packed
8668 together in several different formats. @value{GDBN} refers to such
8669 registers in @code{struct} notation:
8670
8671 @smallexample
8672 (@value{GDBP}) print $xmm1
8673 $1 = @{
8674 v4_float = @{0, 3.43859137e-038, 1.54142831e-044, 1.821688e-044@},
8675 v2_double = @{9.92129282474342e-303, 2.7585945287983262e-313@},
8676 v16_int8 = "\000\000\000\000\3706;\001\v\000\000\000\r\000\000",
8677 v8_int16 = @{0, 0, 14072, 315, 11, 0, 13, 0@},
8678 v4_int32 = @{0, 20657912, 11, 13@},
8679 v2_int64 = @{88725056443645952, 55834574859@},
8680 uint128 = 0x0000000d0000000b013b36f800000000
8681 @}
8682 @end smallexample
8683
8684 @noindent
8685 To set values of such registers, you need to tell @value{GDBN} which
8686 view of the register you wish to change, as if you were assigning
8687 value to a @code{struct} member:
8688
8689 @smallexample
8690 (@value{GDBP}) set $xmm1.uint128 = 0x000000000000000000000000FFFFFFFF
8691 @end smallexample
8692
8693 Normally, register values are relative to the selected stack frame
8694 (@pxref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}). This means that you get the
8695 value that the register would contain if all stack frames farther in
8696 were exited and their saved registers restored. In order to see the
8697 true contents of hardware registers, you must select the innermost
8698 frame (with @samp{frame 0}).
8699
8700 However, @value{GDBN} must deduce where registers are saved, from the machine
8701 code generated by your compiler. If some registers are not saved, or if
8702 @value{GDBN} is unable to locate the saved registers, the selected stack
8703 frame makes no difference.
8704
8705 @node Floating Point Hardware
8706 @section Floating Point Hardware
8707 @cindex floating point
8708
8709 Depending on the configuration, @value{GDBN} may be able to give
8710 you more information about the status of the floating point hardware.
8711
8712 @table @code
8713 @kindex info float
8714 @item info float
8715 Display hardware-dependent information about the floating
8716 point unit. The exact contents and layout vary depending on the
8717 floating point chip. Currently, @samp{info float} is supported on
8718 the ARM and x86 machines.
8719 @end table
8720
8721 @node Vector Unit
8722 @section Vector Unit
8723 @cindex vector unit
8724
8725 Depending on the configuration, @value{GDBN} may be able to give you
8726 more information about the status of the vector unit.
8727
8728 @table @code
8729 @kindex info vector
8730 @item info vector
8731 Display information about the vector unit. The exact contents and
8732 layout vary depending on the hardware.
8733 @end table
8734
8735 @node OS Information
8736 @section Operating System Auxiliary Information
8737 @cindex OS information
8738
8739 @value{GDBN} provides interfaces to useful OS facilities that can help
8740 you debug your program.
8741
8742 @cindex @code{ptrace} system call
8743 @cindex @code{struct user} contents
8744 When @value{GDBN} runs on a @dfn{Posix system} (such as GNU or Unix
8745 machines), it interfaces with the inferior via the @code{ptrace}
8746 system call. The operating system creates a special sata structure,
8747 called @code{struct user}, for this interface. You can use the
8748 command @code{info udot} to display the contents of this data
8749 structure.
8750
8751 @table @code
8752 @item info udot
8753 @kindex info udot
8754 Display the contents of the @code{struct user} maintained by the OS
8755 kernel for the program being debugged. @value{GDBN} displays the
8756 contents of @code{struct user} as a list of hex numbers, similar to
8757 the @code{examine} command.
8758 @end table
8759
8760 @cindex auxiliary vector
8761 @cindex vector, auxiliary
8762 Some operating systems supply an @dfn{auxiliary vector} to programs at
8763 startup. This is akin to the arguments and environment that you
8764 specify for a program, but contains a system-dependent variety of
8765 binary values that tell system libraries important details about the
8766 hardware, operating system, and process. Each value's purpose is
8767 identified by an integer tag; the meanings are well-known but system-specific.
8768 Depending on the configuration and operating system facilities,
8769 @value{GDBN} may be able to show you this information. For remote
8770 targets, this functionality may further depend on the remote stub's
8771 support of the @samp{qXfer:auxv:read} packet, see
8772 @ref{qXfer auxiliary vector read}.
8773
8774 @table @code
8775 @kindex info auxv
8776 @item info auxv
8777 Display the auxiliary vector of the inferior, which can be either a
8778 live process or a core dump file. @value{GDBN} prints each tag value
8779 numerically, and also shows names and text descriptions for recognized
8780 tags. Some values in the vector are numbers, some bit masks, and some
8781 pointers to strings or other data. @value{GDBN} displays each value in the
8782 most appropriate form for a recognized tag, and in hexadecimal for
8783 an unrecognized tag.
8784 @end table
8785
8786 On some targets, @value{GDBN} can access operating-system-specific information
8787 and display it to user, without interpretation. For remote targets,
8788 this functionality depends on the remote stub's support of the
8789 @samp{qXfer:osdata:read} packet, see @ref{qXfer osdata read}.
8790
8791 @table @code
8792 @kindex info os
8793 @item info os
8794 List the types of OS information available for the target. If the
8795 target does not return a list of possible types, this command will
8796 report an error.
8797
8798 @kindex info os processes
8799 @item info os processes
8800 Display the list of processes on the target. For each process,
8801 @value{GDBN} prints the process identifier, the name of the user, and
8802 the command corresponding to the process.
8803 @end table
8804
8805 @node Memory Region Attributes
8806 @section Memory Region Attributes
8807 @cindex memory region attributes
8808
8809 @dfn{Memory region attributes} allow you to describe special handling
8810 required by regions of your target's memory. @value{GDBN} uses
8811 attributes to determine whether to allow certain types of memory
8812 accesses; whether to use specific width accesses; and whether to cache
8813 target memory. By default the description of memory regions is
8814 fetched from the target (if the current target supports this), but the
8815 user can override the fetched regions.
8816
8817 Defined memory regions can be individually enabled and disabled. When a
8818 memory region is disabled, @value{GDBN} uses the default attributes when
8819 accessing memory in that region. Similarly, if no memory regions have
8820 been defined, @value{GDBN} uses the default attributes when accessing
8821 all memory.
8822
8823 When a memory region is defined, it is given a number to identify it;
8824 to enable, disable, or remove a memory region, you specify that number.
8825
8826 @table @code
8827 @kindex mem
8828 @item mem @var{lower} @var{upper} @var{attributes}@dots{}
8829 Define a memory region bounded by @var{lower} and @var{upper} with
8830 attributes @var{attributes}@dots{}, and add it to the list of regions
8831 monitored by @value{GDBN}. Note that @var{upper} == 0 is a special
8832 case: it is treated as the target's maximum memory address.
8833 (0xffff on 16 bit targets, 0xffffffff on 32 bit targets, etc.)
8834
8835 @item mem auto
8836 Discard any user changes to the memory regions and use target-supplied
8837 regions, if available, or no regions if the target does not support.
8838
8839 @kindex delete mem
8840 @item delete mem @var{nums}@dots{}
8841 Remove memory regions @var{nums}@dots{} from the list of regions
8842 monitored by @value{GDBN}.
8843
8844 @kindex disable mem
8845 @item disable mem @var{nums}@dots{}
8846 Disable monitoring of memory regions @var{nums}@dots{}.
8847 A disabled memory region is not forgotten.
8848 It may be enabled again later.
8849
8850 @kindex enable mem
8851 @item enable mem @var{nums}@dots{}
8852 Enable monitoring of memory regions @var{nums}@dots{}.
8853
8854 @kindex info mem
8855 @item info mem
8856 Print a table of all defined memory regions, with the following columns
8857 for each region:
8858
8859 @table @emph
8860 @item Memory Region Number
8861 @item Enabled or Disabled.
8862 Enabled memory regions are marked with @samp{y}.
8863 Disabled memory regions are marked with @samp{n}.
8864
8865 @item Lo Address
8866 The address defining the inclusive lower bound of the memory region.
8867
8868 @item Hi Address
8869 The address defining the exclusive upper bound of the memory region.
8870
8871 @item Attributes
8872 The list of attributes set for this memory region.
8873 @end table
8874 @end table
8875
8876
8877 @subsection Attributes
8878
8879 @subsubsection Memory Access Mode
8880 The access mode attributes set whether @value{GDBN} may make read or
8881 write accesses to a memory region.
8882
8883 While these attributes prevent @value{GDBN} from performing invalid
8884 memory accesses, they do nothing to prevent the target system, I/O DMA,
8885 etc.@: from accessing memory.
8886
8887 @table @code
8888 @item ro
8889 Memory is read only.
8890 @item wo
8891 Memory is write only.
8892 @item rw
8893 Memory is read/write. This is the default.
8894 @end table
8895
8896 @subsubsection Memory Access Size
8897 The access size attribute tells @value{GDBN} to use specific sized
8898 accesses in the memory region. Often memory mapped device registers
8899 require specific sized accesses. If no access size attribute is
8900 specified, @value{GDBN} may use accesses of any size.
8901
8902 @table @code
8903 @item 8
8904 Use 8 bit memory accesses.
8905 @item 16
8906 Use 16 bit memory accesses.
8907 @item 32
8908 Use 32 bit memory accesses.
8909 @item 64
8910 Use 64 bit memory accesses.
8911 @end table
8912
8913 @c @subsubsection Hardware/Software Breakpoints
8914 @c The hardware/software breakpoint attributes set whether @value{GDBN}
8915 @c will use hardware or software breakpoints for the internal breakpoints
8916 @c used by the step, next, finish, until, etc. commands.
8917 @c
8918 @c @table @code
8919 @c @item hwbreak
8920 @c Always use hardware breakpoints
8921 @c @item swbreak (default)
8922 @c @end table
8923
8924 @subsubsection Data Cache
8925 The data cache attributes set whether @value{GDBN} will cache target
8926 memory. While this generally improves performance by reducing debug
8927 protocol overhead, it can lead to incorrect results because @value{GDBN}
8928 does not know about volatile variables or memory mapped device
8929 registers.
8930
8931 @table @code
8932 @item cache
8933 Enable @value{GDBN} to cache target memory.
8934 @item nocache
8935 Disable @value{GDBN} from caching target memory. This is the default.
8936 @end table
8937
8938 @subsection Memory Access Checking
8939 @value{GDBN} can be instructed to refuse accesses to memory that is
8940 not explicitly described. This can be useful if accessing such
8941 regions has undesired effects for a specific target, or to provide
8942 better error checking. The following commands control this behaviour.
8943
8944 @table @code
8945 @kindex set mem inaccessible-by-default
8946 @item set mem inaccessible-by-default [on|off]
8947 If @code{on} is specified, make @value{GDBN} treat memory not
8948 explicitly described by the memory ranges as non-existent and refuse accesses
8949 to such memory. The checks are only performed if there's at least one
8950 memory range defined. If @code{off} is specified, make @value{GDBN}
8951 treat the memory not explicitly described by the memory ranges as RAM.
8952 The default value is @code{on}.
8953 @kindex show mem inaccessible-by-default
8954 @item show mem inaccessible-by-default
8955 Show the current handling of accesses to unknown memory.
8956 @end table
8957
8958
8959 @c @subsubsection Memory Write Verification
8960 @c The memory write verification attributes set whether @value{GDBN}
8961 @c will re-reads data after each write to verify the write was successful.
8962 @c
8963 @c @table @code
8964 @c @item verify
8965 @c @item noverify (default)
8966 @c @end table
8967
8968 @node Dump/Restore Files
8969 @section Copy Between Memory and a File
8970 @cindex dump/restore files
8971 @cindex append data to a file
8972 @cindex dump data to a file
8973 @cindex restore data from a file
8974
8975 You can use the commands @code{dump}, @code{append}, and
8976 @code{restore} to copy data between target memory and a file. The
8977 @code{dump} and @code{append} commands write data to a file, and the
8978 @code{restore} command reads data from a file back into the inferior's
8979 memory. Files may be in binary, Motorola S-record, Intel hex, or
8980 Tektronix Hex format; however, @value{GDBN} can only append to binary
8981 files.
8982
8983 @table @code
8984
8985 @kindex dump
8986 @item dump @r{[}@var{format}@r{]} memory @var{filename} @var{start_addr} @var{end_addr}
8987 @itemx dump @r{[}@var{format}@r{]} value @var{filename} @var{expr}
8988 Dump the contents of memory from @var{start_addr} to @var{end_addr},
8989 or the value of @var{expr}, to @var{filename} in the given format.
8990
8991 The @var{format} parameter may be any one of:
8992 @table @code
8993 @item binary
8994 Raw binary form.
8995 @item ihex
8996 Intel hex format.
8997 @item srec
8998 Motorola S-record format.
8999 @item tekhex
9000 Tektronix Hex format.
9001 @end table
9002
9003 @value{GDBN} uses the same definitions of these formats as the
9004 @sc{gnu} binary utilities, like @samp{objdump} and @samp{objcopy}. If
9005 @var{format} is omitted, @value{GDBN} dumps the data in raw binary
9006 form.
9007
9008 @kindex append
9009 @item append @r{[}binary@r{]} memory @var{filename} @var{start_addr} @var{end_addr}
9010 @itemx append @r{[}binary@r{]} value @var{filename} @var{expr}
9011 Append the contents of memory from @var{start_addr} to @var{end_addr},
9012 or the value of @var{expr}, to the file @var{filename}, in raw binary form.
9013 (@value{GDBN} can only append data to files in raw binary form.)
9014
9015 @kindex restore
9016 @item restore @var{filename} @r{[}binary@r{]} @var{bias} @var{start} @var{end}
9017 Restore the contents of file @var{filename} into memory. The
9018 @code{restore} command can automatically recognize any known @sc{bfd}
9019 file format, except for raw binary. To restore a raw binary file you
9020 must specify the optional keyword @code{binary} after the filename.
9021
9022 If @var{bias} is non-zero, its value will be added to the addresses
9023 contained in the file. Binary files always start at address zero, so
9024 they will be restored at address @var{bias}. Other bfd files have
9025 a built-in location; they will be restored at offset @var{bias}
9026 from that location.
9027
9028 If @var{start} and/or @var{end} are non-zero, then only data between
9029 file offset @var{start} and file offset @var{end} will be restored.
9030 These offsets are relative to the addresses in the file, before
9031 the @var{bias} argument is applied.
9032
9033 @end table
9034
9035 @node Core File Generation
9036 @section How to Produce a Core File from Your Program
9037 @cindex dump core from inferior
9038
9039 A @dfn{core file} or @dfn{core dump} is a file that records the memory
9040 image of a running process and its process status (register values
9041 etc.). Its primary use is post-mortem debugging of a program that
9042 crashed while it ran outside a debugger. A program that crashes
9043 automatically produces a core file, unless this feature is disabled by
9044 the user. @xref{Files}, for information on invoking @value{GDBN} in
9045 the post-mortem debugging mode.
9046
9047 Occasionally, you may wish to produce a core file of the program you
9048 are debugging in order to preserve a snapshot of its state.
9049 @value{GDBN} has a special command for that.
9050
9051 @table @code
9052 @kindex gcore
9053 @kindex generate-core-file
9054 @item generate-core-file [@var{file}]
9055 @itemx gcore [@var{file}]
9056 Produce a core dump of the inferior process. The optional argument
9057 @var{file} specifies the file name where to put the core dump. If not
9058 specified, the file name defaults to @file{core.@var{pid}}, where
9059 @var{pid} is the inferior process ID.
9060
9061 Note that this command is implemented only for some systems (as of
9062 this writing, @sc{gnu}/Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, Unixware, and S390).
9063 @end table
9064
9065 @node Character Sets
9066 @section Character Sets
9067 @cindex character sets
9068 @cindex charset
9069 @cindex translating between character sets
9070 @cindex host character set
9071 @cindex target character set
9072
9073 If the program you are debugging uses a different character set to
9074 represent characters and strings than the one @value{GDBN} uses itself,
9075 @value{GDBN} can automatically translate between the character sets for
9076 you. The character set @value{GDBN} uses we call the @dfn{host
9077 character set}; the one the inferior program uses we call the
9078 @dfn{target character set}.
9079
9080 For example, if you are running @value{GDBN} on a @sc{gnu}/Linux system, which
9081 uses the ISO Latin 1 character set, but you are using @value{GDBN}'s
9082 remote protocol (@pxref{Remote Debugging}) to debug a program
9083 running on an IBM mainframe, which uses the @sc{ebcdic} character set,
9084 then the host character set is Latin-1, and the target character set is
9085 @sc{ebcdic}. If you give @value{GDBN} the command @code{set
9086 target-charset EBCDIC-US}, then @value{GDBN} translates between
9087 @sc{ebcdic} and Latin 1 as you print character or string values, or use
9088 character and string literals in expressions.
9089
9090 @value{GDBN} has no way to automatically recognize which character set
9091 the inferior program uses; you must tell it, using the @code{set
9092 target-charset} command, described below.
9093
9094 Here are the commands for controlling @value{GDBN}'s character set
9095 support:
9096
9097 @table @code
9098 @item set target-charset @var{charset}
9099 @kindex set target-charset
9100 Set the current target character set to @var{charset}. To display the
9101 list of supported target character sets, type
9102 @kbd{@w{set target-charset @key{TAB}@key{TAB}}}.
9103
9104 @item set host-charset @var{charset}
9105 @kindex set host-charset
9106 Set the current host character set to @var{charset}.
9107
9108 By default, @value{GDBN} uses a host character set appropriate to the
9109 system it is running on; you can override that default using the
9110 @code{set host-charset} command. On some systems, @value{GDBN} cannot
9111 automatically determine the appropriate host character set. In this
9112 case, @value{GDBN} uses @samp{UTF-8}.
9113
9114 @value{GDBN} can only use certain character sets as its host character
9115 set. If you type @kbd{@w{set host-charset @key{TAB}@key{TAB}}},
9116 @value{GDBN} will list the host character sets it supports.
9117
9118 @item set charset @var{charset}
9119 @kindex set charset
9120 Set the current host and target character sets to @var{charset}. As
9121 above, if you type @kbd{@w{set charset @key{TAB}@key{TAB}}},
9122 @value{GDBN} will list the names of the character sets that can be used
9123 for both host and target.
9124
9125 @item show charset
9126 @kindex show charset
9127 Show the names of the current host and target character sets.
9128
9129 @item show host-charset
9130 @kindex show host-charset
9131 Show the name of the current host character set.
9132
9133 @item show target-charset
9134 @kindex show target-charset
9135 Show the name of the current target character set.
9136
9137 @item set target-wide-charset @var{charset}
9138 @kindex set target-wide-charset
9139 Set the current target's wide character set to @var{charset}. This is
9140 the character set used by the target's @code{wchar_t} type. To
9141 display the list of supported wide character sets, type
9142 @kbd{@w{set target-wide-charset @key{TAB}@key{TAB}}}.
9143
9144 @item show target-wide-charset
9145 @kindex show target-wide-charset
9146 Show the name of the current target's wide character set.
9147 @end table
9148
9149 Here is an example of @value{GDBN}'s character set support in action.
9150 Assume that the following source code has been placed in the file
9151 @file{charset-test.c}:
9152
9153 @smallexample
9154 #include <stdio.h>
9155
9156 char ascii_hello[]
9157 = @{72, 101, 108, 108, 111, 44, 32, 119,
9158 111, 114, 108, 100, 33, 10, 0@};
9159 char ibm1047_hello[]
9160 = @{200, 133, 147, 147, 150, 107, 64, 166,
9161 150, 153, 147, 132, 90, 37, 0@};
9162
9163 main ()
9164 @{
9165 printf ("Hello, world!\n");
9166 @}
9167 @end smallexample
9168
9169 In this program, @code{ascii_hello} and @code{ibm1047_hello} are arrays
9170 containing the string @samp{Hello, world!} followed by a newline,
9171 encoded in the @sc{ascii} and @sc{ibm1047} character sets.
9172
9173 We compile the program, and invoke the debugger on it:
9174
9175 @smallexample
9176 $ gcc -g charset-test.c -o charset-test
9177 $ gdb -nw charset-test
9178 GNU gdb 2001-12-19-cvs
9179 Copyright 2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
9180 @dots{}
9181 (@value{GDBP})
9182 @end smallexample
9183
9184 We can use the @code{show charset} command to see what character sets
9185 @value{GDBN} is currently using to interpret and display characters and
9186 strings:
9187
9188 @smallexample
9189 (@value{GDBP}) show charset
9190 The current host and target character set is `ISO-8859-1'.
9191 (@value{GDBP})
9192 @end smallexample
9193
9194 For the sake of printing this manual, let's use @sc{ascii} as our
9195 initial character set:
9196 @smallexample
9197 (@value{GDBP}) set charset ASCII
9198 (@value{GDBP}) show charset
9199 The current host and target character set is `ASCII'.
9200 (@value{GDBP})
9201 @end smallexample
9202
9203 Let's assume that @sc{ascii} is indeed the correct character set for our
9204 host system --- in other words, let's assume that if @value{GDBN} prints
9205 characters using the @sc{ascii} character set, our terminal will display
9206 them properly. Since our current target character set is also
9207 @sc{ascii}, the contents of @code{ascii_hello} print legibly:
9208
9209 @smallexample
9210 (@value{GDBP}) print ascii_hello
9211 $1 = 0x401698 "Hello, world!\n"
9212 (@value{GDBP}) print ascii_hello[0]
9213 $2 = 72 'H'
9214 (@value{GDBP})
9215 @end smallexample
9216
9217 @value{GDBN} uses the target character set for character and string
9218 literals you use in expressions:
9219
9220 @smallexample
9221 (@value{GDBP}) print '+'
9222 $3 = 43 '+'
9223 (@value{GDBP})
9224 @end smallexample
9225
9226 The @sc{ascii} character set uses the number 43 to encode the @samp{+}
9227 character.
9228
9229 @value{GDBN} relies on the user to tell it which character set the
9230 target program uses. If we print @code{ibm1047_hello} while our target
9231 character set is still @sc{ascii}, we get jibberish:
9232
9233 @smallexample
9234 (@value{GDBP}) print ibm1047_hello
9235 $4 = 0x4016a8 "\310\205\223\223\226k@@\246\226\231\223\204Z%"
9236 (@value{GDBP}) print ibm1047_hello[0]
9237 $5 = 200 '\310'
9238 (@value{GDBP})
9239 @end smallexample
9240
9241 If we invoke the @code{set target-charset} followed by @key{TAB}@key{TAB},
9242 @value{GDBN} tells us the character sets it supports:
9243
9244 @smallexample
9245 (@value{GDBP}) set target-charset
9246 ASCII EBCDIC-US IBM1047 ISO-8859-1
9247 (@value{GDBP}) set target-charset
9248 @end smallexample
9249
9250 We can select @sc{ibm1047} as our target character set, and examine the
9251 program's strings again. Now the @sc{ascii} string is wrong, but
9252 @value{GDBN} translates the contents of @code{ibm1047_hello} from the
9253 target character set, @sc{ibm1047}, to the host character set,
9254 @sc{ascii}, and they display correctly:
9255
9256 @smallexample
9257 (@value{GDBP}) set target-charset IBM1047
9258 (@value{GDBP}) show charset
9259 The current host character set is `ASCII'.
9260 The current target character set is `IBM1047'.
9261 (@value{GDBP}) print ascii_hello
9262 $6 = 0x401698 "\110\145%%?\054\040\167?\162%\144\041\012"
9263 (@value{GDBP}) print ascii_hello[0]
9264 $7 = 72 '\110'
9265 (@value{GDBP}) print ibm1047_hello
9266 $8 = 0x4016a8 "Hello, world!\n"
9267 (@value{GDBP}) print ibm1047_hello[0]
9268 $9 = 200 'H'
9269 (@value{GDBP})
9270 @end smallexample
9271
9272 As above, @value{GDBN} uses the target character set for character and
9273 string literals you use in expressions:
9274
9275 @smallexample
9276 (@value{GDBP}) print '+'
9277 $10 = 78 '+'
9278 (@value{GDBP})
9279 @end smallexample
9280
9281 The @sc{ibm1047} character set uses the number 78 to encode the @samp{+}
9282 character.
9283
9284 @node Caching Remote Data
9285 @section Caching Data of Remote Targets
9286 @cindex caching data of remote targets
9287
9288 @value{GDBN} caches data exchanged between the debugger and a
9289 remote target (@pxref{Remote Debugging}). Such caching generally improves
9290 performance, because it reduces the overhead of the remote protocol by
9291 bundling memory reads and writes into large chunks. Unfortunately, simply
9292 caching everything would lead to incorrect results, since @value{GDBN}
9293 does not necessarily know anything about volatile values, memory-mapped I/O
9294 addresses, etc. Furthermore, in non-stop mode (@pxref{Non-Stop Mode})
9295 memory can be changed @emph{while} a gdb command is executing.
9296 Therefore, by default, @value{GDBN} only caches data
9297 known to be on the stack@footnote{In non-stop mode, it is moderately
9298 rare for a running thread to modify the stack of a stopped thread
9299 in a way that would interfere with a backtrace, and caching of
9300 stack reads provides a significant speed up of remote backtraces.}.
9301 Other regions of memory can be explicitly marked as
9302 cacheable; see @pxref{Memory Region Attributes}.
9303
9304 @table @code
9305 @kindex set remotecache
9306 @item set remotecache on
9307 @itemx set remotecache off
9308 This option no longer does anything; it exists for compatibility
9309 with old scripts.
9310
9311 @kindex show remotecache
9312 @item show remotecache
9313 Show the current state of the obsolete remotecache flag.
9314
9315 @kindex set stack-cache
9316 @item set stack-cache on
9317 @itemx set stack-cache off
9318 Enable or disable caching of stack accesses. When @code{ON}, use
9319 caching. By default, this option is @code{ON}.
9320
9321 @kindex show stack-cache
9322 @item show stack-cache
9323 Show the current state of data caching for memory accesses.
9324
9325 @kindex info dcache
9326 @item info dcache @r{[}line@r{]}
9327 Print the information about the data cache performance. The
9328 information displayed includes the dcache width and depth, and for
9329 each cache line, its number, address, and how many times it was
9330 referenced. This command is useful for debugging the data cache
9331 operation.
9332
9333 If a line number is specified, the contents of that line will be
9334 printed in hex.
9335
9336 @item set dcache size @var{size}
9337 @cindex dcache size
9338 @kindex set dcache size
9339 Set maximum number of entries in dcache (dcache depth above).
9340
9341 @item set dcache line-size @var{line-size}
9342 @cindex dcache line-size
9343 @kindex set dcache line-size
9344 Set number of bytes each dcache entry caches (dcache width above).
9345 Must be a power of 2.
9346
9347 @item show dcache size
9348 @kindex show dcache size
9349 Show maximum number of dcache entries. See also @ref{Caching Remote Data, info dcache}.
9350
9351 @item show dcache line-size
9352 @kindex show dcache line-size
9353 Show default size of dcache lines. See also @ref{Caching Remote Data, info dcache}.
9354
9355 @end table
9356
9357 @node Searching Memory
9358 @section Search Memory
9359 @cindex searching memory
9360
9361 Memory can be searched for a particular sequence of bytes with the
9362 @code{find} command.
9363
9364 @table @code
9365 @kindex find
9366 @item find @r{[}/@var{sn}@r{]} @var{start_addr}, +@var{len}, @var{val1} @r{[}, @var{val2}, @dots{}@r{]}
9367 @itemx find @r{[}/@var{sn}@r{]} @var{start_addr}, @var{end_addr}, @var{val1} @r{[}, @var{val2}, @dots{}@r{]}
9368 Search memory for the sequence of bytes specified by @var{val1}, @var{val2},
9369 etc. The search begins at address @var{start_addr} and continues for either
9370 @var{len} bytes or through to @var{end_addr} inclusive.
9371 @end table
9372
9373 @var{s} and @var{n} are optional parameters.
9374 They may be specified in either order, apart or together.
9375
9376 @table @r
9377 @item @var{s}, search query size
9378 The size of each search query value.
9379
9380 @table @code
9381 @item b
9382 bytes
9383 @item h
9384 halfwords (two bytes)
9385 @item w
9386 words (four bytes)
9387 @item g
9388 giant words (eight bytes)
9389 @end table
9390
9391 All values are interpreted in the current language.
9392 This means, for example, that if the current source language is C/C@t{++}
9393 then searching for the string ``hello'' includes the trailing '\0'.
9394
9395 If the value size is not specified, it is taken from the
9396 value's type in the current language.
9397 This is useful when one wants to specify the search
9398 pattern as a mixture of types.
9399 Note that this means, for example, that in the case of C-like languages
9400 a search for an untyped 0x42 will search for @samp{(int) 0x42}
9401 which is typically four bytes.
9402
9403 @item @var{n}, maximum number of finds
9404 The maximum number of matches to print. The default is to print all finds.
9405 @end table
9406
9407 You can use strings as search values. Quote them with double-quotes
9408 (@code{"}).
9409 The string value is copied into the search pattern byte by byte,
9410 regardless of the endianness of the target and the size specification.
9411
9412 The address of each match found is printed as well as a count of the
9413 number of matches found.
9414
9415 The address of the last value found is stored in convenience variable
9416 @samp{$_}.
9417 A count of the number of matches is stored in @samp{$numfound}.
9418
9419 For example, if stopped at the @code{printf} in this function:
9420
9421 @smallexample
9422 void
9423 hello ()
9424 @{
9425 static char hello[] = "hello-hello";
9426 static struct @{ char c; short s; int i; @}
9427 __attribute__ ((packed)) mixed
9428 = @{ 'c', 0x1234, 0x87654321 @};
9429 printf ("%s\n", hello);
9430 @}
9431 @end smallexample
9432
9433 @noindent
9434 you get during debugging:
9435
9436 @smallexample
9437 (gdb) find &hello[0], +sizeof(hello), "hello"
9438 0x804956d <hello.1620+6>
9439 1 pattern found
9440 (gdb) find &hello[0], +sizeof(hello), 'h', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o'
9441 0x8049567 <hello.1620>
9442 0x804956d <hello.1620+6>
9443 2 patterns found
9444 (gdb) find /b1 &hello[0], +sizeof(hello), 'h', 0x65, 'l'
9445 0x8049567 <hello.1620>
9446 1 pattern found
9447 (gdb) find &mixed, +sizeof(mixed), (char) 'c', (short) 0x1234, (int) 0x87654321
9448 0x8049560 <mixed.1625>
9449 1 pattern found
9450 (gdb) print $numfound
9451 $1 = 1
9452 (gdb) print $_
9453 $2 = (void *) 0x8049560
9454 @end smallexample
9455
9456 @node Optimized Code
9457 @chapter Debugging Optimized Code
9458 @cindex optimized code, debugging
9459 @cindex debugging optimized code
9460
9461 Almost all compilers support optimization. With optimization
9462 disabled, the compiler generates assembly code that corresponds
9463 directly to your source code, in a simplistic way. As the compiler
9464 applies more powerful optimizations, the generated assembly code
9465 diverges from your original source code. With help from debugging
9466 information generated by the compiler, @value{GDBN} can map from
9467 the running program back to constructs from your original source.
9468
9469 @value{GDBN} is more accurate with optimization disabled. If you
9470 can recompile without optimization, it is easier to follow the
9471 progress of your program during debugging. But, there are many cases
9472 where you may need to debug an optimized version.
9473
9474 When you debug a program compiled with @samp{-g -O}, remember that the
9475 optimizer has rearranged your code; the debugger shows you what is
9476 really there. Do not be too surprised when the execution path does not
9477 exactly match your source file! An extreme example: if you define a
9478 variable, but never use it, @value{GDBN} never sees that
9479 variable---because the compiler optimizes it out of existence.
9480
9481 Some things do not work as well with @samp{-g -O} as with just
9482 @samp{-g}, particularly on machines with instruction scheduling. If in
9483 doubt, recompile with @samp{-g} alone, and if this fixes the problem,
9484 please report it to us as a bug (including a test case!).
9485 @xref{Variables}, for more information about debugging optimized code.
9486
9487 @menu
9488 * Inline Functions:: How @value{GDBN} presents inlining
9489 * Tail Call Frames:: @value{GDBN} analysis of jumps to functions
9490 @end menu
9491
9492 @node Inline Functions
9493 @section Inline Functions
9494 @cindex inline functions, debugging
9495
9496 @dfn{Inlining} is an optimization that inserts a copy of the function
9497 body directly at each call site, instead of jumping to a shared
9498 routine. @value{GDBN} displays inlined functions just like
9499 non-inlined functions. They appear in backtraces. You can view their
9500 arguments and local variables, step into them with @code{step}, skip
9501 them with @code{next}, and escape from them with @code{finish}.
9502 You can check whether a function was inlined by using the
9503 @code{info frame} command.
9504
9505 For @value{GDBN} to support inlined functions, the compiler must
9506 record information about inlining in the debug information ---
9507 @value{NGCC} using the @sc{dwarf 2} format does this, and several
9508 other compilers do also. @value{GDBN} only supports inlined functions
9509 when using @sc{dwarf 2}. Versions of @value{NGCC} before 4.1
9510 do not emit two required attributes (@samp{DW_AT_call_file} and
9511 @samp{DW_AT_call_line}); @value{GDBN} does not display inlined
9512 function calls with earlier versions of @value{NGCC}. It instead
9513 displays the arguments and local variables of inlined functions as
9514 local variables in the caller.
9515
9516 The body of an inlined function is directly included at its call site;
9517 unlike a non-inlined function, there are no instructions devoted to
9518 the call. @value{GDBN} still pretends that the call site and the
9519 start of the inlined function are different instructions. Stepping to
9520 the call site shows the call site, and then stepping again shows
9521 the first line of the inlined function, even though no additional
9522 instructions are executed.
9523
9524 This makes source-level debugging much clearer; you can see both the
9525 context of the call and then the effect of the call. Only stepping by
9526 a single instruction using @code{stepi} or @code{nexti} does not do
9527 this; single instruction steps always show the inlined body.
9528
9529 There are some ways that @value{GDBN} does not pretend that inlined
9530 function calls are the same as normal calls:
9531
9532 @itemize @bullet
9533 @item
9534 You cannot set breakpoints on inlined functions. @value{GDBN}
9535 either reports that there is no symbol with that name, or else sets the
9536 breakpoint only on non-inlined copies of the function. This limitation
9537 will be removed in a future version of @value{GDBN}; until then,
9538 set a breakpoint by line number on the first line of the inlined
9539 function instead.
9540
9541 @item
9542 Setting breakpoints at the call site of an inlined function may not
9543 work, because the call site does not contain any code. @value{GDBN}
9544 may incorrectly move the breakpoint to the next line of the enclosing
9545 function, after the call. This limitation will be removed in a future
9546 version of @value{GDBN}; until then, set a breakpoint on an earlier line
9547 or inside the inlined function instead.
9548
9549 @item
9550 @value{GDBN} cannot locate the return value of inlined calls after
9551 using the @code{finish} command. This is a limitation of compiler-generated
9552 debugging information; after @code{finish}, you can step to the next line
9553 and print a variable where your program stored the return value.
9554
9555 @end itemize
9556
9557 @node Tail Call Frames
9558 @section Tail Call Frames
9559 @cindex tail call frames, debugging
9560
9561 Function @code{B} can call function @code{C} in its very last statement. In
9562 unoptimized compilation the call of @code{C} is immediately followed by return
9563 instruction at the end of @code{B} code. Optimizing compiler may replace the
9564 call and return in function @code{B} into one jump to function @code{C}
9565 instead. Such use of a jump instruction is called @dfn{tail call}.
9566
9567 During execution of function @code{C}, there will be no indication in the
9568 function call stack frames that it was tail-called from @code{B}. If function
9569 @code{A} regularly calls function @code{B} which tail-calls function @code{C},
9570 then @value{GDBN} will see @code{A} as the caller of @code{C}. However, in
9571 some cases @value{GDBN} can determine that @code{C} was tail-called from
9572 @code{B}, and it will then create fictitious call frame for that, with the
9573 return address set up as if @code{B} called @code{C} normally.
9574
9575 This functionality is currently supported only by DWARF 2 debugging format and
9576 the compiler has to produce @samp{DW_TAG_GNU_call_site} tags. With
9577 @value{NGCC}, you need to specify @option{-O -g} during compilation, to get
9578 this information.
9579
9580 @kbd{info frame} command (@pxref{Frame Info}) will indicate the tail call frame
9581 kind by text @code{tail call frame} such as in this sample @value{GDBN} output:
9582
9583 @smallexample
9584 (gdb) x/i $pc - 2
9585 0x40066b <b(int, double)+11>: jmp 0x400640 <c(int, double)>
9586 (gdb) info frame
9587 Stack level 1, frame at 0x7fffffffda30:
9588 rip = 0x40066d in b (amd64-entry-value.cc:59); saved rip 0x4004c5
9589 tail call frame, caller of frame at 0x7fffffffda30
9590 source language c++.
9591 Arglist at unknown address.
9592 Locals at unknown address, Previous frame's sp is 0x7fffffffda30
9593 @end smallexample
9594
9595 The detection of all the possible code path executions can find them ambiguous.
9596 There is no execution history stored (possible @ref{Reverse Execution} is never
9597 used for this purpose) and the last known caller could have reached the known
9598 callee by multiple different jump sequences. In such case @value{GDBN} still
9599 tries to show at least all the unambiguous top tail callers and all the
9600 unambiguous bottom tail calees, if any.
9601
9602 @table @code
9603 @item set debug entry-values
9604 @kindex set debug entry-values
9605 When set to on, enables printing of analysis messages for both frame argument
9606 values at function entry and tail calls. It will show all the possible valid
9607 tail calls code paths it has considered. It will also print the intersection
9608 of them with the final unambiguous (possibly partial or even empty) code path
9609 result.
9610
9611 @item show debug entry-values
9612 @kindex show debug entry-values
9613 Show the current state of analysis messages printing for both frame argument
9614 values at function entry and tail calls.
9615 @end table
9616
9617 The analysis messages for tail calls can for example show why the virtual tail
9618 call frame for function @code{c} has not been recognized (due to the indirect
9619 reference by variable @code{x}):
9620
9621 @smallexample
9622 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) c (void);
9623 void (*x) (void) = c;
9624 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) a (void) @{ x++; @}
9625 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) c (void) @{ a (); @}
9626 int main (void) @{ x (); return 0; @}
9627
9628 Breakpoint 1, DW_OP_GNU_entry_value resolving cannot find
9629 DW_TAG_GNU_call_site 0x40039a in main
9630 a () at t.c:3
9631 3 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) a (void) @{ x++; @}
9632 (gdb) bt
9633 #0 a () at t.c:3
9634 #1 0x000000000040039a in main () at t.c:5
9635 @end smallexample
9636
9637 Another possibility is an ambiguous virtual tail call frames resolution:
9638
9639 @smallexample
9640 int i;
9641 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) f (void) @{ i++; @}
9642 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) e (void) @{ f (); @}
9643 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) d (void) @{ f (); @}
9644 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) c (void) @{ d (); @}
9645 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) b (void)
9646 @{ if (i) c (); else e (); @}
9647 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) a (void) @{ b (); @}
9648 int main (void) @{ a (); return 0; @}
9649
9650 tailcall: initial: 0x4004d2(a) 0x4004ce(b) 0x4004b2(c) 0x4004a2(d)
9651 tailcall: compare: 0x4004d2(a) 0x4004cc(b) 0x400492(e)
9652 tailcall: reduced: 0x4004d2(a) |
9653 (gdb) bt
9654 #0 f () at t.c:2
9655 #1 0x00000000004004d2 in a () at t.c:8
9656 #2 0x0000000000400395 in main () at t.c:9
9657 @end smallexample
9658
9659 Frames #0 and #2 are real, #1 is a virtual tail call frame. The code can have
9660 possible execution paths
9661 @code{main@arrow{}a@arrow{}b@arrow{}c@arrow{}d@arrow{}f} or
9662 @code{main@arrow{}a@arrow{}b@arrow{}e@arrow{}f}, @value{GDBN} cannot find which
9663 one from the inferior state.
9664
9665 @code{initial:} state shows some random possible calling sequence @value{GDBN}
9666 has found. It then finds another possible calling sequcen - that one is
9667 prefixed by @code{compare:}. The non-ambiguous intersection of these two is
9668 printed as the @code{reduced:} calling sequence. That one could have many
9669 futher @code{compare:} and @code{reduced:} statements as long as there remain
9670 any non-ambiguous sequence entries.
9671
9672 For the frame of function @code{b} in both cases there are different possible
9673 @code{$pc} values (@code{0x4004cc} or @code{0x4004ce}), therefore this frame is
9674 also ambigous. The only non-ambiguous frame is the one for function @code{a},
9675 therefore this one is displayed to the user while the ambiguous frames are
9676 omitted.
9677
9678 @node Macros
9679 @chapter C Preprocessor Macros
9680
9681 Some languages, such as C and C@t{++}, provide a way to define and invoke
9682 ``preprocessor macros'' which expand into strings of tokens.
9683 @value{GDBN} can evaluate expressions containing macro invocations, show
9684 the result of macro expansion, and show a macro's definition, including
9685 where it was defined.
9686
9687 You may need to compile your program specially to provide @value{GDBN}
9688 with information about preprocessor macros. Most compilers do not
9689 include macros in their debugging information, even when you compile
9690 with the @option{-g} flag. @xref{Compilation}.
9691
9692 A program may define a macro at one point, remove that definition later,
9693 and then provide a different definition after that. Thus, at different
9694 points in the program, a macro may have different definitions, or have
9695 no definition at all. If there is a current stack frame, @value{GDBN}
9696 uses the macros in scope at that frame's source code line. Otherwise,
9697 @value{GDBN} uses the macros in scope at the current listing location;
9698 see @ref{List}.
9699
9700 Whenever @value{GDBN} evaluates an expression, it always expands any
9701 macro invocations present in the expression. @value{GDBN} also provides
9702 the following commands for working with macros explicitly.
9703
9704 @table @code
9705
9706 @kindex macro expand
9707 @cindex macro expansion, showing the results of preprocessor
9708 @cindex preprocessor macro expansion, showing the results of
9709 @cindex expanding preprocessor macros
9710 @item macro expand @var{expression}
9711 @itemx macro exp @var{expression}
9712 Show the results of expanding all preprocessor macro invocations in
9713 @var{expression}. Since @value{GDBN} simply expands macros, but does
9714 not parse the result, @var{expression} need not be a valid expression;
9715 it can be any string of tokens.
9716
9717 @kindex macro exp1
9718 @item macro expand-once @var{expression}
9719 @itemx macro exp1 @var{expression}
9720 @cindex expand macro once
9721 @i{(This command is not yet implemented.)} Show the results of
9722 expanding those preprocessor macro invocations that appear explicitly in
9723 @var{expression}. Macro invocations appearing in that expansion are
9724 left unchanged. This command allows you to see the effect of a
9725 particular macro more clearly, without being confused by further
9726 expansions. Since @value{GDBN} simply expands macros, but does not
9727 parse the result, @var{expression} need not be a valid expression; it
9728 can be any string of tokens.
9729
9730 @kindex info macro
9731 @cindex macro definition, showing
9732 @cindex definition of a macro, showing
9733 @cindex macros, from debug info
9734 @item info macro @var{macro}
9735 Show the current definition of the named @var{macro}, and describe the
9736 source location or compiler command-line where that definition was established.
9737
9738 @kindex info macros
9739 @item info macros @var{linespec}
9740 Show all macro definitions that are in effect at the location specified
9741 by @var{linespec}, and describe the source location or compiler
9742 command-line where those definitions were established.
9743
9744 @kindex info definitions
9745 @item info definitions @var{macro}
9746 Show all definitions of the named @var{macro} that are defined in the current
9747 compilation unit, and describe the source location or compiler command-line
9748 where those definitions were established.
9749
9750 @kindex macro define
9751 @cindex user-defined macros
9752 @cindex defining macros interactively
9753 @cindex macros, user-defined
9754 @item macro define @var{macro} @var{replacement-list}
9755 @itemx macro define @var{macro}(@var{arglist}) @var{replacement-list}
9756 Introduce a definition for a preprocessor macro named @var{macro},
9757 invocations of which are replaced by the tokens given in
9758 @var{replacement-list}. The first form of this command defines an
9759 ``object-like'' macro, which takes no arguments; the second form
9760 defines a ``function-like'' macro, which takes the arguments given in
9761 @var{arglist}.
9762
9763 A definition introduced by this command is in scope in every
9764 expression evaluated in @value{GDBN}, until it is removed with the
9765 @code{macro undef} command, described below. The definition overrides
9766 all definitions for @var{macro} present in the program being debugged,
9767 as well as any previous user-supplied definition.
9768
9769 @kindex macro undef
9770 @item macro undef @var{macro}
9771 Remove any user-supplied definition for the macro named @var{macro}.
9772 This command only affects definitions provided with the @code{macro
9773 define} command, described above; it cannot remove definitions present
9774 in the program being debugged.
9775
9776 @kindex macro list
9777 @item macro list
9778 List all the macros defined using the @code{macro define} command.
9779 @end table
9780
9781 @cindex macros, example of debugging with
9782 Here is a transcript showing the above commands in action. First, we
9783 show our source files:
9784
9785 @smallexample
9786 $ cat sample.c
9787 #include <stdio.h>
9788 #include "sample.h"
9789
9790 #define M 42
9791 #define ADD(x) (M + x)
9792
9793 main ()
9794 @{
9795 #define N 28
9796 printf ("Hello, world!\n");
9797 #undef N
9798 printf ("We're so creative.\n");
9799 #define N 1729
9800 printf ("Goodbye, world!\n");
9801 @}
9802 $ cat sample.h
9803 #define Q <
9804 $
9805 @end smallexample
9806
9807 Now, we compile the program using the @sc{gnu} C compiler, @value{NGCC}.
9808 We pass the @option{-gdwarf-2} and @option{-g3} flags to ensure the
9809 compiler includes information about preprocessor macros in the debugging
9810 information.
9811
9812 @smallexample
9813 $ gcc -gdwarf-2 -g3 sample.c -o sample
9814 $
9815 @end smallexample
9816
9817 Now, we start @value{GDBN} on our sample program:
9818
9819 @smallexample
9820 $ gdb -nw sample
9821 GNU gdb 2002-05-06-cvs
9822 Copyright 2002 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
9823 GDB is free software, @dots{}
9824 (@value{GDBP})
9825 @end smallexample
9826
9827 We can expand macros and examine their definitions, even when the
9828 program is not running. @value{GDBN} uses the current listing position
9829 to decide which macro definitions are in scope:
9830
9831 @smallexample
9832 (@value{GDBP}) list main
9833 3
9834 4 #define M 42
9835 5 #define ADD(x) (M + x)
9836 6
9837 7 main ()
9838 8 @{
9839 9 #define N 28
9840 10 printf ("Hello, world!\n");
9841 11 #undef N
9842 12 printf ("We're so creative.\n");
9843 (@value{GDBP}) info macro ADD
9844 Defined at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:5
9845 #define ADD(x) (M + x)
9846 (@value{GDBP}) info macro Q
9847 Defined at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.h:1
9848 included at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:2
9849 #define Q <
9850 (@value{GDBP}) macro expand ADD(1)
9851 expands to: (42 + 1)
9852 (@value{GDBP}) macro expand-once ADD(1)
9853 expands to: once (M + 1)
9854 (@value{GDBP})
9855 @end smallexample
9856
9857 In the example above, note that @code{macro expand-once} expands only
9858 the macro invocation explicit in the original text --- the invocation of
9859 @code{ADD} --- but does not expand the invocation of the macro @code{M},
9860 which was introduced by @code{ADD}.
9861
9862 Once the program is running, @value{GDBN} uses the macro definitions in
9863 force at the source line of the current stack frame:
9864
9865 @smallexample
9866 (@value{GDBP}) break main
9867 Breakpoint 1 at 0x8048370: file sample.c, line 10.
9868 (@value{GDBP}) run
9869 Starting program: /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample
9870
9871 Breakpoint 1, main () at sample.c:10
9872 10 printf ("Hello, world!\n");
9873 (@value{GDBP})
9874 @end smallexample
9875
9876 At line 10, the definition of the macro @code{N} at line 9 is in force:
9877
9878 @smallexample
9879 (@value{GDBP}) info macro N
9880 Defined at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:9
9881 #define N 28
9882 (@value{GDBP}) macro expand N Q M
9883 expands to: 28 < 42
9884 (@value{GDBP}) print N Q M
9885 $1 = 1
9886 (@value{GDBP})
9887 @end smallexample
9888
9889 As we step over directives that remove @code{N}'s definition, and then
9890 give it a new definition, @value{GDBN} finds the definition (or lack
9891 thereof) in force at each point:
9892
9893 @smallexample
9894 (@value{GDBP}) next
9895 Hello, world!
9896 12 printf ("We're so creative.\n");
9897 (@value{GDBP}) info macro N
9898 The symbol `N' has no definition as a C/C++ preprocessor macro
9899 at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:12
9900 (@value{GDBP}) next
9901 We're so creative.
9902 14 printf ("Goodbye, world!\n");
9903 (@value{GDBP}) info macro N
9904 Defined at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:13
9905 #define N 1729
9906 (@value{GDBP}) macro expand N Q M
9907 expands to: 1729 < 42
9908 (@value{GDBP}) print N Q M
9909 $2 = 0
9910 (@value{GDBP})
9911 @end smallexample
9912
9913 In addition to source files, macros can be defined on the compilation command
9914 line using the @option{-D@var{name}=@var{value}} syntax. For macros defined in
9915 such a way, @value{GDBN} displays the location of their definition as line zero
9916 of the source file submitted to the compiler.
9917
9918 @smallexample
9919 (@value{GDBP}) info macro __STDC__
9920 Defined at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:0
9921 -D__STDC__=1
9922 (@value{GDBP})
9923 @end smallexample
9924
9925
9926 @node Tracepoints
9927 @chapter Tracepoints
9928 @c This chapter is based on the documentation written by Michael
9929 @c Snyder, David Taylor, Jim Blandy, and Elena Zannoni.
9930
9931 @cindex tracepoints
9932 In some applications, it is not feasible for the debugger to interrupt
9933 the program's execution long enough for the developer to learn
9934 anything helpful about its behavior. If the program's correctness
9935 depends on its real-time behavior, delays introduced by a debugger
9936 might cause the program to change its behavior drastically, or perhaps
9937 fail, even when the code itself is correct. It is useful to be able
9938 to observe the program's behavior without interrupting it.
9939
9940 Using @value{GDBN}'s @code{trace} and @code{collect} commands, you can
9941 specify locations in the program, called @dfn{tracepoints}, and
9942 arbitrary expressions to evaluate when those tracepoints are reached.
9943 Later, using the @code{tfind} command, you can examine the values
9944 those expressions had when the program hit the tracepoints. The
9945 expressions may also denote objects in memory---structures or arrays,
9946 for example---whose values @value{GDBN} should record; while visiting
9947 a particular tracepoint, you may inspect those objects as if they were
9948 in memory at that moment. However, because @value{GDBN} records these
9949 values without interacting with you, it can do so quickly and
9950 unobtrusively, hopefully not disturbing the program's behavior.
9951
9952 The tracepoint facility is currently available only for remote
9953 targets. @xref{Targets}. In addition, your remote target must know
9954 how to collect trace data. This functionality is implemented in the
9955 remote stub; however, none of the stubs distributed with @value{GDBN}
9956 support tracepoints as of this writing. The format of the remote
9957 packets used to implement tracepoints are described in @ref{Tracepoint
9958 Packets}.
9959
9960 It is also possible to get trace data from a file, in a manner reminiscent
9961 of corefiles; you specify the filename, and use @code{tfind} to search
9962 through the file. @xref{Trace Files}, for more details.
9963
9964 This chapter describes the tracepoint commands and features.
9965
9966 @menu
9967 * Set Tracepoints::
9968 * Analyze Collected Data::
9969 * Tracepoint Variables::
9970 * Trace Files::
9971 @end menu
9972
9973 @node Set Tracepoints
9974 @section Commands to Set Tracepoints
9975
9976 Before running such a @dfn{trace experiment}, an arbitrary number of
9977 tracepoints can be set. A tracepoint is actually a special type of
9978 breakpoint (@pxref{Set Breaks}), so you can manipulate it using
9979 standard breakpoint commands. For instance, as with breakpoints,
9980 tracepoint numbers are successive integers starting from one, and many
9981 of the commands associated with tracepoints take the tracepoint number
9982 as their argument, to identify which tracepoint to work on.
9983
9984 For each tracepoint, you can specify, in advance, some arbitrary set
9985 of data that you want the target to collect in the trace buffer when
9986 it hits that tracepoint. The collected data can include registers,
9987 local variables, or global data. Later, you can use @value{GDBN}
9988 commands to examine the values these data had at the time the
9989 tracepoint was hit.
9990
9991 Tracepoints do not support every breakpoint feature. Ignore counts on
9992 tracepoints have no effect, and tracepoints cannot run @value{GDBN}
9993 commands when they are hit. Tracepoints may not be thread-specific
9994 either.
9995
9996 @cindex fast tracepoints
9997 Some targets may support @dfn{fast tracepoints}, which are inserted in
9998 a different way (such as with a jump instead of a trap), that is
9999 faster but possibly restricted in where they may be installed.
10000
10001 @cindex static tracepoints
10002 @cindex markers, static tracepoints
10003 @cindex probing markers, static tracepoints
10004 Regular and fast tracepoints are dynamic tracing facilities, meaning
10005 that they can be used to insert tracepoints at (almost) any location
10006 in the target. Some targets may also support controlling @dfn{static
10007 tracepoints} from @value{GDBN}. With static tracing, a set of
10008 instrumentation points, also known as @dfn{markers}, are embedded in
10009 the target program, and can be activated or deactivated by name or
10010 address. These are usually placed at locations which facilitate
10011 investigating what the target is actually doing. @value{GDBN}'s
10012 support for static tracing includes being able to list instrumentation
10013 points, and attach them with @value{GDBN} defined high level
10014 tracepoints that expose the whole range of convenience of
10015 @value{GDBN}'s tracepoints support. Namely, support for collecting
10016 registers values and values of global or local (to the instrumentation
10017 point) variables; tracepoint conditions and trace state variables.
10018 The act of installing a @value{GDBN} static tracepoint on an
10019 instrumentation point, or marker, is referred to as @dfn{probing} a
10020 static tracepoint marker.
10021
10022 @code{gdbserver} supports tracepoints on some target systems.
10023 @xref{Server,,Tracepoints support in @code{gdbserver}}.
10024
10025 This section describes commands to set tracepoints and associated
10026 conditions and actions.
10027
10028 @menu
10029 * Create and Delete Tracepoints::
10030 * Enable and Disable Tracepoints::
10031 * Tracepoint Passcounts::
10032 * Tracepoint Conditions::
10033 * Trace State Variables::
10034 * Tracepoint Actions::
10035 * Listing Tracepoints::
10036 * Listing Static Tracepoint Markers::
10037 * Starting and Stopping Trace Experiments::
10038 * Tracepoint Restrictions::
10039 @end menu
10040
10041 @node Create and Delete Tracepoints
10042 @subsection Create and Delete Tracepoints
10043
10044 @table @code
10045 @cindex set tracepoint
10046 @kindex trace
10047 @item trace @var{location}
10048 The @code{trace} command is very similar to the @code{break} command.
10049 Its argument @var{location} can be a source line, a function name, or
10050 an address in the target program. @xref{Specify Location}. The
10051 @code{trace} command defines a tracepoint, which is a point in the
10052 target program where the debugger will briefly stop, collect some
10053 data, and then allow the program to continue. Setting a tracepoint or
10054 changing its actions doesn't take effect until the next @code{tstart}
10055 command, and once a trace experiment is running, further changes will
10056 not have any effect until the next trace experiment starts.
10057
10058 Here are some examples of using the @code{trace} command:
10059
10060 @smallexample
10061 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace foo.c:121} // a source file and line number
10062
10063 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace +2} // 2 lines forward
10064
10065 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace my_function} // first source line of function
10066
10067 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace *my_function} // EXACT start address of function
10068
10069 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace *0x2117c4} // an address
10070 @end smallexample
10071
10072 @noindent
10073 You can abbreviate @code{trace} as @code{tr}.
10074
10075 @item trace @var{location} if @var{cond}
10076 Set a tracepoint with condition @var{cond}; evaluate the expression
10077 @var{cond} each time the tracepoint is reached, and collect data only
10078 if the value is nonzero---that is, if @var{cond} evaluates as true.
10079 @xref{Tracepoint Conditions, ,Tracepoint Conditions}, for more
10080 information on tracepoint conditions.
10081
10082 @item ftrace @var{location} [ if @var{cond} ]
10083 @cindex set fast tracepoint
10084 @cindex fast tracepoints, setting
10085 @kindex ftrace
10086 The @code{ftrace} command sets a fast tracepoint. For targets that
10087 support them, fast tracepoints will use a more efficient but possibly
10088 less general technique to trigger data collection, such as a jump
10089 instruction instead of a trap, or some sort of hardware support. It
10090 may not be possible to create a fast tracepoint at the desired
10091 location, in which case the command will exit with an explanatory
10092 message.
10093
10094 @value{GDBN} handles arguments to @code{ftrace} exactly as for
10095 @code{trace}.
10096
10097 @item strace @var{location} [ if @var{cond} ]
10098 @cindex set static tracepoint
10099 @cindex static tracepoints, setting
10100 @cindex probe static tracepoint marker
10101 @kindex strace
10102 The @code{strace} command sets a static tracepoint. For targets that
10103 support it, setting a static tracepoint probes a static
10104 instrumentation point, or marker, found at @var{location}. It may not
10105 be possible to set a static tracepoint at the desired location, in
10106 which case the command will exit with an explanatory message.
10107
10108 @value{GDBN} handles arguments to @code{strace} exactly as for
10109 @code{trace}, with the addition that the user can also specify
10110 @code{-m @var{marker}} as @var{location}. This probes the marker
10111 identified by the @var{marker} string identifier. This identifier
10112 depends on the static tracepoint backend library your program is
10113 using. You can find all the marker identifiers in the @samp{ID} field
10114 of the @code{info static-tracepoint-markers} command output.
10115 @xref{Listing Static Tracepoint Markers,,Listing Static Tracepoint
10116 Markers}. For example, in the following small program using the UST
10117 tracing engine:
10118
10119 @smallexample
10120 main ()
10121 @{
10122 trace_mark(ust, bar33, "str %s", "FOOBAZ");
10123 @}
10124 @end smallexample
10125
10126 @noindent
10127 the marker id is composed of joining the first two arguments to the
10128 @code{trace_mark} call with a slash, which translates to:
10129
10130 @smallexample
10131 (@value{GDBP}) info static-tracepoint-markers
10132 Cnt Enb ID Address What
10133 1 n ust/bar33 0x0000000000400ddc in main at stexample.c:22
10134 Data: "str %s"
10135 [etc...]
10136 @end smallexample
10137
10138 @noindent
10139 so you may probe the marker above with:
10140
10141 @smallexample
10142 (@value{GDBP}) strace -m ust/bar33
10143 @end smallexample
10144
10145 Static tracepoints accept an extra collect action --- @code{collect
10146 $_sdata}. This collects arbitrary user data passed in the probe point
10147 call to the tracing library. In the UST example above, you'll see
10148 that the third argument to @code{trace_mark} is a printf-like format
10149 string. The user data is then the result of running that formating
10150 string against the following arguments. Note that @code{info
10151 static-tracepoint-markers} command output lists that format string in
10152 the @samp{Data:} field.
10153
10154 You can inspect this data when analyzing the trace buffer, by printing
10155 the $_sdata variable like any other variable available to
10156 @value{GDBN}. @xref{Tracepoint Actions,,Tracepoint Action Lists}.
10157
10158 @vindex $tpnum
10159 @cindex last tracepoint number
10160 @cindex recent tracepoint number
10161 @cindex tracepoint number
10162 The convenience variable @code{$tpnum} records the tracepoint number
10163 of the most recently set tracepoint.
10164
10165 @kindex delete tracepoint
10166 @cindex tracepoint deletion
10167 @item delete tracepoint @r{[}@var{num}@r{]}
10168 Permanently delete one or more tracepoints. With no argument, the
10169 default is to delete all tracepoints. Note that the regular
10170 @code{delete} command can remove tracepoints also.
10171
10172 Examples:
10173
10174 @smallexample
10175 (@value{GDBP}) @b{delete trace 1 2 3} // remove three tracepoints
10176
10177 (@value{GDBP}) @b{delete trace} // remove all tracepoints
10178 @end smallexample
10179
10180 @noindent
10181 You can abbreviate this command as @code{del tr}.
10182 @end table
10183
10184 @node Enable and Disable Tracepoints
10185 @subsection Enable and Disable Tracepoints
10186
10187 These commands are deprecated; they are equivalent to plain @code{disable} and @code{enable}.
10188
10189 @table @code
10190 @kindex disable tracepoint
10191 @item disable tracepoint @r{[}@var{num}@r{]}
10192 Disable tracepoint @var{num}, or all tracepoints if no argument
10193 @var{num} is given. A disabled tracepoint will have no effect during
10194 a trace experiment, but it is not forgotten. You can re-enable
10195 a disabled tracepoint using the @code{enable tracepoint} command.
10196 If the command is issued during a trace experiment and the debug target
10197 has support for disabling tracepoints during a trace experiment, then the
10198 change will be effective immediately. Otherwise, it will be applied to the
10199 next trace experiment.
10200
10201 @kindex enable tracepoint
10202 @item enable tracepoint @r{[}@var{num}@r{]}
10203 Enable tracepoint @var{num}, or all tracepoints. If this command is
10204 issued during a trace experiment and the debug target supports enabling
10205 tracepoints during a trace experiment, then the enabled tracepoints will
10206 become effective immediately. Otherwise, they will become effective the
10207 next time a trace experiment is run.
10208 @end table
10209
10210 @node Tracepoint Passcounts
10211 @subsection Tracepoint Passcounts
10212
10213 @table @code
10214 @kindex passcount
10215 @cindex tracepoint pass count
10216 @item passcount @r{[}@var{n} @r{[}@var{num}@r{]]}
10217 Set the @dfn{passcount} of a tracepoint. The passcount is a way to
10218 automatically stop a trace experiment. If a tracepoint's passcount is
10219 @var{n}, then the trace experiment will be automatically stopped on
10220 the @var{n}'th time that tracepoint is hit. If the tracepoint number
10221 @var{num} is not specified, the @code{passcount} command sets the
10222 passcount of the most recently defined tracepoint. If no passcount is
10223 given, the trace experiment will run until stopped explicitly by the
10224 user.
10225
10226 Examples:
10227
10228 @smallexample
10229 (@value{GDBP}) @b{passcount 5 2} // Stop on the 5th execution of
10230 @exdent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @code{// tracepoint 2}
10231
10232 (@value{GDBP}) @b{passcount 12} // Stop on the 12th execution of the
10233 @exdent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @code{// most recently defined tracepoint.}
10234 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace foo}
10235 (@value{GDBP}) @b{pass 3}
10236 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace bar}
10237 (@value{GDBP}) @b{pass 2}
10238 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace baz}
10239 (@value{GDBP}) @b{pass 1} // Stop tracing when foo has been
10240 @exdent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @code{// executed 3 times OR when bar has}
10241 @exdent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @code{// been executed 2 times}
10242 @exdent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @code{// OR when baz has been executed 1 time.}
10243 @end smallexample
10244 @end table
10245
10246 @node Tracepoint Conditions
10247 @subsection Tracepoint Conditions
10248 @cindex conditional tracepoints
10249 @cindex tracepoint conditions
10250
10251 The simplest sort of tracepoint collects data every time your program
10252 reaches a specified place. You can also specify a @dfn{condition} for
10253 a tracepoint. A condition is just a Boolean expression in your
10254 programming language (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}). A
10255 tracepoint with a condition evaluates the expression each time your
10256 program reaches it, and data collection happens only if the condition
10257 is true.
10258
10259 Tracepoint conditions can be specified when a tracepoint is set, by
10260 using @samp{if} in the arguments to the @code{trace} command.
10261 @xref{Create and Delete Tracepoints, ,Setting Tracepoints}. They can
10262 also be set or changed at any time with the @code{condition} command,
10263 just as with breakpoints.
10264
10265 Unlike breakpoint conditions, @value{GDBN} does not actually evaluate
10266 the conditional expression itself. Instead, @value{GDBN} encodes the
10267 expression into an agent expression (@pxref{Agent Expressions})
10268 suitable for execution on the target, independently of @value{GDBN}.
10269 Global variables become raw memory locations, locals become stack
10270 accesses, and so forth.
10271
10272 For instance, suppose you have a function that is usually called
10273 frequently, but should not be called after an error has occurred. You
10274 could use the following tracepoint command to collect data about calls
10275 of that function that happen while the error code is propagating
10276 through the program; an unconditional tracepoint could end up
10277 collecting thousands of useless trace frames that you would have to
10278 search through.
10279
10280 @smallexample
10281 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{trace normal_operation if errcode > 0}
10282 @end smallexample
10283
10284 @node Trace State Variables
10285 @subsection Trace State Variables
10286 @cindex trace state variables
10287
10288 A @dfn{trace state variable} is a special type of variable that is
10289 created and managed by target-side code. The syntax is the same as
10290 that for GDB's convenience variables (a string prefixed with ``$''),
10291 but they are stored on the target. They must be created explicitly,
10292 using a @code{tvariable} command. They are always 64-bit signed
10293 integers.
10294
10295 Trace state variables are remembered by @value{GDBN}, and downloaded
10296 to the target along with tracepoint information when the trace
10297 experiment starts. There are no intrinsic limits on the number of
10298 trace state variables, beyond memory limitations of the target.
10299
10300 @cindex convenience variables, and trace state variables
10301 Although trace state variables are managed by the target, you can use
10302 them in print commands and expressions as if they were convenience
10303 variables; @value{GDBN} will get the current value from the target
10304 while the trace experiment is running. Trace state variables share
10305 the same namespace as other ``$'' variables, which means that you
10306 cannot have trace state variables with names like @code{$23} or
10307 @code{$pc}, nor can you have a trace state variable and a convenience
10308 variable with the same name.
10309
10310 @table @code
10311
10312 @item tvariable $@var{name} [ = @var{expression} ]
10313 @kindex tvariable
10314 The @code{tvariable} command creates a new trace state variable named
10315 @code{$@var{name}}, and optionally gives it an initial value of
10316 @var{expression}. @var{expression} is evaluated when this command is
10317 entered; the result will be converted to an integer if possible,
10318 otherwise @value{GDBN} will report an error. A subsequent
10319 @code{tvariable} command specifying the same name does not create a
10320 variable, but instead assigns the supplied initial value to the
10321 existing variable of that name, overwriting any previous initial
10322 value. The default initial value is 0.
10323
10324 @item info tvariables
10325 @kindex info tvariables
10326 List all the trace state variables along with their initial values.
10327 Their current values may also be displayed, if the trace experiment is
10328 currently running.
10329
10330 @item delete tvariable @r{[} $@var{name} @dots{} @r{]}
10331 @kindex delete tvariable
10332 Delete the given trace state variables, or all of them if no arguments
10333 are specified.
10334
10335 @end table
10336
10337 @node Tracepoint Actions
10338 @subsection Tracepoint Action Lists
10339
10340 @table @code
10341 @kindex actions
10342 @cindex tracepoint actions
10343 @item actions @r{[}@var{num}@r{]}
10344 This command will prompt for a list of actions to be taken when the
10345 tracepoint is hit. If the tracepoint number @var{num} is not
10346 specified, this command sets the actions for the one that was most
10347 recently defined (so that you can define a tracepoint and then say
10348 @code{actions} without bothering about its number). You specify the
10349 actions themselves on the following lines, one action at a time, and
10350 terminate the actions list with a line containing just @code{end}. So
10351 far, the only defined actions are @code{collect}, @code{teval}, and
10352 @code{while-stepping}.
10353
10354 @code{actions} is actually equivalent to @code{commands} (@pxref{Break
10355 Commands, ,Breakpoint Command Lists}), except that only the defined
10356 actions are allowed; any other @value{GDBN} command is rejected.
10357
10358 @cindex remove actions from a tracepoint
10359 To remove all actions from a tracepoint, type @samp{actions @var{num}}
10360 and follow it immediately with @samp{end}.
10361
10362 @smallexample
10363 (@value{GDBP}) @b{collect @var{data}} // collect some data
10364
10365 (@value{GDBP}) @b{while-stepping 5} // single-step 5 times, collect data
10366
10367 (@value{GDBP}) @b{end} // signals the end of actions.
10368 @end smallexample
10369
10370 In the following example, the action list begins with @code{collect}
10371 commands indicating the things to be collected when the tracepoint is
10372 hit. Then, in order to single-step and collect additional data
10373 following the tracepoint, a @code{while-stepping} command is used,
10374 followed by the list of things to be collected after each step in a
10375 sequence of single steps. The @code{while-stepping} command is
10376 terminated by its own separate @code{end} command. Lastly, the action
10377 list is terminated by an @code{end} command.
10378
10379 @smallexample
10380 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace foo}
10381 (@value{GDBP}) @b{actions}
10382 Enter actions for tracepoint 1, one per line:
10383 > collect bar,baz
10384 > collect $regs
10385 > while-stepping 12
10386 > collect $pc, arr[i]
10387 > end
10388 end
10389 @end smallexample
10390
10391 @kindex collect @r{(tracepoints)}
10392 @item collect @var{expr1}, @var{expr2}, @dots{}
10393 Collect values of the given expressions when the tracepoint is hit.
10394 This command accepts a comma-separated list of any valid expressions.
10395 In addition to global, static, or local variables, the following
10396 special arguments are supported:
10397
10398 @table @code
10399 @item $regs
10400 Collect all registers.
10401
10402 @item $args
10403 Collect all function arguments.
10404
10405 @item $locals
10406 Collect all local variables.
10407
10408 @item $_ret
10409 Collect the return address. This is helpful if you want to see more
10410 of a backtrace.
10411
10412 @item $_sdata
10413 @vindex $_sdata@r{, collect}
10414 Collect static tracepoint marker specific data. Only available for
10415 static tracepoints. @xref{Tracepoint Actions,,Tracepoint Action
10416 Lists}. On the UST static tracepoints library backend, an
10417 instrumentation point resembles a @code{printf} function call. The
10418 tracing library is able to collect user specified data formatted to a
10419 character string using the format provided by the programmer that
10420 instrumented the program. Other backends have similar mechanisms.
10421 Here's an example of a UST marker call:
10422
10423 @smallexample
10424 const char master_name[] = "$your_name";
10425 trace_mark(channel1, marker1, "hello %s", master_name)
10426 @end smallexample
10427
10428 In this case, collecting @code{$_sdata} collects the string
10429 @samp{hello $yourname}. When analyzing the trace buffer, you can
10430 inspect @samp{$_sdata} like any other variable available to
10431 @value{GDBN}.
10432 @end table
10433
10434 You can give several consecutive @code{collect} commands, each one
10435 with a single argument, or one @code{collect} command with several
10436 arguments separated by commas; the effect is the same.
10437
10438 The command @code{info scope} (@pxref{Symbols, info scope}) is
10439 particularly useful for figuring out what data to collect.
10440
10441 @kindex teval @r{(tracepoints)}
10442 @item teval @var{expr1}, @var{expr2}, @dots{}
10443 Evaluate the given expressions when the tracepoint is hit. This
10444 command accepts a comma-separated list of expressions. The results
10445 are discarded, so this is mainly useful for assigning values to trace
10446 state variables (@pxref{Trace State Variables}) without adding those
10447 values to the trace buffer, as would be the case if the @code{collect}
10448 action were used.
10449
10450 @kindex while-stepping @r{(tracepoints)}
10451 @item while-stepping @var{n}
10452 Perform @var{n} single-step instruction traces after the tracepoint,
10453 collecting new data after each step. The @code{while-stepping}
10454 command is followed by the list of what to collect while stepping
10455 (followed by its own @code{end} command):
10456
10457 @smallexample
10458 > while-stepping 12
10459 > collect $regs, myglobal
10460 > end
10461 >
10462 @end smallexample
10463
10464 @noindent
10465 Note that @code{$pc} is not automatically collected by
10466 @code{while-stepping}; you need to explicitly collect that register if
10467 you need it. You may abbreviate @code{while-stepping} as @code{ws} or
10468 @code{stepping}.
10469
10470 @item set default-collect @var{expr1}, @var{expr2}, @dots{}
10471 @kindex set default-collect
10472 @cindex default collection action
10473 This variable is a list of expressions to collect at each tracepoint
10474 hit. It is effectively an additional @code{collect} action prepended
10475 to every tracepoint action list. The expressions are parsed
10476 individually for each tracepoint, so for instance a variable named
10477 @code{xyz} may be interpreted as a global for one tracepoint, and a
10478 local for another, as appropriate to the tracepoint's location.
10479
10480 @item show default-collect
10481 @kindex show default-collect
10482 Show the list of expressions that are collected by default at each
10483 tracepoint hit.
10484
10485 @end table
10486
10487 @node Listing Tracepoints
10488 @subsection Listing Tracepoints
10489
10490 @table @code
10491 @kindex info tracepoints @r{[}@var{n}@dots{}@r{]}
10492 @kindex info tp @r{[}@var{n}@dots{}@r{]}
10493 @cindex information about tracepoints
10494 @item info tracepoints @r{[}@var{num}@dots{}@r{]}
10495 Display information about the tracepoint @var{num}. If you don't
10496 specify a tracepoint number, displays information about all the
10497 tracepoints defined so far. The format is similar to that used for
10498 @code{info breakpoints}; in fact, @code{info tracepoints} is the same
10499 command, simply restricting itself to tracepoints.
10500
10501 A tracepoint's listing may include additional information specific to
10502 tracing:
10503
10504 @itemize @bullet
10505 @item
10506 its passcount as given by the @code{passcount @var{n}} command
10507 @end itemize
10508
10509 @smallexample
10510 (@value{GDBP}) @b{info trace}
10511 Num Type Disp Enb Address What
10512 1 tracepoint keep y 0x0804ab57 in foo() at main.cxx:7
10513 while-stepping 20
10514 collect globfoo, $regs
10515 end
10516 collect globfoo2
10517 end
10518 pass count 1200
10519 (@value{GDBP})
10520 @end smallexample
10521
10522 @noindent
10523 This command can be abbreviated @code{info tp}.
10524 @end table
10525
10526 @node Listing Static Tracepoint Markers
10527 @subsection Listing Static Tracepoint Markers
10528
10529 @table @code
10530 @kindex info static-tracepoint-markers
10531 @cindex information about static tracepoint markers
10532 @item info static-tracepoint-markers
10533 Display information about all static tracepoint markers defined in the
10534 program.
10535
10536 For each marker, the following columns are printed:
10537
10538 @table @emph
10539 @item Count
10540 An incrementing counter, output to help readability. This is not a
10541 stable identifier.
10542 @item ID
10543 The marker ID, as reported by the target.
10544 @item Enabled or Disabled
10545 Probed markers are tagged with @samp{y}. @samp{n} identifies marks
10546 that are not enabled.
10547 @item Address
10548 Where the marker is in your program, as a memory address.
10549 @item What
10550 Where the marker is in the source for your program, as a file and line
10551 number. If the debug information included in the program does not
10552 allow @value{GDBN} to locate the source of the marker, this column
10553 will be left blank.
10554 @end table
10555
10556 @noindent
10557 In addition, the following information may be printed for each marker:
10558
10559 @table @emph
10560 @item Data
10561 User data passed to the tracing library by the marker call. In the
10562 UST backend, this is the format string passed as argument to the
10563 marker call.
10564 @item Static tracepoints probing the marker
10565 The list of static tracepoints attached to the marker.
10566 @end table
10567
10568 @smallexample
10569 (@value{GDBP}) info static-tracepoint-markers
10570 Cnt ID Enb Address What
10571 1 ust/bar2 y 0x0000000000400e1a in main at stexample.c:25
10572 Data: number1 %d number2 %d
10573 Probed by static tracepoints: #2
10574 2 ust/bar33 n 0x0000000000400c87 in main at stexample.c:24
10575 Data: str %s
10576 (@value{GDBP})
10577 @end smallexample
10578 @end table
10579
10580 @node Starting and Stopping Trace Experiments
10581 @subsection Starting and Stopping Trace Experiments
10582
10583 @table @code
10584 @kindex tstart
10585 @cindex start a new trace experiment
10586 @cindex collected data discarded
10587 @item tstart
10588 This command takes no arguments. It starts the trace experiment, and
10589 begins collecting data. This has the side effect of discarding all
10590 the data collected in the trace buffer during the previous trace
10591 experiment.
10592
10593 @kindex tstop
10594 @cindex stop a running trace experiment
10595 @item tstop
10596 This command takes no arguments. It ends the trace experiment, and
10597 stops collecting data.
10598
10599 @strong{Note}: a trace experiment and data collection may stop
10600 automatically if any tracepoint's passcount is reached
10601 (@pxref{Tracepoint Passcounts}), or if the trace buffer becomes full.
10602
10603 @kindex tstatus
10604 @cindex status of trace data collection
10605 @cindex trace experiment, status of
10606 @item tstatus
10607 This command displays the status of the current trace data
10608 collection.
10609 @end table
10610
10611 Here is an example of the commands we described so far:
10612
10613 @smallexample
10614 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace gdb_c_test}
10615 (@value{GDBP}) @b{actions}
10616 Enter actions for tracepoint #1, one per line.
10617 > collect $regs,$locals,$args
10618 > while-stepping 11
10619 > collect $regs
10620 > end
10621 > end
10622 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tstart}
10623 [time passes @dots{}]
10624 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tstop}
10625 @end smallexample
10626
10627 @anchor{disconnected tracing}
10628 @cindex disconnected tracing
10629 You can choose to continue running the trace experiment even if
10630 @value{GDBN} disconnects from the target, voluntarily or
10631 involuntarily. For commands such as @code{detach}, the debugger will
10632 ask what you want to do with the trace. But for unexpected
10633 terminations (@value{GDBN} crash, network outage), it would be
10634 unfortunate to lose hard-won trace data, so the variable
10635 @code{disconnected-tracing} lets you decide whether the trace should
10636 continue running without @value{GDBN}.
10637
10638 @table @code
10639 @item set disconnected-tracing on
10640 @itemx set disconnected-tracing off
10641 @kindex set disconnected-tracing
10642 Choose whether a tracing run should continue to run if @value{GDBN}
10643 has disconnected from the target. Note that @code{detach} or
10644 @code{quit} will ask you directly what to do about a running trace no
10645 matter what this variable's setting, so the variable is mainly useful
10646 for handling unexpected situations, such as loss of the network.
10647
10648 @item show disconnected-tracing
10649 @kindex show disconnected-tracing
10650 Show the current choice for disconnected tracing.
10651
10652 @end table
10653
10654 When you reconnect to the target, the trace experiment may or may not
10655 still be running; it might have filled the trace buffer in the
10656 meantime, or stopped for one of the other reasons. If it is running,
10657 it will continue after reconnection.
10658
10659 Upon reconnection, the target will upload information about the
10660 tracepoints in effect. @value{GDBN} will then compare that
10661 information to the set of tracepoints currently defined, and attempt
10662 to match them up, allowing for the possibility that the numbers may
10663 have changed due to creation and deletion in the meantime. If one of
10664 the target's tracepoints does not match any in @value{GDBN}, the
10665 debugger will create a new tracepoint, so that you have a number with
10666 which to specify that tracepoint. This matching-up process is
10667 necessarily heuristic, and it may result in useless tracepoints being
10668 created; you may simply delete them if they are of no use.
10669
10670 @cindex circular trace buffer
10671 If your target agent supports a @dfn{circular trace buffer}, then you
10672 can run a trace experiment indefinitely without filling the trace
10673 buffer; when space runs out, the agent deletes already-collected trace
10674 frames, oldest first, until there is enough room to continue
10675 collecting. This is especially useful if your tracepoints are being
10676 hit too often, and your trace gets terminated prematurely because the
10677 buffer is full. To ask for a circular trace buffer, simply set
10678 @samp{circular-trace-buffer} to on. You can set this at any time,
10679 including during tracing; if the agent can do it, it will change
10680 buffer handling on the fly, otherwise it will not take effect until
10681 the next run.
10682
10683 @table @code
10684 @item set circular-trace-buffer on
10685 @itemx set circular-trace-buffer off
10686 @kindex set circular-trace-buffer
10687 Choose whether a tracing run should use a linear or circular buffer
10688 for trace data. A linear buffer will not lose any trace data, but may
10689 fill up prematurely, while a circular buffer will discard old trace
10690 data, but it will have always room for the latest tracepoint hits.
10691
10692 @item show circular-trace-buffer
10693 @kindex show circular-trace-buffer
10694 Show the current choice for the trace buffer. Note that this may not
10695 match the agent's current buffer handling, nor is it guaranteed to
10696 match the setting that might have been in effect during a past run,
10697 for instance if you are looking at frames from a trace file.
10698
10699 @end table
10700
10701 @node Tracepoint Restrictions
10702 @subsection Tracepoint Restrictions
10703
10704 @cindex tracepoint restrictions
10705 There are a number of restrictions on the use of tracepoints. As
10706 described above, tracepoint data gathering occurs on the target
10707 without interaction from @value{GDBN}. Thus the full capabilities of
10708 the debugger are not available during data gathering, and then at data
10709 examination time, you will be limited by only having what was
10710 collected. The following items describe some common problems, but it
10711 is not exhaustive, and you may run into additional difficulties not
10712 mentioned here.
10713
10714 @itemize @bullet
10715
10716 @item
10717 Tracepoint expressions are intended to gather objects (lvalues). Thus
10718 the full flexibility of GDB's expression evaluator is not available.
10719 You cannot call functions, cast objects to aggregate types, access
10720 convenience variables or modify values (except by assignment to trace
10721 state variables). Some language features may implicitly call
10722 functions (for instance Objective-C fields with accessors), and therefore
10723 cannot be collected either.
10724
10725 @item
10726 Collection of local variables, either individually or in bulk with
10727 @code{$locals} or @code{$args}, during @code{while-stepping} may
10728 behave erratically. The stepping action may enter a new scope (for
10729 instance by stepping into a function), or the location of the variable
10730 may change (for instance it is loaded into a register). The
10731 tracepoint data recorded uses the location information for the
10732 variables that is correct for the tracepoint location. When the
10733 tracepoint is created, it is not possible, in general, to determine
10734 where the steps of a @code{while-stepping} sequence will advance the
10735 program---particularly if a conditional branch is stepped.
10736
10737 @item
10738 Collection of an incompletely-initialized or partially-destroyed object
10739 may result in something that @value{GDBN} cannot display, or displays
10740 in a misleading way.
10741
10742 @item
10743 When @value{GDBN} displays a pointer to character it automatically
10744 dereferences the pointer to also display characters of the string
10745 being pointed to. However, collecting the pointer during tracing does
10746 not automatically collect the string. You need to explicitly
10747 dereference the pointer and provide size information if you want to
10748 collect not only the pointer, but the memory pointed to. For example,
10749 @code{*ptr@@50} can be used to collect the 50 element array pointed to
10750 by @code{ptr}.
10751
10752 @item
10753 It is not possible to collect a complete stack backtrace at a
10754 tracepoint. Instead, you may collect the registers and a few hundred
10755 bytes from the stack pointer with something like @code{*(unsigned char *)$esp@@300}
10756 (adjust to use the name of the actual stack pointer register on your
10757 target architecture, and the amount of stack you wish to capture).
10758 Then the @code{backtrace} command will show a partial backtrace when
10759 using a trace frame. The number of stack frames that can be examined
10760 depends on the sizes of the frames in the collected stack. Note that
10761 if you ask for a block so large that it goes past the bottom of the
10762 stack, the target agent may report an error trying to read from an
10763 invalid address.
10764
10765 @item
10766 If you do not collect registers at a tracepoint, @value{GDBN} can
10767 infer that the value of @code{$pc} must be the same as the address of
10768 the tracepoint and use that when you are looking at a trace frame
10769 for that tracepoint. However, this cannot work if the tracepoint has
10770 multiple locations (for instance if it was set in a function that was
10771 inlined), or if it has a @code{while-stepping} loop. In those cases
10772 @value{GDBN} will warn you that it can't infer @code{$pc}, and default
10773 it to zero.
10774
10775 @end itemize
10776
10777 @node Analyze Collected Data
10778 @section Using the Collected Data
10779
10780 After the tracepoint experiment ends, you use @value{GDBN} commands
10781 for examining the trace data. The basic idea is that each tracepoint
10782 collects a trace @dfn{snapshot} every time it is hit and another
10783 snapshot every time it single-steps. All these snapshots are
10784 consecutively numbered from zero and go into a buffer, and you can
10785 examine them later. The way you examine them is to @dfn{focus} on a
10786 specific trace snapshot. When the remote stub is focused on a trace
10787 snapshot, it will respond to all @value{GDBN} requests for memory and
10788 registers by reading from the buffer which belongs to that snapshot,
10789 rather than from @emph{real} memory or registers of the program being
10790 debugged. This means that @strong{all} @value{GDBN} commands
10791 (@code{print}, @code{info registers}, @code{backtrace}, etc.) will
10792 behave as if we were currently debugging the program state as it was
10793 when the tracepoint occurred. Any requests for data that are not in
10794 the buffer will fail.
10795
10796 @menu
10797 * tfind:: How to select a trace snapshot
10798 * tdump:: How to display all data for a snapshot
10799 * save tracepoints:: How to save tracepoints for a future run
10800 @end menu
10801
10802 @node tfind
10803 @subsection @code{tfind @var{n}}
10804
10805 @kindex tfind
10806 @cindex select trace snapshot
10807 @cindex find trace snapshot
10808 The basic command for selecting a trace snapshot from the buffer is
10809 @code{tfind @var{n}}, which finds trace snapshot number @var{n},
10810 counting from zero. If no argument @var{n} is given, the next
10811 snapshot is selected.
10812
10813 Here are the various forms of using the @code{tfind} command.
10814
10815 @table @code
10816 @item tfind start
10817 Find the first snapshot in the buffer. This is a synonym for
10818 @code{tfind 0} (since 0 is the number of the first snapshot).
10819
10820 @item tfind none
10821 Stop debugging trace snapshots, resume @emph{live} debugging.
10822
10823 @item tfind end
10824 Same as @samp{tfind none}.
10825
10826 @item tfind
10827 No argument means find the next trace snapshot.
10828
10829 @item tfind -
10830 Find the previous trace snapshot before the current one. This permits
10831 retracing earlier steps.
10832
10833 @item tfind tracepoint @var{num}
10834 Find the next snapshot associated with tracepoint @var{num}. Search
10835 proceeds forward from the last examined trace snapshot. If no
10836 argument @var{num} is given, it means find the next snapshot collected
10837 for the same tracepoint as the current snapshot.
10838
10839 @item tfind pc @var{addr}
10840 Find the next snapshot associated with the value @var{addr} of the
10841 program counter. Search proceeds forward from the last examined trace
10842 snapshot. If no argument @var{addr} is given, it means find the next
10843 snapshot with the same value of PC as the current snapshot.
10844
10845 @item tfind outside @var{addr1}, @var{addr2}
10846 Find the next snapshot whose PC is outside the given range of
10847 addresses (exclusive).
10848
10849 @item tfind range @var{addr1}, @var{addr2}
10850 Find the next snapshot whose PC is between @var{addr1} and
10851 @var{addr2} (inclusive).
10852
10853 @item tfind line @r{[}@var{file}:@r{]}@var{n}
10854 Find the next snapshot associated with the source line @var{n}. If
10855 the optional argument @var{file} is given, refer to line @var{n} in
10856 that source file. Search proceeds forward from the last examined
10857 trace snapshot. If no argument @var{n} is given, it means find the
10858 next line other than the one currently being examined; thus saying
10859 @code{tfind line} repeatedly can appear to have the same effect as
10860 stepping from line to line in a @emph{live} debugging session.
10861 @end table
10862
10863 The default arguments for the @code{tfind} commands are specifically
10864 designed to make it easy to scan through the trace buffer. For
10865 instance, @code{tfind} with no argument selects the next trace
10866 snapshot, and @code{tfind -} with no argument selects the previous
10867 trace snapshot. So, by giving one @code{tfind} command, and then
10868 simply hitting @key{RET} repeatedly you can examine all the trace
10869 snapshots in order. Or, by saying @code{tfind -} and then hitting
10870 @key{RET} repeatedly you can examine the snapshots in reverse order.
10871 The @code{tfind line} command with no argument selects the snapshot
10872 for the next source line executed. The @code{tfind pc} command with
10873 no argument selects the next snapshot with the same program counter
10874 (PC) as the current frame. The @code{tfind tracepoint} command with
10875 no argument selects the next trace snapshot collected by the same
10876 tracepoint as the current one.
10877
10878 In addition to letting you scan through the trace buffer manually,
10879 these commands make it easy to construct @value{GDBN} scripts that
10880 scan through the trace buffer and print out whatever collected data
10881 you are interested in. Thus, if we want to examine the PC, FP, and SP
10882 registers from each trace frame in the buffer, we can say this:
10883
10884 @smallexample
10885 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tfind start}
10886 (@value{GDBP}) @b{while ($trace_frame != -1)}
10887 > printf "Frame %d, PC = %08X, SP = %08X, FP = %08X\n", \
10888 $trace_frame, $pc, $sp, $fp
10889 > tfind
10890 > end
10891
10892 Frame 0, PC = 0020DC64, SP = 0030BF3C, FP = 0030BF44
10893 Frame 1, PC = 0020DC6C, SP = 0030BF38, FP = 0030BF44
10894 Frame 2, PC = 0020DC70, SP = 0030BF34, FP = 0030BF44
10895 Frame 3, PC = 0020DC74, SP = 0030BF30, FP = 0030BF44
10896 Frame 4, PC = 0020DC78, SP = 0030BF2C, FP = 0030BF44
10897 Frame 5, PC = 0020DC7C, SP = 0030BF28, FP = 0030BF44
10898 Frame 6, PC = 0020DC80, SP = 0030BF24, FP = 0030BF44
10899 Frame 7, PC = 0020DC84, SP = 0030BF20, FP = 0030BF44
10900 Frame 8, PC = 0020DC88, SP = 0030BF1C, FP = 0030BF44
10901 Frame 9, PC = 0020DC8E, SP = 0030BF18, FP = 0030BF44
10902 Frame 10, PC = 00203F6C, SP = 0030BE3C, FP = 0030BF14
10903 @end smallexample
10904
10905 Or, if we want to examine the variable @code{X} at each source line in
10906 the buffer:
10907
10908 @smallexample
10909 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tfind start}
10910 (@value{GDBP}) @b{while ($trace_frame != -1)}
10911 > printf "Frame %d, X == %d\n", $trace_frame, X
10912 > tfind line
10913 > end
10914
10915 Frame 0, X = 1
10916 Frame 7, X = 2
10917 Frame 13, X = 255
10918 @end smallexample
10919
10920 @node tdump
10921 @subsection @code{tdump}
10922 @kindex tdump
10923 @cindex dump all data collected at tracepoint
10924 @cindex tracepoint data, display
10925
10926 This command takes no arguments. It prints all the data collected at
10927 the current trace snapshot.
10928
10929 @smallexample
10930 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace 444}
10931 (@value{GDBP}) @b{actions}
10932 Enter actions for tracepoint #2, one per line:
10933 > collect $regs, $locals, $args, gdb_long_test
10934 > end
10935
10936 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tstart}
10937
10938 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tfind line 444}
10939 #0 gdb_test (p1=0x11, p2=0x22, p3=0x33, p4=0x44, p5=0x55, p6=0x66)
10940 at gdb_test.c:444
10941 444 printp( "%s: arguments = 0x%X 0x%X 0x%X 0x%X 0x%X 0x%X\n", )
10942
10943 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tdump}
10944 Data collected at tracepoint 2, trace frame 1:
10945 d0 0xc4aa0085 -995491707
10946 d1 0x18 24
10947 d2 0x80 128
10948 d3 0x33 51
10949 d4 0x71aea3d 119204413
10950 d5 0x22 34
10951 d6 0xe0 224
10952 d7 0x380035 3670069
10953 a0 0x19e24a 1696330
10954 a1 0x3000668 50333288
10955 a2 0x100 256
10956 a3 0x322000 3284992
10957 a4 0x3000698 50333336
10958 a5 0x1ad3cc 1758156
10959 fp 0x30bf3c 0x30bf3c
10960 sp 0x30bf34 0x30bf34
10961 ps 0x0 0
10962 pc 0x20b2c8 0x20b2c8
10963 fpcontrol 0x0 0
10964 fpstatus 0x0 0
10965 fpiaddr 0x0 0
10966 p = 0x20e5b4 "gdb-test"
10967 p1 = (void *) 0x11
10968 p2 = (void *) 0x22
10969 p3 = (void *) 0x33
10970 p4 = (void *) 0x44
10971 p5 = (void *) 0x55
10972 p6 = (void *) 0x66
10973 gdb_long_test = 17 '\021'
10974
10975 (@value{GDBP})
10976 @end smallexample
10977
10978 @code{tdump} works by scanning the tracepoint's current collection
10979 actions and printing the value of each expression listed. So
10980 @code{tdump} can fail, if after a run, you change the tracepoint's
10981 actions to mention variables that were not collected during the run.
10982
10983 Also, for tracepoints with @code{while-stepping} loops, @code{tdump}
10984 uses the collected value of @code{$pc} to distinguish between trace
10985 frames that were collected at the tracepoint hit, and frames that were
10986 collected while stepping. This allows it to correctly choose whether
10987 to display the basic list of collections, or the collections from the
10988 body of the while-stepping loop. However, if @code{$pc} was not collected,
10989 then @code{tdump} will always attempt to dump using the basic collection
10990 list, and may fail if a while-stepping frame does not include all the
10991 same data that is collected at the tracepoint hit.
10992 @c This is getting pretty arcane, example would be good.
10993
10994 @node save tracepoints
10995 @subsection @code{save tracepoints @var{filename}}
10996 @kindex save tracepoints
10997 @kindex save-tracepoints
10998 @cindex save tracepoints for future sessions
10999
11000 This command saves all current tracepoint definitions together with
11001 their actions and passcounts, into a file @file{@var{filename}}
11002 suitable for use in a later debugging session. To read the saved
11003 tracepoint definitions, use the @code{source} command (@pxref{Command
11004 Files}). The @w{@code{save-tracepoints}} command is a deprecated
11005 alias for @w{@code{save tracepoints}}
11006
11007 @node Tracepoint Variables
11008 @section Convenience Variables for Tracepoints
11009 @cindex tracepoint variables
11010 @cindex convenience variables for tracepoints
11011
11012 @table @code
11013 @vindex $trace_frame
11014 @item (int) $trace_frame
11015 The current trace snapshot (a.k.a.@: @dfn{frame}) number, or -1 if no
11016 snapshot is selected.
11017
11018 @vindex $tracepoint
11019 @item (int) $tracepoint
11020 The tracepoint for the current trace snapshot.
11021
11022 @vindex $trace_line
11023 @item (int) $trace_line
11024 The line number for the current trace snapshot.
11025
11026 @vindex $trace_file
11027 @item (char []) $trace_file
11028 The source file for the current trace snapshot.
11029
11030 @vindex $trace_func
11031 @item (char []) $trace_func
11032 The name of the function containing @code{$tracepoint}.
11033 @end table
11034
11035 Note: @code{$trace_file} is not suitable for use in @code{printf},
11036 use @code{output} instead.
11037
11038 Here's a simple example of using these convenience variables for
11039 stepping through all the trace snapshots and printing some of their
11040 data. Note that these are not the same as trace state variables,
11041 which are managed by the target.
11042
11043 @smallexample
11044 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tfind start}
11045
11046 (@value{GDBP}) @b{while $trace_frame != -1}
11047 > output $trace_file
11048 > printf ", line %d (tracepoint #%d)\n", $trace_line, $tracepoint
11049 > tfind
11050 > end
11051 @end smallexample
11052
11053 @node Trace Files
11054 @section Using Trace Files
11055 @cindex trace files
11056
11057 In some situations, the target running a trace experiment may no
11058 longer be available; perhaps it crashed, or the hardware was needed
11059 for a different activity. To handle these cases, you can arrange to
11060 dump the trace data into a file, and later use that file as a source
11061 of trace data, via the @code{target tfile} command.
11062
11063 @table @code
11064
11065 @kindex tsave
11066 @item tsave [ -r ] @var{filename}
11067 Save the trace data to @var{filename}. By default, this command
11068 assumes that @var{filename} refers to the host filesystem, so if
11069 necessary @value{GDBN} will copy raw trace data up from the target and
11070 then save it. If the target supports it, you can also supply the
11071 optional argument @code{-r} (``remote'') to direct the target to save
11072 the data directly into @var{filename} in its own filesystem, which may be
11073 more efficient if the trace buffer is very large. (Note, however, that
11074 @code{target tfile} can only read from files accessible to the host.)
11075
11076 @kindex target tfile
11077 @kindex tfile
11078 @item target tfile @var{filename}
11079 Use the file named @var{filename} as a source of trace data. Commands
11080 that examine data work as they do with a live target, but it is not
11081 possible to run any new trace experiments. @code{tstatus} will report
11082 the state of the trace run at the moment the data was saved, as well
11083 as the current trace frame you are examining. @var{filename} must be
11084 on a filesystem accessible to the host.
11085
11086 @end table
11087
11088 @node Overlays
11089 @chapter Debugging Programs That Use Overlays
11090 @cindex overlays
11091
11092 If your program is too large to fit completely in your target system's
11093 memory, you can sometimes use @dfn{overlays} to work around this
11094 problem. @value{GDBN} provides some support for debugging programs that
11095 use overlays.
11096
11097 @menu
11098 * How Overlays Work:: A general explanation of overlays.
11099 * Overlay Commands:: Managing overlays in @value{GDBN}.
11100 * Automatic Overlay Debugging:: @value{GDBN} can find out which overlays are
11101 mapped by asking the inferior.
11102 * Overlay Sample Program:: A sample program using overlays.
11103 @end menu
11104
11105 @node How Overlays Work
11106 @section How Overlays Work
11107 @cindex mapped overlays
11108 @cindex unmapped overlays
11109 @cindex load address, overlay's
11110 @cindex mapped address
11111 @cindex overlay area
11112
11113 Suppose you have a computer whose instruction address space is only 64
11114 kilobytes long, but which has much more memory which can be accessed by
11115 other means: special instructions, segment registers, or memory
11116 management hardware, for example. Suppose further that you want to
11117 adapt a program which is larger than 64 kilobytes to run on this system.
11118
11119 One solution is to identify modules of your program which are relatively
11120 independent, and need not call each other directly; call these modules
11121 @dfn{overlays}. Separate the overlays from the main program, and place
11122 their machine code in the larger memory. Place your main program in
11123 instruction memory, but leave at least enough space there to hold the
11124 largest overlay as well.
11125
11126 Now, to call a function located in an overlay, you must first copy that
11127 overlay's machine code from the large memory into the space set aside
11128 for it in the instruction memory, and then jump to its entry point
11129 there.
11130
11131 @c NB: In the below the mapped area's size is greater or equal to the
11132 @c size of all overlays. This is intentional to remind the developer
11133 @c that overlays don't necessarily need to be the same size.
11134
11135 @smallexample
11136 @group
11137 Data Instruction Larger
11138 Address Space Address Space Address Space
11139 +-----------+ +-----------+ +-----------+
11140 | | | | | |
11141 +-----------+ +-----------+ +-----------+<-- overlay 1
11142 | program | | main | .----| overlay 1 | load address
11143 | variables | | program | | +-----------+
11144 | and heap | | | | | |
11145 +-----------+ | | | +-----------+<-- overlay 2
11146 | | +-----------+ | | | load address
11147 +-----------+ | | | .-| overlay 2 |
11148 | | | | | |
11149 mapped --->+-----------+ | | +-----------+
11150 address | | | | | |
11151 | overlay | <-' | | |
11152 | area | <---' +-----------+<-- overlay 3
11153 | | <---. | | load address
11154 +-----------+ `--| overlay 3 |
11155 | | | |
11156 +-----------+ | |
11157 +-----------+
11158 | |
11159 +-----------+
11160
11161 @anchor{A code overlay}A code overlay
11162 @end group
11163 @end smallexample
11164
11165 The diagram (@pxref{A code overlay}) shows a system with separate data
11166 and instruction address spaces. To map an overlay, the program copies
11167 its code from the larger address space to the instruction address space.
11168 Since the overlays shown here all use the same mapped address, only one
11169 may be mapped at a time. For a system with a single address space for
11170 data and instructions, the diagram would be similar, except that the
11171 program variables and heap would share an address space with the main
11172 program and the overlay area.
11173
11174 An overlay loaded into instruction memory and ready for use is called a
11175 @dfn{mapped} overlay; its @dfn{mapped address} is its address in the
11176 instruction memory. An overlay not present (or only partially present)
11177 in instruction memory is called @dfn{unmapped}; its @dfn{load address}
11178 is its address in the larger memory. The mapped address is also called
11179 the @dfn{virtual memory address}, or @dfn{VMA}; the load address is also
11180 called the @dfn{load memory address}, or @dfn{LMA}.
11181
11182 Unfortunately, overlays are not a completely transparent way to adapt a
11183 program to limited instruction memory. They introduce a new set of
11184 global constraints you must keep in mind as you design your program:
11185
11186 @itemize @bullet
11187
11188 @item
11189 Before calling or returning to a function in an overlay, your program
11190 must make sure that overlay is actually mapped. Otherwise, the call or
11191 return will transfer control to the right address, but in the wrong
11192 overlay, and your program will probably crash.
11193
11194 @item
11195 If the process of mapping an overlay is expensive on your system, you
11196 will need to choose your overlays carefully to minimize their effect on
11197 your program's performance.
11198
11199 @item
11200 The executable file you load onto your system must contain each
11201 overlay's instructions, appearing at the overlay's load address, not its
11202 mapped address. However, each overlay's instructions must be relocated
11203 and its symbols defined as if the overlay were at its mapped address.
11204 You can use GNU linker scripts to specify different load and relocation
11205 addresses for pieces of your program; see @ref{Overlay Description,,,
11206 ld.info, Using ld: the GNU linker}.
11207
11208 @item
11209 The procedure for loading executable files onto your system must be able
11210 to load their contents into the larger address space as well as the
11211 instruction and data spaces.
11212
11213 @end itemize
11214
11215 The overlay system described above is rather simple, and could be
11216 improved in many ways:
11217
11218 @itemize @bullet
11219
11220 @item
11221 If your system has suitable bank switch registers or memory management
11222 hardware, you could use those facilities to make an overlay's load area
11223 contents simply appear at their mapped address in instruction space.
11224 This would probably be faster than copying the overlay to its mapped
11225 area in the usual way.
11226
11227 @item
11228 If your overlays are small enough, you could set aside more than one
11229 overlay area, and have more than one overlay mapped at a time.
11230
11231 @item
11232 You can use overlays to manage data, as well as instructions. In
11233 general, data overlays are even less transparent to your design than
11234 code overlays: whereas code overlays only require care when you call or
11235 return to functions, data overlays require care every time you access
11236 the data. Also, if you change the contents of a data overlay, you
11237 must copy its contents back out to its load address before you can copy a
11238 different data overlay into the same mapped area.
11239
11240 @end itemize
11241
11242
11243 @node Overlay Commands
11244 @section Overlay Commands
11245
11246 To use @value{GDBN}'s overlay support, each overlay in your program must
11247 correspond to a separate section of the executable file. The section's
11248 virtual memory address and load memory address must be the overlay's
11249 mapped and load addresses. Identifying overlays with sections allows
11250 @value{GDBN} to determine the appropriate address of a function or
11251 variable, depending on whether the overlay is mapped or not.
11252
11253 @value{GDBN}'s overlay commands all start with the word @code{overlay};
11254 you can abbreviate this as @code{ov} or @code{ovly}. The commands are:
11255
11256 @table @code
11257 @item overlay off
11258 @kindex overlay
11259 Disable @value{GDBN}'s overlay support. When overlay support is
11260 disabled, @value{GDBN} assumes that all functions and variables are
11261 always present at their mapped addresses. By default, @value{GDBN}'s
11262 overlay support is disabled.
11263
11264 @item overlay manual
11265 @cindex manual overlay debugging
11266 Enable @dfn{manual} overlay debugging. In this mode, @value{GDBN}
11267 relies on you to tell it which overlays are mapped, and which are not,
11268 using the @code{overlay map-overlay} and @code{overlay unmap-overlay}
11269 commands described below.
11270
11271 @item overlay map-overlay @var{overlay}
11272 @itemx overlay map @var{overlay}
11273 @cindex map an overlay
11274 Tell @value{GDBN} that @var{overlay} is now mapped; @var{overlay} must
11275 be the name of the object file section containing the overlay. When an
11276 overlay is mapped, @value{GDBN} assumes it can find the overlay's
11277 functions and variables at their mapped addresses. @value{GDBN} assumes
11278 that any other overlays whose mapped ranges overlap that of
11279 @var{overlay} are now unmapped.
11280
11281 @item overlay unmap-overlay @var{overlay}
11282 @itemx overlay unmap @var{overlay}
11283 @cindex unmap an overlay
11284 Tell @value{GDBN} that @var{overlay} is no longer mapped; @var{overlay}
11285 must be the name of the object file section containing the overlay.
11286 When an overlay is unmapped, @value{GDBN} assumes it can find the
11287 overlay's functions and variables at their load addresses.
11288
11289 @item overlay auto
11290 Enable @dfn{automatic} overlay debugging. In this mode, @value{GDBN}
11291 consults a data structure the overlay manager maintains in the inferior
11292 to see which overlays are mapped. For details, see @ref{Automatic
11293 Overlay Debugging}.
11294
11295 @item overlay load-target
11296 @itemx overlay load
11297 @cindex reloading the overlay table
11298 Re-read the overlay table from the inferior. Normally, @value{GDBN}
11299 re-reads the table @value{GDBN} automatically each time the inferior
11300 stops, so this command should only be necessary if you have changed the
11301 overlay mapping yourself using @value{GDBN}. This command is only
11302 useful when using automatic overlay debugging.
11303
11304 @item overlay list-overlays
11305 @itemx overlay list
11306 @cindex listing mapped overlays
11307 Display a list of the overlays currently mapped, along with their mapped
11308 addresses, load addresses, and sizes.
11309
11310 @end table
11311
11312 Normally, when @value{GDBN} prints a code address, it includes the name
11313 of the function the address falls in:
11314
11315 @smallexample
11316 (@value{GDBP}) print main
11317 $3 = @{int ()@} 0x11a0 <main>
11318 @end smallexample
11319 @noindent
11320 When overlay debugging is enabled, @value{GDBN} recognizes code in
11321 unmapped overlays, and prints the names of unmapped functions with
11322 asterisks around them. For example, if @code{foo} is a function in an
11323 unmapped overlay, @value{GDBN} prints it this way:
11324
11325 @smallexample
11326 (@value{GDBP}) overlay list
11327 No sections are mapped.
11328 (@value{GDBP}) print foo
11329 $5 = @{int (int)@} 0x100000 <*foo*>
11330 @end smallexample
11331 @noindent
11332 When @code{foo}'s overlay is mapped, @value{GDBN} prints the function's
11333 name normally:
11334
11335 @smallexample
11336 (@value{GDBP}) overlay list
11337 Section .ov.foo.text, loaded at 0x100000 - 0x100034,
11338 mapped at 0x1016 - 0x104a
11339 (@value{GDBP}) print foo
11340 $6 = @{int (int)@} 0x1016 <foo>
11341 @end smallexample
11342
11343 When overlay debugging is enabled, @value{GDBN} can find the correct
11344 address for functions and variables in an overlay, whether or not the
11345 overlay is mapped. This allows most @value{GDBN} commands, like
11346 @code{break} and @code{disassemble}, to work normally, even on unmapped
11347 code. However, @value{GDBN}'s breakpoint support has some limitations:
11348
11349 @itemize @bullet
11350 @item
11351 @cindex breakpoints in overlays
11352 @cindex overlays, setting breakpoints in
11353 You can set breakpoints in functions in unmapped overlays, as long as
11354 @value{GDBN} can write to the overlay at its load address.
11355 @item
11356 @value{GDBN} can not set hardware or simulator-based breakpoints in
11357 unmapped overlays. However, if you set a breakpoint at the end of your
11358 overlay manager (and tell @value{GDBN} which overlays are now mapped, if
11359 you are using manual overlay management), @value{GDBN} will re-set its
11360 breakpoints properly.
11361 @end itemize
11362
11363
11364 @node Automatic Overlay Debugging
11365 @section Automatic Overlay Debugging
11366 @cindex automatic overlay debugging
11367
11368 @value{GDBN} can automatically track which overlays are mapped and which
11369 are not, given some simple co-operation from the overlay manager in the
11370 inferior. If you enable automatic overlay debugging with the
11371 @code{overlay auto} command (@pxref{Overlay Commands}), @value{GDBN}
11372 looks in the inferior's memory for certain variables describing the
11373 current state of the overlays.
11374
11375 Here are the variables your overlay manager must define to support
11376 @value{GDBN}'s automatic overlay debugging:
11377
11378 @table @asis
11379
11380 @item @code{_ovly_table}:
11381 This variable must be an array of the following structures:
11382
11383 @smallexample
11384 struct
11385 @{
11386 /* The overlay's mapped address. */
11387 unsigned long vma;
11388
11389 /* The size of the overlay, in bytes. */
11390 unsigned long size;
11391
11392 /* The overlay's load address. */
11393 unsigned long lma;
11394
11395 /* Non-zero if the overlay is currently mapped;
11396 zero otherwise. */
11397 unsigned long mapped;
11398 @}
11399 @end smallexample
11400
11401 @item @code{_novlys}:
11402 This variable must be a four-byte signed integer, holding the total
11403 number of elements in @code{_ovly_table}.
11404
11405 @end table
11406
11407 To decide whether a particular overlay is mapped or not, @value{GDBN}
11408 looks for an entry in @w{@code{_ovly_table}} whose @code{vma} and
11409 @code{lma} members equal the VMA and LMA of the overlay's section in the
11410 executable file. When @value{GDBN} finds a matching entry, it consults
11411 the entry's @code{mapped} member to determine whether the overlay is
11412 currently mapped.
11413
11414 In addition, your overlay manager may define a function called
11415 @code{_ovly_debug_event}. If this function is defined, @value{GDBN}
11416 will silently set a breakpoint there. If the overlay manager then
11417 calls this function whenever it has changed the overlay table, this
11418 will enable @value{GDBN} to accurately keep track of which overlays
11419 are in program memory, and update any breakpoints that may be set
11420 in overlays. This will allow breakpoints to work even if the
11421 overlays are kept in ROM or other non-writable memory while they
11422 are not being executed.
11423
11424 @node Overlay Sample Program
11425 @section Overlay Sample Program
11426 @cindex overlay example program
11427
11428 When linking a program which uses overlays, you must place the overlays
11429 at their load addresses, while relocating them to run at their mapped
11430 addresses. To do this, you must write a linker script (@pxref{Overlay
11431 Description,,, ld.info, Using ld: the GNU linker}). Unfortunately,
11432 since linker scripts are specific to a particular host system, target
11433 architecture, and target memory layout, this manual cannot provide
11434 portable sample code demonstrating @value{GDBN}'s overlay support.
11435
11436 However, the @value{GDBN} source distribution does contain an overlaid
11437 program, with linker scripts for a few systems, as part of its test
11438 suite. The program consists of the following files from
11439 @file{gdb/testsuite/gdb.base}:
11440
11441 @table @file
11442 @item overlays.c
11443 The main program file.
11444 @item ovlymgr.c
11445 A simple overlay manager, used by @file{overlays.c}.
11446 @item foo.c
11447 @itemx bar.c
11448 @itemx baz.c
11449 @itemx grbx.c
11450 Overlay modules, loaded and used by @file{overlays.c}.
11451 @item d10v.ld
11452 @itemx m32r.ld
11453 Linker scripts for linking the test program on the @code{d10v-elf}
11454 and @code{m32r-elf} targets.
11455 @end table
11456
11457 You can build the test program using the @code{d10v-elf} GCC
11458 cross-compiler like this:
11459
11460 @smallexample
11461 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c overlays.c
11462 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c ovlymgr.c
11463 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c foo.c
11464 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c bar.c
11465 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c baz.c
11466 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c grbx.c
11467 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g overlays.o ovlymgr.o foo.o bar.o \
11468 baz.o grbx.o -Wl,-Td10v.ld -o overlays
11469 @end smallexample
11470
11471 The build process is identical for any other architecture, except that
11472 you must substitute the appropriate compiler and linker script for the
11473 target system for @code{d10v-elf-gcc} and @code{d10v.ld}.
11474
11475
11476 @node Languages
11477 @chapter Using @value{GDBN} with Different Languages
11478 @cindex languages
11479
11480 Although programming languages generally have common aspects, they are
11481 rarely expressed in the same manner. For instance, in ANSI C,
11482 dereferencing a pointer @code{p} is accomplished by @code{*p}, but in
11483 Modula-2, it is accomplished by @code{p^}. Values can also be
11484 represented (and displayed) differently. Hex numbers in C appear as
11485 @samp{0x1ae}, while in Modula-2 they appear as @samp{1AEH}.
11486
11487 @cindex working language
11488 Language-specific information is built into @value{GDBN} for some languages,
11489 allowing you to express operations like the above in your program's
11490 native language, and allowing @value{GDBN} to output values in a manner
11491 consistent with the syntax of your program's native language. The
11492 language you use to build expressions is called the @dfn{working
11493 language}.
11494
11495 @menu
11496 * Setting:: Switching between source languages
11497 * Show:: Displaying the language
11498 * Checks:: Type and range checks
11499 * Supported Languages:: Supported languages
11500 * Unsupported Languages:: Unsupported languages
11501 @end menu
11502
11503 @node Setting
11504 @section Switching Between Source Languages
11505
11506 There are two ways to control the working language---either have @value{GDBN}
11507 set it automatically, or select it manually yourself. You can use the
11508 @code{set language} command for either purpose. On startup, @value{GDBN}
11509 defaults to setting the language automatically. The working language is
11510 used to determine how expressions you type are interpreted, how values
11511 are printed, etc.
11512
11513 In addition to the working language, every source file that
11514 @value{GDBN} knows about has its own working language. For some object
11515 file formats, the compiler might indicate which language a particular
11516 source file is in. However, most of the time @value{GDBN} infers the
11517 language from the name of the file. The language of a source file
11518 controls whether C@t{++} names are demangled---this way @code{backtrace} can
11519 show each frame appropriately for its own language. There is no way to
11520 set the language of a source file from within @value{GDBN}, but you can
11521 set the language associated with a filename extension. @xref{Show, ,
11522 Displaying the Language}.
11523
11524 This is most commonly a problem when you use a program, such
11525 as @code{cfront} or @code{f2c}, that generates C but is written in
11526 another language. In that case, make the
11527 program use @code{#line} directives in its C output; that way
11528 @value{GDBN} will know the correct language of the source code of the original
11529 program, and will display that source code, not the generated C code.
11530
11531 @menu
11532 * Filenames:: Filename extensions and languages.
11533 * Manually:: Setting the working language manually
11534 * Automatically:: Having @value{GDBN} infer the source language
11535 @end menu
11536
11537 @node Filenames
11538 @subsection List of Filename Extensions and Languages
11539
11540 If a source file name ends in one of the following extensions, then
11541 @value{GDBN} infers that its language is the one indicated.
11542
11543 @table @file
11544 @item .ada
11545 @itemx .ads
11546 @itemx .adb
11547 @itemx .a
11548 Ada source file.
11549
11550 @item .c
11551 C source file
11552
11553 @item .C
11554 @itemx .cc
11555 @itemx .cp
11556 @itemx .cpp
11557 @itemx .cxx
11558 @itemx .c++
11559 C@t{++} source file
11560
11561 @item .d
11562 D source file
11563
11564 @item .m
11565 Objective-C source file
11566
11567 @item .f
11568 @itemx .F
11569 Fortran source file
11570
11571 @item .mod
11572 Modula-2 source file
11573
11574 @item .s
11575 @itemx .S
11576 Assembler source file. This actually behaves almost like C, but
11577 @value{GDBN} does not skip over function prologues when stepping.
11578 @end table
11579
11580 In addition, you may set the language associated with a filename
11581 extension. @xref{Show, , Displaying the Language}.
11582
11583 @node Manually
11584 @subsection Setting the Working Language
11585
11586 If you allow @value{GDBN} to set the language automatically,
11587 expressions are interpreted the same way in your debugging session and
11588 your program.
11589
11590 @kindex set language
11591 If you wish, you may set the language manually. To do this, issue the
11592 command @samp{set language @var{lang}}, where @var{lang} is the name of
11593 a language, such as
11594 @code{c} or @code{modula-2}.
11595 For a list of the supported languages, type @samp{set language}.
11596
11597 Setting the language manually prevents @value{GDBN} from updating the working
11598 language automatically. This can lead to confusion if you try
11599 to debug a program when the working language is not the same as the
11600 source language, when an expression is acceptable to both
11601 languages---but means different things. For instance, if the current
11602 source file were written in C, and @value{GDBN} was parsing Modula-2, a
11603 command such as:
11604
11605 @smallexample
11606 print a = b + c
11607 @end smallexample
11608
11609 @noindent
11610 might not have the effect you intended. In C, this means to add
11611 @code{b} and @code{c} and place the result in @code{a}. The result
11612 printed would be the value of @code{a}. In Modula-2, this means to compare
11613 @code{a} to the result of @code{b+c}, yielding a @code{BOOLEAN} value.
11614
11615 @node Automatically
11616 @subsection Having @value{GDBN} Infer the Source Language
11617
11618 To have @value{GDBN} set the working language automatically, use
11619 @samp{set language local} or @samp{set language auto}. @value{GDBN}
11620 then infers the working language. That is, when your program stops in a
11621 frame (usually by encountering a breakpoint), @value{GDBN} sets the
11622 working language to the language recorded for the function in that
11623 frame. If the language for a frame is unknown (that is, if the function
11624 or block corresponding to the frame was defined in a source file that
11625 does not have a recognized extension), the current working language is
11626 not changed, and @value{GDBN} issues a warning.
11627
11628 This may not seem necessary for most programs, which are written
11629 entirely in one source language. However, program modules and libraries
11630 written in one source language can be used by a main program written in
11631 a different source language. Using @samp{set language auto} in this
11632 case frees you from having to set the working language manually.
11633
11634 @node Show
11635 @section Displaying the Language
11636
11637 The following commands help you find out which language is the
11638 working language, and also what language source files were written in.
11639
11640 @table @code
11641 @item show language
11642 @kindex show language
11643 Display the current working language. This is the
11644 language you can use with commands such as @code{print} to
11645 build and compute expressions that may involve variables in your program.
11646
11647 @item info frame
11648 @kindex info frame@r{, show the source language}
11649 Display the source language for this frame. This language becomes the
11650 working language if you use an identifier from this frame.
11651 @xref{Frame Info, ,Information about a Frame}, to identify the other
11652 information listed here.
11653
11654 @item info source
11655 @kindex info source@r{, show the source language}
11656 Display the source language of this source file.
11657 @xref{Symbols, ,Examining the Symbol Table}, to identify the other
11658 information listed here.
11659 @end table
11660
11661 In unusual circumstances, you may have source files with extensions
11662 not in the standard list. You can then set the extension associated
11663 with a language explicitly:
11664
11665 @table @code
11666 @item set extension-language @var{ext} @var{language}
11667 @kindex set extension-language
11668 Tell @value{GDBN} that source files with extension @var{ext} are to be
11669 assumed as written in the source language @var{language}.
11670
11671 @item info extensions
11672 @kindex info extensions
11673 List all the filename extensions and the associated languages.
11674 @end table
11675
11676 @node Checks
11677 @section Type and Range Checking
11678
11679 @quotation
11680 @emph{Warning:} In this release, the @value{GDBN} commands for type and range
11681 checking are included, but they do not yet have any effect. This
11682 section documents the intended facilities.
11683 @end quotation
11684 @c FIXME remove warning when type/range code added
11685
11686 Some languages are designed to guard you against making seemingly common
11687 errors through a series of compile- and run-time checks. These include
11688 checking the type of arguments to functions and operators, and making
11689 sure mathematical overflows are caught at run time. Checks such as
11690 these help to ensure a program's correctness once it has been compiled
11691 by eliminating type mismatches, and providing active checks for range
11692 errors when your program is running.
11693
11694 @value{GDBN} can check for conditions like the above if you wish.
11695 Although @value{GDBN} does not check the statements in your program,
11696 it can check expressions entered directly into @value{GDBN} for
11697 evaluation via the @code{print} command, for example. As with the
11698 working language, @value{GDBN} can also decide whether or not to check
11699 automatically based on your program's source language.
11700 @xref{Supported Languages, ,Supported Languages}, for the default
11701 settings of supported languages.
11702
11703 @menu
11704 * Type Checking:: An overview of type checking
11705 * Range Checking:: An overview of range checking
11706 @end menu
11707
11708 @cindex type checking
11709 @cindex checks, type
11710 @node Type Checking
11711 @subsection An Overview of Type Checking
11712
11713 Some languages, such as Modula-2, are strongly typed, meaning that the
11714 arguments to operators and functions have to be of the correct type,
11715 otherwise an error occurs. These checks prevent type mismatch
11716 errors from ever causing any run-time problems. For example,
11717
11718 @smallexample
11719 1 + 2 @result{} 3
11720 @exdent but
11721 @error{} 1 + 2.3
11722 @end smallexample
11723
11724 The second example fails because the @code{CARDINAL} 1 is not
11725 type-compatible with the @code{REAL} 2.3.
11726
11727 For the expressions you use in @value{GDBN} commands, you can tell the
11728 @value{GDBN} type checker to skip checking;
11729 to treat any mismatches as errors and abandon the expression;
11730 or to only issue warnings when type mismatches occur,
11731 but evaluate the expression anyway. When you choose the last of
11732 these, @value{GDBN} evaluates expressions like the second example above, but
11733 also issues a warning.
11734
11735 Even if you turn type checking off, there may be other reasons
11736 related to type that prevent @value{GDBN} from evaluating an expression.
11737 For instance, @value{GDBN} does not know how to add an @code{int} and
11738 a @code{struct foo}. These particular type errors have nothing to do
11739 with the language in use, and usually arise from expressions, such as
11740 the one described above, which make little sense to evaluate anyway.
11741
11742 Each language defines to what degree it is strict about type. For
11743 instance, both Modula-2 and C require the arguments to arithmetical
11744 operators to be numbers. In C, enumerated types and pointers can be
11745 represented as numbers, so that they are valid arguments to mathematical
11746 operators. @xref{Supported Languages, ,Supported Languages}, for further
11747 details on specific languages.
11748
11749 @value{GDBN} provides some additional commands for controlling the type checker:
11750
11751 @kindex set check type
11752 @kindex show check type
11753 @table @code
11754 @item set check type auto
11755 Set type checking on or off based on the current working language.
11756 @xref{Supported Languages, ,Supported Languages}, for the default settings for
11757 each language.
11758
11759 @item set check type on
11760 @itemx set check type off
11761 Set type checking on or off, overriding the default setting for the
11762 current working language. Issue a warning if the setting does not
11763 match the language default. If any type mismatches occur in
11764 evaluating an expression while type checking is on, @value{GDBN} prints a
11765 message and aborts evaluation of the expression.
11766
11767 @item set check type warn
11768 Cause the type checker to issue warnings, but to always attempt to
11769 evaluate the expression. Evaluating the expression may still
11770 be impossible for other reasons. For example, @value{GDBN} cannot add
11771 numbers and structures.
11772
11773 @item show type
11774 Show the current setting of the type checker, and whether or not @value{GDBN}
11775 is setting it automatically.
11776 @end table
11777
11778 @cindex range checking
11779 @cindex checks, range
11780 @node Range Checking
11781 @subsection An Overview of Range Checking
11782
11783 In some languages (such as Modula-2), it is an error to exceed the
11784 bounds of a type; this is enforced with run-time checks. Such range
11785 checking is meant to ensure program correctness by making sure
11786 computations do not overflow, or indices on an array element access do
11787 not exceed the bounds of the array.
11788
11789 For expressions you use in @value{GDBN} commands, you can tell
11790 @value{GDBN} to treat range errors in one of three ways: ignore them,
11791 always treat them as errors and abandon the expression, or issue
11792 warnings but evaluate the expression anyway.
11793
11794 A range error can result from numerical overflow, from exceeding an
11795 array index bound, or when you type a constant that is not a member
11796 of any type. Some languages, however, do not treat overflows as an
11797 error. In many implementations of C, mathematical overflow causes the
11798 result to ``wrap around'' to lower values---for example, if @var{m} is
11799 the largest integer value, and @var{s} is the smallest, then
11800
11801 @smallexample
11802 @var{m} + 1 @result{} @var{s}
11803 @end smallexample
11804
11805 This, too, is specific to individual languages, and in some cases
11806 specific to individual compilers or machines. @xref{Supported Languages, ,
11807 Supported Languages}, for further details on specific languages.
11808
11809 @value{GDBN} provides some additional commands for controlling the range checker:
11810
11811 @kindex set check range
11812 @kindex show check range
11813 @table @code
11814 @item set check range auto
11815 Set range checking on or off based on the current working language.
11816 @xref{Supported Languages, ,Supported Languages}, for the default settings for
11817 each language.
11818
11819 @item set check range on
11820 @itemx set check range off
11821 Set range checking on or off, overriding the default setting for the
11822 current working language. A warning is issued if the setting does not
11823 match the language default. If a range error occurs and range checking is on,
11824 then a message is printed and evaluation of the expression is aborted.
11825
11826 @item set check range warn
11827 Output messages when the @value{GDBN} range checker detects a range error,
11828 but attempt to evaluate the expression anyway. Evaluating the
11829 expression may still be impossible for other reasons, such as accessing
11830 memory that the process does not own (a typical example from many Unix
11831 systems).
11832
11833 @item show range
11834 Show the current setting of the range checker, and whether or not it is
11835 being set automatically by @value{GDBN}.
11836 @end table
11837
11838 @node Supported Languages
11839 @section Supported Languages
11840
11841 @value{GDBN} supports C, C@t{++}, D, Objective-C, Fortran, Java, OpenCL C, Pascal,
11842 assembly, Modula-2, and Ada.
11843 @c This is false ...
11844 Some @value{GDBN} features may be used in expressions regardless of the
11845 language you use: the @value{GDBN} @code{@@} and @code{::} operators,
11846 and the @samp{@{type@}addr} construct (@pxref{Expressions,
11847 ,Expressions}) can be used with the constructs of any supported
11848 language.
11849
11850 The following sections detail to what degree each source language is
11851 supported by @value{GDBN}. These sections are not meant to be language
11852 tutorials or references, but serve only as a reference guide to what the
11853 @value{GDBN} expression parser accepts, and what input and output
11854 formats should look like for different languages. There are many good
11855 books written on each of these languages; please look to these for a
11856 language reference or tutorial.
11857
11858 @menu
11859 * C:: C and C@t{++}
11860 * D:: D
11861 * Objective-C:: Objective-C
11862 * OpenCL C:: OpenCL C
11863 * Fortran:: Fortran
11864 * Pascal:: Pascal
11865 * Modula-2:: Modula-2
11866 * Ada:: Ada
11867 @end menu
11868
11869 @node C
11870 @subsection C and C@t{++}
11871
11872 @cindex C and C@t{++}
11873 @cindex expressions in C or C@t{++}
11874
11875 Since C and C@t{++} are so closely related, many features of @value{GDBN} apply
11876 to both languages. Whenever this is the case, we discuss those languages
11877 together.
11878
11879 @cindex C@t{++}
11880 @cindex @code{g++}, @sc{gnu} C@t{++} compiler
11881 @cindex @sc{gnu} C@t{++}
11882 The C@t{++} debugging facilities are jointly implemented by the C@t{++}
11883 compiler and @value{GDBN}. Therefore, to debug your C@t{++} code
11884 effectively, you must compile your C@t{++} programs with a supported
11885 C@t{++} compiler, such as @sc{gnu} @code{g++}, or the HP ANSI C@t{++}
11886 compiler (@code{aCC}).
11887
11888 For best results when using @sc{gnu} C@t{++}, use the DWARF 2 debugging
11889 format; if it doesn't work on your system, try the stabs+ debugging
11890 format. You can select those formats explicitly with the @code{g++}
11891 command-line options @option{-gdwarf-2} and @option{-gstabs+}.
11892 @xref{Debugging Options,,Options for Debugging Your Program or GCC,
11893 gcc.info, Using the @sc{gnu} Compiler Collection (GCC)}.
11894
11895 @menu
11896 * C Operators:: C and C@t{++} operators
11897 * C Constants:: C and C@t{++} constants
11898 * C Plus Plus Expressions:: C@t{++} expressions
11899 * C Defaults:: Default settings for C and C@t{++}
11900 * C Checks:: C and C@t{++} type and range checks
11901 * Debugging C:: @value{GDBN} and C
11902 * Debugging C Plus Plus:: @value{GDBN} features for C@t{++}
11903 * Decimal Floating Point:: Numbers in Decimal Floating Point format
11904 @end menu
11905
11906 @node C Operators
11907 @subsubsection C and C@t{++} Operators
11908
11909 @cindex C and C@t{++} operators
11910
11911 Operators must be defined on values of specific types. For instance,
11912 @code{+} is defined on numbers, but not on structures. Operators are
11913 often defined on groups of types.
11914
11915 For the purposes of C and C@t{++}, the following definitions hold:
11916
11917 @itemize @bullet
11918
11919 @item
11920 @emph{Integral types} include @code{int} with any of its storage-class
11921 specifiers; @code{char}; @code{enum}; and, for C@t{++}, @code{bool}.
11922
11923 @item
11924 @emph{Floating-point types} include @code{float}, @code{double}, and
11925 @code{long double} (if supported by the target platform).
11926
11927 @item
11928 @emph{Pointer types} include all types defined as @code{(@var{type} *)}.
11929
11930 @item
11931 @emph{Scalar types} include all of the above.
11932
11933 @end itemize
11934
11935 @noindent
11936 The following operators are supported. They are listed here
11937 in order of increasing precedence:
11938
11939 @table @code
11940 @item ,
11941 The comma or sequencing operator. Expressions in a comma-separated list
11942 are evaluated from left to right, with the result of the entire
11943 expression being the last expression evaluated.
11944
11945 @item =
11946 Assignment. The value of an assignment expression is the value
11947 assigned. Defined on scalar types.
11948
11949 @item @var{op}=
11950 Used in an expression of the form @w{@code{@var{a} @var{op}= @var{b}}},
11951 and translated to @w{@code{@var{a} = @var{a op b}}}.
11952 @w{@code{@var{op}=}} and @code{=} have the same precedence.
11953 @var{op} is any one of the operators @code{|}, @code{^}, @code{&},
11954 @code{<<}, @code{>>}, @code{+}, @code{-}, @code{*}, @code{/}, @code{%}.
11955
11956 @item ?:
11957 The ternary operator. @code{@var{a} ? @var{b} : @var{c}} can be thought
11958 of as: if @var{a} then @var{b} else @var{c}. @var{a} should be of an
11959 integral type.
11960
11961 @item ||
11962 Logical @sc{or}. Defined on integral types.
11963
11964 @item &&
11965 Logical @sc{and}. Defined on integral types.
11966
11967 @item |
11968 Bitwise @sc{or}. Defined on integral types.
11969
11970 @item ^
11971 Bitwise exclusive-@sc{or}. Defined on integral types.
11972
11973 @item &
11974 Bitwise @sc{and}. Defined on integral types.
11975
11976 @item ==@r{, }!=
11977 Equality and inequality. Defined on scalar types. The value of these
11978 expressions is 0 for false and non-zero for true.
11979
11980 @item <@r{, }>@r{, }<=@r{, }>=
11981 Less than, greater than, less than or equal, greater than or equal.
11982 Defined on scalar types. The value of these expressions is 0 for false
11983 and non-zero for true.
11984
11985 @item <<@r{, }>>
11986 left shift, and right shift. Defined on integral types.
11987
11988 @item @@
11989 The @value{GDBN} ``artificial array'' operator (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}).
11990
11991 @item +@r{, }-
11992 Addition and subtraction. Defined on integral types, floating-point types and
11993 pointer types.
11994
11995 @item *@r{, }/@r{, }%
11996 Multiplication, division, and modulus. Multiplication and division are
11997 defined on integral and floating-point types. Modulus is defined on
11998 integral types.
11999
12000 @item ++@r{, }--
12001 Increment and decrement. When appearing before a variable, the
12002 operation is performed before the variable is used in an expression;
12003 when appearing after it, the variable's value is used before the
12004 operation takes place.
12005
12006 @item *
12007 Pointer dereferencing. Defined on pointer types. Same precedence as
12008 @code{++}.
12009
12010 @item &
12011 Address operator. Defined on variables. Same precedence as @code{++}.
12012
12013 For debugging C@t{++}, @value{GDBN} implements a use of @samp{&} beyond what is
12014 allowed in the C@t{++} language itself: you can use @samp{&(&@var{ref})}
12015 to examine the address
12016 where a C@t{++} reference variable (declared with @samp{&@var{ref}}) is
12017 stored.
12018
12019 @item -
12020 Negative. Defined on integral and floating-point types. Same
12021 precedence as @code{++}.
12022
12023 @item !
12024 Logical negation. Defined on integral types. Same precedence as
12025 @code{++}.
12026
12027 @item ~
12028 Bitwise complement operator. Defined on integral types. Same precedence as
12029 @code{++}.
12030
12031
12032 @item .@r{, }->
12033 Structure member, and pointer-to-structure member. For convenience,
12034 @value{GDBN} regards the two as equivalent, choosing whether to dereference a
12035 pointer based on the stored type information.
12036 Defined on @code{struct} and @code{union} data.
12037
12038 @item .*@r{, }->*
12039 Dereferences of pointers to members.
12040
12041 @item []
12042 Array indexing. @code{@var{a}[@var{i}]} is defined as
12043 @code{*(@var{a}+@var{i})}. Same precedence as @code{->}.
12044
12045 @item ()
12046 Function parameter list. Same precedence as @code{->}.
12047
12048 @item ::
12049 C@t{++} scope resolution operator. Defined on @code{struct}, @code{union},
12050 and @code{class} types.
12051
12052 @item ::
12053 Doubled colons also represent the @value{GDBN} scope operator
12054 (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}). Same precedence as @code{::},
12055 above.
12056 @end table
12057
12058 If an operator is redefined in the user code, @value{GDBN} usually
12059 attempts to invoke the redefined version instead of using the operator's
12060 predefined meaning.
12061
12062 @node C Constants
12063 @subsubsection C and C@t{++} Constants
12064
12065 @cindex C and C@t{++} constants
12066
12067 @value{GDBN} allows you to express the constants of C and C@t{++} in the
12068 following ways:
12069
12070 @itemize @bullet
12071 @item
12072 Integer constants are a sequence of digits. Octal constants are
12073 specified by a leading @samp{0} (i.e.@: zero), and hexadecimal constants
12074 by a leading @samp{0x} or @samp{0X}. Constants may also end with a letter
12075 @samp{l}, specifying that the constant should be treated as a
12076 @code{long} value.
12077
12078 @item
12079 Floating point constants are a sequence of digits, followed by a decimal
12080 point, followed by a sequence of digits, and optionally followed by an
12081 exponent. An exponent is of the form:
12082 @samp{@w{e@r{[[}+@r{]|}-@r{]}@var{nnn}}}, where @var{nnn} is another
12083 sequence of digits. The @samp{+} is optional for positive exponents.
12084 A floating-point constant may also end with a letter @samp{f} or
12085 @samp{F}, specifying that the constant should be treated as being of
12086 the @code{float} (as opposed to the default @code{double}) type; or with
12087 a letter @samp{l} or @samp{L}, which specifies a @code{long double}
12088 constant.
12089
12090 @item
12091 Enumerated constants consist of enumerated identifiers, or their
12092 integral equivalents.
12093
12094 @item
12095 Character constants are a single character surrounded by single quotes
12096 (@code{'}), or a number---the ordinal value of the corresponding character
12097 (usually its @sc{ascii} value). Within quotes, the single character may
12098 be represented by a letter or by @dfn{escape sequences}, which are of
12099 the form @samp{\@var{nnn}}, where @var{nnn} is the octal representation
12100 of the character's ordinal value; or of the form @samp{\@var{x}}, where
12101 @samp{@var{x}} is a predefined special character---for example,
12102 @samp{\n} for newline.
12103
12104 @item
12105 String constants are a sequence of character constants surrounded by
12106 double quotes (@code{"}). Any valid character constant (as described
12107 above) may appear. Double quotes within the string must be preceded by
12108 a backslash, so for instance @samp{"a\"b'c"} is a string of five
12109 characters.
12110
12111 @item
12112 Pointer constants are an integral value. You can also write pointers
12113 to constants using the C operator @samp{&}.
12114
12115 @item
12116 Array constants are comma-separated lists surrounded by braces @samp{@{}
12117 and @samp{@}}; for example, @samp{@{1,2,3@}} is a three-element array of
12118 integers, @samp{@{@{1,2@}, @{3,4@}, @{5,6@}@}} is a three-by-two array,
12119 and @samp{@{&"hi", &"there", &"fred"@}} is a three-element array of pointers.
12120 @end itemize
12121
12122 @node C Plus Plus Expressions
12123 @subsubsection C@t{++} Expressions
12124
12125 @cindex expressions in C@t{++}
12126 @value{GDBN} expression handling can interpret most C@t{++} expressions.
12127
12128 @cindex debugging C@t{++} programs
12129 @cindex C@t{++} compilers
12130 @cindex debug formats and C@t{++}
12131 @cindex @value{NGCC} and C@t{++}
12132 @quotation
12133 @emph{Warning:} @value{GDBN} can only debug C@t{++} code if you use the
12134 proper compiler and the proper debug format. Currently, @value{GDBN}
12135 works best when debugging C@t{++} code that is compiled with
12136 @value{NGCC} 2.95.3 or with @value{NGCC} 3.1 or newer, using the options
12137 @option{-gdwarf-2} or @option{-gstabs+}. DWARF 2 is preferred over
12138 stabs+. Most configurations of @value{NGCC} emit either DWARF 2 or
12139 stabs+ as their default debug format, so you usually don't need to
12140 specify a debug format explicitly. Other compilers and/or debug formats
12141 are likely to work badly or not at all when using @value{GDBN} to debug
12142 C@t{++} code.
12143 @end quotation
12144
12145 @enumerate
12146
12147 @cindex member functions
12148 @item
12149 Member function calls are allowed; you can use expressions like
12150
12151 @smallexample
12152 count = aml->GetOriginal(x, y)
12153 @end smallexample
12154
12155 @vindex this@r{, inside C@t{++} member functions}
12156 @cindex namespace in C@t{++}
12157 @item
12158 While a member function is active (in the selected stack frame), your
12159 expressions have the same namespace available as the member function;
12160 that is, @value{GDBN} allows implicit references to the class instance
12161 pointer @code{this} following the same rules as C@t{++}.
12162
12163 @cindex call overloaded functions
12164 @cindex overloaded functions, calling
12165 @cindex type conversions in C@t{++}
12166 @item
12167 You can call overloaded functions; @value{GDBN} resolves the function
12168 call to the right definition, with some restrictions. @value{GDBN} does not
12169 perform overload resolution involving user-defined type conversions,
12170 calls to constructors, or instantiations of templates that do not exist
12171 in the program. It also cannot handle ellipsis argument lists or
12172 default arguments.
12173
12174 It does perform integral conversions and promotions, floating-point
12175 promotions, arithmetic conversions, pointer conversions, conversions of
12176 class objects to base classes, and standard conversions such as those of
12177 functions or arrays to pointers; it requires an exact match on the
12178 number of function arguments.
12179
12180 Overload resolution is always performed, unless you have specified
12181 @code{set overload-resolution off}. @xref{Debugging C Plus Plus,
12182 ,@value{GDBN} Features for C@t{++}}.
12183
12184 You must specify @code{set overload-resolution off} in order to use an
12185 explicit function signature to call an overloaded function, as in
12186 @smallexample
12187 p 'foo(char,int)'('x', 13)
12188 @end smallexample
12189
12190 The @value{GDBN} command-completion facility can simplify this;
12191 see @ref{Completion, ,Command Completion}.
12192
12193 @cindex reference declarations
12194 @item
12195 @value{GDBN} understands variables declared as C@t{++} references; you can use
12196 them in expressions just as you do in C@t{++} source---they are automatically
12197 dereferenced.
12198
12199 In the parameter list shown when @value{GDBN} displays a frame, the values of
12200 reference variables are not displayed (unlike other variables); this
12201 avoids clutter, since references are often used for large structures.
12202 The @emph{address} of a reference variable is always shown, unless
12203 you have specified @samp{set print address off}.
12204
12205 @item
12206 @value{GDBN} supports the C@t{++} name resolution operator @code{::}---your
12207 expressions can use it just as expressions in your program do. Since
12208 one scope may be defined in another, you can use @code{::} repeatedly if
12209 necessary, for example in an expression like
12210 @samp{@var{scope1}::@var{scope2}::@var{name}}. @value{GDBN} also allows
12211 resolving name scope by reference to source files, in both C and C@t{++}
12212 debugging (@pxref{Variables, ,Program Variables}).
12213 @end enumerate
12214
12215 In addition, when used with HP's C@t{++} compiler, @value{GDBN} supports
12216 calling virtual functions correctly, printing out virtual bases of
12217 objects, calling functions in a base subobject, casting objects, and
12218 invoking user-defined operators.
12219
12220 @node C Defaults
12221 @subsubsection C and C@t{++} Defaults
12222
12223 @cindex C and C@t{++} defaults
12224
12225 If you allow @value{GDBN} to set type and range checking automatically, they
12226 both default to @code{off} whenever the working language changes to
12227 C or C@t{++}. This happens regardless of whether you or @value{GDBN}
12228 selects the working language.
12229
12230 If you allow @value{GDBN} to set the language automatically, it
12231 recognizes source files whose names end with @file{.c}, @file{.C}, or
12232 @file{.cc}, etc, and when @value{GDBN} enters code compiled from one of
12233 these files, it sets the working language to C or C@t{++}.
12234 @xref{Automatically, ,Having @value{GDBN} Infer the Source Language},
12235 for further details.
12236
12237 @c Type checking is (a) primarily motivated by Modula-2, and (b)
12238 @c unimplemented. If (b) changes, it might make sense to let this node
12239 @c appear even if Mod-2 does not, but meanwhile ignore it. roland 16jul93.
12240
12241 @node C Checks
12242 @subsubsection C and C@t{++} Type and Range Checks
12243
12244 @cindex C and C@t{++} checks
12245
12246 By default, when @value{GDBN} parses C or C@t{++} expressions, type checking
12247 is not used. However, if you turn type checking on, @value{GDBN}
12248 considers two variables type equivalent if:
12249
12250 @itemize @bullet
12251 @item
12252 The two variables are structured and have the same structure, union, or
12253 enumerated tag.
12254
12255 @item
12256 The two variables have the same type name, or types that have been
12257 declared equivalent through @code{typedef}.
12258
12259 @ignore
12260 @c leaving this out because neither J Gilmore nor R Pesch understand it.
12261 @c FIXME--beers?
12262 @item
12263 The two @code{struct}, @code{union}, or @code{enum} variables are
12264 declared in the same declaration. (Note: this may not be true for all C
12265 compilers.)
12266 @end ignore
12267 @end itemize
12268
12269 Range checking, if turned on, is done on mathematical operations. Array
12270 indices are not checked, since they are often used to index a pointer
12271 that is not itself an array.
12272
12273 @node Debugging C
12274 @subsubsection @value{GDBN} and C
12275
12276 The @code{set print union} and @code{show print union} commands apply to
12277 the @code{union} type. When set to @samp{on}, any @code{union} that is
12278 inside a @code{struct} or @code{class} is also printed. Otherwise, it
12279 appears as @samp{@{...@}}.
12280
12281 The @code{@@} operator aids in the debugging of dynamic arrays, formed
12282 with pointers and a memory allocation function. @xref{Expressions,
12283 ,Expressions}.
12284
12285 @node Debugging C Plus Plus
12286 @subsubsection @value{GDBN} Features for C@t{++}
12287
12288 @cindex commands for C@t{++}
12289
12290 Some @value{GDBN} commands are particularly useful with C@t{++}, and some are
12291 designed specifically for use with C@t{++}. Here is a summary:
12292
12293 @table @code
12294 @cindex break in overloaded functions
12295 @item @r{breakpoint menus}
12296 When you want a breakpoint in a function whose name is overloaded,
12297 @value{GDBN} has the capability to display a menu of possible breakpoint
12298 locations to help you specify which function definition you want.
12299 @xref{Ambiguous Expressions,,Ambiguous Expressions}.
12300
12301 @cindex overloading in C@t{++}
12302 @item rbreak @var{regex}
12303 Setting breakpoints using regular expressions is helpful for setting
12304 breakpoints on overloaded functions that are not members of any special
12305 classes.
12306 @xref{Set Breaks, ,Setting Breakpoints}.
12307
12308 @cindex C@t{++} exception handling
12309 @item catch throw
12310 @itemx catch catch
12311 Debug C@t{++} exception handling using these commands. @xref{Set
12312 Catchpoints, , Setting Catchpoints}.
12313
12314 @cindex inheritance
12315 @item ptype @var{typename}
12316 Print inheritance relationships as well as other information for type
12317 @var{typename}.
12318 @xref{Symbols, ,Examining the Symbol Table}.
12319
12320 @cindex C@t{++} symbol display
12321 @item set print demangle
12322 @itemx show print demangle
12323 @itemx set print asm-demangle
12324 @itemx show print asm-demangle
12325 Control whether C@t{++} symbols display in their source form, both when
12326 displaying code as C@t{++} source and when displaying disassemblies.
12327 @xref{Print Settings, ,Print Settings}.
12328
12329 @item set print object
12330 @itemx show print object
12331 Choose whether to print derived (actual) or declared types of objects.
12332 @xref{Print Settings, ,Print Settings}.
12333
12334 @item set print vtbl
12335 @itemx show print vtbl
12336 Control the format for printing virtual function tables.
12337 @xref{Print Settings, ,Print Settings}.
12338 (The @code{vtbl} commands do not work on programs compiled with the HP
12339 ANSI C@t{++} compiler (@code{aCC}).)
12340
12341 @kindex set overload-resolution
12342 @cindex overloaded functions, overload resolution
12343 @item set overload-resolution on
12344 Enable overload resolution for C@t{++} expression evaluation. The default
12345 is on. For overloaded functions, @value{GDBN} evaluates the arguments
12346 and searches for a function whose signature matches the argument types,
12347 using the standard C@t{++} conversion rules (see @ref{C Plus Plus
12348 Expressions, ,C@t{++} Expressions}, for details).
12349 If it cannot find a match, it emits a message.
12350
12351 @item set overload-resolution off
12352 Disable overload resolution for C@t{++} expression evaluation. For
12353 overloaded functions that are not class member functions, @value{GDBN}
12354 chooses the first function of the specified name that it finds in the
12355 symbol table, whether or not its arguments are of the correct type. For
12356 overloaded functions that are class member functions, @value{GDBN}
12357 searches for a function whose signature @emph{exactly} matches the
12358 argument types.
12359
12360 @kindex show overload-resolution
12361 @item show overload-resolution
12362 Show the current setting of overload resolution.
12363
12364 @item @r{Overloaded symbol names}
12365 You can specify a particular definition of an overloaded symbol, using
12366 the same notation that is used to declare such symbols in C@t{++}: type
12367 @code{@var{symbol}(@var{types})} rather than just @var{symbol}. You can
12368 also use the @value{GDBN} command-line word completion facilities to list the
12369 available choices, or to finish the type list for you.
12370 @xref{Completion,, Command Completion}, for details on how to do this.
12371 @end table
12372
12373 @node Decimal Floating Point
12374 @subsubsection Decimal Floating Point format
12375 @cindex decimal floating point format
12376
12377 @value{GDBN} can examine, set and perform computations with numbers in
12378 decimal floating point format, which in the C language correspond to the
12379 @code{_Decimal32}, @code{_Decimal64} and @code{_Decimal128} types as
12380 specified by the extension to support decimal floating-point arithmetic.
12381
12382 There are two encodings in use, depending on the architecture: BID (Binary
12383 Integer Decimal) for x86 and x86-64, and DPD (Densely Packed Decimal) for
12384 PowerPC. @value{GDBN} will use the appropriate encoding for the configured
12385 target.
12386
12387 Because of a limitation in @file{libdecnumber}, the library used by @value{GDBN}
12388 to manipulate decimal floating point numbers, it is not possible to convert
12389 (using a cast, for example) integers wider than 32-bit to decimal float.
12390
12391 In addition, in order to imitate @value{GDBN}'s behaviour with binary floating
12392 point computations, error checking in decimal float operations ignores
12393 underflow, overflow and divide by zero exceptions.
12394
12395 In the PowerPC architecture, @value{GDBN} provides a set of pseudo-registers
12396 to inspect @code{_Decimal128} values stored in floating point registers.
12397 See @ref{PowerPC,,PowerPC} for more details.
12398
12399 @node D
12400 @subsection D
12401
12402 @cindex D
12403 @value{GDBN} can be used to debug programs written in D and compiled with
12404 GDC, LDC or DMD compilers. Currently @value{GDBN} supports only one D
12405 specific feature --- dynamic arrays.
12406
12407 @node Objective-C
12408 @subsection Objective-C
12409
12410 @cindex Objective-C
12411 This section provides information about some commands and command
12412 options that are useful for debugging Objective-C code. See also
12413 @ref{Symbols, info classes}, and @ref{Symbols, info selectors}, for a
12414 few more commands specific to Objective-C support.
12415
12416 @menu
12417 * Method Names in Commands::
12418 * The Print Command with Objective-C::
12419 @end menu
12420
12421 @node Method Names in Commands
12422 @subsubsection Method Names in Commands
12423
12424 The following commands have been extended to accept Objective-C method
12425 names as line specifications:
12426
12427 @kindex clear@r{, and Objective-C}
12428 @kindex break@r{, and Objective-C}
12429 @kindex info line@r{, and Objective-C}
12430 @kindex jump@r{, and Objective-C}
12431 @kindex list@r{, and Objective-C}
12432 @itemize
12433 @item @code{clear}
12434 @item @code{break}
12435 @item @code{info line}
12436 @item @code{jump}
12437 @item @code{list}
12438 @end itemize
12439
12440 A fully qualified Objective-C method name is specified as
12441
12442 @smallexample
12443 -[@var{Class} @var{methodName}]
12444 @end smallexample
12445
12446 where the minus sign is used to indicate an instance method and a
12447 plus sign (not shown) is used to indicate a class method. The class
12448 name @var{Class} and method name @var{methodName} are enclosed in
12449 brackets, similar to the way messages are specified in Objective-C
12450 source code. For example, to set a breakpoint at the @code{create}
12451 instance method of class @code{Fruit} in the program currently being
12452 debugged, enter:
12453
12454 @smallexample
12455 break -[Fruit create]
12456 @end smallexample
12457
12458 To list ten program lines around the @code{initialize} class method,
12459 enter:
12460
12461 @smallexample
12462 list +[NSText initialize]
12463 @end smallexample
12464
12465 In the current version of @value{GDBN}, the plus or minus sign is
12466 required. In future versions of @value{GDBN}, the plus or minus
12467 sign will be optional, but you can use it to narrow the search. It
12468 is also possible to specify just a method name:
12469
12470 @smallexample
12471 break create
12472 @end smallexample
12473
12474 You must specify the complete method name, including any colons. If
12475 your program's source files contain more than one @code{create} method,
12476 you'll be presented with a numbered list of classes that implement that
12477 method. Indicate your choice by number, or type @samp{0} to exit if
12478 none apply.
12479
12480 As another example, to clear a breakpoint established at the
12481 @code{makeKeyAndOrderFront:} method of the @code{NSWindow} class, enter:
12482
12483 @smallexample
12484 clear -[NSWindow makeKeyAndOrderFront:]
12485 @end smallexample
12486
12487 @node The Print Command with Objective-C
12488 @subsubsection The Print Command With Objective-C
12489 @cindex Objective-C, print objects
12490 @kindex print-object
12491 @kindex po @r{(@code{print-object})}
12492
12493 The print command has also been extended to accept methods. For example:
12494
12495 @smallexample
12496 print -[@var{object} hash]
12497 @end smallexample
12498
12499 @cindex print an Objective-C object description
12500 @cindex @code{_NSPrintForDebugger}, and printing Objective-C objects
12501 @noindent
12502 will tell @value{GDBN} to send the @code{hash} message to @var{object}
12503 and print the result. Also, an additional command has been added,
12504 @code{print-object} or @code{po} for short, which is meant to print
12505 the description of an object. However, this command may only work
12506 with certain Objective-C libraries that have a particular hook
12507 function, @code{_NSPrintForDebugger}, defined.
12508
12509 @node OpenCL C
12510 @subsection OpenCL C
12511
12512 @cindex OpenCL C
12513 This section provides information about @value{GDBN}s OpenCL C support.
12514
12515 @menu
12516 * OpenCL C Datatypes::
12517 * OpenCL C Expressions::
12518 * OpenCL C Operators::
12519 @end menu
12520
12521 @node OpenCL C Datatypes
12522 @subsubsection OpenCL C Datatypes
12523
12524 @cindex OpenCL C Datatypes
12525 @value{GDBN} supports the builtin scalar and vector datatypes specified
12526 by OpenCL 1.1. In addition the half- and double-precision floating point
12527 data types of the @code{cl_khr_fp16} and @code{cl_khr_fp64} OpenCL
12528 extensions are also known to @value{GDBN}.
12529
12530 @node OpenCL C Expressions
12531 @subsubsection OpenCL C Expressions
12532
12533 @cindex OpenCL C Expressions
12534 @value{GDBN} supports accesses to vector components including the access as
12535 lvalue where possible. Since OpenCL C is based on C99 most C expressions
12536 supported by @value{GDBN} can be used as well.
12537
12538 @node OpenCL C Operators
12539 @subsubsection OpenCL C Operators
12540
12541 @cindex OpenCL C Operators
12542 @value{GDBN} supports the operators specified by OpenCL 1.1 for scalar and
12543 vector data types.
12544
12545 @node Fortran
12546 @subsection Fortran
12547 @cindex Fortran-specific support in @value{GDBN}
12548
12549 @value{GDBN} can be used to debug programs written in Fortran, but it
12550 currently supports only the features of Fortran 77 language.
12551
12552 @cindex trailing underscore, in Fortran symbols
12553 Some Fortran compilers (@sc{gnu} Fortran 77 and Fortran 95 compilers
12554 among them) append an underscore to the names of variables and
12555 functions. When you debug programs compiled by those compilers, you
12556 will need to refer to variables and functions with a trailing
12557 underscore.
12558
12559 @menu
12560 * Fortran Operators:: Fortran operators and expressions
12561 * Fortran Defaults:: Default settings for Fortran
12562 * Special Fortran Commands:: Special @value{GDBN} commands for Fortran
12563 @end menu
12564
12565 @node Fortran Operators
12566 @subsubsection Fortran Operators and Expressions
12567
12568 @cindex Fortran operators and expressions
12569
12570 Operators must be defined on values of specific types. For instance,
12571 @code{+} is defined on numbers, but not on characters or other non-
12572 arithmetic types. Operators are often defined on groups of types.
12573
12574 @table @code
12575 @item **
12576 The exponentiation operator. It raises the first operand to the power
12577 of the second one.
12578
12579 @item :
12580 The range operator. Normally used in the form of array(low:high) to
12581 represent a section of array.
12582
12583 @item %
12584 The access component operator. Normally used to access elements in derived
12585 types. Also suitable for unions. As unions aren't part of regular Fortran,
12586 this can only happen when accessing a register that uses a gdbarch-defined
12587 union type.
12588 @end table
12589
12590 @node Fortran Defaults
12591 @subsubsection Fortran Defaults
12592
12593 @cindex Fortran Defaults
12594
12595 Fortran symbols are usually case-insensitive, so @value{GDBN} by
12596 default uses case-insensitive matches for Fortran symbols. You can
12597 change that with the @samp{set case-insensitive} command, see
12598 @ref{Symbols}, for the details.
12599
12600 @node Special Fortran Commands
12601 @subsubsection Special Fortran Commands
12602
12603 @cindex Special Fortran commands
12604
12605 @value{GDBN} has some commands to support Fortran-specific features,
12606 such as displaying common blocks.
12607
12608 @table @code
12609 @cindex @code{COMMON} blocks, Fortran
12610 @kindex info common
12611 @item info common @r{[}@var{common-name}@r{]}
12612 This command prints the values contained in the Fortran @code{COMMON}
12613 block whose name is @var{common-name}. With no argument, the names of
12614 all @code{COMMON} blocks visible at the current program location are
12615 printed.
12616 @end table
12617
12618 @node Pascal
12619 @subsection Pascal
12620
12621 @cindex Pascal support in @value{GDBN}, limitations
12622 Debugging Pascal programs which use sets, subranges, file variables, or
12623 nested functions does not currently work. @value{GDBN} does not support
12624 entering expressions, printing values, or similar features using Pascal
12625 syntax.
12626
12627 The Pascal-specific command @code{set print pascal_static-members}
12628 controls whether static members of Pascal objects are displayed.
12629 @xref{Print Settings, pascal_static-members}.
12630
12631 @node Modula-2
12632 @subsection Modula-2
12633
12634 @cindex Modula-2, @value{GDBN} support
12635
12636 The extensions made to @value{GDBN} to support Modula-2 only support
12637 output from the @sc{gnu} Modula-2 compiler (which is currently being
12638 developed). Other Modula-2 compilers are not currently supported, and
12639 attempting to debug executables produced by them is most likely
12640 to give an error as @value{GDBN} reads in the executable's symbol
12641 table.
12642
12643 @cindex expressions in Modula-2
12644 @menu
12645 * M2 Operators:: Built-in operators
12646 * Built-In Func/Proc:: Built-in functions and procedures
12647 * M2 Constants:: Modula-2 constants
12648 * M2 Types:: Modula-2 types
12649 * M2 Defaults:: Default settings for Modula-2
12650 * Deviations:: Deviations from standard Modula-2
12651 * M2 Checks:: Modula-2 type and range checks
12652 * M2 Scope:: The scope operators @code{::} and @code{.}
12653 * GDB/M2:: @value{GDBN} and Modula-2
12654 @end menu
12655
12656 @node M2 Operators
12657 @subsubsection Operators
12658 @cindex Modula-2 operators
12659
12660 Operators must be defined on values of specific types. For instance,
12661 @code{+} is defined on numbers, but not on structures. Operators are
12662 often defined on groups of types. For the purposes of Modula-2, the
12663 following definitions hold:
12664
12665 @itemize @bullet
12666
12667 @item
12668 @emph{Integral types} consist of @code{INTEGER}, @code{CARDINAL}, and
12669 their subranges.
12670
12671 @item
12672 @emph{Character types} consist of @code{CHAR} and its subranges.
12673
12674 @item
12675 @emph{Floating-point types} consist of @code{REAL}.
12676
12677 @item
12678 @emph{Pointer types} consist of anything declared as @code{POINTER TO
12679 @var{type}}.
12680
12681 @item
12682 @emph{Scalar types} consist of all of the above.
12683
12684 @item
12685 @emph{Set types} consist of @code{SET} and @code{BITSET} types.
12686
12687 @item
12688 @emph{Boolean types} consist of @code{BOOLEAN}.
12689 @end itemize
12690
12691 @noindent
12692 The following operators are supported, and appear in order of
12693 increasing precedence:
12694
12695 @table @code
12696 @item ,
12697 Function argument or array index separator.
12698
12699 @item :=
12700 Assignment. The value of @var{var} @code{:=} @var{value} is
12701 @var{value}.
12702
12703 @item <@r{, }>
12704 Less than, greater than on integral, floating-point, or enumerated
12705 types.
12706
12707 @item <=@r{, }>=
12708 Less than or equal to, greater than or equal to
12709 on integral, floating-point and enumerated types, or set inclusion on
12710 set types. Same precedence as @code{<}.
12711
12712 @item =@r{, }<>@r{, }#
12713 Equality and two ways of expressing inequality, valid on scalar types.
12714 Same precedence as @code{<}. In @value{GDBN} scripts, only @code{<>} is
12715 available for inequality, since @code{#} conflicts with the script
12716 comment character.
12717
12718 @item IN
12719 Set membership. Defined on set types and the types of their members.
12720 Same precedence as @code{<}.
12721
12722 @item OR
12723 Boolean disjunction. Defined on boolean types.
12724
12725 @item AND@r{, }&
12726 Boolean conjunction. Defined on boolean types.
12727
12728 @item @@
12729 The @value{GDBN} ``artificial array'' operator (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}).
12730
12731 @item +@r{, }-
12732 Addition and subtraction on integral and floating-point types, or union
12733 and difference on set types.
12734
12735 @item *
12736 Multiplication on integral and floating-point types, or set intersection
12737 on set types.
12738
12739 @item /
12740 Division on floating-point types, or symmetric set difference on set
12741 types. Same precedence as @code{*}.
12742
12743 @item DIV@r{, }MOD
12744 Integer division and remainder. Defined on integral types. Same
12745 precedence as @code{*}.
12746
12747 @item -
12748 Negative. Defined on @code{INTEGER} and @code{REAL} data.
12749
12750 @item ^
12751 Pointer dereferencing. Defined on pointer types.
12752
12753 @item NOT
12754 Boolean negation. Defined on boolean types. Same precedence as
12755 @code{^}.
12756
12757 @item .
12758 @code{RECORD} field selector. Defined on @code{RECORD} data. Same
12759 precedence as @code{^}.
12760
12761 @item []
12762 Array indexing. Defined on @code{ARRAY} data. Same precedence as @code{^}.
12763
12764 @item ()
12765 Procedure argument list. Defined on @code{PROCEDURE} objects. Same precedence
12766 as @code{^}.
12767
12768 @item ::@r{, }.
12769 @value{GDBN} and Modula-2 scope operators.
12770 @end table
12771
12772 @quotation
12773 @emph{Warning:} Set expressions and their operations are not yet supported, so @value{GDBN}
12774 treats the use of the operator @code{IN}, or the use of operators
12775 @code{+}, @code{-}, @code{*}, @code{/}, @code{=}, , @code{<>}, @code{#},
12776 @code{<=}, and @code{>=} on sets as an error.
12777 @end quotation
12778
12779
12780 @node Built-In Func/Proc
12781 @subsubsection Built-in Functions and Procedures
12782 @cindex Modula-2 built-ins
12783
12784 Modula-2 also makes available several built-in procedures and functions.
12785 In describing these, the following metavariables are used:
12786
12787 @table @var
12788
12789 @item a
12790 represents an @code{ARRAY} variable.
12791
12792 @item c
12793 represents a @code{CHAR} constant or variable.
12794
12795 @item i
12796 represents a variable or constant of integral type.
12797
12798 @item m
12799 represents an identifier that belongs to a set. Generally used in the
12800 same function with the metavariable @var{s}. The type of @var{s} should
12801 be @code{SET OF @var{mtype}} (where @var{mtype} is the type of @var{m}).
12802
12803 @item n
12804 represents a variable or constant of integral or floating-point type.
12805
12806 @item r
12807 represents a variable or constant of floating-point type.
12808
12809 @item t
12810 represents a type.
12811
12812 @item v
12813 represents a variable.
12814
12815 @item x
12816 represents a variable or constant of one of many types. See the
12817 explanation of the function for details.
12818 @end table
12819
12820 All Modula-2 built-in procedures also return a result, described below.
12821
12822 @table @code
12823 @item ABS(@var{n})
12824 Returns the absolute value of @var{n}.
12825
12826 @item CAP(@var{c})
12827 If @var{c} is a lower case letter, it returns its upper case
12828 equivalent, otherwise it returns its argument.
12829
12830 @item CHR(@var{i})
12831 Returns the character whose ordinal value is @var{i}.
12832
12833 @item DEC(@var{v})
12834 Decrements the value in the variable @var{v} by one. Returns the new value.
12835
12836 @item DEC(@var{v},@var{i})
12837 Decrements the value in the variable @var{v} by @var{i}. Returns the
12838 new value.
12839
12840 @item EXCL(@var{m},@var{s})
12841 Removes the element @var{m} from the set @var{s}. Returns the new
12842 set.
12843
12844 @item FLOAT(@var{i})
12845 Returns the floating point equivalent of the integer @var{i}.
12846
12847 @item HIGH(@var{a})
12848 Returns the index of the last member of @var{a}.
12849
12850 @item INC(@var{v})
12851 Increments the value in the variable @var{v} by one. Returns the new value.
12852
12853 @item INC(@var{v},@var{i})
12854 Increments the value in the variable @var{v} by @var{i}. Returns the
12855 new value.
12856
12857 @item INCL(@var{m},@var{s})
12858 Adds the element @var{m} to the set @var{s} if it is not already
12859 there. Returns the new set.
12860
12861 @item MAX(@var{t})
12862 Returns the maximum value of the type @var{t}.
12863
12864 @item MIN(@var{t})
12865 Returns the minimum value of the type @var{t}.
12866
12867 @item ODD(@var{i})
12868 Returns boolean TRUE if @var{i} is an odd number.
12869
12870 @item ORD(@var{x})
12871 Returns the ordinal value of its argument. For example, the ordinal
12872 value of a character is its @sc{ascii} value (on machines supporting the
12873 @sc{ascii} character set). @var{x} must be of an ordered type, which include
12874 integral, character and enumerated types.
12875
12876 @item SIZE(@var{x})
12877 Returns the size of its argument. @var{x} can be a variable or a type.
12878
12879 @item TRUNC(@var{r})
12880 Returns the integral part of @var{r}.
12881
12882 @item TSIZE(@var{x})
12883 Returns the size of its argument. @var{x} can be a variable or a type.
12884
12885 @item VAL(@var{t},@var{i})
12886 Returns the member of the type @var{t} whose ordinal value is @var{i}.
12887 @end table
12888
12889 @quotation
12890 @emph{Warning:} Sets and their operations are not yet supported, so
12891 @value{GDBN} treats the use of procedures @code{INCL} and @code{EXCL} as
12892 an error.
12893 @end quotation
12894
12895 @cindex Modula-2 constants
12896 @node M2 Constants
12897 @subsubsection Constants
12898
12899 @value{GDBN} allows you to express the constants of Modula-2 in the following
12900 ways:
12901
12902 @itemize @bullet
12903
12904 @item
12905 Integer constants are simply a sequence of digits. When used in an
12906 expression, a constant is interpreted to be type-compatible with the
12907 rest of the expression. Hexadecimal integers are specified by a
12908 trailing @samp{H}, and octal integers by a trailing @samp{B}.
12909
12910 @item
12911 Floating point constants appear as a sequence of digits, followed by a
12912 decimal point and another sequence of digits. An optional exponent can
12913 then be specified, in the form @samp{E@r{[}+@r{|}-@r{]}@var{nnn}}, where
12914 @samp{@r{[}+@r{|}-@r{]}@var{nnn}} is the desired exponent. All of the
12915 digits of the floating point constant must be valid decimal (base 10)
12916 digits.
12917
12918 @item
12919 Character constants consist of a single character enclosed by a pair of
12920 like quotes, either single (@code{'}) or double (@code{"}). They may
12921 also be expressed by their ordinal value (their @sc{ascii} value, usually)
12922 followed by a @samp{C}.
12923
12924 @item
12925 String constants consist of a sequence of characters enclosed by a
12926 pair of like quotes, either single (@code{'}) or double (@code{"}).
12927 Escape sequences in the style of C are also allowed. @xref{C
12928 Constants, ,C and C@t{++} Constants}, for a brief explanation of escape
12929 sequences.
12930
12931 @item
12932 Enumerated constants consist of an enumerated identifier.
12933
12934 @item
12935 Boolean constants consist of the identifiers @code{TRUE} and
12936 @code{FALSE}.
12937
12938 @item
12939 Pointer constants consist of integral values only.
12940
12941 @item
12942 Set constants are not yet supported.
12943 @end itemize
12944
12945 @node M2 Types
12946 @subsubsection Modula-2 Types
12947 @cindex Modula-2 types
12948
12949 Currently @value{GDBN} can print the following data types in Modula-2
12950 syntax: array types, record types, set types, pointer types, procedure
12951 types, enumerated types, subrange types and base types. You can also
12952 print the contents of variables declared using these type.
12953 This section gives a number of simple source code examples together with
12954 sample @value{GDBN} sessions.
12955
12956 The first example contains the following section of code:
12957
12958 @smallexample
12959 VAR
12960 s: SET OF CHAR ;
12961 r: [20..40] ;
12962 @end smallexample
12963
12964 @noindent
12965 and you can request @value{GDBN} to interrogate the type and value of
12966 @code{r} and @code{s}.
12967
12968 @smallexample
12969 (@value{GDBP}) print s
12970 @{'A'..'C', 'Z'@}
12971 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
12972 SET OF CHAR
12973 (@value{GDBP}) print r
12974 21
12975 (@value{GDBP}) ptype r
12976 [20..40]
12977 @end smallexample
12978
12979 @noindent
12980 Likewise if your source code declares @code{s} as:
12981
12982 @smallexample
12983 VAR
12984 s: SET ['A'..'Z'] ;
12985 @end smallexample
12986
12987 @noindent
12988 then you may query the type of @code{s} by:
12989
12990 @smallexample
12991 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
12992 type = SET ['A'..'Z']
12993 @end smallexample
12994
12995 @noindent
12996 Note that at present you cannot interactively manipulate set
12997 expressions using the debugger.
12998
12999 The following example shows how you might declare an array in Modula-2
13000 and how you can interact with @value{GDBN} to print its type and contents:
13001
13002 @smallexample
13003 VAR
13004 s: ARRAY [-10..10] OF CHAR ;
13005 @end smallexample
13006
13007 @smallexample
13008 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
13009 ARRAY [-10..10] OF CHAR
13010 @end smallexample
13011
13012 Note that the array handling is not yet complete and although the type
13013 is printed correctly, expression handling still assumes that all
13014 arrays have a lower bound of zero and not @code{-10} as in the example
13015 above.
13016
13017 Here are some more type related Modula-2 examples:
13018
13019 @smallexample
13020 TYPE
13021 colour = (blue, red, yellow, green) ;
13022 t = [blue..yellow] ;
13023 VAR
13024 s: t ;
13025 BEGIN
13026 s := blue ;
13027 @end smallexample
13028
13029 @noindent
13030 The @value{GDBN} interaction shows how you can query the data type
13031 and value of a variable.
13032
13033 @smallexample
13034 (@value{GDBP}) print s
13035 $1 = blue
13036 (@value{GDBP}) ptype t
13037 type = [blue..yellow]
13038 @end smallexample
13039
13040 @noindent
13041 In this example a Modula-2 array is declared and its contents
13042 displayed. Observe that the contents are written in the same way as
13043 their @code{C} counterparts.
13044
13045 @smallexample
13046 VAR
13047 s: ARRAY [1..5] OF CARDINAL ;
13048 BEGIN
13049 s[1] := 1 ;
13050 @end smallexample
13051
13052 @smallexample
13053 (@value{GDBP}) print s
13054 $1 = @{1, 0, 0, 0, 0@}
13055 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
13056 type = ARRAY [1..5] OF CARDINAL
13057 @end smallexample
13058
13059 The Modula-2 language interface to @value{GDBN} also understands
13060 pointer types as shown in this example:
13061
13062 @smallexample
13063 VAR
13064 s: POINTER TO ARRAY [1..5] OF CARDINAL ;
13065 BEGIN
13066 NEW(s) ;
13067 s^[1] := 1 ;
13068 @end smallexample
13069
13070 @noindent
13071 and you can request that @value{GDBN} describes the type of @code{s}.
13072
13073 @smallexample
13074 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
13075 type = POINTER TO ARRAY [1..5] OF CARDINAL
13076 @end smallexample
13077
13078 @value{GDBN} handles compound types as we can see in this example.
13079 Here we combine array types, record types, pointer types and subrange
13080 types:
13081
13082 @smallexample
13083 TYPE
13084 foo = RECORD
13085 f1: CARDINAL ;
13086 f2: CHAR ;
13087 f3: myarray ;
13088 END ;
13089
13090 myarray = ARRAY myrange OF CARDINAL ;
13091 myrange = [-2..2] ;
13092 VAR
13093 s: POINTER TO ARRAY myrange OF foo ;
13094 @end smallexample
13095
13096 @noindent
13097 and you can ask @value{GDBN} to describe the type of @code{s} as shown
13098 below.
13099
13100 @smallexample
13101 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
13102 type = POINTER TO ARRAY [-2..2] OF foo = RECORD
13103 f1 : CARDINAL;
13104 f2 : CHAR;
13105 f3 : ARRAY [-2..2] OF CARDINAL;
13106 END
13107 @end smallexample
13108
13109 @node M2 Defaults
13110 @subsubsection Modula-2 Defaults
13111 @cindex Modula-2 defaults
13112
13113 If type and range checking are set automatically by @value{GDBN}, they
13114 both default to @code{on} whenever the working language changes to
13115 Modula-2. This happens regardless of whether you or @value{GDBN}
13116 selected the working language.
13117
13118 If you allow @value{GDBN} to set the language automatically, then entering
13119 code compiled from a file whose name ends with @file{.mod} sets the
13120 working language to Modula-2. @xref{Automatically, ,Having @value{GDBN}
13121 Infer the Source Language}, for further details.
13122
13123 @node Deviations
13124 @subsubsection Deviations from Standard Modula-2
13125 @cindex Modula-2, deviations from
13126
13127 A few changes have been made to make Modula-2 programs easier to debug.
13128 This is done primarily via loosening its type strictness:
13129
13130 @itemize @bullet
13131 @item
13132 Unlike in standard Modula-2, pointer constants can be formed by
13133 integers. This allows you to modify pointer variables during
13134 debugging. (In standard Modula-2, the actual address contained in a
13135 pointer variable is hidden from you; it can only be modified
13136 through direct assignment to another pointer variable or expression that
13137 returned a pointer.)
13138
13139 @item
13140 C escape sequences can be used in strings and characters to represent
13141 non-printable characters. @value{GDBN} prints out strings with these
13142 escape sequences embedded. Single non-printable characters are
13143 printed using the @samp{CHR(@var{nnn})} format.
13144
13145 @item
13146 The assignment operator (@code{:=}) returns the value of its right-hand
13147 argument.
13148
13149 @item
13150 All built-in procedures both modify @emph{and} return their argument.
13151 @end itemize
13152
13153 @node M2 Checks
13154 @subsubsection Modula-2 Type and Range Checks
13155 @cindex Modula-2 checks
13156
13157 @quotation
13158 @emph{Warning:} in this release, @value{GDBN} does not yet perform type or
13159 range checking.
13160 @end quotation
13161 @c FIXME remove warning when type/range checks added
13162
13163 @value{GDBN} considers two Modula-2 variables type equivalent if:
13164
13165 @itemize @bullet
13166 @item
13167 They are of types that have been declared equivalent via a @code{TYPE
13168 @var{t1} = @var{t2}} statement
13169
13170 @item
13171 They have been declared on the same line. (Note: This is true of the
13172 @sc{gnu} Modula-2 compiler, but it may not be true of other compilers.)
13173 @end itemize
13174
13175 As long as type checking is enabled, any attempt to combine variables
13176 whose types are not equivalent is an error.
13177
13178 Range checking is done on all mathematical operations, assignment, array
13179 index bounds, and all built-in functions and procedures.
13180
13181 @node M2 Scope
13182 @subsubsection The Scope Operators @code{::} and @code{.}
13183 @cindex scope
13184 @cindex @code{.}, Modula-2 scope operator
13185 @cindex colon, doubled as scope operator
13186 @ifinfo
13187 @vindex colon-colon@r{, in Modula-2}
13188 @c Info cannot handle :: but TeX can.
13189 @end ifinfo
13190 @ifnotinfo
13191 @vindex ::@r{, in Modula-2}
13192 @end ifnotinfo
13193
13194 There are a few subtle differences between the Modula-2 scope operator
13195 (@code{.}) and the @value{GDBN} scope operator (@code{::}). The two have
13196 similar syntax:
13197
13198 @smallexample
13199
13200 @var{module} . @var{id}
13201 @var{scope} :: @var{id}
13202 @end smallexample
13203
13204 @noindent
13205 where @var{scope} is the name of a module or a procedure,
13206 @var{module} the name of a module, and @var{id} is any declared
13207 identifier within your program, except another module.
13208
13209 Using the @code{::} operator makes @value{GDBN} search the scope
13210 specified by @var{scope} for the identifier @var{id}. If it is not
13211 found in the specified scope, then @value{GDBN} searches all scopes
13212 enclosing the one specified by @var{scope}.
13213
13214 Using the @code{.} operator makes @value{GDBN} search the current scope for
13215 the identifier specified by @var{id} that was imported from the
13216 definition module specified by @var{module}. With this operator, it is
13217 an error if the identifier @var{id} was not imported from definition
13218 module @var{module}, or if @var{id} is not an identifier in
13219 @var{module}.
13220
13221 @node GDB/M2
13222 @subsubsection @value{GDBN} and Modula-2
13223
13224 Some @value{GDBN} commands have little use when debugging Modula-2 programs.
13225 Five subcommands of @code{set print} and @code{show print} apply
13226 specifically to C and C@t{++}: @samp{vtbl}, @samp{demangle},
13227 @samp{asm-demangle}, @samp{object}, and @samp{union}. The first four
13228 apply to C@t{++}, and the last to the C @code{union} type, which has no direct
13229 analogue in Modula-2.
13230
13231 The @code{@@} operator (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}), while available
13232 with any language, is not useful with Modula-2. Its
13233 intent is to aid the debugging of @dfn{dynamic arrays}, which cannot be
13234 created in Modula-2 as they can in C or C@t{++}. However, because an
13235 address can be specified by an integral constant, the construct
13236 @samp{@{@var{type}@}@var{adrexp}} is still useful.
13237
13238 @cindex @code{#} in Modula-2
13239 In @value{GDBN} scripts, the Modula-2 inequality operator @code{#} is
13240 interpreted as the beginning of a comment. Use @code{<>} instead.
13241
13242 @node Ada
13243 @subsection Ada
13244 @cindex Ada
13245
13246 The extensions made to @value{GDBN} for Ada only support
13247 output from the @sc{gnu} Ada (GNAT) compiler.
13248 Other Ada compilers are not currently supported, and
13249 attempting to debug executables produced by them is most likely
13250 to be difficult.
13251
13252
13253 @cindex expressions in Ada
13254 @menu
13255 * Ada Mode Intro:: General remarks on the Ada syntax
13256 and semantics supported by Ada mode
13257 in @value{GDBN}.
13258 * Omissions from Ada:: Restrictions on the Ada expression syntax.
13259 * Additions to Ada:: Extensions of the Ada expression syntax.
13260 * Stopping Before Main Program:: Debugging the program during elaboration.
13261 * Ada Tasks:: Listing and setting breakpoints in tasks.
13262 * Ada Tasks and Core Files:: Tasking Support when Debugging Core Files
13263 * Ravenscar Profile:: Tasking Support when using the Ravenscar
13264 Profile
13265 * Ada Glitches:: Known peculiarities of Ada mode.
13266 @end menu
13267
13268 @node Ada Mode Intro
13269 @subsubsection Introduction
13270 @cindex Ada mode, general
13271
13272 The Ada mode of @value{GDBN} supports a fairly large subset of Ada expression
13273 syntax, with some extensions.
13274 The philosophy behind the design of this subset is
13275
13276 @itemize @bullet
13277 @item
13278 That @value{GDBN} should provide basic literals and access to operations for
13279 arithmetic, dereferencing, field selection, indexing, and subprogram calls,
13280 leaving more sophisticated computations to subprograms written into the
13281 program (which therefore may be called from @value{GDBN}).
13282
13283 @item
13284 That type safety and strict adherence to Ada language restrictions
13285 are not particularly important to the @value{GDBN} user.
13286
13287 @item
13288 That brevity is important to the @value{GDBN} user.
13289 @end itemize
13290
13291 Thus, for brevity, the debugger acts as if all names declared in
13292 user-written packages are directly visible, even if they are not visible
13293 according to Ada rules, thus making it unnecessary to fully qualify most
13294 names with their packages, regardless of context. Where this causes
13295 ambiguity, @value{GDBN} asks the user's intent.
13296
13297 The debugger will start in Ada mode if it detects an Ada main program.
13298 As for other languages, it will enter Ada mode when stopped in a program that
13299 was translated from an Ada source file.
13300
13301 While in Ada mode, you may use `@t{--}' for comments. This is useful
13302 mostly for documenting command files. The standard @value{GDBN} comment
13303 (@samp{#}) still works at the beginning of a line in Ada mode, but not in the
13304 middle (to allow based literals).
13305
13306 The debugger supports limited overloading. Given a subprogram call in which
13307 the function symbol has multiple definitions, it will use the number of
13308 actual parameters and some information about their types to attempt to narrow
13309 the set of definitions. It also makes very limited use of context, preferring
13310 procedures to functions in the context of the @code{call} command, and
13311 functions to procedures elsewhere.
13312
13313 @node Omissions from Ada
13314 @subsubsection Omissions from Ada
13315 @cindex Ada, omissions from
13316
13317 Here are the notable omissions from the subset:
13318
13319 @itemize @bullet
13320 @item
13321 Only a subset of the attributes are supported:
13322
13323 @itemize @minus
13324 @item
13325 @t{'First}, @t{'Last}, and @t{'Length}
13326 on array objects (not on types and subtypes).
13327
13328 @item
13329 @t{'Min} and @t{'Max}.
13330
13331 @item
13332 @t{'Pos} and @t{'Val}.
13333
13334 @item
13335 @t{'Tag}.
13336
13337 @item
13338 @t{'Range} on array objects (not subtypes), but only as the right
13339 operand of the membership (@code{in}) operator.
13340
13341 @item
13342 @t{'Access}, @t{'Unchecked_Access}, and
13343 @t{'Unrestricted_Access} (a GNAT extension).
13344
13345 @item
13346 @t{'Address}.
13347 @end itemize
13348
13349 @item
13350 The names in
13351 @code{Characters.Latin_1} are not available and
13352 concatenation is not implemented. Thus, escape characters in strings are
13353 not currently available.
13354
13355 @item
13356 Equality tests (@samp{=} and @samp{/=}) on arrays test for bitwise
13357 equality of representations. They will generally work correctly
13358 for strings and arrays whose elements have integer or enumeration types.
13359 They may not work correctly for arrays whose element
13360 types have user-defined equality, for arrays of real values
13361 (in particular, IEEE-conformant floating point, because of negative
13362 zeroes and NaNs), and for arrays whose elements contain unused bits with
13363 indeterminate values.
13364
13365 @item
13366 The other component-by-component array operations (@code{and}, @code{or},
13367 @code{xor}, @code{not}, and relational tests other than equality)
13368 are not implemented.
13369
13370 @item
13371 @cindex array aggregates (Ada)
13372 @cindex record aggregates (Ada)
13373 @cindex aggregates (Ada)
13374 There is limited support for array and record aggregates. They are
13375 permitted only on the right sides of assignments, as in these examples:
13376
13377 @smallexample
13378 (@value{GDBP}) set An_Array := (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
13379 (@value{GDBP}) set An_Array := (1, others => 0)
13380 (@value{GDBP}) set An_Array := (0|4 => 1, 1..3 => 2, 5 => 6)
13381 (@value{GDBP}) set A_2D_Array := ((1, 2, 3), (4, 5, 6), (7, 8, 9))
13382 (@value{GDBP}) set A_Record := (1, "Peter", True);
13383 (@value{GDBP}) set A_Record := (Name => "Peter", Id => 1, Alive => True)
13384 @end smallexample
13385
13386 Changing a
13387 discriminant's value by assigning an aggregate has an
13388 undefined effect if that discriminant is used within the record.
13389 However, you can first modify discriminants by directly assigning to
13390 them (which normally would not be allowed in Ada), and then performing an
13391 aggregate assignment. For example, given a variable @code{A_Rec}
13392 declared to have a type such as:
13393
13394 @smallexample
13395 type Rec (Len : Small_Integer := 0) is record
13396 Id : Integer;
13397 Vals : IntArray (1 .. Len);
13398 end record;
13399 @end smallexample
13400
13401 you can assign a value with a different size of @code{Vals} with two
13402 assignments:
13403
13404 @smallexample
13405 (@value{GDBP}) set A_Rec.Len := 4
13406 (@value{GDBP}) set A_Rec := (Id => 42, Vals => (1, 2, 3, 4))
13407 @end smallexample
13408
13409 As this example also illustrates, @value{GDBN} is very loose about the usual
13410 rules concerning aggregates. You may leave out some of the
13411 components of an array or record aggregate (such as the @code{Len}
13412 component in the assignment to @code{A_Rec} above); they will retain their
13413 original values upon assignment. You may freely use dynamic values as
13414 indices in component associations. You may even use overlapping or
13415 redundant component associations, although which component values are
13416 assigned in such cases is not defined.
13417
13418 @item
13419 Calls to dispatching subprograms are not implemented.
13420
13421 @item
13422 The overloading algorithm is much more limited (i.e., less selective)
13423 than that of real Ada. It makes only limited use of the context in
13424 which a subexpression appears to resolve its meaning, and it is much
13425 looser in its rules for allowing type matches. As a result, some
13426 function calls will be ambiguous, and the user will be asked to choose
13427 the proper resolution.
13428
13429 @item
13430 The @code{new} operator is not implemented.
13431
13432 @item
13433 Entry calls are not implemented.
13434
13435 @item
13436 Aside from printing, arithmetic operations on the native VAX floating-point
13437 formats are not supported.
13438
13439 @item
13440 It is not possible to slice a packed array.
13441
13442 @item
13443 The names @code{True} and @code{False}, when not part of a qualified name,
13444 are interpreted as if implicitly prefixed by @code{Standard}, regardless of
13445 context.
13446 Should your program
13447 redefine these names in a package or procedure (at best a dubious practice),
13448 you will have to use fully qualified names to access their new definitions.
13449 @end itemize
13450
13451 @node Additions to Ada
13452 @subsubsection Additions to Ada
13453 @cindex Ada, deviations from
13454
13455 As it does for other languages, @value{GDBN} makes certain generic
13456 extensions to Ada (@pxref{Expressions}):
13457
13458 @itemize @bullet
13459 @item
13460 If the expression @var{E} is a variable residing in memory (typically
13461 a local variable or array element) and @var{N} is a positive integer,
13462 then @code{@var{E}@@@var{N}} displays the values of @var{E} and the
13463 @var{N}-1 adjacent variables following it in memory as an array. In
13464 Ada, this operator is generally not necessary, since its prime use is
13465 in displaying parts of an array, and slicing will usually do this in
13466 Ada. However, there are occasional uses when debugging programs in
13467 which certain debugging information has been optimized away.
13468
13469 @item
13470 @code{@var{B}::@var{var}} means ``the variable named @var{var} that
13471 appears in function or file @var{B}.'' When @var{B} is a file name,
13472 you must typically surround it in single quotes.
13473
13474 @item
13475 The expression @code{@{@var{type}@} @var{addr}} means ``the variable of type
13476 @var{type} that appears at address @var{addr}.''
13477
13478 @item
13479 A name starting with @samp{$} is a convenience variable
13480 (@pxref{Convenience Vars}) or a machine register (@pxref{Registers}).
13481 @end itemize
13482
13483 In addition, @value{GDBN} provides a few other shortcuts and outright
13484 additions specific to Ada:
13485
13486 @itemize @bullet
13487 @item
13488 The assignment statement is allowed as an expression, returning
13489 its right-hand operand as its value. Thus, you may enter
13490
13491 @smallexample
13492 (@value{GDBP}) set x := y + 3
13493 (@value{GDBP}) print A(tmp := y + 1)
13494 @end smallexample
13495
13496 @item
13497 The semicolon is allowed as an ``operator,'' returning as its value
13498 the value of its right-hand operand.
13499 This allows, for example,
13500 complex conditional breaks:
13501
13502 @smallexample
13503 (@value{GDBP}) break f
13504 (@value{GDBP}) condition 1 (report(i); k += 1; A(k) > 100)
13505 @end smallexample
13506
13507 @item
13508 Rather than use catenation and symbolic character names to introduce special
13509 characters into strings, one may instead use a special bracket notation,
13510 which is also used to print strings. A sequence of characters of the form
13511 @samp{["@var{XX}"]} within a string or character literal denotes the
13512 (single) character whose numeric encoding is @var{XX} in hexadecimal. The
13513 sequence of characters @samp{["""]} also denotes a single quotation mark
13514 in strings. For example,
13515 @smallexample
13516 "One line.["0a"]Next line.["0a"]"
13517 @end smallexample
13518 @noindent
13519 contains an ASCII newline character (@code{Ada.Characters.Latin_1.LF})
13520 after each period.
13521
13522 @item
13523 The subtype used as a prefix for the attributes @t{'Pos}, @t{'Min}, and
13524 @t{'Max} is optional (and is ignored in any case). For example, it is valid
13525 to write
13526
13527 @smallexample
13528 (@value{GDBP}) print 'max(x, y)
13529 @end smallexample
13530
13531 @item
13532 When printing arrays, @value{GDBN} uses positional notation when the
13533 array has a lower bound of 1, and uses a modified named notation otherwise.
13534 For example, a one-dimensional array of three integers with a lower bound
13535 of 3 might print as
13536
13537 @smallexample
13538 (3 => 10, 17, 1)
13539 @end smallexample
13540
13541 @noindent
13542 That is, in contrast to valid Ada, only the first component has a @code{=>}
13543 clause.
13544
13545 @item
13546 You may abbreviate attributes in expressions with any unique,
13547 multi-character subsequence of
13548 their names (an exact match gets preference).
13549 For example, you may use @t{a'len}, @t{a'gth}, or @t{a'lh}
13550 in place of @t{a'length}.
13551
13552 @item
13553 @cindex quoting Ada internal identifiers
13554 Since Ada is case-insensitive, the debugger normally maps identifiers you type
13555 to lower case. The GNAT compiler uses upper-case characters for
13556 some of its internal identifiers, which are normally of no interest to users.
13557 For the rare occasions when you actually have to look at them,
13558 enclose them in angle brackets to avoid the lower-case mapping.
13559 For example,
13560 @smallexample
13561 (@value{GDBP}) print <JMPBUF_SAVE>[0]
13562 @end smallexample
13563
13564 @item
13565 Printing an object of class-wide type or dereferencing an
13566 access-to-class-wide value will display all the components of the object's
13567 specific type (as indicated by its run-time tag). Likewise, component
13568 selection on such a value will operate on the specific type of the
13569 object.
13570
13571 @end itemize
13572
13573 @node Stopping Before Main Program
13574 @subsubsection Stopping at the Very Beginning
13575
13576 @cindex breakpointing Ada elaboration code
13577 It is sometimes necessary to debug the program during elaboration, and
13578 before reaching the main procedure.
13579 As defined in the Ada Reference
13580 Manual, the elaboration code is invoked from a procedure called
13581 @code{adainit}. To run your program up to the beginning of
13582 elaboration, simply use the following two commands:
13583 @code{tbreak adainit} and @code{run}.
13584
13585 @node Ada Tasks
13586 @subsubsection Extensions for Ada Tasks
13587 @cindex Ada, tasking
13588
13589 Support for Ada tasks is analogous to that for threads (@pxref{Threads}).
13590 @value{GDBN} provides the following task-related commands:
13591
13592 @table @code
13593 @kindex info tasks
13594 @item info tasks
13595 This command shows a list of current Ada tasks, as in the following example:
13596
13597
13598 @smallexample
13599 @iftex
13600 @leftskip=0.5cm
13601 @end iftex
13602 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
13603 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
13604 1 8088000 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
13605 2 80a4000 1 15 Accept Statement b
13606 3 809a800 1 15 Child Activation Wait a
13607 * 4 80ae800 3 15 Runnable c
13608
13609 @end smallexample
13610
13611 @noindent
13612 In this listing, the asterisk before the last task indicates it to be the
13613 task currently being inspected.
13614
13615 @table @asis
13616 @item ID
13617 Represents @value{GDBN}'s internal task number.
13618
13619 @item TID
13620 The Ada task ID.
13621
13622 @item P-ID
13623 The parent's task ID (@value{GDBN}'s internal task number).
13624
13625 @item Pri
13626 The base priority of the task.
13627
13628 @item State
13629 Current state of the task.
13630
13631 @table @code
13632 @item Unactivated
13633 The task has been created but has not been activated. It cannot be
13634 executing.
13635
13636 @item Runnable
13637 The task is not blocked for any reason known to Ada. (It may be waiting
13638 for a mutex, though.) It is conceptually "executing" in normal mode.
13639
13640 @item Terminated
13641 The task is terminated, in the sense of ARM 9.3 (5). Any dependents
13642 that were waiting on terminate alternatives have been awakened and have
13643 terminated themselves.
13644
13645 @item Child Activation Wait
13646 The task is waiting for created tasks to complete activation.
13647
13648 @item Accept Statement
13649 The task is waiting on an accept or selective wait statement.
13650
13651 @item Waiting on entry call
13652 The task is waiting on an entry call.
13653
13654 @item Async Select Wait
13655 The task is waiting to start the abortable part of an asynchronous
13656 select statement.
13657
13658 @item Delay Sleep
13659 The task is waiting on a select statement with only a delay
13660 alternative open.
13661
13662 @item Child Termination Wait
13663 The task is sleeping having completed a master within itself, and is
13664 waiting for the tasks dependent on that master to become terminated or
13665 waiting on a terminate Phase.
13666
13667 @item Wait Child in Term Alt
13668 The task is sleeping waiting for tasks on terminate alternatives to
13669 finish terminating.
13670
13671 @item Accepting RV with @var{taskno}
13672 The task is accepting a rendez-vous with the task @var{taskno}.
13673 @end table
13674
13675 @item Name
13676 Name of the task in the program.
13677
13678 @end table
13679
13680 @kindex info task @var{taskno}
13681 @item info task @var{taskno}
13682 This command shows detailled informations on the specified task, as in
13683 the following example:
13684 @smallexample
13685 @iftex
13686 @leftskip=0.5cm
13687 @end iftex
13688 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
13689 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
13690 1 8077880 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
13691 * 2 807c468 1 15 Runnable task_1
13692 (@value{GDBP}) info task 2
13693 Ada Task: 0x807c468
13694 Name: task_1
13695 Thread: 0x807f378
13696 Parent: 1 (main_task)
13697 Base Priority: 15
13698 State: Runnable
13699 @end smallexample
13700
13701 @item task
13702 @kindex task@r{ (Ada)}
13703 @cindex current Ada task ID
13704 This command prints the ID of the current task.
13705
13706 @smallexample
13707 @iftex
13708 @leftskip=0.5cm
13709 @end iftex
13710 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
13711 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
13712 1 8077870 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
13713 * 2 807c458 1 15 Runnable t
13714 (@value{GDBP}) task
13715 [Current task is 2]
13716 @end smallexample
13717
13718 @item task @var{taskno}
13719 @cindex Ada task switching
13720 This command is like the @code{thread @var{threadno}}
13721 command (@pxref{Threads}). It switches the context of debugging
13722 from the current task to the given task.
13723
13724 @smallexample
13725 @iftex
13726 @leftskip=0.5cm
13727 @end iftex
13728 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
13729 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
13730 1 8077870 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
13731 * 2 807c458 1 15 Runnable t
13732 (@value{GDBP}) task 1
13733 [Switching to task 1]
13734 #0 0x8067726 in pthread_cond_wait ()
13735 (@value{GDBP}) bt
13736 #0 0x8067726 in pthread_cond_wait ()
13737 #1 0x8056714 in system.os_interface.pthread_cond_wait ()
13738 #2 0x805cb63 in system.task_primitives.operations.sleep ()
13739 #3 0x806153e in system.tasking.stages.activate_tasks ()
13740 #4 0x804aacc in un () at un.adb:5
13741 @end smallexample
13742
13743 @item break @var{linespec} task @var{taskno}
13744 @itemx break @var{linespec} task @var{taskno} if @dots{}
13745 @cindex breakpoints and tasks, in Ada
13746 @cindex task breakpoints, in Ada
13747 @kindex break @dots{} task @var{taskno}@r{ (Ada)}
13748 These commands are like the @code{break @dots{} thread @dots{}}
13749 command (@pxref{Thread Stops}).
13750 @var{linespec} specifies source lines, as described
13751 in @ref{Specify Location}.
13752
13753 Use the qualifier @samp{task @var{taskno}} with a breakpoint command
13754 to specify that you only want @value{GDBN} to stop the program when a
13755 particular Ada task reaches this breakpoint. @var{taskno} is one of the
13756 numeric task identifiers assigned by @value{GDBN}, shown in the first
13757 column of the @samp{info tasks} display.
13758
13759 If you do not specify @samp{task @var{taskno}} when you set a
13760 breakpoint, the breakpoint applies to @emph{all} tasks of your
13761 program.
13762
13763 You can use the @code{task} qualifier on conditional breakpoints as
13764 well; in this case, place @samp{task @var{taskno}} before the
13765 breakpoint condition (before the @code{if}).
13766
13767 For example,
13768
13769 @smallexample
13770 @iftex
13771 @leftskip=0.5cm
13772 @end iftex
13773 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
13774 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
13775 1 140022020 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
13776 2 140045060 1 15 Accept/Select Wait t2
13777 3 140044840 1 15 Runnable t1
13778 * 4 140056040 1 15 Runnable t3
13779 (@value{GDBP}) b 15 task 2
13780 Breakpoint 5 at 0x120044cb0: file test_task_debug.adb, line 15.
13781 (@value{GDBP}) cont
13782 Continuing.
13783 task # 1 running
13784 task # 2 running
13785
13786 Breakpoint 5, test_task_debug () at test_task_debug.adb:15
13787 15 flush;
13788 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
13789 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
13790 1 140022020 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
13791 * 2 140045060 1 15 Runnable t2
13792 3 140044840 1 15 Runnable t1
13793 4 140056040 1 15 Delay Sleep t3
13794 @end smallexample
13795 @end table
13796
13797 @node Ada Tasks and Core Files
13798 @subsubsection Tasking Support when Debugging Core Files
13799 @cindex Ada tasking and core file debugging
13800
13801 When inspecting a core file, as opposed to debugging a live program,
13802 tasking support may be limited or even unavailable, depending on
13803 the platform being used.
13804 For instance, on x86-linux, the list of tasks is available, but task
13805 switching is not supported. On Tru64, however, task switching will work
13806 as usual.
13807
13808 On certain platforms, including Tru64, the debugger needs to perform some
13809 memory writes in order to provide Ada tasking support. When inspecting
13810 a core file, this means that the core file must be opened with read-write
13811 privileges, using the command @samp{"set write on"} (@pxref{Patching}).
13812 Under these circumstances, you should make a backup copy of the core
13813 file before inspecting it with @value{GDBN}.
13814
13815 @node Ravenscar Profile
13816 @subsubsection Tasking Support when using the Ravenscar Profile
13817 @cindex Ravenscar Profile
13818
13819 The @dfn{Ravenscar Profile} is a subset of the Ada tasking features,
13820 specifically designed for systems with safety-critical real-time
13821 requirements.
13822
13823 @table @code
13824 @kindex set ravenscar task-switching on
13825 @cindex task switching with program using Ravenscar Profile
13826 @item set ravenscar task-switching on
13827 Allows task switching when debugging a program that uses the Ravenscar
13828 Profile. This is the default.
13829
13830 @kindex set ravenscar task-switching off
13831 @item set ravenscar task-switching off
13832 Turn off task switching when debugging a program that uses the Ravenscar
13833 Profile. This is mostly intended to disable the code that adds support
13834 for the Ravenscar Profile, in case a bug in either @value{GDBN} or in
13835 the Ravenscar runtime is preventing @value{GDBN} from working properly.
13836 To be effective, this command should be run before the program is started.
13837
13838 @kindex show ravenscar task-switching
13839 @item show ravenscar task-switching
13840 Show whether it is possible to switch from task to task in a program
13841 using the Ravenscar Profile.
13842
13843 @end table
13844
13845 @node Ada Glitches
13846 @subsubsection Known Peculiarities of Ada Mode
13847 @cindex Ada, problems
13848
13849 Besides the omissions listed previously (@pxref{Omissions from Ada}),
13850 we know of several problems with and limitations of Ada mode in
13851 @value{GDBN},
13852 some of which will be fixed with planned future releases of the debugger
13853 and the GNU Ada compiler.
13854
13855 @itemize @bullet
13856 @item
13857 Static constants that the compiler chooses not to materialize as objects in
13858 storage are invisible to the debugger.
13859
13860 @item
13861 Named parameter associations in function argument lists are ignored (the
13862 argument lists are treated as positional).
13863
13864 @item
13865 Many useful library packages are currently invisible to the debugger.
13866
13867 @item
13868 Fixed-point arithmetic, conversions, input, and output is carried out using
13869 floating-point arithmetic, and may give results that only approximate those on
13870 the host machine.
13871
13872 @item
13873 The GNAT compiler never generates the prefix @code{Standard} for any of
13874 the standard symbols defined by the Ada language. @value{GDBN} knows about
13875 this: it will strip the prefix from names when you use it, and will never
13876 look for a name you have so qualified among local symbols, nor match against
13877 symbols in other packages or subprograms. If you have
13878 defined entities anywhere in your program other than parameters and
13879 local variables whose simple names match names in @code{Standard},
13880 GNAT's lack of qualification here can cause confusion. When this happens,
13881 you can usually resolve the confusion
13882 by qualifying the problematic names with package
13883 @code{Standard} explicitly.
13884 @end itemize
13885
13886 Older versions of the compiler sometimes generate erroneous debugging
13887 information, resulting in the debugger incorrectly printing the value
13888 of affected entities. In some cases, the debugger is able to work
13889 around an issue automatically. In other cases, the debugger is able
13890 to work around the issue, but the work-around has to be specifically
13891 enabled.
13892
13893 @kindex set ada trust-PAD-over-XVS
13894 @kindex show ada trust-PAD-over-XVS
13895 @table @code
13896
13897 @item set ada trust-PAD-over-XVS on
13898 Configure GDB to strictly follow the GNAT encoding when computing the
13899 value of Ada entities, particularly when @code{PAD} and @code{PAD___XVS}
13900 types are involved (see @code{ada/exp_dbug.ads} in the GCC sources for
13901 a complete description of the encoding used by the GNAT compiler).
13902 This is the default.
13903
13904 @item set ada trust-PAD-over-XVS off
13905 This is related to the encoding using by the GNAT compiler. If @value{GDBN}
13906 sometimes prints the wrong value for certain entities, changing @code{ada
13907 trust-PAD-over-XVS} to @code{off} activates a work-around which may fix
13908 the issue. It is always safe to set @code{ada trust-PAD-over-XVS} to
13909 @code{off}, but this incurs a slight performance penalty, so it is
13910 recommended to leave this setting to @code{on} unless necessary.
13911
13912 @end table
13913
13914 @node Unsupported Languages
13915 @section Unsupported Languages
13916
13917 @cindex unsupported languages
13918 @cindex minimal language
13919 In addition to the other fully-supported programming languages,
13920 @value{GDBN} also provides a pseudo-language, called @code{minimal}.
13921 It does not represent a real programming language, but provides a set
13922 of capabilities close to what the C or assembly languages provide.
13923 This should allow most simple operations to be performed while debugging
13924 an application that uses a language currently not supported by @value{GDBN}.
13925
13926 If the language is set to @code{auto}, @value{GDBN} will automatically
13927 select this language if the current frame corresponds to an unsupported
13928 language.
13929
13930 @node Symbols
13931 @chapter Examining the Symbol Table
13932
13933 The commands described in this chapter allow you to inquire about the
13934 symbols (names of variables, functions and types) defined in your
13935 program. This information is inherent in the text of your program and
13936 does not change as your program executes. @value{GDBN} finds it in your
13937 program's symbol table, in the file indicated when you started @value{GDBN}
13938 (@pxref{File Options, ,Choosing Files}), or by one of the
13939 file-management commands (@pxref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}).
13940
13941 @cindex symbol names
13942 @cindex names of symbols
13943 @cindex quoting names
13944 Occasionally, you may need to refer to symbols that contain unusual
13945 characters, which @value{GDBN} ordinarily treats as word delimiters. The
13946 most frequent case is in referring to static variables in other
13947 source files (@pxref{Variables,,Program Variables}). File names
13948 are recorded in object files as debugging symbols, but @value{GDBN} would
13949 ordinarily parse a typical file name, like @file{foo.c}, as the three words
13950 @samp{foo} @samp{.} @samp{c}. To allow @value{GDBN} to recognize
13951 @samp{foo.c} as a single symbol, enclose it in single quotes; for example,
13952
13953 @smallexample
13954 p 'foo.c'::x
13955 @end smallexample
13956
13957 @noindent
13958 looks up the value of @code{x} in the scope of the file @file{foo.c}.
13959
13960 @table @code
13961 @cindex case-insensitive symbol names
13962 @cindex case sensitivity in symbol names
13963 @kindex set case-sensitive
13964 @item set case-sensitive on
13965 @itemx set case-sensitive off
13966 @itemx set case-sensitive auto
13967 Normally, when @value{GDBN} looks up symbols, it matches their names
13968 with case sensitivity determined by the current source language.
13969 Occasionally, you may wish to control that. The command @code{set
13970 case-sensitive} lets you do that by specifying @code{on} for
13971 case-sensitive matches or @code{off} for case-insensitive ones. If
13972 you specify @code{auto}, case sensitivity is reset to the default
13973 suitable for the source language. The default is case-sensitive
13974 matches for all languages except for Fortran, for which the default is
13975 case-insensitive matches.
13976
13977 @kindex show case-sensitive
13978 @item show case-sensitive
13979 This command shows the current setting of case sensitivity for symbols
13980 lookups.
13981
13982 @kindex info address
13983 @cindex address of a symbol
13984 @item info address @var{symbol}
13985 Describe where the data for @var{symbol} is stored. For a register
13986 variable, this says which register it is kept in. For a non-register
13987 local variable, this prints the stack-frame offset at which the variable
13988 is always stored.
13989
13990 Note the contrast with @samp{print &@var{symbol}}, which does not work
13991 at all for a register variable, and for a stack local variable prints
13992 the exact address of the current instantiation of the variable.
13993
13994 @kindex info symbol
13995 @cindex symbol from address
13996 @cindex closest symbol and offset for an address
13997 @item info symbol @var{addr}
13998 Print the name of a symbol which is stored at the address @var{addr}.
13999 If no symbol is stored exactly at @var{addr}, @value{GDBN} prints the
14000 nearest symbol and an offset from it:
14001
14002 @smallexample
14003 (@value{GDBP}) info symbol 0x54320
14004 _initialize_vx + 396 in section .text
14005 @end smallexample
14006
14007 @noindent
14008 This is the opposite of the @code{info address} command. You can use
14009 it to find out the name of a variable or a function given its address.
14010
14011 For dynamically linked executables, the name of executable or shared
14012 library containing the symbol is also printed:
14013
14014 @smallexample
14015 (@value{GDBP}) info symbol 0x400225
14016 _start + 5 in section .text of /tmp/a.out
14017 (@value{GDBP}) info symbol 0x2aaaac2811cf
14018 __read_nocancel + 6 in section .text of /usr/lib64/libc.so.6
14019 @end smallexample
14020
14021 @kindex whatis
14022 @item whatis [@var{arg}]
14023 Print the data type of @var{arg}, which can be either an expression
14024 or a name of a data type. With no argument, print the data type of
14025 @code{$}, the last value in the value history.
14026
14027 If @var{arg} is an expression (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}), it
14028 is not actually evaluated, and any side-effecting operations (such as
14029 assignments or function calls) inside it do not take place.
14030
14031 If @var{arg} is a variable or an expression, @code{whatis} prints its
14032 literal type as it is used in the source code. If the type was
14033 defined using a @code{typedef}, @code{whatis} will @emph{not} print
14034 the data type underlying the @code{typedef}. If the type of the
14035 variable or the expression is a compound data type, such as
14036 @code{struct} or @code{class}, @code{whatis} never prints their
14037 fields or methods. It just prints the @code{struct}/@code{class}
14038 name (a.k.a.@: its @dfn{tag}). If you want to see the members of
14039 such a compound data type, use @code{ptype}.
14040
14041 If @var{arg} is a type name that was defined using @code{typedef},
14042 @code{whatis} @dfn{unrolls} only one level of that @code{typedef}.
14043 Unrolling means that @code{whatis} will show the underlying type used
14044 in the @code{typedef} declaration of @var{arg}. However, if that
14045 underlying type is also a @code{typedef}, @code{whatis} will not
14046 unroll it.
14047
14048 For C code, the type names may also have the form @samp{class
14049 @var{class-name}}, @samp{struct @var{struct-tag}}, @samp{union
14050 @var{union-tag}} or @samp{enum @var{enum-tag}}.
14051
14052 @kindex ptype
14053 @item ptype [@var{arg}]
14054 @code{ptype} accepts the same arguments as @code{whatis}, but prints a
14055 detailed description of the type, instead of just the name of the type.
14056 @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}.
14057
14058 Contrary to @code{whatis}, @code{ptype} always unrolls any
14059 @code{typedef}s in its argument declaration, whether the argument is
14060 a variable, expression, or a data type. This means that @code{ptype}
14061 of a variable or an expression will not print literally its type as
14062 present in the source code---use @code{whatis} for that. @code{typedef}s at
14063 the pointer or reference targets are also unrolled. Only @code{typedef}s of
14064 fields, methods and inner @code{class typedef}s of @code{struct}s,
14065 @code{class}es and @code{union}s are not unrolled even with @code{ptype}.
14066
14067 For example, for this variable declaration:
14068
14069 @smallexample
14070 typedef double real_t;
14071 struct complex @{ real_t real; double imag; @};
14072 typedef struct complex complex_t;
14073 complex_t var;
14074 real_t *real_pointer_var;
14075 @end smallexample
14076
14077 @noindent
14078 the two commands give this output:
14079
14080 @smallexample
14081 @group
14082 (@value{GDBP}) whatis var
14083 type = complex_t
14084 (@value{GDBP}) ptype var
14085 type = struct complex @{
14086 real_t real;
14087 double imag;
14088 @}
14089 (@value{GDBP}) whatis complex_t
14090 type = struct complex
14091 (@value{GDBP}) whatis struct complex
14092 type = struct complex
14093 (@value{GDBP}) ptype struct complex
14094 type = struct complex @{
14095 real_t real;
14096 double imag;
14097 @}
14098 (@value{GDBP}) whatis real_pointer_var
14099 type = real_t *
14100 (@value{GDBP}) ptype real_pointer_var
14101 type = double *
14102 @end group
14103 @end smallexample
14104
14105 @noindent
14106 As with @code{whatis}, using @code{ptype} without an argument refers to
14107 the type of @code{$}, the last value in the value history.
14108
14109 @cindex incomplete type
14110 Sometimes, programs use opaque data types or incomplete specifications
14111 of complex data structure. If the debug information included in the
14112 program does not allow @value{GDBN} to display a full declaration of
14113 the data type, it will say @samp{<incomplete type>}. For example,
14114 given these declarations:
14115
14116 @smallexample
14117 struct foo;
14118 struct foo *fooptr;
14119 @end smallexample
14120
14121 @noindent
14122 but no definition for @code{struct foo} itself, @value{GDBN} will say:
14123
14124 @smallexample
14125 (@value{GDBP}) ptype foo
14126 $1 = <incomplete type>
14127 @end smallexample
14128
14129 @noindent
14130 ``Incomplete type'' is C terminology for data types that are not
14131 completely specified.
14132
14133 @kindex info types
14134 @item info types @var{regexp}
14135 @itemx info types
14136 Print a brief description of all types whose names match the regular
14137 expression @var{regexp} (or all types in your program, if you supply
14138 no argument). Each complete typename is matched as though it were a
14139 complete line; thus, @samp{i type value} gives information on all
14140 types in your program whose names include the string @code{value}, but
14141 @samp{i type ^value$} gives information only on types whose complete
14142 name is @code{value}.
14143
14144 This command differs from @code{ptype} in two ways: first, like
14145 @code{whatis}, it does not print a detailed description; second, it
14146 lists all source files where a type is defined.
14147
14148 @kindex info scope
14149 @cindex local variables
14150 @item info scope @var{location}
14151 List all the variables local to a particular scope. This command
14152 accepts a @var{location} argument---a function name, a source line, or
14153 an address preceded by a @samp{*}, and prints all the variables local
14154 to the scope defined by that location. (@xref{Specify Location}, for
14155 details about supported forms of @var{location}.) For example:
14156
14157 @smallexample
14158 (@value{GDBP}) @b{info scope command_line_handler}
14159 Scope for command_line_handler:
14160 Symbol rl is an argument at stack/frame offset 8, length 4.
14161 Symbol linebuffer is in static storage at address 0x150a18, length 4.
14162 Symbol linelength is in static storage at address 0x150a1c, length 4.
14163 Symbol p is a local variable in register $esi, length 4.
14164 Symbol p1 is a local variable in register $ebx, length 4.
14165 Symbol nline is a local variable in register $edx, length 4.
14166 Symbol repeat is a local variable at frame offset -8, length 4.
14167 @end smallexample
14168
14169 @noindent
14170 This command is especially useful for determining what data to collect
14171 during a @dfn{trace experiment}, see @ref{Tracepoint Actions,
14172 collect}.
14173
14174 @kindex info source
14175 @item info source
14176 Show information about the current source file---that is, the source file for
14177 the function containing the current point of execution:
14178 @itemize @bullet
14179 @item
14180 the name of the source file, and the directory containing it,
14181 @item
14182 the directory it was compiled in,
14183 @item
14184 its length, in lines,
14185 @item
14186 which programming language it is written in,
14187 @item
14188 whether the executable includes debugging information for that file, and
14189 if so, what format the information is in (e.g., STABS, Dwarf 2, etc.), and
14190 @item
14191 whether the debugging information includes information about
14192 preprocessor macros.
14193 @end itemize
14194
14195
14196 @kindex info sources
14197 @item info sources
14198 Print the names of all source files in your program for which there is
14199 debugging information, organized into two lists: files whose symbols
14200 have already been read, and files whose symbols will be read when needed.
14201
14202 @kindex info functions
14203 @item info functions
14204 Print the names and data types of all defined functions.
14205
14206 @item info functions @var{regexp}
14207 Print the names and data types of all defined functions
14208 whose names contain a match for regular expression @var{regexp}.
14209 Thus, @samp{info fun step} finds all functions whose names
14210 include @code{step}; @samp{info fun ^step} finds those whose names
14211 start with @code{step}. If a function name contains characters
14212 that conflict with the regular expression language (e.g.@:
14213 @samp{operator*()}), they may be quoted with a backslash.
14214
14215 @kindex info variables
14216 @item info variables
14217 Print the names and data types of all variables that are defined
14218 outside of functions (i.e.@: excluding local variables).
14219
14220 @item info variables @var{regexp}
14221 Print the names and data types of all variables (except for local
14222 variables) whose names contain a match for regular expression
14223 @var{regexp}.
14224
14225 @kindex info classes
14226 @cindex Objective-C, classes and selectors
14227 @item info classes
14228 @itemx info classes @var{regexp}
14229 Display all Objective-C classes in your program, or
14230 (with the @var{regexp} argument) all those matching a particular regular
14231 expression.
14232
14233 @kindex info selectors
14234 @item info selectors
14235 @itemx info selectors @var{regexp}
14236 Display all Objective-C selectors in your program, or
14237 (with the @var{regexp} argument) all those matching a particular regular
14238 expression.
14239
14240 @ignore
14241 This was never implemented.
14242 @kindex info methods
14243 @item info methods
14244 @itemx info methods @var{regexp}
14245 The @code{info methods} command permits the user to examine all defined
14246 methods within C@t{++} program, or (with the @var{regexp} argument) a
14247 specific set of methods found in the various C@t{++} classes. Many
14248 C@t{++} classes provide a large number of methods. Thus, the output
14249 from the @code{ptype} command can be overwhelming and hard to use. The
14250 @code{info-methods} command filters the methods, printing only those
14251 which match the regular-expression @var{regexp}.
14252 @end ignore
14253
14254 @cindex reloading symbols
14255 Some systems allow individual object files that make up your program to
14256 be replaced without stopping and restarting your program. For example,
14257 in VxWorks you can simply recompile a defective object file and keep on
14258 running. If you are running on one of these systems, you can allow
14259 @value{GDBN} to reload the symbols for automatically relinked modules:
14260
14261 @table @code
14262 @kindex set symbol-reloading
14263 @item set symbol-reloading on
14264 Replace symbol definitions for the corresponding source file when an
14265 object file with a particular name is seen again.
14266
14267 @item set symbol-reloading off
14268 Do not replace symbol definitions when encountering object files of the
14269 same name more than once. This is the default state; if you are not
14270 running on a system that permits automatic relinking of modules, you
14271 should leave @code{symbol-reloading} off, since otherwise @value{GDBN}
14272 may discard symbols when linking large programs, that may contain
14273 several modules (from different directories or libraries) with the same
14274 name.
14275
14276 @kindex show symbol-reloading
14277 @item show symbol-reloading
14278 Show the current @code{on} or @code{off} setting.
14279 @end table
14280
14281 @cindex opaque data types
14282 @kindex set opaque-type-resolution
14283 @item set opaque-type-resolution on
14284 Tell @value{GDBN} to resolve opaque types. An opaque type is a type
14285 declared as a pointer to a @code{struct}, @code{class}, or
14286 @code{union}---for example, @code{struct MyType *}---that is used in one
14287 source file although the full declaration of @code{struct MyType} is in
14288 another source file. The default is on.
14289
14290 A change in the setting of this subcommand will not take effect until
14291 the next time symbols for a file are loaded.
14292
14293 @item set opaque-type-resolution off
14294 Tell @value{GDBN} not to resolve opaque types. In this case, the type
14295 is printed as follows:
14296 @smallexample
14297 @{<no data fields>@}
14298 @end smallexample
14299
14300 @kindex show opaque-type-resolution
14301 @item show opaque-type-resolution
14302 Show whether opaque types are resolved or not.
14303
14304 @kindex maint print symbols
14305 @cindex symbol dump
14306 @kindex maint print psymbols
14307 @cindex partial symbol dump
14308 @item maint print symbols @var{filename}
14309 @itemx maint print psymbols @var{filename}
14310 @itemx maint print msymbols @var{filename}
14311 Write a dump of debugging symbol data into the file @var{filename}.
14312 These commands are used to debug the @value{GDBN} symbol-reading code. Only
14313 symbols with debugging data are included. If you use @samp{maint print
14314 symbols}, @value{GDBN} includes all the symbols for which it has already
14315 collected full details: that is, @var{filename} reflects symbols for
14316 only those files whose symbols @value{GDBN} has read. You can use the
14317 command @code{info sources} to find out which files these are. If you
14318 use @samp{maint print psymbols} instead, the dump shows information about
14319 symbols that @value{GDBN} only knows partially---that is, symbols defined in
14320 files that @value{GDBN} has skimmed, but not yet read completely. Finally,
14321 @samp{maint print msymbols} dumps just the minimal symbol information
14322 required for each object file from which @value{GDBN} has read some symbols.
14323 @xref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}, for a discussion of how
14324 @value{GDBN} reads symbols (in the description of @code{symbol-file}).
14325
14326 @kindex maint info symtabs
14327 @kindex maint info psymtabs
14328 @cindex listing @value{GDBN}'s internal symbol tables
14329 @cindex symbol tables, listing @value{GDBN}'s internal
14330 @cindex full symbol tables, listing @value{GDBN}'s internal
14331 @cindex partial symbol tables, listing @value{GDBN}'s internal
14332 @item maint info symtabs @r{[} @var{regexp} @r{]}
14333 @itemx maint info psymtabs @r{[} @var{regexp} @r{]}
14334
14335 List the @code{struct symtab} or @code{struct partial_symtab}
14336 structures whose names match @var{regexp}. If @var{regexp} is not
14337 given, list them all. The output includes expressions which you can
14338 copy into a @value{GDBN} debugging this one to examine a particular
14339 structure in more detail. For example:
14340
14341 @smallexample
14342 (@value{GDBP}) maint info psymtabs dwarf2read
14343 @{ objfile /home/gnu/build/gdb/gdb
14344 ((struct objfile *) 0x82e69d0)
14345 @{ psymtab /home/gnu/src/gdb/dwarf2read.c
14346 ((struct partial_symtab *) 0x8474b10)
14347 readin no
14348 fullname (null)
14349 text addresses 0x814d3c8 -- 0x8158074
14350 globals (* (struct partial_symbol **) 0x8507a08 @@ 9)
14351 statics (* (struct partial_symbol **) 0x40e95b78 @@ 2882)
14352 dependencies (none)
14353 @}
14354 @}
14355 (@value{GDBP}) maint info symtabs
14356 (@value{GDBP})
14357 @end smallexample
14358 @noindent
14359 We see that there is one partial symbol table whose filename contains
14360 the string @samp{dwarf2read}, belonging to the @samp{gdb} executable;
14361 and we see that @value{GDBN} has not read in any symtabs yet at all.
14362 If we set a breakpoint on a function, that will cause @value{GDBN} to
14363 read the symtab for the compilation unit containing that function:
14364
14365 @smallexample
14366 (@value{GDBP}) break dwarf2_psymtab_to_symtab
14367 Breakpoint 1 at 0x814e5da: file /home/gnu/src/gdb/dwarf2read.c,
14368 line 1574.
14369 (@value{GDBP}) maint info symtabs
14370 @{ objfile /home/gnu/build/gdb/gdb
14371 ((struct objfile *) 0x82e69d0)
14372 @{ symtab /home/gnu/src/gdb/dwarf2read.c
14373 ((struct symtab *) 0x86c1f38)
14374 dirname (null)
14375 fullname (null)
14376 blockvector ((struct blockvector *) 0x86c1bd0) (primary)
14377 linetable ((struct linetable *) 0x8370fa0)
14378 debugformat DWARF 2
14379 @}
14380 @}
14381 (@value{GDBP})
14382 @end smallexample
14383 @end table
14384
14385
14386 @node Altering
14387 @chapter Altering Execution
14388
14389 Once you think you have found an error in your program, you might want to
14390 find out for certain whether correcting the apparent error would lead to
14391 correct results in the rest of the run. You can find the answer by
14392 experiment, using the @value{GDBN} features for altering execution of the
14393 program.
14394
14395 For example, you can store new values into variables or memory
14396 locations, give your program a signal, restart it at a different
14397 address, or even return prematurely from a function.
14398
14399 @menu
14400 * Assignment:: Assignment to variables
14401 * Jumping:: Continuing at a different address
14402 * Signaling:: Giving your program a signal
14403 * Returning:: Returning from a function
14404 * Calling:: Calling your program's functions
14405 * Patching:: Patching your program
14406 @end menu
14407
14408 @node Assignment
14409 @section Assignment to Variables
14410
14411 @cindex assignment
14412 @cindex setting variables
14413 To alter the value of a variable, evaluate an assignment expression.
14414 @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}. For example,
14415
14416 @smallexample
14417 print x=4
14418 @end smallexample
14419
14420 @noindent
14421 stores the value 4 into the variable @code{x}, and then prints the
14422 value of the assignment expression (which is 4).
14423 @xref{Languages, ,Using @value{GDBN} with Different Languages}, for more
14424 information on operators in supported languages.
14425
14426 @kindex set variable
14427 @cindex variables, setting
14428 If you are not interested in seeing the value of the assignment, use the
14429 @code{set} command instead of the @code{print} command. @code{set} is
14430 really the same as @code{print} except that the expression's value is
14431 not printed and is not put in the value history (@pxref{Value History,
14432 ,Value History}). The expression is evaluated only for its effects.
14433
14434 If the beginning of the argument string of the @code{set} command
14435 appears identical to a @code{set} subcommand, use the @code{set
14436 variable} command instead of just @code{set}. This command is identical
14437 to @code{set} except for its lack of subcommands. For example, if your
14438 program has a variable @code{width}, you get an error if you try to set
14439 a new value with just @samp{set width=13}, because @value{GDBN} has the
14440 command @code{set width}:
14441
14442 @smallexample
14443 (@value{GDBP}) whatis width
14444 type = double
14445 (@value{GDBP}) p width
14446 $4 = 13
14447 (@value{GDBP}) set width=47
14448 Invalid syntax in expression.
14449 @end smallexample
14450
14451 @noindent
14452 The invalid expression, of course, is @samp{=47}. In
14453 order to actually set the program's variable @code{width}, use
14454
14455 @smallexample
14456 (@value{GDBP}) set var width=47
14457 @end smallexample
14458
14459 Because the @code{set} command has many subcommands that can conflict
14460 with the names of program variables, it is a good idea to use the
14461 @code{set variable} command instead of just @code{set}. For example, if
14462 your program has a variable @code{g}, you run into problems if you try
14463 to set a new value with just @samp{set g=4}, because @value{GDBN} has
14464 the command @code{set gnutarget}, abbreviated @code{set g}:
14465
14466 @smallexample
14467 @group
14468 (@value{GDBP}) whatis g
14469 type = double
14470 (@value{GDBP}) p g
14471 $1 = 1
14472 (@value{GDBP}) set g=4
14473 (@value{GDBP}) p g
14474 $2 = 1
14475 (@value{GDBP}) r
14476 The program being debugged has been started already.
14477 Start it from the beginning? (y or n) y
14478 Starting program: /home/smith/cc_progs/a.out
14479 "/home/smith/cc_progs/a.out": can't open to read symbols:
14480 Invalid bfd target.
14481 (@value{GDBP}) show g
14482 The current BFD target is "=4".
14483 @end group
14484 @end smallexample
14485
14486 @noindent
14487 The program variable @code{g} did not change, and you silently set the
14488 @code{gnutarget} to an invalid value. In order to set the variable
14489 @code{g}, use
14490
14491 @smallexample
14492 (@value{GDBP}) set var g=4
14493 @end smallexample
14494
14495 @value{GDBN} allows more implicit conversions in assignments than C; you can
14496 freely store an integer value into a pointer variable or vice versa,
14497 and you can convert any structure to any other structure that is the
14498 same length or shorter.
14499 @comment FIXME: how do structs align/pad in these conversions?
14500 @comment /doc@cygnus.com 18dec1990
14501
14502 To store values into arbitrary places in memory, use the @samp{@{@dots{}@}}
14503 construct to generate a value of specified type at a specified address
14504 (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}). For example, @code{@{int@}0x83040} refers
14505 to memory location @code{0x83040} as an integer (which implies a certain size
14506 and representation in memory), and
14507
14508 @smallexample
14509 set @{int@}0x83040 = 4
14510 @end smallexample
14511
14512 @noindent
14513 stores the value 4 into that memory location.
14514
14515 @node Jumping
14516 @section Continuing at a Different Address
14517
14518 Ordinarily, when you continue your program, you do so at the place where
14519 it stopped, with the @code{continue} command. You can instead continue at
14520 an address of your own choosing, with the following commands:
14521
14522 @table @code
14523 @kindex jump
14524 @item jump @var{linespec}
14525 @itemx jump @var{location}
14526 Resume execution at line @var{linespec} or at address given by
14527 @var{location}. Execution stops again immediately if there is a
14528 breakpoint there. @xref{Specify Location}, for a description of the
14529 different forms of @var{linespec} and @var{location}. It is common
14530 practice to use the @code{tbreak} command in conjunction with
14531 @code{jump}. @xref{Set Breaks, ,Setting Breakpoints}.
14532
14533 The @code{jump} command does not change the current stack frame, or
14534 the stack pointer, or the contents of any memory location or any
14535 register other than the program counter. If line @var{linespec} is in
14536 a different function from the one currently executing, the results may
14537 be bizarre if the two functions expect different patterns of arguments or
14538 of local variables. For this reason, the @code{jump} command requests
14539 confirmation if the specified line is not in the function currently
14540 executing. However, even bizarre results are predictable if you are
14541 well acquainted with the machine-language code of your program.
14542 @end table
14543
14544 @c Doesn't work on HP-UX; have to set $pcoqh and $pcoqt.
14545 On many systems, you can get much the same effect as the @code{jump}
14546 command by storing a new value into the register @code{$pc}. The
14547 difference is that this does not start your program running; it only
14548 changes the address of where it @emph{will} run when you continue. For
14549 example,
14550
14551 @smallexample
14552 set $pc = 0x485
14553 @end smallexample
14554
14555 @noindent
14556 makes the next @code{continue} command or stepping command execute at
14557 address @code{0x485}, rather than at the address where your program stopped.
14558 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, ,Continuing and Stepping}.
14559
14560 The most common occasion to use the @code{jump} command is to back
14561 up---perhaps with more breakpoints set---over a portion of a program
14562 that has already executed, in order to examine its execution in more
14563 detail.
14564
14565 @c @group
14566 @node Signaling
14567 @section Giving your Program a Signal
14568 @cindex deliver a signal to a program
14569
14570 @table @code
14571 @kindex signal
14572 @item signal @var{signal}
14573 Resume execution where your program stopped, but immediately give it the
14574 signal @var{signal}. @var{signal} can be the name or the number of a
14575 signal. For example, on many systems @code{signal 2} and @code{signal
14576 SIGINT} are both ways of sending an interrupt signal.
14577
14578 Alternatively, if @var{signal} is zero, continue execution without
14579 giving a signal. This is useful when your program stopped on account of
14580 a signal and would ordinary see the signal when resumed with the
14581 @code{continue} command; @samp{signal 0} causes it to resume without a
14582 signal.
14583
14584 @code{signal} does not repeat when you press @key{RET} a second time
14585 after executing the command.
14586 @end table
14587 @c @end group
14588
14589 Invoking the @code{signal} command is not the same as invoking the
14590 @code{kill} utility from the shell. Sending a signal with @code{kill}
14591 causes @value{GDBN} to decide what to do with the signal depending on
14592 the signal handling tables (@pxref{Signals}). The @code{signal} command
14593 passes the signal directly to your program.
14594
14595
14596 @node Returning
14597 @section Returning from a Function
14598
14599 @table @code
14600 @cindex returning from a function
14601 @kindex return
14602 @item return
14603 @itemx return @var{expression}
14604 You can cancel execution of a function call with the @code{return}
14605 command. If you give an
14606 @var{expression} argument, its value is used as the function's return
14607 value.
14608 @end table
14609
14610 When you use @code{return}, @value{GDBN} discards the selected stack frame
14611 (and all frames within it). You can think of this as making the
14612 discarded frame return prematurely. If you wish to specify a value to
14613 be returned, give that value as the argument to @code{return}.
14614
14615 This pops the selected stack frame (@pxref{Selection, ,Selecting a
14616 Frame}), and any other frames inside of it, leaving its caller as the
14617 innermost remaining frame. That frame becomes selected. The
14618 specified value is stored in the registers used for returning values
14619 of functions.
14620
14621 The @code{return} command does not resume execution; it leaves the
14622 program stopped in the state that would exist if the function had just
14623 returned. In contrast, the @code{finish} command (@pxref{Continuing
14624 and Stepping, ,Continuing and Stepping}) resumes execution until the
14625 selected stack frame returns naturally.
14626
14627 @value{GDBN} needs to know how the @var{expression} argument should be set for
14628 the inferior. The concrete registers assignment depends on the OS ABI and the
14629 type being returned by the selected stack frame. For example it is common for
14630 OS ABI to return floating point values in FPU registers while integer values in
14631 CPU registers. Still some ABIs return even floating point values in CPU
14632 registers. Larger integer widths (such as @code{long long int}) also have
14633 specific placement rules. @value{GDBN} already knows the OS ABI from its
14634 current target so it needs to find out also the type being returned to make the
14635 assignment into the right register(s).
14636
14637 Normally, the selected stack frame has debug info. @value{GDBN} will always
14638 use the debug info instead of the implicit type of @var{expression} when the
14639 debug info is available. For example, if you type @kbd{return -1}, and the
14640 function in the current stack frame is declared to return a @code{long long
14641 int}, @value{GDBN} transparently converts the implicit @code{int} value of -1
14642 into a @code{long long int}:
14643
14644 @smallexample
14645 Breakpoint 1, func () at gdb.base/return-nodebug.c:29
14646 29 return 31;
14647 (@value{GDBP}) return -1
14648 Make func return now? (y or n) y
14649 #0 0x004004f6 in main () at gdb.base/return-nodebug.c:43
14650 43 printf ("result=%lld\n", func ());
14651 (@value{GDBP})
14652 @end smallexample
14653
14654 However, if the selected stack frame does not have a debug info, e.g., if the
14655 function was compiled without debug info, @value{GDBN} has to find out the type
14656 to return from user. Specifying a different type by mistake may set the value
14657 in different inferior registers than the caller code expects. For example,
14658 typing @kbd{return -1} with its implicit type @code{int} would set only a part
14659 of a @code{long long int} result for a debug info less function (on 32-bit
14660 architectures). Therefore the user is required to specify the return type by
14661 an appropriate cast explicitly:
14662
14663 @smallexample
14664 Breakpoint 2, 0x0040050b in func ()
14665 (@value{GDBP}) return -1
14666 Return value type not available for selected stack frame.
14667 Please use an explicit cast of the value to return.
14668 (@value{GDBP}) return (long long int) -1
14669 Make selected stack frame return now? (y or n) y
14670 #0 0x00400526 in main ()
14671 (@value{GDBP})
14672 @end smallexample
14673
14674 @node Calling
14675 @section Calling Program Functions
14676
14677 @table @code
14678 @cindex calling functions
14679 @cindex inferior functions, calling
14680 @item print @var{expr}
14681 Evaluate the expression @var{expr} and display the resulting value.
14682 @var{expr} may include calls to functions in the program being
14683 debugged.
14684
14685 @kindex call
14686 @item call @var{expr}
14687 Evaluate the expression @var{expr} without displaying @code{void}
14688 returned values.
14689
14690 You can use this variant of the @code{print} command if you want to
14691 execute a function from your program that does not return anything
14692 (a.k.a.@: @dfn{a void function}), but without cluttering the output
14693 with @code{void} returned values that @value{GDBN} will otherwise
14694 print. If the result is not void, it is printed and saved in the
14695 value history.
14696 @end table
14697
14698 It is possible for the function you call via the @code{print} or
14699 @code{call} command to generate a signal (e.g., if there's a bug in
14700 the function, or if you passed it incorrect arguments). What happens
14701 in that case is controlled by the @code{set unwindonsignal} command.
14702
14703 Similarly, with a C@t{++} program it is possible for the function you
14704 call via the @code{print} or @code{call} command to generate an
14705 exception that is not handled due to the constraints of the dummy
14706 frame. In this case, any exception that is raised in the frame, but has
14707 an out-of-frame exception handler will not be found. GDB builds a
14708 dummy-frame for the inferior function call, and the unwinder cannot
14709 seek for exception handlers outside of this dummy-frame. What happens
14710 in that case is controlled by the
14711 @code{set unwind-on-terminating-exception} command.
14712
14713 @table @code
14714 @item set unwindonsignal
14715 @kindex set unwindonsignal
14716 @cindex unwind stack in called functions
14717 @cindex call dummy stack unwinding
14718 Set unwinding of the stack if a signal is received while in a function
14719 that @value{GDBN} called in the program being debugged. If set to on,
14720 @value{GDBN} unwinds the stack it created for the call and restores
14721 the context to what it was before the call. If set to off (the
14722 default), @value{GDBN} stops in the frame where the signal was
14723 received.
14724
14725 @item show unwindonsignal
14726 @kindex show unwindonsignal
14727 Show the current setting of stack unwinding in the functions called by
14728 @value{GDBN}.
14729
14730 @item set unwind-on-terminating-exception
14731 @kindex set unwind-on-terminating-exception
14732 @cindex unwind stack in called functions with unhandled exceptions
14733 @cindex call dummy stack unwinding on unhandled exception.
14734 Set unwinding of the stack if a C@t{++} exception is raised, but left
14735 unhandled while in a function that @value{GDBN} called in the program being
14736 debugged. If set to on (the default), @value{GDBN} unwinds the stack
14737 it created for the call and restores the context to what it was before
14738 the call. If set to off, @value{GDBN} the exception is delivered to
14739 the default C@t{++} exception handler and the inferior terminated.
14740
14741 @item show unwind-on-terminating-exception
14742 @kindex show unwind-on-terminating-exception
14743 Show the current setting of stack unwinding in the functions called by
14744 @value{GDBN}.
14745
14746 @end table
14747
14748 @cindex weak alias functions
14749 Sometimes, a function you wish to call is actually a @dfn{weak alias}
14750 for another function. In such case, @value{GDBN} might not pick up
14751 the type information, including the types of the function arguments,
14752 which causes @value{GDBN} to call the inferior function incorrectly.
14753 As a result, the called function will function erroneously and may
14754 even crash. A solution to that is to use the name of the aliased
14755 function instead.
14756
14757 @node Patching
14758 @section Patching Programs
14759
14760 @cindex patching binaries
14761 @cindex writing into executables
14762 @cindex writing into corefiles
14763
14764 By default, @value{GDBN} opens the file containing your program's
14765 executable code (or the corefile) read-only. This prevents accidental
14766 alterations to machine code; but it also prevents you from intentionally
14767 patching your program's binary.
14768
14769 If you'd like to be able to patch the binary, you can specify that
14770 explicitly with the @code{set write} command. For example, you might
14771 want to turn on internal debugging flags, or even to make emergency
14772 repairs.
14773
14774 @table @code
14775 @kindex set write
14776 @item set write on
14777 @itemx set write off
14778 If you specify @samp{set write on}, @value{GDBN} opens executable and
14779 core files for both reading and writing; if you specify @kbd{set write
14780 off} (the default), @value{GDBN} opens them read-only.
14781
14782 If you have already loaded a file, you must load it again (using the
14783 @code{exec-file} or @code{core-file} command) after changing @code{set
14784 write}, for your new setting to take effect.
14785
14786 @item show write
14787 @kindex show write
14788 Display whether executable files and core files are opened for writing
14789 as well as reading.
14790 @end table
14791
14792 @node GDB Files
14793 @chapter @value{GDBN} Files
14794
14795 @value{GDBN} needs to know the file name of the program to be debugged,
14796 both in order to read its symbol table and in order to start your
14797 program. To debug a core dump of a previous run, you must also tell
14798 @value{GDBN} the name of the core dump file.
14799
14800 @menu
14801 * Files:: Commands to specify files
14802 * Separate Debug Files:: Debugging information in separate files
14803 * Index Files:: Index files speed up GDB
14804 * Symbol Errors:: Errors reading symbol files
14805 * Data Files:: GDB data files
14806 @end menu
14807
14808 @node Files
14809 @section Commands to Specify Files
14810
14811 @cindex symbol table
14812 @cindex core dump file
14813
14814 You may want to specify executable and core dump file names. The usual
14815 way to do this is at start-up time, using the arguments to
14816 @value{GDBN}'s start-up commands (@pxref{Invocation, , Getting In and
14817 Out of @value{GDBN}}).
14818
14819 Occasionally it is necessary to change to a different file during a
14820 @value{GDBN} session. Or you may run @value{GDBN} and forget to
14821 specify a file you want to use. Or you are debugging a remote target
14822 via @code{gdbserver} (@pxref{Server, file, Using the @code{gdbserver}
14823 Program}). In these situations the @value{GDBN} commands to specify
14824 new files are useful.
14825
14826 @table @code
14827 @cindex executable file
14828 @kindex file
14829 @item file @var{filename}
14830 Use @var{filename} as the program to be debugged. It is read for its
14831 symbols and for the contents of pure memory. It is also the program
14832 executed when you use the @code{run} command. If you do not specify a
14833 directory and the file is not found in the @value{GDBN} working directory,
14834 @value{GDBN} uses the environment variable @code{PATH} as a list of
14835 directories to search, just as the shell does when looking for a program
14836 to run. You can change the value of this variable, for both @value{GDBN}
14837 and your program, using the @code{path} command.
14838
14839 @cindex unlinked object files
14840 @cindex patching object files
14841 You can load unlinked object @file{.o} files into @value{GDBN} using
14842 the @code{file} command. You will not be able to ``run'' an object
14843 file, but you can disassemble functions and inspect variables. Also,
14844 if the underlying BFD functionality supports it, you could use
14845 @kbd{gdb -write} to patch object files using this technique. Note
14846 that @value{GDBN} can neither interpret nor modify relocations in this
14847 case, so branches and some initialized variables will appear to go to
14848 the wrong place. But this feature is still handy from time to time.
14849
14850 @item file
14851 @code{file} with no argument makes @value{GDBN} discard any information it
14852 has on both executable file and the symbol table.
14853
14854 @kindex exec-file
14855 @item exec-file @r{[} @var{filename} @r{]}
14856 Specify that the program to be run (but not the symbol table) is found
14857 in @var{filename}. @value{GDBN} searches the environment variable @code{PATH}
14858 if necessary to locate your program. Omitting @var{filename} means to
14859 discard information on the executable file.
14860
14861 @kindex symbol-file
14862 @item symbol-file @r{[} @var{filename} @r{]}
14863 Read symbol table information from file @var{filename}. @code{PATH} is
14864 searched when necessary. Use the @code{file} command to get both symbol
14865 table and program to run from the same file.
14866
14867 @code{symbol-file} with no argument clears out @value{GDBN} information on your
14868 program's symbol table.
14869
14870 The @code{symbol-file} command causes @value{GDBN} to forget the contents of
14871 some breakpoints and auto-display expressions. This is because they may
14872 contain pointers to the internal data recording symbols and data types,
14873 which are part of the old symbol table data being discarded inside
14874 @value{GDBN}.
14875
14876 @code{symbol-file} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} again after
14877 executing it once.
14878
14879 When @value{GDBN} is configured for a particular environment, it
14880 understands debugging information in whatever format is the standard
14881 generated for that environment; you may use either a @sc{gnu} compiler, or
14882 other compilers that adhere to the local conventions.
14883 Best results are usually obtained from @sc{gnu} compilers; for example,
14884 using @code{@value{NGCC}} you can generate debugging information for
14885 optimized code.
14886
14887 For most kinds of object files, with the exception of old SVR3 systems
14888 using COFF, the @code{symbol-file} command does not normally read the
14889 symbol table in full right away. Instead, it scans the symbol table
14890 quickly to find which source files and which symbols are present. The
14891 details are read later, one source file at a time, as they are needed.
14892
14893 The purpose of this two-stage reading strategy is to make @value{GDBN}
14894 start up faster. For the most part, it is invisible except for
14895 occasional pauses while the symbol table details for a particular source
14896 file are being read. (The @code{set verbose} command can turn these
14897 pauses into messages if desired. @xref{Messages/Warnings, ,Optional
14898 Warnings and Messages}.)
14899
14900 We have not implemented the two-stage strategy for COFF yet. When the
14901 symbol table is stored in COFF format, @code{symbol-file} reads the
14902 symbol table data in full right away. Note that ``stabs-in-COFF''
14903 still does the two-stage strategy, since the debug info is actually
14904 in stabs format.
14905
14906 @kindex readnow
14907 @cindex reading symbols immediately
14908 @cindex symbols, reading immediately
14909 @item symbol-file @r{[} -readnow @r{]} @var{filename}
14910 @itemx file @r{[} -readnow @r{]} @var{filename}
14911 You can override the @value{GDBN} two-stage strategy for reading symbol
14912 tables by using the @samp{-readnow} option with any of the commands that
14913 load symbol table information, if you want to be sure @value{GDBN} has the
14914 entire symbol table available.
14915
14916 @c FIXME: for now no mention of directories, since this seems to be in
14917 @c flux. 13mar1992 status is that in theory GDB would look either in
14918 @c current dir or in same dir as myprog; but issues like competing
14919 @c GDB's, or clutter in system dirs, mean that in practice right now
14920 @c only current dir is used. FFish says maybe a special GDB hierarchy
14921 @c (eg rooted in val of env var GDBSYMS) could exist for mappable symbol
14922 @c files.
14923
14924 @kindex core-file
14925 @item core-file @r{[}@var{filename}@r{]}
14926 @itemx core
14927 Specify the whereabouts of a core dump file to be used as the ``contents
14928 of memory''. Traditionally, core files contain only some parts of the
14929 address space of the process that generated them; @value{GDBN} can access the
14930 executable file itself for other parts.
14931
14932 @code{core-file} with no argument specifies that no core file is
14933 to be used.
14934
14935 Note that the core file is ignored when your program is actually running
14936 under @value{GDBN}. So, if you have been running your program and you
14937 wish to debug a core file instead, you must kill the subprocess in which
14938 the program is running. To do this, use the @code{kill} command
14939 (@pxref{Kill Process, ,Killing the Child Process}).
14940
14941 @kindex add-symbol-file
14942 @cindex dynamic linking
14943 @item add-symbol-file @var{filename} @var{address}
14944 @itemx add-symbol-file @var{filename} @var{address} @r{[} -readnow @r{]}
14945 @itemx add-symbol-file @var{filename} @var{address} -s @var{section} @var{address} @dots{}
14946 The @code{add-symbol-file} command reads additional symbol table
14947 information from the file @var{filename}. You would use this command
14948 when @var{filename} has been dynamically loaded (by some other means)
14949 into the program that is running. @var{address} should be the memory
14950 address at which the file has been loaded; @value{GDBN} cannot figure
14951 this out for itself. You can additionally specify an arbitrary number
14952 of @samp{-s @var{section} @var{address}} pairs, to give an explicit
14953 section name and base address for that section. You can specify any
14954 @var{address} as an expression.
14955
14956 The symbol table of the file @var{filename} is added to the symbol table
14957 originally read with the @code{symbol-file} command. You can use the
14958 @code{add-symbol-file} command any number of times; the new symbol data
14959 thus read keeps adding to the old. To discard all old symbol data
14960 instead, use the @code{symbol-file} command without any arguments.
14961
14962 @cindex relocatable object files, reading symbols from
14963 @cindex object files, relocatable, reading symbols from
14964 @cindex reading symbols from relocatable object files
14965 @cindex symbols, reading from relocatable object files
14966 @cindex @file{.o} files, reading symbols from
14967 Although @var{filename} is typically a shared library file, an
14968 executable file, or some other object file which has been fully
14969 relocated for loading into a process, you can also load symbolic
14970 information from relocatable @file{.o} files, as long as:
14971
14972 @itemize @bullet
14973 @item
14974 the file's symbolic information refers only to linker symbols defined in
14975 that file, not to symbols defined by other object files,
14976 @item
14977 every section the file's symbolic information refers to has actually
14978 been loaded into the inferior, as it appears in the file, and
14979 @item
14980 you can determine the address at which every section was loaded, and
14981 provide these to the @code{add-symbol-file} command.
14982 @end itemize
14983
14984 @noindent
14985 Some embedded operating systems, like Sun Chorus and VxWorks, can load
14986 relocatable files into an already running program; such systems
14987 typically make the requirements above easy to meet. However, it's
14988 important to recognize that many native systems use complex link
14989 procedures (@code{.linkonce} section factoring and C@t{++} constructor table
14990 assembly, for example) that make the requirements difficult to meet. In
14991 general, one cannot assume that using @code{add-symbol-file} to read a
14992 relocatable object file's symbolic information will have the same effect
14993 as linking the relocatable object file into the program in the normal
14994 way.
14995
14996 @code{add-symbol-file} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} after using it.
14997
14998 @kindex add-symbol-file-from-memory
14999 @cindex @code{syscall DSO}
15000 @cindex load symbols from memory
15001 @item add-symbol-file-from-memory @var{address}
15002 Load symbols from the given @var{address} in a dynamically loaded
15003 object file whose image is mapped directly into the inferior's memory.
15004 For example, the Linux kernel maps a @code{syscall DSO} into each
15005 process's address space; this DSO provides kernel-specific code for
15006 some system calls. The argument can be any expression whose
15007 evaluation yields the address of the file's shared object file header.
15008 For this command to work, you must have used @code{symbol-file} or
15009 @code{exec-file} commands in advance.
15010
15011 @kindex add-shared-symbol-files
15012 @kindex assf
15013 @item add-shared-symbol-files @var{library-file}
15014 @itemx assf @var{library-file}
15015 The @code{add-shared-symbol-files} command can currently be used only
15016 in the Cygwin build of @value{GDBN} on MS-Windows OS, where it is an
15017 alias for the @code{dll-symbols} command (@pxref{Cygwin Native}).
15018 @value{GDBN} automatically looks for shared libraries, however if
15019 @value{GDBN} does not find yours, you can invoke
15020 @code{add-shared-symbol-files}. It takes one argument: the shared
15021 library's file name. @code{assf} is a shorthand alias for
15022 @code{add-shared-symbol-files}.
15023
15024 @kindex section
15025 @item section @var{section} @var{addr}
15026 The @code{section} command changes the base address of the named
15027 @var{section} of the exec file to @var{addr}. This can be used if the
15028 exec file does not contain section addresses, (such as in the
15029 @code{a.out} format), or when the addresses specified in the file
15030 itself are wrong. Each section must be changed separately. The
15031 @code{info files} command, described below, lists all the sections and
15032 their addresses.
15033
15034 @kindex info files
15035 @kindex info target
15036 @item info files
15037 @itemx info target
15038 @code{info files} and @code{info target} are synonymous; both print the
15039 current target (@pxref{Targets, ,Specifying a Debugging Target}),
15040 including the names of the executable and core dump files currently in
15041 use by @value{GDBN}, and the files from which symbols were loaded. The
15042 command @code{help target} lists all possible targets rather than
15043 current ones.
15044
15045 @kindex maint info sections
15046 @item maint info sections
15047 Another command that can give you extra information about program sections
15048 is @code{maint info sections}. In addition to the section information
15049 displayed by @code{info files}, this command displays the flags and file
15050 offset of each section in the executable and core dump files. In addition,
15051 @code{maint info sections} provides the following command options (which
15052 may be arbitrarily combined):
15053
15054 @table @code
15055 @item ALLOBJ
15056 Display sections for all loaded object files, including shared libraries.
15057 @item @var{sections}
15058 Display info only for named @var{sections}.
15059 @item @var{section-flags}
15060 Display info only for sections for which @var{section-flags} are true.
15061 The section flags that @value{GDBN} currently knows about are:
15062 @table @code
15063 @item ALLOC
15064 Section will have space allocated in the process when loaded.
15065 Set for all sections except those containing debug information.
15066 @item LOAD
15067 Section will be loaded from the file into the child process memory.
15068 Set for pre-initialized code and data, clear for @code{.bss} sections.
15069 @item RELOC
15070 Section needs to be relocated before loading.
15071 @item READONLY
15072 Section cannot be modified by the child process.
15073 @item CODE
15074 Section contains executable code only.
15075 @item DATA
15076 Section contains data only (no executable code).
15077 @item ROM
15078 Section will reside in ROM.
15079 @item CONSTRUCTOR
15080 Section contains data for constructor/destructor lists.
15081 @item HAS_CONTENTS
15082 Section is not empty.
15083 @item NEVER_LOAD
15084 An instruction to the linker to not output the section.
15085 @item COFF_SHARED_LIBRARY
15086 A notification to the linker that the section contains
15087 COFF shared library information.
15088 @item IS_COMMON
15089 Section contains common symbols.
15090 @end table
15091 @end table
15092 @kindex set trust-readonly-sections
15093 @cindex read-only sections
15094 @item set trust-readonly-sections on
15095 Tell @value{GDBN} that readonly sections in your object file
15096 really are read-only (i.e.@: that their contents will not change).
15097 In that case, @value{GDBN} can fetch values from these sections
15098 out of the object file, rather than from the target program.
15099 For some targets (notably embedded ones), this can be a significant
15100 enhancement to debugging performance.
15101
15102 The default is off.
15103
15104 @item set trust-readonly-sections off
15105 Tell @value{GDBN} not to trust readonly sections. This means that
15106 the contents of the section might change while the program is running,
15107 and must therefore be fetched from the target when needed.
15108
15109 @item show trust-readonly-sections
15110 Show the current setting of trusting readonly sections.
15111 @end table
15112
15113 All file-specifying commands allow both absolute and relative file names
15114 as arguments. @value{GDBN} always converts the file name to an absolute file
15115 name and remembers it that way.
15116
15117 @cindex shared libraries
15118 @anchor{Shared Libraries}
15119 @value{GDBN} supports @sc{gnu}/Linux, MS-Windows, HP-UX, SunOS, SVr4, Irix,
15120 and IBM RS/6000 AIX shared libraries.
15121
15122 On MS-Windows @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support
15123 shared libraries. @xref{Expat}.
15124
15125 @value{GDBN} automatically loads symbol definitions from shared libraries
15126 when you use the @code{run} command, or when you examine a core file.
15127 (Before you issue the @code{run} command, @value{GDBN} does not understand
15128 references to a function in a shared library, however---unless you are
15129 debugging a core file).
15130
15131 On HP-UX, if the program loads a library explicitly, @value{GDBN}
15132 automatically loads the symbols at the time of the @code{shl_load} call.
15133
15134 @c FIXME: some @value{GDBN} release may permit some refs to undef
15135 @c FIXME...symbols---eg in a break cmd---assuming they are from a shared
15136 @c FIXME...lib; check this from time to time when updating manual
15137
15138 There are times, however, when you may wish to not automatically load
15139 symbol definitions from shared libraries, such as when they are
15140 particularly large or there are many of them.
15141
15142 To control the automatic loading of shared library symbols, use the
15143 commands:
15144
15145 @table @code
15146 @kindex set auto-solib-add
15147 @item set auto-solib-add @var{mode}
15148 If @var{mode} is @code{on}, symbols from all shared object libraries
15149 will be loaded automatically when the inferior begins execution, you
15150 attach to an independently started inferior, or when the dynamic linker
15151 informs @value{GDBN} that a new library has been loaded. If @var{mode}
15152 is @code{off}, symbols must be loaded manually, using the
15153 @code{sharedlibrary} command. The default value is @code{on}.
15154
15155 @cindex memory used for symbol tables
15156 If your program uses lots of shared libraries with debug info that
15157 takes large amounts of memory, you can decrease the @value{GDBN}
15158 memory footprint by preventing it from automatically loading the
15159 symbols from shared libraries. To that end, type @kbd{set
15160 auto-solib-add off} before running the inferior, then load each
15161 library whose debug symbols you do need with @kbd{sharedlibrary
15162 @var{regexp}}, where @var{regexp} is a regular expression that matches
15163 the libraries whose symbols you want to be loaded.
15164
15165 @kindex show auto-solib-add
15166 @item show auto-solib-add
15167 Display the current autoloading mode.
15168 @end table
15169
15170 @cindex load shared library
15171 To explicitly load shared library symbols, use the @code{sharedlibrary}
15172 command:
15173
15174 @table @code
15175 @kindex info sharedlibrary
15176 @kindex info share
15177 @item info share @var{regex}
15178 @itemx info sharedlibrary @var{regex}
15179 Print the names of the shared libraries which are currently loaded
15180 that match @var{regex}. If @var{regex} is omitted then print
15181 all shared libraries that are loaded.
15182
15183 @kindex sharedlibrary
15184 @kindex share
15185 @item sharedlibrary @var{regex}
15186 @itemx share @var{regex}
15187 Load shared object library symbols for files matching a
15188 Unix regular expression.
15189 As with files loaded automatically, it only loads shared libraries
15190 required by your program for a core file or after typing @code{run}. If
15191 @var{regex} is omitted all shared libraries required by your program are
15192 loaded.
15193
15194 @item nosharedlibrary
15195 @kindex nosharedlibrary
15196 @cindex unload symbols from shared libraries
15197 Unload all shared object library symbols. This discards all symbols
15198 that have been loaded from all shared libraries. Symbols from shared
15199 libraries that were loaded by explicit user requests are not
15200 discarded.
15201 @end table
15202
15203 Sometimes you may wish that @value{GDBN} stops and gives you control
15204 when any of shared library events happen. Use the @code{set
15205 stop-on-solib-events} command for this:
15206
15207 @table @code
15208 @item set stop-on-solib-events
15209 @kindex set stop-on-solib-events
15210 This command controls whether @value{GDBN} should give you control
15211 when the dynamic linker notifies it about some shared library event.
15212 The most common event of interest is loading or unloading of a new
15213 shared library.
15214
15215 @item show stop-on-solib-events
15216 @kindex show stop-on-solib-events
15217 Show whether @value{GDBN} stops and gives you control when shared
15218 library events happen.
15219 @end table
15220
15221 Shared libraries are also supported in many cross or remote debugging
15222 configurations. @value{GDBN} needs to have access to the target's libraries;
15223 this can be accomplished either by providing copies of the libraries
15224 on the host system, or by asking @value{GDBN} to automatically retrieve the
15225 libraries from the target. If copies of the target libraries are
15226 provided, they need to be the same as the target libraries, although the
15227 copies on the target can be stripped as long as the copies on the host are
15228 not.
15229
15230 @cindex where to look for shared libraries
15231 For remote debugging, you need to tell @value{GDBN} where the target
15232 libraries are, so that it can load the correct copies---otherwise, it
15233 may try to load the host's libraries. @value{GDBN} has two variables
15234 to specify the search directories for target libraries.
15235
15236 @table @code
15237 @cindex prefix for shared library file names
15238 @cindex system root, alternate
15239 @kindex set solib-absolute-prefix
15240 @kindex set sysroot
15241 @item set sysroot @var{path}
15242 Use @var{path} as the system root for the program being debugged. Any
15243 absolute shared library paths will be prefixed with @var{path}; many
15244 runtime loaders store the absolute paths to the shared library in the
15245 target program's memory. If you use @code{set sysroot} to find shared
15246 libraries, they need to be laid out in the same way that they are on
15247 the target, with e.g.@: a @file{/lib} and @file{/usr/lib} hierarchy
15248 under @var{path}.
15249
15250 If @var{path} starts with the sequence @file{remote:}, @value{GDBN} will
15251 retrieve the target libraries from the remote system. This is only
15252 supported when using a remote target that supports the @code{remote get}
15253 command (@pxref{File Transfer,,Sending files to a remote system}).
15254 The part of @var{path} following the initial @file{remote:}
15255 (if present) is used as system root prefix on the remote file system.
15256 @footnote{If you want to specify a local system root using a directory
15257 that happens to be named @file{remote:}, you need to use some equivalent
15258 variant of the name like @file{./remote:}.}
15259
15260 For targets with an MS-DOS based filesystem, such as MS-Windows and
15261 SymbianOS, @value{GDBN} tries prefixing a few variants of the target
15262 absolute file name with @var{path}. But first, on Unix hosts,
15263 @value{GDBN} converts all backslash directory separators into forward
15264 slashes, because the backslash is not a directory separator on Unix:
15265
15266 @smallexample
15267 c:\foo\bar.dll @result{} c:/foo/bar.dll
15268 @end smallexample
15269
15270 Then, @value{GDBN} attempts prefixing the target file name with
15271 @var{path}, and looks for the resulting file name in the host file
15272 system:
15273
15274 @smallexample
15275 c:/foo/bar.dll @result{} /path/to/sysroot/c:/foo/bar.dll
15276 @end smallexample
15277
15278 If that does not find the shared library, @value{GDBN} tries removing
15279 the @samp{:} character from the drive spec, both for convenience, and,
15280 for the case of the host file system not supporting file names with
15281 colons:
15282
15283 @smallexample
15284 c:/foo/bar.dll @result{} /path/to/sysroot/c/foo/bar.dll
15285 @end smallexample
15286
15287 This makes it possible to have a system root that mirrors a target
15288 with more than one drive. E.g., you may want to setup your local
15289 copies of the target system shared libraries like so (note @samp{c} vs
15290 @samp{z}):
15291
15292 @smallexample
15293 @file{/path/to/sysroot/c/sys/bin/foo.dll}
15294 @file{/path/to/sysroot/c/sys/bin/bar.dll}
15295 @file{/path/to/sysroot/z/sys/bin/bar.dll}
15296 @end smallexample
15297
15298 @noindent
15299 and point the system root at @file{/path/to/sysroot}, so that
15300 @value{GDBN} can find the correct copies of both
15301 @file{c:\sys\bin\foo.dll}, and @file{z:\sys\bin\bar.dll}.
15302
15303 If that still does not find the shared library, @value{GDBN} tries
15304 removing the whole drive spec from the target file name:
15305
15306 @smallexample
15307 c:/foo/bar.dll @result{} /path/to/sysroot/foo/bar.dll
15308 @end smallexample
15309
15310 This last lookup makes it possible to not care about the drive name,
15311 if you don't want or need to.
15312
15313 The @code{set solib-absolute-prefix} command is an alias for @code{set
15314 sysroot}.
15315
15316 @cindex default system root
15317 @cindex @samp{--with-sysroot}
15318 You can set the default system root by using the configure-time
15319 @samp{--with-sysroot} option. If the system root is inside
15320 @value{GDBN}'s configured binary prefix (set with @samp{--prefix} or
15321 @samp{--exec-prefix}), then the default system root will be updated
15322 automatically if the installed @value{GDBN} is moved to a new
15323 location.
15324
15325 @kindex show sysroot
15326 @item show sysroot
15327 Display the current shared library prefix.
15328
15329 @kindex set solib-search-path
15330 @item set solib-search-path @var{path}
15331 If this variable is set, @var{path} is a colon-separated list of
15332 directories to search for shared libraries. @samp{solib-search-path}
15333 is used after @samp{sysroot} fails to locate the library, or if the
15334 path to the library is relative instead of absolute. If you want to
15335 use @samp{solib-search-path} instead of @samp{sysroot}, be sure to set
15336 @samp{sysroot} to a nonexistent directory to prevent @value{GDBN} from
15337 finding your host's libraries. @samp{sysroot} is preferred; setting
15338 it to a nonexistent directory may interfere with automatic loading
15339 of shared library symbols.
15340
15341 @kindex show solib-search-path
15342 @item show solib-search-path
15343 Display the current shared library search path.
15344
15345 @cindex DOS file-name semantics of file names.
15346 @kindex set target-file-system-kind (unix|dos-based|auto)
15347 @kindex show target-file-system-kind
15348 @item set target-file-system-kind @var{kind}
15349 Set assumed file system kind for target reported file names.
15350
15351 Shared library file names as reported by the target system may not
15352 make sense as is on the system @value{GDBN} is running on. For
15353 example, when remote debugging a target that has MS-DOS based file
15354 system semantics, from a Unix host, the target may be reporting to
15355 @value{GDBN} a list of loaded shared libraries with file names such as
15356 @file{c:\Windows\kernel32.dll}. On Unix hosts, there's no concept of
15357 drive letters, so the @samp{c:\} prefix is not normally understood as
15358 indicating an absolute file name, and neither is the backslash
15359 normally considered a directory separator character. In that case,
15360 the native file system would interpret this whole absolute file name
15361 as a relative file name with no directory components. This would make
15362 it impossible to point @value{GDBN} at a copy of the remote target's
15363 shared libraries on the host using @code{set sysroot}, and impractical
15364 with @code{set solib-search-path}. Setting
15365 @code{target-file-system-kind} to @code{dos-based} tells @value{GDBN}
15366 to interpret such file names similarly to how the target would, and to
15367 map them to file names valid on @value{GDBN}'s native file system
15368 semantics. The value of @var{kind} can be @code{"auto"}, in addition
15369 to one of the supported file system kinds. In that case, @value{GDBN}
15370 tries to determine the appropriate file system variant based on the
15371 current target's operating system (@pxref{ABI, ,Configuring the
15372 Current ABI}). The supported file system settings are:
15373
15374 @table @code
15375 @item unix
15376 Instruct @value{GDBN} to assume the target file system is of Unix
15377 kind. Only file names starting the forward slash (@samp{/}) character
15378 are considered absolute, and the directory separator character is also
15379 the forward slash.
15380
15381 @item dos-based
15382 Instruct @value{GDBN} to assume the target file system is DOS based.
15383 File names starting with either a forward slash, or a drive letter
15384 followed by a colon (e.g., @samp{c:}), are considered absolute, and
15385 both the slash (@samp{/}) and the backslash (@samp{\\}) characters are
15386 considered directory separators.
15387
15388 @item auto
15389 Instruct @value{GDBN} to use the file system kind associated with the
15390 target operating system (@pxref{ABI, ,Configuring the Current ABI}).
15391 This is the default.
15392 @end table
15393 @end table
15394
15395
15396 @node Separate Debug Files
15397 @section Debugging Information in Separate Files
15398 @cindex separate debugging information files
15399 @cindex debugging information in separate files
15400 @cindex @file{.debug} subdirectories
15401 @cindex debugging information directory, global
15402 @cindex global debugging information directory
15403 @cindex build ID, and separate debugging files
15404 @cindex @file{.build-id} directory
15405
15406 @value{GDBN} allows you to put a program's debugging information in a
15407 file separate from the executable itself, in a way that allows
15408 @value{GDBN} to find and load the debugging information automatically.
15409 Since debugging information can be very large---sometimes larger
15410 than the executable code itself---some systems distribute debugging
15411 information for their executables in separate files, which users can
15412 install only when they need to debug a problem.
15413
15414 @value{GDBN} supports two ways of specifying the separate debug info
15415 file:
15416
15417 @itemize @bullet
15418 @item
15419 The executable contains a @dfn{debug link} that specifies the name of
15420 the separate debug info file. The separate debug file's name is
15421 usually @file{@var{executable}.debug}, where @var{executable} is the
15422 name of the corresponding executable file without leading directories
15423 (e.g., @file{ls.debug} for @file{/usr/bin/ls}). In addition, the
15424 debug link specifies a 32-bit @dfn{Cyclic Redundancy Check} (CRC)
15425 checksum for the debug file, which @value{GDBN} uses to validate that
15426 the executable and the debug file came from the same build.
15427
15428 @item
15429 The executable contains a @dfn{build ID}, a unique bit string that is
15430 also present in the corresponding debug info file. (This is supported
15431 only on some operating systems, notably those which use the ELF format
15432 for binary files and the @sc{gnu} Binutils.) For more details about
15433 this feature, see the description of the @option{--build-id}
15434 command-line option in @ref{Options, , Command Line Options, ld.info,
15435 The GNU Linker}. The debug info file's name is not specified
15436 explicitly by the build ID, but can be computed from the build ID, see
15437 below.
15438 @end itemize
15439
15440 Depending on the way the debug info file is specified, @value{GDBN}
15441 uses two different methods of looking for the debug file:
15442
15443 @itemize @bullet
15444 @item
15445 For the ``debug link'' method, @value{GDBN} looks up the named file in
15446 the directory of the executable file, then in a subdirectory of that
15447 directory named @file{.debug}, and finally under the global debug
15448 directory, in a subdirectory whose name is identical to the leading
15449 directories of the executable's absolute file name.
15450
15451 @item
15452 For the ``build ID'' method, @value{GDBN} looks in the
15453 @file{.build-id} subdirectory of the global debug directory for a file
15454 named @file{@var{nn}/@var{nnnnnnnn}.debug}, where @var{nn} are the
15455 first 2 hex characters of the build ID bit string, and @var{nnnnnnnn}
15456 are the rest of the bit string. (Real build ID strings are 32 or more
15457 hex characters, not 10.)
15458 @end itemize
15459
15460 So, for example, suppose you ask @value{GDBN} to debug
15461 @file{/usr/bin/ls}, which has a debug link that specifies the
15462 file @file{ls.debug}, and a build ID whose value in hex is
15463 @code{abcdef1234}. If the global debug directory is
15464 @file{/usr/lib/debug}, then @value{GDBN} will look for the following
15465 debug information files, in the indicated order:
15466
15467 @itemize @minus
15468 @item
15469 @file{/usr/lib/debug/.build-id/ab/cdef1234.debug}
15470 @item
15471 @file{/usr/bin/ls.debug}
15472 @item
15473 @file{/usr/bin/.debug/ls.debug}
15474 @item
15475 @file{/usr/lib/debug/usr/bin/ls.debug}.
15476 @end itemize
15477
15478 You can set the global debugging info directory's name, and view the
15479 name @value{GDBN} is currently using.
15480
15481 @table @code
15482
15483 @kindex set debug-file-directory
15484 @item set debug-file-directory @var{directories}
15485 Set the directories which @value{GDBN} searches for separate debugging
15486 information files to @var{directory}. Multiple directory components can be set
15487 concatenating them by a directory separator.
15488
15489 @kindex show debug-file-directory
15490 @item show debug-file-directory
15491 Show the directories @value{GDBN} searches for separate debugging
15492 information files.
15493
15494 @end table
15495
15496 @cindex @code{.gnu_debuglink} sections
15497 @cindex debug link sections
15498 A debug link is a special section of the executable file named
15499 @code{.gnu_debuglink}. The section must contain:
15500
15501 @itemize
15502 @item
15503 A filename, with any leading directory components removed, followed by
15504 a zero byte,
15505 @item
15506 zero to three bytes of padding, as needed to reach the next four-byte
15507 boundary within the section, and
15508 @item
15509 a four-byte CRC checksum, stored in the same endianness used for the
15510 executable file itself. The checksum is computed on the debugging
15511 information file's full contents by the function given below, passing
15512 zero as the @var{crc} argument.
15513 @end itemize
15514
15515 Any executable file format can carry a debug link, as long as it can
15516 contain a section named @code{.gnu_debuglink} with the contents
15517 described above.
15518
15519 @cindex @code{.note.gnu.build-id} sections
15520 @cindex build ID sections
15521 The build ID is a special section in the executable file (and in other
15522 ELF binary files that @value{GDBN} may consider). This section is
15523 often named @code{.note.gnu.build-id}, but that name is not mandatory.
15524 It contains unique identification for the built files---the ID remains
15525 the same across multiple builds of the same build tree. The default
15526 algorithm SHA1 produces 160 bits (40 hexadecimal characters) of the
15527 content for the build ID string. The same section with an identical
15528 value is present in the original built binary with symbols, in its
15529 stripped variant, and in the separate debugging information file.
15530
15531 The debugging information file itself should be an ordinary
15532 executable, containing a full set of linker symbols, sections, and
15533 debugging information. The sections of the debugging information file
15534 should have the same names, addresses, and sizes as the original file,
15535 but they need not contain any data---much like a @code{.bss} section
15536 in an ordinary executable.
15537
15538 The @sc{gnu} binary utilities (Binutils) package includes the
15539 @samp{objcopy} utility that can produce
15540 the separated executable / debugging information file pairs using the
15541 following commands:
15542
15543 @smallexample
15544 @kbd{objcopy --only-keep-debug foo foo.debug}
15545 @kbd{strip -g foo}
15546 @end smallexample
15547
15548 @noindent
15549 These commands remove the debugging
15550 information from the executable file @file{foo} and place it in the file
15551 @file{foo.debug}. You can use the first, second or both methods to link the
15552 two files:
15553
15554 @itemize @bullet
15555 @item
15556 The debug link method needs the following additional command to also leave
15557 behind a debug link in @file{foo}:
15558
15559 @smallexample
15560 @kbd{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.debug foo}
15561 @end smallexample
15562
15563 Ulrich Drepper's @file{elfutils} package, starting with version 0.53, contains
15564 a version of the @code{strip} command such that the command @kbd{strip foo -f
15565 foo.debug} has the same functionality as the two @code{objcopy} commands and
15566 the @code{ln -s} command above, together.
15567
15568 @item
15569 Build ID gets embedded into the main executable using @code{ld --build-id} or
15570 the @value{NGCC} counterpart @code{gcc -Wl,--build-id}. Build ID support plus
15571 compatibility fixes for debug files separation are present in @sc{gnu} binary
15572 utilities (Binutils) package since version 2.18.
15573 @end itemize
15574
15575 @noindent
15576
15577 @cindex CRC algorithm definition
15578 The CRC used in @code{.gnu_debuglink} is the CRC-32 defined in
15579 IEEE 802.3 using the polynomial:
15580
15581 @c TexInfo requires naked braces for multi-digit exponents for Tex
15582 @c output, but this causes HTML output to barf. HTML has to be set using
15583 @c raw commands. So we end up having to specify this equation in 2
15584 @c different ways!
15585 @ifhtml
15586 @display
15587 @html
15588 <em>x</em><sup>32</sup> + <em>x</em><sup>26</sup> + <em>x</em><sup>23</sup> + <em>x</em><sup>22</sup> + <em>x</em><sup>16</sup> + <em>x</em><sup>12</sup> + <em>x</em><sup>11</sup>
15589 + <em>x</em><sup>10</sup> + <em>x</em><sup>8</sup> + <em>x</em><sup>7</sup> + <em>x</em><sup>5</sup> + <em>x</em><sup>4</sup> + <em>x</em><sup>2</sup> + <em>x</em> + 1
15590 @end html
15591 @end display
15592 @end ifhtml
15593 @ifnothtml
15594 @display
15595 @math{x^{32} + x^{26} + x^{23} + x^{22} + x^{16} + x^{12} + x^{11}}
15596 @math{+ x^{10} + x^8 + x^7 + x^5 + x^4 + x^2 + x + 1}
15597 @end display
15598 @end ifnothtml
15599
15600 The function is computed byte at a time, taking the least
15601 significant bit of each byte first. The initial pattern
15602 @code{0xffffffff} is used, to ensure leading zeros affect the CRC and
15603 the final result is inverted to ensure trailing zeros also affect the
15604 CRC.
15605
15606 @emph{Note:} This is the same CRC polynomial as used in handling the
15607 @dfn{Remote Serial Protocol} @code{qCRC} packet (@pxref{Remote Protocol,
15608 , @value{GDBN} Remote Serial Protocol}). However in the
15609 case of the Remote Serial Protocol, the CRC is computed @emph{most}
15610 significant bit first, and the result is not inverted, so trailing
15611 zeros have no effect on the CRC value.
15612
15613 To complete the description, we show below the code of the function
15614 which produces the CRC used in @code{.gnu_debuglink}. Inverting the
15615 initially supplied @code{crc} argument means that an initial call to
15616 this function passing in zero will start computing the CRC using
15617 @code{0xffffffff}.
15618
15619 @kindex gnu_debuglink_crc32
15620 @smallexample
15621 unsigned long
15622 gnu_debuglink_crc32 (unsigned long crc,
15623 unsigned char *buf, size_t len)
15624 @{
15625 static const unsigned long crc32_table[256] =
15626 @{
15627 0x00000000, 0x77073096, 0xee0e612c, 0x990951ba, 0x076dc419,
15628 0x706af48f, 0xe963a535, 0x9e6495a3, 0x0edb8832, 0x79dcb8a4,
15629 0xe0d5e91e, 0x97d2d988, 0x09b64c2b, 0x7eb17cbd, 0xe7b82d07,
15630 0x90bf1d91, 0x1db71064, 0x6ab020f2, 0xf3b97148, 0x84be41de,
15631 0x1adad47d, 0x6ddde4eb, 0xf4d4b551, 0x83d385c7, 0x136c9856,
15632 0x646ba8c0, 0xfd62f97a, 0x8a65c9ec, 0x14015c4f, 0x63066cd9,
15633 0xfa0f3d63, 0x8d080df5, 0x3b6e20c8, 0x4c69105e, 0xd56041e4,
15634 0xa2677172, 0x3c03e4d1, 0x4b04d447, 0xd20d85fd, 0xa50ab56b,
15635 0x35b5a8fa, 0x42b2986c, 0xdbbbc9d6, 0xacbcf940, 0x32d86ce3,
15636 0x45df5c75, 0xdcd60dcf, 0xabd13d59, 0x26d930ac, 0x51de003a,
15637 0xc8d75180, 0xbfd06116, 0x21b4f4b5, 0x56b3c423, 0xcfba9599,
15638 0xb8bda50f, 0x2802b89e, 0x5f058808, 0xc60cd9b2, 0xb10be924,
15639 0x2f6f7c87, 0x58684c11, 0xc1611dab, 0xb6662d3d, 0x76dc4190,
15640 0x01db7106, 0x98d220bc, 0xefd5102a, 0x71b18589, 0x06b6b51f,
15641 0x9fbfe4a5, 0xe8b8d433, 0x7807c9a2, 0x0f00f934, 0x9609a88e,
15642 0xe10e9818, 0x7f6a0dbb, 0x086d3d2d, 0x91646c97, 0xe6635c01,
15643 0x6b6b51f4, 0x1c6c6162, 0x856530d8, 0xf262004e, 0x6c0695ed,
15644 0x1b01a57b, 0x8208f4c1, 0xf50fc457, 0x65b0d9c6, 0x12b7e950,
15645 0x8bbeb8ea, 0xfcb9887c, 0x62dd1ddf, 0x15da2d49, 0x8cd37cf3,
15646 0xfbd44c65, 0x4db26158, 0x3ab551ce, 0xa3bc0074, 0xd4bb30e2,
15647 0x4adfa541, 0x3dd895d7, 0xa4d1c46d, 0xd3d6f4fb, 0x4369e96a,
15648 0x346ed9fc, 0xad678846, 0xda60b8d0, 0x44042d73, 0x33031de5,
15649 0xaa0a4c5f, 0xdd0d7cc9, 0x5005713c, 0x270241aa, 0xbe0b1010,
15650 0xc90c2086, 0x5768b525, 0x206f85b3, 0xb966d409, 0xce61e49f,
15651 0x5edef90e, 0x29d9c998, 0xb0d09822, 0xc7d7a8b4, 0x59b33d17,
15652 0x2eb40d81, 0xb7bd5c3b, 0xc0ba6cad, 0xedb88320, 0x9abfb3b6,
15653 0x03b6e20c, 0x74b1d29a, 0xead54739, 0x9dd277af, 0x04db2615,
15654 0x73dc1683, 0xe3630b12, 0x94643b84, 0x0d6d6a3e, 0x7a6a5aa8,
15655 0xe40ecf0b, 0x9309ff9d, 0x0a00ae27, 0x7d079eb1, 0xf00f9344,
15656 0x8708a3d2, 0x1e01f268, 0x6906c2fe, 0xf762575d, 0x806567cb,
15657 0x196c3671, 0x6e6b06e7, 0xfed41b76, 0x89d32be0, 0x10da7a5a,
15658 0x67dd4acc, 0xf9b9df6f, 0x8ebeeff9, 0x17b7be43, 0x60b08ed5,
15659 0xd6d6a3e8, 0xa1d1937e, 0x38d8c2c4, 0x4fdff252, 0xd1bb67f1,
15660 0xa6bc5767, 0x3fb506dd, 0x48b2364b, 0xd80d2bda, 0xaf0a1b4c,
15661 0x36034af6, 0x41047a60, 0xdf60efc3, 0xa867df55, 0x316e8eef,
15662 0x4669be79, 0xcb61b38c, 0xbc66831a, 0x256fd2a0, 0x5268e236,
15663 0xcc0c7795, 0xbb0b4703, 0x220216b9, 0x5505262f, 0xc5ba3bbe,
15664 0xb2bd0b28, 0x2bb45a92, 0x5cb36a04, 0xc2d7ffa7, 0xb5d0cf31,
15665 0x2cd99e8b, 0x5bdeae1d, 0x9b64c2b0, 0xec63f226, 0x756aa39c,
15666 0x026d930a, 0x9c0906a9, 0xeb0e363f, 0x72076785, 0x05005713,
15667 0x95bf4a82, 0xe2b87a14, 0x7bb12bae, 0x0cb61b38, 0x92d28e9b,
15668 0xe5d5be0d, 0x7cdcefb7, 0x0bdbdf21, 0x86d3d2d4, 0xf1d4e242,
15669 0x68ddb3f8, 0x1fda836e, 0x81be16cd, 0xf6b9265b, 0x6fb077e1,
15670 0x18b74777, 0x88085ae6, 0xff0f6a70, 0x66063bca, 0x11010b5c,
15671 0x8f659eff, 0xf862ae69, 0x616bffd3, 0x166ccf45, 0xa00ae278,
15672 0xd70dd2ee, 0x4e048354, 0x3903b3c2, 0xa7672661, 0xd06016f7,
15673 0x4969474d, 0x3e6e77db, 0xaed16a4a, 0xd9d65adc, 0x40df0b66,
15674 0x37d83bf0, 0xa9bcae53, 0xdebb9ec5, 0x47b2cf7f, 0x30b5ffe9,
15675 0xbdbdf21c, 0xcabac28a, 0x53b39330, 0x24b4a3a6, 0xbad03605,
15676 0xcdd70693, 0x54de5729, 0x23d967bf, 0xb3667a2e, 0xc4614ab8,
15677 0x5d681b02, 0x2a6f2b94, 0xb40bbe37, 0xc30c8ea1, 0x5a05df1b,
15678 0x2d02ef8d
15679 @};
15680 unsigned char *end;
15681
15682 crc = ~crc & 0xffffffff;
15683 for (end = buf + len; buf < end; ++buf)
15684 crc = crc32_table[(crc ^ *buf) & 0xff] ^ (crc >> 8);
15685 return ~crc & 0xffffffff;
15686 @}
15687 @end smallexample
15688
15689 @noindent
15690 This computation does not apply to the ``build ID'' method.
15691
15692
15693 @node Index Files
15694 @section Index Files Speed Up @value{GDBN}
15695 @cindex index files
15696 @cindex @samp{.gdb_index} section
15697
15698 When @value{GDBN} finds a symbol file, it scans the symbols in the
15699 file in order to construct an internal symbol table. This lets most
15700 @value{GDBN} operations work quickly---at the cost of a delay early
15701 on. For large programs, this delay can be quite lengthy, so
15702 @value{GDBN} provides a way to build an index, which speeds up
15703 startup.
15704
15705 The index is stored as a section in the symbol file. @value{GDBN} can
15706 write the index to a file, then you can put it into the symbol file
15707 using @command{objcopy}.
15708
15709 To create an index file, use the @code{save gdb-index} command:
15710
15711 @table @code
15712 @item save gdb-index @var{directory}
15713 @kindex save gdb-index
15714 Create an index file for each symbol file currently known by
15715 @value{GDBN}. Each file is named after its corresponding symbol file,
15716 with @samp{.gdb-index} appended, and is written into the given
15717 @var{directory}.
15718 @end table
15719
15720 Once you have created an index file you can merge it into your symbol
15721 file, here named @file{symfile}, using @command{objcopy}:
15722
15723 @smallexample
15724 $ objcopy --add-section .gdb_index=symfile.gdb-index \
15725 --set-section-flags .gdb_index=readonly symfile symfile
15726 @end smallexample
15727
15728 There are currently some limitation on indices. They only work when
15729 for DWARF debugging information, not stabs. And, they do not
15730 currently work for programs using Ada.
15731
15732 @node Symbol Errors
15733 @section Errors Reading Symbol Files
15734
15735 While reading a symbol file, @value{GDBN} occasionally encounters problems,
15736 such as symbol types it does not recognize, or known bugs in compiler
15737 output. By default, @value{GDBN} does not notify you of such problems, since
15738 they are relatively common and primarily of interest to people
15739 debugging compilers. If you are interested in seeing information
15740 about ill-constructed symbol tables, you can either ask @value{GDBN} to print
15741 only one message about each such type of problem, no matter how many
15742 times the problem occurs; or you can ask @value{GDBN} to print more messages,
15743 to see how many times the problems occur, with the @code{set
15744 complaints} command (@pxref{Messages/Warnings, ,Optional Warnings and
15745 Messages}).
15746
15747 The messages currently printed, and their meanings, include:
15748
15749 @table @code
15750 @item inner block not inside outer block in @var{symbol}
15751
15752 The symbol information shows where symbol scopes begin and end
15753 (such as at the start of a function or a block of statements). This
15754 error indicates that an inner scope block is not fully contained
15755 in its outer scope blocks.
15756
15757 @value{GDBN} circumvents the problem by treating the inner block as if it had
15758 the same scope as the outer block. In the error message, @var{symbol}
15759 may be shown as ``@code{(don't know)}'' if the outer block is not a
15760 function.
15761
15762 @item block at @var{address} out of order
15763
15764 The symbol information for symbol scope blocks should occur in
15765 order of increasing addresses. This error indicates that it does not
15766 do so.
15767
15768 @value{GDBN} does not circumvent this problem, and has trouble
15769 locating symbols in the source file whose symbols it is reading. (You
15770 can often determine what source file is affected by specifying
15771 @code{set verbose on}. @xref{Messages/Warnings, ,Optional Warnings and
15772 Messages}.)
15773
15774 @item bad block start address patched
15775
15776 The symbol information for a symbol scope block has a start address
15777 smaller than the address of the preceding source line. This is known
15778 to occur in the SunOS 4.1.1 (and earlier) C compiler.
15779
15780 @value{GDBN} circumvents the problem by treating the symbol scope block as
15781 starting on the previous source line.
15782
15783 @item bad string table offset in symbol @var{n}
15784
15785 @cindex foo
15786 Symbol number @var{n} contains a pointer into the string table which is
15787 larger than the size of the string table.
15788
15789 @value{GDBN} circumvents the problem by considering the symbol to have the
15790 name @code{foo}, which may cause other problems if many symbols end up
15791 with this name.
15792
15793 @item unknown symbol type @code{0x@var{nn}}
15794
15795 The symbol information contains new data types that @value{GDBN} does
15796 not yet know how to read. @code{0x@var{nn}} is the symbol type of the
15797 uncomprehended information, in hexadecimal.
15798
15799 @value{GDBN} circumvents the error by ignoring this symbol information.
15800 This usually allows you to debug your program, though certain symbols
15801 are not accessible. If you encounter such a problem and feel like
15802 debugging it, you can debug @code{@value{GDBP}} with itself, breakpoint
15803 on @code{complain}, then go up to the function @code{read_dbx_symtab}
15804 and examine @code{*bufp} to see the symbol.
15805
15806 @item stub type has NULL name
15807
15808 @value{GDBN} could not find the full definition for a struct or class.
15809
15810 @item const/volatile indicator missing (ok if using g++ v1.x), got@dots{}
15811 The symbol information for a C@t{++} member function is missing some
15812 information that recent versions of the compiler should have output for
15813 it.
15814
15815 @item info mismatch between compiler and debugger
15816
15817 @value{GDBN} could not parse a type specification output by the compiler.
15818
15819 @end table
15820
15821 @node Data Files
15822 @section GDB Data Files
15823
15824 @cindex prefix for data files
15825 @value{GDBN} will sometimes read an auxiliary data file. These files
15826 are kept in a directory known as the @dfn{data directory}.
15827
15828 You can set the data directory's name, and view the name @value{GDBN}
15829 is currently using.
15830
15831 @table @code
15832 @kindex set data-directory
15833 @item set data-directory @var{directory}
15834 Set the directory which @value{GDBN} searches for auxiliary data files
15835 to @var{directory}.
15836
15837 @kindex show data-directory
15838 @item show data-directory
15839 Show the directory @value{GDBN} searches for auxiliary data files.
15840 @end table
15841
15842 @cindex default data directory
15843 @cindex @samp{--with-gdb-datadir}
15844 You can set the default data directory by using the configure-time
15845 @samp{--with-gdb-datadir} option. If the data directory is inside
15846 @value{GDBN}'s configured binary prefix (set with @samp{--prefix} or
15847 @samp{--exec-prefix}), then the default data directory will be updated
15848 automatically if the installed @value{GDBN} is moved to a new
15849 location.
15850
15851 The data directory may also be specified with the
15852 @code{--data-directory} command line option.
15853 @xref{Mode Options}.
15854
15855 @node Targets
15856 @chapter Specifying a Debugging Target
15857
15858 @cindex debugging target
15859 A @dfn{target} is the execution environment occupied by your program.
15860
15861 Often, @value{GDBN} runs in the same host environment as your program;
15862 in that case, the debugging target is specified as a side effect when
15863 you use the @code{file} or @code{core} commands. When you need more
15864 flexibility---for example, running @value{GDBN} on a physically separate
15865 host, or controlling a standalone system over a serial port or a
15866 realtime system over a TCP/IP connection---you can use the @code{target}
15867 command to specify one of the target types configured for @value{GDBN}
15868 (@pxref{Target Commands, ,Commands for Managing Targets}).
15869
15870 @cindex target architecture
15871 It is possible to build @value{GDBN} for several different @dfn{target
15872 architectures}. When @value{GDBN} is built like that, you can choose
15873 one of the available architectures with the @kbd{set architecture}
15874 command.
15875
15876 @table @code
15877 @kindex set architecture
15878 @kindex show architecture
15879 @item set architecture @var{arch}
15880 This command sets the current target architecture to @var{arch}. The
15881 value of @var{arch} can be @code{"auto"}, in addition to one of the
15882 supported architectures.
15883
15884 @item show architecture
15885 Show the current target architecture.
15886
15887 @item set processor
15888 @itemx processor
15889 @kindex set processor
15890 @kindex show processor
15891 These are alias commands for, respectively, @code{set architecture}
15892 and @code{show architecture}.
15893 @end table
15894
15895 @menu
15896 * Active Targets:: Active targets
15897 * Target Commands:: Commands for managing targets
15898 * Byte Order:: Choosing target byte order
15899 @end menu
15900
15901 @node Active Targets
15902 @section Active Targets
15903
15904 @cindex stacking targets
15905 @cindex active targets
15906 @cindex multiple targets
15907
15908 There are multiple classes of targets such as: processes, executable files or
15909 recording sessions. Core files belong to the process class, making core file
15910 and process mutually exclusive. Otherwise, @value{GDBN} can work concurrently
15911 on multiple active targets, one in each class. This allows you to (for
15912 example) start a process and inspect its activity, while still having access to
15913 the executable file after the process finishes. Or if you start process
15914 recording (@pxref{Reverse Execution}) and @code{reverse-step} there, you are
15915 presented a virtual layer of the recording target, while the process target
15916 remains stopped at the chronologically last point of the process execution.
15917
15918 Use the @code{core-file} and @code{exec-file} commands to select a new core
15919 file or executable target (@pxref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}). To
15920 specify as a target a process that is already running, use the @code{attach}
15921 command (@pxref{Attach, ,Debugging an Already-running Process}).
15922
15923 @node Target Commands
15924 @section Commands for Managing Targets
15925
15926 @table @code
15927 @item target @var{type} @var{parameters}
15928 Connects the @value{GDBN} host environment to a target machine or
15929 process. A target is typically a protocol for talking to debugging
15930 facilities. You use the argument @var{type} to specify the type or
15931 protocol of the target machine.
15932
15933 Further @var{parameters} are interpreted by the target protocol, but
15934 typically include things like device names or host names to connect
15935 with, process numbers, and baud rates.
15936
15937 The @code{target} command does not repeat if you press @key{RET} again
15938 after executing the command.
15939
15940 @kindex help target
15941 @item help target
15942 Displays the names of all targets available. To display targets
15943 currently selected, use either @code{info target} or @code{info files}
15944 (@pxref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}).
15945
15946 @item help target @var{name}
15947 Describe a particular target, including any parameters necessary to
15948 select it.
15949
15950 @kindex set gnutarget
15951 @item set gnutarget @var{args}
15952 @value{GDBN} uses its own library BFD to read your files. @value{GDBN}
15953 knows whether it is reading an @dfn{executable},
15954 a @dfn{core}, or a @dfn{.o} file; however, you can specify the file format
15955 with the @code{set gnutarget} command. Unlike most @code{target} commands,
15956 with @code{gnutarget} the @code{target} refers to a program, not a machine.
15957
15958 @quotation
15959 @emph{Warning:} To specify a file format with @code{set gnutarget},
15960 you must know the actual BFD name.
15961 @end quotation
15962
15963 @noindent
15964 @xref{Files, , Commands to Specify Files}.
15965
15966 @kindex show gnutarget
15967 @item show gnutarget
15968 Use the @code{show gnutarget} command to display what file format
15969 @code{gnutarget} is set to read. If you have not set @code{gnutarget},
15970 @value{GDBN} will determine the file format for each file automatically,
15971 and @code{show gnutarget} displays @samp{The current BDF target is "auto"}.
15972 @end table
15973
15974 @cindex common targets
15975 Here are some common targets (available, or not, depending on the GDB
15976 configuration):
15977
15978 @table @code
15979 @kindex target
15980 @item target exec @var{program}
15981 @cindex executable file target
15982 An executable file. @samp{target exec @var{program}} is the same as
15983 @samp{exec-file @var{program}}.
15984
15985 @item target core @var{filename}
15986 @cindex core dump file target
15987 A core dump file. @samp{target core @var{filename}} is the same as
15988 @samp{core-file @var{filename}}.
15989
15990 @item target remote @var{medium}
15991 @cindex remote target
15992 A remote system connected to @value{GDBN} via a serial line or network
15993 connection. This command tells @value{GDBN} to use its own remote
15994 protocol over @var{medium} for debugging. @xref{Remote Debugging}.
15995
15996 For example, if you have a board connected to @file{/dev/ttya} on the
15997 machine running @value{GDBN}, you could say:
15998
15999 @smallexample
16000 target remote /dev/ttya
16001 @end smallexample
16002
16003 @code{target remote} supports the @code{load} command. This is only
16004 useful if you have some other way of getting the stub to the target
16005 system, and you can put it somewhere in memory where it won't get
16006 clobbered by the download.
16007
16008 @item target sim @r{[}@var{simargs}@r{]} @dots{}
16009 @cindex built-in simulator target
16010 Builtin CPU simulator. @value{GDBN} includes simulators for most architectures.
16011 In general,
16012 @smallexample
16013 target sim
16014 load
16015 run
16016 @end smallexample
16017 @noindent
16018 works; however, you cannot assume that a specific memory map, device
16019 drivers, or even basic I/O is available, although some simulators do
16020 provide these. For info about any processor-specific simulator details,
16021 see the appropriate section in @ref{Embedded Processors, ,Embedded
16022 Processors}.
16023
16024 @end table
16025
16026 Some configurations may include these targets as well:
16027
16028 @table @code
16029
16030 @item target nrom @var{dev}
16031 @cindex NetROM ROM emulator target
16032 NetROM ROM emulator. This target only supports downloading.
16033
16034 @end table
16035
16036 Different targets are available on different configurations of @value{GDBN};
16037 your configuration may have more or fewer targets.
16038
16039 Many remote targets require you to download the executable's code once
16040 you've successfully established a connection. You may wish to control
16041 various aspects of this process.
16042
16043 @table @code
16044
16045 @item set hash
16046 @kindex set hash@r{, for remote monitors}
16047 @cindex hash mark while downloading
16048 This command controls whether a hash mark @samp{#} is displayed while
16049 downloading a file to the remote monitor. If on, a hash mark is
16050 displayed after each S-record is successfully downloaded to the
16051 monitor.
16052
16053 @item show hash
16054 @kindex show hash@r{, for remote monitors}
16055 Show the current status of displaying the hash mark.
16056
16057 @item set debug monitor
16058 @kindex set debug monitor
16059 @cindex display remote monitor communications
16060 Enable or disable display of communications messages between
16061 @value{GDBN} and the remote monitor.
16062
16063 @item show debug monitor
16064 @kindex show debug monitor
16065 Show the current status of displaying communications between
16066 @value{GDBN} and the remote monitor.
16067 @end table
16068
16069 @table @code
16070
16071 @kindex load @var{filename}
16072 @item load @var{filename}
16073 @anchor{load}
16074 Depending on what remote debugging facilities are configured into
16075 @value{GDBN}, the @code{load} command may be available. Where it exists, it
16076 is meant to make @var{filename} (an executable) available for debugging
16077 on the remote system---by downloading, or dynamic linking, for example.
16078 @code{load} also records the @var{filename} symbol table in @value{GDBN}, like
16079 the @code{add-symbol-file} command.
16080
16081 If your @value{GDBN} does not have a @code{load} command, attempting to
16082 execute it gets the error message ``@code{You can't do that when your
16083 target is @dots{}}''
16084
16085 The file is loaded at whatever address is specified in the executable.
16086 For some object file formats, you can specify the load address when you
16087 link the program; for other formats, like a.out, the object file format
16088 specifies a fixed address.
16089 @c FIXME! This would be a good place for an xref to the GNU linker doc.
16090
16091 Depending on the remote side capabilities, @value{GDBN} may be able to
16092 load programs into flash memory.
16093
16094 @code{load} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} again after using it.
16095 @end table
16096
16097 @node Byte Order
16098 @section Choosing Target Byte Order
16099
16100 @cindex choosing target byte order
16101 @cindex target byte order
16102
16103 Some types of processors, such as the MIPS, PowerPC, and Renesas SH,
16104 offer the ability to run either big-endian or little-endian byte
16105 orders. Usually the executable or symbol will include a bit to
16106 designate the endian-ness, and you will not need to worry about
16107 which to use. However, you may still find it useful to adjust
16108 @value{GDBN}'s idea of processor endian-ness manually.
16109
16110 @table @code
16111 @kindex set endian
16112 @item set endian big
16113 Instruct @value{GDBN} to assume the target is big-endian.
16114
16115 @item set endian little
16116 Instruct @value{GDBN} to assume the target is little-endian.
16117
16118 @item set endian auto
16119 Instruct @value{GDBN} to use the byte order associated with the
16120 executable.
16121
16122 @item show endian
16123 Display @value{GDBN}'s current idea of the target byte order.
16124
16125 @end table
16126
16127 Note that these commands merely adjust interpretation of symbolic
16128 data on the host, and that they have absolutely no effect on the
16129 target system.
16130
16131
16132 @node Remote Debugging
16133 @chapter Debugging Remote Programs
16134 @cindex remote debugging
16135
16136 If you are trying to debug a program running on a machine that cannot run
16137 @value{GDBN} in the usual way, it is often useful to use remote debugging.
16138 For example, you might use remote debugging on an operating system kernel,
16139 or on a small system which does not have a general purpose operating system
16140 powerful enough to run a full-featured debugger.
16141
16142 Some configurations of @value{GDBN} have special serial or TCP/IP interfaces
16143 to make this work with particular debugging targets. In addition,
16144 @value{GDBN} comes with a generic serial protocol (specific to @value{GDBN},
16145 but not specific to any particular target system) which you can use if you
16146 write the remote stubs---the code that runs on the remote system to
16147 communicate with @value{GDBN}.
16148
16149 Other remote targets may be available in your
16150 configuration of @value{GDBN}; use @code{help target} to list them.
16151
16152 @menu
16153 * Connecting:: Connecting to a remote target
16154 * File Transfer:: Sending files to a remote system
16155 * Server:: Using the gdbserver program
16156 * Remote Configuration:: Remote configuration
16157 * Remote Stub:: Implementing a remote stub
16158 @end menu
16159
16160 @node Connecting
16161 @section Connecting to a Remote Target
16162
16163 On the @value{GDBN} host machine, you will need an unstripped copy of
16164 your program, since @value{GDBN} needs symbol and debugging information.
16165 Start up @value{GDBN} as usual, using the name of the local copy of your
16166 program as the first argument.
16167
16168 @cindex @code{target remote}
16169 @value{GDBN} can communicate with the target over a serial line, or
16170 over an @acronym{IP} network using @acronym{TCP} or @acronym{UDP}. In
16171 each case, @value{GDBN} uses the same protocol for debugging your
16172 program; only the medium carrying the debugging packets varies. The
16173 @code{target remote} command establishes a connection to the target.
16174 Its arguments indicate which medium to use:
16175
16176 @table @code
16177
16178 @item target remote @var{serial-device}
16179 @cindex serial line, @code{target remote}
16180 Use @var{serial-device} to communicate with the target. For example,
16181 to use a serial line connected to the device named @file{/dev/ttyb}:
16182
16183 @smallexample
16184 target remote /dev/ttyb
16185 @end smallexample
16186
16187 If you're using a serial line, you may want to give @value{GDBN} the
16188 @w{@samp{--baud}} option, or use the @code{set remotebaud} command
16189 (@pxref{Remote Configuration, set remotebaud}) before the
16190 @code{target} command.
16191
16192 @item target remote @code{@var{host}:@var{port}}
16193 @itemx target remote @code{tcp:@var{host}:@var{port}}
16194 @cindex @acronym{TCP} port, @code{target remote}
16195 Debug using a @acronym{TCP} connection to @var{port} on @var{host}.
16196 The @var{host} may be either a host name or a numeric @acronym{IP}
16197 address; @var{port} must be a decimal number. The @var{host} could be
16198 the target machine itself, if it is directly connected to the net, or
16199 it might be a terminal server which in turn has a serial line to the
16200 target.
16201
16202 For example, to connect to port 2828 on a terminal server named
16203 @code{manyfarms}:
16204
16205 @smallexample
16206 target remote manyfarms:2828
16207 @end smallexample
16208
16209 If your remote target is actually running on the same machine as your
16210 debugger session (e.g.@: a simulator for your target running on the
16211 same host), you can omit the hostname. For example, to connect to
16212 port 1234 on your local machine:
16213
16214 @smallexample
16215 target remote :1234
16216 @end smallexample
16217 @noindent
16218
16219 Note that the colon is still required here.
16220
16221 @item target remote @code{udp:@var{host}:@var{port}}
16222 @cindex @acronym{UDP} port, @code{target remote}
16223 Debug using @acronym{UDP} packets to @var{port} on @var{host}. For example, to
16224 connect to @acronym{UDP} port 2828 on a terminal server named @code{manyfarms}:
16225
16226 @smallexample
16227 target remote udp:manyfarms:2828
16228 @end smallexample
16229
16230 When using a @acronym{UDP} connection for remote debugging, you should
16231 keep in mind that the `U' stands for ``Unreliable''. @acronym{UDP}
16232 can silently drop packets on busy or unreliable networks, which will
16233 cause havoc with your debugging session.
16234
16235 @item target remote | @var{command}
16236 @cindex pipe, @code{target remote} to
16237 Run @var{command} in the background and communicate with it using a
16238 pipe. The @var{command} is a shell command, to be parsed and expanded
16239 by the system's command shell, @code{/bin/sh}; it should expect remote
16240 protocol packets on its standard input, and send replies on its
16241 standard output. You could use this to run a stand-alone simulator
16242 that speaks the remote debugging protocol, to make net connections
16243 using programs like @code{ssh}, or for other similar tricks.
16244
16245 If @var{command} closes its standard output (perhaps by exiting),
16246 @value{GDBN} will try to send it a @code{SIGTERM} signal. (If the
16247 program has already exited, this will have no effect.)
16248
16249 @end table
16250
16251 Once the connection has been established, you can use all the usual
16252 commands to examine and change data. The remote program is already
16253 running; you can use @kbd{step} and @kbd{continue}, and you do not
16254 need to use @kbd{run}.
16255
16256 @cindex interrupting remote programs
16257 @cindex remote programs, interrupting
16258 Whenever @value{GDBN} is waiting for the remote program, if you type the
16259 interrupt character (often @kbd{Ctrl-c}), @value{GDBN} attempts to stop the
16260 program. This may or may not succeed, depending in part on the hardware
16261 and the serial drivers the remote system uses. If you type the
16262 interrupt character once again, @value{GDBN} displays this prompt:
16263
16264 @smallexample
16265 Interrupted while waiting for the program.
16266 Give up (and stop debugging it)? (y or n)
16267 @end smallexample
16268
16269 If you type @kbd{y}, @value{GDBN} abandons the remote debugging session.
16270 (If you decide you want to try again later, you can use @samp{target
16271 remote} again to connect once more.) If you type @kbd{n}, @value{GDBN}
16272 goes back to waiting.
16273
16274 @table @code
16275 @kindex detach (remote)
16276 @item detach
16277 When you have finished debugging the remote program, you can use the
16278 @code{detach} command to release it from @value{GDBN} control.
16279 Detaching from the target normally resumes its execution, but the results
16280 will depend on your particular remote stub. After the @code{detach}
16281 command, @value{GDBN} is free to connect to another target.
16282
16283 @kindex disconnect
16284 @item disconnect
16285 The @code{disconnect} command behaves like @code{detach}, except that
16286 the target is generally not resumed. It will wait for @value{GDBN}
16287 (this instance or another one) to connect and continue debugging. After
16288 the @code{disconnect} command, @value{GDBN} is again free to connect to
16289 another target.
16290
16291 @cindex send command to remote monitor
16292 @cindex extend @value{GDBN} for remote targets
16293 @cindex add new commands for external monitor
16294 @kindex monitor
16295 @item monitor @var{cmd}
16296 This command allows you to send arbitrary commands directly to the
16297 remote monitor. Since @value{GDBN} doesn't care about the commands it
16298 sends like this, this command is the way to extend @value{GDBN}---you
16299 can add new commands that only the external monitor will understand
16300 and implement.
16301 @end table
16302
16303 @node File Transfer
16304 @section Sending files to a remote system
16305 @cindex remote target, file transfer
16306 @cindex file transfer
16307 @cindex sending files to remote systems
16308
16309 Some remote targets offer the ability to transfer files over the same
16310 connection used to communicate with @value{GDBN}. This is convenient
16311 for targets accessible through other means, e.g.@: @sc{gnu}/Linux systems
16312 running @code{gdbserver} over a network interface. For other targets,
16313 e.g.@: embedded devices with only a single serial port, this may be
16314 the only way to upload or download files.
16315
16316 Not all remote targets support these commands.
16317
16318 @table @code
16319 @kindex remote put
16320 @item remote put @var{hostfile} @var{targetfile}
16321 Copy file @var{hostfile} from the host system (the machine running
16322 @value{GDBN}) to @var{targetfile} on the target system.
16323
16324 @kindex remote get
16325 @item remote get @var{targetfile} @var{hostfile}
16326 Copy file @var{targetfile} from the target system to @var{hostfile}
16327 on the host system.
16328
16329 @kindex remote delete
16330 @item remote delete @var{targetfile}
16331 Delete @var{targetfile} from the target system.
16332
16333 @end table
16334
16335 @node Server
16336 @section Using the @code{gdbserver} Program
16337
16338 @kindex gdbserver
16339 @cindex remote connection without stubs
16340 @code{gdbserver} is a control program for Unix-like systems, which
16341 allows you to connect your program with a remote @value{GDBN} via
16342 @code{target remote}---but without linking in the usual debugging stub.
16343
16344 @code{gdbserver} is not a complete replacement for the debugging stubs,
16345 because it requires essentially the same operating-system facilities
16346 that @value{GDBN} itself does. In fact, a system that can run
16347 @code{gdbserver} to connect to a remote @value{GDBN} could also run
16348 @value{GDBN} locally! @code{gdbserver} is sometimes useful nevertheless,
16349 because it is a much smaller program than @value{GDBN} itself. It is
16350 also easier to port than all of @value{GDBN}, so you may be able to get
16351 started more quickly on a new system by using @code{gdbserver}.
16352 Finally, if you develop code for real-time systems, you may find that
16353 the tradeoffs involved in real-time operation make it more convenient to
16354 do as much development work as possible on another system, for example
16355 by cross-compiling. You can use @code{gdbserver} to make a similar
16356 choice for debugging.
16357
16358 @value{GDBN} and @code{gdbserver} communicate via either a serial line
16359 or a TCP connection, using the standard @value{GDBN} remote serial
16360 protocol.
16361
16362 @quotation
16363 @emph{Warning:} @code{gdbserver} does not have any built-in security.
16364 Do not run @code{gdbserver} connected to any public network; a
16365 @value{GDBN} connection to @code{gdbserver} provides access to the
16366 target system with the same privileges as the user running
16367 @code{gdbserver}.
16368 @end quotation
16369
16370 @subsection Running @code{gdbserver}
16371 @cindex arguments, to @code{gdbserver}
16372 @cindex @code{gdbserver}, command-line arguments
16373
16374 Run @code{gdbserver} on the target system. You need a copy of the
16375 program you want to debug, including any libraries it requires.
16376 @code{gdbserver} does not need your program's symbol table, so you can
16377 strip the program if necessary to save space. @value{GDBN} on the host
16378 system does all the symbol handling.
16379
16380 To use the server, you must tell it how to communicate with @value{GDBN};
16381 the name of your program; and the arguments for your program. The usual
16382 syntax is:
16383
16384 @smallexample
16385 target> gdbserver @var{comm} @var{program} [ @var{args} @dots{} ]
16386 @end smallexample
16387
16388 @var{comm} is either a device name (to use a serial line) or a TCP
16389 hostname and portnumber. For example, to debug Emacs with the argument
16390 @samp{foo.txt} and communicate with @value{GDBN} over the serial port
16391 @file{/dev/com1}:
16392
16393 @smallexample
16394 target> gdbserver /dev/com1 emacs foo.txt
16395 @end smallexample
16396
16397 @code{gdbserver} waits passively for the host @value{GDBN} to communicate
16398 with it.
16399
16400 To use a TCP connection instead of a serial line:
16401
16402 @smallexample
16403 target> gdbserver host:2345 emacs foo.txt
16404 @end smallexample
16405
16406 The only difference from the previous example is the first argument,
16407 specifying that you are communicating with the host @value{GDBN} via
16408 TCP. The @samp{host:2345} argument means that @code{gdbserver} is to
16409 expect a TCP connection from machine @samp{host} to local TCP port 2345.
16410 (Currently, the @samp{host} part is ignored.) You can choose any number
16411 you want for the port number as long as it does not conflict with any
16412 TCP ports already in use on the target system (for example, @code{23} is
16413 reserved for @code{telnet}).@footnote{If you choose a port number that
16414 conflicts with another service, @code{gdbserver} prints an error message
16415 and exits.} You must use the same port number with the host @value{GDBN}
16416 @code{target remote} command.
16417
16418 @subsubsection Attaching to a Running Program
16419 @cindex attach to a program, @code{gdbserver}
16420 @cindex @option{--attach}, @code{gdbserver} option
16421
16422 On some targets, @code{gdbserver} can also attach to running programs.
16423 This is accomplished via the @code{--attach} argument. The syntax is:
16424
16425 @smallexample
16426 target> gdbserver --attach @var{comm} @var{pid}
16427 @end smallexample
16428
16429 @var{pid} is the process ID of a currently running process. It isn't necessary
16430 to point @code{gdbserver} at a binary for the running process.
16431
16432 @pindex pidof
16433 You can debug processes by name instead of process ID if your target has the
16434 @code{pidof} utility:
16435
16436 @smallexample
16437 target> gdbserver --attach @var{comm} `pidof @var{program}`
16438 @end smallexample
16439
16440 In case more than one copy of @var{program} is running, or @var{program}
16441 has multiple threads, most versions of @code{pidof} support the
16442 @code{-s} option to only return the first process ID.
16443
16444 @subsubsection Multi-Process Mode for @code{gdbserver}
16445 @cindex @code{gdbserver}, multiple processes
16446 @cindex multiple processes with @code{gdbserver}
16447
16448 When you connect to @code{gdbserver} using @code{target remote},
16449 @code{gdbserver} debugs the specified program only once. When the
16450 program exits, or you detach from it, @value{GDBN} closes the connection
16451 and @code{gdbserver} exits.
16452
16453 If you connect using @kbd{target extended-remote}, @code{gdbserver}
16454 enters multi-process mode. When the debugged program exits, or you
16455 detach from it, @value{GDBN} stays connected to @code{gdbserver} even
16456 though no program is running. The @code{run} and @code{attach}
16457 commands instruct @code{gdbserver} to run or attach to a new program.
16458 The @code{run} command uses @code{set remote exec-file} (@pxref{set
16459 remote exec-file}) to select the program to run. Command line
16460 arguments are supported, except for wildcard expansion and I/O
16461 redirection (@pxref{Arguments}).
16462
16463 @cindex @option{--multi}, @code{gdbserver} option
16464 To start @code{gdbserver} without supplying an initial command to run
16465 or process ID to attach, use the @option{--multi} command line option.
16466 Then you can connect using @kbd{target extended-remote} and start
16467 the program you want to debug.
16468
16469 In multi-process mode @code{gdbserver} does not automatically exit unless you
16470 use the option @option{--once}. You can terminate it by using
16471 @code{monitor exit} (@pxref{Monitor Commands for gdbserver}). Note that the
16472 conditions under which @code{gdbserver} terminates depend on how @value{GDBN}
16473 connects to it (@kbd{target remote} or @kbd{target extended-remote}). The
16474 @option{--multi} option to @code{gdbserver} has no influence on that.
16475
16476 @subsubsection TCP port allocation lifecycle of @code{gdbserver}
16477
16478 This section applies only when @code{gdbserver} is run to listen on a TCP port.
16479
16480 @code{gdbserver} normally terminates after all of its debugged processes have
16481 terminated in @kbd{target remote} mode. On the other hand, for @kbd{target
16482 extended-remote}, @code{gdbserver} stays running even with no processes left.
16483 @value{GDBN} normally terminates the spawned debugged process on its exit,
16484 which normally also terminates @code{gdbserver} in the @kbd{target remote}
16485 mode. Therefore, when the connection drops unexpectedly, and @value{GDBN}
16486 cannot ask @code{gdbserver} to kill its debugged processes, @code{gdbserver}
16487 stays running even in the @kbd{target remote} mode.
16488
16489 When @code{gdbserver} stays running, @value{GDBN} can connect to it again later.
16490 Such reconnecting is useful for features like @ref{disconnected tracing}. For
16491 completeness, at most one @value{GDBN} can be connected at a time.
16492
16493 @cindex @option{--once}, @code{gdbserver} option
16494 By default, @code{gdbserver} keeps the listening TCP port open, so that
16495 additional connections are possible. However, if you start @code{gdbserver}
16496 with the @option{--once} option, it will stop listening for any further
16497 connection attempts after connecting to the first @value{GDBN} session. This
16498 means no further connections to @code{gdbserver} will be possible after the
16499 first one. It also means @code{gdbserver} will terminate after the first
16500 connection with remote @value{GDBN} has closed, even for unexpectedly closed
16501 connections and even in the @kbd{target extended-remote} mode. The
16502 @option{--once} option allows reusing the same port number for connecting to
16503 multiple instances of @code{gdbserver} running on the same host, since each
16504 instance closes its port after the first connection.
16505
16506 @subsubsection Other Command-Line Arguments for @code{gdbserver}
16507
16508 @cindex @option{--debug}, @code{gdbserver} option
16509 The @option{--debug} option tells @code{gdbserver} to display extra
16510 status information about the debugging process.
16511 @cindex @option{--remote-debug}, @code{gdbserver} option
16512 The @option{--remote-debug} option tells @code{gdbserver} to display
16513 remote protocol debug output. These options are intended for
16514 @code{gdbserver} development and for bug reports to the developers.
16515
16516 @cindex @option{--wrapper}, @code{gdbserver} option
16517 The @option{--wrapper} option specifies a wrapper to launch programs
16518 for debugging. The option should be followed by the name of the
16519 wrapper, then any command-line arguments to pass to the wrapper, then
16520 @kbd{--} indicating the end of the wrapper arguments.
16521
16522 @code{gdbserver} runs the specified wrapper program with a combined
16523 command line including the wrapper arguments, then the name of the
16524 program to debug, then any arguments to the program. The wrapper
16525 runs until it executes your program, and then @value{GDBN} gains control.
16526
16527 You can use any program that eventually calls @code{execve} with
16528 its arguments as a wrapper. Several standard Unix utilities do
16529 this, e.g.@: @code{env} and @code{nohup}. Any Unix shell script ending
16530 with @code{exec "$@@"} will also work.
16531
16532 For example, you can use @code{env} to pass an environment variable to
16533 the debugged program, without setting the variable in @code{gdbserver}'s
16534 environment:
16535
16536 @smallexample
16537 $ gdbserver --wrapper env LD_PRELOAD=libtest.so -- :2222 ./testprog
16538 @end smallexample
16539
16540 @subsection Connecting to @code{gdbserver}
16541
16542 Run @value{GDBN} on the host system.
16543
16544 First make sure you have the necessary symbol files. Load symbols for
16545 your application using the @code{file} command before you connect. Use
16546 @code{set sysroot} to locate target libraries (unless your @value{GDBN}
16547 was compiled with the correct sysroot using @code{--with-sysroot}).
16548
16549 The symbol file and target libraries must exactly match the executable
16550 and libraries on the target, with one exception: the files on the host
16551 system should not be stripped, even if the files on the target system
16552 are. Mismatched or missing files will lead to confusing results
16553 during debugging. On @sc{gnu}/Linux targets, mismatched or missing
16554 files may also prevent @code{gdbserver} from debugging multi-threaded
16555 programs.
16556
16557 Connect to your target (@pxref{Connecting,,Connecting to a Remote Target}).
16558 For TCP connections, you must start up @code{gdbserver} prior to using
16559 the @code{target remote} command. Otherwise you may get an error whose
16560 text depends on the host system, but which usually looks something like
16561 @samp{Connection refused}. Don't use the @code{load}
16562 command in @value{GDBN} when using @code{gdbserver}, since the program is
16563 already on the target.
16564
16565 @subsection Monitor Commands for @code{gdbserver}
16566 @cindex monitor commands, for @code{gdbserver}
16567 @anchor{Monitor Commands for gdbserver}
16568
16569 During a @value{GDBN} session using @code{gdbserver}, you can use the
16570 @code{monitor} command to send special requests to @code{gdbserver}.
16571 Here are the available commands.
16572
16573 @table @code
16574 @item monitor help
16575 List the available monitor commands.
16576
16577 @item monitor set debug 0
16578 @itemx monitor set debug 1
16579 Disable or enable general debugging messages.
16580
16581 @item monitor set remote-debug 0
16582 @itemx monitor set remote-debug 1
16583 Disable or enable specific debugging messages associated with the remote
16584 protocol (@pxref{Remote Protocol}).
16585
16586 @item monitor set libthread-db-search-path [PATH]
16587 @cindex gdbserver, search path for @code{libthread_db}
16588 When this command is issued, @var{path} is a colon-separated list of
16589 directories to search for @code{libthread_db} (@pxref{Threads,,set
16590 libthread-db-search-path}). If you omit @var{path},
16591 @samp{libthread-db-search-path} will be reset to its default value.
16592
16593 The special entry @samp{$pdir} for @samp{libthread-db-search-path} is
16594 not supported in @code{gdbserver}.
16595
16596 @item monitor exit
16597 Tell gdbserver to exit immediately. This command should be followed by
16598 @code{disconnect} to close the debugging session. @code{gdbserver} will
16599 detach from any attached processes and kill any processes it created.
16600 Use @code{monitor exit} to terminate @code{gdbserver} at the end
16601 of a multi-process mode debug session.
16602
16603 @end table
16604
16605 @subsection Tracepoints support in @code{gdbserver}
16606 @cindex tracepoints support in @code{gdbserver}
16607
16608 On some targets, @code{gdbserver} supports tracepoints, fast
16609 tracepoints and static tracepoints.
16610
16611 For fast or static tracepoints to work, a special library called the
16612 @dfn{in-process agent} (IPA), must be loaded in the inferior process.
16613 This library is built and distributed as an integral part of
16614 @code{gdbserver}. In addition, support for static tracepoints
16615 requires building the in-process agent library with static tracepoints
16616 support. At present, the UST (LTTng Userspace Tracer,
16617 @url{http://lttng.org/ust}) tracing engine is supported. This support
16618 is automatically available if UST development headers are found in the
16619 standard include path when @code{gdbserver} is built, or if
16620 @code{gdbserver} was explicitly configured using @option{--with-ust}
16621 to point at such headers. You can explicitly disable the support
16622 using @option{--with-ust=no}.
16623
16624 There are several ways to load the in-process agent in your program:
16625
16626 @table @code
16627 @item Specifying it as dependency at link time
16628
16629 You can link your program dynamically with the in-process agent
16630 library. On most systems, this is accomplished by adding
16631 @code{-linproctrace} to the link command.
16632
16633 @item Using the system's preloading mechanisms
16634
16635 You can force loading the in-process agent at startup time by using
16636 your system's support for preloading shared libraries. Many Unixes
16637 support the concept of preloading user defined libraries. In most
16638 cases, you do that by specifying @code{LD_PRELOAD=libinproctrace.so}
16639 in the environment. See also the description of @code{gdbserver}'s
16640 @option{--wrapper} command line option.
16641
16642 @item Using @value{GDBN} to force loading the agent at run time
16643
16644 On some systems, you can force the inferior to load a shared library,
16645 by calling a dynamic loader function in the inferior that takes care
16646 of dynamically looking up and loading a shared library. On most Unix
16647 systems, the function is @code{dlopen}. You'll use the @code{call}
16648 command for that. For example:
16649
16650 @smallexample
16651 (@value{GDBP}) call dlopen ("libinproctrace.so", ...)
16652 @end smallexample
16653
16654 Note that on most Unix systems, for the @code{dlopen} function to be
16655 available, the program needs to be linked with @code{-ldl}.
16656 @end table
16657
16658 On systems that have a userspace dynamic loader, like most Unix
16659 systems, when you connect to @code{gdbserver} using @code{target
16660 remote}, you'll find that the program is stopped at the dynamic
16661 loader's entry point, and no shared library has been loaded in the
16662 program's address space yet, including the in-process agent. In that
16663 case, before being able to use any of the fast or static tracepoints
16664 features, you need to let the loader run and load the shared
16665 libraries. The simplest way to do that is to run the program to the
16666 main procedure. E.g., if debugging a C or C@t{++} program, start
16667 @code{gdbserver} like so:
16668
16669 @smallexample
16670 $ gdbserver :9999 myprogram
16671 @end smallexample
16672
16673 Start GDB and connect to @code{gdbserver} like so, and run to main:
16674
16675 @smallexample
16676 $ gdb myprogram
16677 (@value{GDBP}) target remote myhost:9999
16678 0x00007f215893ba60 in ?? () from /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2
16679 (@value{GDBP}) b main
16680 (@value{GDBP}) continue
16681 @end smallexample
16682
16683 The in-process tracing agent library should now be loaded into the
16684 process; you can confirm it with the @code{info sharedlibrary}
16685 command, which will list @file{libinproctrace.so} as loaded in the
16686 process. You are now ready to install fast tracepoints, list static
16687 tracepoint markers, probe static tracepoints markers, and start
16688 tracing.
16689
16690 @node Remote Configuration
16691 @section Remote Configuration
16692
16693 @kindex set remote
16694 @kindex show remote
16695 This section documents the configuration options available when
16696 debugging remote programs. For the options related to the File I/O
16697 extensions of the remote protocol, see @ref{system,
16698 system-call-allowed}.
16699
16700 @table @code
16701 @item set remoteaddresssize @var{bits}
16702 @cindex address size for remote targets
16703 @cindex bits in remote address
16704 Set the maximum size of address in a memory packet to the specified
16705 number of bits. @value{GDBN} will mask off the address bits above
16706 that number, when it passes addresses to the remote target. The
16707 default value is the number of bits in the target's address.
16708
16709 @item show remoteaddresssize
16710 Show the current value of remote address size in bits.
16711
16712 @item set remotebaud @var{n}
16713 @cindex baud rate for remote targets
16714 Set the baud rate for the remote serial I/O to @var{n} baud. The
16715 value is used to set the speed of the serial port used for debugging
16716 remote targets.
16717
16718 @item show remotebaud
16719 Show the current speed of the remote connection.
16720
16721 @item set remotebreak
16722 @cindex interrupt remote programs
16723 @cindex BREAK signal instead of Ctrl-C
16724 @anchor{set remotebreak}
16725 If set to on, @value{GDBN} sends a @code{BREAK} signal to the remote
16726 when you type @kbd{Ctrl-c} to interrupt the program running
16727 on the remote. If set to off, @value{GDBN} sends the @samp{Ctrl-C}
16728 character instead. The default is off, since most remote systems
16729 expect to see @samp{Ctrl-C} as the interrupt signal.
16730
16731 @item show remotebreak
16732 Show whether @value{GDBN} sends @code{BREAK} or @samp{Ctrl-C} to
16733 interrupt the remote program.
16734
16735 @item set remoteflow on
16736 @itemx set remoteflow off
16737 @kindex set remoteflow
16738 Enable or disable hardware flow control (@code{RTS}/@code{CTS})
16739 on the serial port used to communicate to the remote target.
16740
16741 @item show remoteflow
16742 @kindex show remoteflow
16743 Show the current setting of hardware flow control.
16744
16745 @item set remotelogbase @var{base}
16746 Set the base (a.k.a.@: radix) of logging serial protocol
16747 communications to @var{base}. Supported values of @var{base} are:
16748 @code{ascii}, @code{octal}, and @code{hex}. The default is
16749 @code{ascii}.
16750
16751 @item show remotelogbase
16752 Show the current setting of the radix for logging remote serial
16753 protocol.
16754
16755 @item set remotelogfile @var{file}
16756 @cindex record serial communications on file
16757 Record remote serial communications on the named @var{file}. The
16758 default is not to record at all.
16759
16760 @item show remotelogfile.
16761 Show the current setting of the file name on which to record the
16762 serial communications.
16763
16764 @item set remotetimeout @var{num}
16765 @cindex timeout for serial communications
16766 @cindex remote timeout
16767 Set the timeout limit to wait for the remote target to respond to
16768 @var{num} seconds. The default is 2 seconds.
16769
16770 @item show remotetimeout
16771 Show the current number of seconds to wait for the remote target
16772 responses.
16773
16774 @cindex limit hardware breakpoints and watchpoints
16775 @cindex remote target, limit break- and watchpoints
16776 @anchor{set remote hardware-watchpoint-limit}
16777 @anchor{set remote hardware-breakpoint-limit}
16778 @item set remote hardware-watchpoint-limit @var{limit}
16779 @itemx set remote hardware-breakpoint-limit @var{limit}
16780 Restrict @value{GDBN} to using @var{limit} remote hardware breakpoint or
16781 watchpoints. A limit of -1, the default, is treated as unlimited.
16782
16783 @cindex limit hardware watchpoints length
16784 @cindex remote target, limit watchpoints length
16785 @anchor{set remote hardware-watchpoint-length-limit}
16786 @item set remote hardware-watchpoint-length-limit @var{limit}
16787 Restrict @value{GDBN} to using @var{limit} bytes for the maximum length of
16788 a remote hardware watchpoint. A limit of -1, the default, is treated
16789 as unlimited.
16790
16791 @item show remote hardware-watchpoint-length-limit
16792 Show the current limit (in bytes) of the maximum length of
16793 a remote hardware watchpoint.
16794
16795 @item set remote exec-file @var{filename}
16796 @itemx show remote exec-file
16797 @anchor{set remote exec-file}
16798 @cindex executable file, for remote target
16799 Select the file used for @code{run} with @code{target
16800 extended-remote}. This should be set to a filename valid on the
16801 target system. If it is not set, the target will use a default
16802 filename (e.g.@: the last program run).
16803
16804 @item set remote interrupt-sequence
16805 @cindex interrupt remote programs
16806 @cindex select Ctrl-C, BREAK or BREAK-g
16807 Allow the user to select one of @samp{Ctrl-C}, a @code{BREAK} or
16808 @samp{BREAK-g} as the
16809 sequence to the remote target in order to interrupt the execution.
16810 @samp{Ctrl-C} is a default. Some system prefers @code{BREAK} which
16811 is high level of serial line for some certain time.
16812 Linux kernel prefers @samp{BREAK-g}, a.k.a Magic SysRq g.
16813 It is @code{BREAK} signal followed by character @code{g}.
16814
16815 @item show interrupt-sequence
16816 Show which of @samp{Ctrl-C}, @code{BREAK} or @code{BREAK-g}
16817 is sent by @value{GDBN} to interrupt the remote program.
16818 @code{BREAK-g} is BREAK signal followed by @code{g} and
16819 also known as Magic SysRq g.
16820
16821 @item set remote interrupt-on-connect
16822 @cindex send interrupt-sequence on start
16823 Specify whether interrupt-sequence is sent to remote target when
16824 @value{GDBN} connects to it. This is mostly needed when you debug
16825 Linux kernel. Linux kernel expects @code{BREAK} followed by @code{g}
16826 which is known as Magic SysRq g in order to connect @value{GDBN}.
16827
16828 @item show interrupt-on-connect
16829 Show whether interrupt-sequence is sent
16830 to remote target when @value{GDBN} connects to it.
16831
16832 @kindex set tcp
16833 @kindex show tcp
16834 @item set tcp auto-retry on
16835 @cindex auto-retry, for remote TCP target
16836 Enable auto-retry for remote TCP connections. This is useful if the remote
16837 debugging agent is launched in parallel with @value{GDBN}; there is a race
16838 condition because the agent may not become ready to accept the connection
16839 before @value{GDBN} attempts to connect. When auto-retry is
16840 enabled, if the initial attempt to connect fails, @value{GDBN} reattempts
16841 to establish the connection using the timeout specified by
16842 @code{set tcp connect-timeout}.
16843
16844 @item set tcp auto-retry off
16845 Do not auto-retry failed TCP connections.
16846
16847 @item show tcp auto-retry
16848 Show the current auto-retry setting.
16849
16850 @item set tcp connect-timeout @var{seconds}
16851 @cindex connection timeout, for remote TCP target
16852 @cindex timeout, for remote target connection
16853 Set the timeout for establishing a TCP connection to the remote target to
16854 @var{seconds}. The timeout affects both polling to retry failed connections
16855 (enabled by @code{set tcp auto-retry on}) and waiting for connections
16856 that are merely slow to complete, and represents an approximate cumulative
16857 value.
16858
16859 @item show tcp connect-timeout
16860 Show the current connection timeout setting.
16861 @end table
16862
16863 @cindex remote packets, enabling and disabling
16864 The @value{GDBN} remote protocol autodetects the packets supported by
16865 your debugging stub. If you need to override the autodetection, you
16866 can use these commands to enable or disable individual packets. Each
16867 packet can be set to @samp{on} (the remote target supports this
16868 packet), @samp{off} (the remote target does not support this packet),
16869 or @samp{auto} (detect remote target support for this packet). They
16870 all default to @samp{auto}. For more information about each packet,
16871 see @ref{Remote Protocol}.
16872
16873 During normal use, you should not have to use any of these commands.
16874 If you do, that may be a bug in your remote debugging stub, or a bug
16875 in @value{GDBN}. You may want to report the problem to the
16876 @value{GDBN} developers.
16877
16878 For each packet @var{name}, the command to enable or disable the
16879 packet is @code{set remote @var{name}-packet}. The available settings
16880 are:
16881
16882 @multitable @columnfractions 0.28 0.32 0.25
16883 @item Command Name
16884 @tab Remote Packet
16885 @tab Related Features
16886
16887 @item @code{fetch-register}
16888 @tab @code{p}
16889 @tab @code{info registers}
16890
16891 @item @code{set-register}
16892 @tab @code{P}
16893 @tab @code{set}
16894
16895 @item @code{binary-download}
16896 @tab @code{X}
16897 @tab @code{load}, @code{set}
16898
16899 @item @code{read-aux-vector}
16900 @tab @code{qXfer:auxv:read}
16901 @tab @code{info auxv}
16902
16903 @item @code{symbol-lookup}
16904 @tab @code{qSymbol}
16905 @tab Detecting multiple threads
16906
16907 @item @code{attach}
16908 @tab @code{vAttach}
16909 @tab @code{attach}
16910
16911 @item @code{verbose-resume}
16912 @tab @code{vCont}
16913 @tab Stepping or resuming multiple threads
16914
16915 @item @code{run}
16916 @tab @code{vRun}
16917 @tab @code{run}
16918
16919 @item @code{software-breakpoint}
16920 @tab @code{Z0}
16921 @tab @code{break}
16922
16923 @item @code{hardware-breakpoint}
16924 @tab @code{Z1}
16925 @tab @code{hbreak}
16926
16927 @item @code{write-watchpoint}
16928 @tab @code{Z2}
16929 @tab @code{watch}
16930
16931 @item @code{read-watchpoint}
16932 @tab @code{Z3}
16933 @tab @code{rwatch}
16934
16935 @item @code{access-watchpoint}
16936 @tab @code{Z4}
16937 @tab @code{awatch}
16938
16939 @item @code{target-features}
16940 @tab @code{qXfer:features:read}
16941 @tab @code{set architecture}
16942
16943 @item @code{library-info}
16944 @tab @code{qXfer:libraries:read}
16945 @tab @code{info sharedlibrary}
16946
16947 @item @code{memory-map}
16948 @tab @code{qXfer:memory-map:read}
16949 @tab @code{info mem}
16950
16951 @item @code{read-sdata-object}
16952 @tab @code{qXfer:sdata:read}
16953 @tab @code{print $_sdata}
16954
16955 @item @code{read-spu-object}
16956 @tab @code{qXfer:spu:read}
16957 @tab @code{info spu}
16958
16959 @item @code{write-spu-object}
16960 @tab @code{qXfer:spu:write}
16961 @tab @code{info spu}
16962
16963 @item @code{read-siginfo-object}
16964 @tab @code{qXfer:siginfo:read}
16965 @tab @code{print $_siginfo}
16966
16967 @item @code{write-siginfo-object}
16968 @tab @code{qXfer:siginfo:write}
16969 @tab @code{set $_siginfo}
16970
16971 @item @code{threads}
16972 @tab @code{qXfer:threads:read}
16973 @tab @code{info threads}
16974
16975 @item @code{get-thread-local-@*storage-address}
16976 @tab @code{qGetTLSAddr}
16977 @tab Displaying @code{__thread} variables
16978
16979 @item @code{get-thread-information-block-address}
16980 @tab @code{qGetTIBAddr}
16981 @tab Display MS-Windows Thread Information Block.
16982
16983 @item @code{search-memory}
16984 @tab @code{qSearch:memory}
16985 @tab @code{find}
16986
16987 @item @code{supported-packets}
16988 @tab @code{qSupported}
16989 @tab Remote communications parameters
16990
16991 @item @code{pass-signals}
16992 @tab @code{QPassSignals}
16993 @tab @code{handle @var{signal}}
16994
16995 @item @code{hostio-close-packet}
16996 @tab @code{vFile:close}
16997 @tab @code{remote get}, @code{remote put}
16998
16999 @item @code{hostio-open-packet}
17000 @tab @code{vFile:open}
17001 @tab @code{remote get}, @code{remote put}
17002
17003 @item @code{hostio-pread-packet}
17004 @tab @code{vFile:pread}
17005 @tab @code{remote get}, @code{remote put}
17006
17007 @item @code{hostio-pwrite-packet}
17008 @tab @code{vFile:pwrite}
17009 @tab @code{remote get}, @code{remote put}
17010
17011 @item @code{hostio-unlink-packet}
17012 @tab @code{vFile:unlink}
17013 @tab @code{remote delete}
17014
17015 @item @code{noack-packet}
17016 @tab @code{QStartNoAckMode}
17017 @tab Packet acknowledgment
17018
17019 @item @code{osdata}
17020 @tab @code{qXfer:osdata:read}
17021 @tab @code{info os}
17022
17023 @item @code{query-attached}
17024 @tab @code{qAttached}
17025 @tab Querying remote process attach state.
17026
17027 @item @code{traceframe-info}
17028 @tab @code{qXfer:traceframe-info:read}
17029 @tab Traceframe info
17030
17031 @item @code{disable-randomization}
17032 @tab @code{QDisableRandomization}
17033 @tab @code{set disable-randomization}
17034 @end multitable
17035
17036 @node Remote Stub
17037 @section Implementing a Remote Stub
17038
17039 @cindex debugging stub, example
17040 @cindex remote stub, example
17041 @cindex stub example, remote debugging
17042 The stub files provided with @value{GDBN} implement the target side of the
17043 communication protocol, and the @value{GDBN} side is implemented in the
17044 @value{GDBN} source file @file{remote.c}. Normally, you can simply allow
17045 these subroutines to communicate, and ignore the details. (If you're
17046 implementing your own stub file, you can still ignore the details: start
17047 with one of the existing stub files. @file{sparc-stub.c} is the best
17048 organized, and therefore the easiest to read.)
17049
17050 @cindex remote serial debugging, overview
17051 To debug a program running on another machine (the debugging
17052 @dfn{target} machine), you must first arrange for all the usual
17053 prerequisites for the program to run by itself. For example, for a C
17054 program, you need:
17055
17056 @enumerate
17057 @item
17058 A startup routine to set up the C runtime environment; these usually
17059 have a name like @file{crt0}. The startup routine may be supplied by
17060 your hardware supplier, or you may have to write your own.
17061
17062 @item
17063 A C subroutine library to support your program's
17064 subroutine calls, notably managing input and output.
17065
17066 @item
17067 A way of getting your program to the other machine---for example, a
17068 download program. These are often supplied by the hardware
17069 manufacturer, but you may have to write your own from hardware
17070 documentation.
17071 @end enumerate
17072
17073 The next step is to arrange for your program to use a serial port to
17074 communicate with the machine where @value{GDBN} is running (the @dfn{host}
17075 machine). In general terms, the scheme looks like this:
17076
17077 @table @emph
17078 @item On the host,
17079 @value{GDBN} already understands how to use this protocol; when everything
17080 else is set up, you can simply use the @samp{target remote} command
17081 (@pxref{Targets,,Specifying a Debugging Target}).
17082
17083 @item On the target,
17084 you must link with your program a few special-purpose subroutines that
17085 implement the @value{GDBN} remote serial protocol. The file containing these
17086 subroutines is called a @dfn{debugging stub}.
17087
17088 On certain remote targets, you can use an auxiliary program
17089 @code{gdbserver} instead of linking a stub into your program.
17090 @xref{Server,,Using the @code{gdbserver} Program}, for details.
17091 @end table
17092
17093 The debugging stub is specific to the architecture of the remote
17094 machine; for example, use @file{sparc-stub.c} to debug programs on
17095 @sc{sparc} boards.
17096
17097 @cindex remote serial stub list
17098 These working remote stubs are distributed with @value{GDBN}:
17099
17100 @table @code
17101
17102 @item i386-stub.c
17103 @cindex @file{i386-stub.c}
17104 @cindex Intel
17105 @cindex i386
17106 For Intel 386 and compatible architectures.
17107
17108 @item m68k-stub.c
17109 @cindex @file{m68k-stub.c}
17110 @cindex Motorola 680x0
17111 @cindex m680x0
17112 For Motorola 680x0 architectures.
17113
17114 @item sh-stub.c
17115 @cindex @file{sh-stub.c}
17116 @cindex Renesas
17117 @cindex SH
17118 For Renesas SH architectures.
17119
17120 @item sparc-stub.c
17121 @cindex @file{sparc-stub.c}
17122 @cindex Sparc
17123 For @sc{sparc} architectures.
17124
17125 @item sparcl-stub.c
17126 @cindex @file{sparcl-stub.c}
17127 @cindex Fujitsu
17128 @cindex SparcLite
17129 For Fujitsu @sc{sparclite} architectures.
17130
17131 @end table
17132
17133 The @file{README} file in the @value{GDBN} distribution may list other
17134 recently added stubs.
17135
17136 @menu
17137 * Stub Contents:: What the stub can do for you
17138 * Bootstrapping:: What you must do for the stub
17139 * Debug Session:: Putting it all together
17140 @end menu
17141
17142 @node Stub Contents
17143 @subsection What the Stub Can Do for You
17144
17145 @cindex remote serial stub
17146 The debugging stub for your architecture supplies these three
17147 subroutines:
17148
17149 @table @code
17150 @item set_debug_traps
17151 @findex set_debug_traps
17152 @cindex remote serial stub, initialization
17153 This routine arranges for @code{handle_exception} to run when your
17154 program stops. You must call this subroutine explicitly near the
17155 beginning of your program.
17156
17157 @item handle_exception
17158 @findex handle_exception
17159 @cindex remote serial stub, main routine
17160 This is the central workhorse, but your program never calls it
17161 explicitly---the setup code arranges for @code{handle_exception} to
17162 run when a trap is triggered.
17163
17164 @code{handle_exception} takes control when your program stops during
17165 execution (for example, on a breakpoint), and mediates communications
17166 with @value{GDBN} on the host machine. This is where the communications
17167 protocol is implemented; @code{handle_exception} acts as the @value{GDBN}
17168 representative on the target machine. It begins by sending summary
17169 information on the state of your program, then continues to execute,
17170 retrieving and transmitting any information @value{GDBN} needs, until you
17171 execute a @value{GDBN} command that makes your program resume; at that point,
17172 @code{handle_exception} returns control to your own code on the target
17173 machine.
17174
17175 @item breakpoint
17176 @cindex @code{breakpoint} subroutine, remote
17177 Use this auxiliary subroutine to make your program contain a
17178 breakpoint. Depending on the particular situation, this may be the only
17179 way for @value{GDBN} to get control. For instance, if your target
17180 machine has some sort of interrupt button, you won't need to call this;
17181 pressing the interrupt button transfers control to
17182 @code{handle_exception}---in effect, to @value{GDBN}. On some machines,
17183 simply receiving characters on the serial port may also trigger a trap;
17184 again, in that situation, you don't need to call @code{breakpoint} from
17185 your own program---simply running @samp{target remote} from the host
17186 @value{GDBN} session gets control.
17187
17188 Call @code{breakpoint} if none of these is true, or if you simply want
17189 to make certain your program stops at a predetermined point for the
17190 start of your debugging session.
17191 @end table
17192
17193 @node Bootstrapping
17194 @subsection What You Must Do for the Stub
17195
17196 @cindex remote stub, support routines
17197 The debugging stubs that come with @value{GDBN} are set up for a particular
17198 chip architecture, but they have no information about the rest of your
17199 debugging target machine.
17200
17201 First of all you need to tell the stub how to communicate with the
17202 serial port.
17203
17204 @table @code
17205 @item int getDebugChar()
17206 @findex getDebugChar
17207 Write this subroutine to read a single character from the serial port.
17208 It may be identical to @code{getchar} for your target system; a
17209 different name is used to allow you to distinguish the two if you wish.
17210
17211 @item void putDebugChar(int)
17212 @findex putDebugChar
17213 Write this subroutine to write a single character to the serial port.
17214 It may be identical to @code{putchar} for your target system; a
17215 different name is used to allow you to distinguish the two if you wish.
17216 @end table
17217
17218 @cindex control C, and remote debugging
17219 @cindex interrupting remote targets
17220 If you want @value{GDBN} to be able to stop your program while it is
17221 running, you need to use an interrupt-driven serial driver, and arrange
17222 for it to stop when it receives a @code{^C} (@samp{\003}, the control-C
17223 character). That is the character which @value{GDBN} uses to tell the
17224 remote system to stop.
17225
17226 Getting the debugging target to return the proper status to @value{GDBN}
17227 probably requires changes to the standard stub; one quick and dirty way
17228 is to just execute a breakpoint instruction (the ``dirty'' part is that
17229 @value{GDBN} reports a @code{SIGTRAP} instead of a @code{SIGINT}).
17230
17231 Other routines you need to supply are:
17232
17233 @table @code
17234 @item void exceptionHandler (int @var{exception_number}, void *@var{exception_address})
17235 @findex exceptionHandler
17236 Write this function to install @var{exception_address} in the exception
17237 handling tables. You need to do this because the stub does not have any
17238 way of knowing what the exception handling tables on your target system
17239 are like (for example, the processor's table might be in @sc{rom},
17240 containing entries which point to a table in @sc{ram}).
17241 @var{exception_number} is the exception number which should be changed;
17242 its meaning is architecture-dependent (for example, different numbers
17243 might represent divide by zero, misaligned access, etc). When this
17244 exception occurs, control should be transferred directly to
17245 @var{exception_address}, and the processor state (stack, registers,
17246 and so on) should be just as it is when a processor exception occurs. So if
17247 you want to use a jump instruction to reach @var{exception_address}, it
17248 should be a simple jump, not a jump to subroutine.
17249
17250 For the 386, @var{exception_address} should be installed as an interrupt
17251 gate so that interrupts are masked while the handler runs. The gate
17252 should be at privilege level 0 (the most privileged level). The
17253 @sc{sparc} and 68k stubs are able to mask interrupts themselves without
17254 help from @code{exceptionHandler}.
17255
17256 @item void flush_i_cache()
17257 @findex flush_i_cache
17258 On @sc{sparc} and @sc{sparclite} only, write this subroutine to flush the
17259 instruction cache, if any, on your target machine. If there is no
17260 instruction cache, this subroutine may be a no-op.
17261
17262 On target machines that have instruction caches, @value{GDBN} requires this
17263 function to make certain that the state of your program is stable.
17264 @end table
17265
17266 @noindent
17267 You must also make sure this library routine is available:
17268
17269 @table @code
17270 @item void *memset(void *, int, int)
17271 @findex memset
17272 This is the standard library function @code{memset} that sets an area of
17273 memory to a known value. If you have one of the free versions of
17274 @code{libc.a}, @code{memset} can be found there; otherwise, you must
17275 either obtain it from your hardware manufacturer, or write your own.
17276 @end table
17277
17278 If you do not use the GNU C compiler, you may need other standard
17279 library subroutines as well; this varies from one stub to another,
17280 but in general the stubs are likely to use any of the common library
17281 subroutines which @code{@value{NGCC}} generates as inline code.
17282
17283
17284 @node Debug Session
17285 @subsection Putting it All Together
17286
17287 @cindex remote serial debugging summary
17288 In summary, when your program is ready to debug, you must follow these
17289 steps.
17290
17291 @enumerate
17292 @item
17293 Make sure you have defined the supporting low-level routines
17294 (@pxref{Bootstrapping,,What You Must Do for the Stub}):
17295 @display
17296 @code{getDebugChar}, @code{putDebugChar},
17297 @code{flush_i_cache}, @code{memset}, @code{exceptionHandler}.
17298 @end display
17299
17300 @item
17301 Insert these lines near the top of your program:
17302
17303 @smallexample
17304 set_debug_traps();
17305 breakpoint();
17306 @end smallexample
17307
17308 @item
17309 For the 680x0 stub only, you need to provide a variable called
17310 @code{exceptionHook}. Normally you just use:
17311
17312 @smallexample
17313 void (*exceptionHook)() = 0;
17314 @end smallexample
17315
17316 @noindent
17317 but if before calling @code{set_debug_traps}, you set it to point to a
17318 function in your program, that function is called when
17319 @code{@value{GDBN}} continues after stopping on a trap (for example, bus
17320 error). The function indicated by @code{exceptionHook} is called with
17321 one parameter: an @code{int} which is the exception number.
17322
17323 @item
17324 Compile and link together: your program, the @value{GDBN} debugging stub for
17325 your target architecture, and the supporting subroutines.
17326
17327 @item
17328 Make sure you have a serial connection between your target machine and
17329 the @value{GDBN} host, and identify the serial port on the host.
17330
17331 @item
17332 @c The "remote" target now provides a `load' command, so we should
17333 @c document that. FIXME.
17334 Download your program to your target machine (or get it there by
17335 whatever means the manufacturer provides), and start it.
17336
17337 @item
17338 Start @value{GDBN} on the host, and connect to the target
17339 (@pxref{Connecting,,Connecting to a Remote Target}).
17340
17341 @end enumerate
17342
17343 @node Configurations
17344 @chapter Configuration-Specific Information
17345
17346 While nearly all @value{GDBN} commands are available for all native and
17347 cross versions of the debugger, there are some exceptions. This chapter
17348 describes things that are only available in certain configurations.
17349
17350 There are three major categories of configurations: native
17351 configurations, where the host and target are the same, embedded
17352 operating system configurations, which are usually the same for several
17353 different processor architectures, and bare embedded processors, which
17354 are quite different from each other.
17355
17356 @menu
17357 * Native::
17358 * Embedded OS::
17359 * Embedded Processors::
17360 * Architectures::
17361 @end menu
17362
17363 @node Native
17364 @section Native
17365
17366 This section describes details specific to particular native
17367 configurations.
17368
17369 @menu
17370 * HP-UX:: HP-UX
17371 * BSD libkvm Interface:: Debugging BSD kernel memory images
17372 * SVR4 Process Information:: SVR4 process information
17373 * DJGPP Native:: Features specific to the DJGPP port
17374 * Cygwin Native:: Features specific to the Cygwin port
17375 * Hurd Native:: Features specific to @sc{gnu} Hurd
17376 * Neutrino:: Features specific to QNX Neutrino
17377 * Darwin:: Features specific to Darwin
17378 @end menu
17379
17380 @node HP-UX
17381 @subsection HP-UX
17382
17383 On HP-UX systems, if you refer to a function or variable name that
17384 begins with a dollar sign, @value{GDBN} searches for a user or system
17385 name first, before it searches for a convenience variable.
17386
17387
17388 @node BSD libkvm Interface
17389 @subsection BSD libkvm Interface
17390
17391 @cindex libkvm
17392 @cindex kernel memory image
17393 @cindex kernel crash dump
17394
17395 BSD-derived systems (FreeBSD/NetBSD/OpenBSD) have a kernel memory
17396 interface that provides a uniform interface for accessing kernel virtual
17397 memory images, including live systems and crash dumps. @value{GDBN}
17398 uses this interface to allow you to debug live kernels and kernel crash
17399 dumps on many native BSD configurations. This is implemented as a
17400 special @code{kvm} debugging target. For debugging a live system, load
17401 the currently running kernel into @value{GDBN} and connect to the
17402 @code{kvm} target:
17403
17404 @smallexample
17405 (@value{GDBP}) @b{target kvm}
17406 @end smallexample
17407
17408 For debugging crash dumps, provide the file name of the crash dump as an
17409 argument:
17410
17411 @smallexample
17412 (@value{GDBP}) @b{target kvm /var/crash/bsd.0}
17413 @end smallexample
17414
17415 Once connected to the @code{kvm} target, the following commands are
17416 available:
17417
17418 @table @code
17419 @kindex kvm
17420 @item kvm pcb
17421 Set current context from the @dfn{Process Control Block} (PCB) address.
17422
17423 @item kvm proc
17424 Set current context from proc address. This command isn't available on
17425 modern FreeBSD systems.
17426 @end table
17427
17428 @node SVR4 Process Information
17429 @subsection SVR4 Process Information
17430 @cindex /proc
17431 @cindex examine process image
17432 @cindex process info via @file{/proc}
17433
17434 Many versions of SVR4 and compatible systems provide a facility called
17435 @samp{/proc} that can be used to examine the image of a running
17436 process using file-system subroutines. If @value{GDBN} is configured
17437 for an operating system with this facility, the command @code{info
17438 proc} is available to report information about the process running
17439 your program, or about any process running on your system. @code{info
17440 proc} works only on SVR4 systems that include the @code{procfs} code.
17441 This includes, as of this writing, @sc{gnu}/Linux, OSF/1 (Digital
17442 Unix), Solaris, Irix, and Unixware, but not HP-UX, for example.
17443
17444 @table @code
17445 @kindex info proc
17446 @cindex process ID
17447 @item info proc
17448 @itemx info proc @var{process-id}
17449 Summarize available information about any running process. If a
17450 process ID is specified by @var{process-id}, display information about
17451 that process; otherwise display information about the program being
17452 debugged. The summary includes the debugged process ID, the command
17453 line used to invoke it, its current working directory, and its
17454 executable file's absolute file name.
17455
17456 On some systems, @var{process-id} can be of the form
17457 @samp{[@var{pid}]/@var{tid}} which specifies a certain thread ID
17458 within a process. If the optional @var{pid} part is missing, it means
17459 a thread from the process being debugged (the leading @samp{/} still
17460 needs to be present, or else @value{GDBN} will interpret the number as
17461 a process ID rather than a thread ID).
17462
17463 @item info proc mappings
17464 @cindex memory address space mappings
17465 Report the memory address space ranges accessible in the program, with
17466 information on whether the process has read, write, or execute access
17467 rights to each range. On @sc{gnu}/Linux systems, each memory range
17468 includes the object file which is mapped to that range, instead of the
17469 memory access rights to that range.
17470
17471 @item info proc stat
17472 @itemx info proc status
17473 @cindex process detailed status information
17474 These subcommands are specific to @sc{gnu}/Linux systems. They show
17475 the process-related information, including the user ID and group ID;
17476 how many threads are there in the process; its virtual memory usage;
17477 the signals that are pending, blocked, and ignored; its TTY; its
17478 consumption of system and user time; its stack size; its @samp{nice}
17479 value; etc. For more information, see the @samp{proc} man page
17480 (type @kbd{man 5 proc} from your shell prompt).
17481
17482 @item info proc all
17483 Show all the information about the process described under all of the
17484 above @code{info proc} subcommands.
17485
17486 @ignore
17487 @comment These sub-options of 'info proc' were not included when
17488 @comment procfs.c was re-written. Keep their descriptions around
17489 @comment against the day when someone finds the time to put them back in.
17490 @kindex info proc times
17491 @item info proc times
17492 Starting time, user CPU time, and system CPU time for your program and
17493 its children.
17494
17495 @kindex info proc id
17496 @item info proc id
17497 Report on the process IDs related to your program: its own process ID,
17498 the ID of its parent, the process group ID, and the session ID.
17499 @end ignore
17500
17501 @item set procfs-trace
17502 @kindex set procfs-trace
17503 @cindex @code{procfs} API calls
17504 This command enables and disables tracing of @code{procfs} API calls.
17505
17506 @item show procfs-trace
17507 @kindex show procfs-trace
17508 Show the current state of @code{procfs} API call tracing.
17509
17510 @item set procfs-file @var{file}
17511 @kindex set procfs-file
17512 Tell @value{GDBN} to write @code{procfs} API trace to the named
17513 @var{file}. @value{GDBN} appends the trace info to the previous
17514 contents of the file. The default is to display the trace on the
17515 standard output.
17516
17517 @item show procfs-file
17518 @kindex show procfs-file
17519 Show the file to which @code{procfs} API trace is written.
17520
17521 @item proc-trace-entry
17522 @itemx proc-trace-exit
17523 @itemx proc-untrace-entry
17524 @itemx proc-untrace-exit
17525 @kindex proc-trace-entry
17526 @kindex proc-trace-exit
17527 @kindex proc-untrace-entry
17528 @kindex proc-untrace-exit
17529 These commands enable and disable tracing of entries into and exits
17530 from the @code{syscall} interface.
17531
17532 @item info pidlist
17533 @kindex info pidlist
17534 @cindex process list, QNX Neutrino
17535 For QNX Neutrino only, this command displays the list of all the
17536 processes and all the threads within each process.
17537
17538 @item info meminfo
17539 @kindex info meminfo
17540 @cindex mapinfo list, QNX Neutrino
17541 For QNX Neutrino only, this command displays the list of all mapinfos.
17542 @end table
17543
17544 @node DJGPP Native
17545 @subsection Features for Debugging @sc{djgpp} Programs
17546 @cindex @sc{djgpp} debugging
17547 @cindex native @sc{djgpp} debugging
17548 @cindex MS-DOS-specific commands
17549
17550 @cindex DPMI
17551 @sc{djgpp} is a port of the @sc{gnu} development tools to MS-DOS and
17552 MS-Windows. @sc{djgpp} programs are 32-bit protected-mode programs
17553 that use the @dfn{DPMI} (DOS Protected-Mode Interface) API to run on
17554 top of real-mode DOS systems and their emulations.
17555
17556 @value{GDBN} supports native debugging of @sc{djgpp} programs, and
17557 defines a few commands specific to the @sc{djgpp} port. This
17558 subsection describes those commands.
17559
17560 @table @code
17561 @kindex info dos
17562 @item info dos
17563 This is a prefix of @sc{djgpp}-specific commands which print
17564 information about the target system and important OS structures.
17565
17566 @kindex sysinfo
17567 @cindex MS-DOS system info
17568 @cindex free memory information (MS-DOS)
17569 @item info dos sysinfo
17570 This command displays assorted information about the underlying
17571 platform: the CPU type and features, the OS version and flavor, the
17572 DPMI version, and the available conventional and DPMI memory.
17573
17574 @cindex GDT
17575 @cindex LDT
17576 @cindex IDT
17577 @cindex segment descriptor tables
17578 @cindex descriptor tables display
17579 @item info dos gdt
17580 @itemx info dos ldt
17581 @itemx info dos idt
17582 These 3 commands display entries from, respectively, Global, Local,
17583 and Interrupt Descriptor Tables (GDT, LDT, and IDT). The descriptor
17584 tables are data structures which store a descriptor for each segment
17585 that is currently in use. The segment's selector is an index into a
17586 descriptor table; the table entry for that index holds the
17587 descriptor's base address and limit, and its attributes and access
17588 rights.
17589
17590 A typical @sc{djgpp} program uses 3 segments: a code segment, a data
17591 segment (used for both data and the stack), and a DOS segment (which
17592 allows access to DOS/BIOS data structures and absolute addresses in
17593 conventional memory). However, the DPMI host will usually define
17594 additional segments in order to support the DPMI environment.
17595
17596 @cindex garbled pointers
17597 These commands allow to display entries from the descriptor tables.
17598 Without an argument, all entries from the specified table are
17599 displayed. An argument, which should be an integer expression, means
17600 display a single entry whose index is given by the argument. For
17601 example, here's a convenient way to display information about the
17602 debugged program's data segment:
17603
17604 @smallexample
17605 @exdent @code{(@value{GDBP}) info dos ldt $ds}
17606 @exdent @code{0x13f: base=0x11970000 limit=0x0009ffff 32-Bit Data (Read/Write, Exp-up)}
17607 @end smallexample
17608
17609 @noindent
17610 This comes in handy when you want to see whether a pointer is outside
17611 the data segment's limit (i.e.@: @dfn{garbled}).
17612
17613 @cindex page tables display (MS-DOS)
17614 @item info dos pde
17615 @itemx info dos pte
17616 These two commands display entries from, respectively, the Page
17617 Directory and the Page Tables. Page Directories and Page Tables are
17618 data structures which control how virtual memory addresses are mapped
17619 into physical addresses. A Page Table includes an entry for every
17620 page of memory that is mapped into the program's address space; there
17621 may be several Page Tables, each one holding up to 4096 entries. A
17622 Page Directory has up to 4096 entries, one each for every Page Table
17623 that is currently in use.
17624
17625 Without an argument, @kbd{info dos pde} displays the entire Page
17626 Directory, and @kbd{info dos pte} displays all the entries in all of
17627 the Page Tables. An argument, an integer expression, given to the
17628 @kbd{info dos pde} command means display only that entry from the Page
17629 Directory table. An argument given to the @kbd{info dos pte} command
17630 means display entries from a single Page Table, the one pointed to by
17631 the specified entry in the Page Directory.
17632
17633 @cindex direct memory access (DMA) on MS-DOS
17634 These commands are useful when your program uses @dfn{DMA} (Direct
17635 Memory Access), which needs physical addresses to program the DMA
17636 controller.
17637
17638 These commands are supported only with some DPMI servers.
17639
17640 @cindex physical address from linear address
17641 @item info dos address-pte @var{addr}
17642 This command displays the Page Table entry for a specified linear
17643 address. The argument @var{addr} is a linear address which should
17644 already have the appropriate segment's base address added to it,
17645 because this command accepts addresses which may belong to @emph{any}
17646 segment. For example, here's how to display the Page Table entry for
17647 the page where a variable @code{i} is stored:
17648
17649 @smallexample
17650 @exdent @code{(@value{GDBP}) info dos address-pte __djgpp_base_address + (char *)&i}
17651 @exdent @code{Page Table entry for address 0x11a00d30:}
17652 @exdent @code{Base=0x02698000 Dirty Acc. Not-Cached Write-Back Usr Read-Write +0xd30}
17653 @end smallexample
17654
17655 @noindent
17656 This says that @code{i} is stored at offset @code{0xd30} from the page
17657 whose physical base address is @code{0x02698000}, and shows all the
17658 attributes of that page.
17659
17660 Note that you must cast the addresses of variables to a @code{char *},
17661 since otherwise the value of @code{__djgpp_base_address}, the base
17662 address of all variables and functions in a @sc{djgpp} program, will
17663 be added using the rules of C pointer arithmetics: if @code{i} is
17664 declared an @code{int}, @value{GDBN} will add 4 times the value of
17665 @code{__djgpp_base_address} to the address of @code{i}.
17666
17667 Here's another example, it displays the Page Table entry for the
17668 transfer buffer:
17669
17670 @smallexample
17671 @exdent @code{(@value{GDBP}) info dos address-pte *((unsigned *)&_go32_info_block + 3)}
17672 @exdent @code{Page Table entry for address 0x29110:}
17673 @exdent @code{Base=0x00029000 Dirty Acc. Not-Cached Write-Back Usr Read-Write +0x110}
17674 @end smallexample
17675
17676 @noindent
17677 (The @code{+ 3} offset is because the transfer buffer's address is the
17678 3rd member of the @code{_go32_info_block} structure.) The output
17679 clearly shows that this DPMI server maps the addresses in conventional
17680 memory 1:1, i.e.@: the physical (@code{0x00029000} + @code{0x110}) and
17681 linear (@code{0x29110}) addresses are identical.
17682
17683 This command is supported only with some DPMI servers.
17684 @end table
17685
17686 @cindex DOS serial data link, remote debugging
17687 In addition to native debugging, the DJGPP port supports remote
17688 debugging via a serial data link. The following commands are specific
17689 to remote serial debugging in the DJGPP port of @value{GDBN}.
17690
17691 @table @code
17692 @kindex set com1base
17693 @kindex set com1irq
17694 @kindex set com2base
17695 @kindex set com2irq
17696 @kindex set com3base
17697 @kindex set com3irq
17698 @kindex set com4base
17699 @kindex set com4irq
17700 @item set com1base @var{addr}
17701 This command sets the base I/O port address of the @file{COM1} serial
17702 port.
17703
17704 @item set com1irq @var{irq}
17705 This command sets the @dfn{Interrupt Request} (@code{IRQ}) line to use
17706 for the @file{COM1} serial port.
17707
17708 There are similar commands @samp{set com2base}, @samp{set com3irq},
17709 etc.@: for setting the port address and the @code{IRQ} lines for the
17710 other 3 COM ports.
17711
17712 @kindex show com1base
17713 @kindex show com1irq
17714 @kindex show com2base
17715 @kindex show com2irq
17716 @kindex show com3base
17717 @kindex show com3irq
17718 @kindex show com4base
17719 @kindex show com4irq
17720 The related commands @samp{show com1base}, @samp{show com1irq} etc.@:
17721 display the current settings of the base address and the @code{IRQ}
17722 lines used by the COM ports.
17723
17724 @item info serial
17725 @kindex info serial
17726 @cindex DOS serial port status
17727 This command prints the status of the 4 DOS serial ports. For each
17728 port, it prints whether it's active or not, its I/O base address and
17729 IRQ number, whether it uses a 16550-style FIFO, its baudrate, and the
17730 counts of various errors encountered so far.
17731 @end table
17732
17733
17734 @node Cygwin Native
17735 @subsection Features for Debugging MS Windows PE Executables
17736 @cindex MS Windows debugging
17737 @cindex native Cygwin debugging
17738 @cindex Cygwin-specific commands
17739
17740 @value{GDBN} supports native debugging of MS Windows programs, including
17741 DLLs with and without symbolic debugging information.
17742
17743 @cindex Ctrl-BREAK, MS-Windows
17744 @cindex interrupt debuggee on MS-Windows
17745 MS-Windows programs that call @code{SetConsoleMode} to switch off the
17746 special meaning of the @samp{Ctrl-C} keystroke cannot be interrupted
17747 by typing @kbd{C-c}. For this reason, @value{GDBN} on MS-Windows
17748 supports @kbd{C-@key{BREAK}} as an alternative interrupt key
17749 sequence, which can be used to interrupt the debuggee even if it
17750 ignores @kbd{C-c}.
17751
17752 There are various additional Cygwin-specific commands, described in
17753 this section. Working with DLLs that have no debugging symbols is
17754 described in @ref{Non-debug DLL Symbols}.
17755
17756 @table @code
17757 @kindex info w32
17758 @item info w32
17759 This is a prefix of MS Windows-specific commands which print
17760 information about the target system and important OS structures.
17761
17762 @item info w32 selector
17763 This command displays information returned by
17764 the Win32 API @code{GetThreadSelectorEntry} function.
17765 It takes an optional argument that is evaluated to
17766 a long value to give the information about this given selector.
17767 Without argument, this command displays information
17768 about the six segment registers.
17769
17770 @item info w32 thread-information-block
17771 This command displays thread specific information stored in the
17772 Thread Information Block (readable on the X86 CPU family using @code{$fs}
17773 selector for 32-bit programs and @code{$gs} for 64-bit programs).
17774
17775 @kindex info dll
17776 @item info dll
17777 This is a Cygwin-specific alias of @code{info shared}.
17778
17779 @kindex dll-symbols
17780 @item dll-symbols
17781 This command loads symbols from a dll similarly to
17782 add-sym command but without the need to specify a base address.
17783
17784 @kindex set cygwin-exceptions
17785 @cindex debugging the Cygwin DLL
17786 @cindex Cygwin DLL, debugging
17787 @item set cygwin-exceptions @var{mode}
17788 If @var{mode} is @code{on}, @value{GDBN} will break on exceptions that
17789 happen inside the Cygwin DLL. If @var{mode} is @code{off},
17790 @value{GDBN} will delay recognition of exceptions, and may ignore some
17791 exceptions which seem to be caused by internal Cygwin DLL
17792 ``bookkeeping''. This option is meant primarily for debugging the
17793 Cygwin DLL itself; the default value is @code{off} to avoid annoying
17794 @value{GDBN} users with false @code{SIGSEGV} signals.
17795
17796 @kindex show cygwin-exceptions
17797 @item show cygwin-exceptions
17798 Displays whether @value{GDBN} will break on exceptions that happen
17799 inside the Cygwin DLL itself.
17800
17801 @kindex set new-console
17802 @item set new-console @var{mode}
17803 If @var{mode} is @code{on} the debuggee will
17804 be started in a new console on next start.
17805 If @var{mode} is @code{off}, the debuggee will
17806 be started in the same console as the debugger.
17807
17808 @kindex show new-console
17809 @item show new-console
17810 Displays whether a new console is used
17811 when the debuggee is started.
17812
17813 @kindex set new-group
17814 @item set new-group @var{mode}
17815 This boolean value controls whether the debuggee should
17816 start a new group or stay in the same group as the debugger.
17817 This affects the way the Windows OS handles
17818 @samp{Ctrl-C}.
17819
17820 @kindex show new-group
17821 @item show new-group
17822 Displays current value of new-group boolean.
17823
17824 @kindex set debugevents
17825 @item set debugevents
17826 This boolean value adds debug output concerning kernel events related
17827 to the debuggee seen by the debugger. This includes events that
17828 signal thread and process creation and exit, DLL loading and
17829 unloading, console interrupts, and debugging messages produced by the
17830 Windows @code{OutputDebugString} API call.
17831
17832 @kindex set debugexec
17833 @item set debugexec
17834 This boolean value adds debug output concerning execute events
17835 (such as resume thread) seen by the debugger.
17836
17837 @kindex set debugexceptions
17838 @item set debugexceptions
17839 This boolean value adds debug output concerning exceptions in the
17840 debuggee seen by the debugger.
17841
17842 @kindex set debugmemory
17843 @item set debugmemory
17844 This boolean value adds debug output concerning debuggee memory reads
17845 and writes by the debugger.
17846
17847 @kindex set shell
17848 @item set shell
17849 This boolean values specifies whether the debuggee is called
17850 via a shell or directly (default value is on).
17851
17852 @kindex show shell
17853 @item show shell
17854 Displays if the debuggee will be started with a shell.
17855
17856 @end table
17857
17858 @menu
17859 * Non-debug DLL Symbols:: Support for DLLs without debugging symbols
17860 @end menu
17861
17862 @node Non-debug DLL Symbols
17863 @subsubsection Support for DLLs without Debugging Symbols
17864 @cindex DLLs with no debugging symbols
17865 @cindex Minimal symbols and DLLs
17866
17867 Very often on windows, some of the DLLs that your program relies on do
17868 not include symbolic debugging information (for example,
17869 @file{kernel32.dll}). When @value{GDBN} doesn't recognize any debugging
17870 symbols in a DLL, it relies on the minimal amount of symbolic
17871 information contained in the DLL's export table. This section
17872 describes working with such symbols, known internally to @value{GDBN} as
17873 ``minimal symbols''.
17874
17875 Note that before the debugged program has started execution, no DLLs
17876 will have been loaded. The easiest way around this problem is simply to
17877 start the program --- either by setting a breakpoint or letting the
17878 program run once to completion. It is also possible to force
17879 @value{GDBN} to load a particular DLL before starting the executable ---
17880 see the shared library information in @ref{Files}, or the
17881 @code{dll-symbols} command in @ref{Cygwin Native}. Currently,
17882 explicitly loading symbols from a DLL with no debugging information will
17883 cause the symbol names to be duplicated in @value{GDBN}'s lookup table,
17884 which may adversely affect symbol lookup performance.
17885
17886 @subsubsection DLL Name Prefixes
17887
17888 In keeping with the naming conventions used by the Microsoft debugging
17889 tools, DLL export symbols are made available with a prefix based on the
17890 DLL name, for instance @code{KERNEL32!CreateFileA}. The plain name is
17891 also entered into the symbol table, so @code{CreateFileA} is often
17892 sufficient. In some cases there will be name clashes within a program
17893 (particularly if the executable itself includes full debugging symbols)
17894 necessitating the use of the fully qualified name when referring to the
17895 contents of the DLL. Use single-quotes around the name to avoid the
17896 exclamation mark (``!'') being interpreted as a language operator.
17897
17898 Note that the internal name of the DLL may be all upper-case, even
17899 though the file name of the DLL is lower-case, or vice-versa. Since
17900 symbols within @value{GDBN} are @emph{case-sensitive} this may cause
17901 some confusion. If in doubt, try the @code{info functions} and
17902 @code{info variables} commands or even @code{maint print msymbols}
17903 (@pxref{Symbols}). Here's an example:
17904
17905 @smallexample
17906 (@value{GDBP}) info function CreateFileA
17907 All functions matching regular expression "CreateFileA":
17908
17909 Non-debugging symbols:
17910 0x77e885f4 CreateFileA
17911 0x77e885f4 KERNEL32!CreateFileA
17912 @end smallexample
17913
17914 @smallexample
17915 (@value{GDBP}) info function !
17916 All functions matching regular expression "!":
17917
17918 Non-debugging symbols:
17919 0x6100114c cygwin1!__assert
17920 0x61004034 cygwin1!_dll_crt0@@0
17921 0x61004240 cygwin1!dll_crt0(per_process *)
17922 [etc...]
17923 @end smallexample
17924
17925 @subsubsection Working with Minimal Symbols
17926
17927 Symbols extracted from a DLL's export table do not contain very much
17928 type information. All that @value{GDBN} can do is guess whether a symbol
17929 refers to a function or variable depending on the linker section that
17930 contains the symbol. Also note that the actual contents of the memory
17931 contained in a DLL are not available unless the program is running. This
17932 means that you cannot examine the contents of a variable or disassemble
17933 a function within a DLL without a running program.
17934
17935 Variables are generally treated as pointers and dereferenced
17936 automatically. For this reason, it is often necessary to prefix a
17937 variable name with the address-of operator (``&'') and provide explicit
17938 type information in the command. Here's an example of the type of
17939 problem:
17940
17941 @smallexample
17942 (@value{GDBP}) print 'cygwin1!__argv'
17943 $1 = 268572168
17944 @end smallexample
17945
17946 @smallexample
17947 (@value{GDBP}) x 'cygwin1!__argv'
17948 0x10021610: "\230y\""
17949 @end smallexample
17950
17951 And two possible solutions:
17952
17953 @smallexample
17954 (@value{GDBP}) print ((char **)'cygwin1!__argv')[0]
17955 $2 = 0x22fd98 "/cygdrive/c/mydirectory/myprogram"
17956 @end smallexample
17957
17958 @smallexample
17959 (@value{GDBP}) x/2x &'cygwin1!__argv'
17960 0x610c0aa8 <cygwin1!__argv>: 0x10021608 0x00000000
17961 (@value{GDBP}) x/x 0x10021608
17962 0x10021608: 0x0022fd98
17963 (@value{GDBP}) x/s 0x0022fd98
17964 0x22fd98: "/cygdrive/c/mydirectory/myprogram"
17965 @end smallexample
17966
17967 Setting a break point within a DLL is possible even before the program
17968 starts execution. However, under these circumstances, @value{GDBN} can't
17969 examine the initial instructions of the function in order to skip the
17970 function's frame set-up code. You can work around this by using ``*&''
17971 to set the breakpoint at a raw memory address:
17972
17973 @smallexample
17974 (@value{GDBP}) break *&'python22!PyOS_Readline'
17975 Breakpoint 1 at 0x1e04eff0
17976 @end smallexample
17977
17978 The author of these extensions is not entirely convinced that setting a
17979 break point within a shared DLL like @file{kernel32.dll} is completely
17980 safe.
17981
17982 @node Hurd Native
17983 @subsection Commands Specific to @sc{gnu} Hurd Systems
17984 @cindex @sc{gnu} Hurd debugging
17985
17986 This subsection describes @value{GDBN} commands specific to the
17987 @sc{gnu} Hurd native debugging.
17988
17989 @table @code
17990 @item set signals
17991 @itemx set sigs
17992 @kindex set signals@r{, Hurd command}
17993 @kindex set sigs@r{, Hurd command}
17994 This command toggles the state of inferior signal interception by
17995 @value{GDBN}. Mach exceptions, such as breakpoint traps, are not
17996 affected by this command. @code{sigs} is a shorthand alias for
17997 @code{signals}.
17998
17999 @item show signals
18000 @itemx show sigs
18001 @kindex show signals@r{, Hurd command}
18002 @kindex show sigs@r{, Hurd command}
18003 Show the current state of intercepting inferior's signals.
18004
18005 @item set signal-thread
18006 @itemx set sigthread
18007 @kindex set signal-thread
18008 @kindex set sigthread
18009 This command tells @value{GDBN} which thread is the @code{libc} signal
18010 thread. That thread is run when a signal is delivered to a running
18011 process. @code{set sigthread} is the shorthand alias of @code{set
18012 signal-thread}.
18013
18014 @item show signal-thread
18015 @itemx show sigthread
18016 @kindex show signal-thread
18017 @kindex show sigthread
18018 These two commands show which thread will run when the inferior is
18019 delivered a signal.
18020
18021 @item set stopped
18022 @kindex set stopped@r{, Hurd command}
18023 This commands tells @value{GDBN} that the inferior process is stopped,
18024 as with the @code{SIGSTOP} signal. The stopped process can be
18025 continued by delivering a signal to it.
18026
18027 @item show stopped
18028 @kindex show stopped@r{, Hurd command}
18029 This command shows whether @value{GDBN} thinks the debuggee is
18030 stopped.
18031
18032 @item set exceptions
18033 @kindex set exceptions@r{, Hurd command}
18034 Use this command to turn off trapping of exceptions in the inferior.
18035 When exception trapping is off, neither breakpoints nor
18036 single-stepping will work. To restore the default, set exception
18037 trapping on.
18038
18039 @item show exceptions
18040 @kindex show exceptions@r{, Hurd command}
18041 Show the current state of trapping exceptions in the inferior.
18042
18043 @item set task pause
18044 @kindex set task@r{, Hurd commands}
18045 @cindex task attributes (@sc{gnu} Hurd)
18046 @cindex pause current task (@sc{gnu} Hurd)
18047 This command toggles task suspension when @value{GDBN} has control.
18048 Setting it to on takes effect immediately, and the task is suspended
18049 whenever @value{GDBN} gets control. Setting it to off will take
18050 effect the next time the inferior is continued. If this option is set
18051 to off, you can use @code{set thread default pause on} or @code{set
18052 thread pause on} (see below) to pause individual threads.
18053
18054 @item show task pause
18055 @kindex show task@r{, Hurd commands}
18056 Show the current state of task suspension.
18057
18058 @item set task detach-suspend-count
18059 @cindex task suspend count
18060 @cindex detach from task, @sc{gnu} Hurd
18061 This command sets the suspend count the task will be left with when
18062 @value{GDBN} detaches from it.
18063
18064 @item show task detach-suspend-count
18065 Show the suspend count the task will be left with when detaching.
18066
18067 @item set task exception-port
18068 @itemx set task excp
18069 @cindex task exception port, @sc{gnu} Hurd
18070 This command sets the task exception port to which @value{GDBN} will
18071 forward exceptions. The argument should be the value of the @dfn{send
18072 rights} of the task. @code{set task excp} is a shorthand alias.
18073
18074 @item set noninvasive
18075 @cindex noninvasive task options
18076 This command switches @value{GDBN} to a mode that is the least
18077 invasive as far as interfering with the inferior is concerned. This
18078 is the same as using @code{set task pause}, @code{set exceptions}, and
18079 @code{set signals} to values opposite to the defaults.
18080
18081 @item info send-rights
18082 @itemx info receive-rights
18083 @itemx info port-rights
18084 @itemx info port-sets
18085 @itemx info dead-names
18086 @itemx info ports
18087 @itemx info psets
18088 @cindex send rights, @sc{gnu} Hurd
18089 @cindex receive rights, @sc{gnu} Hurd
18090 @cindex port rights, @sc{gnu} Hurd
18091 @cindex port sets, @sc{gnu} Hurd
18092 @cindex dead names, @sc{gnu} Hurd
18093 These commands display information about, respectively, send rights,
18094 receive rights, port rights, port sets, and dead names of a task.
18095 There are also shorthand aliases: @code{info ports} for @code{info
18096 port-rights} and @code{info psets} for @code{info port-sets}.
18097
18098 @item set thread pause
18099 @kindex set thread@r{, Hurd command}
18100 @cindex thread properties, @sc{gnu} Hurd
18101 @cindex pause current thread (@sc{gnu} Hurd)
18102 This command toggles current thread suspension when @value{GDBN} has
18103 control. Setting it to on takes effect immediately, and the current
18104 thread is suspended whenever @value{GDBN} gets control. Setting it to
18105 off will take effect the next time the inferior is continued.
18106 Normally, this command has no effect, since when @value{GDBN} has
18107 control, the whole task is suspended. However, if you used @code{set
18108 task pause off} (see above), this command comes in handy to suspend
18109 only the current thread.
18110
18111 @item show thread pause
18112 @kindex show thread@r{, Hurd command}
18113 This command shows the state of current thread suspension.
18114
18115 @item set thread run
18116 This command sets whether the current thread is allowed to run.
18117
18118 @item show thread run
18119 Show whether the current thread is allowed to run.
18120
18121 @item set thread detach-suspend-count
18122 @cindex thread suspend count, @sc{gnu} Hurd
18123 @cindex detach from thread, @sc{gnu} Hurd
18124 This command sets the suspend count @value{GDBN} will leave on a
18125 thread when detaching. This number is relative to the suspend count
18126 found by @value{GDBN} when it notices the thread; use @code{set thread
18127 takeover-suspend-count} to force it to an absolute value.
18128
18129 @item show thread detach-suspend-count
18130 Show the suspend count @value{GDBN} will leave on the thread when
18131 detaching.
18132
18133 @item set thread exception-port
18134 @itemx set thread excp
18135 Set the thread exception port to which to forward exceptions. This
18136 overrides the port set by @code{set task exception-port} (see above).
18137 @code{set thread excp} is the shorthand alias.
18138
18139 @item set thread takeover-suspend-count
18140 Normally, @value{GDBN}'s thread suspend counts are relative to the
18141 value @value{GDBN} finds when it notices each thread. This command
18142 changes the suspend counts to be absolute instead.
18143
18144 @item set thread default
18145 @itemx show thread default
18146 @cindex thread default settings, @sc{gnu} Hurd
18147 Each of the above @code{set thread} commands has a @code{set thread
18148 default} counterpart (e.g., @code{set thread default pause}, @code{set
18149 thread default exception-port}, etc.). The @code{thread default}
18150 variety of commands sets the default thread properties for all
18151 threads; you can then change the properties of individual threads with
18152 the non-default commands.
18153 @end table
18154
18155
18156 @node Neutrino
18157 @subsection QNX Neutrino
18158 @cindex QNX Neutrino
18159
18160 @value{GDBN} provides the following commands specific to the QNX
18161 Neutrino target:
18162
18163 @table @code
18164 @item set debug nto-debug
18165 @kindex set debug nto-debug
18166 When set to on, enables debugging messages specific to the QNX
18167 Neutrino support.
18168
18169 @item show debug nto-debug
18170 @kindex show debug nto-debug
18171 Show the current state of QNX Neutrino messages.
18172 @end table
18173
18174 @node Darwin
18175 @subsection Darwin
18176 @cindex Darwin
18177
18178 @value{GDBN} provides the following commands specific to the Darwin target:
18179
18180 @table @code
18181 @item set debug darwin @var{num}
18182 @kindex set debug darwin
18183 When set to a non zero value, enables debugging messages specific to
18184 the Darwin support. Higher values produce more verbose output.
18185
18186 @item show debug darwin
18187 @kindex show debug darwin
18188 Show the current state of Darwin messages.
18189
18190 @item set debug mach-o @var{num}
18191 @kindex set debug mach-o
18192 When set to a non zero value, enables debugging messages while
18193 @value{GDBN} is reading Darwin object files. (@dfn{Mach-O} is the
18194 file format used on Darwin for object and executable files.) Higher
18195 values produce more verbose output. This is a command to diagnose
18196 problems internal to @value{GDBN} and should not be needed in normal
18197 usage.
18198
18199 @item show debug mach-o
18200 @kindex show debug mach-o
18201 Show the current state of Mach-O file messages.
18202
18203 @item set mach-exceptions on
18204 @itemx set mach-exceptions off
18205 @kindex set mach-exceptions
18206 On Darwin, faults are first reported as a Mach exception and are then
18207 mapped to a Posix signal. Use this command to turn on trapping of
18208 Mach exceptions in the inferior. This might be sometimes useful to
18209 better understand the cause of a fault. The default is off.
18210
18211 @item show mach-exceptions
18212 @kindex show mach-exceptions
18213 Show the current state of exceptions trapping.
18214 @end table
18215
18216
18217 @node Embedded OS
18218 @section Embedded Operating Systems
18219
18220 This section describes configurations involving the debugging of
18221 embedded operating systems that are available for several different
18222 architectures.
18223
18224 @menu
18225 * VxWorks:: Using @value{GDBN} with VxWorks
18226 @end menu
18227
18228 @value{GDBN} includes the ability to debug programs running on
18229 various real-time operating systems.
18230
18231 @node VxWorks
18232 @subsection Using @value{GDBN} with VxWorks
18233
18234 @cindex VxWorks
18235
18236 @table @code
18237
18238 @kindex target vxworks
18239 @item target vxworks @var{machinename}
18240 A VxWorks system, attached via TCP/IP. The argument @var{machinename}
18241 is the target system's machine name or IP address.
18242
18243 @end table
18244
18245 On VxWorks, @code{load} links @var{filename} dynamically on the
18246 current target system as well as adding its symbols in @value{GDBN}.
18247
18248 @value{GDBN} enables developers to spawn and debug tasks running on networked
18249 VxWorks targets from a Unix host. Already-running tasks spawned from
18250 the VxWorks shell can also be debugged. @value{GDBN} uses code that runs on
18251 both the Unix host and on the VxWorks target. The program
18252 @code{@value{GDBP}} is installed and executed on the Unix host. (It may be
18253 installed with the name @code{vxgdb}, to distinguish it from a
18254 @value{GDBN} for debugging programs on the host itself.)
18255
18256 @table @code
18257 @item VxWorks-timeout @var{args}
18258 @kindex vxworks-timeout
18259 All VxWorks-based targets now support the option @code{vxworks-timeout}.
18260 This option is set by the user, and @var{args} represents the number of
18261 seconds @value{GDBN} waits for responses to rpc's. You might use this if
18262 your VxWorks target is a slow software simulator or is on the far side
18263 of a thin network line.
18264 @end table
18265
18266 The following information on connecting to VxWorks was current when
18267 this manual was produced; newer releases of VxWorks may use revised
18268 procedures.
18269
18270 @findex INCLUDE_RDB
18271 To use @value{GDBN} with VxWorks, you must rebuild your VxWorks kernel
18272 to include the remote debugging interface routines in the VxWorks
18273 library @file{rdb.a}. To do this, define @code{INCLUDE_RDB} in the
18274 VxWorks configuration file @file{configAll.h} and rebuild your VxWorks
18275 kernel. The resulting kernel contains @file{rdb.a}, and spawns the
18276 source debugging task @code{tRdbTask} when VxWorks is booted. For more
18277 information on configuring and remaking VxWorks, see the manufacturer's
18278 manual.
18279 @c VxWorks, see the @cite{VxWorks Programmer's Guide}.
18280
18281 Once you have included @file{rdb.a} in your VxWorks system image and set
18282 your Unix execution search path to find @value{GDBN}, you are ready to
18283 run @value{GDBN}. From your Unix host, run @code{@value{GDBP}} (or
18284 @code{vxgdb}, depending on your installation).
18285
18286 @value{GDBN} comes up showing the prompt:
18287
18288 @smallexample
18289 (vxgdb)
18290 @end smallexample
18291
18292 @menu
18293 * VxWorks Connection:: Connecting to VxWorks
18294 * VxWorks Download:: VxWorks download
18295 * VxWorks Attach:: Running tasks
18296 @end menu
18297
18298 @node VxWorks Connection
18299 @subsubsection Connecting to VxWorks
18300
18301 The @value{GDBN} command @code{target} lets you connect to a VxWorks target on the
18302 network. To connect to a target whose host name is ``@code{tt}'', type:
18303
18304 @smallexample
18305 (vxgdb) target vxworks tt
18306 @end smallexample
18307
18308 @need 750
18309 @value{GDBN} displays messages like these:
18310
18311 @smallexample
18312 Attaching remote machine across net...
18313 Connected to tt.
18314 @end smallexample
18315
18316 @need 1000
18317 @value{GDBN} then attempts to read the symbol tables of any object modules
18318 loaded into the VxWorks target since it was last booted. @value{GDBN} locates
18319 these files by searching the directories listed in the command search
18320 path (@pxref{Environment, ,Your Program's Environment}); if it fails
18321 to find an object file, it displays a message such as:
18322
18323 @smallexample
18324 prog.o: No such file or directory.
18325 @end smallexample
18326
18327 When this happens, add the appropriate directory to the search path with
18328 the @value{GDBN} command @code{path}, and execute the @code{target}
18329 command again.
18330
18331 @node VxWorks Download
18332 @subsubsection VxWorks Download
18333
18334 @cindex download to VxWorks
18335 If you have connected to the VxWorks target and you want to debug an
18336 object that has not yet been loaded, you can use the @value{GDBN}
18337 @code{load} command to download a file from Unix to VxWorks
18338 incrementally. The object file given as an argument to the @code{load}
18339 command is actually opened twice: first by the VxWorks target in order
18340 to download the code, then by @value{GDBN} in order to read the symbol
18341 table. This can lead to problems if the current working directories on
18342 the two systems differ. If both systems have NFS mounted the same
18343 filesystems, you can avoid these problems by using absolute paths.
18344 Otherwise, it is simplest to set the working directory on both systems
18345 to the directory in which the object file resides, and then to reference
18346 the file by its name, without any path. For instance, a program
18347 @file{prog.o} may reside in @file{@var{vxpath}/vw/demo/rdb} in VxWorks
18348 and in @file{@var{hostpath}/vw/demo/rdb} on the host. To load this
18349 program, type this on VxWorks:
18350
18351 @smallexample
18352 -> cd "@var{vxpath}/vw/demo/rdb"
18353 @end smallexample
18354
18355 @noindent
18356 Then, in @value{GDBN}, type:
18357
18358 @smallexample
18359 (vxgdb) cd @var{hostpath}/vw/demo/rdb
18360 (vxgdb) load prog.o
18361 @end smallexample
18362
18363 @value{GDBN} displays a response similar to this:
18364
18365 @smallexample
18366 Reading symbol data from wherever/vw/demo/rdb/prog.o... done.
18367 @end smallexample
18368
18369 You can also use the @code{load} command to reload an object module
18370 after editing and recompiling the corresponding source file. Note that
18371 this makes @value{GDBN} delete all currently-defined breakpoints,
18372 auto-displays, and convenience variables, and to clear the value
18373 history. (This is necessary in order to preserve the integrity of
18374 debugger's data structures that reference the target system's symbol
18375 table.)
18376
18377 @node VxWorks Attach
18378 @subsubsection Running Tasks
18379
18380 @cindex running VxWorks tasks
18381 You can also attach to an existing task using the @code{attach} command as
18382 follows:
18383
18384 @smallexample
18385 (vxgdb) attach @var{task}
18386 @end smallexample
18387
18388 @noindent
18389 where @var{task} is the VxWorks hexadecimal task ID. The task can be running
18390 or suspended when you attach to it. Running tasks are suspended at
18391 the time of attachment.
18392
18393 @node Embedded Processors
18394 @section Embedded Processors
18395
18396 This section goes into details specific to particular embedded
18397 configurations.
18398
18399 @cindex send command to simulator
18400 Whenever a specific embedded processor has a simulator, @value{GDBN}
18401 allows to send an arbitrary command to the simulator.
18402
18403 @table @code
18404 @item sim @var{command}
18405 @kindex sim@r{, a command}
18406 Send an arbitrary @var{command} string to the simulator. Consult the
18407 documentation for the specific simulator in use for information about
18408 acceptable commands.
18409 @end table
18410
18411
18412 @menu
18413 * ARM:: ARM RDI
18414 * M32R/D:: Renesas M32R/D
18415 * M68K:: Motorola M68K
18416 * MicroBlaze:: Xilinx MicroBlaze
18417 * MIPS Embedded:: MIPS Embedded
18418 * OpenRISC 1000:: OpenRisc 1000
18419 * PA:: HP PA Embedded
18420 * PowerPC Embedded:: PowerPC Embedded
18421 * Sparclet:: Tsqware Sparclet
18422 * Sparclite:: Fujitsu Sparclite
18423 * Z8000:: Zilog Z8000
18424 * AVR:: Atmel AVR
18425 * CRIS:: CRIS
18426 * Super-H:: Renesas Super-H
18427 @end menu
18428
18429 @node ARM
18430 @subsection ARM
18431 @cindex ARM RDI
18432
18433 @table @code
18434 @kindex target rdi
18435 @item target rdi @var{dev}
18436 ARM Angel monitor, via RDI library interface to ADP protocol. You may
18437 use this target to communicate with both boards running the Angel
18438 monitor, or with the EmbeddedICE JTAG debug device.
18439
18440 @kindex target rdp
18441 @item target rdp @var{dev}
18442 ARM Demon monitor.
18443
18444 @end table
18445
18446 @value{GDBN} provides the following ARM-specific commands:
18447
18448 @table @code
18449 @item set arm disassembler
18450 @kindex set arm
18451 This commands selects from a list of disassembly styles. The
18452 @code{"std"} style is the standard style.
18453
18454 @item show arm disassembler
18455 @kindex show arm
18456 Show the current disassembly style.
18457
18458 @item set arm apcs32
18459 @cindex ARM 32-bit mode
18460 This command toggles ARM operation mode between 32-bit and 26-bit.
18461
18462 @item show arm apcs32
18463 Display the current usage of the ARM 32-bit mode.
18464
18465 @item set arm fpu @var{fputype}
18466 This command sets the ARM floating-point unit (FPU) type. The
18467 argument @var{fputype} can be one of these:
18468
18469 @table @code
18470 @item auto
18471 Determine the FPU type by querying the OS ABI.
18472 @item softfpa
18473 Software FPU, with mixed-endian doubles on little-endian ARM
18474 processors.
18475 @item fpa
18476 GCC-compiled FPA co-processor.
18477 @item softvfp
18478 Software FPU with pure-endian doubles.
18479 @item vfp
18480 VFP co-processor.
18481 @end table
18482
18483 @item show arm fpu
18484 Show the current type of the FPU.
18485
18486 @item set arm abi
18487 This command forces @value{GDBN} to use the specified ABI.
18488
18489 @item show arm abi
18490 Show the currently used ABI.
18491
18492 @item set arm fallback-mode (arm|thumb|auto)
18493 @value{GDBN} uses the symbol table, when available, to determine
18494 whether instructions are ARM or Thumb. This command controls
18495 @value{GDBN}'s default behavior when the symbol table is not
18496 available. The default is @samp{auto}, which causes @value{GDBN} to
18497 use the current execution mode (from the @code{T} bit in the @code{CPSR}
18498 register).
18499
18500 @item show arm fallback-mode
18501 Show the current fallback instruction mode.
18502
18503 @item set arm force-mode (arm|thumb|auto)
18504 This command overrides use of the symbol table to determine whether
18505 instructions are ARM or Thumb. The default is @samp{auto}, which
18506 causes @value{GDBN} to use the symbol table and then the setting
18507 of @samp{set arm fallback-mode}.
18508
18509 @item show arm force-mode
18510 Show the current forced instruction mode.
18511
18512 @item set debug arm
18513 Toggle whether to display ARM-specific debugging messages from the ARM
18514 target support subsystem.
18515
18516 @item show debug arm
18517 Show whether ARM-specific debugging messages are enabled.
18518 @end table
18519
18520 The following commands are available when an ARM target is debugged
18521 using the RDI interface:
18522
18523 @table @code
18524 @item rdilogfile @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
18525 @kindex rdilogfile
18526 @cindex ADP (Angel Debugger Protocol) logging
18527 Set the filename for the ADP (Angel Debugger Protocol) packet log.
18528 With an argument, sets the log file to the specified @var{file}. With
18529 no argument, show the current log file name. The default log file is
18530 @file{rdi.log}.
18531
18532 @item rdilogenable @r{[}@var{arg}@r{]}
18533 @kindex rdilogenable
18534 Control logging of ADP packets. With an argument of 1 or @code{"yes"}
18535 enables logging, with an argument 0 or @code{"no"} disables it. With
18536 no arguments displays the current setting. When logging is enabled,
18537 ADP packets exchanged between @value{GDBN} and the RDI target device
18538 are logged to a file.
18539
18540 @item set rdiromatzero
18541 @kindex set rdiromatzero
18542 @cindex ROM at zero address, RDI
18543 Tell @value{GDBN} whether the target has ROM at address 0. If on,
18544 vector catching is disabled, so that zero address can be used. If off
18545 (the default), vector catching is enabled. For this command to take
18546 effect, it needs to be invoked prior to the @code{target rdi} command.
18547
18548 @item show rdiromatzero
18549 @kindex show rdiromatzero
18550 Show the current setting of ROM at zero address.
18551
18552 @item set rdiheartbeat
18553 @kindex set rdiheartbeat
18554 @cindex RDI heartbeat
18555 Enable or disable RDI heartbeat packets. It is not recommended to
18556 turn on this option, since it confuses ARM and EPI JTAG interface, as
18557 well as the Angel monitor.
18558
18559 @item show rdiheartbeat
18560 @kindex show rdiheartbeat
18561 Show the setting of RDI heartbeat packets.
18562 @end table
18563
18564 @table @code
18565 @item target sim @r{[}@var{simargs}@r{]} @dots{}
18566 The @value{GDBN} ARM simulator accepts the following optional arguments.
18567
18568 @table @code
18569 @item --swi-support=@var{type}
18570 Tell the simulator which SWI interfaces to support.
18571 @var{type} may be a comma separated list of the following values.
18572 The default value is @code{all}.
18573
18574 @table @code
18575 @item none
18576 @item demon
18577 @item angel
18578 @item redboot
18579 @item all
18580 @end table
18581 @end table
18582 @end table
18583
18584 @node M32R/D
18585 @subsection Renesas M32R/D and M32R/SDI
18586
18587 @table @code
18588 @kindex target m32r
18589 @item target m32r @var{dev}
18590 Renesas M32R/D ROM monitor.
18591
18592 @kindex target m32rsdi
18593 @item target m32rsdi @var{dev}
18594 Renesas M32R SDI server, connected via parallel port to the board.
18595 @end table
18596
18597 The following @value{GDBN} commands are specific to the M32R monitor:
18598
18599 @table @code
18600 @item set download-path @var{path}
18601 @kindex set download-path
18602 @cindex find downloadable @sc{srec} files (M32R)
18603 Set the default path for finding downloadable @sc{srec} files.
18604
18605 @item show download-path
18606 @kindex show download-path
18607 Show the default path for downloadable @sc{srec} files.
18608
18609 @item set board-address @var{addr}
18610 @kindex set board-address
18611 @cindex M32-EVA target board address
18612 Set the IP address for the M32R-EVA target board.
18613
18614 @item show board-address
18615 @kindex show board-address
18616 Show the current IP address of the target board.
18617
18618 @item set server-address @var{addr}
18619 @kindex set server-address
18620 @cindex download server address (M32R)
18621 Set the IP address for the download server, which is the @value{GDBN}'s
18622 host machine.
18623
18624 @item show server-address
18625 @kindex show server-address
18626 Display the IP address of the download server.
18627
18628 @item upload @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
18629 @kindex upload@r{, M32R}
18630 Upload the specified @sc{srec} @var{file} via the monitor's Ethernet
18631 upload capability. If no @var{file} argument is given, the current
18632 executable file is uploaded.
18633
18634 @item tload @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
18635 @kindex tload@r{, M32R}
18636 Test the @code{upload} command.
18637 @end table
18638
18639 The following commands are available for M32R/SDI:
18640
18641 @table @code
18642 @item sdireset
18643 @kindex sdireset
18644 @cindex reset SDI connection, M32R
18645 This command resets the SDI connection.
18646
18647 @item sdistatus
18648 @kindex sdistatus
18649 This command shows the SDI connection status.
18650
18651 @item debug_chaos
18652 @kindex debug_chaos
18653 @cindex M32R/Chaos debugging
18654 Instructs the remote that M32R/Chaos debugging is to be used.
18655
18656 @item use_debug_dma
18657 @kindex use_debug_dma
18658 Instructs the remote to use the DEBUG_DMA method of accessing memory.
18659
18660 @item use_mon_code
18661 @kindex use_mon_code
18662 Instructs the remote to use the MON_CODE method of accessing memory.
18663
18664 @item use_ib_break
18665 @kindex use_ib_break
18666 Instructs the remote to set breakpoints by IB break.
18667
18668 @item use_dbt_break
18669 @kindex use_dbt_break
18670 Instructs the remote to set breakpoints by DBT.
18671 @end table
18672
18673 @node M68K
18674 @subsection M68k
18675
18676 The Motorola m68k configuration includes ColdFire support, and a
18677 target command for the following ROM monitor.
18678
18679 @table @code
18680
18681 @kindex target dbug
18682 @item target dbug @var{dev}
18683 dBUG ROM monitor for Motorola ColdFire.
18684
18685 @end table
18686
18687 @node MicroBlaze
18688 @subsection MicroBlaze
18689 @cindex Xilinx MicroBlaze
18690 @cindex XMD, Xilinx Microprocessor Debugger
18691
18692 The MicroBlaze is a soft-core processor supported on various Xilinx
18693 FPGAs, such as Spartan or Virtex series. Boards with these processors
18694 usually have JTAG ports which connect to a host system running the Xilinx
18695 Embedded Development Kit (EDK) or Software Development Kit (SDK).
18696 This host system is used to download the configuration bitstream to
18697 the target FPGA. The Xilinx Microprocessor Debugger (XMD) program
18698 communicates with the target board using the JTAG interface and
18699 presents a @code{gdbserver} interface to the board. By default
18700 @code{xmd} uses port @code{1234}. (While it is possible to change
18701 this default port, it requires the use of undocumented @code{xmd}
18702 commands. Contact Xilinx support if you need to do this.)
18703
18704 Use these GDB commands to connect to the MicroBlaze target processor.
18705
18706 @table @code
18707 @item target remote :1234
18708 Use this command to connect to the target if you are running @value{GDBN}
18709 on the same system as @code{xmd}.
18710
18711 @item target remote @var{xmd-host}:1234
18712 Use this command to connect to the target if it is connected to @code{xmd}
18713 running on a different system named @var{xmd-host}.
18714
18715 @item load
18716 Use this command to download a program to the MicroBlaze target.
18717
18718 @item set debug microblaze @var{n}
18719 Enable MicroBlaze-specific debugging messages if non-zero.
18720
18721 @item show debug microblaze @var{n}
18722 Show MicroBlaze-specific debugging level.
18723 @end table
18724
18725 @node MIPS Embedded
18726 @subsection MIPS Embedded
18727
18728 @cindex MIPS boards
18729 @value{GDBN} can use the MIPS remote debugging protocol to talk to a
18730 MIPS board attached to a serial line. This is available when
18731 you configure @value{GDBN} with @samp{--target=mips-idt-ecoff}.
18732
18733 @need 1000
18734 Use these @value{GDBN} commands to specify the connection to your target board:
18735
18736 @table @code
18737 @item target mips @var{port}
18738 @kindex target mips @var{port}
18739 To run a program on the board, start up @code{@value{GDBP}} with the
18740 name of your program as the argument. To connect to the board, use the
18741 command @samp{target mips @var{port}}, where @var{port} is the name of
18742 the serial port connected to the board. If the program has not already
18743 been downloaded to the board, you may use the @code{load} command to
18744 download it. You can then use all the usual @value{GDBN} commands.
18745
18746 For example, this sequence connects to the target board through a serial
18747 port, and loads and runs a program called @var{prog} through the
18748 debugger:
18749
18750 @smallexample
18751 host$ @value{GDBP} @var{prog}
18752 @value{GDBN} is free software and @dots{}
18753 (@value{GDBP}) target mips /dev/ttyb
18754 (@value{GDBP}) load @var{prog}
18755 (@value{GDBP}) run
18756 @end smallexample
18757
18758 @item target mips @var{hostname}:@var{portnumber}
18759 On some @value{GDBN} host configurations, you can specify a TCP
18760 connection (for instance, to a serial line managed by a terminal
18761 concentrator) instead of a serial port, using the syntax
18762 @samp{@var{hostname}:@var{portnumber}}.
18763
18764 @item target pmon @var{port}
18765 @kindex target pmon @var{port}
18766 PMON ROM monitor.
18767
18768 @item target ddb @var{port}
18769 @kindex target ddb @var{port}
18770 NEC's DDB variant of PMON for Vr4300.
18771
18772 @item target lsi @var{port}
18773 @kindex target lsi @var{port}
18774 LSI variant of PMON.
18775
18776 @kindex target r3900
18777 @item target r3900 @var{dev}
18778 Densan DVE-R3900 ROM monitor for Toshiba R3900 Mips.
18779
18780 @kindex target array
18781 @item target array @var{dev}
18782 Array Tech LSI33K RAID controller board.
18783
18784 @end table
18785
18786
18787 @noindent
18788 @value{GDBN} also supports these special commands for MIPS targets:
18789
18790 @table @code
18791 @item set mipsfpu double
18792 @itemx set mipsfpu single
18793 @itemx set mipsfpu none
18794 @itemx set mipsfpu auto
18795 @itemx show mipsfpu
18796 @kindex set mipsfpu
18797 @kindex show mipsfpu
18798 @cindex MIPS remote floating point
18799 @cindex floating point, MIPS remote
18800 If your target board does not support the MIPS floating point
18801 coprocessor, you should use the command @samp{set mipsfpu none} (if you
18802 need this, you may wish to put the command in your @value{GDBN} init
18803 file). This tells @value{GDBN} how to find the return value of
18804 functions which return floating point values. It also allows
18805 @value{GDBN} to avoid saving the floating point registers when calling
18806 functions on the board. If you are using a floating point coprocessor
18807 with only single precision floating point support, as on the @sc{r4650}
18808 processor, use the command @samp{set mipsfpu single}. The default
18809 double precision floating point coprocessor may be selected using
18810 @samp{set mipsfpu double}.
18811
18812 In previous versions the only choices were double precision or no
18813 floating point, so @samp{set mipsfpu on} will select double precision
18814 and @samp{set mipsfpu off} will select no floating point.
18815
18816 As usual, you can inquire about the @code{mipsfpu} variable with
18817 @samp{show mipsfpu}.
18818
18819 @item set timeout @var{seconds}
18820 @itemx set retransmit-timeout @var{seconds}
18821 @itemx show timeout
18822 @itemx show retransmit-timeout
18823 @cindex @code{timeout}, MIPS protocol
18824 @cindex @code{retransmit-timeout}, MIPS protocol
18825 @kindex set timeout
18826 @kindex show timeout
18827 @kindex set retransmit-timeout
18828 @kindex show retransmit-timeout
18829 You can control the timeout used while waiting for a packet, in the MIPS
18830 remote protocol, with the @code{set timeout @var{seconds}} command. The
18831 default is 5 seconds. Similarly, you can control the timeout used while
18832 waiting for an acknowledgment of a packet with the @code{set
18833 retransmit-timeout @var{seconds}} command. The default is 3 seconds.
18834 You can inspect both values with @code{show timeout} and @code{show
18835 retransmit-timeout}. (These commands are @emph{only} available when
18836 @value{GDBN} is configured for @samp{--target=mips-idt-ecoff}.)
18837
18838 The timeout set by @code{set timeout} does not apply when @value{GDBN}
18839 is waiting for your program to stop. In that case, @value{GDBN} waits
18840 forever because it has no way of knowing how long the program is going
18841 to run before stopping.
18842
18843 @item set syn-garbage-limit @var{num}
18844 @kindex set syn-garbage-limit@r{, MIPS remote}
18845 @cindex synchronize with remote MIPS target
18846 Limit the maximum number of characters @value{GDBN} should ignore when
18847 it tries to synchronize with the remote target. The default is 10
18848 characters. Setting the limit to -1 means there's no limit.
18849
18850 @item show syn-garbage-limit
18851 @kindex show syn-garbage-limit@r{, MIPS remote}
18852 Show the current limit on the number of characters to ignore when
18853 trying to synchronize with the remote system.
18854
18855 @item set monitor-prompt @var{prompt}
18856 @kindex set monitor-prompt@r{, MIPS remote}
18857 @cindex remote monitor prompt
18858 Tell @value{GDBN} to expect the specified @var{prompt} string from the
18859 remote monitor. The default depends on the target:
18860 @table @asis
18861 @item pmon target
18862 @samp{PMON}
18863 @item ddb target
18864 @samp{NEC010}
18865 @item lsi target
18866 @samp{PMON>}
18867 @end table
18868
18869 @item show monitor-prompt
18870 @kindex show monitor-prompt@r{, MIPS remote}
18871 Show the current strings @value{GDBN} expects as the prompt from the
18872 remote monitor.
18873
18874 @item set monitor-warnings
18875 @kindex set monitor-warnings@r{, MIPS remote}
18876 Enable or disable monitor warnings about hardware breakpoints. This
18877 has effect only for the @code{lsi} target. When on, @value{GDBN} will
18878 display warning messages whose codes are returned by the @code{lsi}
18879 PMON monitor for breakpoint commands.
18880
18881 @item show monitor-warnings
18882 @kindex show monitor-warnings@r{, MIPS remote}
18883 Show the current setting of printing monitor warnings.
18884
18885 @item pmon @var{command}
18886 @kindex pmon@r{, MIPS remote}
18887 @cindex send PMON command
18888 This command allows sending an arbitrary @var{command} string to the
18889 monitor. The monitor must be in debug mode for this to work.
18890 @end table
18891
18892 @node OpenRISC 1000
18893 @subsection OpenRISC 1000
18894 @cindex OpenRISC 1000
18895
18896 @cindex or1k boards
18897 See OR1k Architecture document (@uref{www.opencores.org}) for more information
18898 about platform and commands.
18899
18900 @table @code
18901
18902 @kindex target jtag
18903 @item target jtag jtag://@var{host}:@var{port}
18904
18905 Connects to remote JTAG server.
18906 JTAG remote server can be either an or1ksim or JTAG server,
18907 connected via parallel port to the board.
18908
18909 Example: @code{target jtag jtag://localhost:9999}
18910
18911 @kindex or1ksim
18912 @item or1ksim @var{command}
18913 If connected to @code{or1ksim} OpenRISC 1000 Architectural
18914 Simulator, proprietary commands can be executed.
18915
18916 @kindex info or1k spr
18917 @item info or1k spr
18918 Displays spr groups.
18919
18920 @item info or1k spr @var{group}
18921 @itemx info or1k spr @var{groupno}
18922 Displays register names in selected group.
18923
18924 @item info or1k spr @var{group} @var{register}
18925 @itemx info or1k spr @var{register}
18926 @itemx info or1k spr @var{groupno} @var{registerno}
18927 @itemx info or1k spr @var{registerno}
18928 Shows information about specified spr register.
18929
18930 @kindex spr
18931 @item spr @var{group} @var{register} @var{value}
18932 @itemx spr @var{register @var{value}}
18933 @itemx spr @var{groupno} @var{registerno @var{value}}
18934 @itemx spr @var{registerno @var{value}}
18935 Writes @var{value} to specified spr register.
18936 @end table
18937
18938 Some implementations of OpenRISC 1000 Architecture also have hardware trace.
18939 It is very similar to @value{GDBN} trace, except it does not interfere with normal
18940 program execution and is thus much faster. Hardware breakpoints/watchpoint
18941 triggers can be set using:
18942 @table @code
18943 @item $LEA/$LDATA
18944 Load effective address/data
18945 @item $SEA/$SDATA
18946 Store effective address/data
18947 @item $AEA/$ADATA
18948 Access effective address ($SEA or $LEA) or data ($SDATA/$LDATA)
18949 @item $FETCH
18950 Fetch data
18951 @end table
18952
18953 When triggered, it can capture low level data, like: @code{PC}, @code{LSEA},
18954 @code{LDATA}, @code{SDATA}, @code{READSPR}, @code{WRITESPR}, @code{INSTR}.
18955
18956 @code{htrace} commands:
18957 @cindex OpenRISC 1000 htrace
18958 @table @code
18959 @kindex hwatch
18960 @item hwatch @var{conditional}
18961 Set hardware watchpoint on combination of Load/Store Effective Address(es)
18962 or Data. For example:
18963
18964 @code{hwatch ($LEA == my_var) && ($LDATA < 50) || ($SEA == my_var) && ($SDATA >= 50)}
18965
18966 @code{hwatch ($LEA == my_var) && ($LDATA < 50) || ($SEA == my_var) && ($SDATA >= 50)}
18967
18968 @kindex htrace
18969 @item htrace info
18970 Display information about current HW trace configuration.
18971
18972 @item htrace trigger @var{conditional}
18973 Set starting criteria for HW trace.
18974
18975 @item htrace qualifier @var{conditional}
18976 Set acquisition qualifier for HW trace.
18977
18978 @item htrace stop @var{conditional}
18979 Set HW trace stopping criteria.
18980
18981 @item htrace record [@var{data}]*
18982 Selects the data to be recorded, when qualifier is met and HW trace was
18983 triggered.
18984
18985 @item htrace enable
18986 @itemx htrace disable
18987 Enables/disables the HW trace.
18988
18989 @item htrace rewind [@var{filename}]
18990 Clears currently recorded trace data.
18991
18992 If filename is specified, new trace file is made and any newly collected data
18993 will be written there.
18994
18995 @item htrace print [@var{start} [@var{len}]]
18996 Prints trace buffer, using current record configuration.
18997
18998 @item htrace mode continuous
18999 Set continuous trace mode.
19000
19001 @item htrace mode suspend
19002 Set suspend trace mode.
19003
19004 @end table
19005
19006 @node PowerPC Embedded
19007 @subsection PowerPC Embedded
19008
19009 @cindex DVC register
19010 @value{GDBN} supports using the DVC (Data Value Compare) register to
19011 implement in hardware simple hardware watchpoint conditions of the form:
19012
19013 @smallexample
19014 (@value{GDBP}) watch @var{ADDRESS|VARIABLE} \
19015 if @var{ADDRESS|VARIABLE} == @var{CONSTANT EXPRESSION}
19016 @end smallexample
19017
19018 The DVC register will be automatically used when @value{GDBN} detects
19019 such pattern in a condition expression, and the created watchpoint uses one
19020 debug register (either the @code{exact-watchpoints} option is on and the
19021 variable is scalar, or the variable has a length of one byte). This feature
19022 is available in native @value{GDBN} running on a Linux kernel version 2.6.34
19023 or newer.
19024
19025 When running on PowerPC embedded processors, @value{GDBN} automatically uses
19026 ranged hardware watchpoints, unless the @code{exact-watchpoints} option is on,
19027 in which case watchpoints using only one debug register are created when
19028 watching variables of scalar types.
19029
19030 You can create an artificial array to watch an arbitrary memory
19031 region using one of the following commands (@pxref{Expressions}):
19032
19033 @smallexample
19034 (@value{GDBP}) watch *((char *) @var{address})@@@var{length}
19035 (@value{GDBP}) watch @{char[@var{length}]@} @var{address}
19036 @end smallexample
19037
19038 PowerPC embedded processors support masked watchpoints. See the discussion
19039 about the @code{mask} argument in @ref{Set Watchpoints}.
19040
19041 @cindex ranged breakpoint
19042 PowerPC embedded processors support hardware accelerated
19043 @dfn{ranged breakpoints}. A ranged breakpoint stops execution of
19044 the inferior whenever it executes an instruction at any address within
19045 the range it specifies. To set a ranged breakpoint in @value{GDBN},
19046 use the @code{break-range} command.
19047
19048 @value{GDBN} provides the following PowerPC-specific commands:
19049
19050 @table @code
19051 @kindex break-range
19052 @item break-range @var{start-location}, @var{end-location}
19053 Set a breakpoint for an address range.
19054 @var{start-location} and @var{end-location} can specify a function name,
19055 a line number, an offset of lines from the current line or from the start
19056 location, or an address of an instruction (see @ref{Specify Location},
19057 for a list of all the possible ways to specify a @var{location}.)
19058 The breakpoint will stop execution of the inferior whenever it
19059 executes an instruction at any address within the specified range,
19060 (including @var{start-location} and @var{end-location}.)
19061
19062 @kindex set powerpc
19063 @item set powerpc soft-float
19064 @itemx show powerpc soft-float
19065 Force @value{GDBN} to use (or not use) a software floating point calling
19066 convention. By default, @value{GDBN} selects the calling convention based
19067 on the selected architecture and the provided executable file.
19068
19069 @item set powerpc vector-abi
19070 @itemx show powerpc vector-abi
19071 Force @value{GDBN} to use the specified calling convention for vector
19072 arguments and return values. The valid options are @samp{auto};
19073 @samp{generic}, to avoid vector registers even if they are present;
19074 @samp{altivec}, to use AltiVec registers; and @samp{spe} to use SPE
19075 registers. By default, @value{GDBN} selects the calling convention
19076 based on the selected architecture and the provided executable file.
19077
19078 @item set powerpc exact-watchpoints
19079 @itemx show powerpc exact-watchpoints
19080 Allow @value{GDBN} to use only one debug register when watching a variable
19081 of scalar type, thus assuming that the variable is accessed through the
19082 address of its first byte.
19083
19084 @kindex target dink32
19085 @item target dink32 @var{dev}
19086 DINK32 ROM monitor.
19087
19088 @kindex target ppcbug
19089 @item target ppcbug @var{dev}
19090 @kindex target ppcbug1
19091 @item target ppcbug1 @var{dev}
19092 PPCBUG ROM monitor for PowerPC.
19093
19094 @kindex target sds
19095 @item target sds @var{dev}
19096 SDS monitor, running on a PowerPC board (such as Motorola's ADS).
19097 @end table
19098
19099 @cindex SDS protocol
19100 The following commands specific to the SDS protocol are supported
19101 by @value{GDBN}:
19102
19103 @table @code
19104 @item set sdstimeout @var{nsec}
19105 @kindex set sdstimeout
19106 Set the timeout for SDS protocol reads to be @var{nsec} seconds. The
19107 default is 2 seconds.
19108
19109 @item show sdstimeout
19110 @kindex show sdstimeout
19111 Show the current value of the SDS timeout.
19112
19113 @item sds @var{command}
19114 @kindex sds@r{, a command}
19115 Send the specified @var{command} string to the SDS monitor.
19116 @end table
19117
19118
19119 @node PA
19120 @subsection HP PA Embedded
19121
19122 @table @code
19123
19124 @kindex target op50n
19125 @item target op50n @var{dev}
19126 OP50N monitor, running on an OKI HPPA board.
19127
19128 @kindex target w89k
19129 @item target w89k @var{dev}
19130 W89K monitor, running on a Winbond HPPA board.
19131
19132 @end table
19133
19134 @node Sparclet
19135 @subsection Tsqware Sparclet
19136
19137 @cindex Sparclet
19138
19139 @value{GDBN} enables developers to debug tasks running on
19140 Sparclet targets from a Unix host.
19141 @value{GDBN} uses code that runs on
19142 both the Unix host and on the Sparclet target. The program
19143 @code{@value{GDBP}} is installed and executed on the Unix host.
19144
19145 @table @code
19146 @item remotetimeout @var{args}
19147 @kindex remotetimeout
19148 @value{GDBN} supports the option @code{remotetimeout}.
19149 This option is set by the user, and @var{args} represents the number of
19150 seconds @value{GDBN} waits for responses.
19151 @end table
19152
19153 @cindex compiling, on Sparclet
19154 When compiling for debugging, include the options @samp{-g} to get debug
19155 information and @samp{-Ttext} to relocate the program to where you wish to
19156 load it on the target. You may also want to add the options @samp{-n} or
19157 @samp{-N} in order to reduce the size of the sections. Example:
19158
19159 @smallexample
19160 sparclet-aout-gcc prog.c -Ttext 0x12010000 -g -o prog -N
19161 @end smallexample
19162
19163 You can use @code{objdump} to verify that the addresses are what you intended:
19164
19165 @smallexample
19166 sparclet-aout-objdump --headers --syms prog
19167 @end smallexample
19168
19169 @cindex running, on Sparclet
19170 Once you have set
19171 your Unix execution search path to find @value{GDBN}, you are ready to
19172 run @value{GDBN}. From your Unix host, run @code{@value{GDBP}}
19173 (or @code{sparclet-aout-gdb}, depending on your installation).
19174
19175 @value{GDBN} comes up showing the prompt:
19176
19177 @smallexample
19178 (gdbslet)
19179 @end smallexample
19180
19181 @menu
19182 * Sparclet File:: Setting the file to debug
19183 * Sparclet Connection:: Connecting to Sparclet
19184 * Sparclet Download:: Sparclet download
19185 * Sparclet Execution:: Running and debugging
19186 @end menu
19187
19188 @node Sparclet File
19189 @subsubsection Setting File to Debug
19190
19191 The @value{GDBN} command @code{file} lets you choose with program to debug.
19192
19193 @smallexample
19194 (gdbslet) file prog
19195 @end smallexample
19196
19197 @need 1000
19198 @value{GDBN} then attempts to read the symbol table of @file{prog}.
19199 @value{GDBN} locates
19200 the file by searching the directories listed in the command search
19201 path.
19202 If the file was compiled with debug information (option @samp{-g}), source
19203 files will be searched as well.
19204 @value{GDBN} locates
19205 the source files by searching the directories listed in the directory search
19206 path (@pxref{Environment, ,Your Program's Environment}).
19207 If it fails
19208 to find a file, it displays a message such as:
19209
19210 @smallexample
19211 prog: No such file or directory.
19212 @end smallexample
19213
19214 When this happens, add the appropriate directories to the search paths with
19215 the @value{GDBN} commands @code{path} and @code{dir}, and execute the
19216 @code{target} command again.
19217
19218 @node Sparclet Connection
19219 @subsubsection Connecting to Sparclet
19220
19221 The @value{GDBN} command @code{target} lets you connect to a Sparclet target.
19222 To connect to a target on serial port ``@code{ttya}'', type:
19223
19224 @smallexample
19225 (gdbslet) target sparclet /dev/ttya
19226 Remote target sparclet connected to /dev/ttya
19227 main () at ../prog.c:3
19228 @end smallexample
19229
19230 @need 750
19231 @value{GDBN} displays messages like these:
19232
19233 @smallexample
19234 Connected to ttya.
19235 @end smallexample
19236
19237 @node Sparclet Download
19238 @subsubsection Sparclet Download
19239
19240 @cindex download to Sparclet
19241 Once connected to the Sparclet target,
19242 you can use the @value{GDBN}
19243 @code{load} command to download the file from the host to the target.
19244 The file name and load offset should be given as arguments to the @code{load}
19245 command.
19246 Since the file format is aout, the program must be loaded to the starting
19247 address. You can use @code{objdump} to find out what this value is. The load
19248 offset is an offset which is added to the VMA (virtual memory address)
19249 of each of the file's sections.
19250 For instance, if the program
19251 @file{prog} was linked to text address 0x1201000, with data at 0x12010160
19252 and bss at 0x12010170, in @value{GDBN}, type:
19253
19254 @smallexample
19255 (gdbslet) load prog 0x12010000
19256 Loading section .text, size 0xdb0 vma 0x12010000
19257 @end smallexample
19258
19259 If the code is loaded at a different address then what the program was linked
19260 to, you may need to use the @code{section} and @code{add-symbol-file} commands
19261 to tell @value{GDBN} where to map the symbol table.
19262
19263 @node Sparclet Execution
19264 @subsubsection Running and Debugging
19265
19266 @cindex running and debugging Sparclet programs
19267 You can now begin debugging the task using @value{GDBN}'s execution control
19268 commands, @code{b}, @code{step}, @code{run}, etc. See the @value{GDBN}
19269 manual for the list of commands.
19270
19271 @smallexample
19272 (gdbslet) b main
19273 Breakpoint 1 at 0x12010000: file prog.c, line 3.
19274 (gdbslet) run
19275 Starting program: prog
19276 Breakpoint 1, main (argc=1, argv=0xeffff21c) at prog.c:3
19277 3 char *symarg = 0;
19278 (gdbslet) step
19279 4 char *execarg = "hello!";
19280 (gdbslet)
19281 @end smallexample
19282
19283 @node Sparclite
19284 @subsection Fujitsu Sparclite
19285
19286 @table @code
19287
19288 @kindex target sparclite
19289 @item target sparclite @var{dev}
19290 Fujitsu sparclite boards, used only for the purpose of loading.
19291 You must use an additional command to debug the program.
19292 For example: target remote @var{dev} using @value{GDBN} standard
19293 remote protocol.
19294
19295 @end table
19296
19297 @node Z8000
19298 @subsection Zilog Z8000
19299
19300 @cindex Z8000
19301 @cindex simulator, Z8000
19302 @cindex Zilog Z8000 simulator
19303
19304 When configured for debugging Zilog Z8000 targets, @value{GDBN} includes
19305 a Z8000 simulator.
19306
19307 For the Z8000 family, @samp{target sim} simulates either the Z8002 (the
19308 unsegmented variant of the Z8000 architecture) or the Z8001 (the
19309 segmented variant). The simulator recognizes which architecture is
19310 appropriate by inspecting the object code.
19311
19312 @table @code
19313 @item target sim @var{args}
19314 @kindex sim
19315 @kindex target sim@r{, with Z8000}
19316 Debug programs on a simulated CPU. If the simulator supports setup
19317 options, specify them via @var{args}.
19318 @end table
19319
19320 @noindent
19321 After specifying this target, you can debug programs for the simulated
19322 CPU in the same style as programs for your host computer; use the
19323 @code{file} command to load a new program image, the @code{run} command
19324 to run your program, and so on.
19325
19326 As well as making available all the usual machine registers
19327 (@pxref{Registers, ,Registers}), the Z8000 simulator provides three
19328 additional items of information as specially named registers:
19329
19330 @table @code
19331
19332 @item cycles
19333 Counts clock-ticks in the simulator.
19334
19335 @item insts
19336 Counts instructions run in the simulator.
19337
19338 @item time
19339 Execution time in 60ths of a second.
19340
19341 @end table
19342
19343 You can refer to these values in @value{GDBN} expressions with the usual
19344 conventions; for example, @w{@samp{b fputc if $cycles>5000}} sets a
19345 conditional breakpoint that suspends only after at least 5000
19346 simulated clock ticks.
19347
19348 @node AVR
19349 @subsection Atmel AVR
19350 @cindex AVR
19351
19352 When configured for debugging the Atmel AVR, @value{GDBN} supports the
19353 following AVR-specific commands:
19354
19355 @table @code
19356 @item info io_registers
19357 @kindex info io_registers@r{, AVR}
19358 @cindex I/O registers (Atmel AVR)
19359 This command displays information about the AVR I/O registers. For
19360 each register, @value{GDBN} prints its number and value.
19361 @end table
19362
19363 @node CRIS
19364 @subsection CRIS
19365 @cindex CRIS
19366
19367 When configured for debugging CRIS, @value{GDBN} provides the
19368 following CRIS-specific commands:
19369
19370 @table @code
19371 @item set cris-version @var{ver}
19372 @cindex CRIS version
19373 Set the current CRIS version to @var{ver}, either @samp{10} or @samp{32}.
19374 The CRIS version affects register names and sizes. This command is useful in
19375 case autodetection of the CRIS version fails.
19376
19377 @item show cris-version
19378 Show the current CRIS version.
19379
19380 @item set cris-dwarf2-cfi
19381 @cindex DWARF-2 CFI and CRIS
19382 Set the usage of DWARF-2 CFI for CRIS debugging. The default is @samp{on}.
19383 Change to @samp{off} when using @code{gcc-cris} whose version is below
19384 @code{R59}.
19385
19386 @item show cris-dwarf2-cfi
19387 Show the current state of using DWARF-2 CFI.
19388
19389 @item set cris-mode @var{mode}
19390 @cindex CRIS mode
19391 Set the current CRIS mode to @var{mode}. It should only be changed when
19392 debugging in guru mode, in which case it should be set to
19393 @samp{guru} (the default is @samp{normal}).
19394
19395 @item show cris-mode
19396 Show the current CRIS mode.
19397 @end table
19398
19399 @node Super-H
19400 @subsection Renesas Super-H
19401 @cindex Super-H
19402
19403 For the Renesas Super-H processor, @value{GDBN} provides these
19404 commands:
19405
19406 @table @code
19407 @item regs
19408 @kindex regs@r{, Super-H}
19409 Show the values of all Super-H registers.
19410
19411 @item set sh calling-convention @var{convention}
19412 @kindex set sh calling-convention
19413 Set the calling-convention used when calling functions from @value{GDBN}.
19414 Allowed values are @samp{gcc}, which is the default setting, and @samp{renesas}.
19415 With the @samp{gcc} setting, functions are called using the @value{NGCC} calling
19416 convention. If the DWARF-2 information of the called function specifies
19417 that the function follows the Renesas calling convention, the function
19418 is called using the Renesas calling convention. If the calling convention
19419 is set to @samp{renesas}, the Renesas calling convention is always used,
19420 regardless of the DWARF-2 information. This can be used to override the
19421 default of @samp{gcc} if debug information is missing, or the compiler
19422 does not emit the DWARF-2 calling convention entry for a function.
19423
19424 @item show sh calling-convention
19425 @kindex show sh calling-convention
19426 Show the current calling convention setting.
19427
19428 @end table
19429
19430
19431 @node Architectures
19432 @section Architectures
19433
19434 This section describes characteristics of architectures that affect
19435 all uses of @value{GDBN} with the architecture, both native and cross.
19436
19437 @menu
19438 * i386::
19439 * A29K::
19440 * Alpha::
19441 * MIPS::
19442 * HPPA:: HP PA architecture
19443 * SPU:: Cell Broadband Engine SPU architecture
19444 * PowerPC::
19445 @end menu
19446
19447 @node i386
19448 @subsection x86 Architecture-specific Issues
19449
19450 @table @code
19451 @item set struct-convention @var{mode}
19452 @kindex set struct-convention
19453 @cindex struct return convention
19454 @cindex struct/union returned in registers
19455 Set the convention used by the inferior to return @code{struct}s and
19456 @code{union}s from functions to @var{mode}. Possible values of
19457 @var{mode} are @code{"pcc"}, @code{"reg"}, and @code{"default"} (the
19458 default). @code{"default"} or @code{"pcc"} means that @code{struct}s
19459 are returned on the stack, while @code{"reg"} means that a
19460 @code{struct} or a @code{union} whose size is 1, 2, 4, or 8 bytes will
19461 be returned in a register.
19462
19463 @item show struct-convention
19464 @kindex show struct-convention
19465 Show the current setting of the convention to return @code{struct}s
19466 from functions.
19467 @end table
19468
19469 @node A29K
19470 @subsection A29K
19471
19472 @table @code
19473
19474 @kindex set rstack_high_address
19475 @cindex AMD 29K register stack
19476 @cindex register stack, AMD29K
19477 @item set rstack_high_address @var{address}
19478 On AMD 29000 family processors, registers are saved in a separate
19479 @dfn{register stack}. There is no way for @value{GDBN} to determine the
19480 extent of this stack. Normally, @value{GDBN} just assumes that the
19481 stack is ``large enough''. This may result in @value{GDBN} referencing
19482 memory locations that do not exist. If necessary, you can get around
19483 this problem by specifying the ending address of the register stack with
19484 the @code{set rstack_high_address} command. The argument should be an
19485 address, which you probably want to precede with @samp{0x} to specify in
19486 hexadecimal.
19487
19488 @kindex show rstack_high_address
19489 @item show rstack_high_address
19490 Display the current limit of the register stack, on AMD 29000 family
19491 processors.
19492
19493 @end table
19494
19495 @node Alpha
19496 @subsection Alpha
19497
19498 See the following section.
19499
19500 @node MIPS
19501 @subsection MIPS
19502
19503 @cindex stack on Alpha
19504 @cindex stack on MIPS
19505 @cindex Alpha stack
19506 @cindex MIPS stack
19507 Alpha- and MIPS-based computers use an unusual stack frame, which
19508 sometimes requires @value{GDBN} to search backward in the object code to
19509 find the beginning of a function.
19510
19511 @cindex response time, MIPS debugging
19512 To improve response time (especially for embedded applications, where
19513 @value{GDBN} may be restricted to a slow serial line for this search)
19514 you may want to limit the size of this search, using one of these
19515 commands:
19516
19517 @table @code
19518 @cindex @code{heuristic-fence-post} (Alpha, MIPS)
19519 @item set heuristic-fence-post @var{limit}
19520 Restrict @value{GDBN} to examining at most @var{limit} bytes in its
19521 search for the beginning of a function. A value of @var{0} (the
19522 default) means there is no limit. However, except for @var{0}, the
19523 larger the limit the more bytes @code{heuristic-fence-post} must search
19524 and therefore the longer it takes to run. You should only need to use
19525 this command when debugging a stripped executable.
19526
19527 @item show heuristic-fence-post
19528 Display the current limit.
19529 @end table
19530
19531 @noindent
19532 These commands are available @emph{only} when @value{GDBN} is configured
19533 for debugging programs on Alpha or MIPS processors.
19534
19535 Several MIPS-specific commands are available when debugging MIPS
19536 programs:
19537
19538 @table @code
19539 @item set mips abi @var{arg}
19540 @kindex set mips abi
19541 @cindex set ABI for MIPS
19542 Tell @value{GDBN} which MIPS ABI is used by the inferior. Possible
19543 values of @var{arg} are:
19544
19545 @table @samp
19546 @item auto
19547 The default ABI associated with the current binary (this is the
19548 default).
19549 @item o32
19550 @item o64
19551 @item n32
19552 @item n64
19553 @item eabi32
19554 @item eabi64
19555 @item auto
19556 @end table
19557
19558 @item show mips abi
19559 @kindex show mips abi
19560 Show the MIPS ABI used by @value{GDBN} to debug the inferior.
19561
19562 @item set mipsfpu
19563 @itemx show mipsfpu
19564 @xref{MIPS Embedded, set mipsfpu}.
19565
19566 @item set mips mask-address @var{arg}
19567 @kindex set mips mask-address
19568 @cindex MIPS addresses, masking
19569 This command determines whether the most-significant 32 bits of 64-bit
19570 MIPS addresses are masked off. The argument @var{arg} can be
19571 @samp{on}, @samp{off}, or @samp{auto}. The latter is the default
19572 setting, which lets @value{GDBN} determine the correct value.
19573
19574 @item show mips mask-address
19575 @kindex show mips mask-address
19576 Show whether the upper 32 bits of MIPS addresses are masked off or
19577 not.
19578
19579 @item set remote-mips64-transfers-32bit-regs
19580 @kindex set remote-mips64-transfers-32bit-regs
19581 This command controls compatibility with 64-bit MIPS targets that
19582 transfer data in 32-bit quantities. If you have an old MIPS 64 target
19583 that transfers 32 bits for some registers, like @sc{sr} and @sc{fsr},
19584 and 64 bits for other registers, set this option to @samp{on}.
19585
19586 @item show remote-mips64-transfers-32bit-regs
19587 @kindex show remote-mips64-transfers-32bit-regs
19588 Show the current setting of compatibility with older MIPS 64 targets.
19589
19590 @item set debug mips
19591 @kindex set debug mips
19592 This command turns on and off debugging messages for the MIPS-specific
19593 target code in @value{GDBN}.
19594
19595 @item show debug mips
19596 @kindex show debug mips
19597 Show the current setting of MIPS debugging messages.
19598 @end table
19599
19600
19601 @node HPPA
19602 @subsection HPPA
19603 @cindex HPPA support
19604
19605 When @value{GDBN} is debugging the HP PA architecture, it provides the
19606 following special commands:
19607
19608 @table @code
19609 @item set debug hppa
19610 @kindex set debug hppa
19611 This command determines whether HPPA architecture-specific debugging
19612 messages are to be displayed.
19613
19614 @item show debug hppa
19615 Show whether HPPA debugging messages are displayed.
19616
19617 @item maint print unwind @var{address}
19618 @kindex maint print unwind@r{, HPPA}
19619 This command displays the contents of the unwind table entry at the
19620 given @var{address}.
19621
19622 @end table
19623
19624
19625 @node SPU
19626 @subsection Cell Broadband Engine SPU architecture
19627 @cindex Cell Broadband Engine
19628 @cindex SPU
19629
19630 When @value{GDBN} is debugging the Cell Broadband Engine SPU architecture,
19631 it provides the following special commands:
19632
19633 @table @code
19634 @item info spu event
19635 @kindex info spu
19636 Display SPU event facility status. Shows current event mask
19637 and pending event status.
19638
19639 @item info spu signal
19640 Display SPU signal notification facility status. Shows pending
19641 signal-control word and signal notification mode of both signal
19642 notification channels.
19643
19644 @item info spu mailbox
19645 Display SPU mailbox facility status. Shows all pending entries,
19646 in order of processing, in each of the SPU Write Outbound,
19647 SPU Write Outbound Interrupt, and SPU Read Inbound mailboxes.
19648
19649 @item info spu dma
19650 Display MFC DMA status. Shows all pending commands in the MFC
19651 DMA queue. For each entry, opcode, tag, class IDs, effective
19652 and local store addresses and transfer size are shown.
19653
19654 @item info spu proxydma
19655 Display MFC Proxy-DMA status. Shows all pending commands in the MFC
19656 Proxy-DMA queue. For each entry, opcode, tag, class IDs, effective
19657 and local store addresses and transfer size are shown.
19658
19659 @end table
19660
19661 When @value{GDBN} is debugging a combined PowerPC/SPU application
19662 on the Cell Broadband Engine, it provides in addition the following
19663 special commands:
19664
19665 @table @code
19666 @item set spu stop-on-load @var{arg}
19667 @kindex set spu
19668 Set whether to stop for new SPE threads. When set to @code{on}, @value{GDBN}
19669 will give control to the user when a new SPE thread enters its @code{main}
19670 function. The default is @code{off}.
19671
19672 @item show spu stop-on-load
19673 @kindex show spu
19674 Show whether to stop for new SPE threads.
19675
19676 @item set spu auto-flush-cache @var{arg}
19677 Set whether to automatically flush the software-managed cache. When set to
19678 @code{on}, @value{GDBN} will automatically cause the SPE software-managed
19679 cache to be flushed whenever SPE execution stops. This provides a consistent
19680 view of PowerPC memory that is accessed via the cache. If an application
19681 does not use the software-managed cache, this option has no effect.
19682
19683 @item show spu auto-flush-cache
19684 Show whether to automatically flush the software-managed cache.
19685
19686 @end table
19687
19688 @node PowerPC
19689 @subsection PowerPC
19690 @cindex PowerPC architecture
19691
19692 When @value{GDBN} is debugging the PowerPC architecture, it provides a set of
19693 pseudo-registers to enable inspection of 128-bit wide Decimal Floating Point
19694 numbers stored in the floating point registers. These values must be stored
19695 in two consecutive registers, always starting at an even register like
19696 @code{f0} or @code{f2}.
19697
19698 The pseudo-registers go from @code{$dl0} through @code{$dl15}, and are formed
19699 by joining the even/odd register pairs @code{f0} and @code{f1} for @code{$dl0},
19700 @code{f2} and @code{f3} for @code{$dl1} and so on.
19701
19702 For POWER7 processors, @value{GDBN} provides a set of pseudo-registers, the 64-bit
19703 wide Extended Floating Point Registers (@samp{f32} through @samp{f63}).
19704
19705
19706 @node Controlling GDB
19707 @chapter Controlling @value{GDBN}
19708
19709 You can alter the way @value{GDBN} interacts with you by using the
19710 @code{set} command. For commands controlling how @value{GDBN} displays
19711 data, see @ref{Print Settings, ,Print Settings}. Other settings are
19712 described here.
19713
19714 @menu
19715 * Prompt:: Prompt
19716 * Editing:: Command editing
19717 * Command History:: Command history
19718 * Screen Size:: Screen size
19719 * Numbers:: Numbers
19720 * ABI:: Configuring the current ABI
19721 * Messages/Warnings:: Optional warnings and messages
19722 * Debugging Output:: Optional messages about internal happenings
19723 * Other Misc Settings:: Other Miscellaneous Settings
19724 @end menu
19725
19726 @node Prompt
19727 @section Prompt
19728
19729 @cindex prompt
19730
19731 @value{GDBN} indicates its readiness to read a command by printing a string
19732 called the @dfn{prompt}. This string is normally @samp{(@value{GDBP})}. You
19733 can change the prompt string with the @code{set prompt} command. For
19734 instance, when debugging @value{GDBN} with @value{GDBN}, it is useful to change
19735 the prompt in one of the @value{GDBN} sessions so that you can always tell
19736 which one you are talking to.
19737
19738 @emph{Note:} @code{set prompt} does not add a space for you after the
19739 prompt you set. This allows you to set a prompt which ends in a space
19740 or a prompt that does not.
19741
19742 @table @code
19743 @kindex set prompt
19744 @item set prompt @var{newprompt}
19745 Directs @value{GDBN} to use @var{newprompt} as its prompt string henceforth.
19746
19747 @kindex show prompt
19748 @item show prompt
19749 Prints a line of the form: @samp{Gdb's prompt is: @var{your-prompt}}
19750 @end table
19751
19752 Versions of @value{GDBN} that ship with Python scripting enabled have
19753 prompt extensions. The commands for interacting with these extensions
19754 are:
19755
19756 @table @code
19757 @kindex set extended-prompt
19758 @item set extended-prompt @var{prompt}
19759 Set an extended prompt that allows for substitutions.
19760 @xref{gdb.prompt}, for a list of escape sequences that can be used for
19761 substitution. Any escape sequences specified as part of the prompt
19762 string are replaced with the corresponding strings each time the prompt
19763 is displayed.
19764
19765 For example:
19766
19767 @smallexample
19768 set extended-prompt Current working directory: \w (gdb)
19769 @end smallexample
19770
19771 Note that when an extended-prompt is set, it takes control of the
19772 @var{prompt_hook} hook. @xref{prompt_hook}, for further information.
19773
19774 @kindex show extended-prompt
19775 @item show extended-prompt
19776 Prints the extended prompt. Any escape sequences specified as part of
19777 the prompt string with @code{set extended-prompt}, are replaced with the
19778 corresponding strings each time the prompt is displayed.
19779 @end table
19780
19781 @node Editing
19782 @section Command Editing
19783 @cindex readline
19784 @cindex command line editing
19785
19786 @value{GDBN} reads its input commands via the @dfn{Readline} interface. This
19787 @sc{gnu} library provides consistent behavior for programs which provide a
19788 command line interface to the user. Advantages are @sc{gnu} Emacs-style
19789 or @dfn{vi}-style inline editing of commands, @code{csh}-like history
19790 substitution, and a storage and recall of command history across
19791 debugging sessions.
19792
19793 You may control the behavior of command line editing in @value{GDBN} with the
19794 command @code{set}.
19795
19796 @table @code
19797 @kindex set editing
19798 @cindex editing
19799 @item set editing
19800 @itemx set editing on
19801 Enable command line editing (enabled by default).
19802
19803 @item set editing off
19804 Disable command line editing.
19805
19806 @kindex show editing
19807 @item show editing
19808 Show whether command line editing is enabled.
19809 @end table
19810
19811 @ifset SYSTEM_READLINE
19812 @xref{Command Line Editing, , , rluserman, GNU Readline Library},
19813 @end ifset
19814 @ifclear SYSTEM_READLINE
19815 @xref{Command Line Editing},
19816 @end ifclear
19817 for more details about the Readline
19818 interface. Users unfamiliar with @sc{gnu} Emacs or @code{vi} are
19819 encouraged to read that chapter.
19820
19821 @node Command History
19822 @section Command History
19823 @cindex command history
19824
19825 @value{GDBN} can keep track of the commands you type during your
19826 debugging sessions, so that you can be certain of precisely what
19827 happened. Use these commands to manage the @value{GDBN} command
19828 history facility.
19829
19830 @value{GDBN} uses the @sc{gnu} History library, a part of the Readline
19831 package, to provide the history facility.
19832 @ifset SYSTEM_READLINE
19833 @xref{Using History Interactively, , , history, GNU History Library},
19834 @end ifset
19835 @ifclear SYSTEM_READLINE
19836 @xref{Using History Interactively},
19837 @end ifclear
19838 for the detailed description of the History library.
19839
19840 To issue a command to @value{GDBN} without affecting certain aspects of
19841 the state which is seen by users, prefix it with @samp{server }
19842 (@pxref{Server Prefix}). This
19843 means that this command will not affect the command history, nor will it
19844 affect @value{GDBN}'s notion of which command to repeat if @key{RET} is
19845 pressed on a line by itself.
19846
19847 @cindex @code{server}, command prefix
19848 The server prefix does not affect the recording of values into the value
19849 history; to print a value without recording it into the value history,
19850 use the @code{output} command instead of the @code{print} command.
19851
19852 Here is the description of @value{GDBN} commands related to command
19853 history.
19854
19855 @table @code
19856 @cindex history substitution
19857 @cindex history file
19858 @kindex set history filename
19859 @cindex @env{GDBHISTFILE}, environment variable
19860 @item set history filename @var{fname}
19861 Set the name of the @value{GDBN} command history file to @var{fname}.
19862 This is the file where @value{GDBN} reads an initial command history
19863 list, and where it writes the command history from this session when it
19864 exits. You can access this list through history expansion or through
19865 the history command editing characters listed below. This file defaults
19866 to the value of the environment variable @code{GDBHISTFILE}, or to
19867 @file{./.gdb_history} (@file{./_gdb_history} on MS-DOS) if this variable
19868 is not set.
19869
19870 @cindex save command history
19871 @kindex set history save
19872 @item set history save
19873 @itemx set history save on
19874 Record command history in a file, whose name may be specified with the
19875 @code{set history filename} command. By default, this option is disabled.
19876
19877 @item set history save off
19878 Stop recording command history in a file.
19879
19880 @cindex history size
19881 @kindex set history size
19882 @cindex @env{HISTSIZE}, environment variable
19883 @item set history size @var{size}
19884 Set the number of commands which @value{GDBN} keeps in its history list.
19885 This defaults to the value of the environment variable
19886 @code{HISTSIZE}, or to 256 if this variable is not set.
19887 @end table
19888
19889 History expansion assigns special meaning to the character @kbd{!}.
19890 @ifset SYSTEM_READLINE
19891 @xref{Event Designators, , , history, GNU History Library},
19892 @end ifset
19893 @ifclear SYSTEM_READLINE
19894 @xref{Event Designators},
19895 @end ifclear
19896 for more details.
19897
19898 @cindex history expansion, turn on/off
19899 Since @kbd{!} is also the logical not operator in C, history expansion
19900 is off by default. If you decide to enable history expansion with the
19901 @code{set history expansion on} command, you may sometimes need to
19902 follow @kbd{!} (when it is used as logical not, in an expression) with
19903 a space or a tab to prevent it from being expanded. The readline
19904 history facilities do not attempt substitution on the strings
19905 @kbd{!=} and @kbd{!(}, even when history expansion is enabled.
19906
19907 The commands to control history expansion are:
19908
19909 @table @code
19910 @item set history expansion on
19911 @itemx set history expansion
19912 @kindex set history expansion
19913 Enable history expansion. History expansion is off by default.
19914
19915 @item set history expansion off
19916 Disable history expansion.
19917
19918 @c @group
19919 @kindex show history
19920 @item show history
19921 @itemx show history filename
19922 @itemx show history save
19923 @itemx show history size
19924 @itemx show history expansion
19925 These commands display the state of the @value{GDBN} history parameters.
19926 @code{show history} by itself displays all four states.
19927 @c @end group
19928 @end table
19929
19930 @table @code
19931 @kindex show commands
19932 @cindex show last commands
19933 @cindex display command history
19934 @item show commands
19935 Display the last ten commands in the command history.
19936
19937 @item show commands @var{n}
19938 Print ten commands centered on command number @var{n}.
19939
19940 @item show commands +
19941 Print ten commands just after the commands last printed.
19942 @end table
19943
19944 @node Screen Size
19945 @section Screen Size
19946 @cindex size of screen
19947 @cindex pauses in output
19948
19949 Certain commands to @value{GDBN} may produce large amounts of
19950 information output to the screen. To help you read all of it,
19951 @value{GDBN} pauses and asks you for input at the end of each page of
19952 output. Type @key{RET} when you want to continue the output, or @kbd{q}
19953 to discard the remaining output. Also, the screen width setting
19954 determines when to wrap lines of output. Depending on what is being
19955 printed, @value{GDBN} tries to break the line at a readable place,
19956 rather than simply letting it overflow onto the following line.
19957
19958 Normally @value{GDBN} knows the size of the screen from the terminal
19959 driver software. For example, on Unix @value{GDBN} uses the termcap data base
19960 together with the value of the @code{TERM} environment variable and the
19961 @code{stty rows} and @code{stty cols} settings. If this is not correct,
19962 you can override it with the @code{set height} and @code{set
19963 width} commands:
19964
19965 @table @code
19966 @kindex set height
19967 @kindex set width
19968 @kindex show width
19969 @kindex show height
19970 @item set height @var{lpp}
19971 @itemx show height
19972 @itemx set width @var{cpl}
19973 @itemx show width
19974 These @code{set} commands specify a screen height of @var{lpp} lines and
19975 a screen width of @var{cpl} characters. The associated @code{show}
19976 commands display the current settings.
19977
19978 If you specify a height of zero lines, @value{GDBN} does not pause during
19979 output no matter how long the output is. This is useful if output is to a
19980 file or to an editor buffer.
19981
19982 Likewise, you can specify @samp{set width 0} to prevent @value{GDBN}
19983 from wrapping its output.
19984
19985 @item set pagination on
19986 @itemx set pagination off
19987 @kindex set pagination
19988 Turn the output pagination on or off; the default is on. Turning
19989 pagination off is the alternative to @code{set height 0}. Note that
19990 running @value{GDBN} with the @option{--batch} option (@pxref{Mode
19991 Options, -batch}) also automatically disables pagination.
19992
19993 @item show pagination
19994 @kindex show pagination
19995 Show the current pagination mode.
19996 @end table
19997
19998 @node Numbers
19999 @section Numbers
20000 @cindex number representation
20001 @cindex entering numbers
20002
20003 You can always enter numbers in octal, decimal, or hexadecimal in
20004 @value{GDBN} by the usual conventions: octal numbers begin with
20005 @samp{0}, decimal numbers end with @samp{.}, and hexadecimal numbers
20006 begin with @samp{0x}. Numbers that neither begin with @samp{0} or
20007 @samp{0x}, nor end with a @samp{.} are, by default, entered in base
20008 10; likewise, the default display for numbers---when no particular
20009 format is specified---is base 10. You can change the default base for
20010 both input and output with the commands described below.
20011
20012 @table @code
20013 @kindex set input-radix
20014 @item set input-radix @var{base}
20015 Set the default base for numeric input. Supported choices
20016 for @var{base} are decimal 8, 10, or 16. @var{base} must itself be
20017 specified either unambiguously or using the current input radix; for
20018 example, any of
20019
20020 @smallexample
20021 set input-radix 012
20022 set input-radix 10.
20023 set input-radix 0xa
20024 @end smallexample
20025
20026 @noindent
20027 sets the input base to decimal. On the other hand, @samp{set input-radix 10}
20028 leaves the input radix unchanged, no matter what it was, since
20029 @samp{10}, being without any leading or trailing signs of its base, is
20030 interpreted in the current radix. Thus, if the current radix is 16,
20031 @samp{10} is interpreted in hex, i.e.@: as 16 decimal, which doesn't
20032 change the radix.
20033
20034 @kindex set output-radix
20035 @item set output-radix @var{base}
20036 Set the default base for numeric display. Supported choices
20037 for @var{base} are decimal 8, 10, or 16. @var{base} must itself be
20038 specified either unambiguously or using the current input radix.
20039
20040 @kindex show input-radix
20041 @item show input-radix
20042 Display the current default base for numeric input.
20043
20044 @kindex show output-radix
20045 @item show output-radix
20046 Display the current default base for numeric display.
20047
20048 @item set radix @r{[}@var{base}@r{]}
20049 @itemx show radix
20050 @kindex set radix
20051 @kindex show radix
20052 These commands set and show the default base for both input and output
20053 of numbers. @code{set radix} sets the radix of input and output to
20054 the same base; without an argument, it resets the radix back to its
20055 default value of 10.
20056
20057 @end table
20058
20059 @node ABI
20060 @section Configuring the Current ABI
20061
20062 @value{GDBN} can determine the @dfn{ABI} (Application Binary Interface) of your
20063 application automatically. However, sometimes you need to override its
20064 conclusions. Use these commands to manage @value{GDBN}'s view of the
20065 current ABI.
20066
20067 @cindex OS ABI
20068 @kindex set osabi
20069 @kindex show osabi
20070
20071 One @value{GDBN} configuration can debug binaries for multiple operating
20072 system targets, either via remote debugging or native emulation.
20073 @value{GDBN} will autodetect the @dfn{OS ABI} (Operating System ABI) in use,
20074 but you can override its conclusion using the @code{set osabi} command.
20075 One example where this is useful is in debugging of binaries which use
20076 an alternate C library (e.g.@: @sc{uClibc} for @sc{gnu}/Linux) which does
20077 not have the same identifying marks that the standard C library for your
20078 platform provides.
20079
20080 @table @code
20081 @item show osabi
20082 Show the OS ABI currently in use.
20083
20084 @item set osabi
20085 With no argument, show the list of registered available OS ABI's.
20086
20087 @item set osabi @var{abi}
20088 Set the current OS ABI to @var{abi}.
20089 @end table
20090
20091 @cindex float promotion
20092
20093 Generally, the way that an argument of type @code{float} is passed to a
20094 function depends on whether the function is prototyped. For a prototyped
20095 (i.e.@: ANSI/ISO style) function, @code{float} arguments are passed unchanged,
20096 according to the architecture's convention for @code{float}. For unprototyped
20097 (i.e.@: K&R style) functions, @code{float} arguments are first promoted to type
20098 @code{double} and then passed.
20099
20100 Unfortunately, some forms of debug information do not reliably indicate whether
20101 a function is prototyped. If @value{GDBN} calls a function that is not marked
20102 as prototyped, it consults @kbd{set coerce-float-to-double}.
20103
20104 @table @code
20105 @kindex set coerce-float-to-double
20106 @item set coerce-float-to-double
20107 @itemx set coerce-float-to-double on
20108 Arguments of type @code{float} will be promoted to @code{double} when passed
20109 to an unprototyped function. This is the default setting.
20110
20111 @item set coerce-float-to-double off
20112 Arguments of type @code{float} will be passed directly to unprototyped
20113 functions.
20114
20115 @kindex show coerce-float-to-double
20116 @item show coerce-float-to-double
20117 Show the current setting of promoting @code{float} to @code{double}.
20118 @end table
20119
20120 @kindex set cp-abi
20121 @kindex show cp-abi
20122 @value{GDBN} needs to know the ABI used for your program's C@t{++}
20123 objects. The correct C@t{++} ABI depends on which C@t{++} compiler was
20124 used to build your application. @value{GDBN} only fully supports
20125 programs with a single C@t{++} ABI; if your program contains code using
20126 multiple C@t{++} ABI's or if @value{GDBN} can not identify your
20127 program's ABI correctly, you can tell @value{GDBN} which ABI to use.
20128 Currently supported ABI's include ``gnu-v2'', for @code{g++} versions
20129 before 3.0, ``gnu-v3'', for @code{g++} versions 3.0 and later, and
20130 ``hpaCC'' for the HP ANSI C@t{++} compiler. Other C@t{++} compilers may
20131 use the ``gnu-v2'' or ``gnu-v3'' ABI's as well. The default setting is
20132 ``auto''.
20133
20134 @table @code
20135 @item show cp-abi
20136 Show the C@t{++} ABI currently in use.
20137
20138 @item set cp-abi
20139 With no argument, show the list of supported C@t{++} ABI's.
20140
20141 @item set cp-abi @var{abi}
20142 @itemx set cp-abi auto
20143 Set the current C@t{++} ABI to @var{abi}, or return to automatic detection.
20144 @end table
20145
20146 @node Messages/Warnings
20147 @section Optional Warnings and Messages
20148
20149 @cindex verbose operation
20150 @cindex optional warnings
20151 By default, @value{GDBN} is silent about its inner workings. If you are
20152 running on a slow machine, you may want to use the @code{set verbose}
20153 command. This makes @value{GDBN} tell you when it does a lengthy
20154 internal operation, so you will not think it has crashed.
20155
20156 Currently, the messages controlled by @code{set verbose} are those
20157 which announce that the symbol table for a source file is being read;
20158 see @code{symbol-file} in @ref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}.
20159
20160 @table @code
20161 @kindex set verbose
20162 @item set verbose on
20163 Enables @value{GDBN} output of certain informational messages.
20164
20165 @item set verbose off
20166 Disables @value{GDBN} output of certain informational messages.
20167
20168 @kindex show verbose
20169 @item show verbose
20170 Displays whether @code{set verbose} is on or off.
20171 @end table
20172
20173 By default, if @value{GDBN} encounters bugs in the symbol table of an
20174 object file, it is silent; but if you are debugging a compiler, you may
20175 find this information useful (@pxref{Symbol Errors, ,Errors Reading
20176 Symbol Files}).
20177
20178 @table @code
20179
20180 @kindex set complaints
20181 @item set complaints @var{limit}
20182 Permits @value{GDBN} to output @var{limit} complaints about each type of
20183 unusual symbols before becoming silent about the problem. Set
20184 @var{limit} to zero to suppress all complaints; set it to a large number
20185 to prevent complaints from being suppressed.
20186
20187 @kindex show complaints
20188 @item show complaints
20189 Displays how many symbol complaints @value{GDBN} is permitted to produce.
20190
20191 @end table
20192
20193 @anchor{confirmation requests}
20194 By default, @value{GDBN} is cautious, and asks what sometimes seems to be a
20195 lot of stupid questions to confirm certain commands. For example, if
20196 you try to run a program which is already running:
20197
20198 @smallexample
20199 (@value{GDBP}) run
20200 The program being debugged has been started already.
20201 Start it from the beginning? (y or n)
20202 @end smallexample
20203
20204 If you are willing to unflinchingly face the consequences of your own
20205 commands, you can disable this ``feature'':
20206
20207 @table @code
20208
20209 @kindex set confirm
20210 @cindex flinching
20211 @cindex confirmation
20212 @cindex stupid questions
20213 @item set confirm off
20214 Disables confirmation requests. Note that running @value{GDBN} with
20215 the @option{--batch} option (@pxref{Mode Options, -batch}) also
20216 automatically disables confirmation requests.
20217
20218 @item set confirm on
20219 Enables confirmation requests (the default).
20220
20221 @kindex show confirm
20222 @item show confirm
20223 Displays state of confirmation requests.
20224
20225 @end table
20226
20227 @cindex command tracing
20228 If you need to debug user-defined commands or sourced files you may find it
20229 useful to enable @dfn{command tracing}. In this mode each command will be
20230 printed as it is executed, prefixed with one or more @samp{+} symbols, the
20231 quantity denoting the call depth of each command.
20232
20233 @table @code
20234 @kindex set trace-commands
20235 @cindex command scripts, debugging
20236 @item set trace-commands on
20237 Enable command tracing.
20238 @item set trace-commands off
20239 Disable command tracing.
20240 @item show trace-commands
20241 Display the current state of command tracing.
20242 @end table
20243
20244 @node Debugging Output
20245 @section Optional Messages about Internal Happenings
20246 @cindex optional debugging messages
20247
20248 @value{GDBN} has commands that enable optional debugging messages from
20249 various @value{GDBN} subsystems; normally these commands are of
20250 interest to @value{GDBN} maintainers, or when reporting a bug. This
20251 section documents those commands.
20252
20253 @table @code
20254 @kindex set exec-done-display
20255 @item set exec-done-display
20256 Turns on or off the notification of asynchronous commands'
20257 completion. When on, @value{GDBN} will print a message when an
20258 asynchronous command finishes its execution. The default is off.
20259 @kindex show exec-done-display
20260 @item show exec-done-display
20261 Displays the current setting of asynchronous command completion
20262 notification.
20263 @kindex set debug
20264 @cindex gdbarch debugging info
20265 @cindex architecture debugging info
20266 @item set debug arch
20267 Turns on or off display of gdbarch debugging info. The default is off
20268 @kindex show debug
20269 @item show debug arch
20270 Displays the current state of displaying gdbarch debugging info.
20271 @item set debug aix-thread
20272 @cindex AIX threads
20273 Display debugging messages about inner workings of the AIX thread
20274 module.
20275 @item show debug aix-thread
20276 Show the current state of AIX thread debugging info display.
20277 @item set debug check-physname
20278 @cindex physname
20279 Check the results of the ``physname'' computation. When reading DWARF
20280 debugging information for C@t{++}, @value{GDBN} attempts to compute
20281 each entity's name. @value{GDBN} can do this computation in two
20282 different ways, depending on exactly what information is present.
20283 When enabled, this setting causes @value{GDBN} to compute the names
20284 both ways and display any discrepancies.
20285 @item show debug check-physname
20286 Show the current state of ``physname'' checking.
20287 @item set debug dwarf2-die
20288 @cindex DWARF2 DIEs
20289 Dump DWARF2 DIEs after they are read in.
20290 The value is the number of nesting levels to print.
20291 A value of zero turns off the display.
20292 @item show debug dwarf2-die
20293 Show the current state of DWARF2 DIE debugging.
20294 @item set debug displaced
20295 @cindex displaced stepping debugging info
20296 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} debugging info for the
20297 displaced stepping support. The default is off.
20298 @item show debug displaced
20299 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} debugging info
20300 related to displaced stepping.
20301 @item set debug event
20302 @cindex event debugging info
20303 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} event debugging info. The
20304 default is off.
20305 @item show debug event
20306 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} event debugging
20307 info.
20308 @item set debug expression
20309 @cindex expression debugging info
20310 Turns on or off display of debugging info about @value{GDBN}
20311 expression parsing. The default is off.
20312 @item show debug expression
20313 Displays the current state of displaying debugging info about
20314 @value{GDBN} expression parsing.
20315 @item set debug frame
20316 @cindex frame debugging info
20317 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} frame debugging info. The
20318 default is off.
20319 @item show debug frame
20320 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} frame debugging
20321 info.
20322 @item set debug gnu-nat
20323 @cindex @sc{gnu}/Hurd debug messages
20324 Turns on or off debugging messages from the @sc{gnu}/Hurd debug support.
20325 @item show debug gnu-nat
20326 Show the current state of @sc{gnu}/Hurd debugging messages.
20327 @item set debug infrun
20328 @cindex inferior debugging info
20329 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} debugging info for running the inferior.
20330 The default is off. @file{infrun.c} contains GDB's runtime state machine used
20331 for implementing operations such as single-stepping the inferior.
20332 @item show debug infrun
20333 Displays the current state of @value{GDBN} inferior debugging.
20334 @item set debug jit
20335 @cindex just-in-time compilation, debugging messages
20336 Turns on or off debugging messages from JIT debug support.
20337 @item show debug jit
20338 Displays the current state of @value{GDBN} JIT debugging.
20339 @item set debug lin-lwp
20340 @cindex @sc{gnu}/Linux LWP debug messages
20341 @cindex Linux lightweight processes
20342 Turns on or off debugging messages from the Linux LWP debug support.
20343 @item show debug lin-lwp
20344 Show the current state of Linux LWP debugging messages.
20345 @item set debug observer
20346 @cindex observer debugging info
20347 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} observer debugging. This
20348 includes info such as the notification of observable events.
20349 @item show debug observer
20350 Displays the current state of observer debugging.
20351 @item set debug overload
20352 @cindex C@t{++} overload debugging info
20353 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} C@t{++} overload debugging
20354 info. This includes info such as ranking of functions, etc. The default
20355 is off.
20356 @item show debug overload
20357 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} C@t{++} overload
20358 debugging info.
20359 @cindex expression parser, debugging info
20360 @cindex debug expression parser
20361 @item set debug parser
20362 Turns on or off the display of expression parser debugging output.
20363 Internally, this sets the @code{yydebug} variable in the expression
20364 parser. @xref{Tracing, , Tracing Your Parser, bison, Bison}, for
20365 details. The default is off.
20366 @item show debug parser
20367 Show the current state of expression parser debugging.
20368 @cindex packets, reporting on stdout
20369 @cindex serial connections, debugging
20370 @cindex debug remote protocol
20371 @cindex remote protocol debugging
20372 @cindex display remote packets
20373 @item set debug remote
20374 Turns on or off display of reports on all packets sent back and forth across
20375 the serial line to the remote machine. The info is printed on the
20376 @value{GDBN} standard output stream. The default is off.
20377 @item show debug remote
20378 Displays the state of display of remote packets.
20379 @item set debug serial
20380 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} serial debugging info. The
20381 default is off.
20382 @item show debug serial
20383 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} serial debugging
20384 info.
20385 @item set debug solib-frv
20386 @cindex FR-V shared-library debugging
20387 Turns on or off debugging messages for FR-V shared-library code.
20388 @item show debug solib-frv
20389 Display the current state of FR-V shared-library code debugging
20390 messages.
20391 @item set debug target
20392 @cindex target debugging info
20393 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} target debugging info. This info
20394 includes what is going on at the target level of GDB, as it happens. The
20395 default is 0. Set it to 1 to track events, and to 2 to also track the
20396 value of large memory transfers. Changes to this flag do not take effect
20397 until the next time you connect to a target or use the @code{run} command.
20398 @item show debug target
20399 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} target debugging
20400 info.
20401 @item set debug timestamp
20402 @cindex timestampping debugging info
20403 Turns on or off display of timestamps with @value{GDBN} debugging info.
20404 When enabled, seconds and microseconds are displayed before each debugging
20405 message.
20406 @item show debug timestamp
20407 Displays the current state of displaying timestamps with @value{GDBN}
20408 debugging info.
20409 @item set debugvarobj
20410 @cindex variable object debugging info
20411 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} variable object debugging
20412 info. The default is off.
20413 @item show debugvarobj
20414 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} variable object
20415 debugging info.
20416 @item set debug xml
20417 @cindex XML parser debugging
20418 Turns on or off debugging messages for built-in XML parsers.
20419 @item show debug xml
20420 Displays the current state of XML debugging messages.
20421 @end table
20422
20423 @node Other Misc Settings
20424 @section Other Miscellaneous Settings
20425 @cindex miscellaneous settings
20426
20427 @table @code
20428 @kindex set interactive-mode
20429 @item set interactive-mode
20430 If @code{on}, forces @value{GDBN} to assume that GDB was started
20431 in a terminal. In practice, this means that @value{GDBN} should wait
20432 for the user to answer queries generated by commands entered at
20433 the command prompt. If @code{off}, forces @value{GDBN} to operate
20434 in the opposite mode, and it uses the default answers to all queries.
20435 If @code{auto} (the default), @value{GDBN} tries to determine whether
20436 its standard input is a terminal, and works in interactive-mode if it
20437 is, non-interactively otherwise.
20438
20439 In the vast majority of cases, the debugger should be able to guess
20440 correctly which mode should be used. But this setting can be useful
20441 in certain specific cases, such as running a MinGW @value{GDBN}
20442 inside a cygwin window.
20443
20444 @kindex show interactive-mode
20445 @item show interactive-mode
20446 Displays whether the debugger is operating in interactive mode or not.
20447 @end table
20448
20449 @node Extending GDB
20450 @chapter Extending @value{GDBN}
20451 @cindex extending GDB
20452
20453 @value{GDBN} provides two mechanisms for extension. The first is based
20454 on composition of @value{GDBN} commands, and the second is based on the
20455 Python scripting language.
20456
20457 To facilitate the use of these extensions, @value{GDBN} is capable
20458 of evaluating the contents of a file. When doing so, @value{GDBN}
20459 can recognize which scripting language is being used by looking at
20460 the filename extension. Files with an unrecognized filename extension
20461 are always treated as a @value{GDBN} Command Files.
20462 @xref{Command Files,, Command files}.
20463
20464 You can control how @value{GDBN} evaluates these files with the following
20465 setting:
20466
20467 @table @code
20468 @kindex set script-extension
20469 @kindex show script-extension
20470 @item set script-extension off
20471 All scripts are always evaluated as @value{GDBN} Command Files.
20472
20473 @item set script-extension soft
20474 The debugger determines the scripting language based on filename
20475 extension. If this scripting language is supported, @value{GDBN}
20476 evaluates the script using that language. Otherwise, it evaluates
20477 the file as a @value{GDBN} Command File.
20478
20479 @item set script-extension strict
20480 The debugger determines the scripting language based on filename
20481 extension, and evaluates the script using that language. If the
20482 language is not supported, then the evaluation fails.
20483
20484 @item show script-extension
20485 Display the current value of the @code{script-extension} option.
20486
20487 @end table
20488
20489 @menu
20490 * Sequences:: Canned Sequences of Commands
20491 * Python:: Scripting @value{GDBN} using Python
20492 @end menu
20493
20494 @node Sequences
20495 @section Canned Sequences of Commands
20496
20497 Aside from breakpoint commands (@pxref{Break Commands, ,Breakpoint
20498 Command Lists}), @value{GDBN} provides two ways to store sequences of
20499 commands for execution as a unit: user-defined commands and command
20500 files.
20501
20502 @menu
20503 * Define:: How to define your own commands
20504 * Hooks:: Hooks for user-defined commands
20505 * Command Files:: How to write scripts of commands to be stored in a file
20506 * Output:: Commands for controlled output
20507 @end menu
20508
20509 @node Define
20510 @subsection User-defined Commands
20511
20512 @cindex user-defined command
20513 @cindex arguments, to user-defined commands
20514 A @dfn{user-defined command} is a sequence of @value{GDBN} commands to
20515 which you assign a new name as a command. This is done with the
20516 @code{define} command. User commands may accept up to 10 arguments
20517 separated by whitespace. Arguments are accessed within the user command
20518 via @code{$arg0@dots{}$arg9}. A trivial example:
20519
20520 @smallexample
20521 define adder
20522 print $arg0 + $arg1 + $arg2
20523 end
20524 @end smallexample
20525
20526 @noindent
20527 To execute the command use:
20528
20529 @smallexample
20530 adder 1 2 3
20531 @end smallexample
20532
20533 @noindent
20534 This defines the command @code{adder}, which prints the sum of
20535 its three arguments. Note the arguments are text substitutions, so they may
20536 reference variables, use complex expressions, or even perform inferior
20537 functions calls.
20538
20539 @cindex argument count in user-defined commands
20540 @cindex how many arguments (user-defined commands)
20541 In addition, @code{$argc} may be used to find out how many arguments have
20542 been passed. This expands to a number in the range 0@dots{}10.
20543
20544 @smallexample
20545 define adder
20546 if $argc == 2
20547 print $arg0 + $arg1
20548 end
20549 if $argc == 3
20550 print $arg0 + $arg1 + $arg2
20551 end
20552 end
20553 @end smallexample
20554
20555 @table @code
20556
20557 @kindex define
20558 @item define @var{commandname}
20559 Define a command named @var{commandname}. If there is already a command
20560 by that name, you are asked to confirm that you want to redefine it.
20561 @var{commandname} may be a bare command name consisting of letters,
20562 numbers, dashes, and underscores. It may also start with any predefined
20563 prefix command. For example, @samp{define target my-target} creates
20564 a user-defined @samp{target my-target} command.
20565
20566 The definition of the command is made up of other @value{GDBN} command lines,
20567 which are given following the @code{define} command. The end of these
20568 commands is marked by a line containing @code{end}.
20569
20570 @kindex document
20571 @kindex end@r{ (user-defined commands)}
20572 @item document @var{commandname}
20573 Document the user-defined command @var{commandname}, so that it can be
20574 accessed by @code{help}. The command @var{commandname} must already be
20575 defined. This command reads lines of documentation just as @code{define}
20576 reads the lines of the command definition, ending with @code{end}.
20577 After the @code{document} command is finished, @code{help} on command
20578 @var{commandname} displays the documentation you have written.
20579
20580 You may use the @code{document} command again to change the
20581 documentation of a command. Redefining the command with @code{define}
20582 does not change the documentation.
20583
20584 @kindex dont-repeat
20585 @cindex don't repeat command
20586 @item dont-repeat
20587 Used inside a user-defined command, this tells @value{GDBN} that this
20588 command should not be repeated when the user hits @key{RET}
20589 (@pxref{Command Syntax, repeat last command}).
20590
20591 @kindex help user-defined
20592 @item help user-defined
20593 List all user-defined commands, with the first line of the documentation
20594 (if any) for each.
20595
20596 @kindex show user
20597 @item show user
20598 @itemx show user @var{commandname}
20599 Display the @value{GDBN} commands used to define @var{commandname} (but
20600 not its documentation). If no @var{commandname} is given, display the
20601 definitions for all user-defined commands.
20602
20603 @cindex infinite recursion in user-defined commands
20604 @kindex show max-user-call-depth
20605 @kindex set max-user-call-depth
20606 @item show max-user-call-depth
20607 @itemx set max-user-call-depth
20608 The value of @code{max-user-call-depth} controls how many recursion
20609 levels are allowed in user-defined commands before @value{GDBN} suspects an
20610 infinite recursion and aborts the command.
20611 @end table
20612
20613 In addition to the above commands, user-defined commands frequently
20614 use control flow commands, described in @ref{Command Files}.
20615
20616 When user-defined commands are executed, the
20617 commands of the definition are not printed. An error in any command
20618 stops execution of the user-defined command.
20619
20620 If used interactively, commands that would ask for confirmation proceed
20621 without asking when used inside a user-defined command. Many @value{GDBN}
20622 commands that normally print messages to say what they are doing omit the
20623 messages when used in a user-defined command.
20624
20625 @node Hooks
20626 @subsection User-defined Command Hooks
20627 @cindex command hooks
20628 @cindex hooks, for commands
20629 @cindex hooks, pre-command
20630
20631 @kindex hook
20632 You may define @dfn{hooks}, which are a special kind of user-defined
20633 command. Whenever you run the command @samp{foo}, if the user-defined
20634 command @samp{hook-foo} exists, it is executed (with no arguments)
20635 before that command.
20636
20637 @cindex hooks, post-command
20638 @kindex hookpost
20639 A hook may also be defined which is run after the command you executed.
20640 Whenever you run the command @samp{foo}, if the user-defined command
20641 @samp{hookpost-foo} exists, it is executed (with no arguments) after
20642 that command. Post-execution hooks may exist simultaneously with
20643 pre-execution hooks, for the same command.
20644
20645 It is valid for a hook to call the command which it hooks. If this
20646 occurs, the hook is not re-executed, thereby avoiding infinite recursion.
20647
20648 @c It would be nice if hookpost could be passed a parameter indicating
20649 @c if the command it hooks executed properly or not. FIXME!
20650
20651 @kindex stop@r{, a pseudo-command}
20652 In addition, a pseudo-command, @samp{stop} exists. Defining
20653 (@samp{hook-stop}) makes the associated commands execute every time
20654 execution stops in your program: before breakpoint commands are run,
20655 displays are printed, or the stack frame is printed.
20656
20657 For example, to ignore @code{SIGALRM} signals while
20658 single-stepping, but treat them normally during normal execution,
20659 you could define:
20660
20661 @smallexample
20662 define hook-stop
20663 handle SIGALRM nopass
20664 end
20665
20666 define hook-run
20667 handle SIGALRM pass
20668 end
20669
20670 define hook-continue
20671 handle SIGALRM pass
20672 end
20673 @end smallexample
20674
20675 As a further example, to hook at the beginning and end of the @code{echo}
20676 command, and to add extra text to the beginning and end of the message,
20677 you could define:
20678
20679 @smallexample
20680 define hook-echo
20681 echo <<<---
20682 end
20683
20684 define hookpost-echo
20685 echo --->>>\n
20686 end
20687
20688 (@value{GDBP}) echo Hello World
20689 <<<---Hello World--->>>
20690 (@value{GDBP})
20691
20692 @end smallexample
20693
20694 You can define a hook for any single-word command in @value{GDBN}, but
20695 not for command aliases; you should define a hook for the basic command
20696 name, e.g.@: @code{backtrace} rather than @code{bt}.
20697 @c FIXME! So how does Joe User discover whether a command is an alias
20698 @c or not?
20699 You can hook a multi-word command by adding @code{hook-} or
20700 @code{hookpost-} to the last word of the command, e.g.@:
20701 @samp{define target hook-remote} to add a hook to @samp{target remote}.
20702
20703 If an error occurs during the execution of your hook, execution of
20704 @value{GDBN} commands stops and @value{GDBN} issues a prompt
20705 (before the command that you actually typed had a chance to run).
20706
20707 If you try to define a hook which does not match any known command, you
20708 get a warning from the @code{define} command.
20709
20710 @node Command Files
20711 @subsection Command Files
20712
20713 @cindex command files
20714 @cindex scripting commands
20715 A command file for @value{GDBN} is a text file made of lines that are
20716 @value{GDBN} commands. Comments (lines starting with @kbd{#}) may
20717 also be included. An empty line in a command file does nothing; it
20718 does not mean to repeat the last command, as it would from the
20719 terminal.
20720
20721 You can request the execution of a command file with the @code{source}
20722 command. Note that the @code{source} command is also used to evaluate
20723 scripts that are not Command Files. The exact behavior can be configured
20724 using the @code{script-extension} setting.
20725 @xref{Extending GDB,, Extending GDB}.
20726
20727 @table @code
20728 @kindex source
20729 @cindex execute commands from a file
20730 @item source [-s] [-v] @var{filename}
20731 Execute the command file @var{filename}.
20732 @end table
20733
20734 The lines in a command file are generally executed sequentially,
20735 unless the order of execution is changed by one of the
20736 @emph{flow-control commands} described below. The commands are not
20737 printed as they are executed. An error in any command terminates
20738 execution of the command file and control is returned to the console.
20739
20740 @value{GDBN} first searches for @var{filename} in the current directory.
20741 If the file is not found there, and @var{filename} does not specify a
20742 directory, then @value{GDBN} also looks for the file on the source search path
20743 (specified with the @samp{directory} command);
20744 except that @file{$cdir} is not searched because the compilation directory
20745 is not relevant to scripts.
20746
20747 If @code{-s} is specified, then @value{GDBN} searches for @var{filename}
20748 on the search path even if @var{filename} specifies a directory.
20749 The search is done by appending @var{filename} to each element of the
20750 search path. So, for example, if @var{filename} is @file{mylib/myscript}
20751 and the search path contains @file{/home/user} then @value{GDBN} will
20752 look for the script @file{/home/user/mylib/myscript}.
20753 The search is also done if @var{filename} is an absolute path.
20754 For example, if @var{filename} is @file{/tmp/myscript} and
20755 the search path contains @file{/home/user} then @value{GDBN} will
20756 look for the script @file{/home/user/tmp/myscript}.
20757 For DOS-like systems, if @var{filename} contains a drive specification,
20758 it is stripped before concatenation. For example, if @var{filename} is
20759 @file{d:myscript} and the search path contains @file{c:/tmp} then @value{GDBN}
20760 will look for the script @file{c:/tmp/myscript}.
20761
20762 If @code{-v}, for verbose mode, is given then @value{GDBN} displays
20763 each command as it is executed. The option must be given before
20764 @var{filename}, and is interpreted as part of the filename anywhere else.
20765
20766 Commands that would ask for confirmation if used interactively proceed
20767 without asking when used in a command file. Many @value{GDBN} commands that
20768 normally print messages to say what they are doing omit the messages
20769 when called from command files.
20770
20771 @value{GDBN} also accepts command input from standard input. In this
20772 mode, normal output goes to standard output and error output goes to
20773 standard error. Errors in a command file supplied on standard input do
20774 not terminate execution of the command file---execution continues with
20775 the next command.
20776
20777 @smallexample
20778 gdb < cmds > log 2>&1
20779 @end smallexample
20780
20781 (The syntax above will vary depending on the shell used.) This example
20782 will execute commands from the file @file{cmds}. All output and errors
20783 would be directed to @file{log}.
20784
20785 Since commands stored on command files tend to be more general than
20786 commands typed interactively, they frequently need to deal with
20787 complicated situations, such as different or unexpected values of
20788 variables and symbols, changes in how the program being debugged is
20789 built, etc. @value{GDBN} provides a set of flow-control commands to
20790 deal with these complexities. Using these commands, you can write
20791 complex scripts that loop over data structures, execute commands
20792 conditionally, etc.
20793
20794 @table @code
20795 @kindex if
20796 @kindex else
20797 @item if
20798 @itemx else
20799 This command allows to include in your script conditionally executed
20800 commands. The @code{if} command takes a single argument, which is an
20801 expression to evaluate. It is followed by a series of commands that
20802 are executed only if the expression is true (its value is nonzero).
20803 There can then optionally be an @code{else} line, followed by a series
20804 of commands that are only executed if the expression was false. The
20805 end of the list is marked by a line containing @code{end}.
20806
20807 @kindex while
20808 @item while
20809 This command allows to write loops. Its syntax is similar to
20810 @code{if}: the command takes a single argument, which is an expression
20811 to evaluate, and must be followed by the commands to execute, one per
20812 line, terminated by an @code{end}. These commands are called the
20813 @dfn{body} of the loop. The commands in the body of @code{while} are
20814 executed repeatedly as long as the expression evaluates to true.
20815
20816 @kindex loop_break
20817 @item loop_break
20818 This command exits the @code{while} loop in whose body it is included.
20819 Execution of the script continues after that @code{while}s @code{end}
20820 line.
20821
20822 @kindex loop_continue
20823 @item loop_continue
20824 This command skips the execution of the rest of the body of commands
20825 in the @code{while} loop in whose body it is included. Execution
20826 branches to the beginning of the @code{while} loop, where it evaluates
20827 the controlling expression.
20828
20829 @kindex end@r{ (if/else/while commands)}
20830 @item end
20831 Terminate the block of commands that are the body of @code{if},
20832 @code{else}, or @code{while} flow-control commands.
20833 @end table
20834
20835
20836 @node Output
20837 @subsection Commands for Controlled Output
20838
20839 During the execution of a command file or a user-defined command, normal
20840 @value{GDBN} output is suppressed; the only output that appears is what is
20841 explicitly printed by the commands in the definition. This section
20842 describes three commands useful for generating exactly the output you
20843 want.
20844
20845 @table @code
20846 @kindex echo
20847 @item echo @var{text}
20848 @c I do not consider backslash-space a standard C escape sequence
20849 @c because it is not in ANSI.
20850 Print @var{text}. Nonprinting characters can be included in
20851 @var{text} using C escape sequences, such as @samp{\n} to print a
20852 newline. @strong{No newline is printed unless you specify one.}
20853 In addition to the standard C escape sequences, a backslash followed
20854 by a space stands for a space. This is useful for displaying a
20855 string with spaces at the beginning or the end, since leading and
20856 trailing spaces are otherwise trimmed from all arguments.
20857 To print @samp{@w{ }and foo =@w{ }}, use the command
20858 @samp{echo \@w{ }and foo = \@w{ }}.
20859
20860 A backslash at the end of @var{text} can be used, as in C, to continue
20861 the command onto subsequent lines. For example,
20862
20863 @smallexample
20864 echo This is some text\n\
20865 which is continued\n\
20866 onto several lines.\n
20867 @end smallexample
20868
20869 produces the same output as
20870
20871 @smallexample
20872 echo This is some text\n
20873 echo which is continued\n
20874 echo onto several lines.\n
20875 @end smallexample
20876
20877 @kindex output
20878 @item output @var{expression}
20879 Print the value of @var{expression} and nothing but that value: no
20880 newlines, no @samp{$@var{nn} = }. The value is not entered in the
20881 value history either. @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}, for more information
20882 on expressions.
20883
20884 @item output/@var{fmt} @var{expression}
20885 Print the value of @var{expression} in format @var{fmt}. You can use
20886 the same formats as for @code{print}. @xref{Output Formats,,Output
20887 Formats}, for more information.
20888
20889 @kindex printf
20890 @item printf @var{template}, @var{expressions}@dots{}
20891 Print the values of one or more @var{expressions} under the control of
20892 the string @var{template}. To print several values, make
20893 @var{expressions} be a comma-separated list of individual expressions,
20894 which may be either numbers or pointers. Their values are printed as
20895 specified by @var{template}, exactly as a C program would do by
20896 executing the code below:
20897
20898 @smallexample
20899 printf (@var{template}, @var{expressions}@dots{});
20900 @end smallexample
20901
20902 As in @code{C} @code{printf}, ordinary characters in @var{template}
20903 are printed verbatim, while @dfn{conversion specification} introduced
20904 by the @samp{%} character cause subsequent @var{expressions} to be
20905 evaluated, their values converted and formatted according to type and
20906 style information encoded in the conversion specifications, and then
20907 printed.
20908
20909 For example, you can print two values in hex like this:
20910
20911 @smallexample
20912 printf "foo, bar-foo = 0x%x, 0x%x\n", foo, bar-foo
20913 @end smallexample
20914
20915 @code{printf} supports all the standard @code{C} conversion
20916 specifications, including the flags and modifiers between the @samp{%}
20917 character and the conversion letter, with the following exceptions:
20918
20919 @itemize @bullet
20920 @item
20921 The argument-ordering modifiers, such as @samp{2$}, are not supported.
20922
20923 @item
20924 The modifier @samp{*} is not supported for specifying precision or
20925 width.
20926
20927 @item
20928 The @samp{'} flag (for separation of digits into groups according to
20929 @code{LC_NUMERIC'}) is not supported.
20930
20931 @item
20932 The type modifiers @samp{hh}, @samp{j}, @samp{t}, and @samp{z} are not
20933 supported.
20934
20935 @item
20936 The conversion letter @samp{n} (as in @samp{%n}) is not supported.
20937
20938 @item
20939 The conversion letters @samp{a} and @samp{A} are not supported.
20940 @end itemize
20941
20942 @noindent
20943 Note that the @samp{ll} type modifier is supported only if the
20944 underlying @code{C} implementation used to build @value{GDBN} supports
20945 the @code{long long int} type, and the @samp{L} type modifier is
20946 supported only if @code{long double} type is available.
20947
20948 As in @code{C}, @code{printf} supports simple backslash-escape
20949 sequences, such as @code{\n}, @samp{\t}, @samp{\\}, @samp{\"},
20950 @samp{\a}, and @samp{\f}, that consist of backslash followed by a
20951 single character. Octal and hexadecimal escape sequences are not
20952 supported.
20953
20954 Additionally, @code{printf} supports conversion specifications for DFP
20955 (@dfn{Decimal Floating Point}) types using the following length modifiers
20956 together with a floating point specifier.
20957 letters:
20958
20959 @itemize @bullet
20960 @item
20961 @samp{H} for printing @code{Decimal32} types.
20962
20963 @item
20964 @samp{D} for printing @code{Decimal64} types.
20965
20966 @item
20967 @samp{DD} for printing @code{Decimal128} types.
20968 @end itemize
20969
20970 If the underlying @code{C} implementation used to build @value{GDBN} has
20971 support for the three length modifiers for DFP types, other modifiers
20972 such as width and precision will also be available for @value{GDBN} to use.
20973
20974 In case there is no such @code{C} support, no additional modifiers will be
20975 available and the value will be printed in the standard way.
20976
20977 Here's an example of printing DFP types using the above conversion letters:
20978 @smallexample
20979 printf "D32: %Hf - D64: %Df - D128: %DDf\n",1.2345df,1.2E10dd,1.2E1dl
20980 @end smallexample
20981
20982 @kindex eval
20983 @item eval @var{template}, @var{expressions}@dots{}
20984 Convert the values of one or more @var{expressions} under the control of
20985 the string @var{template} to a command line, and call it.
20986
20987 @end table
20988
20989 @node Python
20990 @section Scripting @value{GDBN} using Python
20991 @cindex python scripting
20992 @cindex scripting with python
20993
20994 You can script @value{GDBN} using the @uref{http://www.python.org/,
20995 Python programming language}. This feature is available only if
20996 @value{GDBN} was configured using @option{--with-python}.
20997
20998 @cindex python directory
20999 Python scripts used by @value{GDBN} should be installed in
21000 @file{@var{data-directory}/python}, where @var{data-directory} is
21001 the data directory as determined at @value{GDBN} startup (@pxref{Data Files}).
21002 This directory, known as the @dfn{python directory},
21003 is automatically added to the Python Search Path in order to allow
21004 the Python interpreter to locate all scripts installed at this location.
21005
21006 Additionally, @value{GDBN} commands and convenience functions which
21007 are written in Python and are located in the
21008 @file{@var{data-directory}/python/gdb/command} or
21009 @file{@var{data-directory}/python/gdb/function} directories are
21010 automatically imported when @value{GDBN} starts.
21011
21012 @menu
21013 * Python Commands:: Accessing Python from @value{GDBN}.
21014 * Python API:: Accessing @value{GDBN} from Python.
21015 * Auto-loading:: Automatically loading Python code.
21016 * Python modules:: Python modules provided by @value{GDBN}.
21017 @end menu
21018
21019 @node Python Commands
21020 @subsection Python Commands
21021 @cindex python commands
21022 @cindex commands to access python
21023
21024 @value{GDBN} provides one command for accessing the Python interpreter,
21025 and one related setting:
21026
21027 @table @code
21028 @kindex python
21029 @item python @r{[}@var{code}@r{]}
21030 The @code{python} command can be used to evaluate Python code.
21031
21032 If given an argument, the @code{python} command will evaluate the
21033 argument as a Python command. For example:
21034
21035 @smallexample
21036 (@value{GDBP}) python print 23
21037 23
21038 @end smallexample
21039
21040 If you do not provide an argument to @code{python}, it will act as a
21041 multi-line command, like @code{define}. In this case, the Python
21042 script is made up of subsequent command lines, given after the
21043 @code{python} command. This command list is terminated using a line
21044 containing @code{end}. For example:
21045
21046 @smallexample
21047 (@value{GDBP}) python
21048 Type python script
21049 End with a line saying just "end".
21050 >print 23
21051 >end
21052 23
21053 @end smallexample
21054
21055 @kindex maint set python print-stack
21056 @item maint set python print-stack
21057 This command is now deprecated. Instead use @code{set python
21058 print-stack}
21059
21060 @kindex set python print-stack
21061 @item set python print-stack
21062 By default, @value{GDBN} will not print a stack trace when an error
21063 occurs in a Python script. This can be controlled using @code{set
21064 python print-stack}: if @code{on}, then Python stack printing is
21065 enabled; if @code{off}, the default, then Python stack printing is
21066 disabled.
21067 @end table
21068
21069 It is also possible to execute a Python script from the @value{GDBN}
21070 interpreter:
21071
21072 @table @code
21073 @item source @file{script-name}
21074 The script name must end with @samp{.py} and @value{GDBN} must be configured
21075 to recognize the script language based on filename extension using
21076 the @code{script-extension} setting. @xref{Extending GDB, ,Extending GDB}.
21077
21078 @item python execfile ("script-name")
21079 This method is based on the @code{execfile} Python built-in function,
21080 and thus is always available.
21081 @end table
21082
21083 @node Python API
21084 @subsection Python API
21085 @cindex python api
21086 @cindex programming in python
21087
21088 @cindex python stdout
21089 @cindex python pagination
21090 At startup, @value{GDBN} overrides Python's @code{sys.stdout} and
21091 @code{sys.stderr} to print using @value{GDBN}'s output-paging streams.
21092 A Python program which outputs to one of these streams may have its
21093 output interrupted by the user (@pxref{Screen Size}). In this
21094 situation, a Python @code{KeyboardInterrupt} exception is thrown.
21095
21096 @menu
21097 * Basic Python:: Basic Python Functions.
21098 * Exception Handling:: How Python exceptions are translated.
21099 * Values From Inferior:: Python representation of values.
21100 * Types In Python:: Python representation of types.
21101 * Pretty Printing API:: Pretty-printing values.
21102 * Selecting Pretty-Printers:: How GDB chooses a pretty-printer.
21103 * Writing a Pretty-Printer:: Writing a Pretty-Printer.
21104 * Inferiors In Python:: Python representation of inferiors (processes)
21105 * Events In Python:: Listening for events from @value{GDBN}.
21106 * Threads In Python:: Accessing inferior threads from Python.
21107 * Commands In Python:: Implementing new commands in Python.
21108 * Parameters In Python:: Adding new @value{GDBN} parameters.
21109 * Functions In Python:: Writing new convenience functions.
21110 * Progspaces In Python:: Program spaces.
21111 * Objfiles In Python:: Object files.
21112 * Frames In Python:: Accessing inferior stack frames from Python.
21113 * Blocks In Python:: Accessing frame blocks from Python.
21114 * Symbols In Python:: Python representation of symbols.
21115 * Symbol Tables In Python:: Python representation of symbol tables.
21116 * Lazy Strings In Python:: Python representation of lazy strings.
21117 * Breakpoints In Python:: Manipulating breakpoints using Python.
21118 @end menu
21119
21120 @node Basic Python
21121 @subsubsection Basic Python
21122
21123 @cindex python functions
21124 @cindex python module
21125 @cindex gdb module
21126 @value{GDBN} introduces a new Python module, named @code{gdb}. All
21127 methods and classes added by @value{GDBN} are placed in this module.
21128 @value{GDBN} automatically @code{import}s the @code{gdb} module for
21129 use in all scripts evaluated by the @code{python} command.
21130
21131 @findex gdb.PYTHONDIR
21132 @defvar gdb.PYTHONDIR
21133 A string containing the python directory (@pxref{Python}).
21134 @end defvar
21135
21136 @findex gdb.execute
21137 @defun gdb.execute (command @r{[}, from_tty @r{[}, to_string@r{]]})
21138 Evaluate @var{command}, a string, as a @value{GDBN} CLI command.
21139 If a GDB exception happens while @var{command} runs, it is
21140 translated as described in @ref{Exception Handling,,Exception Handling}.
21141
21142 @var{from_tty} specifies whether @value{GDBN} ought to consider this
21143 command as having originated from the user invoking it interactively.
21144 It must be a boolean value. If omitted, it defaults to @code{False}.
21145
21146 By default, any output produced by @var{command} is sent to
21147 @value{GDBN}'s standard output. If the @var{to_string} parameter is
21148 @code{True}, then output will be collected by @code{gdb.execute} and
21149 returned as a string. The default is @code{False}, in which case the
21150 return value is @code{None}. If @var{to_string} is @code{True}, the
21151 @value{GDBN} virtual terminal will be temporarily set to unlimited width
21152 and height, and its pagination will be disabled; @pxref{Screen Size}.
21153 @end defun
21154
21155 @findex gdb.breakpoints
21156 @defun gdb.breakpoints ()
21157 Return a sequence holding all of @value{GDBN}'s breakpoints.
21158 @xref{Breakpoints In Python}, for more information.
21159 @end defun
21160
21161 @findex gdb.parameter
21162 @defun gdb.parameter (parameter)
21163 Return the value of a @value{GDBN} parameter. @var{parameter} is a
21164 string naming the parameter to look up; @var{parameter} may contain
21165 spaces if the parameter has a multi-part name. For example,
21166 @samp{print object} is a valid parameter name.
21167
21168 If the named parameter does not exist, this function throws a
21169 @code{gdb.error} (@pxref{Exception Handling}). Otherwise, the
21170 parameter's value is converted to a Python value of the appropriate
21171 type, and returned.
21172 @end defun
21173
21174 @findex gdb.history
21175 @defun gdb.history (number)
21176 Return a value from @value{GDBN}'s value history (@pxref{Value
21177 History}). @var{number} indicates which history element to return.
21178 If @var{number} is negative, then @value{GDBN} will take its absolute value
21179 and count backward from the last element (i.e., the most recent element) to
21180 find the value to return. If @var{number} is zero, then @value{GDBN} will
21181 return the most recent element. If the element specified by @var{number}
21182 doesn't exist in the value history, a @code{gdb.error} exception will be
21183 raised.
21184
21185 If no exception is raised, the return value is always an instance of
21186 @code{gdb.Value} (@pxref{Values From Inferior}).
21187 @end defun
21188
21189 @findex gdb.parse_and_eval
21190 @defun gdb.parse_and_eval (expression)
21191 Parse @var{expression} as an expression in the current language,
21192 evaluate it, and return the result as a @code{gdb.Value}.
21193 @var{expression} must be a string.
21194
21195 This function can be useful when implementing a new command
21196 (@pxref{Commands In Python}), as it provides a way to parse the
21197 command's argument as an expression. It is also useful simply to
21198 compute values, for example, it is the only way to get the value of a
21199 convenience variable (@pxref{Convenience Vars}) as a @code{gdb.Value}.
21200 @end defun
21201
21202 @findex gdb.post_event
21203 @defun gdb.post_event (event)
21204 Put @var{event}, a callable object taking no arguments, into
21205 @value{GDBN}'s internal event queue. This callable will be invoked at
21206 some later point, during @value{GDBN}'s event processing. Events
21207 posted using @code{post_event} will be run in the order in which they
21208 were posted; however, there is no way to know when they will be
21209 processed relative to other events inside @value{GDBN}.
21210
21211 @value{GDBN} is not thread-safe. If your Python program uses multiple
21212 threads, you must be careful to only call @value{GDBN}-specific
21213 functions in the main @value{GDBN} thread. @code{post_event} ensures
21214 this. For example:
21215
21216 @smallexample
21217 (@value{GDBP}) python
21218 >import threading
21219 >
21220 >class Writer():
21221 > def __init__(self, message):
21222 > self.message = message;
21223 > def __call__(self):
21224 > gdb.write(self.message)
21225 >
21226 >class MyThread1 (threading.Thread):
21227 > def run (self):
21228 > gdb.post_event(Writer("Hello "))
21229 >
21230 >class MyThread2 (threading.Thread):
21231 > def run (self):
21232 > gdb.post_event(Writer("World\n"))
21233 >
21234 >MyThread1().start()
21235 >MyThread2().start()
21236 >end
21237 (@value{GDBP}) Hello World
21238 @end smallexample
21239 @end defun
21240
21241 @findex gdb.write
21242 @defun gdb.write (string @r{[}, stream{]})
21243 Print a string to @value{GDBN}'s paginated output stream. The
21244 optional @var{stream} determines the stream to print to. The default
21245 stream is @value{GDBN}'s standard output stream. Possible stream
21246 values are:
21247
21248 @table @code
21249 @findex STDOUT
21250 @findex gdb.STDOUT
21251 @item gdb.STDOUT
21252 @value{GDBN}'s standard output stream.
21253
21254 @findex STDERR
21255 @findex gdb.STDERR
21256 @item gdb.STDERR
21257 @value{GDBN}'s standard error stream.
21258
21259 @findex STDLOG
21260 @findex gdb.STDLOG
21261 @item gdb.STDLOG
21262 @value{GDBN}'s log stream (@pxref{Logging Output}).
21263 @end table
21264
21265 Writing to @code{sys.stdout} or @code{sys.stderr} will automatically
21266 call this function and will automatically direct the output to the
21267 relevant stream.
21268 @end defun
21269
21270 @findex gdb.flush
21271 @defun gdb.flush ()
21272 Flush the buffer of a @value{GDBN} paginated stream so that the
21273 contents are displayed immediately. @value{GDBN} will flush the
21274 contents of a stream automatically when it encounters a newline in the
21275 buffer. The optional @var{stream} determines the stream to flush. The
21276 default stream is @value{GDBN}'s standard output stream. Possible
21277 stream values are:
21278
21279 @table @code
21280 @findex STDOUT
21281 @findex gdb.STDOUT
21282 @item gdb.STDOUT
21283 @value{GDBN}'s standard output stream.
21284
21285 @findex STDERR
21286 @findex gdb.STDERR
21287 @item gdb.STDERR
21288 @value{GDBN}'s standard error stream.
21289
21290 @findex STDLOG
21291 @findex gdb.STDLOG
21292 @item gdb.STDLOG
21293 @value{GDBN}'s log stream (@pxref{Logging Output}).
21294
21295 @end table
21296
21297 Flushing @code{sys.stdout} or @code{sys.stderr} will automatically
21298 call this function for the relevant stream.
21299 @end defun
21300
21301 @findex gdb.target_charset
21302 @defun gdb.target_charset ()
21303 Return the name of the current target character set (@pxref{Character
21304 Sets}). This differs from @code{gdb.parameter('target-charset')} in
21305 that @samp{auto} is never returned.
21306 @end defun
21307
21308 @findex gdb.target_wide_charset
21309 @defun gdb.target_wide_charset ()
21310 Return the name of the current target wide character set
21311 (@pxref{Character Sets}). This differs from
21312 @code{gdb.parameter('target-wide-charset')} in that @samp{auto} is
21313 never returned.
21314 @end defun
21315
21316 @findex gdb.solib_name
21317 @defun gdb.solib_name (address)
21318 Return the name of the shared library holding the given @var{address}
21319 as a string, or @code{None}.
21320 @end defun
21321
21322 @findex gdb.decode_line
21323 @defun gdb.decode_line @r{[}expression@r{]}
21324 Return locations of the line specified by @var{expression}, or of the
21325 current line if no argument was given. This function returns a Python
21326 tuple containing two elements. The first element contains a string
21327 holding any unparsed section of @var{expression} (or @code{None} if
21328 the expression has been fully parsed). The second element contains
21329 either @code{None} or another tuple that contains all the locations
21330 that match the expression represented as @code{gdb.Symtab_and_line}
21331 objects (@pxref{Symbol Tables In Python}). If @var{expression} is
21332 provided, it is decoded the way that @value{GDBN}'s inbuilt
21333 @code{break} or @code{edit} commands do (@pxref{Specify Location}).
21334 @end defun
21335
21336 @defun gdb.prompt_hook (current_prompt)
21337 @anchor{prompt_hook}
21338
21339 If @var{prompt_hook} is callable, @value{GDBN} will call the method
21340 assigned to this operation before a prompt is displayed by
21341 @value{GDBN}.
21342
21343 The parameter @code{current_prompt} contains the current @value{GDBN}
21344 prompt. This method must return a Python string, or @code{None}. If
21345 a string is returned, the @value{GDBN} prompt will be set to that
21346 string. If @code{None} is returned, @value{GDBN} will continue to use
21347 the current prompt.
21348
21349 Some prompts cannot be substituted in @value{GDBN}. Secondary prompts
21350 such as those used by readline for command input, and annotation
21351 related prompts are prohibited from being changed.
21352 @end defun
21353
21354 @node Exception Handling
21355 @subsubsection Exception Handling
21356 @cindex python exceptions
21357 @cindex exceptions, python
21358
21359 When executing the @code{python} command, Python exceptions
21360 uncaught within the Python code are translated to calls to
21361 @value{GDBN} error-reporting mechanism. If the command that called
21362 @code{python} does not handle the error, @value{GDBN} will
21363 terminate it and print an error message containing the Python
21364 exception name, the associated value, and the Python call stack
21365 backtrace at the point where the exception was raised. Example:
21366
21367 @smallexample
21368 (@value{GDBP}) python print foo
21369 Traceback (most recent call last):
21370 File "<string>", line 1, in <module>
21371 NameError: name 'foo' is not defined
21372 @end smallexample
21373
21374 @value{GDBN} errors that happen in @value{GDBN} commands invoked by
21375 Python code are converted to Python exceptions. The type of the
21376 Python exception depends on the error.
21377
21378 @ftable @code
21379 @item gdb.error
21380 This is the base class for most exceptions generated by @value{GDBN}.
21381 It is derived from @code{RuntimeError}, for compatibility with earlier
21382 versions of @value{GDBN}.
21383
21384 If an error occurring in @value{GDBN} does not fit into some more
21385 specific category, then the generated exception will have this type.
21386
21387 @item gdb.MemoryError
21388 This is a subclass of @code{gdb.error} which is thrown when an
21389 operation tried to access invalid memory in the inferior.
21390
21391 @item KeyboardInterrupt
21392 User interrupt (via @kbd{C-c} or by typing @kbd{q} at a pagination
21393 prompt) is translated to a Python @code{KeyboardInterrupt} exception.
21394 @end ftable
21395
21396 In all cases, your exception handler will see the @value{GDBN} error
21397 message as its value and the Python call stack backtrace at the Python
21398 statement closest to where the @value{GDBN} error occured as the
21399 traceback.
21400
21401 @findex gdb.GdbError
21402 When implementing @value{GDBN} commands in Python via @code{gdb.Command},
21403 it is useful to be able to throw an exception that doesn't cause a
21404 traceback to be printed. For example, the user may have invoked the
21405 command incorrectly. Use the @code{gdb.GdbError} exception
21406 to handle this case. Example:
21407
21408 @smallexample
21409 (gdb) python
21410 >class HelloWorld (gdb.Command):
21411 > """Greet the whole world."""
21412 > def __init__ (self):
21413 > super (HelloWorld, self).__init__ ("hello-world", gdb.COMMAND_OBSCURE)
21414 > def invoke (self, args, from_tty):
21415 > argv = gdb.string_to_argv (args)
21416 > if len (argv) != 0:
21417 > raise gdb.GdbError ("hello-world takes no arguments")
21418 > print "Hello, World!"
21419 >HelloWorld ()
21420 >end
21421 (gdb) hello-world 42
21422 hello-world takes no arguments
21423 @end smallexample
21424
21425 @node Values From Inferior
21426 @subsubsection Values From Inferior
21427 @cindex values from inferior, with Python
21428 @cindex python, working with values from inferior
21429
21430 @cindex @code{gdb.Value}
21431 @value{GDBN} provides values it obtains from the inferior program in
21432 an object of type @code{gdb.Value}. @value{GDBN} uses this object
21433 for its internal bookkeeping of the inferior's values, and for
21434 fetching values when necessary.
21435
21436 Inferior values that are simple scalars can be used directly in
21437 Python expressions that are valid for the value's data type. Here's
21438 an example for an integer or floating-point value @code{some_val}:
21439
21440 @smallexample
21441 bar = some_val + 2
21442 @end smallexample
21443
21444 @noindent
21445 As result of this, @code{bar} will also be a @code{gdb.Value} object
21446 whose values are of the same type as those of @code{some_val}.
21447
21448 Inferior values that are structures or instances of some class can
21449 be accessed using the Python @dfn{dictionary syntax}. For example, if
21450 @code{some_val} is a @code{gdb.Value} instance holding a structure, you
21451 can access its @code{foo} element with:
21452
21453 @smallexample
21454 bar = some_val['foo']
21455 @end smallexample
21456
21457 Again, @code{bar} will also be a @code{gdb.Value} object.
21458
21459 A @code{gdb.Value} that represents a function can be executed via
21460 inferior function call. Any arguments provided to the call must match
21461 the function's prototype, and must be provided in the order specified
21462 by that prototype.
21463
21464 For example, @code{some_val} is a @code{gdb.Value} instance
21465 representing a function that takes two integers as arguments. To
21466 execute this function, call it like so:
21467
21468 @smallexample
21469 result = some_val (10,20)
21470 @end smallexample
21471
21472 Any values returned from a function call will be stored as a
21473 @code{gdb.Value}.
21474
21475 The following attributes are provided:
21476
21477 @table @code
21478 @defvar Value.address
21479 If this object is addressable, this read-only attribute holds a
21480 @code{gdb.Value} object representing the address. Otherwise,
21481 this attribute holds @code{None}.
21482 @end defvar
21483
21484 @cindex optimized out value in Python
21485 @defvar Value.is_optimized_out
21486 This read-only boolean attribute is true if the compiler optimized out
21487 this value, thus it is not available for fetching from the inferior.
21488 @end defvar
21489
21490 @defvar Value.type
21491 The type of this @code{gdb.Value}. The value of this attribute is a
21492 @code{gdb.Type} object (@pxref{Types In Python}).
21493 @end defvar
21494
21495 @defvar Value.dynamic_type
21496 The dynamic type of this @code{gdb.Value}. This uses C@t{++} run-time
21497 type information (@acronym{RTTI}) to determine the dynamic type of the
21498 value. If this value is of class type, it will return the class in
21499 which the value is embedded, if any. If this value is of pointer or
21500 reference to a class type, it will compute the dynamic type of the
21501 referenced object, and return a pointer or reference to that type,
21502 respectively. In all other cases, it will return the value's static
21503 type.
21504
21505 Note that this feature will only work when debugging a C@t{++} program
21506 that includes @acronym{RTTI} for the object in question. Otherwise,
21507 it will just return the static type of the value as in @kbd{ptype foo}
21508 (@pxref{Symbols, ptype}).
21509 @end defvar
21510 @end table
21511
21512 The following methods are provided:
21513
21514 @table @code
21515 @defun Value.__init__ (@var{val})
21516 Many Python values can be converted directly to a @code{gdb.Value} via
21517 this object initializer. Specifically:
21518
21519 @table @asis
21520 @item Python boolean
21521 A Python boolean is converted to the boolean type from the current
21522 language.
21523
21524 @item Python integer
21525 A Python integer is converted to the C @code{long} type for the
21526 current architecture.
21527
21528 @item Python long
21529 A Python long is converted to the C @code{long long} type for the
21530 current architecture.
21531
21532 @item Python float
21533 A Python float is converted to the C @code{double} type for the
21534 current architecture.
21535
21536 @item Python string
21537 A Python string is converted to a target string, using the current
21538 target encoding.
21539
21540 @item @code{gdb.Value}
21541 If @code{val} is a @code{gdb.Value}, then a copy of the value is made.
21542
21543 @item @code{gdb.LazyString}
21544 If @code{val} is a @code{gdb.LazyString} (@pxref{Lazy Strings In
21545 Python}), then the lazy string's @code{value} method is called, and
21546 its result is used.
21547 @end table
21548 @end defun
21549
21550 @defun Value.cast (type)
21551 Return a new instance of @code{gdb.Value} that is the result of
21552 casting this instance to the type described by @var{type}, which must
21553 be a @code{gdb.Type} object. If the cast cannot be performed for some
21554 reason, this method throws an exception.
21555 @end defun
21556
21557 @defun Value.dereference ()
21558 For pointer data types, this method returns a new @code{gdb.Value} object
21559 whose contents is the object pointed to by the pointer. For example, if
21560 @code{foo} is a C pointer to an @code{int}, declared in your C program as
21561
21562 @smallexample
21563 int *foo;
21564 @end smallexample
21565
21566 @noindent
21567 then you can use the corresponding @code{gdb.Value} to access what
21568 @code{foo} points to like this:
21569
21570 @smallexample
21571 bar = foo.dereference ()
21572 @end smallexample
21573
21574 The result @code{bar} will be a @code{gdb.Value} object holding the
21575 value pointed to by @code{foo}.
21576 @end defun
21577
21578 @defun Value.dynamic_cast (type)
21579 Like @code{Value.cast}, but works as if the C@t{++} @code{dynamic_cast}
21580 operator were used. Consult a C@t{++} reference for details.
21581 @end defun
21582
21583 @defun Value.reinterpret_cast (type)
21584 Like @code{Value.cast}, but works as if the C@t{++} @code{reinterpret_cast}
21585 operator were used. Consult a C@t{++} reference for details.
21586 @end defun
21587
21588 @defun Value.string (@r{[}encoding@r{[}, errors@r{[}, length@r{]]]})
21589 If this @code{gdb.Value} represents a string, then this method
21590 converts the contents to a Python string. Otherwise, this method will
21591 throw an exception.
21592
21593 Strings are recognized in a language-specific way; whether a given
21594 @code{gdb.Value} represents a string is determined by the current
21595 language.
21596
21597 For C-like languages, a value is a string if it is a pointer to or an
21598 array of characters or ints. The string is assumed to be terminated
21599 by a zero of the appropriate width. However if the optional length
21600 argument is given, the string will be converted to that given length,
21601 ignoring any embedded zeros that the string may contain.
21602
21603 If the optional @var{encoding} argument is given, it must be a string
21604 naming the encoding of the string in the @code{gdb.Value}, such as
21605 @code{"ascii"}, @code{"iso-8859-6"} or @code{"utf-8"}. It accepts
21606 the same encodings as the corresponding argument to Python's
21607 @code{string.decode} method, and the Python codec machinery will be used
21608 to convert the string. If @var{encoding} is not given, or if
21609 @var{encoding} is the empty string, then either the @code{target-charset}
21610 (@pxref{Character Sets}) will be used, or a language-specific encoding
21611 will be used, if the current language is able to supply one.
21612
21613 The optional @var{errors} argument is the same as the corresponding
21614 argument to Python's @code{string.decode} method.
21615
21616 If the optional @var{length} argument is given, the string will be
21617 fetched and converted to the given length.
21618 @end defun
21619
21620 @defun Value.lazy_string (@r{[}encoding @r{[}, length@r{]]})
21621 If this @code{gdb.Value} represents a string, then this method
21622 converts the contents to a @code{gdb.LazyString} (@pxref{Lazy Strings
21623 In Python}). Otherwise, this method will throw an exception.
21624
21625 If the optional @var{encoding} argument is given, it must be a string
21626 naming the encoding of the @code{gdb.LazyString}. Some examples are:
21627 @samp{ascii}, @samp{iso-8859-6} or @samp{utf-8}. If the
21628 @var{encoding} argument is an encoding that @value{GDBN} does
21629 recognize, @value{GDBN} will raise an error.
21630
21631 When a lazy string is printed, the @value{GDBN} encoding machinery is
21632 used to convert the string during printing. If the optional
21633 @var{encoding} argument is not provided, or is an empty string,
21634 @value{GDBN} will automatically select the encoding most suitable for
21635 the string type. For further information on encoding in @value{GDBN}
21636 please see @ref{Character Sets}.
21637
21638 If the optional @var{length} argument is given, the string will be
21639 fetched and encoded to the length of characters specified. If
21640 the @var{length} argument is not provided, the string will be fetched
21641 and encoded until a null of appropriate width is found.
21642 @end defun
21643 @end table
21644
21645 @node Types In Python
21646 @subsubsection Types In Python
21647 @cindex types in Python
21648 @cindex Python, working with types
21649
21650 @tindex gdb.Type
21651 @value{GDBN} represents types from the inferior using the class
21652 @code{gdb.Type}.
21653
21654 The following type-related functions are available in the @code{gdb}
21655 module:
21656
21657 @findex gdb.lookup_type
21658 @defun gdb.lookup_type (name @r{[}, block@r{]})
21659 This function looks up a type by name. @var{name} is the name of the
21660 type to look up. It must be a string.
21661
21662 If @var{block} is given, then @var{name} is looked up in that scope.
21663 Otherwise, it is searched for globally.
21664
21665 Ordinarily, this function will return an instance of @code{gdb.Type}.
21666 If the named type cannot be found, it will throw an exception.
21667 @end defun
21668
21669 If the type is a structure or class type, or an enum type, the fields
21670 of that type can be accessed using the Python @dfn{dictionary syntax}.
21671 For example, if @code{some_type} is a @code{gdb.Type} instance holding
21672 a structure type, you can access its @code{foo} field with:
21673
21674 @smallexample
21675 bar = some_type['foo']
21676 @end smallexample
21677
21678 @code{bar} will be a @code{gdb.Field} object; see below under the
21679 description of the @code{Type.fields} method for a description of the
21680 @code{gdb.Field} class.
21681
21682 An instance of @code{Type} has the following attributes:
21683
21684 @table @code
21685 @defvar Type.code
21686 The type code for this type. The type code will be one of the
21687 @code{TYPE_CODE_} constants defined below.
21688 @end defvar
21689
21690 @defvar Type.sizeof
21691 The size of this type, in target @code{char} units. Usually, a
21692 target's @code{char} type will be an 8-bit byte. However, on some
21693 unusual platforms, this type may have a different size.
21694 @end defvar
21695
21696 @defvar Type.tag
21697 The tag name for this type. The tag name is the name after
21698 @code{struct}, @code{union}, or @code{enum} in C and C@t{++}; not all
21699 languages have this concept. If this type has no tag name, then
21700 @code{None} is returned.
21701 @end defvar
21702 @end table
21703
21704 The following methods are provided:
21705
21706 @table @code
21707 @defun Type.fields ()
21708 For structure and union types, this method returns the fields. Range
21709 types have two fields, the minimum and maximum values. Enum types
21710 have one field per enum constant. Function and method types have one
21711 field per parameter. The base types of C@t{++} classes are also
21712 represented as fields. If the type has no fields, or does not fit
21713 into one of these categories, an empty sequence will be returned.
21714
21715 Each field is a @code{gdb.Field} object, with some pre-defined attributes:
21716 @table @code
21717 @item bitpos
21718 This attribute is not available for @code{static} fields (as in
21719 C@t{++} or Java). For non-@code{static} fields, the value is the bit
21720 position of the field. For @code{enum} fields, the value is the
21721 enumeration member's integer representation.
21722
21723 @item name
21724 The name of the field, or @code{None} for anonymous fields.
21725
21726 @item artificial
21727 This is @code{True} if the field is artificial, usually meaning that
21728 it was provided by the compiler and not the user. This attribute is
21729 always provided, and is @code{False} if the field is not artificial.
21730
21731 @item is_base_class
21732 This is @code{True} if the field represents a base class of a C@t{++}
21733 structure. This attribute is always provided, and is @code{False}
21734 if the field is not a base class of the type that is the argument of
21735 @code{fields}, or if that type was not a C@t{++} class.
21736
21737 @item bitsize
21738 If the field is packed, or is a bitfield, then this will have a
21739 non-zero value, which is the size of the field in bits. Otherwise,
21740 this will be zero; in this case the field's size is given by its type.
21741
21742 @item type
21743 The type of the field. This is usually an instance of @code{Type},
21744 but it can be @code{None} in some situations.
21745 @end table
21746 @end defun
21747
21748 @defun Type.array (@var{n1} @r{[}, @var{n2}@r{]})
21749 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} object which represents an array of this
21750 type. If one argument is given, it is the inclusive upper bound of
21751 the array; in this case the lower bound is zero. If two arguments are
21752 given, the first argument is the lower bound of the array, and the
21753 second argument is the upper bound of the array. An array's length
21754 must not be negative, but the bounds can be.
21755 @end defun
21756
21757 @defun Type.const ()
21758 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} object which represents a
21759 @code{const}-qualified variant of this type.
21760 @end defun
21761
21762 @defun Type.volatile ()
21763 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} object which represents a
21764 @code{volatile}-qualified variant of this type.
21765 @end defun
21766
21767 @defun Type.unqualified ()
21768 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} object which represents an unqualified
21769 variant of this type. That is, the result is neither @code{const} nor
21770 @code{volatile}.
21771 @end defun
21772
21773 @defun Type.range ()
21774 Return a Python @code{Tuple} object that contains two elements: the
21775 low bound of the argument type and the high bound of that type. If
21776 the type does not have a range, @value{GDBN} will raise a
21777 @code{gdb.error} exception (@pxref{Exception Handling}).
21778 @end defun
21779
21780 @defun Type.reference ()
21781 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} object which represents a reference to this
21782 type.
21783 @end defun
21784
21785 @defun Type.pointer ()
21786 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} object which represents a pointer to this
21787 type.
21788 @end defun
21789
21790 @defun Type.strip_typedefs ()
21791 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} that represents the real type,
21792 after removing all layers of typedefs.
21793 @end defun
21794
21795 @defun Type.target ()
21796 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} object which represents the target type
21797 of this type.
21798
21799 For a pointer type, the target type is the type of the pointed-to
21800 object. For an array type (meaning C-like arrays), the target type is
21801 the type of the elements of the array. For a function or method type,
21802 the target type is the type of the return value. For a complex type,
21803 the target type is the type of the elements. For a typedef, the
21804 target type is the aliased type.
21805
21806 If the type does not have a target, this method will throw an
21807 exception.
21808 @end defun
21809
21810 @defun Type.template_argument (n @r{[}, block@r{]})
21811 If this @code{gdb.Type} is an instantiation of a template, this will
21812 return a new @code{gdb.Type} which represents the type of the
21813 @var{n}th template argument.
21814
21815 If this @code{gdb.Type} is not a template type, this will throw an
21816 exception. Ordinarily, only C@t{++} code will have template types.
21817
21818 If @var{block} is given, then @var{name} is looked up in that scope.
21819 Otherwise, it is searched for globally.
21820 @end defun
21821 @end table
21822
21823
21824 Each type has a code, which indicates what category this type falls
21825 into. The available type categories are represented by constants
21826 defined in the @code{gdb} module:
21827
21828 @table @code
21829 @findex TYPE_CODE_PTR
21830 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_PTR
21831 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_PTR
21832 The type is a pointer.
21833
21834 @findex TYPE_CODE_ARRAY
21835 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_ARRAY
21836 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_ARRAY
21837 The type is an array.
21838
21839 @findex TYPE_CODE_STRUCT
21840 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_STRUCT
21841 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_STRUCT
21842 The type is a structure.
21843
21844 @findex TYPE_CODE_UNION
21845 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_UNION
21846 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_UNION
21847 The type is a union.
21848
21849 @findex TYPE_CODE_ENUM
21850 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_ENUM
21851 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_ENUM
21852 The type is an enum.
21853
21854 @findex TYPE_CODE_FLAGS
21855 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_FLAGS
21856 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_FLAGS
21857 A bit flags type, used for things such as status registers.
21858
21859 @findex TYPE_CODE_FUNC
21860 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_FUNC
21861 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_FUNC
21862 The type is a function.
21863
21864 @findex TYPE_CODE_INT
21865 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_INT
21866 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_INT
21867 The type is an integer type.
21868
21869 @findex TYPE_CODE_FLT
21870 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_FLT
21871 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_FLT
21872 A floating point type.
21873
21874 @findex TYPE_CODE_VOID
21875 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_VOID
21876 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_VOID
21877 The special type @code{void}.
21878
21879 @findex TYPE_CODE_SET
21880 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_SET
21881 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_SET
21882 A Pascal set type.
21883
21884 @findex TYPE_CODE_RANGE
21885 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_RANGE
21886 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_RANGE
21887 A range type, that is, an integer type with bounds.
21888
21889 @findex TYPE_CODE_STRING
21890 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_STRING
21891 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_STRING
21892 A string type. Note that this is only used for certain languages with
21893 language-defined string types; C strings are not represented this way.
21894
21895 @findex TYPE_CODE_BITSTRING
21896 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_BITSTRING
21897 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_BITSTRING
21898 A string of bits.
21899
21900 @findex TYPE_CODE_ERROR
21901 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_ERROR
21902 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_ERROR
21903 An unknown or erroneous type.
21904
21905 @findex TYPE_CODE_METHOD
21906 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_METHOD
21907 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_METHOD
21908 A method type, as found in C@t{++} or Java.
21909
21910 @findex TYPE_CODE_METHODPTR
21911 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_METHODPTR
21912 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_METHODPTR
21913 A pointer-to-member-function.
21914
21915 @findex TYPE_CODE_MEMBERPTR
21916 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_MEMBERPTR
21917 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_MEMBERPTR
21918 A pointer-to-member.
21919
21920 @findex TYPE_CODE_REF
21921 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_REF
21922 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_REF
21923 A reference type.
21924
21925 @findex TYPE_CODE_CHAR
21926 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_CHAR
21927 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_CHAR
21928 A character type.
21929
21930 @findex TYPE_CODE_BOOL
21931 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_BOOL
21932 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_BOOL
21933 A boolean type.
21934
21935 @findex TYPE_CODE_COMPLEX
21936 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_COMPLEX
21937 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_COMPLEX
21938 A complex float type.
21939
21940 @findex TYPE_CODE_TYPEDEF
21941 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_TYPEDEF
21942 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_TYPEDEF
21943 A typedef to some other type.
21944
21945 @findex TYPE_CODE_NAMESPACE
21946 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_NAMESPACE
21947 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_NAMESPACE
21948 A C@t{++} namespace.
21949
21950 @findex TYPE_CODE_DECFLOAT
21951 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_DECFLOAT
21952 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_DECFLOAT
21953 A decimal floating point type.
21954
21955 @findex TYPE_CODE_INTERNAL_FUNCTION
21956 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_INTERNAL_FUNCTION
21957 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_INTERNAL_FUNCTION
21958 A function internal to @value{GDBN}. This is the type used to represent
21959 convenience functions.
21960 @end table
21961
21962 Further support for types is provided in the @code{gdb.types}
21963 Python module (@pxref{gdb.types}).
21964
21965 @node Pretty Printing API
21966 @subsubsection Pretty Printing API
21967
21968 An example output is provided (@pxref{Pretty Printing}).
21969
21970 A pretty-printer is just an object that holds a value and implements a
21971 specific interface, defined here.
21972
21973 @defun pretty_printer.children (self)
21974 @value{GDBN} will call this method on a pretty-printer to compute the
21975 children of the pretty-printer's value.
21976
21977 This method must return an object conforming to the Python iterator
21978 protocol. Each item returned by the iterator must be a tuple holding
21979 two elements. The first element is the ``name'' of the child; the
21980 second element is the child's value. The value can be any Python
21981 object which is convertible to a @value{GDBN} value.
21982
21983 This method is optional. If it does not exist, @value{GDBN} will act
21984 as though the value has no children.
21985 @end defun
21986
21987 @defun pretty_printer.display_hint (self)
21988 The CLI may call this method and use its result to change the
21989 formatting of a value. The result will also be supplied to an MI
21990 consumer as a @samp{displayhint} attribute of the variable being
21991 printed.
21992
21993 This method is optional. If it does exist, this method must return a
21994 string.
21995
21996 Some display hints are predefined by @value{GDBN}:
21997
21998 @table @samp
21999 @item array
22000 Indicate that the object being printed is ``array-like''. The CLI
22001 uses this to respect parameters such as @code{set print elements} and
22002 @code{set print array}.
22003
22004 @item map
22005 Indicate that the object being printed is ``map-like'', and that the
22006 children of this value can be assumed to alternate between keys and
22007 values.
22008
22009 @item string
22010 Indicate that the object being printed is ``string-like''. If the
22011 printer's @code{to_string} method returns a Python string of some
22012 kind, then @value{GDBN} will call its internal language-specific
22013 string-printing function to format the string. For the CLI this means
22014 adding quotation marks, possibly escaping some characters, respecting
22015 @code{set print elements}, and the like.
22016 @end table
22017 @end defun
22018
22019 @defun pretty_printer.to_string (self)
22020 @value{GDBN} will call this method to display the string
22021 representation of the value passed to the object's constructor.
22022
22023 When printing from the CLI, if the @code{to_string} method exists,
22024 then @value{GDBN} will prepend its result to the values returned by
22025 @code{children}. Exactly how this formatting is done is dependent on
22026 the display hint, and may change as more hints are added. Also,
22027 depending on the print settings (@pxref{Print Settings}), the CLI may
22028 print just the result of @code{to_string} in a stack trace, omitting
22029 the result of @code{children}.
22030
22031 If this method returns a string, it is printed verbatim.
22032
22033 Otherwise, if this method returns an instance of @code{gdb.Value},
22034 then @value{GDBN} prints this value. This may result in a call to
22035 another pretty-printer.
22036
22037 If instead the method returns a Python value which is convertible to a
22038 @code{gdb.Value}, then @value{GDBN} performs the conversion and prints
22039 the resulting value. Again, this may result in a call to another
22040 pretty-printer. Python scalars (integers, floats, and booleans) and
22041 strings are convertible to @code{gdb.Value}; other types are not.
22042
22043 Finally, if this method returns @code{None} then no further operations
22044 are peformed in this method and nothing is printed.
22045
22046 If the result is not one of these types, an exception is raised.
22047 @end defun
22048
22049 @value{GDBN} provides a function which can be used to look up the
22050 default pretty-printer for a @code{gdb.Value}:
22051
22052 @findex gdb.default_visualizer
22053 @defun gdb.default_visualizer (value)
22054 This function takes a @code{gdb.Value} object as an argument. If a
22055 pretty-printer for this value exists, then it is returned. If no such
22056 printer exists, then this returns @code{None}.
22057 @end defun
22058
22059 @node Selecting Pretty-Printers
22060 @subsubsection Selecting Pretty-Printers
22061
22062 The Python list @code{gdb.pretty_printers} contains an array of
22063 functions or callable objects that have been registered via addition
22064 as a pretty-printer. Printers in this list are called @code{global}
22065 printers, they're available when debugging all inferiors.
22066 Each @code{gdb.Progspace} contains a @code{pretty_printers} attribute.
22067 Each @code{gdb.Objfile} also contains a @code{pretty_printers}
22068 attribute.
22069
22070 Each function on these lists is passed a single @code{gdb.Value}
22071 argument and should return a pretty-printer object conforming to the
22072 interface definition above (@pxref{Pretty Printing API}). If a function
22073 cannot create a pretty-printer for the value, it should return
22074 @code{None}.
22075
22076 @value{GDBN} first checks the @code{pretty_printers} attribute of each
22077 @code{gdb.Objfile} in the current program space and iteratively calls
22078 each enabled lookup routine in the list for that @code{gdb.Objfile}
22079 until it receives a pretty-printer object.
22080 If no pretty-printer is found in the objfile lists, @value{GDBN} then
22081 searches the pretty-printer list of the current program space,
22082 calling each enabled function until an object is returned.
22083 After these lists have been exhausted, it tries the global
22084 @code{gdb.pretty_printers} list, again calling each enabled function until an
22085 object is returned.
22086
22087 The order in which the objfiles are searched is not specified. For a
22088 given list, functions are always invoked from the head of the list,
22089 and iterated over sequentially until the end of the list, or a printer
22090 object is returned.
22091
22092 For various reasons a pretty-printer may not work.
22093 For example, the underlying data structure may have changed and
22094 the pretty-printer is out of date.
22095
22096 The consequences of a broken pretty-printer are severe enough that
22097 @value{GDBN} provides support for enabling and disabling individual
22098 printers. For example, if @code{print frame-arguments} is on,
22099 a backtrace can become highly illegible if any argument is printed
22100 with a broken printer.
22101
22102 Pretty-printers are enabled and disabled by attaching an @code{enabled}
22103 attribute to the registered function or callable object. If this attribute
22104 is present and its value is @code{False}, the printer is disabled, otherwise
22105 the printer is enabled.
22106
22107 @node Writing a Pretty-Printer
22108 @subsubsection Writing a Pretty-Printer
22109 @cindex writing a pretty-printer
22110
22111 A pretty-printer consists of two parts: a lookup function to detect
22112 if the type is supported, and the printer itself.
22113
22114 Here is an example showing how a @code{std::string} printer might be
22115 written. @xref{Pretty Printing API}, for details on the API this class
22116 must provide.
22117
22118 @smallexample
22119 class StdStringPrinter(object):
22120 "Print a std::string"
22121
22122 def __init__(self, val):
22123 self.val = val
22124
22125 def to_string(self):
22126 return self.val['_M_dataplus']['_M_p']
22127
22128 def display_hint(self):
22129 return 'string'
22130 @end smallexample
22131
22132 And here is an example showing how a lookup function for the printer
22133 example above might be written.
22134
22135 @smallexample
22136 def str_lookup_function(val):
22137 lookup_tag = val.type.tag
22138 if lookup_tag == None:
22139 return None
22140 regex = re.compile("^std::basic_string<char,.*>$")
22141 if regex.match(lookup_tag):
22142 return StdStringPrinter(val)
22143 return None
22144 @end smallexample
22145
22146 The example lookup function extracts the value's type, and attempts to
22147 match it to a type that it can pretty-print. If it is a type the
22148 printer can pretty-print, it will return a printer object. If not, it
22149 returns @code{None}.
22150
22151 We recommend that you put your core pretty-printers into a Python
22152 package. If your pretty-printers are for use with a library, we
22153 further recommend embedding a version number into the package name.
22154 This practice will enable @value{GDBN} to load multiple versions of
22155 your pretty-printers at the same time, because they will have
22156 different names.
22157
22158 You should write auto-loaded code (@pxref{Auto-loading}) such that it
22159 can be evaluated multiple times without changing its meaning. An
22160 ideal auto-load file will consist solely of @code{import}s of your
22161 printer modules, followed by a call to a register pretty-printers with
22162 the current objfile.
22163
22164 Taken as a whole, this approach will scale nicely to multiple
22165 inferiors, each potentially using a different library version.
22166 Embedding a version number in the Python package name will ensure that
22167 @value{GDBN} is able to load both sets of printers simultaneously.
22168 Then, because the search for pretty-printers is done by objfile, and
22169 because your auto-loaded code took care to register your library's
22170 printers with a specific objfile, @value{GDBN} will find the correct
22171 printers for the specific version of the library used by each
22172 inferior.
22173
22174 To continue the @code{std::string} example (@pxref{Pretty Printing API}),
22175 this code might appear in @code{gdb.libstdcxx.v6}:
22176
22177 @smallexample
22178 def register_printers(objfile):
22179 objfile.pretty_printers.add(str_lookup_function)
22180 @end smallexample
22181
22182 @noindent
22183 And then the corresponding contents of the auto-load file would be:
22184
22185 @smallexample
22186 import gdb.libstdcxx.v6
22187 gdb.libstdcxx.v6.register_printers(gdb.current_objfile())
22188 @end smallexample
22189
22190 The previous example illustrates a basic pretty-printer.
22191 There are a few things that can be improved on.
22192 The printer doesn't have a name, making it hard to identify in a
22193 list of installed printers. The lookup function has a name, but
22194 lookup functions can have arbitrary, even identical, names.
22195
22196 Second, the printer only handles one type, whereas a library typically has
22197 several types. One could install a lookup function for each desired type
22198 in the library, but one could also have a single lookup function recognize
22199 several types. The latter is the conventional way this is handled.
22200 If a pretty-printer can handle multiple data types, then its
22201 @dfn{subprinters} are the printers for the individual data types.
22202
22203 The @code{gdb.printing} module provides a formal way of solving these
22204 problems (@pxref{gdb.printing}).
22205 Here is another example that handles multiple types.
22206
22207 These are the types we are going to pretty-print:
22208
22209 @smallexample
22210 struct foo @{ int a, b; @};
22211 struct bar @{ struct foo x, y; @};
22212 @end smallexample
22213
22214 Here are the printers:
22215
22216 @smallexample
22217 class fooPrinter:
22218 """Print a foo object."""
22219
22220 def __init__(self, val):
22221 self.val = val
22222
22223 def to_string(self):
22224 return ("a=<" + str(self.val["a"]) +
22225 "> b=<" + str(self.val["b"]) + ">")
22226
22227 class barPrinter:
22228 """Print a bar object."""
22229
22230 def __init__(self, val):
22231 self.val = val
22232
22233 def to_string(self):
22234 return ("x=<" + str(self.val["x"]) +
22235 "> y=<" + str(self.val["y"]) + ">")
22236 @end smallexample
22237
22238 This example doesn't need a lookup function, that is handled by the
22239 @code{gdb.printing} module. Instead a function is provided to build up
22240 the object that handles the lookup.
22241
22242 @smallexample
22243 import gdb.printing
22244
22245 def build_pretty_printer():
22246 pp = gdb.printing.RegexpCollectionPrettyPrinter(
22247 "my_library")
22248 pp.add_printer('foo', '^foo$', fooPrinter)
22249 pp.add_printer('bar', '^bar$', barPrinter)
22250 return pp
22251 @end smallexample
22252
22253 And here is the autoload support:
22254
22255 @smallexample
22256 import gdb.printing
22257 import my_library
22258 gdb.printing.register_pretty_printer(
22259 gdb.current_objfile(),
22260 my_library.build_pretty_printer())
22261 @end smallexample
22262
22263 Finally, when this printer is loaded into @value{GDBN}, here is the
22264 corresponding output of @samp{info pretty-printer}:
22265
22266 @smallexample
22267 (gdb) info pretty-printer
22268 my_library.so:
22269 my_library
22270 foo
22271 bar
22272 @end smallexample
22273
22274 @node Inferiors In Python
22275 @subsubsection Inferiors In Python
22276 @cindex inferiors in Python
22277
22278 @findex gdb.Inferior
22279 Programs which are being run under @value{GDBN} are called inferiors
22280 (@pxref{Inferiors and Programs}). Python scripts can access
22281 information about and manipulate inferiors controlled by @value{GDBN}
22282 via objects of the @code{gdb.Inferior} class.
22283
22284 The following inferior-related functions are available in the @code{gdb}
22285 module:
22286
22287 @defun gdb.inferiors ()
22288 Return a tuple containing all inferior objects.
22289 @end defun
22290
22291 @defun gdb.selected_inferior ()
22292 Return an object representing the current inferior.
22293 @end defun
22294
22295 A @code{gdb.Inferior} object has the following attributes:
22296
22297 @table @code
22298 @defvar Inferior.num
22299 ID of inferior, as assigned by GDB.
22300 @end defvar
22301
22302 @defvar Inferior.pid
22303 Process ID of the inferior, as assigned by the underlying operating
22304 system.
22305 @end defvar
22306
22307 @defvar Inferior.was_attached
22308 Boolean signaling whether the inferior was created using `attach', or
22309 started by @value{GDBN} itself.
22310 @end defvar
22311 @end table
22312
22313 A @code{gdb.Inferior} object has the following methods:
22314
22315 @table @code
22316 @defun Inferior.is_valid ()
22317 Returns @code{True} if the @code{gdb.Inferior} object is valid,
22318 @code{False} if not. A @code{gdb.Inferior} object will become invalid
22319 if the inferior no longer exists within @value{GDBN}. All other
22320 @code{gdb.Inferior} methods will throw an exception if it is invalid
22321 at the time the method is called.
22322 @end defun
22323
22324 @defun Inferior.threads ()
22325 This method returns a tuple holding all the threads which are valid
22326 when it is called. If there are no valid threads, the method will
22327 return an empty tuple.
22328 @end defun
22329
22330 @findex gdb.read_memory
22331 @defun Inferior.read_memory (address, length)
22332 Read @var{length} bytes of memory from the inferior, starting at
22333 @var{address}. Returns a buffer object, which behaves much like an array
22334 or a string. It can be modified and given to the @code{gdb.write_memory}
22335 function.
22336 @end defun
22337
22338 @findex gdb.write_memory
22339 @defun Inferior.write_memory (address, buffer @r{[}, length@r{]})
22340 Write the contents of @var{buffer} to the inferior, starting at
22341 @var{address}. The @var{buffer} parameter must be a Python object
22342 which supports the buffer protocol, i.e., a string, an array or the
22343 object returned from @code{gdb.read_memory}. If given, @var{length}
22344 determines the number of bytes from @var{buffer} to be written.
22345 @end defun
22346
22347 @findex gdb.search_memory
22348 @defun Inferior.search_memory (address, length, pattern)
22349 Search a region of the inferior memory starting at @var{address} with
22350 the given @var{length} using the search pattern supplied in
22351 @var{pattern}. The @var{pattern} parameter must be a Python object
22352 which supports the buffer protocol, i.e., a string, an array or the
22353 object returned from @code{gdb.read_memory}. Returns a Python @code{Long}
22354 containing the address where the pattern was found, or @code{None} if
22355 the pattern could not be found.
22356 @end defun
22357 @end table
22358
22359 @node Events In Python
22360 @subsubsection Events In Python
22361 @cindex inferior events in Python
22362
22363 @value{GDBN} provides a general event facility so that Python code can be
22364 notified of various state changes, particularly changes that occur in
22365 the inferior.
22366
22367 An @dfn{event} is just an object that describes some state change. The
22368 type of the object and its attributes will vary depending on the details
22369 of the change. All the existing events are described below.
22370
22371 In order to be notified of an event, you must register an event handler
22372 with an @dfn{event registry}. An event registry is an object in the
22373 @code{gdb.events} module which dispatches particular events. A registry
22374 provides methods to register and unregister event handlers:
22375
22376 @table @code
22377 @defun EventRegistry.connect (object)
22378 Add the given callable @var{object} to the registry. This object will be
22379 called when an event corresponding to this registry occurs.
22380 @end defun
22381
22382 @defun EventRegistry.disconnect (object)
22383 Remove the given @var{object} from the registry. Once removed, the object
22384 will no longer receive notifications of events.
22385 @end defun
22386 @end table
22387
22388 Here is an example:
22389
22390 @smallexample
22391 def exit_handler (event):
22392 print "event type: exit"
22393 print "exit code: %d" % (event.exit_code)
22394
22395 gdb.events.exited.connect (exit_handler)
22396 @end smallexample
22397
22398 In the above example we connect our handler @code{exit_handler} to the
22399 registry @code{events.exited}. Once connected, @code{exit_handler} gets
22400 called when the inferior exits. The argument @dfn{event} in this example is
22401 of type @code{gdb.ExitedEvent}. As you can see in the example the
22402 @code{ExitedEvent} object has an attribute which indicates the exit code of
22403 the inferior.
22404
22405 The following is a listing of the event registries that are available and
22406 details of the events they emit:
22407
22408 @table @code
22409
22410 @item events.cont
22411 Emits @code{gdb.ThreadEvent}.
22412
22413 Some events can be thread specific when @value{GDBN} is running in non-stop
22414 mode. When represented in Python, these events all extend
22415 @code{gdb.ThreadEvent}. Note, this event is not emitted directly; instead,
22416 events which are emitted by this or other modules might extend this event.
22417 Examples of these events are @code{gdb.BreakpointEvent} and
22418 @code{gdb.ContinueEvent}.
22419
22420 @table @code
22421 @defvar ThreadEvent.inferior_thread
22422 In non-stop mode this attribute will be set to the specific thread which was
22423 involved in the emitted event. Otherwise, it will be set to @code{None}.
22424 @end defvar
22425 @end table
22426
22427 Emits @code{gdb.ContinueEvent} which extends @code{gdb.ThreadEvent}.
22428
22429 This event indicates that the inferior has been continued after a stop. For
22430 inherited attribute refer to @code{gdb.ThreadEvent} above.
22431
22432 @item events.exited
22433 Emits @code{events.ExitedEvent} which indicates that the inferior has exited.
22434 @code{events.ExitedEvent} has two attributes:
22435 @table @code
22436 @defvar ExitedEvent.exit_code
22437 An integer representing the exit code, if available, which the inferior
22438 has returned. (The exit code could be unavailable if, for example,
22439 @value{GDBN} detaches from the inferior.) If the exit code is unavailable,
22440 the attribute does not exist.
22441 @end defvar
22442 @defvar ExitedEvent inferior
22443 A reference to the inferior which triggered the @code{exited} event.
22444 @end defvar
22445 @end table
22446
22447 @item events.stop
22448 Emits @code{gdb.StopEvent} which extends @code{gdb.ThreadEvent}.
22449
22450 Indicates that the inferior has stopped. All events emitted by this registry
22451 extend StopEvent. As a child of @code{gdb.ThreadEvent}, @code{gdb.StopEvent}
22452 will indicate the stopped thread when @value{GDBN} is running in non-stop
22453 mode. Refer to @code{gdb.ThreadEvent} above for more details.
22454
22455 Emits @code{gdb.SignalEvent} which extends @code{gdb.StopEvent}.
22456
22457 This event indicates that the inferior or one of its threads has received as
22458 signal. @code{gdb.SignalEvent} has the following attributes:
22459
22460 @table @code
22461 @defvar SignalEvent.stop_signal
22462 A string representing the signal received by the inferior. A list of possible
22463 signal values can be obtained by running the command @code{info signals} in
22464 the @value{GDBN} command prompt.
22465 @end defvar
22466 @end table
22467
22468 Also emits @code{gdb.BreakpointEvent} which extends @code{gdb.StopEvent}.
22469
22470 @code{gdb.BreakpointEvent} event indicates that one or more breakpoints have
22471 been hit, and has the following attributes:
22472
22473 @table @code
22474 @defvar BreakpointEvent.breakpoints
22475 A sequence containing references to all the breakpoints (type
22476 @code{gdb.Breakpoint}) that were hit.
22477 @xref{Breakpoints In Python}, for details of the @code{gdb.Breakpoint} object.
22478 @end defvar
22479 @defvar BreakpointEvent.breakpoint
22480 A reference to the first breakpoint that was hit.
22481 This function is maintained for backward compatibility and is now deprecated
22482 in favor of the @code{gdb.BreakpointEvent.breakpoints} attribute.
22483 @end defvar
22484 @end table
22485
22486 @item events.new_objfile
22487 Emits @code{gdb.NewObjFileEvent} which indicates that a new object file has
22488 been loaded by @value{GDBN}. @code{gdb.NewObjFileEvent} has one attribute:
22489
22490 @table @code
22491 @defvar NewObjFileEvent.new_objfile
22492 A reference to the object file (@code{gdb.Objfile}) which has been loaded.
22493 @xref{Objfiles In Python}, for details of the @code{gdb.Objfile} object.
22494 @end defvar
22495 @end table
22496
22497 @end table
22498
22499 @node Threads In Python
22500 @subsubsection Threads In Python
22501 @cindex threads in python
22502
22503 @findex gdb.InferiorThread
22504 Python scripts can access information about, and manipulate inferior threads
22505 controlled by @value{GDBN}, via objects of the @code{gdb.InferiorThread} class.
22506
22507 The following thread-related functions are available in the @code{gdb}
22508 module:
22509
22510 @findex gdb.selected_thread
22511 @defun gdb.selected_thread ()
22512 This function returns the thread object for the selected thread. If there
22513 is no selected thread, this will return @code{None}.
22514 @end defun
22515
22516 A @code{gdb.InferiorThread} object has the following attributes:
22517
22518 @table @code
22519 @defvar InferiorThread.name
22520 The name of the thread. If the user specified a name using
22521 @code{thread name}, then this returns that name. Otherwise, if an
22522 OS-supplied name is available, then it is returned. Otherwise, this
22523 returns @code{None}.
22524
22525 This attribute can be assigned to. The new value must be a string
22526 object, which sets the new name, or @code{None}, which removes any
22527 user-specified thread name.
22528 @end defvar
22529
22530 @defvar InferiorThread.num
22531 ID of the thread, as assigned by GDB.
22532 @end defvar
22533
22534 @defvar InferiorThread.ptid
22535 ID of the thread, as assigned by the operating system. This attribute is a
22536 tuple containing three integers. The first is the Process ID (PID); the second
22537 is the Lightweight Process ID (LWPID), and the third is the Thread ID (TID).
22538 Either the LWPID or TID may be 0, which indicates that the operating system
22539 does not use that identifier.
22540 @end defvar
22541 @end table
22542
22543 A @code{gdb.InferiorThread} object has the following methods:
22544
22545 @table @code
22546 @defun InferiorThread.is_valid ()
22547 Returns @code{True} if the @code{gdb.InferiorThread} object is valid,
22548 @code{False} if not. A @code{gdb.InferiorThread} object will become
22549 invalid if the thread exits, or the inferior that the thread belongs
22550 is deleted. All other @code{gdb.InferiorThread} methods will throw an
22551 exception if it is invalid at the time the method is called.
22552 @end defun
22553
22554 @defun InferiorThread.switch ()
22555 This changes @value{GDBN}'s currently selected thread to the one represented
22556 by this object.
22557 @end defun
22558
22559 @defun InferiorThread.is_stopped ()
22560 Return a Boolean indicating whether the thread is stopped.
22561 @end defun
22562
22563 @defun InferiorThread.is_running ()
22564 Return a Boolean indicating whether the thread is running.
22565 @end defun
22566
22567 @defun InferiorThread.is_exited ()
22568 Return a Boolean indicating whether the thread is exited.
22569 @end defun
22570 @end table
22571
22572 @node Commands In Python
22573 @subsubsection Commands In Python
22574
22575 @cindex commands in python
22576 @cindex python commands
22577 You can implement new @value{GDBN} CLI commands in Python. A CLI
22578 command is implemented using an instance of the @code{gdb.Command}
22579 class, most commonly using a subclass.
22580
22581 @defun Command.__init__ (name, @var{command_class} @r{[}, var{completer_class} @r{[}, var{prefix}@r{]]})
22582 The object initializer for @code{Command} registers the new command
22583 with @value{GDBN}. This initializer is normally invoked from the
22584 subclass' own @code{__init__} method.
22585
22586 @var{name} is the name of the command. If @var{name} consists of
22587 multiple words, then the initial words are looked for as prefix
22588 commands. In this case, if one of the prefix commands does not exist,
22589 an exception is raised.
22590
22591 There is no support for multi-line commands.
22592
22593 @var{command_class} should be one of the @samp{COMMAND_} constants
22594 defined below. This argument tells @value{GDBN} how to categorize the
22595 new command in the help system.
22596
22597 @var{completer_class} is an optional argument. If given, it should be
22598 one of the @samp{COMPLETE_} constants defined below. This argument
22599 tells @value{GDBN} how to perform completion for this command. If not
22600 given, @value{GDBN} will attempt to complete using the object's
22601 @code{complete} method (see below); if no such method is found, an
22602 error will occur when completion is attempted.
22603
22604 @var{prefix} is an optional argument. If @code{True}, then the new
22605 command is a prefix command; sub-commands of this command may be
22606 registered.
22607
22608 The help text for the new command is taken from the Python
22609 documentation string for the command's class, if there is one. If no
22610 documentation string is provided, the default value ``This command is
22611 not documented.'' is used.
22612 @end defun
22613
22614 @cindex don't repeat Python command
22615 @defun Command.dont_repeat ()
22616 By default, a @value{GDBN} command is repeated when the user enters a
22617 blank line at the command prompt. A command can suppress this
22618 behavior by invoking the @code{dont_repeat} method. This is similar
22619 to the user command @code{dont-repeat}, see @ref{Define, dont-repeat}.
22620 @end defun
22621
22622 @defun Command.invoke (argument, from_tty)
22623 This method is called by @value{GDBN} when this command is invoked.
22624
22625 @var{argument} is a string. It is the argument to the command, after
22626 leading and trailing whitespace has been stripped.
22627
22628 @var{from_tty} is a boolean argument. When true, this means that the
22629 command was entered by the user at the terminal; when false it means
22630 that the command came from elsewhere.
22631
22632 If this method throws an exception, it is turned into a @value{GDBN}
22633 @code{error} call. Otherwise, the return value is ignored.
22634
22635 @findex gdb.string_to_argv
22636 To break @var{argument} up into an argv-like string use
22637 @code{gdb.string_to_argv}. This function behaves identically to
22638 @value{GDBN}'s internal argument lexer @code{buildargv}.
22639 It is recommended to use this for consistency.
22640 Arguments are separated by spaces and may be quoted.
22641 Example:
22642
22643 @smallexample
22644 print gdb.string_to_argv ("1 2\ \\\"3 '4 \"5' \"6 '7\"")
22645 ['1', '2 "3', '4 "5', "6 '7"]
22646 @end smallexample
22647
22648 @end defun
22649
22650 @cindex completion of Python commands
22651 @defun Command.complete (text, word)
22652 This method is called by @value{GDBN} when the user attempts
22653 completion on this command. All forms of completion are handled by
22654 this method, that is, the @key{TAB} and @key{M-?} key bindings
22655 (@pxref{Completion}), and the @code{complete} command (@pxref{Help,
22656 complete}).
22657
22658 The arguments @var{text} and @var{word} are both strings. @var{text}
22659 holds the complete command line up to the cursor's location.
22660 @var{word} holds the last word of the command line; this is computed
22661 using a word-breaking heuristic.
22662
22663 The @code{complete} method can return several values:
22664 @itemize @bullet
22665 @item
22666 If the return value is a sequence, the contents of the sequence are
22667 used as the completions. It is up to @code{complete} to ensure that the
22668 contents actually do complete the word. A zero-length sequence is
22669 allowed, it means that there were no completions available. Only
22670 string elements of the sequence are used; other elements in the
22671 sequence are ignored.
22672
22673 @item
22674 If the return value is one of the @samp{COMPLETE_} constants defined
22675 below, then the corresponding @value{GDBN}-internal completion
22676 function is invoked, and its result is used.
22677
22678 @item
22679 All other results are treated as though there were no available
22680 completions.
22681 @end itemize
22682 @end defun
22683
22684 When a new command is registered, it must be declared as a member of
22685 some general class of commands. This is used to classify top-level
22686 commands in the on-line help system; note that prefix commands are not
22687 listed under their own category but rather that of their top-level
22688 command. The available classifications are represented by constants
22689 defined in the @code{gdb} module:
22690
22691 @table @code
22692 @findex COMMAND_NONE
22693 @findex gdb.COMMAND_NONE
22694 @item gdb.COMMAND_NONE
22695 The command does not belong to any particular class. A command in
22696 this category will not be displayed in any of the help categories.
22697
22698 @findex COMMAND_RUNNING
22699 @findex gdb.COMMAND_RUNNING
22700 @item gdb.COMMAND_RUNNING
22701 The command is related to running the inferior. For example,
22702 @code{start}, @code{step}, and @code{continue} are in this category.
22703 Type @kbd{help running} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of
22704 commands in this category.
22705
22706 @findex COMMAND_DATA
22707 @findex gdb.COMMAND_DATA
22708 @item gdb.COMMAND_DATA
22709 The command is related to data or variables. For example,
22710 @code{call}, @code{find}, and @code{print} are in this category. Type
22711 @kbd{help data} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of commands
22712 in this category.
22713
22714 @findex COMMAND_STACK
22715 @findex gdb.COMMAND_STACK
22716 @item gdb.COMMAND_STACK
22717 The command has to do with manipulation of the stack. For example,
22718 @code{backtrace}, @code{frame}, and @code{return} are in this
22719 category. Type @kbd{help stack} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a
22720 list of commands in this category.
22721
22722 @findex COMMAND_FILES
22723 @findex gdb.COMMAND_FILES
22724 @item gdb.COMMAND_FILES
22725 This class is used for file-related commands. For example,
22726 @code{file}, @code{list} and @code{section} are in this category.
22727 Type @kbd{help files} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of
22728 commands in this category.
22729
22730 @findex COMMAND_SUPPORT
22731 @findex gdb.COMMAND_SUPPORT
22732 @item gdb.COMMAND_SUPPORT
22733 This should be used for ``support facilities'', generally meaning
22734 things that are useful to the user when interacting with @value{GDBN},
22735 but not related to the state of the inferior. For example,
22736 @code{help}, @code{make}, and @code{shell} are in this category. Type
22737 @kbd{help support} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of
22738 commands in this category.
22739
22740 @findex COMMAND_STATUS
22741 @findex gdb.COMMAND_STATUS
22742 @item gdb.COMMAND_STATUS
22743 The command is an @samp{info}-related command, that is, related to the
22744 state of @value{GDBN} itself. For example, @code{info}, @code{macro},
22745 and @code{show} are in this category. Type @kbd{help status} at the
22746 @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of commands in this category.
22747
22748 @findex COMMAND_BREAKPOINTS
22749 @findex gdb.COMMAND_BREAKPOINTS
22750 @item gdb.COMMAND_BREAKPOINTS
22751 The command has to do with breakpoints. For example, @code{break},
22752 @code{clear}, and @code{delete} are in this category. Type @kbd{help
22753 breakpoints} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of commands in
22754 this category.
22755
22756 @findex COMMAND_TRACEPOINTS
22757 @findex gdb.COMMAND_TRACEPOINTS
22758 @item gdb.COMMAND_TRACEPOINTS
22759 The command has to do with tracepoints. For example, @code{trace},
22760 @code{actions}, and @code{tfind} are in this category. Type
22761 @kbd{help tracepoints} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of
22762 commands in this category.
22763
22764 @findex COMMAND_OBSCURE
22765 @findex gdb.COMMAND_OBSCURE
22766 @item gdb.COMMAND_OBSCURE
22767 The command is only used in unusual circumstances, or is not of
22768 general interest to users. For example, @code{checkpoint},
22769 @code{fork}, and @code{stop} are in this category. Type @kbd{help
22770 obscure} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of commands in this
22771 category.
22772
22773 @findex COMMAND_MAINTENANCE
22774 @findex gdb.COMMAND_MAINTENANCE
22775 @item gdb.COMMAND_MAINTENANCE
22776 The command is only useful to @value{GDBN} maintainers. The
22777 @code{maintenance} and @code{flushregs} commands are in this category.
22778 Type @kbd{help internals} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of
22779 commands in this category.
22780 @end table
22781
22782 A new command can use a predefined completion function, either by
22783 specifying it via an argument at initialization, or by returning it
22784 from the @code{complete} method. These predefined completion
22785 constants are all defined in the @code{gdb} module:
22786
22787 @table @code
22788 @findex COMPLETE_NONE
22789 @findex gdb.COMPLETE_NONE
22790 @item gdb.COMPLETE_NONE
22791 This constant means that no completion should be done.
22792
22793 @findex COMPLETE_FILENAME
22794 @findex gdb.COMPLETE_FILENAME
22795 @item gdb.COMPLETE_FILENAME
22796 This constant means that filename completion should be performed.
22797
22798 @findex COMPLETE_LOCATION
22799 @findex gdb.COMPLETE_LOCATION
22800 @item gdb.COMPLETE_LOCATION
22801 This constant means that location completion should be done.
22802 @xref{Specify Location}.
22803
22804 @findex COMPLETE_COMMAND
22805 @findex gdb.COMPLETE_COMMAND
22806 @item gdb.COMPLETE_COMMAND
22807 This constant means that completion should examine @value{GDBN}
22808 command names.
22809
22810 @findex COMPLETE_SYMBOL
22811 @findex gdb.COMPLETE_SYMBOL
22812 @item gdb.COMPLETE_SYMBOL
22813 This constant means that completion should be done using symbol names
22814 as the source.
22815 @end table
22816
22817 The following code snippet shows how a trivial CLI command can be
22818 implemented in Python:
22819
22820 @smallexample
22821 class HelloWorld (gdb.Command):
22822 """Greet the whole world."""
22823
22824 def __init__ (self):
22825 super (HelloWorld, self).__init__ ("hello-world", gdb.COMMAND_OBSCURE)
22826
22827 def invoke (self, arg, from_tty):
22828 print "Hello, World!"
22829
22830 HelloWorld ()
22831 @end smallexample
22832
22833 The last line instantiates the class, and is necessary to trigger the
22834 registration of the command with @value{GDBN}. Depending on how the
22835 Python code is read into @value{GDBN}, you may need to import the
22836 @code{gdb} module explicitly.
22837
22838 @node Parameters In Python
22839 @subsubsection Parameters In Python
22840
22841 @cindex parameters in python
22842 @cindex python parameters
22843 @tindex gdb.Parameter
22844 @tindex Parameter
22845 You can implement new @value{GDBN} parameters using Python. A new
22846 parameter is implemented as an instance of the @code{gdb.Parameter}
22847 class.
22848
22849 Parameters are exposed to the user via the @code{set} and
22850 @code{show} commands. @xref{Help}.
22851
22852 There are many parameters that already exist and can be set in
22853 @value{GDBN}. Two examples are: @code{set follow fork} and
22854 @code{set charset}. Setting these parameters influences certain
22855 behavior in @value{GDBN}. Similarly, you can define parameters that
22856 can be used to influence behavior in custom Python scripts and commands.
22857
22858 @defun Parameter.__init__ (name, @var{command-class}, @var{parameter-class} @r{[}, @var{enum-sequence}@r{]})
22859 The object initializer for @code{Parameter} registers the new
22860 parameter with @value{GDBN}. This initializer is normally invoked
22861 from the subclass' own @code{__init__} method.
22862
22863 @var{name} is the name of the new parameter. If @var{name} consists
22864 of multiple words, then the initial words are looked for as prefix
22865 parameters. An example of this can be illustrated with the
22866 @code{set print} set of parameters. If @var{name} is
22867 @code{print foo}, then @code{print} will be searched as the prefix
22868 parameter. In this case the parameter can subsequently be accessed in
22869 @value{GDBN} as @code{set print foo}.
22870
22871 If @var{name} consists of multiple words, and no prefix parameter group
22872 can be found, an exception is raised.
22873
22874 @var{command-class} should be one of the @samp{COMMAND_} constants
22875 (@pxref{Commands In Python}). This argument tells @value{GDBN} how to
22876 categorize the new parameter in the help system.
22877
22878 @var{parameter-class} should be one of the @samp{PARAM_} constants
22879 defined below. This argument tells @value{GDBN} the type of the new
22880 parameter; this information is used for input validation and
22881 completion.
22882
22883 If @var{parameter-class} is @code{PARAM_ENUM}, then
22884 @var{enum-sequence} must be a sequence of strings. These strings
22885 represent the possible values for the parameter.
22886
22887 If @var{parameter-class} is not @code{PARAM_ENUM}, then the presence
22888 of a fourth argument will cause an exception to be thrown.
22889
22890 The help text for the new parameter is taken from the Python
22891 documentation string for the parameter's class, if there is one. If
22892 there is no documentation string, a default value is used.
22893 @end defun
22894
22895 @defvar Parameter.set_doc
22896 If this attribute exists, and is a string, then its value is used as
22897 the help text for this parameter's @code{set} command. The value is
22898 examined when @code{Parameter.__init__} is invoked; subsequent changes
22899 have no effect.
22900 @end defvar
22901
22902 @defvar Parameter.show_doc
22903 If this attribute exists, and is a string, then its value is used as
22904 the help text for this parameter's @code{show} command. The value is
22905 examined when @code{Parameter.__init__} is invoked; subsequent changes
22906 have no effect.
22907 @end defvar
22908
22909 @defvar Parameter.value
22910 The @code{value} attribute holds the underlying value of the
22911 parameter. It can be read and assigned to just as any other
22912 attribute. @value{GDBN} does validation when assignments are made.
22913 @end defvar
22914
22915 There are two methods that should be implemented in any
22916 @code{Parameter} class. These are:
22917
22918 @defun Parameter.get_set_string (self)
22919 @value{GDBN} will call this method when a @var{parameter}'s value has
22920 been changed via the @code{set} API (for example, @kbd{set foo off}).
22921 The @code{value} attribute has already been populated with the new
22922 value and may be used in output. This method must return a string.
22923 @end defun
22924
22925 @defun Parameter.get_show_string (self, svalue)
22926 @value{GDBN} will call this method when a @var{parameter}'s
22927 @code{show} API has been invoked (for example, @kbd{show foo}). The
22928 argument @code{svalue} receives the string representation of the
22929 current value. This method must return a string.
22930 @end defun
22931
22932 When a new parameter is defined, its type must be specified. The
22933 available types are represented by constants defined in the @code{gdb}
22934 module:
22935
22936 @table @code
22937 @findex PARAM_BOOLEAN
22938 @findex gdb.PARAM_BOOLEAN
22939 @item gdb.PARAM_BOOLEAN
22940 The value is a plain boolean. The Python boolean values, @code{True}
22941 and @code{False} are the only valid values.
22942
22943 @findex PARAM_AUTO_BOOLEAN
22944 @findex gdb.PARAM_AUTO_BOOLEAN
22945 @item gdb.PARAM_AUTO_BOOLEAN
22946 The value has three possible states: true, false, and @samp{auto}. In
22947 Python, true and false are represented using boolean constants, and
22948 @samp{auto} is represented using @code{None}.
22949
22950 @findex PARAM_UINTEGER
22951 @findex gdb.PARAM_UINTEGER
22952 @item gdb.PARAM_UINTEGER
22953 The value is an unsigned integer. The value of 0 should be
22954 interpreted to mean ``unlimited''.
22955
22956 @findex PARAM_INTEGER
22957 @findex gdb.PARAM_INTEGER
22958 @item gdb.PARAM_INTEGER
22959 The value is a signed integer. The value of 0 should be interpreted
22960 to mean ``unlimited''.
22961
22962 @findex PARAM_STRING
22963 @findex gdb.PARAM_STRING
22964 @item gdb.PARAM_STRING
22965 The value is a string. When the user modifies the string, any escape
22966 sequences, such as @samp{\t}, @samp{\f}, and octal escapes, are
22967 translated into corresponding characters and encoded into the current
22968 host charset.
22969
22970 @findex PARAM_STRING_NOESCAPE
22971 @findex gdb.PARAM_STRING_NOESCAPE
22972 @item gdb.PARAM_STRING_NOESCAPE
22973 The value is a string. When the user modifies the string, escapes are
22974 passed through untranslated.
22975
22976 @findex PARAM_OPTIONAL_FILENAME
22977 @findex gdb.PARAM_OPTIONAL_FILENAME
22978 @item gdb.PARAM_OPTIONAL_FILENAME
22979 The value is a either a filename (a string), or @code{None}.
22980
22981 @findex PARAM_FILENAME
22982 @findex gdb.PARAM_FILENAME
22983 @item gdb.PARAM_FILENAME
22984 The value is a filename. This is just like
22985 @code{PARAM_STRING_NOESCAPE}, but uses file names for completion.
22986
22987 @findex PARAM_ZINTEGER
22988 @findex gdb.PARAM_ZINTEGER
22989 @item gdb.PARAM_ZINTEGER
22990 The value is an integer. This is like @code{PARAM_INTEGER}, except 0
22991 is interpreted as itself.
22992
22993 @findex PARAM_ENUM
22994 @findex gdb.PARAM_ENUM
22995 @item gdb.PARAM_ENUM
22996 The value is a string, which must be one of a collection string
22997 constants provided when the parameter is created.
22998 @end table
22999
23000 @node Functions In Python
23001 @subsubsection Writing new convenience functions
23002
23003 @cindex writing convenience functions
23004 @cindex convenience functions in python
23005 @cindex python convenience functions
23006 @tindex gdb.Function
23007 @tindex Function
23008 You can implement new convenience functions (@pxref{Convenience Vars})
23009 in Python. A convenience function is an instance of a subclass of the
23010 class @code{gdb.Function}.
23011
23012 @defun Function.__init__ (name)
23013 The initializer for @code{Function} registers the new function with
23014 @value{GDBN}. The argument @var{name} is the name of the function,
23015 a string. The function will be visible to the user as a convenience
23016 variable of type @code{internal function}, whose name is the same as
23017 the given @var{name}.
23018
23019 The documentation for the new function is taken from the documentation
23020 string for the new class.
23021 @end defun
23022
23023 @defun Function.invoke (@var{*args})
23024 When a convenience function is evaluated, its arguments are converted
23025 to instances of @code{gdb.Value}, and then the function's
23026 @code{invoke} method is called. Note that @value{GDBN} does not
23027 predetermine the arity of convenience functions. Instead, all
23028 available arguments are passed to @code{invoke}, following the
23029 standard Python calling convention. In particular, a convenience
23030 function can have default values for parameters without ill effect.
23031
23032 The return value of this method is used as its value in the enclosing
23033 expression. If an ordinary Python value is returned, it is converted
23034 to a @code{gdb.Value} following the usual rules.
23035 @end defun
23036
23037 The following code snippet shows how a trivial convenience function can
23038 be implemented in Python:
23039
23040 @smallexample
23041 class Greet (gdb.Function):
23042 """Return string to greet someone.
23043 Takes a name as argument."""
23044
23045 def __init__ (self):
23046 super (Greet, self).__init__ ("greet")
23047
23048 def invoke (self, name):
23049 return "Hello, %s!" % name.string ()
23050
23051 Greet ()
23052 @end smallexample
23053
23054 The last line instantiates the class, and is necessary to trigger the
23055 registration of the function with @value{GDBN}. Depending on how the
23056 Python code is read into @value{GDBN}, you may need to import the
23057 @code{gdb} module explicitly.
23058
23059 @node Progspaces In Python
23060 @subsubsection Program Spaces In Python
23061
23062 @cindex progspaces in python
23063 @tindex gdb.Progspace
23064 @tindex Progspace
23065 A program space, or @dfn{progspace}, represents a symbolic view
23066 of an address space.
23067 It consists of all of the objfiles of the program.
23068 @xref{Objfiles In Python}.
23069 @xref{Inferiors and Programs, program spaces}, for more details
23070 about program spaces.
23071
23072 The following progspace-related functions are available in the
23073 @code{gdb} module:
23074
23075 @findex gdb.current_progspace
23076 @defun gdb.current_progspace ()
23077 This function returns the program space of the currently selected inferior.
23078 @xref{Inferiors and Programs}.
23079 @end defun
23080
23081 @findex gdb.progspaces
23082 @defun gdb.progspaces ()
23083 Return a sequence of all the progspaces currently known to @value{GDBN}.
23084 @end defun
23085
23086 Each progspace is represented by an instance of the @code{gdb.Progspace}
23087 class.
23088
23089 @defvar Progspace.filename
23090 The file name of the progspace as a string.
23091 @end defvar
23092
23093 @defvar Progspace.pretty_printers
23094 The @code{pretty_printers} attribute is a list of functions. It is
23095 used to look up pretty-printers. A @code{Value} is passed to each
23096 function in order; if the function returns @code{None}, then the
23097 search continues. Otherwise, the return value should be an object
23098 which is used to format the value. @xref{Pretty Printing API}, for more
23099 information.
23100 @end defvar
23101
23102 @node Objfiles In Python
23103 @subsubsection Objfiles In Python
23104
23105 @cindex objfiles in python
23106 @tindex gdb.Objfile
23107 @tindex Objfile
23108 @value{GDBN} loads symbols for an inferior from various
23109 symbol-containing files (@pxref{Files}). These include the primary
23110 executable file, any shared libraries used by the inferior, and any
23111 separate debug info files (@pxref{Separate Debug Files}).
23112 @value{GDBN} calls these symbol-containing files @dfn{objfiles}.
23113
23114 The following objfile-related functions are available in the
23115 @code{gdb} module:
23116
23117 @findex gdb.current_objfile
23118 @defun gdb.current_objfile ()
23119 When auto-loading a Python script (@pxref{Auto-loading}), @value{GDBN}
23120 sets the ``current objfile'' to the corresponding objfile. This
23121 function returns the current objfile. If there is no current objfile,
23122 this function returns @code{None}.
23123 @end defun
23124
23125 @findex gdb.objfiles
23126 @defun gdb.objfiles ()
23127 Return a sequence of all the objfiles current known to @value{GDBN}.
23128 @xref{Objfiles In Python}.
23129 @end defun
23130
23131 Each objfile is represented by an instance of the @code{gdb.Objfile}
23132 class.
23133
23134 @defvar Objfile.filename
23135 The file name of the objfile as a string.
23136 @end defvar
23137
23138 @defvar Objfile.pretty_printers
23139 The @code{pretty_printers} attribute is a list of functions. It is
23140 used to look up pretty-printers. A @code{Value} is passed to each
23141 function in order; if the function returns @code{None}, then the
23142 search continues. Otherwise, the return value should be an object
23143 which is used to format the value. @xref{Pretty Printing API}, for more
23144 information.
23145 @end defvar
23146
23147 A @code{gdb.Objfile} object has the following methods:
23148
23149 @defun Objfile.is_valid ()
23150 Returns @code{True} if the @code{gdb.Objfile} object is valid,
23151 @code{False} if not. A @code{gdb.Objfile} object can become invalid
23152 if the object file it refers to is not loaded in @value{GDBN} any
23153 longer. All other @code{gdb.Objfile} methods will throw an exception
23154 if it is invalid at the time the method is called.
23155 @end defun
23156
23157 @node Frames In Python
23158 @subsubsection Accessing inferior stack frames from Python.
23159
23160 @cindex frames in python
23161 When the debugged program stops, @value{GDBN} is able to analyze its call
23162 stack (@pxref{Frames,,Stack frames}). The @code{gdb.Frame} class
23163 represents a frame in the stack. A @code{gdb.Frame} object is only valid
23164 while its corresponding frame exists in the inferior's stack. If you try
23165 to use an invalid frame object, @value{GDBN} will throw a @code{gdb.error}
23166 exception (@pxref{Exception Handling}).
23167
23168 Two @code{gdb.Frame} objects can be compared for equality with the @code{==}
23169 operator, like:
23170
23171 @smallexample
23172 (@value{GDBP}) python print gdb.newest_frame() == gdb.selected_frame ()
23173 True
23174 @end smallexample
23175
23176 The following frame-related functions are available in the @code{gdb} module:
23177
23178 @findex gdb.selected_frame
23179 @defun gdb.selected_frame ()
23180 Return the selected frame object. (@pxref{Selection,,Selecting a Frame}).
23181 @end defun
23182
23183 @findex gdb.newest_frame
23184 @defun gdb.newest_frame ()
23185 Return the newest frame object for the selected thread.
23186 @end defun
23187
23188 @defun gdb.frame_stop_reason_string (reason)
23189 Return a string explaining the reason why @value{GDBN} stopped unwinding
23190 frames, as expressed by the given @var{reason} code (an integer, see the
23191 @code{unwind_stop_reason} method further down in this section).
23192 @end defun
23193
23194 A @code{gdb.Frame} object has the following methods:
23195
23196 @table @code
23197 @defun Frame.is_valid ()
23198 Returns true if the @code{gdb.Frame} object is valid, false if not.
23199 A frame object can become invalid if the frame it refers to doesn't
23200 exist anymore in the inferior. All @code{gdb.Frame} methods will throw
23201 an exception if it is invalid at the time the method is called.
23202 @end defun
23203
23204 @defun Frame.name ()
23205 Returns the function name of the frame, or @code{None} if it can't be
23206 obtained.
23207 @end defun
23208
23209 @defun Frame.type ()
23210 Returns the type of the frame. The value can be one of:
23211 @table @code
23212 @item gdb.NORMAL_FRAME
23213 An ordinary stack frame.
23214
23215 @item gdb.DUMMY_FRAME
23216 A fake stack frame that was created by @value{GDBN} when performing an
23217 inferior function call.
23218
23219 @item gdb.INLINE_FRAME
23220 A frame representing an inlined function. The function was inlined
23221 into a @code{gdb.NORMAL_FRAME} that is older than this one.
23222
23223 @item gdb.TAILCALL_FRAME
23224 A frame representing a tail call. @xref{Tail Call Frames}.
23225
23226 @item gdb.SIGTRAMP_FRAME
23227 A signal trampoline frame. This is the frame created by the OS when
23228 it calls into a signal handler.
23229
23230 @item gdb.ARCH_FRAME
23231 A fake stack frame representing a cross-architecture call.
23232
23233 @item gdb.SENTINEL_FRAME
23234 This is like @code{gdb.NORMAL_FRAME}, but it is only used for the
23235 newest frame.
23236 @end table
23237 @end defun
23238
23239 @defun Frame.unwind_stop_reason ()
23240 Return an integer representing the reason why it's not possible to find
23241 more frames toward the outermost frame. Use
23242 @code{gdb.frame_stop_reason_string} to convert the value returned by this
23243 function to a string.
23244 @end defun
23245
23246 @defun Frame.pc ()
23247 Returns the frame's resume address.
23248 @end defun
23249
23250 @defun Frame.block ()
23251 Return the frame's code block. @xref{Blocks In Python}.
23252 @end defun
23253
23254 @defun Frame.function ()
23255 Return the symbol for the function corresponding to this frame.
23256 @xref{Symbols In Python}.
23257 @end defun
23258
23259 @defun Frame.older ()
23260 Return the frame that called this frame.
23261 @end defun
23262
23263 @defun Frame.newer ()
23264 Return the frame called by this frame.
23265 @end defun
23266
23267 @defun Frame.find_sal ()
23268 Return the frame's symtab and line object.
23269 @xref{Symbol Tables In Python}.
23270 @end defun
23271
23272 @defun Frame.read_var (variable @r{[}, block@r{]})
23273 Return the value of @var{variable} in this frame. If the optional
23274 argument @var{block} is provided, search for the variable from that
23275 block; otherwise start at the frame's current block (which is
23276 determined by the frame's current program counter). @var{variable}
23277 must be a string or a @code{gdb.Symbol} object. @var{block} must be a
23278 @code{gdb.Block} object.
23279 @end defun
23280
23281 @defun Frame.select ()
23282 Set this frame to be the selected frame. @xref{Stack, ,Examining the
23283 Stack}.
23284 @end defun
23285 @end table
23286
23287 @node Blocks In Python
23288 @subsubsection Accessing frame blocks from Python.
23289
23290 @cindex blocks in python
23291 @tindex gdb.Block
23292
23293 Within each frame, @value{GDBN} maintains information on each block
23294 stored in that frame. These blocks are organized hierarchically, and
23295 are represented individually in Python as a @code{gdb.Block}.
23296 Please see @ref{Frames In Python}, for a more in-depth discussion on
23297 frames. Furthermore, see @ref{Stack, ,Examining the Stack}, for more
23298 detailed technical information on @value{GDBN}'s book-keeping of the
23299 stack.
23300
23301 The following block-related functions are available in the @code{gdb}
23302 module:
23303
23304 @findex gdb.block_for_pc
23305 @defun gdb.block_for_pc (pc)
23306 Return the @code{gdb.Block} containing the given @var{pc} value. If the
23307 block cannot be found for the @var{pc} value specified, the function
23308 will return @code{None}.
23309 @end defun
23310
23311 A @code{gdb.Block} object has the following methods:
23312
23313 @table @code
23314 @defun Block.is_valid ()
23315 Returns @code{True} if the @code{gdb.Block} object is valid,
23316 @code{False} if not. A block object can become invalid if the block it
23317 refers to doesn't exist anymore in the inferior. All other
23318 @code{gdb.Block} methods will throw an exception if it is invalid at
23319 the time the method is called. This method is also made available to
23320 the Python iterator object that @code{gdb.Block} provides in an iteration
23321 context and via the Python @code{iter} built-in function.
23322 @end defun
23323 @end table
23324
23325 A @code{gdb.Block} object has the following attributes:
23326
23327 @table @code
23328 @defvar Block.start
23329 The start address of the block. This attribute is not writable.
23330 @end defvar
23331
23332 @defvar Block.end
23333 The end address of the block. This attribute is not writable.
23334 @end defvar
23335
23336 @defvar Block.function
23337 The name of the block represented as a @code{gdb.Symbol}. If the
23338 block is not named, then this attribute holds @code{None}. This
23339 attribute is not writable.
23340 @end defvar
23341
23342 @defvar Block.superblock
23343 The block containing this block. If this parent block does not exist,
23344 this attribute holds @code{None}. This attribute is not writable.
23345 @end defvar
23346 @end table
23347
23348 @node Symbols In Python
23349 @subsubsection Python representation of Symbols.
23350
23351 @cindex symbols in python
23352 @tindex gdb.Symbol
23353
23354 @value{GDBN} represents every variable, function and type as an
23355 entry in a symbol table. @xref{Symbols, ,Examining the Symbol Table}.
23356 Similarly, Python represents these symbols in @value{GDBN} with the
23357 @code{gdb.Symbol} object.
23358
23359 The following symbol-related functions are available in the @code{gdb}
23360 module:
23361
23362 @findex gdb.lookup_symbol
23363 @defun gdb.lookup_symbol (name @r{[}, block @r{[}, domain@r{]]})
23364 This function searches for a symbol by name. The search scope can be
23365 restricted to the parameters defined in the optional domain and block
23366 arguments.
23367
23368 @var{name} is the name of the symbol. It must be a string. The
23369 optional @var{block} argument restricts the search to symbols visible
23370 in that @var{block}. The @var{block} argument must be a
23371 @code{gdb.Block} object. If omitted, the block for the current frame
23372 is used. The optional @var{domain} argument restricts
23373 the search to the domain type. The @var{domain} argument must be a
23374 domain constant defined in the @code{gdb} module and described later
23375 in this chapter.
23376
23377 The result is a tuple of two elements.
23378 The first element is a @code{gdb.Symbol} object or @code{None} if the symbol
23379 is not found.
23380 If the symbol is found, the second element is @code{True} if the symbol
23381 is a field of a method's object (e.g., @code{this} in C@t{++}),
23382 otherwise it is @code{False}.
23383 If the symbol is not found, the second element is @code{False}.
23384 @end defun
23385
23386 @findex gdb.lookup_global_symbol
23387 @defun gdb.lookup_global_symbol (name @r{[}, domain@r{]})
23388 This function searches for a global symbol by name.
23389 The search scope can be restricted to by the domain argument.
23390
23391 @var{name} is the name of the symbol. It must be a string.
23392 The optional @var{domain} argument restricts the search to the domain type.
23393 The @var{domain} argument must be a domain constant defined in the @code{gdb}
23394 module and described later in this chapter.
23395
23396 The result is a @code{gdb.Symbol} object or @code{None} if the symbol
23397 is not found.
23398 @end defun
23399
23400 A @code{gdb.Symbol} object has the following attributes:
23401
23402 @table @code
23403 @defvar Symbol.type
23404 The type of the symbol or @code{None} if no type is recorded.
23405 This attribute is represented as a @code{gdb.Type} object.
23406 @xref{Types In Python}. This attribute is not writable.
23407 @end defvar
23408
23409 @defvar Symbol.symtab
23410 The symbol table in which the symbol appears. This attribute is
23411 represented as a @code{gdb.Symtab} object. @xref{Symbol Tables In
23412 Python}. This attribute is not writable.
23413 @end defvar
23414
23415 @defvar Symbol.name
23416 The name of the symbol as a string. This attribute is not writable.
23417 @end defvar
23418
23419 @defvar Symbol.linkage_name
23420 The name of the symbol, as used by the linker (i.e., may be mangled).
23421 This attribute is not writable.
23422 @end defvar
23423
23424 @defvar Symbol.print_name
23425 The name of the symbol in a form suitable for output. This is either
23426 @code{name} or @code{linkage_name}, depending on whether the user
23427 asked @value{GDBN} to display demangled or mangled names.
23428 @end defvar
23429
23430 @defvar Symbol.addr_class
23431 The address class of the symbol. This classifies how to find the value
23432 of a symbol. Each address class is a constant defined in the
23433 @code{gdb} module and described later in this chapter.
23434 @end defvar
23435
23436 @defvar Symbol.is_argument
23437 @code{True} if the symbol is an argument of a function.
23438 @end defvar
23439
23440 @defvar Symbol.is_constant
23441 @code{True} if the symbol is a constant.
23442 @end defvar
23443
23444 @defvar Symbol.is_function
23445 @code{True} if the symbol is a function or a method.
23446 @end defvar
23447
23448 @defvar Symbol.is_variable
23449 @code{True} if the symbol is a variable.
23450 @end defvar
23451 @end table
23452
23453 A @code{gdb.Symbol} object has the following methods:
23454
23455 @table @code
23456 @defun Symbol.is_valid ()
23457 Returns @code{True} if the @code{gdb.Symbol} object is valid,
23458 @code{False} if not. A @code{gdb.Symbol} object can become invalid if
23459 the symbol it refers to does not exist in @value{GDBN} any longer.
23460 All other @code{gdb.Symbol} methods will throw an exception if it is
23461 invalid at the time the method is called.
23462 @end defun
23463 @end table
23464
23465 The available domain categories in @code{gdb.Symbol} are represented
23466 as constants in the @code{gdb} module:
23467
23468 @table @code
23469 @findex SYMBOL_UNDEF_DOMAIN
23470 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_UNDEF_DOMAIN
23471 @item gdb.SYMBOL_UNDEF_DOMAIN
23472 This is used when a domain has not been discovered or none of the
23473 following domains apply. This usually indicates an error either
23474 in the symbol information or in @value{GDBN}'s handling of symbols.
23475 @findex SYMBOL_VAR_DOMAIN
23476 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_VAR_DOMAIN
23477 @item gdb.SYMBOL_VAR_DOMAIN
23478 This domain contains variables, function names, typedef names and enum
23479 type values.
23480 @findex SYMBOL_STRUCT_DOMAIN
23481 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_STRUCT_DOMAIN
23482 @item gdb.SYMBOL_STRUCT_DOMAIN
23483 This domain holds struct, union and enum type names.
23484 @findex SYMBOL_LABEL_DOMAIN
23485 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LABEL_DOMAIN
23486 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LABEL_DOMAIN
23487 This domain contains names of labels (for gotos).
23488 @findex SYMBOL_VARIABLES_DOMAIN
23489 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_VARIABLES_DOMAIN
23490 @item gdb.SYMBOL_VARIABLES_DOMAIN
23491 This domain holds a subset of the @code{SYMBOLS_VAR_DOMAIN}; it
23492 contains everything minus functions and types.
23493 @findex SYMBOL_FUNCTIONS_DOMAIN
23494 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_FUNCTIONS_DOMAIN
23495 @item gdb.SYMBOL_FUNCTION_DOMAIN
23496 This domain contains all functions.
23497 @findex SYMBOL_TYPES_DOMAIN
23498 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_TYPES_DOMAIN
23499 @item gdb.SYMBOL_TYPES_DOMAIN
23500 This domain contains all types.
23501 @end table
23502
23503 The available address class categories in @code{gdb.Symbol} are represented
23504 as constants in the @code{gdb} module:
23505
23506 @table @code
23507 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_UNDEF
23508 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_UNDEF
23509 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_UNDEF
23510 If this is returned by address class, it indicates an error either in
23511 the symbol information or in @value{GDBN}'s handling of symbols.
23512 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_CONST
23513 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_CONST
23514 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_CONST
23515 Value is constant int.
23516 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_STATIC
23517 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_STATIC
23518 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_STATIC
23519 Value is at a fixed address.
23520 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_REGISTER
23521 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_REGISTER
23522 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_REGISTER
23523 Value is in a register.
23524 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_ARG
23525 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_ARG
23526 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_ARG
23527 Value is an argument. This value is at the offset stored within the
23528 symbol inside the frame's argument list.
23529 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_REF_ARG
23530 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_REF_ARG
23531 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_REF_ARG
23532 Value address is stored in the frame's argument list. Just like
23533 @code{LOC_ARG} except that the value's address is stored at the
23534 offset, not the value itself.
23535 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_REGPARM_ADDR
23536 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_REGPARM_ADDR
23537 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_REGPARM_ADDR
23538 Value is a specified register. Just like @code{LOC_REGISTER} except
23539 the register holds the address of the argument instead of the argument
23540 itself.
23541 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_LOCAL
23542 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_LOCAL
23543 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_LOCAL
23544 Value is a local variable.
23545 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_TYPEDEF
23546 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_TYPEDEF
23547 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_TYPEDEF
23548 Value not used. Symbols in the domain @code{SYMBOL_STRUCT_DOMAIN} all
23549 have this class.
23550 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_BLOCK
23551 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_BLOCK
23552 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_BLOCK
23553 Value is a block.
23554 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_CONST_BYTES
23555 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_CONST_BYTES
23556 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_CONST_BYTES
23557 Value is a byte-sequence.
23558 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_UNRESOLVED
23559 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_UNRESOLVED
23560 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_UNRESOLVED
23561 Value is at a fixed address, but the address of the variable has to be
23562 determined from the minimal symbol table whenever the variable is
23563 referenced.
23564 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_OPTIMIZED_OUT
23565 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_OPTIMIZED_OUT
23566 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_OPTIMIZED_OUT
23567 The value does not actually exist in the program.
23568 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_COMPUTED
23569 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_COMPUTED
23570 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_COMPUTED
23571 The value's address is a computed location.
23572 @end table
23573
23574 @node Symbol Tables In Python
23575 @subsubsection Symbol table representation in Python.
23576
23577 @cindex symbol tables in python
23578 @tindex gdb.Symtab
23579 @tindex gdb.Symtab_and_line
23580
23581 Access to symbol table data maintained by @value{GDBN} on the inferior
23582 is exposed to Python via two objects: @code{gdb.Symtab_and_line} and
23583 @code{gdb.Symtab}. Symbol table and line data for a frame is returned
23584 from the @code{find_sal} method in @code{gdb.Frame} object.
23585 @xref{Frames In Python}.
23586
23587 For more information on @value{GDBN}'s symbol table management, see
23588 @ref{Symbols, ,Examining the Symbol Table}, for more information.
23589
23590 A @code{gdb.Symtab_and_line} object has the following attributes:
23591
23592 @table @code
23593 @defvar Symtab_and_line.symtab
23594 The symbol table object (@code{gdb.Symtab}) for this frame.
23595 This attribute is not writable.
23596 @end defvar
23597
23598 @defvar Symtab_and_line.pc
23599 Indicates the current program counter address. This attribute is not
23600 writable.
23601 @end defvar
23602
23603 @defvar Symtab_and_line.line
23604 Indicates the current line number for this object. This
23605 attribute is not writable.
23606 @end defvar
23607 @end table
23608
23609 A @code{gdb.Symtab_and_line} object has the following methods:
23610
23611 @table @code
23612 @defun Symtab_and_line.is_valid ()
23613 Returns @code{True} if the @code{gdb.Symtab_and_line} object is valid,
23614 @code{False} if not. A @code{gdb.Symtab_and_line} object can become
23615 invalid if the Symbol table and line object it refers to does not
23616 exist in @value{GDBN} any longer. All other
23617 @code{gdb.Symtab_and_line} methods will throw an exception if it is
23618 invalid at the time the method is called.
23619 @end defun
23620 @end table
23621
23622 A @code{gdb.Symtab} object has the following attributes:
23623
23624 @table @code
23625 @defvar Symtab.filename
23626 The symbol table's source filename. This attribute is not writable.
23627 @end defvar
23628
23629 @defvar Symtab.objfile
23630 The symbol table's backing object file. @xref{Objfiles In Python}.
23631 This attribute is not writable.
23632 @end defvar
23633 @end table
23634
23635 A @code{gdb.Symtab} object has the following methods:
23636
23637 @table @code
23638 @defun Symtab.is_valid ()
23639 Returns @code{True} if the @code{gdb.Symtab} object is valid,
23640 @code{False} if not. A @code{gdb.Symtab} object can become invalid if
23641 the symbol table it refers to does not exist in @value{GDBN} any
23642 longer. All other @code{gdb.Symtab} methods will throw an exception
23643 if it is invalid at the time the method is called.
23644 @end defun
23645
23646 @defun Symtab.fullname ()
23647 Return the symbol table's source absolute file name.
23648 @end defun
23649 @end table
23650
23651 @node Breakpoints In Python
23652 @subsubsection Manipulating breakpoints using Python
23653
23654 @cindex breakpoints in python
23655 @tindex gdb.Breakpoint
23656
23657 Python code can manipulate breakpoints via the @code{gdb.Breakpoint}
23658 class.
23659
23660 @defun Breakpoint.__init__ (spec @r{[}, type @r{[}, wp_class @r{[},internal@r{]]]})
23661 Create a new breakpoint. @var{spec} is a string naming the
23662 location of the breakpoint, or an expression that defines a
23663 watchpoint. The contents can be any location recognized by the
23664 @code{break} command, or in the case of a watchpoint, by the @code{watch}
23665 command. The optional @var{type} denotes the breakpoint to create
23666 from the types defined later in this chapter. This argument can be
23667 either: @code{gdb.BP_BREAKPOINT} or @code{gdb.BP_WATCHPOINT}. @var{type}
23668 defaults to @code{gdb.BP_BREAKPOINT}. The optional @var{internal} argument
23669 allows the breakpoint to become invisible to the user. The breakpoint
23670 will neither be reported when created, nor will it be listed in the
23671 output from @code{info breakpoints} (but will be listed with the
23672 @code{maint info breakpoints} command). The optional @var{wp_class}
23673 argument defines the class of watchpoint to create, if @var{type} is
23674 @code{gdb.BP_WATCHPOINT}. If a watchpoint class is not provided, it is
23675 assumed to be a @code{gdb.WP_WRITE} class.
23676 @end defun
23677
23678 @defun Breakpoint.stop (self)
23679 The @code{gdb.Breakpoint} class can be sub-classed and, in
23680 particular, you may choose to implement the @code{stop} method.
23681 If this method is defined as a sub-class of @code{gdb.Breakpoint},
23682 it will be called when the inferior reaches any location of a
23683 breakpoint which instantiates that sub-class. If the method returns
23684 @code{True}, the inferior will be stopped at the location of the
23685 breakpoint, otherwise the inferior will continue.
23686
23687 If there are multiple breakpoints at the same location with a
23688 @code{stop} method, each one will be called regardless of the
23689 return status of the previous. This ensures that all @code{stop}
23690 methods have a chance to execute at that location. In this scenario
23691 if one of the methods returns @code{True} but the others return
23692 @code{False}, the inferior will still be stopped.
23693
23694 You should not alter the execution state of the inferior (i.e.@:, step,
23695 next, etc.), alter the current frame context (i.e.@:, change the current
23696 active frame), or alter, add or delete any breakpoint. As a general
23697 rule, you should not alter any data within @value{GDBN} or the inferior
23698 at this time.
23699
23700 Example @code{stop} implementation:
23701
23702 @smallexample
23703 class MyBreakpoint (gdb.Breakpoint):
23704 def stop (self):
23705 inf_val = gdb.parse_and_eval("foo")
23706 if inf_val == 3:
23707 return True
23708 return False
23709 @end smallexample
23710 @end defun
23711
23712 The available watchpoint types represented by constants are defined in the
23713 @code{gdb} module:
23714
23715 @table @code
23716 @findex WP_READ
23717 @findex gdb.WP_READ
23718 @item gdb.WP_READ
23719 Read only watchpoint.
23720
23721 @findex WP_WRITE
23722 @findex gdb.WP_WRITE
23723 @item gdb.WP_WRITE
23724 Write only watchpoint.
23725
23726 @findex WP_ACCESS
23727 @findex gdb.WP_ACCESS
23728 @item gdb.WP_ACCESS
23729 Read/Write watchpoint.
23730 @end table
23731
23732 @defun Breakpoint.is_valid ()
23733 Return @code{True} if this @code{Breakpoint} object is valid,
23734 @code{False} otherwise. A @code{Breakpoint} object can become invalid
23735 if the user deletes the breakpoint. In this case, the object still
23736 exists, but the underlying breakpoint does not. In the cases of
23737 watchpoint scope, the watchpoint remains valid even if execution of the
23738 inferior leaves the scope of that watchpoint.
23739 @end defun
23740
23741 @defun Breakpoint.delete
23742 Permanently deletes the @value{GDBN} breakpoint. This also
23743 invalidates the Python @code{Breakpoint} object. Any further access
23744 to this object's attributes or methods will raise an error.
23745 @end defun
23746
23747 @defvar Breakpoint.enabled
23748 This attribute is @code{True} if the breakpoint is enabled, and
23749 @code{False} otherwise. This attribute is writable.
23750 @end defvar
23751
23752 @defvar Breakpoint.silent
23753 This attribute is @code{True} if the breakpoint is silent, and
23754 @code{False} otherwise. This attribute is writable.
23755
23756 Note that a breakpoint can also be silent if it has commands and the
23757 first command is @code{silent}. This is not reported by the
23758 @code{silent} attribute.
23759 @end defvar
23760
23761 @defvar Breakpoint.thread
23762 If the breakpoint is thread-specific, this attribute holds the thread
23763 id. If the breakpoint is not thread-specific, this attribute is
23764 @code{None}. This attribute is writable.
23765 @end defvar
23766
23767 @defvar Breakpoint.task
23768 If the breakpoint is Ada task-specific, this attribute holds the Ada task
23769 id. If the breakpoint is not task-specific (or the underlying
23770 language is not Ada), this attribute is @code{None}. This attribute
23771 is writable.
23772 @end defvar
23773
23774 @defvar Breakpoint.ignore_count
23775 This attribute holds the ignore count for the breakpoint, an integer.
23776 This attribute is writable.
23777 @end defvar
23778
23779 @defvar Breakpoint.number
23780 This attribute holds the breakpoint's number --- the identifier used by
23781 the user to manipulate the breakpoint. This attribute is not writable.
23782 @end defvar
23783
23784 @defvar Breakpoint.type
23785 This attribute holds the breakpoint's type --- the identifier used to
23786 determine the actual breakpoint type or use-case. This attribute is not
23787 writable.
23788 @end defvar
23789
23790 @defvar Breakpoint.visible
23791 This attribute tells whether the breakpoint is visible to the user
23792 when set, or when the @samp{info breakpoints} command is run. This
23793 attribute is not writable.
23794 @end defvar
23795
23796 The available types are represented by constants defined in the @code{gdb}
23797 module:
23798
23799 @table @code
23800 @findex BP_BREAKPOINT
23801 @findex gdb.BP_BREAKPOINT
23802 @item gdb.BP_BREAKPOINT
23803 Normal code breakpoint.
23804
23805 @findex BP_WATCHPOINT
23806 @findex gdb.BP_WATCHPOINT
23807 @item gdb.BP_WATCHPOINT
23808 Watchpoint breakpoint.
23809
23810 @findex BP_HARDWARE_WATCHPOINT
23811 @findex gdb.BP_HARDWARE_WATCHPOINT
23812 @item gdb.BP_HARDWARE_WATCHPOINT
23813 Hardware assisted watchpoint.
23814
23815 @findex BP_READ_WATCHPOINT
23816 @findex gdb.BP_READ_WATCHPOINT
23817 @item gdb.BP_READ_WATCHPOINT
23818 Hardware assisted read watchpoint.
23819
23820 @findex BP_ACCESS_WATCHPOINT
23821 @findex gdb.BP_ACCESS_WATCHPOINT
23822 @item gdb.BP_ACCESS_WATCHPOINT
23823 Hardware assisted access watchpoint.
23824 @end table
23825
23826 @defvar Breakpoint.hit_count
23827 This attribute holds the hit count for the breakpoint, an integer.
23828 This attribute is writable, but currently it can only be set to zero.
23829 @end defvar
23830
23831 @defvar Breakpoint.location
23832 This attribute holds the location of the breakpoint, as specified by
23833 the user. It is a string. If the breakpoint does not have a location
23834 (that is, it is a watchpoint) the attribute's value is @code{None}. This
23835 attribute is not writable.
23836 @end defvar
23837
23838 @defvar Breakpoint.expression
23839 This attribute holds a breakpoint expression, as specified by
23840 the user. It is a string. If the breakpoint does not have an
23841 expression (the breakpoint is not a watchpoint) the attribute's value
23842 is @code{None}. This attribute is not writable.
23843 @end defvar
23844
23845 @defvar Breakpoint.condition
23846 This attribute holds the condition of the breakpoint, as specified by
23847 the user. It is a string. If there is no condition, this attribute's
23848 value is @code{None}. This attribute is writable.
23849 @end defvar
23850
23851 @defvar Breakpoint.commands
23852 This attribute holds the commands attached to the breakpoint. If
23853 there are commands, this attribute's value is a string holding all the
23854 commands, separated by newlines. If there are no commands, this
23855 attribute is @code{None}. This attribute is not writable.
23856 @end defvar
23857
23858 @node Lazy Strings In Python
23859 @subsubsection Python representation of lazy strings.
23860
23861 @cindex lazy strings in python
23862 @tindex gdb.LazyString
23863
23864 A @dfn{lazy string} is a string whose contents is not retrieved or
23865 encoded until it is needed.
23866
23867 A @code{gdb.LazyString} is represented in @value{GDBN} as an
23868 @code{address} that points to a region of memory, an @code{encoding}
23869 that will be used to encode that region of memory, and a @code{length}
23870 to delimit the region of memory that represents the string. The
23871 difference between a @code{gdb.LazyString} and a string wrapped within
23872 a @code{gdb.Value} is that a @code{gdb.LazyString} will be treated
23873 differently by @value{GDBN} when printing. A @code{gdb.LazyString} is
23874 retrieved and encoded during printing, while a @code{gdb.Value}
23875 wrapping a string is immediately retrieved and encoded on creation.
23876
23877 A @code{gdb.LazyString} object has the following functions:
23878
23879 @defun LazyString.value ()
23880 Convert the @code{gdb.LazyString} to a @code{gdb.Value}. This value
23881 will point to the string in memory, but will lose all the delayed
23882 retrieval, encoding and handling that @value{GDBN} applies to a
23883 @code{gdb.LazyString}.
23884 @end defun
23885
23886 @defvar LazyString.address
23887 This attribute holds the address of the string. This attribute is not
23888 writable.
23889 @end defvar
23890
23891 @defvar LazyString.length
23892 This attribute holds the length of the string in characters. If the
23893 length is -1, then the string will be fetched and encoded up to the
23894 first null of appropriate width. This attribute is not writable.
23895 @end defvar
23896
23897 @defvar LazyString.encoding
23898 This attribute holds the encoding that will be applied to the string
23899 when the string is printed by @value{GDBN}. If the encoding is not
23900 set, or contains an empty string, then @value{GDBN} will select the
23901 most appropriate encoding when the string is printed. This attribute
23902 is not writable.
23903 @end defvar
23904
23905 @defvar LazyString.type
23906 This attribute holds the type that is represented by the lazy string's
23907 type. For a lazy string this will always be a pointer type. To
23908 resolve this to the lazy string's character type, use the type's
23909 @code{target} method. @xref{Types In Python}. This attribute is not
23910 writable.
23911 @end defvar
23912
23913 @node Auto-loading
23914 @subsection Auto-loading
23915 @cindex auto-loading, Python
23916
23917 When a new object file is read (for example, due to the @code{file}
23918 command, or because the inferior has loaded a shared library),
23919 @value{GDBN} will look for Python support scripts in several ways:
23920 @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.py} and @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} section.
23921
23922 @menu
23923 * objfile-gdb.py file:: The @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.py} file
23924 * .debug_gdb_scripts section:: The @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} section
23925 * Which flavor to choose?::
23926 @end menu
23927
23928 The auto-loading feature is useful for supplying application-specific
23929 debugging commands and scripts.
23930
23931 Auto-loading can be enabled or disabled,
23932 and the list of auto-loaded scripts can be printed.
23933
23934 @table @code
23935 @kindex set auto-load-scripts
23936 @item set auto-load-scripts [yes|no]
23937 Enable or disable the auto-loading of Python scripts.
23938
23939 @kindex show auto-load-scripts
23940 @item show auto-load-scripts
23941 Show whether auto-loading of Python scripts is enabled or disabled.
23942
23943 @kindex info auto-load-scripts
23944 @cindex print list of auto-loaded scripts
23945 @item info auto-load-scripts [@var{regexp}]
23946 Print the list of all scripts that @value{GDBN} auto-loaded.
23947
23948 Also printed is the list of scripts that were mentioned in
23949 the @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} section and were not found
23950 (@pxref{.debug_gdb_scripts section}).
23951 This is useful because their names are not printed when @value{GDBN}
23952 tries to load them and fails. There may be many of them, and printing
23953 an error message for each one is problematic.
23954
23955 If @var{regexp} is supplied only scripts with matching names are printed.
23956
23957 Example:
23958
23959 @smallexample
23960 (gdb) info auto-load-scripts
23961 Loaded Script
23962 Yes py-section-script.py
23963 full name: /tmp/py-section-script.py
23964 Missing my-foo-pretty-printers.py
23965 @end smallexample
23966 @end table
23967
23968 When reading an auto-loaded file, @value{GDBN} sets the
23969 @dfn{current objfile}. This is available via the @code{gdb.current_objfile}
23970 function (@pxref{Objfiles In Python}). This can be useful for
23971 registering objfile-specific pretty-printers.
23972
23973 @node objfile-gdb.py file
23974 @subsubsection The @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.py} file
23975 @cindex @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.py}
23976
23977 When a new object file is read, @value{GDBN} looks for
23978 a file named @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.py},
23979 where @var{objfile} is the object file's real name, formed by ensuring
23980 that the file name is absolute, following all symlinks, and resolving
23981 @code{.} and @code{..} components. If this file exists and is
23982 readable, @value{GDBN} will evaluate it as a Python script.
23983
23984 If this file does not exist, and if the parameter
23985 @code{debug-file-directory} is set (@pxref{Separate Debug Files}),
23986 then @value{GDBN} will look for @var{real-name} in all of the
23987 directories mentioned in the value of @code{debug-file-directory}.
23988
23989 Finally, if this file does not exist, then @value{GDBN} will look for
23990 a file named @file{@var{data-directory}/python/auto-load/@var{real-name}}, where
23991 @var{data-directory} is @value{GDBN}'s data directory (available via
23992 @code{show data-directory}, @pxref{Data Files}), and @var{real-name}
23993 is the object file's real name, as described above.
23994
23995 @value{GDBN} does not track which files it has already auto-loaded this way.
23996 @value{GDBN} will load the associated script every time the corresponding
23997 @var{objfile} is opened.
23998 So your @file{-gdb.py} file should be careful to avoid errors if it
23999 is evaluated more than once.
24000
24001 @node .debug_gdb_scripts section
24002 @subsubsection The @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} section
24003 @cindex @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} section
24004
24005 For systems using file formats like ELF and COFF,
24006 when @value{GDBN} loads a new object file
24007 it will look for a special section named @samp{.debug_gdb_scripts}.
24008 If this section exists, its contents is a list of names of scripts to load.
24009
24010 @value{GDBN} will look for each specified script file first in the
24011 current directory and then along the source search path
24012 (@pxref{Source Path, ,Specifying Source Directories}),
24013 except that @file{$cdir} is not searched, since the compilation
24014 directory is not relevant to scripts.
24015
24016 Entries can be placed in section @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} with,
24017 for example, this GCC macro:
24018
24019 @example
24020 /* Note: The "MS" section flags are to remove duplicates. */
24021 #define DEFINE_GDB_SCRIPT(script_name) \
24022 asm("\
24023 .pushsection \".debug_gdb_scripts\", \"MS\",@@progbits,1\n\
24024 .byte 1\n\
24025 .asciz \"" script_name "\"\n\
24026 .popsection \n\
24027 ");
24028 @end example
24029
24030 @noindent
24031 Then one can reference the macro in a header or source file like this:
24032
24033 @example
24034 DEFINE_GDB_SCRIPT ("my-app-scripts.py")
24035 @end example
24036
24037 The script name may include directories if desired.
24038
24039 If the macro is put in a header, any application or library
24040 using this header will get a reference to the specified script.
24041
24042 @node Which flavor to choose?
24043 @subsubsection Which flavor to choose?
24044
24045 Given the multiple ways of auto-loading Python scripts, it might not always
24046 be clear which one to choose. This section provides some guidance.
24047
24048 Benefits of the @file{-gdb.py} way:
24049
24050 @itemize @bullet
24051 @item
24052 Can be used with file formats that don't support multiple sections.
24053
24054 @item
24055 Ease of finding scripts for public libraries.
24056
24057 Scripts specified in the @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} section are searched for
24058 in the source search path.
24059 For publicly installed libraries, e.g., @file{libstdc++}, there typically
24060 isn't a source directory in which to find the script.
24061
24062 @item
24063 Doesn't require source code additions.
24064 @end itemize
24065
24066 Benefits of the @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} way:
24067
24068 @itemize @bullet
24069 @item
24070 Works with static linking.
24071
24072 Scripts for libraries done the @file{-gdb.py} way require an objfile to
24073 trigger their loading. When an application is statically linked the only
24074 objfile available is the executable, and it is cumbersome to attach all the
24075 scripts from all the input libraries to the executable's @file{-gdb.py} script.
24076
24077 @item
24078 Works with classes that are entirely inlined.
24079
24080 Some classes can be entirely inlined, and thus there may not be an associated
24081 shared library to attach a @file{-gdb.py} script to.
24082
24083 @item
24084 Scripts needn't be copied out of the source tree.
24085
24086 In some circumstances, apps can be built out of large collections of internal
24087 libraries, and the build infrastructure necessary to install the
24088 @file{-gdb.py} scripts in a place where @value{GDBN} can find them is
24089 cumbersome. It may be easier to specify the scripts in the
24090 @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} section as relative paths, and add a path to the
24091 top of the source tree to the source search path.
24092 @end itemize
24093
24094 @node Python modules
24095 @subsection Python modules
24096 @cindex python modules
24097
24098 @value{GDBN} comes with several modules to assist writing Python code.
24099
24100 @menu
24101 * gdb.printing:: Building and registering pretty-printers.
24102 * gdb.types:: Utilities for working with types.
24103 * gdb.prompt:: Utilities for prompt value substitution.
24104 @end menu
24105
24106 @node gdb.printing
24107 @subsubsection gdb.printing
24108 @cindex gdb.printing
24109
24110 This module provides a collection of utilities for working with
24111 pretty-printers.
24112
24113 @table @code
24114 @item PrettyPrinter (@var{name}, @var{subprinters}=None)
24115 This class specifies the API that makes @samp{info pretty-printer},
24116 @samp{enable pretty-printer} and @samp{disable pretty-printer} work.
24117 Pretty-printers should generally inherit from this class.
24118
24119 @item SubPrettyPrinter (@var{name})
24120 For printers that handle multiple types, this class specifies the
24121 corresponding API for the subprinters.
24122
24123 @item RegexpCollectionPrettyPrinter (@var{name})
24124 Utility class for handling multiple printers, all recognized via
24125 regular expressions.
24126 @xref{Writing a Pretty-Printer}, for an example.
24127
24128 @item register_pretty_printer (@var{obj}, @var{printer}, @var{replace}=False)
24129 Register @var{printer} with the pretty-printer list of @var{obj}.
24130 If @var{replace} is @code{True} then any existing copy of the printer
24131 is replaced. Otherwise a @code{RuntimeError} exception is raised
24132 if a printer with the same name already exists.
24133 @end table
24134
24135 @node gdb.types
24136 @subsubsection gdb.types
24137 @cindex gdb.types
24138
24139 This module provides a collection of utilities for working with
24140 @code{gdb.Types} objects.
24141
24142 @table @code
24143 @item get_basic_type (@var{type})
24144 Return @var{type} with const and volatile qualifiers stripped,
24145 and with typedefs and C@t{++} references converted to the underlying type.
24146
24147 C@t{++} example:
24148
24149 @smallexample
24150 typedef const int const_int;
24151 const_int foo (3);
24152 const_int& foo_ref (foo);
24153 int main () @{ return 0; @}
24154 @end smallexample
24155
24156 Then in gdb:
24157
24158 @smallexample
24159 (gdb) start
24160 (gdb) python import gdb.types
24161 (gdb) python foo_ref = gdb.parse_and_eval("foo_ref")
24162 (gdb) python print gdb.types.get_basic_type(foo_ref.type)
24163 int
24164 @end smallexample
24165
24166 @item has_field (@var{type}, @var{field})
24167 Return @code{True} if @var{type}, assumed to be a type with fields
24168 (e.g., a structure or union), has field @var{field}.
24169
24170 @item make_enum_dict (@var{enum_type})
24171 Return a Python @code{dictionary} type produced from @var{enum_type}.
24172 @end table
24173
24174 @node gdb.prompt
24175 @subsubsection gdb.prompt
24176 @cindex gdb.prompt
24177
24178 This module provides a method for prompt value-substitution.
24179
24180 @table @code
24181 @item substitute_prompt (@var{string})
24182 Return @var{string} with escape sequences substituted by values. Some
24183 escape sequences take arguments. You can specify arguments inside
24184 ``@{@}'' immediately following the escape sequence.
24185
24186 The escape sequences you can pass to this function are:
24187
24188 @table @code
24189 @item \\
24190 Substitute a backslash.
24191 @item \e
24192 Substitute an ESC character.
24193 @item \f
24194 Substitute the selected frame; an argument names a frame parameter.
24195 @item \n
24196 Substitute a newline.
24197 @item \p
24198 Substitute a parameter's value; the argument names the parameter.
24199 @item \r
24200 Substitute a carriage return.
24201 @item \t
24202 Substitute the selected thread; an argument names a thread parameter.
24203 @item \v
24204 Substitute the version of GDB.
24205 @item \w
24206 Substitute the current working directory.
24207 @item \[
24208 Begin a sequence of non-printing characters. These sequences are
24209 typically used with the ESC character, and are not counted in the string
24210 length. Example: ``\[\e[0;34m\](gdb)\[\e[0m\]'' will return a
24211 blue-colored ``(gdb)'' prompt where the length is five.
24212 @item \]
24213 End a sequence of non-printing characters.
24214 @end table
24215
24216 For example:
24217
24218 @smallexample
24219 substitute_prompt (``frame: \f,
24220 print arguments: \p@{print frame-arguments@}'')
24221 @end smallexample
24222
24223 @exdent will return the string:
24224
24225 @smallexample
24226 "frame: main, print arguments: scalars"
24227 @end smallexample
24228 @end table
24229
24230 @node Interpreters
24231 @chapter Command Interpreters
24232 @cindex command interpreters
24233
24234 @value{GDBN} supports multiple command interpreters, and some command
24235 infrastructure to allow users or user interface writers to switch
24236 between interpreters or run commands in other interpreters.
24237
24238 @value{GDBN} currently supports two command interpreters, the console
24239 interpreter (sometimes called the command-line interpreter or @sc{cli})
24240 and the machine interface interpreter (or @sc{gdb/mi}). This manual
24241 describes both of these interfaces in great detail.
24242
24243 By default, @value{GDBN} will start with the console interpreter.
24244 However, the user may choose to start @value{GDBN} with another
24245 interpreter by specifying the @option{-i} or @option{--interpreter}
24246 startup options. Defined interpreters include:
24247
24248 @table @code
24249 @item console
24250 @cindex console interpreter
24251 The traditional console or command-line interpreter. This is the most often
24252 used interpreter with @value{GDBN}. With no interpreter specified at runtime,
24253 @value{GDBN} will use this interpreter.
24254
24255 @item mi
24256 @cindex mi interpreter
24257 The newest @sc{gdb/mi} interface (currently @code{mi2}). Used primarily
24258 by programs wishing to use @value{GDBN} as a backend for a debugger GUI
24259 or an IDE. For more information, see @ref{GDB/MI, ,The @sc{gdb/mi}
24260 Interface}.
24261
24262 @item mi2
24263 @cindex mi2 interpreter
24264 The current @sc{gdb/mi} interface.
24265
24266 @item mi1
24267 @cindex mi1 interpreter
24268 The @sc{gdb/mi} interface included in @value{GDBN} 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3.
24269
24270 @end table
24271
24272 @cindex invoke another interpreter
24273 The interpreter being used by @value{GDBN} may not be dynamically
24274 switched at runtime. Although possible, this could lead to a very
24275 precarious situation. Consider an IDE using @sc{gdb/mi}. If a user
24276 enters the command "interpreter-set console" in a console view,
24277 @value{GDBN} would switch to using the console interpreter, rendering
24278 the IDE inoperable!
24279
24280 @kindex interpreter-exec
24281 Although you may only choose a single interpreter at startup, you may execute
24282 commands in any interpreter from the current interpreter using the appropriate
24283 command. If you are running the console interpreter, simply use the
24284 @code{interpreter-exec} command:
24285
24286 @smallexample
24287 interpreter-exec mi "-data-list-register-names"
24288 @end smallexample
24289
24290 @sc{gdb/mi} has a similar command, although it is only available in versions of
24291 @value{GDBN} which support @sc{gdb/mi} version 2 (or greater).
24292
24293 @node TUI
24294 @chapter @value{GDBN} Text User Interface
24295 @cindex TUI
24296 @cindex Text User Interface
24297
24298 @menu
24299 * TUI Overview:: TUI overview
24300 * TUI Keys:: TUI key bindings
24301 * TUI Single Key Mode:: TUI single key mode
24302 * TUI Commands:: TUI-specific commands
24303 * TUI Configuration:: TUI configuration variables
24304 @end menu
24305
24306 The @value{GDBN} Text User Interface (TUI) is a terminal
24307 interface which uses the @code{curses} library to show the source
24308 file, the assembly output, the program registers and @value{GDBN}
24309 commands in separate text windows. The TUI mode is supported only
24310 on platforms where a suitable version of the @code{curses} library
24311 is available.
24312
24313 @pindex @value{GDBTUI}
24314 The TUI mode is enabled by default when you invoke @value{GDBN} as
24315 either @samp{@value{GDBTUI}} or @samp{@value{GDBP} -tui}.
24316 You can also switch in and out of TUI mode while @value{GDBN} runs by
24317 using various TUI commands and key bindings, such as @kbd{C-x C-a}.
24318 @xref{TUI Keys, ,TUI Key Bindings}.
24319
24320 @node TUI Overview
24321 @section TUI Overview
24322
24323 In TUI mode, @value{GDBN} can display several text windows:
24324
24325 @table @emph
24326 @item command
24327 This window is the @value{GDBN} command window with the @value{GDBN}
24328 prompt and the @value{GDBN} output. The @value{GDBN} input is still
24329 managed using readline.
24330
24331 @item source
24332 The source window shows the source file of the program. The current
24333 line and active breakpoints are displayed in this window.
24334
24335 @item assembly
24336 The assembly window shows the disassembly output of the program.
24337
24338 @item register
24339 This window shows the processor registers. Registers are highlighted
24340 when their values change.
24341 @end table
24342
24343 The source and assembly windows show the current program position
24344 by highlighting the current line and marking it with a @samp{>} marker.
24345 Breakpoints are indicated with two markers. The first marker
24346 indicates the breakpoint type:
24347
24348 @table @code
24349 @item B
24350 Breakpoint which was hit at least once.
24351
24352 @item b
24353 Breakpoint which was never hit.
24354
24355 @item H
24356 Hardware breakpoint which was hit at least once.
24357
24358 @item h
24359 Hardware breakpoint which was never hit.
24360 @end table
24361
24362 The second marker indicates whether the breakpoint is enabled or not:
24363
24364 @table @code
24365 @item +
24366 Breakpoint is enabled.
24367
24368 @item -
24369 Breakpoint is disabled.
24370 @end table
24371
24372 The source, assembly and register windows are updated when the current
24373 thread changes, when the frame changes, or when the program counter
24374 changes.
24375
24376 These windows are not all visible at the same time. The command
24377 window is always visible. The others can be arranged in several
24378 layouts:
24379
24380 @itemize @bullet
24381 @item
24382 source only,
24383
24384 @item
24385 assembly only,
24386
24387 @item
24388 source and assembly,
24389
24390 @item
24391 source and registers, or
24392
24393 @item
24394 assembly and registers.
24395 @end itemize
24396
24397 A status line above the command window shows the following information:
24398
24399 @table @emph
24400 @item target
24401 Indicates the current @value{GDBN} target.
24402 (@pxref{Targets, ,Specifying a Debugging Target}).
24403
24404 @item process
24405 Gives the current process or thread number.
24406 When no process is being debugged, this field is set to @code{No process}.
24407
24408 @item function
24409 Gives the current function name for the selected frame.
24410 The name is demangled if demangling is turned on (@pxref{Print Settings}).
24411 When there is no symbol corresponding to the current program counter,
24412 the string @code{??} is displayed.
24413
24414 @item line
24415 Indicates the current line number for the selected frame.
24416 When the current line number is not known, the string @code{??} is displayed.
24417
24418 @item pc
24419 Indicates the current program counter address.
24420 @end table
24421
24422 @node TUI Keys
24423 @section TUI Key Bindings
24424 @cindex TUI key bindings
24425
24426 The TUI installs several key bindings in the readline keymaps
24427 @ifset SYSTEM_READLINE
24428 (@pxref{Command Line Editing, , , rluserman, GNU Readline Library}).
24429 @end ifset
24430 @ifclear SYSTEM_READLINE
24431 (@pxref{Command Line Editing}).
24432 @end ifclear
24433 The following key bindings are installed for both TUI mode and the
24434 @value{GDBN} standard mode.
24435
24436 @table @kbd
24437 @kindex C-x C-a
24438 @item C-x C-a
24439 @kindex C-x a
24440 @itemx C-x a
24441 @kindex C-x A
24442 @itemx C-x A
24443 Enter or leave the TUI mode. When leaving the TUI mode,
24444 the curses window management stops and @value{GDBN} operates using
24445 its standard mode, writing on the terminal directly. When reentering
24446 the TUI mode, control is given back to the curses windows.
24447 The screen is then refreshed.
24448
24449 @kindex C-x 1
24450 @item C-x 1
24451 Use a TUI layout with only one window. The layout will
24452 either be @samp{source} or @samp{assembly}. When the TUI mode
24453 is not active, it will switch to the TUI mode.
24454
24455 Think of this key binding as the Emacs @kbd{C-x 1} binding.
24456
24457 @kindex C-x 2
24458 @item C-x 2
24459 Use a TUI layout with at least two windows. When the current
24460 layout already has two windows, the next layout with two windows is used.
24461 When a new layout is chosen, one window will always be common to the
24462 previous layout and the new one.
24463
24464 Think of it as the Emacs @kbd{C-x 2} binding.
24465
24466 @kindex C-x o
24467 @item C-x o
24468 Change the active window. The TUI associates several key bindings
24469 (like scrolling and arrow keys) with the active window. This command
24470 gives the focus to the next TUI window.
24471
24472 Think of it as the Emacs @kbd{C-x o} binding.
24473
24474 @kindex C-x s
24475 @item C-x s
24476 Switch in and out of the TUI SingleKey mode that binds single
24477 keys to @value{GDBN} commands (@pxref{TUI Single Key Mode}).
24478 @end table
24479
24480 The following key bindings only work in the TUI mode:
24481
24482 @table @asis
24483 @kindex PgUp
24484 @item @key{PgUp}
24485 Scroll the active window one page up.
24486
24487 @kindex PgDn
24488 @item @key{PgDn}
24489 Scroll the active window one page down.
24490
24491 @kindex Up
24492 @item @key{Up}
24493 Scroll the active window one line up.
24494
24495 @kindex Down
24496 @item @key{Down}
24497 Scroll the active window one line down.
24498
24499 @kindex Left
24500 @item @key{Left}
24501 Scroll the active window one column left.
24502
24503 @kindex Right
24504 @item @key{Right}
24505 Scroll the active window one column right.
24506
24507 @kindex C-L
24508 @item @kbd{C-L}
24509 Refresh the screen.
24510 @end table
24511
24512 Because the arrow keys scroll the active window in the TUI mode, they
24513 are not available for their normal use by readline unless the command
24514 window has the focus. When another window is active, you must use
24515 other readline key bindings such as @kbd{C-p}, @kbd{C-n}, @kbd{C-b}
24516 and @kbd{C-f} to control the command window.
24517
24518 @node TUI Single Key Mode
24519 @section TUI Single Key Mode
24520 @cindex TUI single key mode
24521
24522 The TUI also provides a @dfn{SingleKey} mode, which binds several
24523 frequently used @value{GDBN} commands to single keys. Type @kbd{C-x s} to
24524 switch into this mode, where the following key bindings are used:
24525
24526 @table @kbd
24527 @kindex c @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
24528 @item c
24529 continue
24530
24531 @kindex d @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
24532 @item d
24533 down
24534
24535 @kindex f @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
24536 @item f
24537 finish
24538
24539 @kindex n @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
24540 @item n
24541 next
24542
24543 @kindex q @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
24544 @item q
24545 exit the SingleKey mode.
24546
24547 @kindex r @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
24548 @item r
24549 run
24550
24551 @kindex s @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
24552 @item s
24553 step
24554
24555 @kindex u @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
24556 @item u
24557 up
24558
24559 @kindex v @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
24560 @item v
24561 info locals
24562
24563 @kindex w @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
24564 @item w
24565 where
24566 @end table
24567
24568 Other keys temporarily switch to the @value{GDBN} command prompt.
24569 The key that was pressed is inserted in the editing buffer so that
24570 it is possible to type most @value{GDBN} commands without interaction
24571 with the TUI SingleKey mode. Once the command is entered the TUI
24572 SingleKey mode is restored. The only way to permanently leave
24573 this mode is by typing @kbd{q} or @kbd{C-x s}.
24574
24575
24576 @node TUI Commands
24577 @section TUI-specific Commands
24578 @cindex TUI commands
24579
24580 The TUI has specific commands to control the text windows.
24581 These commands are always available, even when @value{GDBN} is not in
24582 the TUI mode. When @value{GDBN} is in the standard mode, most
24583 of these commands will automatically switch to the TUI mode.
24584
24585 Note that if @value{GDBN}'s @code{stdout} is not connected to a
24586 terminal, or @value{GDBN} has been started with the machine interface
24587 interpreter (@pxref{GDB/MI, ,The @sc{gdb/mi} Interface}), most of
24588 these commands will fail with an error, because it would not be
24589 possible or desirable to enable curses window management.
24590
24591 @table @code
24592 @item info win
24593 @kindex info win
24594 List and give the size of all displayed windows.
24595
24596 @item layout next
24597 @kindex layout
24598 Display the next layout.
24599
24600 @item layout prev
24601 Display the previous layout.
24602
24603 @item layout src
24604 Display the source window only.
24605
24606 @item layout asm
24607 Display the assembly window only.
24608
24609 @item layout split
24610 Display the source and assembly window.
24611
24612 @item layout regs
24613 Display the register window together with the source or assembly window.
24614
24615 @item focus next
24616 @kindex focus
24617 Make the next window active for scrolling.
24618
24619 @item focus prev
24620 Make the previous window active for scrolling.
24621
24622 @item focus src
24623 Make the source window active for scrolling.
24624
24625 @item focus asm
24626 Make the assembly window active for scrolling.
24627
24628 @item focus regs
24629 Make the register window active for scrolling.
24630
24631 @item focus cmd
24632 Make the command window active for scrolling.
24633
24634 @item refresh
24635 @kindex refresh
24636 Refresh the screen. This is similar to typing @kbd{C-L}.
24637
24638 @item tui reg float
24639 @kindex tui reg
24640 Show the floating point registers in the register window.
24641
24642 @item tui reg general
24643 Show the general registers in the register window.
24644
24645 @item tui reg next
24646 Show the next register group. The list of register groups as well as
24647 their order is target specific. The predefined register groups are the
24648 following: @code{general}, @code{float}, @code{system}, @code{vector},
24649 @code{all}, @code{save}, @code{restore}.
24650
24651 @item tui reg system
24652 Show the system registers in the register window.
24653
24654 @item update
24655 @kindex update
24656 Update the source window and the current execution point.
24657
24658 @item winheight @var{name} +@var{count}
24659 @itemx winheight @var{name} -@var{count}
24660 @kindex winheight
24661 Change the height of the window @var{name} by @var{count}
24662 lines. Positive counts increase the height, while negative counts
24663 decrease it.
24664
24665 @item tabset @var{nchars}
24666 @kindex tabset
24667 Set the width of tab stops to be @var{nchars} characters.
24668 @end table
24669
24670 @node TUI Configuration
24671 @section TUI Configuration Variables
24672 @cindex TUI configuration variables
24673
24674 Several configuration variables control the appearance of TUI windows.
24675
24676 @table @code
24677 @item set tui border-kind @var{kind}
24678 @kindex set tui border-kind
24679 Select the border appearance for the source, assembly and register windows.
24680 The possible values are the following:
24681 @table @code
24682 @item space
24683 Use a space character to draw the border.
24684
24685 @item ascii
24686 Use @sc{ascii} characters @samp{+}, @samp{-} and @samp{|} to draw the border.
24687
24688 @item acs
24689 Use the Alternate Character Set to draw the border. The border is
24690 drawn using character line graphics if the terminal supports them.
24691 @end table
24692
24693 @item set tui border-mode @var{mode}
24694 @kindex set tui border-mode
24695 @itemx set tui active-border-mode @var{mode}
24696 @kindex set tui active-border-mode
24697 Select the display attributes for the borders of the inactive windows
24698 or the active window. The @var{mode} can be one of the following:
24699 @table @code
24700 @item normal
24701 Use normal attributes to display the border.
24702
24703 @item standout
24704 Use standout mode.
24705
24706 @item reverse
24707 Use reverse video mode.
24708
24709 @item half
24710 Use half bright mode.
24711
24712 @item half-standout
24713 Use half bright and standout mode.
24714
24715 @item bold
24716 Use extra bright or bold mode.
24717
24718 @item bold-standout
24719 Use extra bright or bold and standout mode.
24720 @end table
24721 @end table
24722
24723 @node Emacs
24724 @chapter Using @value{GDBN} under @sc{gnu} Emacs
24725
24726 @cindex Emacs
24727 @cindex @sc{gnu} Emacs
24728 A special interface allows you to use @sc{gnu} Emacs to view (and
24729 edit) the source files for the program you are debugging with
24730 @value{GDBN}.
24731
24732 To use this interface, use the command @kbd{M-x gdb} in Emacs. Give the
24733 executable file you want to debug as an argument. This command starts
24734 @value{GDBN} as a subprocess of Emacs, with input and output through a newly
24735 created Emacs buffer.
24736 @c (Do not use the @code{-tui} option to run @value{GDBN} from Emacs.)
24737
24738 Running @value{GDBN} under Emacs can be just like running @value{GDBN} normally except for two
24739 things:
24740
24741 @itemize @bullet
24742 @item
24743 All ``terminal'' input and output goes through an Emacs buffer, called
24744 the GUD buffer.
24745
24746 This applies both to @value{GDBN} commands and their output, and to the input
24747 and output done by the program you are debugging.
24748
24749 This is useful because it means that you can copy the text of previous
24750 commands and input them again; you can even use parts of the output
24751 in this way.
24752
24753 All the facilities of Emacs' Shell mode are available for interacting
24754 with your program. In particular, you can send signals the usual
24755 way---for example, @kbd{C-c C-c} for an interrupt, @kbd{C-c C-z} for a
24756 stop.
24757
24758 @item
24759 @value{GDBN} displays source code through Emacs.
24760
24761 Each time @value{GDBN} displays a stack frame, Emacs automatically finds the
24762 source file for that frame and puts an arrow (@samp{=>}) at the
24763 left margin of the current line. Emacs uses a separate buffer for
24764 source display, and splits the screen to show both your @value{GDBN} session
24765 and the source.
24766
24767 Explicit @value{GDBN} @code{list} or search commands still produce output as
24768 usual, but you probably have no reason to use them from Emacs.
24769 @end itemize
24770
24771 We call this @dfn{text command mode}. Emacs 22.1, and later, also uses
24772 a graphical mode, enabled by default, which provides further buffers
24773 that can control the execution and describe the state of your program.
24774 @xref{GDB Graphical Interface,,, Emacs, The @sc{gnu} Emacs Manual}.
24775
24776 If you specify an absolute file name when prompted for the @kbd{M-x
24777 gdb} argument, then Emacs sets your current working directory to where
24778 your program resides. If you only specify the file name, then Emacs
24779 sets your current working directory to the directory associated
24780 with the previous buffer. In this case, @value{GDBN} may find your
24781 program by searching your environment's @code{PATH} variable, but on
24782 some operating systems it might not find the source. So, although the
24783 @value{GDBN} input and output session proceeds normally, the auxiliary
24784 buffer does not display the current source and line of execution.
24785
24786 The initial working directory of @value{GDBN} is printed on the top
24787 line of the GUD buffer and this serves as a default for the commands
24788 that specify files for @value{GDBN} to operate on. @xref{Files,
24789 ,Commands to Specify Files}.
24790
24791 By default, @kbd{M-x gdb} calls the program called @file{gdb}. If you
24792 need to call @value{GDBN} by a different name (for example, if you
24793 keep several configurations around, with different names) you can
24794 customize the Emacs variable @code{gud-gdb-command-name} to run the
24795 one you want.
24796
24797 In the GUD buffer, you can use these special Emacs commands in
24798 addition to the standard Shell mode commands:
24799
24800 @table @kbd
24801 @item C-h m
24802 Describe the features of Emacs' GUD Mode.
24803
24804 @item C-c C-s
24805 Execute to another source line, like the @value{GDBN} @code{step} command; also
24806 update the display window to show the current file and location.
24807
24808 @item C-c C-n
24809 Execute to next source line in this function, skipping all function
24810 calls, like the @value{GDBN} @code{next} command. Then update the display window
24811 to show the current file and location.
24812
24813 @item C-c C-i
24814 Execute one instruction, like the @value{GDBN} @code{stepi} command; update
24815 display window accordingly.
24816
24817 @item C-c C-f
24818 Execute until exit from the selected stack frame, like the @value{GDBN}
24819 @code{finish} command.
24820
24821 @item C-c C-r
24822 Continue execution of your program, like the @value{GDBN} @code{continue}
24823 command.
24824
24825 @item C-c <
24826 Go up the number of frames indicated by the numeric argument
24827 (@pxref{Arguments, , Numeric Arguments, Emacs, The @sc{gnu} Emacs Manual}),
24828 like the @value{GDBN} @code{up} command.
24829
24830 @item C-c >
24831 Go down the number of frames indicated by the numeric argument, like the
24832 @value{GDBN} @code{down} command.
24833 @end table
24834
24835 In any source file, the Emacs command @kbd{C-x @key{SPC}} (@code{gud-break})
24836 tells @value{GDBN} to set a breakpoint on the source line point is on.
24837
24838 In text command mode, if you type @kbd{M-x speedbar}, Emacs displays a
24839 separate frame which shows a backtrace when the GUD buffer is current.
24840 Move point to any frame in the stack and type @key{RET} to make it
24841 become the current frame and display the associated source in the
24842 source buffer. Alternatively, click @kbd{Mouse-2} to make the
24843 selected frame become the current one. In graphical mode, the
24844 speedbar displays watch expressions.
24845
24846 If you accidentally delete the source-display buffer, an easy way to get
24847 it back is to type the command @code{f} in the @value{GDBN} buffer, to
24848 request a frame display; when you run under Emacs, this recreates
24849 the source buffer if necessary to show you the context of the current
24850 frame.
24851
24852 The source files displayed in Emacs are in ordinary Emacs buffers
24853 which are visiting the source files in the usual way. You can edit
24854 the files with these buffers if you wish; but keep in mind that @value{GDBN}
24855 communicates with Emacs in terms of line numbers. If you add or
24856 delete lines from the text, the line numbers that @value{GDBN} knows cease
24857 to correspond properly with the code.
24858
24859 A more detailed description of Emacs' interaction with @value{GDBN} is
24860 given in the Emacs manual (@pxref{Debuggers,,, Emacs, The @sc{gnu}
24861 Emacs Manual}).
24862
24863 @c The following dropped because Epoch is nonstandard. Reactivate
24864 @c if/when v19 does something similar. ---doc@cygnus.com 19dec1990
24865 @ignore
24866 @kindex Emacs Epoch environment
24867 @kindex Epoch
24868 @kindex inspect
24869
24870 Version 18 of @sc{gnu} Emacs has a built-in window system
24871 called the @code{epoch}
24872 environment. Users of this environment can use a new command,
24873 @code{inspect} which performs identically to @code{print} except that
24874 each value is printed in its own window.
24875 @end ignore
24876
24877
24878 @node GDB/MI
24879 @chapter The @sc{gdb/mi} Interface
24880
24881 @unnumberedsec Function and Purpose
24882
24883 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, its purpose
24884 @sc{gdb/mi} is a line based machine oriented text interface to
24885 @value{GDBN} and is activated by specifying using the
24886 @option{--interpreter} command line option (@pxref{Mode Options}). It
24887 is specifically intended to support the development of systems which
24888 use the debugger as just one small component of a larger system.
24889
24890 This chapter is a specification of the @sc{gdb/mi} interface. It is written
24891 in the form of a reference manual.
24892
24893 Note that @sc{gdb/mi} is still under construction, so some of the
24894 features described below are incomplete and subject to change
24895 (@pxref{GDB/MI Development and Front Ends, , @sc{gdb/mi} Development and Front Ends}).
24896
24897 @unnumberedsec Notation and Terminology
24898
24899 @cindex notational conventions, for @sc{gdb/mi}
24900 This chapter uses the following notation:
24901
24902 @itemize @bullet
24903 @item
24904 @code{|} separates two alternatives.
24905
24906 @item
24907 @code{[ @var{something} ]} indicates that @var{something} is optional:
24908 it may or may not be given.
24909
24910 @item
24911 @code{( @var{group} )*} means that @var{group} inside the parentheses
24912 may repeat zero or more times.
24913
24914 @item
24915 @code{( @var{group} )+} means that @var{group} inside the parentheses
24916 may repeat one or more times.
24917
24918 @item
24919 @code{"@var{string}"} means a literal @var{string}.
24920 @end itemize
24921
24922 @ignore
24923 @heading Dependencies
24924 @end ignore
24925
24926 @menu
24927 * GDB/MI General Design::
24928 * GDB/MI Command Syntax::
24929 * GDB/MI Compatibility with CLI::
24930 * GDB/MI Development and Front Ends::
24931 * GDB/MI Output Records::
24932 * GDB/MI Simple Examples::
24933 * GDB/MI Command Description Format::
24934 * GDB/MI Breakpoint Commands::
24935 * GDB/MI Program Context::
24936 * GDB/MI Thread Commands::
24937 * GDB/MI Ada Tasking Commands::
24938 * GDB/MI Program Execution::
24939 * GDB/MI Stack Manipulation::
24940 * GDB/MI Variable Objects::
24941 * GDB/MI Data Manipulation::
24942 * GDB/MI Tracepoint Commands::
24943 * GDB/MI Symbol Query::
24944 * GDB/MI File Commands::
24945 @ignore
24946 * GDB/MI Kod Commands::
24947 * GDB/MI Memory Overlay Commands::
24948 * GDB/MI Signal Handling Commands::
24949 @end ignore
24950 * GDB/MI Target Manipulation::
24951 * GDB/MI File Transfer Commands::
24952 * GDB/MI Miscellaneous Commands::
24953 @end menu
24954
24955 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
24956 @node GDB/MI General Design
24957 @section @sc{gdb/mi} General Design
24958 @cindex GDB/MI General Design
24959
24960 Interaction of a @sc{GDB/MI} frontend with @value{GDBN} involves three
24961 parts---commands sent to @value{GDBN}, responses to those commands
24962 and notifications. Each command results in exactly one response,
24963 indicating either successful completion of the command, or an error.
24964 For the commands that do not resume the target, the response contains the
24965 requested information. For the commands that resume the target, the
24966 response only indicates whether the target was successfully resumed.
24967 Notifications is the mechanism for reporting changes in the state of the
24968 target, or in @value{GDBN} state, that cannot conveniently be associated with
24969 a command and reported as part of that command response.
24970
24971 The important examples of notifications are:
24972 @itemize @bullet
24973
24974 @item
24975 Exec notifications. These are used to report changes in
24976 target state---when a target is resumed, or stopped. It would not
24977 be feasible to include this information in response of resuming
24978 commands, because one resume commands can result in multiple events in
24979 different threads. Also, quite some time may pass before any event
24980 happens in the target, while a frontend needs to know whether the resuming
24981 command itself was successfully executed.
24982
24983 @item
24984 Console output, and status notifications. Console output
24985 notifications are used to report output of CLI commands, as well as
24986 diagnostics for other commands. Status notifications are used to
24987 report the progress of a long-running operation. Naturally, including
24988 this information in command response would mean no output is produced
24989 until the command is finished, which is undesirable.
24990
24991 @item
24992 General notifications. Commands may have various side effects on
24993 the @value{GDBN} or target state beyond their official purpose. For example,
24994 a command may change the selected thread. Although such changes can
24995 be included in command response, using notification allows for more
24996 orthogonal frontend design.
24997
24998 @end itemize
24999
25000 There's no guarantee that whenever an MI command reports an error,
25001 @value{GDBN} or the target are in any specific state, and especially,
25002 the state is not reverted to the state before the MI command was
25003 processed. Therefore, whenever an MI command results in an error,
25004 we recommend that the frontend refreshes all the information shown in
25005 the user interface.
25006
25007
25008 @menu
25009 * Context management::
25010 * Asynchronous and non-stop modes::
25011 * Thread groups::
25012 @end menu
25013
25014 @node Context management
25015 @subsection Context management
25016
25017 In most cases when @value{GDBN} accesses the target, this access is
25018 done in context of a specific thread and frame (@pxref{Frames}).
25019 Often, even when accessing global data, the target requires that a thread
25020 be specified. The CLI interface maintains the selected thread and frame,
25021 and supplies them to target on each command. This is convenient,
25022 because a command line user would not want to specify that information
25023 explicitly on each command, and because user interacts with
25024 @value{GDBN} via a single terminal, so no confusion is possible as
25025 to what thread and frame are the current ones.
25026
25027 In the case of MI, the concept of selected thread and frame is less
25028 useful. First, a frontend can easily remember this information
25029 itself. Second, a graphical frontend can have more than one window,
25030 each one used for debugging a different thread, and the frontend might
25031 want to access additional threads for internal purposes. This
25032 increases the risk that by relying on implicitly selected thread, the
25033 frontend may be operating on a wrong one. Therefore, each MI command
25034 should explicitly specify which thread and frame to operate on. To
25035 make it possible, each MI command accepts the @samp{--thread} and
25036 @samp{--frame} options, the value to each is @value{GDBN} identifier
25037 for thread and frame to operate on.
25038
25039 Usually, each top-level window in a frontend allows the user to select
25040 a thread and a frame, and remembers the user selection for further
25041 operations. However, in some cases @value{GDBN} may suggest that the
25042 current thread be changed. For example, when stopping on a breakpoint
25043 it is reasonable to switch to the thread where breakpoint is hit. For
25044 another example, if the user issues the CLI @samp{thread} command via
25045 the frontend, it is desirable to change the frontend's selected thread to the
25046 one specified by user. @value{GDBN} communicates the suggestion to
25047 change current thread using the @samp{=thread-selected} notification.
25048 No such notification is available for the selected frame at the moment.
25049
25050 Note that historically, MI shares the selected thread with CLI, so
25051 frontends used the @code{-thread-select} to execute commands in the
25052 right context. However, getting this to work right is cumbersome. The
25053 simplest way is for frontend to emit @code{-thread-select} command
25054 before every command. This doubles the number of commands that need
25055 to be sent. The alternative approach is to suppress @code{-thread-select}
25056 if the selected thread in @value{GDBN} is supposed to be identical to the
25057 thread the frontend wants to operate on. However, getting this
25058 optimization right can be tricky. In particular, if the frontend
25059 sends several commands to @value{GDBN}, and one of the commands changes the
25060 selected thread, then the behaviour of subsequent commands will
25061 change. So, a frontend should either wait for response from such
25062 problematic commands, or explicitly add @code{-thread-select} for
25063 all subsequent commands. No frontend is known to do this exactly
25064 right, so it is suggested to just always pass the @samp{--thread} and
25065 @samp{--frame} options.
25066
25067 @node Asynchronous and non-stop modes
25068 @subsection Asynchronous command execution and non-stop mode
25069
25070 On some targets, @value{GDBN} is capable of processing MI commands
25071 even while the target is running. This is called @dfn{asynchronous
25072 command execution} (@pxref{Background Execution}). The frontend may
25073 specify a preferrence for asynchronous execution using the
25074 @code{-gdb-set target-async 1} command, which should be emitted before
25075 either running the executable or attaching to the target. After the
25076 frontend has started the executable or attached to the target, it can
25077 find if asynchronous execution is enabled using the
25078 @code{-list-target-features} command.
25079
25080 Even if @value{GDBN} can accept a command while target is running,
25081 many commands that access the target do not work when the target is
25082 running. Therefore, asynchronous command execution is most useful
25083 when combined with non-stop mode (@pxref{Non-Stop Mode}). Then,
25084 it is possible to examine the state of one thread, while other threads
25085 are running.
25086
25087 When a given thread is running, MI commands that try to access the
25088 target in the context of that thread may not work, or may work only on
25089 some targets. In particular, commands that try to operate on thread's
25090 stack will not work, on any target. Commands that read memory, or
25091 modify breakpoints, may work or not work, depending on the target. Note
25092 that even commands that operate on global state, such as @code{print},
25093 @code{set}, and breakpoint commands, still access the target in the
25094 context of a specific thread, so frontend should try to find a
25095 stopped thread and perform the operation on that thread (using the
25096 @samp{--thread} option).
25097
25098 Which commands will work in the context of a running thread is
25099 highly target dependent. However, the two commands
25100 @code{-exec-interrupt}, to stop a thread, and @code{-thread-info},
25101 to find the state of a thread, will always work.
25102
25103 @node Thread groups
25104 @subsection Thread groups
25105 @value{GDBN} may be used to debug several processes at the same time.
25106 On some platfroms, @value{GDBN} may support debugging of several
25107 hardware systems, each one having several cores with several different
25108 processes running on each core. This section describes the MI
25109 mechanism to support such debugging scenarios.
25110
25111 The key observation is that regardless of the structure of the
25112 target, MI can have a global list of threads, because most commands that
25113 accept the @samp{--thread} option do not need to know what process that
25114 thread belongs to. Therefore, it is not necessary to introduce
25115 neither additional @samp{--process} option, nor an notion of the
25116 current process in the MI interface. The only strictly new feature
25117 that is required is the ability to find how the threads are grouped
25118 into processes.
25119
25120 To allow the user to discover such grouping, and to support arbitrary
25121 hierarchy of machines/cores/processes, MI introduces the concept of a
25122 @dfn{thread group}. Thread group is a collection of threads and other
25123 thread groups. A thread group always has a string identifier, a type,
25124 and may have additional attributes specific to the type. A new
25125 command, @code{-list-thread-groups}, returns the list of top-level
25126 thread groups, which correspond to processes that @value{GDBN} is
25127 debugging at the moment. By passing an identifier of a thread group
25128 to the @code{-list-thread-groups} command, it is possible to obtain
25129 the members of specific thread group.
25130
25131 To allow the user to easily discover processes, and other objects, he
25132 wishes to debug, a concept of @dfn{available thread group} is
25133 introduced. Available thread group is an thread group that
25134 @value{GDBN} is not debugging, but that can be attached to, using the
25135 @code{-target-attach} command. The list of available top-level thread
25136 groups can be obtained using @samp{-list-thread-groups --available}.
25137 In general, the content of a thread group may be only retrieved only
25138 after attaching to that thread group.
25139
25140 Thread groups are related to inferiors (@pxref{Inferiors and
25141 Programs}). Each inferior corresponds to a thread group of a special
25142 type @samp{process}, and some additional operations are permitted on
25143 such thread groups.
25144
25145 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
25146 @node GDB/MI Command Syntax
25147 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Command Syntax
25148
25149 @menu
25150 * GDB/MI Input Syntax::
25151 * GDB/MI Output Syntax::
25152 @end menu
25153
25154 @node GDB/MI Input Syntax
25155 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Input Syntax
25156
25157 @cindex input syntax for @sc{gdb/mi}
25158 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, input syntax
25159 @table @code
25160 @item @var{command} @expansion{}
25161 @code{@var{cli-command} | @var{mi-command}}
25162
25163 @item @var{cli-command} @expansion{}
25164 @code{[ @var{token} ] @var{cli-command} @var{nl}}, where
25165 @var{cli-command} is any existing @value{GDBN} CLI command.
25166
25167 @item @var{mi-command} @expansion{}
25168 @code{[ @var{token} ] "-" @var{operation} ( " " @var{option} )*
25169 @code{[} " --" @code{]} ( " " @var{parameter} )* @var{nl}}
25170
25171 @item @var{token} @expansion{}
25172 "any sequence of digits"
25173
25174 @item @var{option} @expansion{}
25175 @code{"-" @var{parameter} [ " " @var{parameter} ]}
25176
25177 @item @var{parameter} @expansion{}
25178 @code{@var{non-blank-sequence} | @var{c-string}}
25179
25180 @item @var{operation} @expansion{}
25181 @emph{any of the operations described in this chapter}
25182
25183 @item @var{non-blank-sequence} @expansion{}
25184 @emph{anything, provided it doesn't contain special characters such as
25185 "-", @var{nl}, """ and of course " "}
25186
25187 @item @var{c-string} @expansion{}
25188 @code{""" @var{seven-bit-iso-c-string-content} """}
25189
25190 @item @var{nl} @expansion{}
25191 @code{CR | CR-LF}
25192 @end table
25193
25194 @noindent
25195 Notes:
25196
25197 @itemize @bullet
25198 @item
25199 The CLI commands are still handled by the @sc{mi} interpreter; their
25200 output is described below.
25201
25202 @item
25203 The @code{@var{token}}, when present, is passed back when the command
25204 finishes.
25205
25206 @item
25207 Some @sc{mi} commands accept optional arguments as part of the parameter
25208 list. Each option is identified by a leading @samp{-} (dash) and may be
25209 followed by an optional argument parameter. Options occur first in the
25210 parameter list and can be delimited from normal parameters using
25211 @samp{--} (this is useful when some parameters begin with a dash).
25212 @end itemize
25213
25214 Pragmatics:
25215
25216 @itemize @bullet
25217 @item
25218 We want easy access to the existing CLI syntax (for debugging).
25219
25220 @item
25221 We want it to be easy to spot a @sc{mi} operation.
25222 @end itemize
25223
25224 @node GDB/MI Output Syntax
25225 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Output Syntax
25226
25227 @cindex output syntax of @sc{gdb/mi}
25228 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, output syntax
25229 The output from @sc{gdb/mi} consists of zero or more out-of-band records
25230 followed, optionally, by a single result record. This result record
25231 is for the most recent command. The sequence of output records is
25232 terminated by @samp{(gdb)}.
25233
25234 If an input command was prefixed with a @code{@var{token}} then the
25235 corresponding output for that command will also be prefixed by that same
25236 @var{token}.
25237
25238 @table @code
25239 @item @var{output} @expansion{}
25240 @code{( @var{out-of-band-record} )* [ @var{result-record} ] "(gdb)" @var{nl}}
25241
25242 @item @var{result-record} @expansion{}
25243 @code{ [ @var{token} ] "^" @var{result-class} ( "," @var{result} )* @var{nl}}
25244
25245 @item @var{out-of-band-record} @expansion{}
25246 @code{@var{async-record} | @var{stream-record}}
25247
25248 @item @var{async-record} @expansion{}
25249 @code{@var{exec-async-output} | @var{status-async-output} | @var{notify-async-output}}
25250
25251 @item @var{exec-async-output} @expansion{}
25252 @code{[ @var{token} ] "*" @var{async-output}}
25253
25254 @item @var{status-async-output} @expansion{}
25255 @code{[ @var{token} ] "+" @var{async-output}}
25256
25257 @item @var{notify-async-output} @expansion{}
25258 @code{[ @var{token} ] "=" @var{async-output}}
25259
25260 @item @var{async-output} @expansion{}
25261 @code{@var{async-class} ( "," @var{result} )* @var{nl}}
25262
25263 @item @var{result-class} @expansion{}
25264 @code{"done" | "running" | "connected" | "error" | "exit"}
25265
25266 @item @var{async-class} @expansion{}
25267 @code{"stopped" | @var{others}} (where @var{others} will be added
25268 depending on the needs---this is still in development).
25269
25270 @item @var{result} @expansion{}
25271 @code{ @var{variable} "=" @var{value}}
25272
25273 @item @var{variable} @expansion{}
25274 @code{ @var{string} }
25275
25276 @item @var{value} @expansion{}
25277 @code{ @var{const} | @var{tuple} | @var{list} }
25278
25279 @item @var{const} @expansion{}
25280 @code{@var{c-string}}
25281
25282 @item @var{tuple} @expansion{}
25283 @code{ "@{@}" | "@{" @var{result} ( "," @var{result} )* "@}" }
25284
25285 @item @var{list} @expansion{}
25286 @code{ "[]" | "[" @var{value} ( "," @var{value} )* "]" | "["
25287 @var{result} ( "," @var{result} )* "]" }
25288
25289 @item @var{stream-record} @expansion{}
25290 @code{@var{console-stream-output} | @var{target-stream-output} | @var{log-stream-output}}
25291
25292 @item @var{console-stream-output} @expansion{}
25293 @code{"~" @var{c-string}}
25294
25295 @item @var{target-stream-output} @expansion{}
25296 @code{"@@" @var{c-string}}
25297
25298 @item @var{log-stream-output} @expansion{}
25299 @code{"&" @var{c-string}}
25300
25301 @item @var{nl} @expansion{}
25302 @code{CR | CR-LF}
25303
25304 @item @var{token} @expansion{}
25305 @emph{any sequence of digits}.
25306 @end table
25307
25308 @noindent
25309 Notes:
25310
25311 @itemize @bullet
25312 @item
25313 All output sequences end in a single line containing a period.
25314
25315 @item
25316 The @code{@var{token}} is from the corresponding request. Note that
25317 for all async output, while the token is allowed by the grammar and
25318 may be output by future versions of @value{GDBN} for select async
25319 output messages, it is generally omitted. Frontends should treat
25320 all async output as reporting general changes in the state of the
25321 target and there should be no need to associate async output to any
25322 prior command.
25323
25324 @item
25325 @cindex status output in @sc{gdb/mi}
25326 @var{status-async-output} contains on-going status information about the
25327 progress of a slow operation. It can be discarded. All status output is
25328 prefixed by @samp{+}.
25329
25330 @item
25331 @cindex async output in @sc{gdb/mi}
25332 @var{exec-async-output} contains asynchronous state change on the target
25333 (stopped, started, disappeared). All async output is prefixed by
25334 @samp{*}.
25335
25336 @item
25337 @cindex notify output in @sc{gdb/mi}
25338 @var{notify-async-output} contains supplementary information that the
25339 client should handle (e.g., a new breakpoint information). All notify
25340 output is prefixed by @samp{=}.
25341
25342 @item
25343 @cindex console output in @sc{gdb/mi}
25344 @var{console-stream-output} is output that should be displayed as is in the
25345 console. It is the textual response to a CLI command. All the console
25346 output is prefixed by @samp{~}.
25347
25348 @item
25349 @cindex target output in @sc{gdb/mi}
25350 @var{target-stream-output} is the output produced by the target program.
25351 All the target output is prefixed by @samp{@@}.
25352
25353 @item
25354 @cindex log output in @sc{gdb/mi}
25355 @var{log-stream-output} is output text coming from @value{GDBN}'s internals, for
25356 instance messages that should be displayed as part of an error log. All
25357 the log output is prefixed by @samp{&}.
25358
25359 @item
25360 @cindex list output in @sc{gdb/mi}
25361 New @sc{gdb/mi} commands should only output @var{lists} containing
25362 @var{values}.
25363
25364
25365 @end itemize
25366
25367 @xref{GDB/MI Stream Records, , @sc{gdb/mi} Stream Records}, for more
25368 details about the various output records.
25369
25370 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
25371 @node GDB/MI Compatibility with CLI
25372 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Compatibility with CLI
25373
25374 @cindex compatibility, @sc{gdb/mi} and CLI
25375 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, compatibility with CLI
25376
25377 For the developers convenience CLI commands can be entered directly,
25378 but there may be some unexpected behaviour. For example, commands
25379 that query the user will behave as if the user replied yes, breakpoint
25380 command lists are not executed and some CLI commands, such as
25381 @code{if}, @code{when} and @code{define}, prompt for further input with
25382 @samp{>}, which is not valid MI output.
25383
25384 This feature may be removed at some stage in the future and it is
25385 recommended that front ends use the @code{-interpreter-exec} command
25386 (@pxref{-interpreter-exec}).
25387
25388 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
25389 @node GDB/MI Development and Front Ends
25390 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Development and Front Ends
25391 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi} development
25392
25393 The application which takes the MI output and presents the state of the
25394 program being debugged to the user is called a @dfn{front end}.
25395
25396 Although @sc{gdb/mi} is still incomplete, it is currently being used
25397 by a variety of front ends to @value{GDBN}. This makes it difficult
25398 to introduce new functionality without breaking existing usage. This
25399 section tries to minimize the problems by describing how the protocol
25400 might change.
25401
25402 Some changes in MI need not break a carefully designed front end, and
25403 for these the MI version will remain unchanged. The following is a
25404 list of changes that may occur within one level, so front ends should
25405 parse MI output in a way that can handle them:
25406
25407 @itemize @bullet
25408 @item
25409 New MI commands may be added.
25410
25411 @item
25412 New fields may be added to the output of any MI command.
25413
25414 @item
25415 The range of values for fields with specified values, e.g.,
25416 @code{in_scope} (@pxref{-var-update}) may be extended.
25417
25418 @c The format of field's content e.g type prefix, may change so parse it
25419 @c at your own risk. Yes, in general?
25420
25421 @c The order of fields may change? Shouldn't really matter but it might
25422 @c resolve inconsistencies.
25423 @end itemize
25424
25425 If the changes are likely to break front ends, the MI version level
25426 will be increased by one. This will allow the front end to parse the
25427 output according to the MI version. Apart from mi0, new versions of
25428 @value{GDBN} will not support old versions of MI and it will be the
25429 responsibility of the front end to work with the new one.
25430
25431 @c Starting with mi3, add a new command -mi-version that prints the MI
25432 @c version?
25433
25434 The best way to avoid unexpected changes in MI that might break your front
25435 end is to make your project known to @value{GDBN} developers and
25436 follow development on @email{gdb@@sourceware.org} and
25437 @email{gdb-patches@@sourceware.org}.
25438 @cindex mailing lists
25439
25440 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
25441 @node GDB/MI Output Records
25442 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Output Records
25443
25444 @menu
25445 * GDB/MI Result Records::
25446 * GDB/MI Stream Records::
25447 * GDB/MI Async Records::
25448 * GDB/MI Frame Information::
25449 * GDB/MI Thread Information::
25450 * GDB/MI Ada Exception Information::
25451 @end menu
25452
25453 @node GDB/MI Result Records
25454 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Result Records
25455
25456 @cindex result records in @sc{gdb/mi}
25457 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, result records
25458 In addition to a number of out-of-band notifications, the response to a
25459 @sc{gdb/mi} command includes one of the following result indications:
25460
25461 @table @code
25462 @findex ^done
25463 @item "^done" [ "," @var{results} ]
25464 The synchronous operation was successful, @code{@var{results}} are the return
25465 values.
25466
25467 @item "^running"
25468 @findex ^running
25469 This result record is equivalent to @samp{^done}. Historically, it
25470 was output instead of @samp{^done} if the command has resumed the
25471 target. This behaviour is maintained for backward compatibility, but
25472 all frontends should treat @samp{^done} and @samp{^running}
25473 identically and rely on the @samp{*running} output record to determine
25474 which threads are resumed.
25475
25476 @item "^connected"
25477 @findex ^connected
25478 @value{GDBN} has connected to a remote target.
25479
25480 @item "^error" "," @var{c-string}
25481 @findex ^error
25482 The operation failed. The @code{@var{c-string}} contains the corresponding
25483 error message.
25484
25485 @item "^exit"
25486 @findex ^exit
25487 @value{GDBN} has terminated.
25488
25489 @end table
25490
25491 @node GDB/MI Stream Records
25492 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Stream Records
25493
25494 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, stream records
25495 @cindex stream records in @sc{gdb/mi}
25496 @value{GDBN} internally maintains a number of output streams: the console, the
25497 target, and the log. The output intended for each of these streams is
25498 funneled through the @sc{gdb/mi} interface using @dfn{stream records}.
25499
25500 Each stream record begins with a unique @dfn{prefix character} which
25501 identifies its stream (@pxref{GDB/MI Output Syntax, , @sc{gdb/mi} Output
25502 Syntax}). In addition to the prefix, each stream record contains a
25503 @code{@var{string-output}}. This is either raw text (with an implicit new
25504 line) or a quoted C string (which does not contain an implicit newline).
25505
25506 @table @code
25507 @item "~" @var{string-output}
25508 The console output stream contains text that should be displayed in the
25509 CLI console window. It contains the textual responses to CLI commands.
25510
25511 @item "@@" @var{string-output}
25512 The target output stream contains any textual output from the running
25513 target. This is only present when GDB's event loop is truly
25514 asynchronous, which is currently only the case for remote targets.
25515
25516 @item "&" @var{string-output}
25517 The log stream contains debugging messages being produced by @value{GDBN}'s
25518 internals.
25519 @end table
25520
25521 @node GDB/MI Async Records
25522 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Async Records
25523
25524 @cindex async records in @sc{gdb/mi}
25525 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, async records
25526 @dfn{Async} records are used to notify the @sc{gdb/mi} client of
25527 additional changes that have occurred. Those changes can either be a
25528 consequence of @sc{gdb/mi} commands (e.g., a breakpoint modified) or a result of
25529 target activity (e.g., target stopped).
25530
25531 The following is the list of possible async records:
25532
25533 @table @code
25534
25535 @item *running,thread-id="@var{thread}"
25536 The target is now running. The @var{thread} field tells which
25537 specific thread is now running, and can be @samp{all} if all threads
25538 are running. The frontend should assume that no interaction with a
25539 running thread is possible after this notification is produced.
25540 The frontend should not assume that this notification is output
25541 only once for any command. @value{GDBN} may emit this notification
25542 several times, either for different threads, because it cannot resume
25543 all threads together, or even for a single thread, if the thread must
25544 be stepped though some code before letting it run freely.
25545
25546 @item *stopped,reason="@var{reason}",thread-id="@var{id}",stopped-threads="@var{stopped}",core="@var{core}"
25547 The target has stopped. The @var{reason} field can have one of the
25548 following values:
25549
25550 @table @code
25551 @item breakpoint-hit
25552 A breakpoint was reached.
25553 @item watchpoint-trigger
25554 A watchpoint was triggered.
25555 @item read-watchpoint-trigger
25556 A read watchpoint was triggered.
25557 @item access-watchpoint-trigger
25558 An access watchpoint was triggered.
25559 @item function-finished
25560 An -exec-finish or similar CLI command was accomplished.
25561 @item location-reached
25562 An -exec-until or similar CLI command was accomplished.
25563 @item watchpoint-scope
25564 A watchpoint has gone out of scope.
25565 @item end-stepping-range
25566 An -exec-next, -exec-next-instruction, -exec-step, -exec-step-instruction or
25567 similar CLI command was accomplished.
25568 @item exited-signalled
25569 The inferior exited because of a signal.
25570 @item exited
25571 The inferior exited.
25572 @item exited-normally
25573 The inferior exited normally.
25574 @item signal-received
25575 A signal was received by the inferior.
25576 @end table
25577
25578 The @var{id} field identifies the thread that directly caused the stop
25579 -- for example by hitting a breakpoint. Depending on whether all-stop
25580 mode is in effect (@pxref{All-Stop Mode}), @value{GDBN} may either
25581 stop all threads, or only the thread that directly triggered the stop.
25582 If all threads are stopped, the @var{stopped} field will have the
25583 value of @code{"all"}. Otherwise, the value of the @var{stopped}
25584 field will be a list of thread identifiers. Presently, this list will
25585 always include a single thread, but frontend should be prepared to see
25586 several threads in the list. The @var{core} field reports the
25587 processor core on which the stop event has happened. This field may be absent
25588 if such information is not available.
25589
25590 @item =thread-group-added,id="@var{id}"
25591 @itemx =thread-group-removed,id="@var{id}"
25592 A thread group was either added or removed. The @var{id} field
25593 contains the @value{GDBN} identifier of the thread group. When a thread
25594 group is added, it generally might not be associated with a running
25595 process. When a thread group is removed, its id becomes invalid and
25596 cannot be used in any way.
25597
25598 @item =thread-group-started,id="@var{id}",pid="@var{pid}"
25599 A thread group became associated with a running program,
25600 either because the program was just started or the thread group
25601 was attached to a program. The @var{id} field contains the
25602 @value{GDBN} identifier of the thread group. The @var{pid} field
25603 contains process identifier, specific to the operating system.
25604
25605 @item =thread-group-exited,id="@var{id}"[,exit-code="@var{code}"]
25606 A thread group is no longer associated with a running program,
25607 either because the program has exited, or because it was detached
25608 from. The @var{id} field contains the @value{GDBN} identifier of the
25609 thread group. @var{code} is the exit code of the inferior; it exists
25610 only when the inferior exited with some code.
25611
25612 @item =thread-created,id="@var{id}",group-id="@var{gid}"
25613 @itemx =thread-exited,id="@var{id}",group-id="@var{gid}"
25614 A thread either was created, or has exited. The @var{id} field
25615 contains the @value{GDBN} identifier of the thread. The @var{gid}
25616 field identifies the thread group this thread belongs to.
25617
25618 @item =thread-selected,id="@var{id}"
25619 Informs that the selected thread was changed as result of the last
25620 command. This notification is not emitted as result of @code{-thread-select}
25621 command but is emitted whenever an MI command that is not documented
25622 to change the selected thread actually changes it. In particular,
25623 invoking, directly or indirectly (via user-defined command), the CLI
25624 @code{thread} command, will generate this notification.
25625
25626 We suggest that in response to this notification, front ends
25627 highlight the selected thread and cause subsequent commands to apply to
25628 that thread.
25629
25630 @item =library-loaded,...
25631 Reports that a new library file was loaded by the program. This
25632 notification has 4 fields---@var{id}, @var{target-name},
25633 @var{host-name}, and @var{symbols-loaded}. The @var{id} field is an
25634 opaque identifier of the library. For remote debugging case,
25635 @var{target-name} and @var{host-name} fields give the name of the
25636 library file on the target, and on the host respectively. For native
25637 debugging, both those fields have the same value. The
25638 @var{symbols-loaded} field is emitted only for backward compatibility
25639 and should not be relied on to convey any useful information. The
25640 @var{thread-group} field, if present, specifies the id of the thread
25641 group in whose context the library was loaded. If the field is
25642 absent, it means the library was loaded in the context of all present
25643 thread groups.
25644
25645 @item =library-unloaded,...
25646 Reports that a library was unloaded by the program. This notification
25647 has 3 fields---@var{id}, @var{target-name} and @var{host-name} with
25648 the same meaning as for the @code{=library-loaded} notification.
25649 The @var{thread-group} field, if present, specifies the id of the
25650 thread group in whose context the library was unloaded. If the field is
25651 absent, it means the library was unloaded in the context of all present
25652 thread groups.
25653
25654 @item =breakpoint-created,bkpt=@{...@}
25655 @itemx =breakpoint-modified,bkpt=@{...@}
25656 @itemx =breakpoint-deleted,bkpt=@{...@}
25657 Reports that a breakpoint was created, modified, or deleted,
25658 respectively. Only user-visible breakpoints are reported to the MI
25659 user.
25660
25661 The @var{bkpt} argument is of the same form as returned by the various
25662 breakpoint commands; @xref{GDB/MI Breakpoint Commands}.
25663
25664 Note that if a breakpoint is emitted in the result record of a
25665 command, then it will not also be emitted in an async record.
25666
25667 @end table
25668
25669 @node GDB/MI Frame Information
25670 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Frame Information
25671
25672 Response from many MI commands includes an information about stack
25673 frame. This information is a tuple that may have the following
25674 fields:
25675
25676 @table @code
25677 @item level
25678 The level of the stack frame. The innermost frame has the level of
25679 zero. This field is always present.
25680
25681 @item func
25682 The name of the function corresponding to the frame. This field may
25683 be absent if @value{GDBN} is unable to determine the function name.
25684
25685 @item addr
25686 The code address for the frame. This field is always present.
25687
25688 @item file
25689 The name of the source files that correspond to the frame's code
25690 address. This field may be absent.
25691
25692 @item line
25693 The source line corresponding to the frames' code address. This field
25694 may be absent.
25695
25696 @item from
25697 The name of the binary file (either executable or shared library) the
25698 corresponds to the frame's code address. This field may be absent.
25699
25700 @end table
25701
25702 @node GDB/MI Thread Information
25703 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Thread Information
25704
25705 Whenever @value{GDBN} has to report an information about a thread, it
25706 uses a tuple with the following fields:
25707
25708 @table @code
25709 @item id
25710 The numeric id assigned to the thread by @value{GDBN}. This field is
25711 always present.
25712
25713 @item target-id
25714 Target-specific string identifying the thread. This field is always present.
25715
25716 @item details
25717 Additional information about the thread provided by the target.
25718 It is supposed to be human-readable and not interpreted by the
25719 frontend. This field is optional.
25720
25721 @item state
25722 Either @samp{stopped} or @samp{running}, depending on whether the
25723 thread is presently running. This field is always present.
25724
25725 @item core
25726 The value of this field is an integer number of the processor core the
25727 thread was last seen on. This field is optional.
25728 @end table
25729
25730 @node GDB/MI Ada Exception Information
25731 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Ada Exception Information
25732
25733 Whenever a @code{*stopped} record is emitted because the program
25734 stopped after hitting an exception catchpoint (@pxref{Set Catchpoints}),
25735 @value{GDBN} provides the name of the exception that was raised via
25736 the @code{exception-name} field.
25737
25738 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
25739 @node GDB/MI Simple Examples
25740 @section Simple Examples of @sc{gdb/mi} Interaction
25741 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, simple examples
25742
25743 This subsection presents several simple examples of interaction using
25744 the @sc{gdb/mi} interface. In these examples, @samp{->} means that the
25745 following line is passed to @sc{gdb/mi} as input, while @samp{<-} means
25746 the output received from @sc{gdb/mi}.
25747
25748 Note the line breaks shown in the examples are here only for
25749 readability, they don't appear in the real output.
25750
25751 @subheading Setting a Breakpoint
25752
25753 Setting a breakpoint generates synchronous output which contains detailed
25754 information of the breakpoint.
25755
25756 @smallexample
25757 -> -break-insert main
25758 <- ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
25759 enabled="y",addr="0x08048564",func="main",file="myprog.c",
25760 fullname="/home/nickrob/myprog.c",line="68",times="0"@}
25761 <- (gdb)
25762 @end smallexample
25763
25764 @subheading Program Execution
25765
25766 Program execution generates asynchronous records and MI gives the
25767 reason that execution stopped.
25768
25769 @smallexample
25770 -> -exec-run
25771 <- ^running
25772 <- (gdb)
25773 <- *stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",thread-id="0",
25774 frame=@{addr="0x08048564",func="main",
25775 args=[@{name="argc",value="1"@},@{name="argv",value="0xbfc4d4d4"@}],
25776 file="myprog.c",fullname="/home/nickrob/myprog.c",line="68"@}
25777 <- (gdb)
25778 -> -exec-continue
25779 <- ^running
25780 <- (gdb)
25781 <- *stopped,reason="exited-normally"
25782 <- (gdb)
25783 @end smallexample
25784
25785 @subheading Quitting @value{GDBN}
25786
25787 Quitting @value{GDBN} just prints the result class @samp{^exit}.
25788
25789 @smallexample
25790 -> (gdb)
25791 <- -gdb-exit
25792 <- ^exit
25793 @end smallexample
25794
25795 Please note that @samp{^exit} is printed immediately, but it might
25796 take some time for @value{GDBN} to actually exit. During that time, @value{GDBN}
25797 performs necessary cleanups, including killing programs being debugged
25798 or disconnecting from debug hardware, so the frontend should wait till
25799 @value{GDBN} exits and should only forcibly kill @value{GDBN} if it
25800 fails to exit in reasonable time.
25801
25802 @subheading A Bad Command
25803
25804 Here's what happens if you pass a non-existent command:
25805
25806 @smallexample
25807 -> -rubbish
25808 <- ^error,msg="Undefined MI command: rubbish"
25809 <- (gdb)
25810 @end smallexample
25811
25812
25813 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
25814 @node GDB/MI Command Description Format
25815 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Command Description Format
25816
25817 The remaining sections describe blocks of commands. Each block of
25818 commands is laid out in a fashion similar to this section.
25819
25820 @subheading Motivation
25821
25822 The motivation for this collection of commands.
25823
25824 @subheading Introduction
25825
25826 A brief introduction to this collection of commands as a whole.
25827
25828 @subheading Commands
25829
25830 For each command in the block, the following is described:
25831
25832 @subsubheading Synopsis
25833
25834 @smallexample
25835 -command @var{args}@dots{}
25836 @end smallexample
25837
25838 @subsubheading Result
25839
25840 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
25841
25842 The corresponding @value{GDBN} CLI command(s), if any.
25843
25844 @subsubheading Example
25845
25846 Example(s) formatted for readability. Some of the described commands have
25847 not been implemented yet and these are labeled N.A.@: (not available).
25848
25849
25850 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
25851 @node GDB/MI Breakpoint Commands
25852 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Breakpoint Commands
25853
25854 @cindex breakpoint commands for @sc{gdb/mi}
25855 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, breakpoint commands
25856 This section documents @sc{gdb/mi} commands for manipulating
25857 breakpoints.
25858
25859 @subheading The @code{-break-after} Command
25860 @findex -break-after
25861
25862 @subsubheading Synopsis
25863
25864 @smallexample
25865 -break-after @var{number} @var{count}
25866 @end smallexample
25867
25868 The breakpoint number @var{number} is not in effect until it has been
25869 hit @var{count} times. To see how this is reflected in the output of
25870 the @samp{-break-list} command, see the description of the
25871 @samp{-break-list} command below.
25872
25873 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
25874
25875 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{ignore}.
25876
25877 @subsubheading Example
25878
25879 @smallexample
25880 (gdb)
25881 -break-insert main
25882 ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
25883 enabled="y",addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",
25884 fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",line="5",times="0"@}
25885 (gdb)
25886 -break-after 1 3
25887 ~
25888 ^done
25889 (gdb)
25890 -break-list
25891 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
25892 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
25893 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
25894 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
25895 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
25896 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
25897 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
25898 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
25899 addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
25900 line="5",times="0",ignore="3"@}]@}
25901 (gdb)
25902 @end smallexample
25903
25904 @ignore
25905 @subheading The @code{-break-catch} Command
25906 @findex -break-catch
25907 @end ignore
25908
25909 @subheading The @code{-break-commands} Command
25910 @findex -break-commands
25911
25912 @subsubheading Synopsis
25913
25914 @smallexample
25915 -break-commands @var{number} [ @var{command1} ... @var{commandN} ]
25916 @end smallexample
25917
25918 Specifies the CLI commands that should be executed when breakpoint
25919 @var{number} is hit. The parameters @var{command1} to @var{commandN}
25920 are the commands. If no command is specified, any previously-set
25921 commands are cleared. @xref{Break Commands}. Typical use of this
25922 functionality is tracing a program, that is, printing of values of
25923 some variables whenever breakpoint is hit and then continuing.
25924
25925 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
25926
25927 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{commands}.
25928
25929 @subsubheading Example
25930
25931 @smallexample
25932 (gdb)
25933 -break-insert main
25934 ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
25935 enabled="y",addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",
25936 fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",line="5",times="0"@}
25937 (gdb)
25938 -break-commands 1 "print v" "continue"
25939 ^done
25940 (gdb)
25941 @end smallexample
25942
25943 @subheading The @code{-break-condition} Command
25944 @findex -break-condition
25945
25946 @subsubheading Synopsis
25947
25948 @smallexample
25949 -break-condition @var{number} @var{expr}
25950 @end smallexample
25951
25952 Breakpoint @var{number} will stop the program only if the condition in
25953 @var{expr} is true. The condition becomes part of the
25954 @samp{-break-list} output (see the description of the @samp{-break-list}
25955 command below).
25956
25957 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
25958
25959 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{condition}.
25960
25961 @subsubheading Example
25962
25963 @smallexample
25964 (gdb)
25965 -break-condition 1 1
25966 ^done
25967 (gdb)
25968 -break-list
25969 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
25970 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
25971 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
25972 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
25973 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
25974 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
25975 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
25976 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
25977 addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
25978 line="5",cond="1",times="0",ignore="3"@}]@}
25979 (gdb)
25980 @end smallexample
25981
25982 @subheading The @code{-break-delete} Command
25983 @findex -break-delete
25984
25985 @subsubheading Synopsis
25986
25987 @smallexample
25988 -break-delete ( @var{breakpoint} )+
25989 @end smallexample
25990
25991 Delete the breakpoint(s) whose number(s) are specified in the argument
25992 list. This is obviously reflected in the breakpoint list.
25993
25994 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
25995
25996 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{delete}.
25997
25998 @subsubheading Example
25999
26000 @smallexample
26001 (gdb)
26002 -break-delete 1
26003 ^done
26004 (gdb)
26005 -break-list
26006 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="0",nr_cols="6",
26007 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
26008 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
26009 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
26010 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
26011 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
26012 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
26013 body=[]@}
26014 (gdb)
26015 @end smallexample
26016
26017 @subheading The @code{-break-disable} Command
26018 @findex -break-disable
26019
26020 @subsubheading Synopsis
26021
26022 @smallexample
26023 -break-disable ( @var{breakpoint} )+
26024 @end smallexample
26025
26026 Disable the named @var{breakpoint}(s). The field @samp{enabled} in the
26027 break list is now set to @samp{n} for the named @var{breakpoint}(s).
26028
26029 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26030
26031 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{disable}.
26032
26033 @subsubheading Example
26034
26035 @smallexample
26036 (gdb)
26037 -break-disable 2
26038 ^done
26039 (gdb)
26040 -break-list
26041 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
26042 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
26043 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
26044 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
26045 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
26046 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
26047 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
26048 body=[bkpt=@{number="2",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="n",
26049 addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
26050 line="5",times="0"@}]@}
26051 (gdb)
26052 @end smallexample
26053
26054 @subheading The @code{-break-enable} Command
26055 @findex -break-enable
26056
26057 @subsubheading Synopsis
26058
26059 @smallexample
26060 -break-enable ( @var{breakpoint} )+
26061 @end smallexample
26062
26063 Enable (previously disabled) @var{breakpoint}(s).
26064
26065 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26066
26067 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{enable}.
26068
26069 @subsubheading Example
26070
26071 @smallexample
26072 (gdb)
26073 -break-enable 2
26074 ^done
26075 (gdb)
26076 -break-list
26077 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
26078 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
26079 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
26080 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
26081 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
26082 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
26083 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
26084 body=[bkpt=@{number="2",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
26085 addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
26086 line="5",times="0"@}]@}
26087 (gdb)
26088 @end smallexample
26089
26090 @subheading The @code{-break-info} Command
26091 @findex -break-info
26092
26093 @subsubheading Synopsis
26094
26095 @smallexample
26096 -break-info @var{breakpoint}
26097 @end smallexample
26098
26099 @c REDUNDANT???
26100 Get information about a single breakpoint.
26101
26102 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26103
26104 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info break @var{breakpoint}}.
26105
26106 @subsubheading Example
26107 N.A.
26108
26109 @subheading The @code{-break-insert} Command
26110 @findex -break-insert
26111
26112 @subsubheading Synopsis
26113
26114 @smallexample
26115 -break-insert [ -t ] [ -h ] [ -f ] [ -d ] [ -a ]
26116 [ -c @var{condition} ] [ -i @var{ignore-count} ]
26117 [ -p @var{thread} ] [ @var{location} ]
26118 @end smallexample
26119
26120 @noindent
26121 If specified, @var{location}, can be one of:
26122
26123 @itemize @bullet
26124 @item function
26125 @c @item +offset
26126 @c @item -offset
26127 @c @item linenum
26128 @item filename:linenum
26129 @item filename:function
26130 @item *address
26131 @end itemize
26132
26133 The possible optional parameters of this command are:
26134
26135 @table @samp
26136 @item -t
26137 Insert a temporary breakpoint.
26138 @item -h
26139 Insert a hardware breakpoint.
26140 @item -c @var{condition}
26141 Make the breakpoint conditional on @var{condition}.
26142 @item -i @var{ignore-count}
26143 Initialize the @var{ignore-count}.
26144 @item -f
26145 If @var{location} cannot be parsed (for example if it
26146 refers to unknown files or functions), create a pending
26147 breakpoint. Without this flag, @value{GDBN} will report
26148 an error, and won't create a breakpoint, if @var{location}
26149 cannot be parsed.
26150 @item -d
26151 Create a disabled breakpoint.
26152 @item -a
26153 Create a tracepoint. @xref{Tracepoints}. When this parameter
26154 is used together with @samp{-h}, a fast tracepoint is created.
26155 @end table
26156
26157 @subsubheading Result
26158
26159 The result is in the form:
26160
26161 @smallexample
26162 ^done,bkpt=@{number="@var{number}",type="@var{type}",disp="del"|"keep",
26163 enabled="y"|"n",addr="@var{hex}",func="@var{funcname}",file="@var{filename}",
26164 fullname="@var{full_filename}",line="@var{lineno}",[thread="@var{threadno},]
26165 times="@var{times}"@}
26166 @end smallexample
26167
26168 @noindent
26169 where @var{number} is the @value{GDBN} number for this breakpoint,
26170 @var{funcname} is the name of the function where the breakpoint was
26171 inserted, @var{filename} is the name of the source file which contains
26172 this function, @var{lineno} is the source line number within that file
26173 and @var{times} the number of times that the breakpoint has been hit
26174 (always 0 for -break-insert but may be greater for -break-info or -break-list
26175 which use the same output).
26176
26177 Note: this format is open to change.
26178 @c An out-of-band breakpoint instead of part of the result?
26179
26180 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26181
26182 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{break}, @samp{tbreak},
26183 @samp{hbreak}, @samp{thbreak}, and @samp{rbreak}.
26184
26185 @subsubheading Example
26186
26187 @smallexample
26188 (gdb)
26189 -break-insert main
26190 ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",addr="0x0001072c",file="recursive2.c",
26191 fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c,line="4",times="0"@}
26192 (gdb)
26193 -break-insert -t foo
26194 ^done,bkpt=@{number="2",addr="0x00010774",file="recursive2.c",
26195 fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c,line="11",times="0"@}
26196 (gdb)
26197 -break-list
26198 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="2",nr_cols="6",
26199 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
26200 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
26201 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
26202 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
26203 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
26204 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
26205 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
26206 addr="0x0001072c", func="main",file="recursive2.c",
26207 fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c,"line="4",times="0"@},
26208 bkpt=@{number="2",type="breakpoint",disp="del",enabled="y",
26209 addr="0x00010774",func="foo",file="recursive2.c",
26210 fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c",line="11",times="0"@}]@}
26211 (gdb)
26212 -break-insert -r foo.*
26213 ~int foo(int, int);
26214 ^done,bkpt=@{number="3",addr="0x00010774",file="recursive2.c,
26215 "fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c",line="11",times="0"@}
26216 (gdb)
26217 @end smallexample
26218
26219 @subheading The @code{-break-list} Command
26220 @findex -break-list
26221
26222 @subsubheading Synopsis
26223
26224 @smallexample
26225 -break-list
26226 @end smallexample
26227
26228 Displays the list of inserted breakpoints, showing the following fields:
26229
26230 @table @samp
26231 @item Number
26232 number of the breakpoint
26233 @item Type
26234 type of the breakpoint: @samp{breakpoint} or @samp{watchpoint}
26235 @item Disposition
26236 should the breakpoint be deleted or disabled when it is hit: @samp{keep}
26237 or @samp{nokeep}
26238 @item Enabled
26239 is the breakpoint enabled or no: @samp{y} or @samp{n}
26240 @item Address
26241 memory location at which the breakpoint is set
26242 @item What
26243 logical location of the breakpoint, expressed by function name, file
26244 name, line number
26245 @item Times
26246 number of times the breakpoint has been hit
26247 @end table
26248
26249 If there are no breakpoints or watchpoints, the @code{BreakpointTable}
26250 @code{body} field is an empty list.
26251
26252 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26253
26254 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info break}.
26255
26256 @subsubheading Example
26257
26258 @smallexample
26259 (gdb)
26260 -break-list
26261 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="2",nr_cols="6",
26262 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
26263 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
26264 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
26265 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
26266 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
26267 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
26268 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
26269 addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",line="5",times="0"@},
26270 bkpt=@{number="2",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
26271 addr="0x00010114",func="foo",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
26272 line="13",times="0"@}]@}
26273 (gdb)
26274 @end smallexample
26275
26276 Here's an example of the result when there are no breakpoints:
26277
26278 @smallexample
26279 (gdb)
26280 -break-list
26281 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="0",nr_cols="6",
26282 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
26283 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
26284 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
26285 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
26286 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
26287 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
26288 body=[]@}
26289 (gdb)
26290 @end smallexample
26291
26292 @subheading The @code{-break-passcount} Command
26293 @findex -break-passcount
26294
26295 @subsubheading Synopsis
26296
26297 @smallexample
26298 -break-passcount @var{tracepoint-number} @var{passcount}
26299 @end smallexample
26300
26301 Set the passcount for tracepoint @var{tracepoint-number} to
26302 @var{passcount}. If the breakpoint referred to by @var{tracepoint-number}
26303 is not a tracepoint, error is emitted. This corresponds to CLI
26304 command @samp{passcount}.
26305
26306 @subheading The @code{-break-watch} Command
26307 @findex -break-watch
26308
26309 @subsubheading Synopsis
26310
26311 @smallexample
26312 -break-watch [ -a | -r ]
26313 @end smallexample
26314
26315 Create a watchpoint. With the @samp{-a} option it will create an
26316 @dfn{access} watchpoint, i.e., a watchpoint that triggers either on a
26317 read from or on a write to the memory location. With the @samp{-r}
26318 option, the watchpoint created is a @dfn{read} watchpoint, i.e., it will
26319 trigger only when the memory location is accessed for reading. Without
26320 either of the options, the watchpoint created is a regular watchpoint,
26321 i.e., it will trigger when the memory location is accessed for writing.
26322 @xref{Set Watchpoints, , Setting Watchpoints}.
26323
26324 Note that @samp{-break-list} will report a single list of watchpoints and
26325 breakpoints inserted.
26326
26327 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26328
26329 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{watch}, @samp{awatch}, and
26330 @samp{rwatch}.
26331
26332 @subsubheading Example
26333
26334 Setting a watchpoint on a variable in the @code{main} function:
26335
26336 @smallexample
26337 (gdb)
26338 -break-watch x
26339 ^done,wpt=@{number="2",exp="x"@}
26340 (gdb)
26341 -exec-continue
26342 ^running
26343 (gdb)
26344 *stopped,reason="watchpoint-trigger",wpt=@{number="2",exp="x"@},
26345 value=@{old="-268439212",new="55"@},
26346 frame=@{func="main",args=[],file="recursive2.c",
26347 fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="5"@}
26348 (gdb)
26349 @end smallexample
26350
26351 Setting a watchpoint on a variable local to a function. @value{GDBN} will stop
26352 the program execution twice: first for the variable changing value, then
26353 for the watchpoint going out of scope.
26354
26355 @smallexample
26356 (gdb)
26357 -break-watch C
26358 ^done,wpt=@{number="5",exp="C"@}
26359 (gdb)
26360 -exec-continue
26361 ^running
26362 (gdb)
26363 *stopped,reason="watchpoint-trigger",
26364 wpt=@{number="5",exp="C"@},value=@{old="-276895068",new="3"@},
26365 frame=@{func="callee4",args=[],
26366 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
26367 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="13"@}
26368 (gdb)
26369 -exec-continue
26370 ^running
26371 (gdb)
26372 *stopped,reason="watchpoint-scope",wpnum="5",
26373 frame=@{func="callee3",args=[@{name="strarg",
26374 value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}],
26375 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
26376 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="18"@}
26377 (gdb)
26378 @end smallexample
26379
26380 Listing breakpoints and watchpoints, at different points in the program
26381 execution. Note that once the watchpoint goes out of scope, it is
26382 deleted.
26383
26384 @smallexample
26385 (gdb)
26386 -break-watch C
26387 ^done,wpt=@{number="2",exp="C"@}
26388 (gdb)
26389 -break-list
26390 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="2",nr_cols="6",
26391 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
26392 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
26393 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
26394 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
26395 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
26396 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
26397 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
26398 addr="0x00010734",func="callee4",
26399 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
26400 fullname="/home/foo/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c"line="8",times="1"@},
26401 bkpt=@{number="2",type="watchpoint",disp="keep",
26402 enabled="y",addr="",what="C",times="0"@}]@}
26403 (gdb)
26404 -exec-continue
26405 ^running
26406 (gdb)
26407 *stopped,reason="watchpoint-trigger",wpt=@{number="2",exp="C"@},
26408 value=@{old="-276895068",new="3"@},
26409 frame=@{func="callee4",args=[],
26410 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
26411 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="13"@}
26412 (gdb)
26413 -break-list
26414 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="2",nr_cols="6",
26415 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
26416 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
26417 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
26418 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
26419 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
26420 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
26421 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
26422 addr="0x00010734",func="callee4",
26423 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
26424 fullname="/home/foo/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8",times="1"@},
26425 bkpt=@{number="2",type="watchpoint",disp="keep",
26426 enabled="y",addr="",what="C",times="-5"@}]@}
26427 (gdb)
26428 -exec-continue
26429 ^running
26430 ^done,reason="watchpoint-scope",wpnum="2",
26431 frame=@{func="callee3",args=[@{name="strarg",
26432 value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}],
26433 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
26434 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="18"@}
26435 (gdb)
26436 -break-list
26437 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
26438 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
26439 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
26440 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
26441 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
26442 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
26443 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
26444 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
26445 addr="0x00010734",func="callee4",
26446 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
26447 fullname="/home/foo/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8",
26448 times="1"@}]@}
26449 (gdb)
26450 @end smallexample
26451
26452 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
26453 @node GDB/MI Program Context
26454 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Program Context
26455
26456 @subheading The @code{-exec-arguments} Command
26457 @findex -exec-arguments
26458
26459
26460 @subsubheading Synopsis
26461
26462 @smallexample
26463 -exec-arguments @var{args}
26464 @end smallexample
26465
26466 Set the inferior program arguments, to be used in the next
26467 @samp{-exec-run}.
26468
26469 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26470
26471 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{set args}.
26472
26473 @subsubheading Example
26474
26475 @smallexample
26476 (gdb)
26477 -exec-arguments -v word
26478 ^done
26479 (gdb)
26480 @end smallexample
26481
26482
26483 @ignore
26484 @subheading The @code{-exec-show-arguments} Command
26485 @findex -exec-show-arguments
26486
26487 @subsubheading Synopsis
26488
26489 @smallexample
26490 -exec-show-arguments
26491 @end smallexample
26492
26493 Print the arguments of the program.
26494
26495 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26496
26497 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{show args}.
26498
26499 @subsubheading Example
26500 N.A.
26501 @end ignore
26502
26503
26504 @subheading The @code{-environment-cd} Command
26505 @findex -environment-cd
26506
26507 @subsubheading Synopsis
26508
26509 @smallexample
26510 -environment-cd @var{pathdir}
26511 @end smallexample
26512
26513 Set @value{GDBN}'s working directory.
26514
26515 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26516
26517 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{cd}.
26518
26519 @subsubheading Example
26520
26521 @smallexample
26522 (gdb)
26523 -environment-cd /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb
26524 ^done
26525 (gdb)
26526 @end smallexample
26527
26528
26529 @subheading The @code{-environment-directory} Command
26530 @findex -environment-directory
26531
26532 @subsubheading Synopsis
26533
26534 @smallexample
26535 -environment-directory [ -r ] [ @var{pathdir} ]+
26536 @end smallexample
26537
26538 Add directories @var{pathdir} to beginning of search path for source files.
26539 If the @samp{-r} option is used, the search path is reset to the default
26540 search path. If directories @var{pathdir} are supplied in addition to the
26541 @samp{-r} option, the search path is first reset and then addition
26542 occurs as normal.
26543 Multiple directories may be specified, separated by blanks. Specifying
26544 multiple directories in a single command
26545 results in the directories added to the beginning of the
26546 search path in the same order they were presented in the command.
26547 If blanks are needed as
26548 part of a directory name, double-quotes should be used around
26549 the name. In the command output, the path will show up separated
26550 by the system directory-separator character. The directory-separator
26551 character must not be used
26552 in any directory name.
26553 If no directories are specified, the current search path is displayed.
26554
26555 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26556
26557 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{dir}.
26558
26559 @subsubheading Example
26560
26561 @smallexample
26562 (gdb)
26563 -environment-directory /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb
26564 ^done,source-path="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb:$cdir:$cwd"
26565 (gdb)
26566 -environment-directory ""
26567 ^done,source-path="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb:$cdir:$cwd"
26568 (gdb)
26569 -environment-directory -r /home/jjohnstn/src/gdb /usr/src
26570 ^done,source-path="/home/jjohnstn/src/gdb:/usr/src:$cdir:$cwd"
26571 (gdb)
26572 -environment-directory -r
26573 ^done,source-path="$cdir:$cwd"
26574 (gdb)
26575 @end smallexample
26576
26577
26578 @subheading The @code{-environment-path} Command
26579 @findex -environment-path
26580
26581 @subsubheading Synopsis
26582
26583 @smallexample
26584 -environment-path [ -r ] [ @var{pathdir} ]+
26585 @end smallexample
26586
26587 Add directories @var{pathdir} to beginning of search path for object files.
26588 If the @samp{-r} option is used, the search path is reset to the original
26589 search path that existed at gdb start-up. If directories @var{pathdir} are
26590 supplied in addition to the
26591 @samp{-r} option, the search path is first reset and then addition
26592 occurs as normal.
26593 Multiple directories may be specified, separated by blanks. Specifying
26594 multiple directories in a single command
26595 results in the directories added to the beginning of the
26596 search path in the same order they were presented in the command.
26597 If blanks are needed as
26598 part of a directory name, double-quotes should be used around
26599 the name. In the command output, the path will show up separated
26600 by the system directory-separator character. The directory-separator
26601 character must not be used
26602 in any directory name.
26603 If no directories are specified, the current path is displayed.
26604
26605
26606 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26607
26608 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{path}.
26609
26610 @subsubheading Example
26611
26612 @smallexample
26613 (gdb)
26614 -environment-path
26615 ^done,path="/usr/bin"
26616 (gdb)
26617 -environment-path /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/ppc-eabi/gdb /bin
26618 ^done,path="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/ppc-eabi/gdb:/bin:/usr/bin"
26619 (gdb)
26620 -environment-path -r /usr/local/bin
26621 ^done,path="/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin"
26622 (gdb)
26623 @end smallexample
26624
26625
26626 @subheading The @code{-environment-pwd} Command
26627 @findex -environment-pwd
26628
26629 @subsubheading Synopsis
26630
26631 @smallexample
26632 -environment-pwd
26633 @end smallexample
26634
26635 Show the current working directory.
26636
26637 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26638
26639 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{pwd}.
26640
26641 @subsubheading Example
26642
26643 @smallexample
26644 (gdb)
26645 -environment-pwd
26646 ^done,cwd="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb"
26647 (gdb)
26648 @end smallexample
26649
26650 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
26651 @node GDB/MI Thread Commands
26652 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Thread Commands
26653
26654
26655 @subheading The @code{-thread-info} Command
26656 @findex -thread-info
26657
26658 @subsubheading Synopsis
26659
26660 @smallexample
26661 -thread-info [ @var{thread-id} ]
26662 @end smallexample
26663
26664 Reports information about either a specific thread, if
26665 the @var{thread-id} parameter is present, or about all
26666 threads. When printing information about all threads,
26667 also reports the current thread.
26668
26669 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26670
26671 The @samp{info thread} command prints the same information
26672 about all threads.
26673
26674 @subsubheading Result
26675
26676 The result is a list of threads. The following attributes are
26677 defined for a given thread:
26678
26679 @table @samp
26680 @item current
26681 This field exists only for the current thread. It has the value @samp{*}.
26682
26683 @item id
26684 The identifier that @value{GDBN} uses to refer to the thread.
26685
26686 @item target-id
26687 The identifier that the target uses to refer to the thread.
26688
26689 @item details
26690 Extra information about the thread, in a target-specific format. This
26691 field is optional.
26692
26693 @item name
26694 The name of the thread. If the user specified a name using the
26695 @code{thread name} command, then this name is given. Otherwise, if
26696 @value{GDBN} can extract the thread name from the target, then that
26697 name is given. If @value{GDBN} cannot find the thread name, then this
26698 field is omitted.
26699
26700 @item frame
26701 The stack frame currently executing in the thread.
26702
26703 @item state
26704 The thread's state. The @samp{state} field may have the following
26705 values:
26706
26707 @table @code
26708 @item stopped
26709 The thread is stopped. Frame information is available for stopped
26710 threads.
26711
26712 @item running
26713 The thread is running. There's no frame information for running
26714 threads.
26715
26716 @end table
26717
26718 @item core
26719 If @value{GDBN} can find the CPU core on which this thread is running,
26720 then this field is the core identifier. This field is optional.
26721
26722 @end table
26723
26724 @subsubheading Example
26725
26726 @smallexample
26727 -thread-info
26728 ^done,threads=[
26729 @{id="2",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90 (LWP 21257)",
26730 frame=@{level="0",addr="0xffffe410",func="__kernel_vsyscall",
26731 args=[]@},state="running"@},
26732 @{id="1",target-id="Thread 0xb7e156b0 (LWP 21254)",
26733 frame=@{level="0",addr="0x0804891f",func="foo",
26734 args=[@{name="i",value="10"@}],
26735 file="/tmp/a.c",fullname="/tmp/a.c",line="158"@},
26736 state="running"@}],
26737 current-thread-id="1"
26738 (gdb)
26739 @end smallexample
26740
26741 @subheading The @code{-thread-list-ids} Command
26742 @findex -thread-list-ids
26743
26744 @subsubheading Synopsis
26745
26746 @smallexample
26747 -thread-list-ids
26748 @end smallexample
26749
26750 Produces a list of the currently known @value{GDBN} thread ids. At the
26751 end of the list it also prints the total number of such threads.
26752
26753 This command is retained for historical reasons, the
26754 @code{-thread-info} command should be used instead.
26755
26756 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26757
26758 Part of @samp{info threads} supplies the same information.
26759
26760 @subsubheading Example
26761
26762 @smallexample
26763 (gdb)
26764 -thread-list-ids
26765 ^done,thread-ids=@{thread-id="3",thread-id="2",thread-id="1"@},
26766 current-thread-id="1",number-of-threads="3"
26767 (gdb)
26768 @end smallexample
26769
26770
26771 @subheading The @code{-thread-select} Command
26772 @findex -thread-select
26773
26774 @subsubheading Synopsis
26775
26776 @smallexample
26777 -thread-select @var{threadnum}
26778 @end smallexample
26779
26780 Make @var{threadnum} the current thread. It prints the number of the new
26781 current thread, and the topmost frame for that thread.
26782
26783 This command is deprecated in favor of explicitly using the
26784 @samp{--thread} option to each command.
26785
26786 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26787
26788 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{thread}.
26789
26790 @subsubheading Example
26791
26792 @smallexample
26793 (gdb)
26794 -exec-next
26795 ^running
26796 (gdb)
26797 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",thread-id="2",line="187",
26798 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.threads/linux-dp.c"
26799 (gdb)
26800 -thread-list-ids
26801 ^done,
26802 thread-ids=@{thread-id="3",thread-id="2",thread-id="1"@},
26803 number-of-threads="3"
26804 (gdb)
26805 -thread-select 3
26806 ^done,new-thread-id="3",
26807 frame=@{level="0",func="vprintf",
26808 args=[@{name="format",value="0x8048e9c \"%*s%c %d %c\\n\""@},
26809 @{name="arg",value="0x2"@}],file="vprintf.c",line="31"@}
26810 (gdb)
26811 @end smallexample
26812
26813 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
26814 @node GDB/MI Ada Tasking Commands
26815 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Ada Tasking Commands
26816
26817 @subheading The @code{-ada-task-info} Command
26818 @findex -ada-task-info
26819
26820 @subsubheading Synopsis
26821
26822 @smallexample
26823 -ada-task-info [ @var{task-id} ]
26824 @end smallexample
26825
26826 Reports information about either a specific Ada task, if the
26827 @var{task-id} parameter is present, or about all Ada tasks.
26828
26829 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26830
26831 The @samp{info tasks} command prints the same information
26832 about all Ada tasks (@pxref{Ada Tasks}).
26833
26834 @subsubheading Result
26835
26836 The result is a table of Ada tasks. The following columns are
26837 defined for each Ada task:
26838
26839 @table @samp
26840 @item current
26841 This field exists only for the current thread. It has the value @samp{*}.
26842
26843 @item id
26844 The identifier that @value{GDBN} uses to refer to the Ada task.
26845
26846 @item task-id
26847 The identifier that the target uses to refer to the Ada task.
26848
26849 @item thread-id
26850 The identifier of the thread corresponding to the Ada task.
26851
26852 This field should always exist, as Ada tasks are always implemented
26853 on top of a thread. But if @value{GDBN} cannot find this corresponding
26854 thread for any reason, the field is omitted.
26855
26856 @item parent-id
26857 This field exists only when the task was created by another task.
26858 In this case, it provides the ID of the parent task.
26859
26860 @item priority
26861 The base priority of the task.
26862
26863 @item state
26864 The current state of the task. For a detailed description of the
26865 possible states, see @ref{Ada Tasks}.
26866
26867 @item name
26868 The name of the task.
26869
26870 @end table
26871
26872 @subsubheading Example
26873
26874 @smallexample
26875 -ada-task-info
26876 ^done,tasks=@{nr_rows="3",nr_cols="8",
26877 hdr=[@{width="1",alignment="-1",col_name="current",colhdr=""@},
26878 @{width="3",alignment="1",col_name="id",colhdr="ID"@},
26879 @{width="9",alignment="1",col_name="task-id",colhdr="TID"@},
26880 @{width="4",alignment="1",col_name="thread-id",colhdr=""@},
26881 @{width="4",alignment="1",col_name="parent-id",colhdr="P-ID"@},
26882 @{width="3",alignment="1",col_name="priority",colhdr="Pri"@},
26883 @{width="22",alignment="-1",col_name="state",colhdr="State"@},
26884 @{width="1",alignment="2",col_name="name",colhdr="Name"@}],
26885 body=[@{current="*",id="1",task-id=" 644010",thread-id="1",priority="48",
26886 state="Child Termination Wait",name="main_task"@}]@}
26887 (gdb)
26888 @end smallexample
26889
26890 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
26891 @node GDB/MI Program Execution
26892 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Program Execution
26893
26894 These are the asynchronous commands which generate the out-of-band
26895 record @samp{*stopped}. Currently @value{GDBN} only really executes
26896 asynchronously with remote targets and this interaction is mimicked in
26897 other cases.
26898
26899 @subheading The @code{-exec-continue} Command
26900 @findex -exec-continue
26901
26902 @subsubheading Synopsis
26903
26904 @smallexample
26905 -exec-continue [--reverse] [--all|--thread-group N]
26906 @end smallexample
26907
26908 Resumes the execution of the inferior program, which will continue
26909 to execute until it reaches a debugger stop event. If the
26910 @samp{--reverse} option is specified, execution resumes in reverse until
26911 it reaches a stop event. Stop events may include
26912 @itemize @bullet
26913 @item
26914 breakpoints or watchpoints
26915 @item
26916 signals or exceptions
26917 @item
26918 the end of the process (or its beginning under @samp{--reverse})
26919 @item
26920 the end or beginning of a replay log if one is being used.
26921 @end itemize
26922 In all-stop mode (@pxref{All-Stop
26923 Mode}), may resume only one thread, or all threads, depending on the
26924 value of the @samp{scheduler-locking} variable. If @samp{--all} is
26925 specified, all threads (in all inferiors) will be resumed. The @samp{--all} option is
26926 ignored in all-stop mode. If the @samp{--thread-group} options is
26927 specified, then all threads in that thread group are resumed.
26928
26929 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26930
26931 The corresponding @value{GDBN} corresponding is @samp{continue}.
26932
26933 @subsubheading Example
26934
26935 @smallexample
26936 -exec-continue
26937 ^running
26938 (gdb)
26939 @@Hello world
26940 *stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="2",frame=@{
26941 func="foo",args=[],file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/hello.c",
26942 line="13"@}
26943 (gdb)
26944 @end smallexample
26945
26946
26947 @subheading The @code{-exec-finish} Command
26948 @findex -exec-finish
26949
26950 @subsubheading Synopsis
26951
26952 @smallexample
26953 -exec-finish [--reverse]
26954 @end smallexample
26955
26956 Resumes the execution of the inferior program until the current
26957 function is exited. Displays the results returned by the function.
26958 If the @samp{--reverse} option is specified, resumes the reverse
26959 execution of the inferior program until the point where current
26960 function was called.
26961
26962 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
26963
26964 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{finish}.
26965
26966 @subsubheading Example
26967
26968 Function returning @code{void}.
26969
26970 @smallexample
26971 -exec-finish
26972 ^running
26973 (gdb)
26974 @@hello from foo
26975 *stopped,reason="function-finished",frame=@{func="main",args=[],
26976 file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/hello.c",line="7"@}
26977 (gdb)
26978 @end smallexample
26979
26980 Function returning other than @code{void}. The name of the internal
26981 @value{GDBN} variable storing the result is printed, together with the
26982 value itself.
26983
26984 @smallexample
26985 -exec-finish
26986 ^running
26987 (gdb)
26988 *stopped,reason="function-finished",frame=@{addr="0x000107b0",func="foo",
26989 args=[@{name="a",value="1"],@{name="b",value="9"@}@},
26990 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
26991 gdb-result-var="$1",return-value="0"
26992 (gdb)
26993 @end smallexample
26994
26995
26996 @subheading The @code{-exec-interrupt} Command
26997 @findex -exec-interrupt
26998
26999 @subsubheading Synopsis
27000
27001 @smallexample
27002 -exec-interrupt [--all|--thread-group N]
27003 @end smallexample
27004
27005 Interrupts the background execution of the target. Note how the token
27006 associated with the stop message is the one for the execution command
27007 that has been interrupted. The token for the interrupt itself only
27008 appears in the @samp{^done} output. If the user is trying to
27009 interrupt a non-running program, an error message will be printed.
27010
27011 Note that when asynchronous execution is enabled, this command is
27012 asynchronous just like other execution commands. That is, first the
27013 @samp{^done} response will be printed, and the target stop will be
27014 reported after that using the @samp{*stopped} notification.
27015
27016 In non-stop mode, only the context thread is interrupted by default.
27017 All threads (in all inferiors) will be interrupted if the
27018 @samp{--all} option is specified. If the @samp{--thread-group}
27019 option is specified, all threads in that group will be interrupted.
27020
27021 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27022
27023 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{interrupt}.
27024
27025 @subsubheading Example
27026
27027 @smallexample
27028 (gdb)
27029 111-exec-continue
27030 111^running
27031
27032 (gdb)
27033 222-exec-interrupt
27034 222^done
27035 (gdb)
27036 111*stopped,signal-name="SIGINT",signal-meaning="Interrupt",
27037 frame=@{addr="0x00010140",func="foo",args=[],file="try.c",
27038 fullname="/home/foo/bar/try.c",line="13"@}
27039 (gdb)
27040
27041 (gdb)
27042 -exec-interrupt
27043 ^error,msg="mi_cmd_exec_interrupt: Inferior not executing."
27044 (gdb)
27045 @end smallexample
27046
27047 @subheading The @code{-exec-jump} Command
27048 @findex -exec-jump
27049
27050 @subsubheading Synopsis
27051
27052 @smallexample
27053 -exec-jump @var{location}
27054 @end smallexample
27055
27056 Resumes execution of the inferior program at the location specified by
27057 parameter. @xref{Specify Location}, for a description of the
27058 different forms of @var{location}.
27059
27060 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27061
27062 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{jump}.
27063
27064 @subsubheading Example
27065
27066 @smallexample
27067 -exec-jump foo.c:10
27068 *running,thread-id="all"
27069 ^running
27070 @end smallexample
27071
27072
27073 @subheading The @code{-exec-next} Command
27074 @findex -exec-next
27075
27076 @subsubheading Synopsis
27077
27078 @smallexample
27079 -exec-next [--reverse]
27080 @end smallexample
27081
27082 Resumes execution of the inferior program, stopping when the beginning
27083 of the next source line is reached.
27084
27085 If the @samp{--reverse} option is specified, resumes reverse execution
27086 of the inferior program, stopping at the beginning of the previous
27087 source line. If you issue this command on the first line of a
27088 function, it will take you back to the caller of that function, to the
27089 source line where the function was called.
27090
27091
27092 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27093
27094 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{next}.
27095
27096 @subsubheading Example
27097
27098 @smallexample
27099 -exec-next
27100 ^running
27101 (gdb)
27102 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",line="8",file="hello.c"
27103 (gdb)
27104 @end smallexample
27105
27106
27107 @subheading The @code{-exec-next-instruction} Command
27108 @findex -exec-next-instruction
27109
27110 @subsubheading Synopsis
27111
27112 @smallexample
27113 -exec-next-instruction [--reverse]
27114 @end smallexample
27115
27116 Executes one machine instruction. If the instruction is a function
27117 call, continues until the function returns. If the program stops at an
27118 instruction in the middle of a source line, the address will be
27119 printed as well.
27120
27121 If the @samp{--reverse} option is specified, resumes reverse execution
27122 of the inferior program, stopping at the previous instruction. If the
27123 previously executed instruction was a return from another function,
27124 it will continue to execute in reverse until the call to that function
27125 (from the current stack frame) is reached.
27126
27127 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27128
27129 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{nexti}.
27130
27131 @subsubheading Example
27132
27133 @smallexample
27134 (gdb)
27135 -exec-next-instruction
27136 ^running
27137
27138 (gdb)
27139 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",
27140 addr="0x000100d4",line="5",file="hello.c"
27141 (gdb)
27142 @end smallexample
27143
27144
27145 @subheading The @code{-exec-return} Command
27146 @findex -exec-return
27147
27148 @subsubheading Synopsis
27149
27150 @smallexample
27151 -exec-return
27152 @end smallexample
27153
27154 Makes current function return immediately. Doesn't execute the inferior.
27155 Displays the new current frame.
27156
27157 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27158
27159 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{return}.
27160
27161 @subsubheading Example
27162
27163 @smallexample
27164 (gdb)
27165 200-break-insert callee4
27166 200^done,bkpt=@{number="1",addr="0x00010734",
27167 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8"@}
27168 (gdb)
27169 000-exec-run
27170 000^running
27171 (gdb)
27172 000*stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",
27173 frame=@{func="callee4",args=[],
27174 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
27175 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8"@}
27176 (gdb)
27177 205-break-delete
27178 205^done
27179 (gdb)
27180 111-exec-return
27181 111^done,frame=@{level="0",func="callee3",
27182 args=[@{name="strarg",
27183 value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}],
27184 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
27185 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="18"@}
27186 (gdb)
27187 @end smallexample
27188
27189
27190 @subheading The @code{-exec-run} Command
27191 @findex -exec-run
27192
27193 @subsubheading Synopsis
27194
27195 @smallexample
27196 -exec-run [--all | --thread-group N]
27197 @end smallexample
27198
27199 Starts execution of the inferior from the beginning. The inferior
27200 executes until either a breakpoint is encountered or the program
27201 exits. In the latter case the output will include an exit code, if
27202 the program has exited exceptionally.
27203
27204 When no option is specified, the current inferior is started. If the
27205 @samp{--thread-group} option is specified, it should refer to a thread
27206 group of type @samp{process}, and that thread group will be started.
27207 If the @samp{--all} option is specified, then all inferiors will be started.
27208
27209 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27210
27211 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{run}.
27212
27213 @subsubheading Examples
27214
27215 @smallexample
27216 (gdb)
27217 -break-insert main
27218 ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",addr="0x0001072c",file="recursive2.c",line="4"@}
27219 (gdb)
27220 -exec-run
27221 ^running
27222 (gdb)
27223 *stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",
27224 frame=@{func="main",args=[],file="recursive2.c",
27225 fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="4"@}
27226 (gdb)
27227 @end smallexample
27228
27229 @noindent
27230 Program exited normally:
27231
27232 @smallexample
27233 (gdb)
27234 -exec-run
27235 ^running
27236 (gdb)
27237 x = 55
27238 *stopped,reason="exited-normally"
27239 (gdb)
27240 @end smallexample
27241
27242 @noindent
27243 Program exited exceptionally:
27244
27245 @smallexample
27246 (gdb)
27247 -exec-run
27248 ^running
27249 (gdb)
27250 x = 55
27251 *stopped,reason="exited",exit-code="01"
27252 (gdb)
27253 @end smallexample
27254
27255 Another way the program can terminate is if it receives a signal such as
27256 @code{SIGINT}. In this case, @sc{gdb/mi} displays this:
27257
27258 @smallexample
27259 (gdb)
27260 *stopped,reason="exited-signalled",signal-name="SIGINT",
27261 signal-meaning="Interrupt"
27262 @end smallexample
27263
27264
27265 @c @subheading -exec-signal
27266
27267
27268 @subheading The @code{-exec-step} Command
27269 @findex -exec-step
27270
27271 @subsubheading Synopsis
27272
27273 @smallexample
27274 -exec-step [--reverse]
27275 @end smallexample
27276
27277 Resumes execution of the inferior program, stopping when the beginning
27278 of the next source line is reached, if the next source line is not a
27279 function call. If it is, stop at the first instruction of the called
27280 function. If the @samp{--reverse} option is specified, resumes reverse
27281 execution of the inferior program, stopping at the beginning of the
27282 previously executed source line.
27283
27284 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27285
27286 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{step}.
27287
27288 @subsubheading Example
27289
27290 Stepping into a function:
27291
27292 @smallexample
27293 -exec-step
27294 ^running
27295 (gdb)
27296 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",
27297 frame=@{func="foo",args=[@{name="a",value="10"@},
27298 @{name="b",value="0"@}],file="recursive2.c",
27299 fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="11"@}
27300 (gdb)
27301 @end smallexample
27302
27303 Regular stepping:
27304
27305 @smallexample
27306 -exec-step
27307 ^running
27308 (gdb)
27309 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",line="14",file="recursive2.c"
27310 (gdb)
27311 @end smallexample
27312
27313
27314 @subheading The @code{-exec-step-instruction} Command
27315 @findex -exec-step-instruction
27316
27317 @subsubheading Synopsis
27318
27319 @smallexample
27320 -exec-step-instruction [--reverse]
27321 @end smallexample
27322
27323 Resumes the inferior which executes one machine instruction. If the
27324 @samp{--reverse} option is specified, resumes reverse execution of the
27325 inferior program, stopping at the previously executed instruction.
27326 The output, once @value{GDBN} has stopped, will vary depending on
27327 whether we have stopped in the middle of a source line or not. In the
27328 former case, the address at which the program stopped will be printed
27329 as well.
27330
27331 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27332
27333 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{stepi}.
27334
27335 @subsubheading Example
27336
27337 @smallexample
27338 (gdb)
27339 -exec-step-instruction
27340 ^running
27341
27342 (gdb)
27343 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",
27344 frame=@{func="foo",args=[],file="try.c",
27345 fullname="/home/foo/bar/try.c",line="10"@}
27346 (gdb)
27347 -exec-step-instruction
27348 ^running
27349
27350 (gdb)
27351 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",
27352 frame=@{addr="0x000100f4",func="foo",args=[],file="try.c",
27353 fullname="/home/foo/bar/try.c",line="10"@}
27354 (gdb)
27355 @end smallexample
27356
27357
27358 @subheading The @code{-exec-until} Command
27359 @findex -exec-until
27360
27361 @subsubheading Synopsis
27362
27363 @smallexample
27364 -exec-until [ @var{location} ]
27365 @end smallexample
27366
27367 Executes the inferior until the @var{location} specified in the
27368 argument is reached. If there is no argument, the inferior executes
27369 until a source line greater than the current one is reached. The
27370 reason for stopping in this case will be @samp{location-reached}.
27371
27372 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27373
27374 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{until}.
27375
27376 @subsubheading Example
27377
27378 @smallexample
27379 (gdb)
27380 -exec-until recursive2.c:6
27381 ^running
27382 (gdb)
27383 x = 55
27384 *stopped,reason="location-reached",frame=@{func="main",args=[],
27385 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="6"@}
27386 (gdb)
27387 @end smallexample
27388
27389 @ignore
27390 @subheading -file-clear
27391 Is this going away????
27392 @end ignore
27393
27394 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
27395 @node GDB/MI Stack Manipulation
27396 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Stack Manipulation Commands
27397
27398
27399 @subheading The @code{-stack-info-frame} Command
27400 @findex -stack-info-frame
27401
27402 @subsubheading Synopsis
27403
27404 @smallexample
27405 -stack-info-frame
27406 @end smallexample
27407
27408 Get info on the selected frame.
27409
27410 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27411
27412 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info frame} or @samp{frame}
27413 (without arguments).
27414
27415 @subsubheading Example
27416
27417 @smallexample
27418 (gdb)
27419 -stack-info-frame
27420 ^done,frame=@{level="1",addr="0x0001076c",func="callee3",
27421 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
27422 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="17"@}
27423 (gdb)
27424 @end smallexample
27425
27426 @subheading The @code{-stack-info-depth} Command
27427 @findex -stack-info-depth
27428
27429 @subsubheading Synopsis
27430
27431 @smallexample
27432 -stack-info-depth [ @var{max-depth} ]
27433 @end smallexample
27434
27435 Return the depth of the stack. If the integer argument @var{max-depth}
27436 is specified, do not count beyond @var{max-depth} frames.
27437
27438 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27439
27440 There's no equivalent @value{GDBN} command.
27441
27442 @subsubheading Example
27443
27444 For a stack with frame levels 0 through 11:
27445
27446 @smallexample
27447 (gdb)
27448 -stack-info-depth
27449 ^done,depth="12"
27450 (gdb)
27451 -stack-info-depth 4
27452 ^done,depth="4"
27453 (gdb)
27454 -stack-info-depth 12
27455 ^done,depth="12"
27456 (gdb)
27457 -stack-info-depth 11
27458 ^done,depth="11"
27459 (gdb)
27460 -stack-info-depth 13
27461 ^done,depth="12"
27462 (gdb)
27463 @end smallexample
27464
27465 @subheading The @code{-stack-list-arguments} Command
27466 @findex -stack-list-arguments
27467
27468 @subsubheading Synopsis
27469
27470 @smallexample
27471 -stack-list-arguments @var{print-values}
27472 [ @var{low-frame} @var{high-frame} ]
27473 @end smallexample
27474
27475 Display a list of the arguments for the frames between @var{low-frame}
27476 and @var{high-frame} (inclusive). If @var{low-frame} and
27477 @var{high-frame} are not provided, list the arguments for the whole
27478 call stack. If the two arguments are equal, show the single frame
27479 at the corresponding level. It is an error if @var{low-frame} is
27480 larger than the actual number of frames. On the other hand,
27481 @var{high-frame} may be larger than the actual number of frames, in
27482 which case only existing frames will be returned.
27483
27484 If @var{print-values} is 0 or @code{--no-values}, print only the names of
27485 the variables; if it is 1 or @code{--all-values}, print also their
27486 values; and if it is 2 or @code{--simple-values}, print the name,
27487 type and value for simple data types, and the name and type for arrays,
27488 structures and unions.
27489
27490 Use of this command to obtain arguments in a single frame is
27491 deprecated in favor of the @samp{-stack-list-variables} command.
27492
27493 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27494
27495 @value{GDBN} does not have an equivalent command. @code{gdbtk} has a
27496 @samp{gdb_get_args} command which partially overlaps with the
27497 functionality of @samp{-stack-list-arguments}.
27498
27499 @subsubheading Example
27500
27501 @smallexample
27502 (gdb)
27503 -stack-list-frames
27504 ^done,
27505 stack=[
27506 frame=@{level="0",addr="0x00010734",func="callee4",
27507 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
27508 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8"@},
27509 frame=@{level="1",addr="0x0001076c",func="callee3",
27510 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
27511 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="17"@},
27512 frame=@{level="2",addr="0x0001078c",func="callee2",
27513 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
27514 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="22"@},
27515 frame=@{level="3",addr="0x000107b4",func="callee1",
27516 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
27517 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="27"@},
27518 frame=@{level="4",addr="0x000107e0",func="main",
27519 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
27520 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="32"@}]
27521 (gdb)
27522 -stack-list-arguments 0
27523 ^done,
27524 stack-args=[
27525 frame=@{level="0",args=[]@},
27526 frame=@{level="1",args=[name="strarg"]@},
27527 frame=@{level="2",args=[name="intarg",name="strarg"]@},
27528 frame=@{level="3",args=[name="intarg",name="strarg",name="fltarg"]@},
27529 frame=@{level="4",args=[]@}]
27530 (gdb)
27531 -stack-list-arguments 1
27532 ^done,
27533 stack-args=[
27534 frame=@{level="0",args=[]@},
27535 frame=@{level="1",
27536 args=[@{name="strarg",value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}]@},
27537 frame=@{level="2",args=[
27538 @{name="intarg",value="2"@},
27539 @{name="strarg",value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}]@},
27540 @{frame=@{level="3",args=[
27541 @{name="intarg",value="2"@},
27542 @{name="strarg",value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@},
27543 @{name="fltarg",value="3.5"@}]@},
27544 frame=@{level="4",args=[]@}]
27545 (gdb)
27546 -stack-list-arguments 0 2 2
27547 ^done,stack-args=[frame=@{level="2",args=[name="intarg",name="strarg"]@}]
27548 (gdb)
27549 -stack-list-arguments 1 2 2
27550 ^done,stack-args=[frame=@{level="2",
27551 args=[@{name="intarg",value="2"@},
27552 @{name="strarg",value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}]@}]
27553 (gdb)
27554 @end smallexample
27555
27556 @c @subheading -stack-list-exception-handlers
27557
27558
27559 @subheading The @code{-stack-list-frames} Command
27560 @findex -stack-list-frames
27561
27562 @subsubheading Synopsis
27563
27564 @smallexample
27565 -stack-list-frames [ @var{low-frame} @var{high-frame} ]
27566 @end smallexample
27567
27568 List the frames currently on the stack. For each frame it displays the
27569 following info:
27570
27571 @table @samp
27572 @item @var{level}
27573 The frame number, 0 being the topmost frame, i.e., the innermost function.
27574 @item @var{addr}
27575 The @code{$pc} value for that frame.
27576 @item @var{func}
27577 Function name.
27578 @item @var{file}
27579 File name of the source file where the function lives.
27580 @item @var{fullname}
27581 The full file name of the source file where the function lives.
27582 @item @var{line}
27583 Line number corresponding to the @code{$pc}.
27584 @item @var{from}
27585 The shared library where this function is defined. This is only given
27586 if the frame's function is not known.
27587 @end table
27588
27589 If invoked without arguments, this command prints a backtrace for the
27590 whole stack. If given two integer arguments, it shows the frames whose
27591 levels are between the two arguments (inclusive). If the two arguments
27592 are equal, it shows the single frame at the corresponding level. It is
27593 an error if @var{low-frame} is larger than the actual number of
27594 frames. On the other hand, @var{high-frame} may be larger than the
27595 actual number of frames, in which case only existing frames will be returned.
27596
27597 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27598
27599 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{backtrace} and @samp{where}.
27600
27601 @subsubheading Example
27602
27603 Full stack backtrace:
27604
27605 @smallexample
27606 (gdb)
27607 -stack-list-frames
27608 ^done,stack=
27609 [frame=@{level="0",addr="0x0001076c",func="foo",
27610 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="11"@},
27611 frame=@{level="1",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
27612 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
27613 frame=@{level="2",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
27614 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
27615 frame=@{level="3",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
27616 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
27617 frame=@{level="4",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
27618 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
27619 frame=@{level="5",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
27620 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
27621 frame=@{level="6",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
27622 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
27623 frame=@{level="7",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
27624 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
27625 frame=@{level="8",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
27626 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
27627 frame=@{level="9",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
27628 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
27629 frame=@{level="10",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
27630 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
27631 frame=@{level="11",addr="0x00010738",func="main",
27632 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="4"@}]
27633 (gdb)
27634 @end smallexample
27635
27636 Show frames between @var{low_frame} and @var{high_frame}:
27637
27638 @smallexample
27639 (gdb)
27640 -stack-list-frames 3 5
27641 ^done,stack=
27642 [frame=@{level="3",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
27643 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
27644 frame=@{level="4",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
27645 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
27646 frame=@{level="5",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
27647 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@}]
27648 (gdb)
27649 @end smallexample
27650
27651 Show a single frame:
27652
27653 @smallexample
27654 (gdb)
27655 -stack-list-frames 3 3
27656 ^done,stack=
27657 [frame=@{level="3",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
27658 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@}]
27659 (gdb)
27660 @end smallexample
27661
27662
27663 @subheading The @code{-stack-list-locals} Command
27664 @findex -stack-list-locals
27665
27666 @subsubheading Synopsis
27667
27668 @smallexample
27669 -stack-list-locals @var{print-values}
27670 @end smallexample
27671
27672 Display the local variable names for the selected frame. If
27673 @var{print-values} is 0 or @code{--no-values}, print only the names of
27674 the variables; if it is 1 or @code{--all-values}, print also their
27675 values; and if it is 2 or @code{--simple-values}, print the name,
27676 type and value for simple data types, and the name and type for arrays,
27677 structures and unions. In this last case, a frontend can immediately
27678 display the value of simple data types and create variable objects for
27679 other data types when the user wishes to explore their values in
27680 more detail.
27681
27682 This command is deprecated in favor of the
27683 @samp{-stack-list-variables} command.
27684
27685 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27686
27687 @samp{info locals} in @value{GDBN}, @samp{gdb_get_locals} in @code{gdbtk}.
27688
27689 @subsubheading Example
27690
27691 @smallexample
27692 (gdb)
27693 -stack-list-locals 0
27694 ^done,locals=[name="A",name="B",name="C"]
27695 (gdb)
27696 -stack-list-locals --all-values
27697 ^done,locals=[@{name="A",value="1"@},@{name="B",value="2"@},
27698 @{name="C",value="@{1, 2, 3@}"@}]
27699 -stack-list-locals --simple-values
27700 ^done,locals=[@{name="A",type="int",value="1"@},
27701 @{name="B",type="int",value="2"@},@{name="C",type="int [3]"@}]
27702 (gdb)
27703 @end smallexample
27704
27705 @subheading The @code{-stack-list-variables} Command
27706 @findex -stack-list-variables
27707
27708 @subsubheading Synopsis
27709
27710 @smallexample
27711 -stack-list-variables @var{print-values}
27712 @end smallexample
27713
27714 Display the names of local variables and function arguments for the selected frame. If
27715 @var{print-values} is 0 or @code{--no-values}, print only the names of
27716 the variables; if it is 1 or @code{--all-values}, print also their
27717 values; and if it is 2 or @code{--simple-values}, print the name,
27718 type and value for simple data types, and the name and type for arrays,
27719 structures and unions.
27720
27721 @subsubheading Example
27722
27723 @smallexample
27724 (gdb)
27725 -stack-list-variables --thread 1 --frame 0 --all-values
27726 ^done,variables=[@{name="x",value="11"@},@{name="s",value="@{a = 1, b = 2@}"@}]
27727 (gdb)
27728 @end smallexample
27729
27730
27731 @subheading The @code{-stack-select-frame} Command
27732 @findex -stack-select-frame
27733
27734 @subsubheading Synopsis
27735
27736 @smallexample
27737 -stack-select-frame @var{framenum}
27738 @end smallexample
27739
27740 Change the selected frame. Select a different frame @var{framenum} on
27741 the stack.
27742
27743 This command in deprecated in favor of passing the @samp{--frame}
27744 option to every command.
27745
27746 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
27747
27748 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{frame}, @samp{up},
27749 @samp{down}, @samp{select-frame}, @samp{up-silent}, and @samp{down-silent}.
27750
27751 @subsubheading Example
27752
27753 @smallexample
27754 (gdb)
27755 -stack-select-frame 2
27756 ^done
27757 (gdb)
27758 @end smallexample
27759
27760 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
27761 @node GDB/MI Variable Objects
27762 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Variable Objects
27763
27764 @ignore
27765
27766 @subheading Motivation for Variable Objects in @sc{gdb/mi}
27767
27768 For the implementation of a variable debugger window (locals, watched
27769 expressions, etc.), we are proposing the adaptation of the existing code
27770 used by @code{Insight}.
27771
27772 The two main reasons for that are:
27773
27774 @enumerate 1
27775 @item
27776 It has been proven in practice (it is already on its second generation).
27777
27778 @item
27779 It will shorten development time (needless to say how important it is
27780 now).
27781 @end enumerate
27782
27783 The original interface was designed to be used by Tcl code, so it was
27784 slightly changed so it could be used through @sc{gdb/mi}. This section
27785 describes the @sc{gdb/mi} operations that will be available and gives some
27786 hints about their use.
27787
27788 @emph{Note}: In addition to the set of operations described here, we
27789 expect the @sc{gui} implementation of a variable window to require, at
27790 least, the following operations:
27791
27792 @itemize @bullet
27793 @item @code{-gdb-show} @code{output-radix}
27794 @item @code{-stack-list-arguments}
27795 @item @code{-stack-list-locals}
27796 @item @code{-stack-select-frame}
27797 @end itemize
27798
27799 @end ignore
27800
27801 @subheading Introduction to Variable Objects
27802
27803 @cindex variable objects in @sc{gdb/mi}
27804
27805 Variable objects are "object-oriented" MI interface for examining and
27806 changing values of expressions. Unlike some other MI interfaces that
27807 work with expressions, variable objects are specifically designed for
27808 simple and efficient presentation in the frontend. A variable object
27809 is identified by string name. When a variable object is created, the
27810 frontend specifies the expression for that variable object. The
27811 expression can be a simple variable, or it can be an arbitrary complex
27812 expression, and can even involve CPU registers. After creating a
27813 variable object, the frontend can invoke other variable object
27814 operations---for example to obtain or change the value of a variable
27815 object, or to change display format.
27816
27817 Variable objects have hierarchical tree structure. Any variable object
27818 that corresponds to a composite type, such as structure in C, has
27819 a number of child variable objects, for example corresponding to each
27820 element of a structure. A child variable object can itself have
27821 children, recursively. Recursion ends when we reach
27822 leaf variable objects, which always have built-in types. Child variable
27823 objects are created only by explicit request, so if a frontend
27824 is not interested in the children of a particular variable object, no
27825 child will be created.
27826
27827 For a leaf variable object it is possible to obtain its value as a
27828 string, or set the value from a string. String value can be also
27829 obtained for a non-leaf variable object, but it's generally a string
27830 that only indicates the type of the object, and does not list its
27831 contents. Assignment to a non-leaf variable object is not allowed.
27832
27833 A frontend does not need to read the values of all variable objects each time
27834 the program stops. Instead, MI provides an update command that lists all
27835 variable objects whose values has changed since the last update
27836 operation. This considerably reduces the amount of data that must
27837 be transferred to the frontend. As noted above, children variable
27838 objects are created on demand, and only leaf variable objects have a
27839 real value. As result, gdb will read target memory only for leaf
27840 variables that frontend has created.
27841
27842 The automatic update is not always desirable. For example, a frontend
27843 might want to keep a value of some expression for future reference,
27844 and never update it. For another example, fetching memory is
27845 relatively slow for embedded targets, so a frontend might want
27846 to disable automatic update for the variables that are either not
27847 visible on the screen, or ``closed''. This is possible using so
27848 called ``frozen variable objects''. Such variable objects are never
27849 implicitly updated.
27850
27851 Variable objects can be either @dfn{fixed} or @dfn{floating}. For the
27852 fixed variable object, the expression is parsed when the variable
27853 object is created, including associating identifiers to specific
27854 variables. The meaning of expression never changes. For a floating
27855 variable object the values of variables whose names appear in the
27856 expressions are re-evaluated every time in the context of the current
27857 frame. Consider this example:
27858
27859 @smallexample
27860 void do_work(...)
27861 @{
27862 struct work_state state;
27863
27864 if (...)
27865 do_work(...);
27866 @}
27867 @end smallexample
27868
27869 If a fixed variable object for the @code{state} variable is created in
27870 this function, and we enter the recursive call, the variable
27871 object will report the value of @code{state} in the top-level
27872 @code{do_work} invocation. On the other hand, a floating variable
27873 object will report the value of @code{state} in the current frame.
27874
27875 If an expression specified when creating a fixed variable object
27876 refers to a local variable, the variable object becomes bound to the
27877 thread and frame in which the variable object is created. When such
27878 variable object is updated, @value{GDBN} makes sure that the
27879 thread/frame combination the variable object is bound to still exists,
27880 and re-evaluates the variable object in context of that thread/frame.
27881
27882 The following is the complete set of @sc{gdb/mi} operations defined to
27883 access this functionality:
27884
27885 @multitable @columnfractions .4 .6
27886 @item @strong{Operation}
27887 @tab @strong{Description}
27888
27889 @item @code{-enable-pretty-printing}
27890 @tab enable Python-based pretty-printing
27891 @item @code{-var-create}
27892 @tab create a variable object
27893 @item @code{-var-delete}
27894 @tab delete the variable object and/or its children
27895 @item @code{-var-set-format}
27896 @tab set the display format of this variable
27897 @item @code{-var-show-format}
27898 @tab show the display format of this variable
27899 @item @code{-var-info-num-children}
27900 @tab tells how many children this object has
27901 @item @code{-var-list-children}
27902 @tab return a list of the object's children
27903 @item @code{-var-info-type}
27904 @tab show the type of this variable object
27905 @item @code{-var-info-expression}
27906 @tab print parent-relative expression that this variable object represents
27907 @item @code{-var-info-path-expression}
27908 @tab print full expression that this variable object represents
27909 @item @code{-var-show-attributes}
27910 @tab is this variable editable? does it exist here?
27911 @item @code{-var-evaluate-expression}
27912 @tab get the value of this variable
27913 @item @code{-var-assign}
27914 @tab set the value of this variable
27915 @item @code{-var-update}
27916 @tab update the variable and its children
27917 @item @code{-var-set-frozen}
27918 @tab set frozeness attribute
27919 @item @code{-var-set-update-range}
27920 @tab set range of children to display on update
27921 @end multitable
27922
27923 In the next subsection we describe each operation in detail and suggest
27924 how it can be used.
27925
27926 @subheading Description And Use of Operations on Variable Objects
27927
27928 @subheading The @code{-enable-pretty-printing} Command
27929 @findex -enable-pretty-printing
27930
27931 @smallexample
27932 -enable-pretty-printing
27933 @end smallexample
27934
27935 @value{GDBN} allows Python-based visualizers to affect the output of the
27936 MI variable object commands. However, because there was no way to
27937 implement this in a fully backward-compatible way, a front end must
27938 request that this functionality be enabled.
27939
27940 Once enabled, this feature cannot be disabled.
27941
27942 Note that if Python support has not been compiled into @value{GDBN},
27943 this command will still succeed (and do nothing).
27944
27945 This feature is currently (as of @value{GDBN} 7.0) experimental, and
27946 may work differently in future versions of @value{GDBN}.
27947
27948 @subheading The @code{-var-create} Command
27949 @findex -var-create
27950
27951 @subsubheading Synopsis
27952
27953 @smallexample
27954 -var-create @{@var{name} | "-"@}
27955 @{@var{frame-addr} | "*" | "@@"@} @var{expression}
27956 @end smallexample
27957
27958 This operation creates a variable object, which allows the monitoring of
27959 a variable, the result of an expression, a memory cell or a CPU
27960 register.
27961
27962 The @var{name} parameter is the string by which the object can be
27963 referenced. It must be unique. If @samp{-} is specified, the varobj
27964 system will generate a string ``varNNNNNN'' automatically. It will be
27965 unique provided that one does not specify @var{name} of that format.
27966 The command fails if a duplicate name is found.
27967
27968 The frame under which the expression should be evaluated can be
27969 specified by @var{frame-addr}. A @samp{*} indicates that the current
27970 frame should be used. A @samp{@@} indicates that a floating variable
27971 object must be created.
27972
27973 @var{expression} is any expression valid on the current language set (must not
27974 begin with a @samp{*}), or one of the following:
27975
27976 @itemize @bullet
27977 @item
27978 @samp{*@var{addr}}, where @var{addr} is the address of a memory cell
27979
27980 @item
27981 @samp{*@var{addr}-@var{addr}} --- a memory address range (TBD)
27982
27983 @item
27984 @samp{$@var{regname}} --- a CPU register name
27985 @end itemize
27986
27987 @cindex dynamic varobj
27988 A varobj's contents may be provided by a Python-based pretty-printer. In this
27989 case the varobj is known as a @dfn{dynamic varobj}. Dynamic varobjs
27990 have slightly different semantics in some cases. If the
27991 @code{-enable-pretty-printing} command is not sent, then @value{GDBN}
27992 will never create a dynamic varobj. This ensures backward
27993 compatibility for existing clients.
27994
27995 @subsubheading Result
27996
27997 This operation returns attributes of the newly-created varobj. These
27998 are:
27999
28000 @table @samp
28001 @item name
28002 The name of the varobj.
28003
28004 @item numchild
28005 The number of children of the varobj. This number is not necessarily
28006 reliable for a dynamic varobj. Instead, you must examine the
28007 @samp{has_more} attribute.
28008
28009 @item value
28010 The varobj's scalar value. For a varobj whose type is some sort of
28011 aggregate (e.g., a @code{struct}), or for a dynamic varobj, this value
28012 will not be interesting.
28013
28014 @item type
28015 The varobj's type. This is a string representation of the type, as
28016 would be printed by the @value{GDBN} CLI.
28017
28018 @item thread-id
28019 If a variable object is bound to a specific thread, then this is the
28020 thread's identifier.
28021
28022 @item has_more
28023 For a dynamic varobj, this indicates whether there appear to be any
28024 children available. For a non-dynamic varobj, this will be 0.
28025
28026 @item dynamic
28027 This attribute will be present and have the value @samp{1} if the
28028 varobj is a dynamic varobj. If the varobj is not a dynamic varobj,
28029 then this attribute will not be present.
28030
28031 @item displayhint
28032 A dynamic varobj can supply a display hint to the front end. The
28033 value comes directly from the Python pretty-printer object's
28034 @code{display_hint} method. @xref{Pretty Printing API}.
28035 @end table
28036
28037 Typical output will look like this:
28038
28039 @smallexample
28040 name="@var{name}",numchild="@var{N}",type="@var{type}",thread-id="@var{M}",
28041 has_more="@var{has_more}"
28042 @end smallexample
28043
28044
28045 @subheading The @code{-var-delete} Command
28046 @findex -var-delete
28047
28048 @subsubheading Synopsis
28049
28050 @smallexample
28051 -var-delete [ -c ] @var{name}
28052 @end smallexample
28053
28054 Deletes a previously created variable object and all of its children.
28055 With the @samp{-c} option, just deletes the children.
28056
28057 Returns an error if the object @var{name} is not found.
28058
28059
28060 @subheading The @code{-var-set-format} Command
28061 @findex -var-set-format
28062
28063 @subsubheading Synopsis
28064
28065 @smallexample
28066 -var-set-format @var{name} @var{format-spec}
28067 @end smallexample
28068
28069 Sets the output format for the value of the object @var{name} to be
28070 @var{format-spec}.
28071
28072 @anchor{-var-set-format}
28073 The syntax for the @var{format-spec} is as follows:
28074
28075 @smallexample
28076 @var{format-spec} @expansion{}
28077 @{binary | decimal | hexadecimal | octal | natural@}
28078 @end smallexample
28079
28080 The natural format is the default format choosen automatically
28081 based on the variable type (like decimal for an @code{int}, hex
28082 for pointers, etc.).
28083
28084 For a variable with children, the format is set only on the
28085 variable itself, and the children are not affected.
28086
28087 @subheading The @code{-var-show-format} Command
28088 @findex -var-show-format
28089
28090 @subsubheading Synopsis
28091
28092 @smallexample
28093 -var-show-format @var{name}
28094 @end smallexample
28095
28096 Returns the format used to display the value of the object @var{name}.
28097
28098 @smallexample
28099 @var{format} @expansion{}
28100 @var{format-spec}
28101 @end smallexample
28102
28103
28104 @subheading The @code{-var-info-num-children} Command
28105 @findex -var-info-num-children
28106
28107 @subsubheading Synopsis
28108
28109 @smallexample
28110 -var-info-num-children @var{name}
28111 @end smallexample
28112
28113 Returns the number of children of a variable object @var{name}:
28114
28115 @smallexample
28116 numchild=@var{n}
28117 @end smallexample
28118
28119 Note that this number is not completely reliable for a dynamic varobj.
28120 It will return the current number of children, but more children may
28121 be available.
28122
28123
28124 @subheading The @code{-var-list-children} Command
28125 @findex -var-list-children
28126
28127 @subsubheading Synopsis
28128
28129 @smallexample
28130 -var-list-children [@var{print-values}] @var{name} [@var{from} @var{to}]
28131 @end smallexample
28132 @anchor{-var-list-children}
28133
28134 Return a list of the children of the specified variable object and
28135 create variable objects for them, if they do not already exist. With
28136 a single argument or if @var{print-values} has a value of 0 or
28137 @code{--no-values}, print only the names of the variables; if
28138 @var{print-values} is 1 or @code{--all-values}, also print their
28139 values; and if it is 2 or @code{--simple-values} print the name and
28140 value for simple data types and just the name for arrays, structures
28141 and unions.
28142
28143 @var{from} and @var{to}, if specified, indicate the range of children
28144 to report. If @var{from} or @var{to} is less than zero, the range is
28145 reset and all children will be reported. Otherwise, children starting
28146 at @var{from} (zero-based) and up to and excluding @var{to} will be
28147 reported.
28148
28149 If a child range is requested, it will only affect the current call to
28150 @code{-var-list-children}, but not future calls to @code{-var-update}.
28151 For this, you must instead use @code{-var-set-update-range}. The
28152 intent of this approach is to enable a front end to implement any
28153 update approach it likes; for example, scrolling a view may cause the
28154 front end to request more children with @code{-var-list-children}, and
28155 then the front end could call @code{-var-set-update-range} with a
28156 different range to ensure that future updates are restricted to just
28157 the visible items.
28158
28159 For each child the following results are returned:
28160
28161 @table @var
28162
28163 @item name
28164 Name of the variable object created for this child.
28165
28166 @item exp
28167 The expression to be shown to the user by the front end to designate this child.
28168 For example this may be the name of a structure member.
28169
28170 For a dynamic varobj, this value cannot be used to form an
28171 expression. There is no way to do this at all with a dynamic varobj.
28172
28173 For C/C@t{++} structures there are several pseudo children returned to
28174 designate access qualifiers. For these pseudo children @var{exp} is
28175 @samp{public}, @samp{private}, or @samp{protected}. In this case the
28176 type and value are not present.
28177
28178 A dynamic varobj will not report the access qualifying
28179 pseudo-children, regardless of the language. This information is not
28180 available at all with a dynamic varobj.
28181
28182 @item numchild
28183 Number of children this child has. For a dynamic varobj, this will be
28184 0.
28185
28186 @item type
28187 The type of the child.
28188
28189 @item value
28190 If values were requested, this is the value.
28191
28192 @item thread-id
28193 If this variable object is associated with a thread, this is the thread id.
28194 Otherwise this result is not present.
28195
28196 @item frozen
28197 If the variable object is frozen, this variable will be present with a value of 1.
28198 @end table
28199
28200 The result may have its own attributes:
28201
28202 @table @samp
28203 @item displayhint
28204 A dynamic varobj can supply a display hint to the front end. The
28205 value comes directly from the Python pretty-printer object's
28206 @code{display_hint} method. @xref{Pretty Printing API}.
28207
28208 @item has_more
28209 This is an integer attribute which is nonzero if there are children
28210 remaining after the end of the selected range.
28211 @end table
28212
28213 @subsubheading Example
28214
28215 @smallexample
28216 (gdb)
28217 -var-list-children n
28218 ^done,numchild=@var{n},children=[child=@{name=@var{name},exp=@var{exp},
28219 numchild=@var{n},type=@var{type}@},@r{(repeats N times)}]
28220 (gdb)
28221 -var-list-children --all-values n
28222 ^done,numchild=@var{n},children=[child=@{name=@var{name},exp=@var{exp},
28223 numchild=@var{n},value=@var{value},type=@var{type}@},@r{(repeats N times)}]
28224 @end smallexample
28225
28226
28227 @subheading The @code{-var-info-type} Command
28228 @findex -var-info-type
28229
28230 @subsubheading Synopsis
28231
28232 @smallexample
28233 -var-info-type @var{name}
28234 @end smallexample
28235
28236 Returns the type of the specified variable @var{name}. The type is
28237 returned as a string in the same format as it is output by the
28238 @value{GDBN} CLI:
28239
28240 @smallexample
28241 type=@var{typename}
28242 @end smallexample
28243
28244
28245 @subheading The @code{-var-info-expression} Command
28246 @findex -var-info-expression
28247
28248 @subsubheading Synopsis
28249
28250 @smallexample
28251 -var-info-expression @var{name}
28252 @end smallexample
28253
28254 Returns a string that is suitable for presenting this
28255 variable object in user interface. The string is generally
28256 not valid expression in the current language, and cannot be evaluated.
28257
28258 For example, if @code{a} is an array, and variable object
28259 @code{A} was created for @code{a}, then we'll get this output:
28260
28261 @smallexample
28262 (gdb) -var-info-expression A.1
28263 ^done,lang="C",exp="1"
28264 @end smallexample
28265
28266 @noindent
28267 Here, the values of @code{lang} can be @code{@{"C" | "C++" | "Java"@}}.
28268
28269 Note that the output of the @code{-var-list-children} command also
28270 includes those expressions, so the @code{-var-info-expression} command
28271 is of limited use.
28272
28273 @subheading The @code{-var-info-path-expression} Command
28274 @findex -var-info-path-expression
28275
28276 @subsubheading Synopsis
28277
28278 @smallexample
28279 -var-info-path-expression @var{name}
28280 @end smallexample
28281
28282 Returns an expression that can be evaluated in the current
28283 context and will yield the same value that a variable object has.
28284 Compare this with the @code{-var-info-expression} command, which
28285 result can be used only for UI presentation. Typical use of
28286 the @code{-var-info-path-expression} command is creating a
28287 watchpoint from a variable object.
28288
28289 This command is currently not valid for children of a dynamic varobj,
28290 and will give an error when invoked on one.
28291
28292 For example, suppose @code{C} is a C@t{++} class, derived from class
28293 @code{Base}, and that the @code{Base} class has a member called
28294 @code{m_size}. Assume a variable @code{c} is has the type of
28295 @code{C} and a variable object @code{C} was created for variable
28296 @code{c}. Then, we'll get this output:
28297 @smallexample
28298 (gdb) -var-info-path-expression C.Base.public.m_size
28299 ^done,path_expr=((Base)c).m_size)
28300 @end smallexample
28301
28302 @subheading The @code{-var-show-attributes} Command
28303 @findex -var-show-attributes
28304
28305 @subsubheading Synopsis
28306
28307 @smallexample
28308 -var-show-attributes @var{name}
28309 @end smallexample
28310
28311 List attributes of the specified variable object @var{name}:
28312
28313 @smallexample
28314 status=@var{attr} [ ( ,@var{attr} )* ]
28315 @end smallexample
28316
28317 @noindent
28318 where @var{attr} is @code{@{ @{ editable | noneditable @} | TBD @}}.
28319
28320 @subheading The @code{-var-evaluate-expression} Command
28321 @findex -var-evaluate-expression
28322
28323 @subsubheading Synopsis
28324
28325 @smallexample
28326 -var-evaluate-expression [-f @var{format-spec}] @var{name}
28327 @end smallexample
28328
28329 Evaluates the expression that is represented by the specified variable
28330 object and returns its value as a string. The format of the string
28331 can be specified with the @samp{-f} option. The possible values of
28332 this option are the same as for @code{-var-set-format}
28333 (@pxref{-var-set-format}). If the @samp{-f} option is not specified,
28334 the current display format will be used. The current display format
28335 can be changed using the @code{-var-set-format} command.
28336
28337 @smallexample
28338 value=@var{value}
28339 @end smallexample
28340
28341 Note that one must invoke @code{-var-list-children} for a variable
28342 before the value of a child variable can be evaluated.
28343
28344 @subheading The @code{-var-assign} Command
28345 @findex -var-assign
28346
28347 @subsubheading Synopsis
28348
28349 @smallexample
28350 -var-assign @var{name} @var{expression}
28351 @end smallexample
28352
28353 Assigns the value of @var{expression} to the variable object specified
28354 by @var{name}. The object must be @samp{editable}. If the variable's
28355 value is altered by the assign, the variable will show up in any
28356 subsequent @code{-var-update} list.
28357
28358 @subsubheading Example
28359
28360 @smallexample
28361 (gdb)
28362 -var-assign var1 3
28363 ^done,value="3"
28364 (gdb)
28365 -var-update *
28366 ^done,changelist=[@{name="var1",in_scope="true",type_changed="false"@}]
28367 (gdb)
28368 @end smallexample
28369
28370 @subheading The @code{-var-update} Command
28371 @findex -var-update
28372
28373 @subsubheading Synopsis
28374
28375 @smallexample
28376 -var-update [@var{print-values}] @{@var{name} | "*"@}
28377 @end smallexample
28378
28379 Reevaluate the expressions corresponding to the variable object
28380 @var{name} and all its direct and indirect children, and return the
28381 list of variable objects whose values have changed; @var{name} must
28382 be a root variable object. Here, ``changed'' means that the result of
28383 @code{-var-evaluate-expression} before and after the
28384 @code{-var-update} is different. If @samp{*} is used as the variable
28385 object names, all existing variable objects are updated, except
28386 for frozen ones (@pxref{-var-set-frozen}). The option
28387 @var{print-values} determines whether both names and values, or just
28388 names are printed. The possible values of this option are the same
28389 as for @code{-var-list-children} (@pxref{-var-list-children}). It is
28390 recommended to use the @samp{--all-values} option, to reduce the
28391 number of MI commands needed on each program stop.
28392
28393 With the @samp{*} parameter, if a variable object is bound to a
28394 currently running thread, it will not be updated, without any
28395 diagnostic.
28396
28397 If @code{-var-set-update-range} was previously used on a varobj, then
28398 only the selected range of children will be reported.
28399
28400 @code{-var-update} reports all the changed varobjs in a tuple named
28401 @samp{changelist}.
28402
28403 Each item in the change list is itself a tuple holding:
28404
28405 @table @samp
28406 @item name
28407 The name of the varobj.
28408
28409 @item value
28410 If values were requested for this update, then this field will be
28411 present and will hold the value of the varobj.
28412
28413 @item in_scope
28414 @anchor{-var-update}
28415 This field is a string which may take one of three values:
28416
28417 @table @code
28418 @item "true"
28419 The variable object's current value is valid.
28420
28421 @item "false"
28422 The variable object does not currently hold a valid value but it may
28423 hold one in the future if its associated expression comes back into
28424 scope.
28425
28426 @item "invalid"
28427 The variable object no longer holds a valid value.
28428 This can occur when the executable file being debugged has changed,
28429 either through recompilation or by using the @value{GDBN} @code{file}
28430 command. The front end should normally choose to delete these variable
28431 objects.
28432 @end table
28433
28434 In the future new values may be added to this list so the front should
28435 be prepared for this possibility. @xref{GDB/MI Development and Front Ends, ,@sc{GDB/MI} Development and Front Ends}.
28436
28437 @item type_changed
28438 This is only present if the varobj is still valid. If the type
28439 changed, then this will be the string @samp{true}; otherwise it will
28440 be @samp{false}.
28441
28442 @item new_type
28443 If the varobj's type changed, then this field will be present and will
28444 hold the new type.
28445
28446 @item new_num_children
28447 For a dynamic varobj, if the number of children changed, or if the
28448 type changed, this will be the new number of children.
28449
28450 The @samp{numchild} field in other varobj responses is generally not
28451 valid for a dynamic varobj -- it will show the number of children that
28452 @value{GDBN} knows about, but because dynamic varobjs lazily
28453 instantiate their children, this will not reflect the number of
28454 children which may be available.
28455
28456 The @samp{new_num_children} attribute only reports changes to the
28457 number of children known by @value{GDBN}. This is the only way to
28458 detect whether an update has removed children (which necessarily can
28459 only happen at the end of the update range).
28460
28461 @item displayhint
28462 The display hint, if any.
28463
28464 @item has_more
28465 This is an integer value, which will be 1 if there are more children
28466 available outside the varobj's update range.
28467
28468 @item dynamic
28469 This attribute will be present and have the value @samp{1} if the
28470 varobj is a dynamic varobj. If the varobj is not a dynamic varobj,
28471 then this attribute will not be present.
28472
28473 @item new_children
28474 If new children were added to a dynamic varobj within the selected
28475 update range (as set by @code{-var-set-update-range}), then they will
28476 be listed in this attribute.
28477 @end table
28478
28479 @subsubheading Example
28480
28481 @smallexample
28482 (gdb)
28483 -var-assign var1 3
28484 ^done,value="3"
28485 (gdb)
28486 -var-update --all-values var1
28487 ^done,changelist=[@{name="var1",value="3",in_scope="true",
28488 type_changed="false"@}]
28489 (gdb)
28490 @end smallexample
28491
28492 @subheading The @code{-var-set-frozen} Command
28493 @findex -var-set-frozen
28494 @anchor{-var-set-frozen}
28495
28496 @subsubheading Synopsis
28497
28498 @smallexample
28499 -var-set-frozen @var{name} @var{flag}
28500 @end smallexample
28501
28502 Set the frozenness flag on the variable object @var{name}. The
28503 @var{flag} parameter should be either @samp{1} to make the variable
28504 frozen or @samp{0} to make it unfrozen. If a variable object is
28505 frozen, then neither itself, nor any of its children, are
28506 implicitly updated by @code{-var-update} of
28507 a parent variable or by @code{-var-update *}. Only
28508 @code{-var-update} of the variable itself will update its value and
28509 values of its children. After a variable object is unfrozen, it is
28510 implicitly updated by all subsequent @code{-var-update} operations.
28511 Unfreezing a variable does not update it, only subsequent
28512 @code{-var-update} does.
28513
28514 @subsubheading Example
28515
28516 @smallexample
28517 (gdb)
28518 -var-set-frozen V 1
28519 ^done
28520 (gdb)
28521 @end smallexample
28522
28523 @subheading The @code{-var-set-update-range} command
28524 @findex -var-set-update-range
28525 @anchor{-var-set-update-range}
28526
28527 @subsubheading Synopsis
28528
28529 @smallexample
28530 -var-set-update-range @var{name} @var{from} @var{to}
28531 @end smallexample
28532
28533 Set the range of children to be returned by future invocations of
28534 @code{-var-update}.
28535
28536 @var{from} and @var{to} indicate the range of children to report. If
28537 @var{from} or @var{to} is less than zero, the range is reset and all
28538 children will be reported. Otherwise, children starting at @var{from}
28539 (zero-based) and up to and excluding @var{to} will be reported.
28540
28541 @subsubheading Example
28542
28543 @smallexample
28544 (gdb)
28545 -var-set-update-range V 1 2
28546 ^done
28547 @end smallexample
28548
28549 @subheading The @code{-var-set-visualizer} command
28550 @findex -var-set-visualizer
28551 @anchor{-var-set-visualizer}
28552
28553 @subsubheading Synopsis
28554
28555 @smallexample
28556 -var-set-visualizer @var{name} @var{visualizer}
28557 @end smallexample
28558
28559 Set a visualizer for the variable object @var{name}.
28560
28561 @var{visualizer} is the visualizer to use. The special value
28562 @samp{None} means to disable any visualizer in use.
28563
28564 If not @samp{None}, @var{visualizer} must be a Python expression.
28565 This expression must evaluate to a callable object which accepts a
28566 single argument. @value{GDBN} will call this object with the value of
28567 the varobj @var{name} as an argument (this is done so that the same
28568 Python pretty-printing code can be used for both the CLI and MI).
28569 When called, this object must return an object which conforms to the
28570 pretty-printing interface (@pxref{Pretty Printing API}).
28571
28572 The pre-defined function @code{gdb.default_visualizer} may be used to
28573 select a visualizer by following the built-in process
28574 (@pxref{Selecting Pretty-Printers}). This is done automatically when
28575 a varobj is created, and so ordinarily is not needed.
28576
28577 This feature is only available if Python support is enabled. The MI
28578 command @code{-list-features} (@pxref{GDB/MI Miscellaneous Commands})
28579 can be used to check this.
28580
28581 @subsubheading Example
28582
28583 Resetting the visualizer:
28584
28585 @smallexample
28586 (gdb)
28587 -var-set-visualizer V None
28588 ^done
28589 @end smallexample
28590
28591 Reselecting the default (type-based) visualizer:
28592
28593 @smallexample
28594 (gdb)
28595 -var-set-visualizer V gdb.default_visualizer
28596 ^done
28597 @end smallexample
28598
28599 Suppose @code{SomeClass} is a visualizer class. A lambda expression
28600 can be used to instantiate this class for a varobj:
28601
28602 @smallexample
28603 (gdb)
28604 -var-set-visualizer V "lambda val: SomeClass()"
28605 ^done
28606 @end smallexample
28607
28608 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
28609 @node GDB/MI Data Manipulation
28610 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Data Manipulation
28611
28612 @cindex data manipulation, in @sc{gdb/mi}
28613 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, data manipulation
28614 This section describes the @sc{gdb/mi} commands that manipulate data:
28615 examine memory and registers, evaluate expressions, etc.
28616
28617 @c REMOVED FROM THE INTERFACE.
28618 @c @subheading -data-assign
28619 @c Change the value of a program variable. Plenty of side effects.
28620 @c @subsubheading GDB Command
28621 @c set variable
28622 @c @subsubheading Example
28623 @c N.A.
28624
28625 @subheading The @code{-data-disassemble} Command
28626 @findex -data-disassemble
28627
28628 @subsubheading Synopsis
28629
28630 @smallexample
28631 -data-disassemble
28632 [ -s @var{start-addr} -e @var{end-addr} ]
28633 | [ -f @var{filename} -l @var{linenum} [ -n @var{lines} ] ]
28634 -- @var{mode}
28635 @end smallexample
28636
28637 @noindent
28638 Where:
28639
28640 @table @samp
28641 @item @var{start-addr}
28642 is the beginning address (or @code{$pc})
28643 @item @var{end-addr}
28644 is the end address
28645 @item @var{filename}
28646 is the name of the file to disassemble
28647 @item @var{linenum}
28648 is the line number to disassemble around
28649 @item @var{lines}
28650 is the number of disassembly lines to be produced. If it is -1,
28651 the whole function will be disassembled, in case no @var{end-addr} is
28652 specified. If @var{end-addr} is specified as a non-zero value, and
28653 @var{lines} is lower than the number of disassembly lines between
28654 @var{start-addr} and @var{end-addr}, only @var{lines} lines are
28655 displayed; if @var{lines} is higher than the number of lines between
28656 @var{start-addr} and @var{end-addr}, only the lines up to @var{end-addr}
28657 are displayed.
28658 @item @var{mode}
28659 is either 0 (meaning only disassembly), 1 (meaning mixed source and
28660 disassembly), 2 (meaning disassembly with raw opcodes), or 3 (meaning
28661 mixed source and disassembly with raw opcodes).
28662 @end table
28663
28664 @subsubheading Result
28665
28666 The output for each instruction is composed of four fields:
28667
28668 @itemize @bullet
28669 @item Address
28670 @item Func-name
28671 @item Offset
28672 @item Instruction
28673 @end itemize
28674
28675 Note that whatever included in the instruction field, is not manipulated
28676 directly by @sc{gdb/mi}, i.e., it is not possible to adjust its format.
28677
28678 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28679
28680 There's no direct mapping from this command to the CLI.
28681
28682 @subsubheading Example
28683
28684 Disassemble from the current value of @code{$pc} to @code{$pc + 20}:
28685
28686 @smallexample
28687 (gdb)
28688 -data-disassemble -s $pc -e "$pc + 20" -- 0
28689 ^done,
28690 asm_insns=[
28691 @{address="0x000107c0",func-name="main",offset="4",
28692 inst="mov 2, %o0"@},
28693 @{address="0x000107c4",func-name="main",offset="8",
28694 inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"@},
28695 @{address="0x000107c8",func-name="main",offset="12",
28696 inst="or %o2, 0x140, %o1\t! 0x11940 <_lib_version+8>"@},
28697 @{address="0x000107cc",func-name="main",offset="16",
28698 inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"@},
28699 @{address="0x000107d0",func-name="main",offset="20",
28700 inst="or %o2, 0x168, %o4\t! 0x11968 <_lib_version+48>"@}]
28701 (gdb)
28702 @end smallexample
28703
28704 Disassemble the whole @code{main} function. Line 32 is part of
28705 @code{main}.
28706
28707 @smallexample
28708 -data-disassemble -f basics.c -l 32 -- 0
28709 ^done,asm_insns=[
28710 @{address="0x000107bc",func-name="main",offset="0",
28711 inst="save %sp, -112, %sp"@},
28712 @{address="0x000107c0",func-name="main",offset="4",
28713 inst="mov 2, %o0"@},
28714 @{address="0x000107c4",func-name="main",offset="8",
28715 inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"@},
28716 [@dots{}]
28717 @{address="0x0001081c",func-name="main",offset="96",inst="ret "@},
28718 @{address="0x00010820",func-name="main",offset="100",inst="restore "@}]
28719 (gdb)
28720 @end smallexample
28721
28722 Disassemble 3 instructions from the start of @code{main}:
28723
28724 @smallexample
28725 (gdb)
28726 -data-disassemble -f basics.c -l 32 -n 3 -- 0
28727 ^done,asm_insns=[
28728 @{address="0x000107bc",func-name="main",offset="0",
28729 inst="save %sp, -112, %sp"@},
28730 @{address="0x000107c0",func-name="main",offset="4",
28731 inst="mov 2, %o0"@},
28732 @{address="0x000107c4",func-name="main",offset="8",
28733 inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"@}]
28734 (gdb)
28735 @end smallexample
28736
28737 Disassemble 3 instructions from the start of @code{main} in mixed mode:
28738
28739 @smallexample
28740 (gdb)
28741 -data-disassemble -f basics.c -l 32 -n 3 -- 1
28742 ^done,asm_insns=[
28743 src_and_asm_line=@{line="31",
28744 file="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb/ \
28745 testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line_asm_insn=[
28746 @{address="0x000107bc",func-name="main",offset="0",
28747 inst="save %sp, -112, %sp"@}]@},
28748 src_and_asm_line=@{line="32",
28749 file="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb/ \
28750 testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line_asm_insn=[
28751 @{address="0x000107c0",func-name="main",offset="4",
28752 inst="mov 2, %o0"@},
28753 @{address="0x000107c4",func-name="main",offset="8",
28754 inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"@}]@}]
28755 (gdb)
28756 @end smallexample
28757
28758
28759 @subheading The @code{-data-evaluate-expression} Command
28760 @findex -data-evaluate-expression
28761
28762 @subsubheading Synopsis
28763
28764 @smallexample
28765 -data-evaluate-expression @var{expr}
28766 @end smallexample
28767
28768 Evaluate @var{expr} as an expression. The expression could contain an
28769 inferior function call. The function call will execute synchronously.
28770 If the expression contains spaces, it must be enclosed in double quotes.
28771
28772 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28773
28774 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{print}, @samp{output}, and
28775 @samp{call}. In @code{gdbtk} only, there's a corresponding
28776 @samp{gdb_eval} command.
28777
28778 @subsubheading Example
28779
28780 In the following example, the numbers that precede the commands are the
28781 @dfn{tokens} described in @ref{GDB/MI Command Syntax, ,@sc{gdb/mi}
28782 Command Syntax}. Notice how @sc{gdb/mi} returns the same tokens in its
28783 output.
28784
28785 @smallexample
28786 211-data-evaluate-expression A
28787 211^done,value="1"
28788 (gdb)
28789 311-data-evaluate-expression &A
28790 311^done,value="0xefffeb7c"
28791 (gdb)
28792 411-data-evaluate-expression A+3
28793 411^done,value="4"
28794 (gdb)
28795 511-data-evaluate-expression "A + 3"
28796 511^done,value="4"
28797 (gdb)
28798 @end smallexample
28799
28800
28801 @subheading The @code{-data-list-changed-registers} Command
28802 @findex -data-list-changed-registers
28803
28804 @subsubheading Synopsis
28805
28806 @smallexample
28807 -data-list-changed-registers
28808 @end smallexample
28809
28810 Display a list of the registers that have changed.
28811
28812 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28813
28814 @value{GDBN} doesn't have a direct analog for this command; @code{gdbtk}
28815 has the corresponding command @samp{gdb_changed_register_list}.
28816
28817 @subsubheading Example
28818
28819 On a PPC MBX board:
28820
28821 @smallexample
28822 (gdb)
28823 -exec-continue
28824 ^running
28825
28826 (gdb)
28827 *stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",frame=@{
28828 func="main",args=[],file="try.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/try.c",
28829 line="5"@}
28830 (gdb)
28831 -data-list-changed-registers
28832 ^done,changed-registers=["0","1","2","4","5","6","7","8","9",
28833 "10","11","13","14","15","16","17","18","19","20","21","22","23",
28834 "24","25","26","27","28","30","31","64","65","66","67","69"]
28835 (gdb)
28836 @end smallexample
28837
28838
28839 @subheading The @code{-data-list-register-names} Command
28840 @findex -data-list-register-names
28841
28842 @subsubheading Synopsis
28843
28844 @smallexample
28845 -data-list-register-names [ ( @var{regno} )+ ]
28846 @end smallexample
28847
28848 Show a list of register names for the current target. If no arguments
28849 are given, it shows a list of the names of all the registers. If
28850 integer numbers are given as arguments, it will print a list of the
28851 names of the registers corresponding to the arguments. To ensure
28852 consistency between a register name and its number, the output list may
28853 include empty register names.
28854
28855 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28856
28857 @value{GDBN} does not have a command which corresponds to
28858 @samp{-data-list-register-names}. In @code{gdbtk} there is a
28859 corresponding command @samp{gdb_regnames}.
28860
28861 @subsubheading Example
28862
28863 For the PPC MBX board:
28864 @smallexample
28865 (gdb)
28866 -data-list-register-names
28867 ^done,register-names=["r0","r1","r2","r3","r4","r5","r6","r7",
28868 "r8","r9","r10","r11","r12","r13","r14","r15","r16","r17","r18",
28869 "r19","r20","r21","r22","r23","r24","r25","r26","r27","r28","r29",
28870 "r30","r31","f0","f1","f2","f3","f4","f5","f6","f7","f8","f9",
28871 "f10","f11","f12","f13","f14","f15","f16","f17","f18","f19","f20",
28872 "f21","f22","f23","f24","f25","f26","f27","f28","f29","f30","f31",
28873 "", "pc","ps","cr","lr","ctr","xer"]
28874 (gdb)
28875 -data-list-register-names 1 2 3
28876 ^done,register-names=["r1","r2","r3"]
28877 (gdb)
28878 @end smallexample
28879
28880 @subheading The @code{-data-list-register-values} Command
28881 @findex -data-list-register-values
28882
28883 @subsubheading Synopsis
28884
28885 @smallexample
28886 -data-list-register-values @var{fmt} [ ( @var{regno} )*]
28887 @end smallexample
28888
28889 Display the registers' contents. @var{fmt} is the format according to
28890 which the registers' contents are to be returned, followed by an optional
28891 list of numbers specifying the registers to display. A missing list of
28892 numbers indicates that the contents of all the registers must be returned.
28893
28894 Allowed formats for @var{fmt} are:
28895
28896 @table @code
28897 @item x
28898 Hexadecimal
28899 @item o
28900 Octal
28901 @item t
28902 Binary
28903 @item d
28904 Decimal
28905 @item r
28906 Raw
28907 @item N
28908 Natural
28909 @end table
28910
28911 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28912
28913 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{info reg}, @samp{info
28914 all-reg}, and (in @code{gdbtk}) @samp{gdb_fetch_registers}.
28915
28916 @subsubheading Example
28917
28918 For a PPC MBX board (note: line breaks are for readability only, they
28919 don't appear in the actual output):
28920
28921 @smallexample
28922 (gdb)
28923 -data-list-register-values r 64 65
28924 ^done,register-values=[@{number="64",value="0xfe00a300"@},
28925 @{number="65",value="0x00029002"@}]
28926 (gdb)
28927 -data-list-register-values x
28928 ^done,register-values=[@{number="0",value="0xfe0043c8"@},
28929 @{number="1",value="0x3fff88"@},@{number="2",value="0xfffffffe"@},
28930 @{number="3",value="0x0"@},@{number="4",value="0xa"@},
28931 @{number="5",value="0x3fff68"@},@{number="6",value="0x3fff58"@},
28932 @{number="7",value="0xfe011e98"@},@{number="8",value="0x2"@},
28933 @{number="9",value="0xfa202820"@},@{number="10",value="0xfa202808"@},
28934 @{number="11",value="0x1"@},@{number="12",value="0x0"@},
28935 @{number="13",value="0x4544"@},@{number="14",value="0xffdfffff"@},
28936 @{number="15",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="16",value="0xfffffeff"@},
28937 @{number="17",value="0xefffffed"@},@{number="18",value="0xfffffffe"@},
28938 @{number="19",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="20",value="0xffffffff"@},
28939 @{number="21",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="22",value="0xfffffff7"@},
28940 @{number="23",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="24",value="0xffffffff"@},
28941 @{number="25",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="26",value="0xfffffffb"@},
28942 @{number="27",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="28",value="0xf7bfffff"@},
28943 @{number="29",value="0x0"@},@{number="30",value="0xfe010000"@},
28944 @{number="31",value="0x0"@},@{number="32",value="0x0"@},
28945 @{number="33",value="0x0"@},@{number="34",value="0x0"@},
28946 @{number="35",value="0x0"@},@{number="36",value="0x0"@},
28947 @{number="37",value="0x0"@},@{number="38",value="0x0"@},
28948 @{number="39",value="0x0"@},@{number="40",value="0x0"@},
28949 @{number="41",value="0x0"@},@{number="42",value="0x0"@},
28950 @{number="43",value="0x0"@},@{number="44",value="0x0"@},
28951 @{number="45",value="0x0"@},@{number="46",value="0x0"@},
28952 @{number="47",value="0x0"@},@{number="48",value="0x0"@},
28953 @{number="49",value="0x0"@},@{number="50",value="0x0"@},
28954 @{number="51",value="0x0"@},@{number="52",value="0x0"@},
28955 @{number="53",value="0x0"@},@{number="54",value="0x0"@},
28956 @{number="55",value="0x0"@},@{number="56",value="0x0"@},
28957 @{number="57",value="0x0"@},@{number="58",value="0x0"@},
28958 @{number="59",value="0x0"@},@{number="60",value="0x0"@},
28959 @{number="61",value="0x0"@},@{number="62",value="0x0"@},
28960 @{number="63",value="0x0"@},@{number="64",value="0xfe00a300"@},
28961 @{number="65",value="0x29002"@},@{number="66",value="0x202f04b5"@},
28962 @{number="67",value="0xfe0043b0"@},@{number="68",value="0xfe00b3e4"@},
28963 @{number="69",value="0x20002b03"@}]
28964 (gdb)
28965 @end smallexample
28966
28967
28968 @subheading The @code{-data-read-memory} Command
28969 @findex -data-read-memory
28970
28971 This command is deprecated, use @code{-data-read-memory-bytes} instead.
28972
28973 @subsubheading Synopsis
28974
28975 @smallexample
28976 -data-read-memory [ -o @var{byte-offset} ]
28977 @var{address} @var{word-format} @var{word-size}
28978 @var{nr-rows} @var{nr-cols} [ @var{aschar} ]
28979 @end smallexample
28980
28981 @noindent
28982 where:
28983
28984 @table @samp
28985 @item @var{address}
28986 An expression specifying the address of the first memory word to be
28987 read. Complex expressions containing embedded white space should be
28988 quoted using the C convention.
28989
28990 @item @var{word-format}
28991 The format to be used to print the memory words. The notation is the
28992 same as for @value{GDBN}'s @code{print} command (@pxref{Output Formats,
28993 ,Output Formats}).
28994
28995 @item @var{word-size}
28996 The size of each memory word in bytes.
28997
28998 @item @var{nr-rows}
28999 The number of rows in the output table.
29000
29001 @item @var{nr-cols}
29002 The number of columns in the output table.
29003
29004 @item @var{aschar}
29005 If present, indicates that each row should include an @sc{ascii} dump. The
29006 value of @var{aschar} is used as a padding character when a byte is not a
29007 member of the printable @sc{ascii} character set (printable @sc{ascii}
29008 characters are those whose code is between 32 and 126, inclusively).
29009
29010 @item @var{byte-offset}
29011 An offset to add to the @var{address} before fetching memory.
29012 @end table
29013
29014 This command displays memory contents as a table of @var{nr-rows} by
29015 @var{nr-cols} words, each word being @var{word-size} bytes. In total,
29016 @code{@var{nr-rows} * @var{nr-cols} * @var{word-size}} bytes are read
29017 (returned as @samp{total-bytes}). Should less than the requested number
29018 of bytes be returned by the target, the missing words are identified
29019 using @samp{N/A}. The number of bytes read from the target is returned
29020 in @samp{nr-bytes} and the starting address used to read memory in
29021 @samp{addr}.
29022
29023 The address of the next/previous row or page is available in
29024 @samp{next-row} and @samp{prev-row}, @samp{next-page} and
29025 @samp{prev-page}.
29026
29027 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29028
29029 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{x}. @code{gdbtk} has
29030 @samp{gdb_get_mem} memory read command.
29031
29032 @subsubheading Example
29033
29034 Read six bytes of memory starting at @code{bytes+6} but then offset by
29035 @code{-6} bytes. Format as three rows of two columns. One byte per
29036 word. Display each word in hex.
29037
29038 @smallexample
29039 (gdb)
29040 9-data-read-memory -o -6 -- bytes+6 x 1 3 2
29041 9^done,addr="0x00001390",nr-bytes="6",total-bytes="6",
29042 next-row="0x00001396",prev-row="0x0000138e",next-page="0x00001396",
29043 prev-page="0x0000138a",memory=[
29044 @{addr="0x00001390",data=["0x00","0x01"]@},
29045 @{addr="0x00001392",data=["0x02","0x03"]@},
29046 @{addr="0x00001394",data=["0x04","0x05"]@}]
29047 (gdb)
29048 @end smallexample
29049
29050 Read two bytes of memory starting at address @code{shorts + 64} and
29051 display as a single word formatted in decimal.
29052
29053 @smallexample
29054 (gdb)
29055 5-data-read-memory shorts+64 d 2 1 1
29056 5^done,addr="0x00001510",nr-bytes="2",total-bytes="2",
29057 next-row="0x00001512",prev-row="0x0000150e",
29058 next-page="0x00001512",prev-page="0x0000150e",memory=[
29059 @{addr="0x00001510",data=["128"]@}]
29060 (gdb)
29061 @end smallexample
29062
29063 Read thirty two bytes of memory starting at @code{bytes+16} and format
29064 as eight rows of four columns. Include a string encoding with @samp{x}
29065 used as the non-printable character.
29066
29067 @smallexample
29068 (gdb)
29069 4-data-read-memory bytes+16 x 1 8 4 x
29070 4^done,addr="0x000013a0",nr-bytes="32",total-bytes="32",
29071 next-row="0x000013c0",prev-row="0x0000139c",
29072 next-page="0x000013c0",prev-page="0x00001380",memory=[
29073 @{addr="0x000013a0",data=["0x10","0x11","0x12","0x13"],ascii="xxxx"@},
29074 @{addr="0x000013a4",data=["0x14","0x15","0x16","0x17"],ascii="xxxx"@},
29075 @{addr="0x000013a8",data=["0x18","0x19","0x1a","0x1b"],ascii="xxxx"@},
29076 @{addr="0x000013ac",data=["0x1c","0x1d","0x1e","0x1f"],ascii="xxxx"@},
29077 @{addr="0x000013b0",data=["0x20","0x21","0x22","0x23"],ascii=" !\"#"@},
29078 @{addr="0x000013b4",data=["0x24","0x25","0x26","0x27"],ascii="$%&'"@},
29079 @{addr="0x000013b8",data=["0x28","0x29","0x2a","0x2b"],ascii="()*+"@},
29080 @{addr="0x000013bc",data=["0x2c","0x2d","0x2e","0x2f"],ascii=",-./"@}]
29081 (gdb)
29082 @end smallexample
29083
29084 @subheading The @code{-data-read-memory-bytes} Command
29085 @findex -data-read-memory-bytes
29086
29087 @subsubheading Synopsis
29088
29089 @smallexample
29090 -data-read-memory-bytes [ -o @var{byte-offset} ]
29091 @var{address} @var{count}
29092 @end smallexample
29093
29094 @noindent
29095 where:
29096
29097 @table @samp
29098 @item @var{address}
29099 An expression specifying the address of the first memory word to be
29100 read. Complex expressions containing embedded white space should be
29101 quoted using the C convention.
29102
29103 @item @var{count}
29104 The number of bytes to read. This should be an integer literal.
29105
29106 @item @var{byte-offset}
29107 The offsets in bytes relative to @var{address} at which to start
29108 reading. This should be an integer literal. This option is provided
29109 so that a frontend is not required to first evaluate address and then
29110 perform address arithmetics itself.
29111
29112 @end table
29113
29114 This command attempts to read all accessible memory regions in the
29115 specified range. First, all regions marked as unreadable in the memory
29116 map (if one is defined) will be skipped. @xref{Memory Region
29117 Attributes}. Second, @value{GDBN} will attempt to read the remaining
29118 regions. For each one, if reading full region results in an errors,
29119 @value{GDBN} will try to read a subset of the region.
29120
29121 In general, every single byte in the region may be readable or not,
29122 and the only way to read every readable byte is to try a read at
29123 every address, which is not practical. Therefore, @value{GDBN} will
29124 attempt to read all accessible bytes at either beginning or the end
29125 of the region, using a binary division scheme. This heuristic works
29126 well for reading accross a memory map boundary. Note that if a region
29127 has a readable range that is neither at the beginning or the end,
29128 @value{GDBN} will not read it.
29129
29130 The result record (@pxref{GDB/MI Result Records}) that is output of
29131 the command includes a field named @samp{memory} whose content is a
29132 list of tuples. Each tuple represent a successfully read memory block
29133 and has the following fields:
29134
29135 @table @code
29136 @item begin
29137 The start address of the memory block, as hexadecimal literal.
29138
29139 @item end
29140 The end address of the memory block, as hexadecimal literal.
29141
29142 @item offset
29143 The offset of the memory block, as hexadecimal literal, relative to
29144 the start address passed to @code{-data-read-memory-bytes}.
29145
29146 @item contents
29147 The contents of the memory block, in hex.
29148
29149 @end table
29150
29151
29152
29153 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29154
29155 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{x}.
29156
29157 @subsubheading Example
29158
29159 @smallexample
29160 (gdb)
29161 -data-read-memory-bytes &a 10
29162 ^done,memory=[@{begin="0xbffff154",offset="0x00000000",
29163 end="0xbffff15e",
29164 contents="01000000020000000300"@}]
29165 (gdb)
29166 @end smallexample
29167
29168
29169 @subheading The @code{-data-write-memory-bytes} Command
29170 @findex -data-write-memory-bytes
29171
29172 @subsubheading Synopsis
29173
29174 @smallexample
29175 -data-write-memory-bytes @var{address} @var{contents}
29176 @end smallexample
29177
29178 @noindent
29179 where:
29180
29181 @table @samp
29182 @item @var{address}
29183 An expression specifying the address of the first memory word to be
29184 read. Complex expressions containing embedded white space should be
29185 quoted using the C convention.
29186
29187 @item @var{contents}
29188 The hex-encoded bytes to write.
29189
29190 @end table
29191
29192 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29193
29194 There's no corresponding @value{GDBN} command.
29195
29196 @subsubheading Example
29197
29198 @smallexample
29199 (gdb)
29200 -data-write-memory-bytes &a "aabbccdd"
29201 ^done
29202 (gdb)
29203 @end smallexample
29204
29205
29206 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
29207 @node GDB/MI Tracepoint Commands
29208 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Tracepoint Commands
29209
29210 The commands defined in this section implement MI support for
29211 tracepoints. For detailed introduction, see @ref{Tracepoints}.
29212
29213 @subheading The @code{-trace-find} Command
29214 @findex -trace-find
29215
29216 @subsubheading Synopsis
29217
29218 @smallexample
29219 -trace-find @var{mode} [@var{parameters}@dots{}]
29220 @end smallexample
29221
29222 Find a trace frame using criteria defined by @var{mode} and
29223 @var{parameters}. The following table lists permissible
29224 modes and their parameters. For details of operation, see @ref{tfind}.
29225
29226 @table @samp
29227
29228 @item none
29229 No parameters are required. Stops examining trace frames.
29230
29231 @item frame-number
29232 An integer is required as parameter. Selects tracepoint frame with
29233 that index.
29234
29235 @item tracepoint-number
29236 An integer is required as parameter. Finds next
29237 trace frame that corresponds to tracepoint with the specified number.
29238
29239 @item pc
29240 An address is required as parameter. Finds
29241 next trace frame that corresponds to any tracepoint at the specified
29242 address.
29243
29244 @item pc-inside-range
29245 Two addresses are required as parameters. Finds next trace
29246 frame that corresponds to a tracepoint at an address inside the
29247 specified range. Both bounds are considered to be inside the range.
29248
29249 @item pc-outside-range
29250 Two addresses are required as parameters. Finds
29251 next trace frame that corresponds to a tracepoint at an address outside
29252 the specified range. Both bounds are considered to be inside the range.
29253
29254 @item line
29255 Line specification is required as parameter. @xref{Specify Location}.
29256 Finds next trace frame that corresponds to a tracepoint at
29257 the specified location.
29258
29259 @end table
29260
29261 If @samp{none} was passed as @var{mode}, the response does not
29262 have fields. Otherwise, the response may have the following fields:
29263
29264 @table @samp
29265 @item found
29266 This field has either @samp{0} or @samp{1} as the value, depending
29267 on whether a matching tracepoint was found.
29268
29269 @item traceframe
29270 The index of the found traceframe. This field is present iff
29271 the @samp{found} field has value of @samp{1}.
29272
29273 @item tracepoint
29274 The index of the found tracepoint. This field is present iff
29275 the @samp{found} field has value of @samp{1}.
29276
29277 @item frame
29278 The information about the frame corresponding to the found trace
29279 frame. This field is present only if a trace frame was found.
29280 @xref{GDB/MI Frame Information}, for description of this field.
29281
29282 @end table
29283
29284 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29285
29286 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tfind}.
29287
29288 @subheading -trace-define-variable
29289 @findex -trace-define-variable
29290
29291 @subsubheading Synopsis
29292
29293 @smallexample
29294 -trace-define-variable @var{name} [ @var{value} ]
29295 @end smallexample
29296
29297 Create trace variable @var{name} if it does not exist. If
29298 @var{value} is specified, sets the initial value of the specified
29299 trace variable to that value. Note that the @var{name} should start
29300 with the @samp{$} character.
29301
29302 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29303
29304 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tvariable}.
29305
29306 @subheading -trace-list-variables
29307 @findex -trace-list-variables
29308
29309 @subsubheading Synopsis
29310
29311 @smallexample
29312 -trace-list-variables
29313 @end smallexample
29314
29315 Return a table of all defined trace variables. Each element of the
29316 table has the following fields:
29317
29318 @table @samp
29319 @item name
29320 The name of the trace variable. This field is always present.
29321
29322 @item initial
29323 The initial value. This is a 64-bit signed integer. This
29324 field is always present.
29325
29326 @item current
29327 The value the trace variable has at the moment. This is a 64-bit
29328 signed integer. This field is absent iff current value is
29329 not defined, for example if the trace was never run, or is
29330 presently running.
29331
29332 @end table
29333
29334 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29335
29336 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tvariables}.
29337
29338 @subsubheading Example
29339
29340 @smallexample
29341 (gdb)
29342 -trace-list-variables
29343 ^done,trace-variables=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="3",
29344 hdr=[@{width="15",alignment="-1",col_name="name",colhdr="Name"@},
29345 @{width="11",alignment="-1",col_name="initial",colhdr="Initial"@},
29346 @{width="11",alignment="-1",col_name="current",colhdr="Current"@}],
29347 body=[variable=@{name="$trace_timestamp",initial="0"@}
29348 variable=@{name="$foo",initial="10",current="15"@}]@}
29349 (gdb)
29350 @end smallexample
29351
29352 @subheading -trace-save
29353 @findex -trace-save
29354
29355 @subsubheading Synopsis
29356
29357 @smallexample
29358 -trace-save [-r ] @var{filename}
29359 @end smallexample
29360
29361 Saves the collected trace data to @var{filename}. Without the
29362 @samp{-r} option, the data is downloaded from the target and saved
29363 in a local file. With the @samp{-r} option the target is asked
29364 to perform the save.
29365
29366 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29367
29368 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tsave}.
29369
29370
29371 @subheading -trace-start
29372 @findex -trace-start
29373
29374 @subsubheading Synopsis
29375
29376 @smallexample
29377 -trace-start
29378 @end smallexample
29379
29380 Starts a tracing experiments. The result of this command does not
29381 have any fields.
29382
29383 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29384
29385 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tstart}.
29386
29387 @subheading -trace-status
29388 @findex -trace-status
29389
29390 @subsubheading Synopsis
29391
29392 @smallexample
29393 -trace-status
29394 @end smallexample
29395
29396 Obtains the status of a tracing experiment. The result may include
29397 the following fields:
29398
29399 @table @samp
29400
29401 @item supported
29402 May have a value of either @samp{0}, when no tracing operations are
29403 supported, @samp{1}, when all tracing operations are supported, or
29404 @samp{file} when examining trace file. In the latter case, examining
29405 of trace frame is possible but new tracing experiement cannot be
29406 started. This field is always present.
29407
29408 @item running
29409 May have a value of either @samp{0} or @samp{1} depending on whether
29410 tracing experiement is in progress on target. This field is present
29411 if @samp{supported} field is not @samp{0}.
29412
29413 @item stop-reason
29414 Report the reason why the tracing was stopped last time. This field
29415 may be absent iff tracing was never stopped on target yet. The
29416 value of @samp{request} means the tracing was stopped as result of
29417 the @code{-trace-stop} command. The value of @samp{overflow} means
29418 the tracing buffer is full. The value of @samp{disconnection} means
29419 tracing was automatically stopped when @value{GDBN} has disconnected.
29420 The value of @samp{passcount} means tracing was stopped when a
29421 tracepoint was passed a maximal number of times for that tracepoint.
29422 This field is present if @samp{supported} field is not @samp{0}.
29423
29424 @item stopping-tracepoint
29425 The number of tracepoint whose passcount as exceeded. This field is
29426 present iff the @samp{stop-reason} field has the value of
29427 @samp{passcount}.
29428
29429 @item frames
29430 @itemx frames-created
29431 The @samp{frames} field is a count of the total number of trace frames
29432 in the trace buffer, while @samp{frames-created} is the total created
29433 during the run, including ones that were discarded, such as when a
29434 circular trace buffer filled up. Both fields are optional.
29435
29436 @item buffer-size
29437 @itemx buffer-free
29438 These fields tell the current size of the tracing buffer and the
29439 remaining space. These fields are optional.
29440
29441 @item circular
29442 The value of the circular trace buffer flag. @code{1} means that the
29443 trace buffer is circular and old trace frames will be discarded if
29444 necessary to make room, @code{0} means that the trace buffer is linear
29445 and may fill up.
29446
29447 @item disconnected
29448 The value of the disconnected tracing flag. @code{1} means that
29449 tracing will continue after @value{GDBN} disconnects, @code{0} means
29450 that the trace run will stop.
29451
29452 @end table
29453
29454 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29455
29456 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tstatus}.
29457
29458 @subheading -trace-stop
29459 @findex -trace-stop
29460
29461 @subsubheading Synopsis
29462
29463 @smallexample
29464 -trace-stop
29465 @end smallexample
29466
29467 Stops a tracing experiment. The result of this command has the same
29468 fields as @code{-trace-status}, except that the @samp{supported} and
29469 @samp{running} fields are not output.
29470
29471 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29472
29473 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tstop}.
29474
29475
29476 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
29477 @node GDB/MI Symbol Query
29478 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Symbol Query Commands
29479
29480
29481 @ignore
29482 @subheading The @code{-symbol-info-address} Command
29483 @findex -symbol-info-address
29484
29485 @subsubheading Synopsis
29486
29487 @smallexample
29488 -symbol-info-address @var{symbol}
29489 @end smallexample
29490
29491 Describe where @var{symbol} is stored.
29492
29493 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29494
29495 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info address}.
29496
29497 @subsubheading Example
29498 N.A.
29499
29500
29501 @subheading The @code{-symbol-info-file} Command
29502 @findex -symbol-info-file
29503
29504 @subsubheading Synopsis
29505
29506 @smallexample
29507 -symbol-info-file
29508 @end smallexample
29509
29510 Show the file for the symbol.
29511
29512 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29513
29514 There's no equivalent @value{GDBN} command. @code{gdbtk} has
29515 @samp{gdb_find_file}.
29516
29517 @subsubheading Example
29518 N.A.
29519
29520
29521 @subheading The @code{-symbol-info-function} Command
29522 @findex -symbol-info-function
29523
29524 @subsubheading Synopsis
29525
29526 @smallexample
29527 -symbol-info-function
29528 @end smallexample
29529
29530 Show which function the symbol lives in.
29531
29532 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29533
29534 @samp{gdb_get_function} in @code{gdbtk}.
29535
29536 @subsubheading Example
29537 N.A.
29538
29539
29540 @subheading The @code{-symbol-info-line} Command
29541 @findex -symbol-info-line
29542
29543 @subsubheading Synopsis
29544
29545 @smallexample
29546 -symbol-info-line
29547 @end smallexample
29548
29549 Show the core addresses of the code for a source line.
29550
29551 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29552
29553 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info line}.
29554 @code{gdbtk} has the @samp{gdb_get_line} and @samp{gdb_get_file} commands.
29555
29556 @subsubheading Example
29557 N.A.
29558
29559
29560 @subheading The @code{-symbol-info-symbol} Command
29561 @findex -symbol-info-symbol
29562
29563 @subsubheading Synopsis
29564
29565 @smallexample
29566 -symbol-info-symbol @var{addr}
29567 @end smallexample
29568
29569 Describe what symbol is at location @var{addr}.
29570
29571 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29572
29573 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info symbol}.
29574
29575 @subsubheading Example
29576 N.A.
29577
29578
29579 @subheading The @code{-symbol-list-functions} Command
29580 @findex -symbol-list-functions
29581
29582 @subsubheading Synopsis
29583
29584 @smallexample
29585 -symbol-list-functions
29586 @end smallexample
29587
29588 List the functions in the executable.
29589
29590 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29591
29592 @samp{info functions} in @value{GDBN}, @samp{gdb_listfunc} and
29593 @samp{gdb_search} in @code{gdbtk}.
29594
29595 @subsubheading Example
29596 N.A.
29597 @end ignore
29598
29599
29600 @subheading The @code{-symbol-list-lines} Command
29601 @findex -symbol-list-lines
29602
29603 @subsubheading Synopsis
29604
29605 @smallexample
29606 -symbol-list-lines @var{filename}
29607 @end smallexample
29608
29609 Print the list of lines that contain code and their associated program
29610 addresses for the given source filename. The entries are sorted in
29611 ascending PC order.
29612
29613 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29614
29615 There is no corresponding @value{GDBN} command.
29616
29617 @subsubheading Example
29618 @smallexample
29619 (gdb)
29620 -symbol-list-lines basics.c
29621 ^done,lines=[@{pc="0x08048554",line="7"@},@{pc="0x0804855a",line="8"@}]
29622 (gdb)
29623 @end smallexample
29624
29625
29626 @ignore
29627 @subheading The @code{-symbol-list-types} Command
29628 @findex -symbol-list-types
29629
29630 @subsubheading Synopsis
29631
29632 @smallexample
29633 -symbol-list-types
29634 @end smallexample
29635
29636 List all the type names.
29637
29638 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29639
29640 The corresponding commands are @samp{info types} in @value{GDBN},
29641 @samp{gdb_search} in @code{gdbtk}.
29642
29643 @subsubheading Example
29644 N.A.
29645
29646
29647 @subheading The @code{-symbol-list-variables} Command
29648 @findex -symbol-list-variables
29649
29650 @subsubheading Synopsis
29651
29652 @smallexample
29653 -symbol-list-variables
29654 @end smallexample
29655
29656 List all the global and static variable names.
29657
29658 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29659
29660 @samp{info variables} in @value{GDBN}, @samp{gdb_search} in @code{gdbtk}.
29661
29662 @subsubheading Example
29663 N.A.
29664
29665
29666 @subheading The @code{-symbol-locate} Command
29667 @findex -symbol-locate
29668
29669 @subsubheading Synopsis
29670
29671 @smallexample
29672 -symbol-locate
29673 @end smallexample
29674
29675 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29676
29677 @samp{gdb_loc} in @code{gdbtk}.
29678
29679 @subsubheading Example
29680 N.A.
29681
29682
29683 @subheading The @code{-symbol-type} Command
29684 @findex -symbol-type
29685
29686 @subsubheading Synopsis
29687
29688 @smallexample
29689 -symbol-type @var{variable}
29690 @end smallexample
29691
29692 Show type of @var{variable}.
29693
29694 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29695
29696 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{ptype}, @code{gdbtk} has
29697 @samp{gdb_obj_variable}.
29698
29699 @subsubheading Example
29700 N.A.
29701 @end ignore
29702
29703
29704 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
29705 @node GDB/MI File Commands
29706 @section @sc{gdb/mi} File Commands
29707
29708 This section describes the GDB/MI commands to specify executable file names
29709 and to read in and obtain symbol table information.
29710
29711 @subheading The @code{-file-exec-and-symbols} Command
29712 @findex -file-exec-and-symbols
29713
29714 @subsubheading Synopsis
29715
29716 @smallexample
29717 -file-exec-and-symbols @var{file}
29718 @end smallexample
29719
29720 Specify the executable file to be debugged. This file is the one from
29721 which the symbol table is also read. If no file is specified, the
29722 command clears the executable and symbol information. If breakpoints
29723 are set when using this command with no arguments, @value{GDBN} will produce
29724 error messages. Otherwise, no output is produced, except a completion
29725 notification.
29726
29727 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29728
29729 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{file}.
29730
29731 @subsubheading Example
29732
29733 @smallexample
29734 (gdb)
29735 -file-exec-and-symbols /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/TRUNK/mbx/hello.mbx
29736 ^done
29737 (gdb)
29738 @end smallexample
29739
29740
29741 @subheading The @code{-file-exec-file} Command
29742 @findex -file-exec-file
29743
29744 @subsubheading Synopsis
29745
29746 @smallexample
29747 -file-exec-file @var{file}
29748 @end smallexample
29749
29750 Specify the executable file to be debugged. Unlike
29751 @samp{-file-exec-and-symbols}, the symbol table is @emph{not} read
29752 from this file. If used without argument, @value{GDBN} clears the information
29753 about the executable file. No output is produced, except a completion
29754 notification.
29755
29756 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29757
29758 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{exec-file}.
29759
29760 @subsubheading Example
29761
29762 @smallexample
29763 (gdb)
29764 -file-exec-file /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/TRUNK/mbx/hello.mbx
29765 ^done
29766 (gdb)
29767 @end smallexample
29768
29769
29770 @ignore
29771 @subheading The @code{-file-list-exec-sections} Command
29772 @findex -file-list-exec-sections
29773
29774 @subsubheading Synopsis
29775
29776 @smallexample
29777 -file-list-exec-sections
29778 @end smallexample
29779
29780 List the sections of the current executable file.
29781
29782 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29783
29784 The @value{GDBN} command @samp{info file} shows, among the rest, the same
29785 information as this command. @code{gdbtk} has a corresponding command
29786 @samp{gdb_load_info}.
29787
29788 @subsubheading Example
29789 N.A.
29790 @end ignore
29791
29792
29793 @subheading The @code{-file-list-exec-source-file} Command
29794 @findex -file-list-exec-source-file
29795
29796 @subsubheading Synopsis
29797
29798 @smallexample
29799 -file-list-exec-source-file
29800 @end smallexample
29801
29802 List the line number, the current source file, and the absolute path
29803 to the current source file for the current executable. The macro
29804 information field has a value of @samp{1} or @samp{0} depending on
29805 whether or not the file includes preprocessor macro information.
29806
29807 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29808
29809 The @value{GDBN} equivalent is @samp{info source}
29810
29811 @subsubheading Example
29812
29813 @smallexample
29814 (gdb)
29815 123-file-list-exec-source-file
29816 123^done,line="1",file="foo.c",fullname="/home/bar/foo.c,macro-info="1"
29817 (gdb)
29818 @end smallexample
29819
29820
29821 @subheading The @code{-file-list-exec-source-files} Command
29822 @findex -file-list-exec-source-files
29823
29824 @subsubheading Synopsis
29825
29826 @smallexample
29827 -file-list-exec-source-files
29828 @end smallexample
29829
29830 List the source files for the current executable.
29831
29832 It will always output the filename, but only when @value{GDBN} can find
29833 the absolute file name of a source file, will it output the fullname.
29834
29835 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29836
29837 The @value{GDBN} equivalent is @samp{info sources}.
29838 @code{gdbtk} has an analogous command @samp{gdb_listfiles}.
29839
29840 @subsubheading Example
29841 @smallexample
29842 (gdb)
29843 -file-list-exec-source-files
29844 ^done,files=[
29845 @{file=foo.c,fullname=/home/foo.c@},
29846 @{file=/home/bar.c,fullname=/home/bar.c@},
29847 @{file=gdb_could_not_find_fullpath.c@}]
29848 (gdb)
29849 @end smallexample
29850
29851 @ignore
29852 @subheading The @code{-file-list-shared-libraries} Command
29853 @findex -file-list-shared-libraries
29854
29855 @subsubheading Synopsis
29856
29857 @smallexample
29858 -file-list-shared-libraries
29859 @end smallexample
29860
29861 List the shared libraries in the program.
29862
29863 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29864
29865 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info shared}.
29866
29867 @subsubheading Example
29868 N.A.
29869
29870
29871 @subheading The @code{-file-list-symbol-files} Command
29872 @findex -file-list-symbol-files
29873
29874 @subsubheading Synopsis
29875
29876 @smallexample
29877 -file-list-symbol-files
29878 @end smallexample
29879
29880 List symbol files.
29881
29882 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29883
29884 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info file} (part of it).
29885
29886 @subsubheading Example
29887 N.A.
29888 @end ignore
29889
29890
29891 @subheading The @code{-file-symbol-file} Command
29892 @findex -file-symbol-file
29893
29894 @subsubheading Synopsis
29895
29896 @smallexample
29897 -file-symbol-file @var{file}
29898 @end smallexample
29899
29900 Read symbol table info from the specified @var{file} argument. When
29901 used without arguments, clears @value{GDBN}'s symbol table info. No output is
29902 produced, except for a completion notification.
29903
29904 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29905
29906 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{symbol-file}.
29907
29908 @subsubheading Example
29909
29910 @smallexample
29911 (gdb)
29912 -file-symbol-file /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/TRUNK/mbx/hello.mbx
29913 ^done
29914 (gdb)
29915 @end smallexample
29916
29917 @ignore
29918 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
29919 @node GDB/MI Memory Overlay Commands
29920 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Memory Overlay Commands
29921
29922 The memory overlay commands are not implemented.
29923
29924 @c @subheading -overlay-auto
29925
29926 @c @subheading -overlay-list-mapping-state
29927
29928 @c @subheading -overlay-list-overlays
29929
29930 @c @subheading -overlay-map
29931
29932 @c @subheading -overlay-off
29933
29934 @c @subheading -overlay-on
29935
29936 @c @subheading -overlay-unmap
29937
29938 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
29939 @node GDB/MI Signal Handling Commands
29940 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Signal Handling Commands
29941
29942 Signal handling commands are not implemented.
29943
29944 @c @subheading -signal-handle
29945
29946 @c @subheading -signal-list-handle-actions
29947
29948 @c @subheading -signal-list-signal-types
29949 @end ignore
29950
29951
29952 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
29953 @node GDB/MI Target Manipulation
29954 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Target Manipulation Commands
29955
29956
29957 @subheading The @code{-target-attach} Command
29958 @findex -target-attach
29959
29960 @subsubheading Synopsis
29961
29962 @smallexample
29963 -target-attach @var{pid} | @var{gid} | @var{file}
29964 @end smallexample
29965
29966 Attach to a process @var{pid} or a file @var{file} outside of
29967 @value{GDBN}, or a thread group @var{gid}. If attaching to a thread
29968 group, the id previously returned by
29969 @samp{-list-thread-groups --available} must be used.
29970
29971 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29972
29973 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{attach}.
29974
29975 @subsubheading Example
29976 @smallexample
29977 (gdb)
29978 -target-attach 34
29979 =thread-created,id="1"
29980 *stopped,thread-id="1",frame=@{addr="0xb7f7e410",func="bar",args=[]@}
29981 ^done
29982 (gdb)
29983 @end smallexample
29984
29985 @ignore
29986 @subheading The @code{-target-compare-sections} Command
29987 @findex -target-compare-sections
29988
29989 @subsubheading Synopsis
29990
29991 @smallexample
29992 -target-compare-sections [ @var{section} ]
29993 @end smallexample
29994
29995 Compare data of section @var{section} on target to the exec file.
29996 Without the argument, all sections are compared.
29997
29998 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29999
30000 The @value{GDBN} equivalent is @samp{compare-sections}.
30001
30002 @subsubheading Example
30003 N.A.
30004 @end ignore
30005
30006
30007 @subheading The @code{-target-detach} Command
30008 @findex -target-detach
30009
30010 @subsubheading Synopsis
30011
30012 @smallexample
30013 -target-detach [ @var{pid} | @var{gid} ]
30014 @end smallexample
30015
30016 Detach from the remote target which normally resumes its execution.
30017 If either @var{pid} or @var{gid} is specified, detaches from either
30018 the specified process, or specified thread group. There's no output.
30019
30020 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30021
30022 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{detach}.
30023
30024 @subsubheading Example
30025
30026 @smallexample
30027 (gdb)
30028 -target-detach
30029 ^done
30030 (gdb)
30031 @end smallexample
30032
30033
30034 @subheading The @code{-target-disconnect} Command
30035 @findex -target-disconnect
30036
30037 @subsubheading Synopsis
30038
30039 @smallexample
30040 -target-disconnect
30041 @end smallexample
30042
30043 Disconnect from the remote target. There's no output and the target is
30044 generally not resumed.
30045
30046 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30047
30048 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{disconnect}.
30049
30050 @subsubheading Example
30051
30052 @smallexample
30053 (gdb)
30054 -target-disconnect
30055 ^done
30056 (gdb)
30057 @end smallexample
30058
30059
30060 @subheading The @code{-target-download} Command
30061 @findex -target-download
30062
30063 @subsubheading Synopsis
30064
30065 @smallexample
30066 -target-download
30067 @end smallexample
30068
30069 Loads the executable onto the remote target.
30070 It prints out an update message every half second, which includes the fields:
30071
30072 @table @samp
30073 @item section
30074 The name of the section.
30075 @item section-sent
30076 The size of what has been sent so far for that section.
30077 @item section-size
30078 The size of the section.
30079 @item total-sent
30080 The total size of what was sent so far (the current and the previous sections).
30081 @item total-size
30082 The size of the overall executable to download.
30083 @end table
30084
30085 @noindent
30086 Each message is sent as status record (@pxref{GDB/MI Output Syntax, ,
30087 @sc{gdb/mi} Output Syntax}).
30088
30089 In addition, it prints the name and size of the sections, as they are
30090 downloaded. These messages include the following fields:
30091
30092 @table @samp
30093 @item section
30094 The name of the section.
30095 @item section-size
30096 The size of the section.
30097 @item total-size
30098 The size of the overall executable to download.
30099 @end table
30100
30101 @noindent
30102 At the end, a summary is printed.
30103
30104 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30105
30106 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{load}.
30107
30108 @subsubheading Example
30109
30110 Note: each status message appears on a single line. Here the messages
30111 have been broken down so that they can fit onto a page.
30112
30113 @smallexample
30114 (gdb)
30115 -target-download
30116 +download,@{section=".text",section-size="6668",total-size="9880"@}
30117 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="512",section-size="6668",
30118 total-sent="512",total-size="9880"@}
30119 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="1024",section-size="6668",
30120 total-sent="1024",total-size="9880"@}
30121 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="1536",section-size="6668",
30122 total-sent="1536",total-size="9880"@}
30123 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="2048",section-size="6668",
30124 total-sent="2048",total-size="9880"@}
30125 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="2560",section-size="6668",
30126 total-sent="2560",total-size="9880"@}
30127 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="3072",section-size="6668",
30128 total-sent="3072",total-size="9880"@}
30129 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="3584",section-size="6668",
30130 total-sent="3584",total-size="9880"@}
30131 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="4096",section-size="6668",
30132 total-sent="4096",total-size="9880"@}
30133 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="4608",section-size="6668",
30134 total-sent="4608",total-size="9880"@}
30135 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="5120",section-size="6668",
30136 total-sent="5120",total-size="9880"@}
30137 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="5632",section-size="6668",
30138 total-sent="5632",total-size="9880"@}
30139 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="6144",section-size="6668",
30140 total-sent="6144",total-size="9880"@}
30141 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="6656",section-size="6668",
30142 total-sent="6656",total-size="9880"@}
30143 +download,@{section=".init",section-size="28",total-size="9880"@}
30144 +download,@{section=".fini",section-size="28",total-size="9880"@}
30145 +download,@{section=".data",section-size="3156",total-size="9880"@}
30146 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="512",section-size="3156",
30147 total-sent="7236",total-size="9880"@}
30148 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="1024",section-size="3156",
30149 total-sent="7748",total-size="9880"@}
30150 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="1536",section-size="3156",
30151 total-sent="8260",total-size="9880"@}
30152 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="2048",section-size="3156",
30153 total-sent="8772",total-size="9880"@}
30154 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="2560",section-size="3156",
30155 total-sent="9284",total-size="9880"@}
30156 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="3072",section-size="3156",
30157 total-sent="9796",total-size="9880"@}
30158 ^done,address="0x10004",load-size="9880",transfer-rate="6586",
30159 write-rate="429"
30160 (gdb)
30161 @end smallexample
30162
30163
30164 @ignore
30165 @subheading The @code{-target-exec-status} Command
30166 @findex -target-exec-status
30167
30168 @subsubheading Synopsis
30169
30170 @smallexample
30171 -target-exec-status
30172 @end smallexample
30173
30174 Provide information on the state of the target (whether it is running or
30175 not, for instance).
30176
30177 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30178
30179 There's no equivalent @value{GDBN} command.
30180
30181 @subsubheading Example
30182 N.A.
30183
30184
30185 @subheading The @code{-target-list-available-targets} Command
30186 @findex -target-list-available-targets
30187
30188 @subsubheading Synopsis
30189
30190 @smallexample
30191 -target-list-available-targets
30192 @end smallexample
30193
30194 List the possible targets to connect to.
30195
30196 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30197
30198 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{help target}.
30199
30200 @subsubheading Example
30201 N.A.
30202
30203
30204 @subheading The @code{-target-list-current-targets} Command
30205 @findex -target-list-current-targets
30206
30207 @subsubheading Synopsis
30208
30209 @smallexample
30210 -target-list-current-targets
30211 @end smallexample
30212
30213 Describe the current target.
30214
30215 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30216
30217 The corresponding information is printed by @samp{info file} (among
30218 other things).
30219
30220 @subsubheading Example
30221 N.A.
30222
30223
30224 @subheading The @code{-target-list-parameters} Command
30225 @findex -target-list-parameters
30226
30227 @subsubheading Synopsis
30228
30229 @smallexample
30230 -target-list-parameters
30231 @end smallexample
30232
30233 @c ????
30234 @end ignore
30235
30236 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30237
30238 No equivalent.
30239
30240 @subsubheading Example
30241 N.A.
30242
30243
30244 @subheading The @code{-target-select} Command
30245 @findex -target-select
30246
30247 @subsubheading Synopsis
30248
30249 @smallexample
30250 -target-select @var{type} @var{parameters @dots{}}
30251 @end smallexample
30252
30253 Connect @value{GDBN} to the remote target. This command takes two args:
30254
30255 @table @samp
30256 @item @var{type}
30257 The type of target, for instance @samp{remote}, etc.
30258 @item @var{parameters}
30259 Device names, host names and the like. @xref{Target Commands, ,
30260 Commands for Managing Targets}, for more details.
30261 @end table
30262
30263 The output is a connection notification, followed by the address at
30264 which the target program is, in the following form:
30265
30266 @smallexample
30267 ^connected,addr="@var{address}",func="@var{function name}",
30268 args=[@var{arg list}]
30269 @end smallexample
30270
30271 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30272
30273 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{target}.
30274
30275 @subsubheading Example
30276
30277 @smallexample
30278 (gdb)
30279 -target-select remote /dev/ttya
30280 ^connected,addr="0xfe00a300",func="??",args=[]
30281 (gdb)
30282 @end smallexample
30283
30284 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
30285 @node GDB/MI File Transfer Commands
30286 @section @sc{gdb/mi} File Transfer Commands
30287
30288
30289 @subheading The @code{-target-file-put} Command
30290 @findex -target-file-put
30291
30292 @subsubheading Synopsis
30293
30294 @smallexample
30295 -target-file-put @var{hostfile} @var{targetfile}
30296 @end smallexample
30297
30298 Copy file @var{hostfile} from the host system (the machine running
30299 @value{GDBN}) to @var{targetfile} on the target system.
30300
30301 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30302
30303 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{remote put}.
30304
30305 @subsubheading Example
30306
30307 @smallexample
30308 (gdb)
30309 -target-file-put localfile remotefile
30310 ^done
30311 (gdb)
30312 @end smallexample
30313
30314
30315 @subheading The @code{-target-file-get} Command
30316 @findex -target-file-get
30317
30318 @subsubheading Synopsis
30319
30320 @smallexample
30321 -target-file-get @var{targetfile} @var{hostfile}
30322 @end smallexample
30323
30324 Copy file @var{targetfile} from the target system to @var{hostfile}
30325 on the host system.
30326
30327 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30328
30329 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{remote get}.
30330
30331 @subsubheading Example
30332
30333 @smallexample
30334 (gdb)
30335 -target-file-get remotefile localfile
30336 ^done
30337 (gdb)
30338 @end smallexample
30339
30340
30341 @subheading The @code{-target-file-delete} Command
30342 @findex -target-file-delete
30343
30344 @subsubheading Synopsis
30345
30346 @smallexample
30347 -target-file-delete @var{targetfile}
30348 @end smallexample
30349
30350 Delete @var{targetfile} from the target system.
30351
30352 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30353
30354 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{remote delete}.
30355
30356 @subsubheading Example
30357
30358 @smallexample
30359 (gdb)
30360 -target-file-delete remotefile
30361 ^done
30362 (gdb)
30363 @end smallexample
30364
30365
30366 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
30367 @node GDB/MI Miscellaneous Commands
30368 @section Miscellaneous @sc{gdb/mi} Commands
30369
30370 @c @subheading -gdb-complete
30371
30372 @subheading The @code{-gdb-exit} Command
30373 @findex -gdb-exit
30374
30375 @subsubheading Synopsis
30376
30377 @smallexample
30378 -gdb-exit
30379 @end smallexample
30380
30381 Exit @value{GDBN} immediately.
30382
30383 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30384
30385 Approximately corresponds to @samp{quit}.
30386
30387 @subsubheading Example
30388
30389 @smallexample
30390 (gdb)
30391 -gdb-exit
30392 ^exit
30393 @end smallexample
30394
30395
30396 @ignore
30397 @subheading The @code{-exec-abort} Command
30398 @findex -exec-abort
30399
30400 @subsubheading Synopsis
30401
30402 @smallexample
30403 -exec-abort
30404 @end smallexample
30405
30406 Kill the inferior running program.
30407
30408 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30409
30410 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{kill}.
30411
30412 @subsubheading Example
30413 N.A.
30414 @end ignore
30415
30416
30417 @subheading The @code{-gdb-set} Command
30418 @findex -gdb-set
30419
30420 @subsubheading Synopsis
30421
30422 @smallexample
30423 -gdb-set
30424 @end smallexample
30425
30426 Set an internal @value{GDBN} variable.
30427 @c IS THIS A DOLLAR VARIABLE? OR SOMETHING LIKE ANNOTATE ?????
30428
30429 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30430
30431 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{set}.
30432
30433 @subsubheading Example
30434
30435 @smallexample
30436 (gdb)
30437 -gdb-set $foo=3
30438 ^done
30439 (gdb)
30440 @end smallexample
30441
30442
30443 @subheading The @code{-gdb-show} Command
30444 @findex -gdb-show
30445
30446 @subsubheading Synopsis
30447
30448 @smallexample
30449 -gdb-show
30450 @end smallexample
30451
30452 Show the current value of a @value{GDBN} variable.
30453
30454 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30455
30456 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{show}.
30457
30458 @subsubheading Example
30459
30460 @smallexample
30461 (gdb)
30462 -gdb-show annotate
30463 ^done,value="0"
30464 (gdb)
30465 @end smallexample
30466
30467 @c @subheading -gdb-source
30468
30469
30470 @subheading The @code{-gdb-version} Command
30471 @findex -gdb-version
30472
30473 @subsubheading Synopsis
30474
30475 @smallexample
30476 -gdb-version
30477 @end smallexample
30478
30479 Show version information for @value{GDBN}. Used mostly in testing.
30480
30481 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30482
30483 The @value{GDBN} equivalent is @samp{show version}. @value{GDBN} by
30484 default shows this information when you start an interactive session.
30485
30486 @subsubheading Example
30487
30488 @c This example modifies the actual output from GDB to avoid overfull
30489 @c box in TeX.
30490 @smallexample
30491 (gdb)
30492 -gdb-version
30493 ~GNU gdb 5.2.1
30494 ~Copyright 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
30495 ~GDB is free software, covered by the GNU General Public License, and
30496 ~you are welcome to change it and/or distribute copies of it under
30497 ~ certain conditions.
30498 ~Type "show copying" to see the conditions.
30499 ~There is absolutely no warranty for GDB. Type "show warranty" for
30500 ~ details.
30501 ~This GDB was configured as
30502 "--host=sparc-sun-solaris2.5.1 --target=ppc-eabi".
30503 ^done
30504 (gdb)
30505 @end smallexample
30506
30507 @subheading The @code{-list-features} Command
30508 @findex -list-features
30509
30510 Returns a list of particular features of the MI protocol that
30511 this version of gdb implements. A feature can be a command,
30512 or a new field in an output of some command, or even an
30513 important bugfix. While a frontend can sometimes detect presence
30514 of a feature at runtime, it is easier to perform detection at debugger
30515 startup.
30516
30517 The command returns a list of strings, with each string naming an
30518 available feature. Each returned string is just a name, it does not
30519 have any internal structure. The list of possible feature names
30520 is given below.
30521
30522 Example output:
30523
30524 @smallexample
30525 (gdb) -list-features
30526 ^done,result=["feature1","feature2"]
30527 @end smallexample
30528
30529 The current list of features is:
30530
30531 @table @samp
30532 @item frozen-varobjs
30533 Indicates support for the @code{-var-set-frozen} command, as well
30534 as possible presense of the @code{frozen} field in the output
30535 of @code{-varobj-create}.
30536 @item pending-breakpoints
30537 Indicates support for the @option{-f} option to the @code{-break-insert}
30538 command.
30539 @item python
30540 Indicates Python scripting support, Python-based
30541 pretty-printing commands, and possible presence of the
30542 @samp{display_hint} field in the output of @code{-var-list-children}
30543 @item thread-info
30544 Indicates support for the @code{-thread-info} command.
30545 @item data-read-memory-bytes
30546 Indicates support for the @code{-data-read-memory-bytes} and the
30547 @code{-data-write-memory-bytes} commands.
30548 @item breakpoint-notifications
30549 Indicates that changes to breakpoints and breakpoints created via the
30550 CLI will be announced via async records.
30551 @item ada-task-info
30552 Indicates support for the @code{-ada-task-info} command.
30553 @end table
30554
30555 @subheading The @code{-list-target-features} Command
30556 @findex -list-target-features
30557
30558 Returns a list of particular features that are supported by the
30559 target. Those features affect the permitted MI commands, but
30560 unlike the features reported by the @code{-list-features} command, the
30561 features depend on which target GDB is using at the moment. Whenever
30562 a target can change, due to commands such as @code{-target-select},
30563 @code{-target-attach} or @code{-exec-run}, the list of target features
30564 may change, and the frontend should obtain it again.
30565 Example output:
30566
30567 @smallexample
30568 (gdb) -list-features
30569 ^done,result=["async"]
30570 @end smallexample
30571
30572 The current list of features is:
30573
30574 @table @samp
30575 @item async
30576 Indicates that the target is capable of asynchronous command
30577 execution, which means that @value{GDBN} will accept further commands
30578 while the target is running.
30579
30580 @item reverse
30581 Indicates that the target is capable of reverse execution.
30582 @xref{Reverse Execution}, for more information.
30583
30584 @end table
30585
30586 @subheading The @code{-list-thread-groups} Command
30587 @findex -list-thread-groups
30588
30589 @subheading Synopsis
30590
30591 @smallexample
30592 -list-thread-groups [ --available ] [ --recurse 1 ] [ @var{group} ... ]
30593 @end smallexample
30594
30595 Lists thread groups (@pxref{Thread groups}). When a single thread
30596 group is passed as the argument, lists the children of that group.
30597 When several thread group are passed, lists information about those
30598 thread groups. Without any parameters, lists information about all
30599 top-level thread groups.
30600
30601 Normally, thread groups that are being debugged are reported.
30602 With the @samp{--available} option, @value{GDBN} reports thread groups
30603 available on the target.
30604
30605 The output of this command may have either a @samp{threads} result or
30606 a @samp{groups} result. The @samp{thread} result has a list of tuples
30607 as value, with each tuple describing a thread (@pxref{GDB/MI Thread
30608 Information}). The @samp{groups} result has a list of tuples as value,
30609 each tuple describing a thread group. If top-level groups are
30610 requested (that is, no parameter is passed), or when several groups
30611 are passed, the output always has a @samp{groups} result. The format
30612 of the @samp{group} result is described below.
30613
30614 To reduce the number of roundtrips it's possible to list thread groups
30615 together with their children, by passing the @samp{--recurse} option
30616 and the recursion depth. Presently, only recursion depth of 1 is
30617 permitted. If this option is present, then every reported thread group
30618 will also include its children, either as @samp{group} or
30619 @samp{threads} field.
30620
30621 In general, any combination of option and parameters is permitted, with
30622 the following caveats:
30623
30624 @itemize @bullet
30625 @item
30626 When a single thread group is passed, the output will typically
30627 be the @samp{threads} result. Because threads may not contain
30628 anything, the @samp{recurse} option will be ignored.
30629
30630 @item
30631 When the @samp{--available} option is passed, limited information may
30632 be available. In particular, the list of threads of a process might
30633 be inaccessible. Further, specifying specific thread groups might
30634 not give any performance advantage over listing all thread groups.
30635 The frontend should assume that @samp{-list-thread-groups --available}
30636 is always an expensive operation and cache the results.
30637
30638 @end itemize
30639
30640 The @samp{groups} result is a list of tuples, where each tuple may
30641 have the following fields:
30642
30643 @table @code
30644 @item id
30645 Identifier of the thread group. This field is always present.
30646 The identifier is an opaque string; frontends should not try to
30647 convert it to an integer, even though it might look like one.
30648
30649 @item type
30650 The type of the thread group. At present, only @samp{process} is a
30651 valid type.
30652
30653 @item pid
30654 The target-specific process identifier. This field is only present
30655 for thread groups of type @samp{process} and only if the process exists.
30656
30657 @item num_children
30658 The number of children this thread group has. This field may be
30659 absent for an available thread group.
30660
30661 @item threads
30662 This field has a list of tuples as value, each tuple describing a
30663 thread. It may be present if the @samp{--recurse} option is
30664 specified, and it's actually possible to obtain the threads.
30665
30666 @item cores
30667 This field is a list of integers, each identifying a core that one
30668 thread of the group is running on. This field may be absent if
30669 such information is not available.
30670
30671 @item executable
30672 The name of the executable file that corresponds to this thread group.
30673 The field is only present for thread groups of type @samp{process},
30674 and only if there is a corresponding executable file.
30675
30676 @end table
30677
30678 @subheading Example
30679
30680 @smallexample
30681 @value{GDBP}
30682 -list-thread-groups
30683 ^done,groups=[@{id="17",type="process",pid="yyy",num_children="2"@}]
30684 -list-thread-groups 17
30685 ^done,threads=[@{id="2",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90 (LWP 21257)",
30686 frame=@{level="0",addr="0xffffe410",func="__kernel_vsyscall",args=[]@},state="running"@},
30687 @{id="1",target-id="Thread 0xb7e156b0 (LWP 21254)",
30688 frame=@{level="0",addr="0x0804891f",func="foo",args=[@{name="i",value="10"@}],
30689 file="/tmp/a.c",fullname="/tmp/a.c",line="158"@},state="running"@}]]
30690 -list-thread-groups --available
30691 ^done,groups=[@{id="17",type="process",pid="yyy",num_children="2",cores=[1,2]@}]
30692 -list-thread-groups --available --recurse 1
30693 ^done,groups=[@{id="17", types="process",pid="yyy",num_children="2",cores=[1,2],
30694 threads=[@{id="1",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90",cores=[1]@},
30695 @{id="2",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90",cores=[2]@}]@},..]
30696 -list-thread-groups --available --recurse 1 17 18
30697 ^done,groups=[@{id="17", types="process",pid="yyy",num_children="2",cores=[1,2],
30698 threads=[@{id="1",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90",cores=[1]@},
30699 @{id="2",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90",cores=[2]@}]@},...]
30700 @end smallexample
30701
30702
30703 @subheading The @code{-add-inferior} Command
30704 @findex -add-inferior
30705
30706 @subheading Synopsis
30707
30708 @smallexample
30709 -add-inferior
30710 @end smallexample
30711
30712 Creates a new inferior (@pxref{Inferiors and Programs}). The created
30713 inferior is not associated with any executable. Such association may
30714 be established with the @samp{-file-exec-and-symbols} command
30715 (@pxref{GDB/MI File Commands}). The command response has a single
30716 field, @samp{thread-group}, whose value is the identifier of the
30717 thread group corresponding to the new inferior.
30718
30719 @subheading Example
30720
30721 @smallexample
30722 @value{GDBP}
30723 -add-inferior
30724 ^done,thread-group="i3"
30725 @end smallexample
30726
30727 @subheading The @code{-interpreter-exec} Command
30728 @findex -interpreter-exec
30729
30730 @subheading Synopsis
30731
30732 @smallexample
30733 -interpreter-exec @var{interpreter} @var{command}
30734 @end smallexample
30735 @anchor{-interpreter-exec}
30736
30737 Execute the specified @var{command} in the given @var{interpreter}.
30738
30739 @subheading @value{GDBN} Command
30740
30741 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{interpreter-exec}.
30742
30743 @subheading Example
30744
30745 @smallexample
30746 (gdb)
30747 -interpreter-exec console "break main"
30748 &"During symbol reading, couldn't parse type; debugger out of date?.\n"
30749 &"During symbol reading, bad structure-type format.\n"
30750 ~"Breakpoint 1 at 0x8074fc6: file ../../src/gdb/main.c, line 743.\n"
30751 ^done
30752 (gdb)
30753 @end smallexample
30754
30755 @subheading The @code{-inferior-tty-set} Command
30756 @findex -inferior-tty-set
30757
30758 @subheading Synopsis
30759
30760 @smallexample
30761 -inferior-tty-set /dev/pts/1
30762 @end smallexample
30763
30764 Set terminal for future runs of the program being debugged.
30765
30766 @subheading @value{GDBN} Command
30767
30768 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{set inferior-tty} /dev/pts/1.
30769
30770 @subheading Example
30771
30772 @smallexample
30773 (gdb)
30774 -inferior-tty-set /dev/pts/1
30775 ^done
30776 (gdb)
30777 @end smallexample
30778
30779 @subheading The @code{-inferior-tty-show} Command
30780 @findex -inferior-tty-show
30781
30782 @subheading Synopsis
30783
30784 @smallexample
30785 -inferior-tty-show
30786 @end smallexample
30787
30788 Show terminal for future runs of program being debugged.
30789
30790 @subheading @value{GDBN} Command
30791
30792 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{show inferior-tty}.
30793
30794 @subheading Example
30795
30796 @smallexample
30797 (gdb)
30798 -inferior-tty-set /dev/pts/1
30799 ^done
30800 (gdb)
30801 -inferior-tty-show
30802 ^done,inferior_tty_terminal="/dev/pts/1"
30803 (gdb)
30804 @end smallexample
30805
30806 @subheading The @code{-enable-timings} Command
30807 @findex -enable-timings
30808
30809 @subheading Synopsis
30810
30811 @smallexample
30812 -enable-timings [yes | no]
30813 @end smallexample
30814
30815 Toggle the printing of the wallclock, user and system times for an MI
30816 command as a field in its output. This command is to help frontend
30817 developers optimize the performance of their code. No argument is
30818 equivalent to @samp{yes}.
30819
30820 @subheading @value{GDBN} Command
30821
30822 No equivalent.
30823
30824 @subheading Example
30825
30826 @smallexample
30827 (gdb)
30828 -enable-timings
30829 ^done
30830 (gdb)
30831 -break-insert main
30832 ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
30833 addr="0x080484ed",func="main",file="myprog.c",
30834 fullname="/home/nickrob/myprog.c",line="73",times="0"@},
30835 time=@{wallclock="0.05185",user="0.00800",system="0.00000"@}
30836 (gdb)
30837 -enable-timings no
30838 ^done
30839 (gdb)
30840 -exec-run
30841 ^running
30842 (gdb)
30843 *stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",thread-id="0",
30844 frame=@{addr="0x080484ed",func="main",args=[@{name="argc",value="1"@},
30845 @{name="argv",value="0xbfb60364"@}],file="myprog.c",
30846 fullname="/home/nickrob/myprog.c",line="73"@}
30847 (gdb)
30848 @end smallexample
30849
30850 @node Annotations
30851 @chapter @value{GDBN} Annotations
30852
30853 This chapter describes annotations in @value{GDBN}. Annotations were
30854 designed to interface @value{GDBN} to graphical user interfaces or other
30855 similar programs which want to interact with @value{GDBN} at a
30856 relatively high level.
30857
30858 The annotation mechanism has largely been superseded by @sc{gdb/mi}
30859 (@pxref{GDB/MI}).
30860
30861 @ignore
30862 This is Edition @value{EDITION}, @value{DATE}.
30863 @end ignore
30864
30865 @menu
30866 * Annotations Overview:: What annotations are; the general syntax.
30867 * Server Prefix:: Issuing a command without affecting user state.
30868 * Prompting:: Annotations marking @value{GDBN}'s need for input.
30869 * Errors:: Annotations for error messages.
30870 * Invalidation:: Some annotations describe things now invalid.
30871 * Annotations for Running::
30872 Whether the program is running, how it stopped, etc.
30873 * Source Annotations:: Annotations describing source code.
30874 @end menu
30875
30876 @node Annotations Overview
30877 @section What is an Annotation?
30878 @cindex annotations
30879
30880 Annotations start with a newline character, two @samp{control-z}
30881 characters, and the name of the annotation. If there is no additional
30882 information associated with this annotation, the name of the annotation
30883 is followed immediately by a newline. If there is additional
30884 information, the name of the annotation is followed by a space, the
30885 additional information, and a newline. The additional information
30886 cannot contain newline characters.
30887
30888 Any output not beginning with a newline and two @samp{control-z}
30889 characters denotes literal output from @value{GDBN}. Currently there is
30890 no need for @value{GDBN} to output a newline followed by two
30891 @samp{control-z} characters, but if there was such a need, the
30892 annotations could be extended with an @samp{escape} annotation which
30893 means those three characters as output.
30894
30895 The annotation @var{level}, which is specified using the
30896 @option{--annotate} command line option (@pxref{Mode Options}), controls
30897 how much information @value{GDBN} prints together with its prompt,
30898 values of expressions, source lines, and other types of output. Level 0
30899 is for no annotations, level 1 is for use when @value{GDBN} is run as a
30900 subprocess of @sc{gnu} Emacs, level 3 is the maximum annotation suitable
30901 for programs that control @value{GDBN}, and level 2 annotations have
30902 been made obsolete (@pxref{Limitations, , Limitations of the Annotation
30903 Interface, annotate, GDB's Obsolete Annotations}).
30904
30905 @table @code
30906 @kindex set annotate
30907 @item set annotate @var{level}
30908 The @value{GDBN} command @code{set annotate} sets the level of
30909 annotations to the specified @var{level}.
30910
30911 @item show annotate
30912 @kindex show annotate
30913 Show the current annotation level.
30914 @end table
30915
30916 This chapter describes level 3 annotations.
30917
30918 A simple example of starting up @value{GDBN} with annotations is:
30919
30920 @smallexample
30921 $ @kbd{gdb --annotate=3}
30922 GNU gdb 6.0
30923 Copyright 2003 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
30924 GDB is free software, covered by the GNU General Public License,
30925 and you are welcome to change it and/or distribute copies of it
30926 under certain conditions.
30927 Type "show copying" to see the conditions.
30928 There is absolutely no warranty for GDB. Type "show warranty"
30929 for details.
30930 This GDB was configured as "i386-pc-linux-gnu"
30931
30932 ^Z^Zpre-prompt
30933 (@value{GDBP})
30934 ^Z^Zprompt
30935 @kbd{quit}
30936
30937 ^Z^Zpost-prompt
30938 $
30939 @end smallexample
30940
30941 Here @samp{quit} is input to @value{GDBN}; the rest is output from
30942 @value{GDBN}. The three lines beginning @samp{^Z^Z} (where @samp{^Z}
30943 denotes a @samp{control-z} character) are annotations; the rest is
30944 output from @value{GDBN}.
30945
30946 @node Server Prefix
30947 @section The Server Prefix
30948 @cindex server prefix
30949
30950 If you prefix a command with @samp{server } then it will not affect
30951 the command history, nor will it affect @value{GDBN}'s notion of which
30952 command to repeat if @key{RET} is pressed on a line by itself. This
30953 means that commands can be run behind a user's back by a front-end in
30954 a transparent manner.
30955
30956 The @code{server } prefix does not affect the recording of values into
30957 the value history; to print a value without recording it into the
30958 value history, use the @code{output} command instead of the
30959 @code{print} command.
30960
30961 Using this prefix also disables confirmation requests
30962 (@pxref{confirmation requests}).
30963
30964 @node Prompting
30965 @section Annotation for @value{GDBN} Input
30966
30967 @cindex annotations for prompts
30968 When @value{GDBN} prompts for input, it annotates this fact so it is possible
30969 to know when to send output, when the output from a given command is
30970 over, etc.
30971
30972 Different kinds of input each have a different @dfn{input type}. Each
30973 input type has three annotations: a @code{pre-} annotation, which
30974 denotes the beginning of any prompt which is being output, a plain
30975 annotation, which denotes the end of the prompt, and then a @code{post-}
30976 annotation which denotes the end of any echo which may (or may not) be
30977 associated with the input. For example, the @code{prompt} input type
30978 features the following annotations:
30979
30980 @smallexample
30981 ^Z^Zpre-prompt
30982 ^Z^Zprompt
30983 ^Z^Zpost-prompt
30984 @end smallexample
30985
30986 The input types are
30987
30988 @table @code
30989 @findex pre-prompt annotation
30990 @findex prompt annotation
30991 @findex post-prompt annotation
30992 @item prompt
30993 When @value{GDBN} is prompting for a command (the main @value{GDBN} prompt).
30994
30995 @findex pre-commands annotation
30996 @findex commands annotation
30997 @findex post-commands annotation
30998 @item commands
30999 When @value{GDBN} prompts for a set of commands, like in the @code{commands}
31000 command. The annotations are repeated for each command which is input.
31001
31002 @findex pre-overload-choice annotation
31003 @findex overload-choice annotation
31004 @findex post-overload-choice annotation
31005 @item overload-choice
31006 When @value{GDBN} wants the user to select between various overloaded functions.
31007
31008 @findex pre-query annotation
31009 @findex query annotation
31010 @findex post-query annotation
31011 @item query
31012 When @value{GDBN} wants the user to confirm a potentially dangerous operation.
31013
31014 @findex pre-prompt-for-continue annotation
31015 @findex prompt-for-continue annotation
31016 @findex post-prompt-for-continue annotation
31017 @item prompt-for-continue
31018 When @value{GDBN} is asking the user to press return to continue. Note: Don't
31019 expect this to work well; instead use @code{set height 0} to disable
31020 prompting. This is because the counting of lines is buggy in the
31021 presence of annotations.
31022 @end table
31023
31024 @node Errors
31025 @section Errors
31026 @cindex annotations for errors, warnings and interrupts
31027
31028 @findex quit annotation
31029 @smallexample
31030 ^Z^Zquit
31031 @end smallexample
31032
31033 This annotation occurs right before @value{GDBN} responds to an interrupt.
31034
31035 @findex error annotation
31036 @smallexample
31037 ^Z^Zerror
31038 @end smallexample
31039
31040 This annotation occurs right before @value{GDBN} responds to an error.
31041
31042 Quit and error annotations indicate that any annotations which @value{GDBN} was
31043 in the middle of may end abruptly. For example, if a
31044 @code{value-history-begin} annotation is followed by a @code{error}, one
31045 cannot expect to receive the matching @code{value-history-end}. One
31046 cannot expect not to receive it either, however; an error annotation
31047 does not necessarily mean that @value{GDBN} is immediately returning all the way
31048 to the top level.
31049
31050 @findex error-begin annotation
31051 A quit or error annotation may be preceded by
31052
31053 @smallexample
31054 ^Z^Zerror-begin
31055 @end smallexample
31056
31057 Any output between that and the quit or error annotation is the error
31058 message.
31059
31060 Warning messages are not yet annotated.
31061 @c If we want to change that, need to fix warning(), type_error(),
31062 @c range_error(), and possibly other places.
31063
31064 @node Invalidation
31065 @section Invalidation Notices
31066
31067 @cindex annotations for invalidation messages
31068 The following annotations say that certain pieces of state may have
31069 changed.
31070
31071 @table @code
31072 @findex frames-invalid annotation
31073 @item ^Z^Zframes-invalid
31074
31075 The frames (for example, output from the @code{backtrace} command) may
31076 have changed.
31077
31078 @findex breakpoints-invalid annotation
31079 @item ^Z^Zbreakpoints-invalid
31080
31081 The breakpoints may have changed. For example, the user just added or
31082 deleted a breakpoint.
31083 @end table
31084
31085 @node Annotations for Running
31086 @section Running the Program
31087 @cindex annotations for running programs
31088
31089 @findex starting annotation
31090 @findex stopping annotation
31091 When the program starts executing due to a @value{GDBN} command such as
31092 @code{step} or @code{continue},
31093
31094 @smallexample
31095 ^Z^Zstarting
31096 @end smallexample
31097
31098 is output. When the program stops,
31099
31100 @smallexample
31101 ^Z^Zstopped
31102 @end smallexample
31103
31104 is output. Before the @code{stopped} annotation, a variety of
31105 annotations describe how the program stopped.
31106
31107 @table @code
31108 @findex exited annotation
31109 @item ^Z^Zexited @var{exit-status}
31110 The program exited, and @var{exit-status} is the exit status (zero for
31111 successful exit, otherwise nonzero).
31112
31113 @findex signalled annotation
31114 @findex signal-name annotation
31115 @findex signal-name-end annotation
31116 @findex signal-string annotation
31117 @findex signal-string-end annotation
31118 @item ^Z^Zsignalled
31119 The program exited with a signal. After the @code{^Z^Zsignalled}, the
31120 annotation continues:
31121
31122 @smallexample
31123 @var{intro-text}
31124 ^Z^Zsignal-name
31125 @var{name}
31126 ^Z^Zsignal-name-end
31127 @var{middle-text}
31128 ^Z^Zsignal-string
31129 @var{string}
31130 ^Z^Zsignal-string-end
31131 @var{end-text}
31132 @end smallexample
31133
31134 @noindent
31135 where @var{name} is the name of the signal, such as @code{SIGILL} or
31136 @code{SIGSEGV}, and @var{string} is the explanation of the signal, such
31137 as @code{Illegal Instruction} or @code{Segmentation fault}.
31138 @var{intro-text}, @var{middle-text}, and @var{end-text} are for the
31139 user's benefit and have no particular format.
31140
31141 @findex signal annotation
31142 @item ^Z^Zsignal
31143 The syntax of this annotation is just like @code{signalled}, but @value{GDBN} is
31144 just saying that the program received the signal, not that it was
31145 terminated with it.
31146
31147 @findex breakpoint annotation
31148 @item ^Z^Zbreakpoint @var{number}
31149 The program hit breakpoint number @var{number}.
31150
31151 @findex watchpoint annotation
31152 @item ^Z^Zwatchpoint @var{number}
31153 The program hit watchpoint number @var{number}.
31154 @end table
31155
31156 @node Source Annotations
31157 @section Displaying Source
31158 @cindex annotations for source display
31159
31160 @findex source annotation
31161 The following annotation is used instead of displaying source code:
31162
31163 @smallexample
31164 ^Z^Zsource @var{filename}:@var{line}:@var{character}:@var{middle}:@var{addr}
31165 @end smallexample
31166
31167 where @var{filename} is an absolute file name indicating which source
31168 file, @var{line} is the line number within that file (where 1 is the
31169 first line in the file), @var{character} is the character position
31170 within the file (where 0 is the first character in the file) (for most
31171 debug formats this will necessarily point to the beginning of a line),
31172 @var{middle} is @samp{middle} if @var{addr} is in the middle of the
31173 line, or @samp{beg} if @var{addr} is at the beginning of the line, and
31174 @var{addr} is the address in the target program associated with the
31175 source which is being displayed. @var{addr} is in the form @samp{0x}
31176 followed by one or more lowercase hex digits (note that this does not
31177 depend on the language).
31178
31179 @node JIT Interface
31180 @chapter JIT Compilation Interface
31181 @cindex just-in-time compilation
31182 @cindex JIT compilation interface
31183
31184 This chapter documents @value{GDBN}'s @dfn{just-in-time} (JIT) compilation
31185 interface. A JIT compiler is a program or library that generates native
31186 executable code at runtime and executes it, usually in order to achieve good
31187 performance while maintaining platform independence.
31188
31189 Programs that use JIT compilation are normally difficult to debug because
31190 portions of their code are generated at runtime, instead of being loaded from
31191 object files, which is where @value{GDBN} normally finds the program's symbols
31192 and debug information. In order to debug programs that use JIT compilation,
31193 @value{GDBN} has an interface that allows the program to register in-memory
31194 symbol files with @value{GDBN} at runtime.
31195
31196 If you are using @value{GDBN} to debug a program that uses this interface, then
31197 it should work transparently so long as you have not stripped the binary. If
31198 you are developing a JIT compiler, then the interface is documented in the rest
31199 of this chapter. At this time, the only known client of this interface is the
31200 LLVM JIT.
31201
31202 Broadly speaking, the JIT interface mirrors the dynamic loader interface. The
31203 JIT compiler communicates with @value{GDBN} by writing data into a global
31204 variable and calling a fuction at a well-known symbol. When @value{GDBN}
31205 attaches, it reads a linked list of symbol files from the global variable to
31206 find existing code, and puts a breakpoint in the function so that it can find
31207 out about additional code.
31208
31209 @menu
31210 * Declarations:: Relevant C struct declarations
31211 * Registering Code:: Steps to register code
31212 * Unregistering Code:: Steps to unregister code
31213 @end menu
31214
31215 @node Declarations
31216 @section JIT Declarations
31217
31218 These are the relevant struct declarations that a C program should include to
31219 implement the interface:
31220
31221 @smallexample
31222 typedef enum
31223 @{
31224 JIT_NOACTION = 0,
31225 JIT_REGISTER_FN,
31226 JIT_UNREGISTER_FN
31227 @} jit_actions_t;
31228
31229 struct jit_code_entry
31230 @{
31231 struct jit_code_entry *next_entry;
31232 struct jit_code_entry *prev_entry;
31233 const char *symfile_addr;
31234 uint64_t symfile_size;
31235 @};
31236
31237 struct jit_descriptor
31238 @{
31239 uint32_t version;
31240 /* This type should be jit_actions_t, but we use uint32_t
31241 to be explicit about the bitwidth. */
31242 uint32_t action_flag;
31243 struct jit_code_entry *relevant_entry;
31244 struct jit_code_entry *first_entry;
31245 @};
31246
31247 /* GDB puts a breakpoint in this function. */
31248 void __attribute__((noinline)) __jit_debug_register_code() @{ @};
31249
31250 /* Make sure to specify the version statically, because the
31251 debugger may check the version before we can set it. */
31252 struct jit_descriptor __jit_debug_descriptor = @{ 1, 0, 0, 0 @};
31253 @end smallexample
31254
31255 If the JIT is multi-threaded, then it is important that the JIT synchronize any
31256 modifications to this global data properly, which can easily be done by putting
31257 a global mutex around modifications to these structures.
31258
31259 @node Registering Code
31260 @section Registering Code
31261
31262 To register code with @value{GDBN}, the JIT should follow this protocol:
31263
31264 @itemize @bullet
31265 @item
31266 Generate an object file in memory with symbols and other desired debug
31267 information. The file must include the virtual addresses of the sections.
31268
31269 @item
31270 Create a code entry for the file, which gives the start and size of the symbol
31271 file.
31272
31273 @item
31274 Add it to the linked list in the JIT descriptor.
31275
31276 @item
31277 Point the relevant_entry field of the descriptor at the entry.
31278
31279 @item
31280 Set @code{action_flag} to @code{JIT_REGISTER} and call
31281 @code{__jit_debug_register_code}.
31282 @end itemize
31283
31284 When @value{GDBN} is attached and the breakpoint fires, @value{GDBN} uses the
31285 @code{relevant_entry} pointer so it doesn't have to walk the list looking for
31286 new code. However, the linked list must still be maintained in order to allow
31287 @value{GDBN} to attach to a running process and still find the symbol files.
31288
31289 @node Unregistering Code
31290 @section Unregistering Code
31291
31292 If code is freed, then the JIT should use the following protocol:
31293
31294 @itemize @bullet
31295 @item
31296 Remove the code entry corresponding to the code from the linked list.
31297
31298 @item
31299 Point the @code{relevant_entry} field of the descriptor at the code entry.
31300
31301 @item
31302 Set @code{action_flag} to @code{JIT_UNREGISTER} and call
31303 @code{__jit_debug_register_code}.
31304 @end itemize
31305
31306 If the JIT frees or recompiles code without unregistering it, then @value{GDBN}
31307 and the JIT will leak the memory used for the associated symbol files.
31308
31309 @node GDB Bugs
31310 @chapter Reporting Bugs in @value{GDBN}
31311 @cindex bugs in @value{GDBN}
31312 @cindex reporting bugs in @value{GDBN}
31313
31314 Your bug reports play an essential role in making @value{GDBN} reliable.
31315
31316 Reporting a bug may help you by bringing a solution to your problem, or it
31317 may not. But in any case the principal function of a bug report is to help
31318 the entire community by making the next version of @value{GDBN} work better. Bug
31319 reports are your contribution to the maintenance of @value{GDBN}.
31320
31321 In order for a bug report to serve its purpose, you must include the
31322 information that enables us to fix the bug.
31323
31324 @menu
31325 * Bug Criteria:: Have you found a bug?
31326 * Bug Reporting:: How to report bugs
31327 @end menu
31328
31329 @node Bug Criteria
31330 @section Have You Found a Bug?
31331 @cindex bug criteria
31332
31333 If you are not sure whether you have found a bug, here are some guidelines:
31334
31335 @itemize @bullet
31336 @cindex fatal signal
31337 @cindex debugger crash
31338 @cindex crash of debugger
31339 @item
31340 If the debugger gets a fatal signal, for any input whatever, that is a
31341 @value{GDBN} bug. Reliable debuggers never crash.
31342
31343 @cindex error on valid input
31344 @item
31345 If @value{GDBN} produces an error message for valid input, that is a
31346 bug. (Note that if you're cross debugging, the problem may also be
31347 somewhere in the connection to the target.)
31348
31349 @cindex invalid input
31350 @item
31351 If @value{GDBN} does not produce an error message for invalid input,
31352 that is a bug. However, you should note that your idea of
31353 ``invalid input'' might be our idea of ``an extension'' or ``support
31354 for traditional practice''.
31355
31356 @item
31357 If you are an experienced user of debugging tools, your suggestions
31358 for improvement of @value{GDBN} are welcome in any case.
31359 @end itemize
31360
31361 @node Bug Reporting
31362 @section How to Report Bugs
31363 @cindex bug reports
31364 @cindex @value{GDBN} bugs, reporting
31365
31366 A number of companies and individuals offer support for @sc{gnu} products.
31367 If you obtained @value{GDBN} from a support organization, we recommend you
31368 contact that organization first.
31369
31370 You can find contact information for many support companies and
31371 individuals in the file @file{etc/SERVICE} in the @sc{gnu} Emacs
31372 distribution.
31373 @c should add a web page ref...
31374
31375 @ifset BUGURL
31376 @ifset BUGURL_DEFAULT
31377 In any event, we also recommend that you submit bug reports for
31378 @value{GDBN}. The preferred method is to submit them directly using
31379 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/bugs/, @value{GDBN}'s Bugs web
31380 page}. Alternatively, the @email{bug-gdb@@gnu.org, e-mail gateway} can
31381 be used.
31382
31383 @strong{Do not send bug reports to @samp{info-gdb}, or to
31384 @samp{help-gdb}, or to any newsgroups.} Most users of @value{GDBN} do
31385 not want to receive bug reports. Those that do have arranged to receive
31386 @samp{bug-gdb}.
31387
31388 The mailing list @samp{bug-gdb} has a newsgroup @samp{gnu.gdb.bug} which
31389 serves as a repeater. The mailing list and the newsgroup carry exactly
31390 the same messages. Often people think of posting bug reports to the
31391 newsgroup instead of mailing them. This appears to work, but it has one
31392 problem which can be crucial: a newsgroup posting often lacks a mail
31393 path back to the sender. Thus, if we need to ask for more information,
31394 we may be unable to reach you. For this reason, it is better to send
31395 bug reports to the mailing list.
31396 @end ifset
31397 @ifclear BUGURL_DEFAULT
31398 In any event, we also recommend that you submit bug reports for
31399 @value{GDBN} to @value{BUGURL}.
31400 @end ifclear
31401 @end ifset
31402
31403 The fundamental principle of reporting bugs usefully is this:
31404 @strong{report all the facts}. If you are not sure whether to state a
31405 fact or leave it out, state it!
31406
31407 Often people omit facts because they think they know what causes the
31408 problem and assume that some details do not matter. Thus, you might
31409 assume that the name of the variable you use in an example does not matter.
31410 Well, probably it does not, but one cannot be sure. Perhaps the bug is a
31411 stray memory reference which happens to fetch from the location where that
31412 name is stored in memory; perhaps, if the name were different, the contents
31413 of that location would fool the debugger into doing the right thing despite
31414 the bug. Play it safe and give a specific, complete example. That is the
31415 easiest thing for you to do, and the most helpful.
31416
31417 Keep in mind that the purpose of a bug report is to enable us to fix the
31418 bug. It may be that the bug has been reported previously, but neither
31419 you nor we can know that unless your bug report is complete and
31420 self-contained.
31421
31422 Sometimes people give a few sketchy facts and ask, ``Does this ring a
31423 bell?'' Those bug reports are useless, and we urge everyone to
31424 @emph{refuse to respond to them} except to chide the sender to report
31425 bugs properly.
31426
31427 To enable us to fix the bug, you should include all these things:
31428
31429 @itemize @bullet
31430 @item
31431 The version of @value{GDBN}. @value{GDBN} announces it if you start
31432 with no arguments; you can also print it at any time using @code{show
31433 version}.
31434
31435 Without this, we will not know whether there is any point in looking for
31436 the bug in the current version of @value{GDBN}.
31437
31438 @item
31439 The type of machine you are using, and the operating system name and
31440 version number.
31441
31442 @item
31443 What compiler (and its version) was used to compile @value{GDBN}---e.g.@:
31444 ``@value{GCC}--2.8.1''.
31445
31446 @item
31447 What compiler (and its version) was used to compile the program you are
31448 debugging---e.g.@: ``@value{GCC}--2.8.1'', or ``HP92453-01 A.10.32.03 HP
31449 C Compiler''. For @value{NGCC}, you can say @kbd{@value{GCC} --version}
31450 to get this information; for other compilers, see the documentation for
31451 those compilers.
31452
31453 @item
31454 The command arguments you gave the compiler to compile your example and
31455 observe the bug. For example, did you use @samp{-O}? To guarantee
31456 you will not omit something important, list them all. A copy of the
31457 Makefile (or the output from make) is sufficient.
31458
31459 If we were to try to guess the arguments, we would probably guess wrong
31460 and then we might not encounter the bug.
31461
31462 @item
31463 A complete input script, and all necessary source files, that will
31464 reproduce the bug.
31465
31466 @item
31467 A description of what behavior you observe that you believe is
31468 incorrect. For example, ``It gets a fatal signal.''
31469
31470 Of course, if the bug is that @value{GDBN} gets a fatal signal, then we
31471 will certainly notice it. But if the bug is incorrect output, we might
31472 not notice unless it is glaringly wrong. You might as well not give us
31473 a chance to make a mistake.
31474
31475 Even if the problem you experience is a fatal signal, you should still
31476 say so explicitly. Suppose something strange is going on, such as, your
31477 copy of @value{GDBN} is out of synch, or you have encountered a bug in
31478 the C library on your system. (This has happened!) Your copy might
31479 crash and ours would not. If you told us to expect a crash, then when
31480 ours fails to crash, we would know that the bug was not happening for
31481 us. If you had not told us to expect a crash, then we would not be able
31482 to draw any conclusion from our observations.
31483
31484 @pindex script
31485 @cindex recording a session script
31486 To collect all this information, you can use a session recording program
31487 such as @command{script}, which is available on many Unix systems.
31488 Just run your @value{GDBN} session inside @command{script} and then
31489 include the @file{typescript} file with your bug report.
31490
31491 Another way to record a @value{GDBN} session is to run @value{GDBN}
31492 inside Emacs and then save the entire buffer to a file.
31493
31494 @item
31495 If you wish to suggest changes to the @value{GDBN} source, send us context
31496 diffs. If you even discuss something in the @value{GDBN} source, refer to
31497 it by context, not by line number.
31498
31499 The line numbers in our development sources will not match those in your
31500 sources. Your line numbers would convey no useful information to us.
31501
31502 @end itemize
31503
31504 Here are some things that are not necessary:
31505
31506 @itemize @bullet
31507 @item
31508 A description of the envelope of the bug.
31509
31510 Often people who encounter a bug spend a lot of time investigating
31511 which changes to the input file will make the bug go away and which
31512 changes will not affect it.
31513
31514 This is often time consuming and not very useful, because the way we
31515 will find the bug is by running a single example under the debugger
31516 with breakpoints, not by pure deduction from a series of examples.
31517 We recommend that you save your time for something else.
31518
31519 Of course, if you can find a simpler example to report @emph{instead}
31520 of the original one, that is a convenience for us. Errors in the
31521 output will be easier to spot, running under the debugger will take
31522 less time, and so on.
31523
31524 However, simplification is not vital; if you do not want to do this,
31525 report the bug anyway and send us the entire test case you used.
31526
31527 @item
31528 A patch for the bug.
31529
31530 A patch for the bug does help us if it is a good one. But do not omit
31531 the necessary information, such as the test case, on the assumption that
31532 a patch is all we need. We might see problems with your patch and decide
31533 to fix the problem another way, or we might not understand it at all.
31534
31535 Sometimes with a program as complicated as @value{GDBN} it is very hard to
31536 construct an example that will make the program follow a certain path
31537 through the code. If you do not send us the example, we will not be able
31538 to construct one, so we will not be able to verify that the bug is fixed.
31539
31540 And if we cannot understand what bug you are trying to fix, or why your
31541 patch should be an improvement, we will not install it. A test case will
31542 help us to understand.
31543
31544 @item
31545 A guess about what the bug is or what it depends on.
31546
31547 Such guesses are usually wrong. Even we cannot guess right about such
31548 things without first using the debugger to find the facts.
31549 @end itemize
31550
31551 @c The readline documentation is distributed with the readline code
31552 @c and consists of the two following files:
31553 @c rluser.texi
31554 @c hsuser.texi
31555 @c Use -I with makeinfo to point to the appropriate directory,
31556 @c environment var TEXINPUTS with TeX.
31557 @ifclear SYSTEM_READLINE
31558 @include rluser.texi
31559 @include hsuser.texi
31560 @end ifclear
31561
31562 @node In Memoriam
31563 @appendix In Memoriam
31564
31565 The @value{GDBN} project mourns the loss of the following long-time
31566 contributors:
31567
31568 @table @code
31569 @item Fred Fish
31570 Fred was a long-standing contributor to @value{GDBN} (1991-2006), and
31571 to Free Software in general. Outside of @value{GDBN}, he was known in
31572 the Amiga world for his series of Fish Disks, and the GeekGadget project.
31573
31574 @item Michael Snyder
31575 Michael was one of the Global Maintainers of the @value{GDBN} project,
31576 with contributions recorded as early as 1996, until 2011. In addition
31577 to his day to day participation, he was a large driving force behind
31578 adding Reverse Debugging to @value{GDBN}.
31579 @end table
31580
31581 Beyond their technical contributions to the project, they were also
31582 enjoyable members of the Free Software Community. We will miss them.
31583
31584 @node Formatting Documentation
31585 @appendix Formatting Documentation
31586
31587 @cindex @value{GDBN} reference card
31588 @cindex reference card
31589 The @value{GDBN} 4 release includes an already-formatted reference card, ready
31590 for printing with PostScript or Ghostscript, in the @file{gdb}
31591 subdirectory of the main source directory@footnote{In
31592 @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}/gdb/refcard.ps} of the version @value{GDBVN}
31593 release.}. If you can use PostScript or Ghostscript with your printer,
31594 you can print the reference card immediately with @file{refcard.ps}.
31595
31596 The release also includes the source for the reference card. You
31597 can format it, using @TeX{}, by typing:
31598
31599 @smallexample
31600 make refcard.dvi
31601 @end smallexample
31602
31603 The @value{GDBN} reference card is designed to print in @dfn{landscape}
31604 mode on US ``letter'' size paper;
31605 that is, on a sheet 11 inches wide by 8.5 inches
31606 high. You will need to specify this form of printing as an option to
31607 your @sc{dvi} output program.
31608
31609 @cindex documentation
31610
31611 All the documentation for @value{GDBN} comes as part of the machine-readable
31612 distribution. The documentation is written in Texinfo format, which is
31613 a documentation system that uses a single source file to produce both
31614 on-line information and a printed manual. You can use one of the Info
31615 formatting commands to create the on-line version of the documentation
31616 and @TeX{} (or @code{texi2roff}) to typeset the printed version.
31617
31618 @value{GDBN} includes an already formatted copy of the on-line Info
31619 version of this manual in the @file{gdb} subdirectory. The main Info
31620 file is @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}/gdb/gdb.info}, and it refers to
31621 subordinate files matching @samp{gdb.info*} in the same directory. If
31622 necessary, you can print out these files, or read them with any editor;
31623 but they are easier to read using the @code{info} subsystem in @sc{gnu}
31624 Emacs or the standalone @code{info} program, available as part of the
31625 @sc{gnu} Texinfo distribution.
31626
31627 If you want to format these Info files yourself, you need one of the
31628 Info formatting programs, such as @code{texinfo-format-buffer} or
31629 @code{makeinfo}.
31630
31631 If you have @code{makeinfo} installed, and are in the top level
31632 @value{GDBN} source directory (@file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}}, in the case of
31633 version @value{GDBVN}), you can make the Info file by typing:
31634
31635 @smallexample
31636 cd gdb
31637 make gdb.info
31638 @end smallexample
31639
31640 If you want to typeset and print copies of this manual, you need @TeX{},
31641 a program to print its @sc{dvi} output files, and @file{texinfo.tex}, the
31642 Texinfo definitions file.
31643
31644 @TeX{} is a typesetting program; it does not print files directly, but
31645 produces output files called @sc{dvi} files. To print a typeset
31646 document, you need a program to print @sc{dvi} files. If your system
31647 has @TeX{} installed, chances are it has such a program. The precise
31648 command to use depends on your system; @kbd{lpr -d} is common; another
31649 (for PostScript devices) is @kbd{dvips}. The @sc{dvi} print command may
31650 require a file name without any extension or a @samp{.dvi} extension.
31651
31652 @TeX{} also requires a macro definitions file called
31653 @file{texinfo.tex}. This file tells @TeX{} how to typeset a document
31654 written in Texinfo format. On its own, @TeX{} cannot either read or
31655 typeset a Texinfo file. @file{texinfo.tex} is distributed with GDB
31656 and is located in the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}/texinfo}
31657 directory.
31658
31659 If you have @TeX{} and a @sc{dvi} printer program installed, you can
31660 typeset and print this manual. First switch to the @file{gdb}
31661 subdirectory of the main source directory (for example, to
31662 @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}/gdb}) and type:
31663
31664 @smallexample
31665 make gdb.dvi
31666 @end smallexample
31667
31668 Then give @file{gdb.dvi} to your @sc{dvi} printing program.
31669
31670 @node Installing GDB
31671 @appendix Installing @value{GDBN}
31672 @cindex installation
31673
31674 @menu
31675 * Requirements:: Requirements for building @value{GDBN}
31676 * Running Configure:: Invoking the @value{GDBN} @file{configure} script
31677 * Separate Objdir:: Compiling @value{GDBN} in another directory
31678 * Config Names:: Specifying names for hosts and targets
31679 * Configure Options:: Summary of options for configure
31680 * System-wide configuration:: Having a system-wide init file
31681 @end menu
31682
31683 @node Requirements
31684 @section Requirements for Building @value{GDBN}
31685 @cindex building @value{GDBN}, requirements for
31686
31687 Building @value{GDBN} requires various tools and packages to be available.
31688 Other packages will be used only if they are found.
31689
31690 @heading Tools/Packages Necessary for Building @value{GDBN}
31691 @table @asis
31692 @item ISO C90 compiler
31693 @value{GDBN} is written in ISO C90. It should be buildable with any
31694 working C90 compiler, e.g.@: GCC.
31695
31696 @end table
31697
31698 @heading Tools/Packages Optional for Building @value{GDBN}
31699 @table @asis
31700 @item Expat
31701 @anchor{Expat}
31702 @value{GDBN} can use the Expat XML parsing library. This library may be
31703 included with your operating system distribution; if it is not, you
31704 can get the latest version from @url{http://expat.sourceforge.net}.
31705 The @file{configure} script will search for this library in several
31706 standard locations; if it is installed in an unusual path, you can
31707 use the @option{--with-libexpat-prefix} option to specify its location.
31708
31709 Expat is used for:
31710
31711 @itemize @bullet
31712 @item
31713 Remote protocol memory maps (@pxref{Memory Map Format})
31714 @item
31715 Target descriptions (@pxref{Target Descriptions})
31716 @item
31717 Remote shared library lists (@pxref{Library List Format})
31718 @item
31719 MS-Windows shared libraries (@pxref{Shared Libraries})
31720 @item
31721 Traceframe info (@pxref{Traceframe Info Format})
31722 @end itemize
31723
31724 @item zlib
31725 @cindex compressed debug sections
31726 @value{GDBN} will use the @samp{zlib} library, if available, to read
31727 compressed debug sections. Some linkers, such as GNU gold, are capable
31728 of producing binaries with compressed debug sections. If @value{GDBN}
31729 is compiled with @samp{zlib}, it will be able to read the debug
31730 information in such binaries.
31731
31732 The @samp{zlib} library is likely included with your operating system
31733 distribution; if it is not, you can get the latest version from
31734 @url{http://zlib.net}.
31735
31736 @item iconv
31737 @value{GDBN}'s features related to character sets (@pxref{Character
31738 Sets}) require a functioning @code{iconv} implementation. If you are
31739 on a GNU system, then this is provided by the GNU C Library. Some
31740 other systems also provide a working @code{iconv}.
31741
31742 If @value{GDBN} is using the @code{iconv} program which is installed
31743 in a non-standard place, you will need to tell @value{GDBN} where to find it.
31744 This is done with @option{--with-iconv-bin} which specifies the
31745 directory that contains the @code{iconv} program.
31746
31747 On systems without @code{iconv}, you can install GNU Libiconv. If you
31748 have previously installed Libiconv, you can use the
31749 @option{--with-libiconv-prefix} option to configure.
31750
31751 @value{GDBN}'s top-level @file{configure} and @file{Makefile} will
31752 arrange to build Libiconv if a directory named @file{libiconv} appears
31753 in the top-most source directory. If Libiconv is built this way, and
31754 if the operating system does not provide a suitable @code{iconv}
31755 implementation, then the just-built library will automatically be used
31756 by @value{GDBN}. One easy way to set this up is to download GNU
31757 Libiconv, unpack it, and then rename the directory holding the
31758 Libiconv source code to @samp{libiconv}.
31759 @end table
31760
31761 @node Running Configure
31762 @section Invoking the @value{GDBN} @file{configure} Script
31763 @cindex configuring @value{GDBN}
31764 @value{GDBN} comes with a @file{configure} script that automates the process
31765 of preparing @value{GDBN} for installation; you can then use @code{make} to
31766 build the @code{gdb} program.
31767 @iftex
31768 @c irrelevant in info file; it's as current as the code it lives with.
31769 @footnote{If you have a more recent version of @value{GDBN} than @value{GDBVN},
31770 look at the @file{README} file in the sources; we may have improved the
31771 installation procedures since publishing this manual.}
31772 @end iftex
31773
31774 The @value{GDBN} distribution includes all the source code you need for
31775 @value{GDBN} in a single directory, whose name is usually composed by
31776 appending the version number to @samp{gdb}.
31777
31778 For example, the @value{GDBN} version @value{GDBVN} distribution is in the
31779 @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}} directory. That directory contains:
31780
31781 @table @code
31782 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/configure @r{(and supporting files)}
31783 script for configuring @value{GDBN} and all its supporting libraries
31784
31785 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/gdb
31786 the source specific to @value{GDBN} itself
31787
31788 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/bfd
31789 source for the Binary File Descriptor library
31790
31791 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/include
31792 @sc{gnu} include files
31793
31794 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/libiberty
31795 source for the @samp{-liberty} free software library
31796
31797 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/opcodes
31798 source for the library of opcode tables and disassemblers
31799
31800 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/readline
31801 source for the @sc{gnu} command-line interface
31802
31803 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/glob
31804 source for the @sc{gnu} filename pattern-matching subroutine
31805
31806 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/mmalloc
31807 source for the @sc{gnu} memory-mapped malloc package
31808 @end table
31809
31810 The simplest way to configure and build @value{GDBN} is to run @file{configure}
31811 from the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}} source directory, which in
31812 this example is the @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}} directory.
31813
31814 First switch to the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}} source directory
31815 if you are not already in it; then run @file{configure}. Pass the
31816 identifier for the platform on which @value{GDBN} will run as an
31817 argument.
31818
31819 For example:
31820
31821 @smallexample
31822 cd gdb-@value{GDBVN}
31823 ./configure @var{host}
31824 make
31825 @end smallexample
31826
31827 @noindent
31828 where @var{host} is an identifier such as @samp{sun4} or
31829 @samp{decstation}, that identifies the platform where @value{GDBN} will run.
31830 (You can often leave off @var{host}; @file{configure} tries to guess the
31831 correct value by examining your system.)
31832
31833 Running @samp{configure @var{host}} and then running @code{make} builds the
31834 @file{bfd}, @file{readline}, @file{mmalloc}, and @file{libiberty}
31835 libraries, then @code{gdb} itself. The configured source files, and the
31836 binaries, are left in the corresponding source directories.
31837
31838 @need 750
31839 @file{configure} is a Bourne-shell (@code{/bin/sh}) script; if your
31840 system does not recognize this automatically when you run a different
31841 shell, you may need to run @code{sh} on it explicitly:
31842
31843 @smallexample
31844 sh configure @var{host}
31845 @end smallexample
31846
31847 If you run @file{configure} from a directory that contains source
31848 directories for multiple libraries or programs, such as the
31849 @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}} source directory for version @value{GDBVN},
31850 @file{configure}
31851 creates configuration files for every directory level underneath (unless
31852 you tell it not to, with the @samp{--norecursion} option).
31853
31854 You should run the @file{configure} script from the top directory in the
31855 source tree, the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}} directory. If you run
31856 @file{configure} from one of the subdirectories, you will configure only
31857 that subdirectory. That is usually not what you want. In particular,
31858 if you run the first @file{configure} from the @file{gdb} subdirectory
31859 of the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}} directory, you will omit the
31860 configuration of @file{bfd}, @file{readline}, and other sibling
31861 directories of the @file{gdb} subdirectory. This leads to build errors
31862 about missing include files such as @file{bfd/bfd.h}.
31863
31864 You can install @code{@value{GDBP}} anywhere; it has no hardwired paths.
31865 However, you should make sure that the shell on your path (named by
31866 the @samp{SHELL} environment variable) is publicly readable. Remember
31867 that @value{GDBN} uses the shell to start your program---some systems refuse to
31868 let @value{GDBN} debug child processes whose programs are not readable.
31869
31870 @node Separate Objdir
31871 @section Compiling @value{GDBN} in Another Directory
31872
31873 If you want to run @value{GDBN} versions for several host or target machines,
31874 you need a different @code{gdb} compiled for each combination of
31875 host and target. @file{configure} is designed to make this easy by
31876 allowing you to generate each configuration in a separate subdirectory,
31877 rather than in the source directory. If your @code{make} program
31878 handles the @samp{VPATH} feature (@sc{gnu} @code{make} does), running
31879 @code{make} in each of these directories builds the @code{gdb}
31880 program specified there.
31881
31882 To build @code{gdb} in a separate directory, run @file{configure}
31883 with the @samp{--srcdir} option to specify where to find the source.
31884 (You also need to specify a path to find @file{configure}
31885 itself from your working directory. If the path to @file{configure}
31886 would be the same as the argument to @samp{--srcdir}, you can leave out
31887 the @samp{--srcdir} option; it is assumed.)
31888
31889 For example, with version @value{GDBVN}, you can build @value{GDBN} in a
31890 separate directory for a Sun 4 like this:
31891
31892 @smallexample
31893 @group
31894 cd gdb-@value{GDBVN}
31895 mkdir ../gdb-sun4
31896 cd ../gdb-sun4
31897 ../gdb-@value{GDBVN}/configure sun4
31898 make
31899 @end group
31900 @end smallexample
31901
31902 When @file{configure} builds a configuration using a remote source
31903 directory, it creates a tree for the binaries with the same structure
31904 (and using the same names) as the tree under the source directory. In
31905 the example, you'd find the Sun 4 library @file{libiberty.a} in the
31906 directory @file{gdb-sun4/libiberty}, and @value{GDBN} itself in
31907 @file{gdb-sun4/gdb}.
31908
31909 Make sure that your path to the @file{configure} script has just one
31910 instance of @file{gdb} in it. If your path to @file{configure} looks
31911 like @file{../gdb-@value{GDBVN}/gdb/configure}, you are configuring only
31912 one subdirectory of @value{GDBN}, not the whole package. This leads to
31913 build errors about missing include files such as @file{bfd/bfd.h}.
31914
31915 One popular reason to build several @value{GDBN} configurations in separate
31916 directories is to configure @value{GDBN} for cross-compiling (where
31917 @value{GDBN} runs on one machine---the @dfn{host}---while debugging
31918 programs that run on another machine---the @dfn{target}).
31919 You specify a cross-debugging target by
31920 giving the @samp{--target=@var{target}} option to @file{configure}.
31921
31922 When you run @code{make} to build a program or library, you must run
31923 it in a configured directory---whatever directory you were in when you
31924 called @file{configure} (or one of its subdirectories).
31925
31926 The @code{Makefile} that @file{configure} generates in each source
31927 directory also runs recursively. If you type @code{make} in a source
31928 directory such as @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}} (or in a separate configured
31929 directory configured with @samp{--srcdir=@var{dirname}/gdb-@value{GDBVN}}), you
31930 will build all the required libraries, and then build GDB.
31931
31932 When you have multiple hosts or targets configured in separate
31933 directories, you can run @code{make} on them in parallel (for example,
31934 if they are NFS-mounted on each of the hosts); they will not interfere
31935 with each other.
31936
31937 @node Config Names
31938 @section Specifying Names for Hosts and Targets
31939
31940 The specifications used for hosts and targets in the @file{configure}
31941 script are based on a three-part naming scheme, but some short predefined
31942 aliases are also supported. The full naming scheme encodes three pieces
31943 of information in the following pattern:
31944
31945 @smallexample
31946 @var{architecture}-@var{vendor}-@var{os}
31947 @end smallexample
31948
31949 For example, you can use the alias @code{sun4} as a @var{host} argument,
31950 or as the value for @var{target} in a @code{--target=@var{target}}
31951 option. The equivalent full name is @samp{sparc-sun-sunos4}.
31952
31953 The @file{configure} script accompanying @value{GDBN} does not provide
31954 any query facility to list all supported host and target names or
31955 aliases. @file{configure} calls the Bourne shell script
31956 @code{config.sub} to map abbreviations to full names; you can read the
31957 script, if you wish, or you can use it to test your guesses on
31958 abbreviations---for example:
31959
31960 @smallexample
31961 % sh config.sub i386-linux
31962 i386-pc-linux-gnu
31963 % sh config.sub alpha-linux
31964 alpha-unknown-linux-gnu
31965 % sh config.sub hp9k700
31966 hppa1.1-hp-hpux
31967 % sh config.sub sun4
31968 sparc-sun-sunos4.1.1
31969 % sh config.sub sun3
31970 m68k-sun-sunos4.1.1
31971 % sh config.sub i986v
31972 Invalid configuration `i986v': machine `i986v' not recognized
31973 @end smallexample
31974
31975 @noindent
31976 @code{config.sub} is also distributed in the @value{GDBN} source
31977 directory (@file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}}, for version @value{GDBVN}).
31978
31979 @node Configure Options
31980 @section @file{configure} Options
31981
31982 Here is a summary of the @file{configure} options and arguments that
31983 are most often useful for building @value{GDBN}. @file{configure} also has
31984 several other options not listed here. @inforef{What Configure
31985 Does,,configure.info}, for a full explanation of @file{configure}.
31986
31987 @smallexample
31988 configure @r{[}--help@r{]}
31989 @r{[}--prefix=@var{dir}@r{]}
31990 @r{[}--exec-prefix=@var{dir}@r{]}
31991 @r{[}--srcdir=@var{dirname}@r{]}
31992 @r{[}--norecursion@r{]} @r{[}--rm@r{]}
31993 @r{[}--target=@var{target}@r{]}
31994 @var{host}
31995 @end smallexample
31996
31997 @noindent
31998 You may introduce options with a single @samp{-} rather than
31999 @samp{--} if you prefer; but you may abbreviate option names if you use
32000 @samp{--}.
32001
32002 @table @code
32003 @item --help
32004 Display a quick summary of how to invoke @file{configure}.
32005
32006 @item --prefix=@var{dir}
32007 Configure the source to install programs and files under directory
32008 @file{@var{dir}}.
32009
32010 @item --exec-prefix=@var{dir}
32011 Configure the source to install programs under directory
32012 @file{@var{dir}}.
32013
32014 @c avoid splitting the warning from the explanation:
32015 @need 2000
32016 @item --srcdir=@var{dirname}
32017 @strong{Warning: using this option requires @sc{gnu} @code{make}, or another
32018 @code{make} that implements the @code{VPATH} feature.}@*
32019 Use this option to make configurations in directories separate from the
32020 @value{GDBN} source directories. Among other things, you can use this to
32021 build (or maintain) several configurations simultaneously, in separate
32022 directories. @file{configure} writes configuration-specific files in
32023 the current directory, but arranges for them to use the source in the
32024 directory @var{dirname}. @file{configure} creates directories under
32025 the working directory in parallel to the source directories below
32026 @var{dirname}.
32027
32028 @item --norecursion
32029 Configure only the directory level where @file{configure} is executed; do not
32030 propagate configuration to subdirectories.
32031
32032 @item --target=@var{target}
32033 Configure @value{GDBN} for cross-debugging programs running on the specified
32034 @var{target}. Without this option, @value{GDBN} is configured to debug
32035 programs that run on the same machine (@var{host}) as @value{GDBN} itself.
32036
32037 There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available targets.
32038
32039 @item @var{host} @dots{}
32040 Configure @value{GDBN} to run on the specified @var{host}.
32041
32042 There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available hosts.
32043 @end table
32044
32045 There are many other options available as well, but they are generally
32046 needed for special purposes only.
32047
32048 @node System-wide configuration
32049 @section System-wide configuration and settings
32050 @cindex system-wide init file
32051
32052 @value{GDBN} can be configured to have a system-wide init file;
32053 this file will be read and executed at startup (@pxref{Startup, , What
32054 @value{GDBN} does during startup}).
32055
32056 Here is the corresponding configure option:
32057
32058 @table @code
32059 @item --with-system-gdbinit=@var{file}
32060 Specify that the default location of the system-wide init file is
32061 @var{file}.
32062 @end table
32063
32064 If @value{GDBN} has been configured with the option @option{--prefix=$prefix},
32065 it may be subject to relocation. Two possible cases:
32066
32067 @itemize @bullet
32068 @item
32069 If the default location of this init file contains @file{$prefix},
32070 it will be subject to relocation. Suppose that the configure options
32071 are @option{--prefix=$prefix --with-system-gdbinit=$prefix/etc/gdbinit};
32072 if @value{GDBN} is moved from @file{$prefix} to @file{$install}, the system
32073 init file is looked for as @file{$install/etc/gdbinit} instead of
32074 @file{$prefix/etc/gdbinit}.
32075
32076 @item
32077 By contrast, if the default location does not contain the prefix,
32078 it will not be relocated. E.g.@: if @value{GDBN} has been configured with
32079 @option{--prefix=/usr/local --with-system-gdbinit=/usr/share/gdb/gdbinit},
32080 then @value{GDBN} will always look for @file{/usr/share/gdb/gdbinit},
32081 wherever @value{GDBN} is installed.
32082 @end itemize
32083
32084 @node Maintenance Commands
32085 @appendix Maintenance Commands
32086 @cindex maintenance commands
32087 @cindex internal commands
32088
32089 In addition to commands intended for @value{GDBN} users, @value{GDBN}
32090 includes a number of commands intended for @value{GDBN} developers,
32091 that are not documented elsewhere in this manual. These commands are
32092 provided here for reference. (For commands that turn on debugging
32093 messages, see @ref{Debugging Output}.)
32094
32095 @table @code
32096 @kindex maint agent
32097 @kindex maint agent-eval
32098 @item maint agent @var{expression}
32099 @itemx maint agent-eval @var{expression}
32100 Translate the given @var{expression} into remote agent bytecodes.
32101 This command is useful for debugging the Agent Expression mechanism
32102 (@pxref{Agent Expressions}). The @samp{agent} version produces an
32103 expression useful for data collection, such as by tracepoints, while
32104 @samp{maint agent-eval} produces an expression that evaluates directly
32105 to a result. For instance, a collection expression for @code{globa +
32106 globb} will include bytecodes to record four bytes of memory at each
32107 of the addresses of @code{globa} and @code{globb}, while discarding
32108 the result of the addition, while an evaluation expression will do the
32109 addition and return the sum.
32110
32111 @kindex maint info breakpoints
32112 @item @anchor{maint info breakpoints}maint info breakpoints
32113 Using the same format as @samp{info breakpoints}, display both the
32114 breakpoints you've set explicitly, and those @value{GDBN} is using for
32115 internal purposes. Internal breakpoints are shown with negative
32116 breakpoint numbers. The type column identifies what kind of breakpoint
32117 is shown:
32118
32119 @table @code
32120 @item breakpoint
32121 Normal, explicitly set breakpoint.
32122
32123 @item watchpoint
32124 Normal, explicitly set watchpoint.
32125
32126 @item longjmp
32127 Internal breakpoint, used to handle correctly stepping through
32128 @code{longjmp} calls.
32129
32130 @item longjmp resume
32131 Internal breakpoint at the target of a @code{longjmp}.
32132
32133 @item until
32134 Temporary internal breakpoint used by the @value{GDBN} @code{until} command.
32135
32136 @item finish
32137 Temporary internal breakpoint used by the @value{GDBN} @code{finish} command.
32138
32139 @item shlib events
32140 Shared library events.
32141
32142 @end table
32143
32144 @kindex set displaced-stepping
32145 @kindex show displaced-stepping
32146 @cindex displaced stepping support
32147 @cindex out-of-line single-stepping
32148 @item set displaced-stepping
32149 @itemx show displaced-stepping
32150 Control whether or not @value{GDBN} will do @dfn{displaced stepping}
32151 if the target supports it. Displaced stepping is a way to single-step
32152 over breakpoints without removing them from the inferior, by executing
32153 an out-of-line copy of the instruction that was originally at the
32154 breakpoint location. It is also known as out-of-line single-stepping.
32155
32156 @table @code
32157 @item set displaced-stepping on
32158 If the target architecture supports it, @value{GDBN} will use
32159 displaced stepping to step over breakpoints.
32160
32161 @item set displaced-stepping off
32162 @value{GDBN} will not use displaced stepping to step over breakpoints,
32163 even if such is supported by the target architecture.
32164
32165 @cindex non-stop mode, and @samp{set displaced-stepping}
32166 @item set displaced-stepping auto
32167 This is the default mode. @value{GDBN} will use displaced stepping
32168 only if non-stop mode is active (@pxref{Non-Stop Mode}) and the target
32169 architecture supports displaced stepping.
32170 @end table
32171
32172 @kindex maint check-symtabs
32173 @item maint check-symtabs
32174 Check the consistency of psymtabs and symtabs.
32175
32176 @kindex maint cplus first_component
32177 @item maint cplus first_component @var{name}
32178 Print the first C@t{++} class/namespace component of @var{name}.
32179
32180 @kindex maint cplus namespace
32181 @item maint cplus namespace
32182 Print the list of possible C@t{++} namespaces.
32183
32184 @kindex maint demangle
32185 @item maint demangle @var{name}
32186 Demangle a C@t{++} or Objective-C mangled @var{name}.
32187
32188 @kindex maint deprecate
32189 @kindex maint undeprecate
32190 @cindex deprecated commands
32191 @item maint deprecate @var{command} @r{[}@var{replacement}@r{]}
32192 @itemx maint undeprecate @var{command}
32193 Deprecate or undeprecate the named @var{command}. Deprecated commands
32194 cause @value{GDBN} to issue a warning when you use them. The optional
32195 argument @var{replacement} says which newer command should be used in
32196 favor of the deprecated one; if it is given, @value{GDBN} will mention
32197 the replacement as part of the warning.
32198
32199 @kindex maint dump-me
32200 @item maint dump-me
32201 @cindex @code{SIGQUIT} signal, dump core of @value{GDBN}
32202 Cause a fatal signal in the debugger and force it to dump its core.
32203 This is supported only on systems which support aborting a program
32204 with the @code{SIGQUIT} signal.
32205
32206 @kindex maint internal-error
32207 @kindex maint internal-warning
32208 @item maint internal-error @r{[}@var{message-text}@r{]}
32209 @itemx maint internal-warning @r{[}@var{message-text}@r{]}
32210 Cause @value{GDBN} to call the internal function @code{internal_error}
32211 or @code{internal_warning} and hence behave as though an internal error
32212 or internal warning has been detected. In addition to reporting the
32213 internal problem, these functions give the user the opportunity to
32214 either quit @value{GDBN} or create a core file of the current
32215 @value{GDBN} session.
32216
32217 These commands take an optional parameter @var{message-text} that is
32218 used as the text of the error or warning message.
32219
32220 Here's an example of using @code{internal-error}:
32221
32222 @smallexample
32223 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{maint internal-error testing, 1, 2}
32224 @dots{}/maint.c:121: internal-error: testing, 1, 2
32225 A problem internal to GDB has been detected. Further
32226 debugging may prove unreliable.
32227 Quit this debugging session? (y or n) @kbd{n}
32228 Create a core file? (y or n) @kbd{n}
32229 (@value{GDBP})
32230 @end smallexample
32231
32232 @cindex @value{GDBN} internal error
32233 @cindex internal errors, control of @value{GDBN} behavior
32234
32235 @kindex maint set internal-error
32236 @kindex maint show internal-error
32237 @kindex maint set internal-warning
32238 @kindex maint show internal-warning
32239 @item maint set internal-error @var{action} [ask|yes|no]
32240 @itemx maint show internal-error @var{action}
32241 @itemx maint set internal-warning @var{action} [ask|yes|no]
32242 @itemx maint show internal-warning @var{action}
32243 When @value{GDBN} reports an internal problem (error or warning) it
32244 gives the user the opportunity to both quit @value{GDBN} and create a
32245 core file of the current @value{GDBN} session. These commands let you
32246 override the default behaviour for each particular @var{action},
32247 described in the table below.
32248
32249 @table @samp
32250 @item quit
32251 You can specify that @value{GDBN} should always (yes) or never (no)
32252 quit. The default is to ask the user what to do.
32253
32254 @item corefile
32255 You can specify that @value{GDBN} should always (yes) or never (no)
32256 create a core file. The default is to ask the user what to do.
32257 @end table
32258
32259 @kindex maint packet
32260 @item maint packet @var{text}
32261 If @value{GDBN} is talking to an inferior via the serial protocol,
32262 then this command sends the string @var{text} to the inferior, and
32263 displays the response packet. @value{GDBN} supplies the initial
32264 @samp{$} character, the terminating @samp{#} character, and the
32265 checksum.
32266
32267 @kindex maint print architecture
32268 @item maint print architecture @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
32269 Print the entire architecture configuration. The optional argument
32270 @var{file} names the file where the output goes.
32271
32272 @kindex maint print c-tdesc
32273 @item maint print c-tdesc
32274 Print the current target description (@pxref{Target Descriptions}) as
32275 a C source file. The created source file can be used in @value{GDBN}
32276 when an XML parser is not available to parse the description.
32277
32278 @kindex maint print dummy-frames
32279 @item maint print dummy-frames
32280 Prints the contents of @value{GDBN}'s internal dummy-frame stack.
32281
32282 @smallexample
32283 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{b add}
32284 @dots{}
32285 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{print add(2,3)}
32286 Breakpoint 2, add (a=2, b=3) at @dots{}
32287 58 return (a + b);
32288 The program being debugged stopped while in a function called from GDB.
32289 @dots{}
32290 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{maint print dummy-frames}
32291 0x1a57c80: pc=0x01014068 fp=0x0200bddc sp=0x0200bdd6
32292 top=0x0200bdd4 id=@{stack=0x200bddc,code=0x101405c@}
32293 call_lo=0x01014000 call_hi=0x01014001
32294 (@value{GDBP})
32295 @end smallexample
32296
32297 Takes an optional file parameter.
32298
32299 @kindex maint print registers
32300 @kindex maint print raw-registers
32301 @kindex maint print cooked-registers
32302 @kindex maint print register-groups
32303 @kindex maint print remote-registers
32304 @item maint print registers @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
32305 @itemx maint print raw-registers @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
32306 @itemx maint print cooked-registers @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
32307 @itemx maint print register-groups @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
32308 @itemx maint print remote-registers @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
32309 Print @value{GDBN}'s internal register data structures.
32310
32311 The command @code{maint print raw-registers} includes the contents of
32312 the raw register cache; the command @code{maint print
32313 cooked-registers} includes the (cooked) value of all registers,
32314 including registers which aren't available on the target nor visible
32315 to user; the command @code{maint print register-groups} includes the
32316 groups that each register is a member of; and the command @code{maint
32317 print remote-registers} includes the remote target's register numbers
32318 and offsets in the `G' packets. @xref{Registers,, Registers, gdbint,
32319 @value{GDBN} Internals}.
32320
32321 These commands take an optional parameter, a file name to which to
32322 write the information.
32323
32324 @kindex maint print reggroups
32325 @item maint print reggroups @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
32326 Print @value{GDBN}'s internal register group data structures. The
32327 optional argument @var{file} tells to what file to write the
32328 information.
32329
32330 The register groups info looks like this:
32331
32332 @smallexample
32333 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{maint print reggroups}
32334 Group Type
32335 general user
32336 float user
32337 all user
32338 vector user
32339 system user
32340 save internal
32341 restore internal
32342 @end smallexample
32343
32344 @kindex flushregs
32345 @item flushregs
32346 This command forces @value{GDBN} to flush its internal register cache.
32347
32348 @kindex maint print objfiles
32349 @cindex info for known object files
32350 @item maint print objfiles
32351 Print a dump of all known object files. For each object file, this
32352 command prints its name, address in memory, and all of its psymtabs
32353 and symtabs.
32354
32355 @kindex maint print section-scripts
32356 @cindex info for known .debug_gdb_scripts-loaded scripts
32357 @item maint print section-scripts [@var{regexp}]
32358 Print a dump of scripts specified in the @code{.debug_gdb_section} section.
32359 If @var{regexp} is specified, only print scripts loaded by object files
32360 matching @var{regexp}.
32361 For each script, this command prints its name as specified in the objfile,
32362 and the full path if known.
32363 @xref{.debug_gdb_scripts section}.
32364
32365 @kindex maint print statistics
32366 @cindex bcache statistics
32367 @item maint print statistics
32368 This command prints, for each object file in the program, various data
32369 about that object file followed by the byte cache (@dfn{bcache})
32370 statistics for the object file. The objfile data includes the number
32371 of minimal, partial, full, and stabs symbols, the number of types
32372 defined by the objfile, the number of as yet unexpanded psym tables,
32373 the number of line tables and string tables, and the amount of memory
32374 used by the various tables. The bcache statistics include the counts,
32375 sizes, and counts of duplicates of all and unique objects, max,
32376 average, and median entry size, total memory used and its overhead and
32377 savings, and various measures of the hash table size and chain
32378 lengths.
32379
32380 @kindex maint print target-stack
32381 @cindex target stack description
32382 @item maint print target-stack
32383 A @dfn{target} is an interface between the debugger and a particular
32384 kind of file or process. Targets can be stacked in @dfn{strata},
32385 so that more than one target can potentially respond to a request.
32386 In particular, memory accesses will walk down the stack of targets
32387 until they find a target that is interested in handling that particular
32388 address.
32389
32390 This command prints a short description of each layer that was pushed on
32391 the @dfn{target stack}, starting from the top layer down to the bottom one.
32392
32393 @kindex maint print type
32394 @cindex type chain of a data type
32395 @item maint print type @var{expr}
32396 Print the type chain for a type specified by @var{expr}. The argument
32397 can be either a type name or a symbol. If it is a symbol, the type of
32398 that symbol is described. The type chain produced by this command is
32399 a recursive definition of the data type as stored in @value{GDBN}'s
32400 data structures, including its flags and contained types.
32401
32402 @kindex maint set dwarf2 always-disassemble
32403 @kindex maint show dwarf2 always-disassemble
32404 @item maint set dwarf2 always-disassemble
32405 @item maint show dwarf2 always-disassemble
32406 Control the behavior of @code{info address} when using DWARF debugging
32407 information.
32408
32409 The default is @code{off}, which means that @value{GDBN} should try to
32410 describe a variable's location in an easily readable format. When
32411 @code{on}, @value{GDBN} will instead display the DWARF location
32412 expression in an assembly-like format. Note that some locations are
32413 too complex for @value{GDBN} to describe simply; in this case you will
32414 always see the disassembly form.
32415
32416 Here is an example of the resulting disassembly:
32417
32418 @smallexample
32419 (gdb) info addr argc
32420 Symbol "argc" is a complex DWARF expression:
32421 1: DW_OP_fbreg 0
32422 @end smallexample
32423
32424 For more information on these expressions, see
32425 @uref{http://www.dwarfstd.org/, the DWARF standard}.
32426
32427 @kindex maint set dwarf2 max-cache-age
32428 @kindex maint show dwarf2 max-cache-age
32429 @item maint set dwarf2 max-cache-age
32430 @itemx maint show dwarf2 max-cache-age
32431 Control the DWARF 2 compilation unit cache.
32432
32433 @cindex DWARF 2 compilation units cache
32434 In object files with inter-compilation-unit references, such as those
32435 produced by the GCC option @samp{-feliminate-dwarf2-dups}, the DWARF 2
32436 reader needs to frequently refer to previously read compilation units.
32437 This setting controls how long a compilation unit will remain in the
32438 cache if it is not referenced. A higher limit means that cached
32439 compilation units will be stored in memory longer, and more total
32440 memory will be used. Setting it to zero disables caching, which will
32441 slow down @value{GDBN} startup, but reduce memory consumption.
32442
32443 @kindex maint set profile
32444 @kindex maint show profile
32445 @cindex profiling GDB
32446 @item maint set profile
32447 @itemx maint show profile
32448 Control profiling of @value{GDBN}.
32449
32450 Profiling will be disabled until you use the @samp{maint set profile}
32451 command to enable it. When you enable profiling, the system will begin
32452 collecting timing and execution count data; when you disable profiling or
32453 exit @value{GDBN}, the results will be written to a log file. Remember that
32454 if you use profiling, @value{GDBN} will overwrite the profiling log file
32455 (often called @file{gmon.out}). If you have a record of important profiling
32456 data in a @file{gmon.out} file, be sure to move it to a safe location.
32457
32458 Configuring with @samp{--enable-profiling} arranges for @value{GDBN} to be
32459 compiled with the @samp{-pg} compiler option.
32460
32461 @kindex maint set show-debug-regs
32462 @kindex maint show show-debug-regs
32463 @cindex hardware debug registers
32464 @item maint set show-debug-regs
32465 @itemx maint show show-debug-regs
32466 Control whether to show variables that mirror the hardware debug
32467 registers. Use @code{ON} to enable, @code{OFF} to disable. If
32468 enabled, the debug registers values are shown when @value{GDBN} inserts or
32469 removes a hardware breakpoint or watchpoint, and when the inferior
32470 triggers a hardware-assisted breakpoint or watchpoint.
32471
32472 @kindex maint set show-all-tib
32473 @kindex maint show show-all-tib
32474 @item maint set show-all-tib
32475 @itemx maint show show-all-tib
32476 Control whether to show all non zero areas within a 1k block starting
32477 at thread local base, when using the @samp{info w32 thread-information-block}
32478 command.
32479
32480 @kindex maint space
32481 @cindex memory used by commands
32482 @item maint space
32483 Control whether to display memory usage for each command. If set to a
32484 nonzero value, @value{GDBN} will display how much memory each command
32485 took, following the command's own output. This can also be requested
32486 by invoking @value{GDBN} with the @option{--statistics} command-line
32487 switch (@pxref{Mode Options}).
32488
32489 @kindex maint time
32490 @cindex time of command execution
32491 @item maint time
32492 Control whether to display the execution time for each command. If
32493 set to a nonzero value, @value{GDBN} will display how much time it
32494 took to execute each command, following the command's own output.
32495 The time is not printed for the commands that run the target, since
32496 there's no mechanism currently to compute how much time was spend
32497 by @value{GDBN} and how much time was spend by the program been debugged.
32498 it's not possibly currently
32499 This can also be requested by invoking @value{GDBN} with the
32500 @option{--statistics} command-line switch (@pxref{Mode Options}).
32501
32502 @kindex maint translate-address
32503 @item maint translate-address @r{[}@var{section}@r{]} @var{addr}
32504 Find the symbol stored at the location specified by the address
32505 @var{addr} and an optional section name @var{section}. If found,
32506 @value{GDBN} prints the name of the closest symbol and an offset from
32507 the symbol's location to the specified address. This is similar to
32508 the @code{info address} command (@pxref{Symbols}), except that this
32509 command also allows to find symbols in other sections.
32510
32511 If section was not specified, the section in which the symbol was found
32512 is also printed. For dynamically linked executables, the name of
32513 executable or shared library containing the symbol is printed as well.
32514
32515 @end table
32516
32517 The following command is useful for non-interactive invocations of
32518 @value{GDBN}, such as in the test suite.
32519
32520 @table @code
32521 @item set watchdog @var{nsec}
32522 @kindex set watchdog
32523 @cindex watchdog timer
32524 @cindex timeout for commands
32525 Set the maximum number of seconds @value{GDBN} will wait for the
32526 target operation to finish. If this time expires, @value{GDBN}
32527 reports and error and the command is aborted.
32528
32529 @item show watchdog
32530 Show the current setting of the target wait timeout.
32531 @end table
32532
32533 @node Remote Protocol
32534 @appendix @value{GDBN} Remote Serial Protocol
32535
32536 @menu
32537 * Overview::
32538 * Packets::
32539 * Stop Reply Packets::
32540 * General Query Packets::
32541 * Architecture-Specific Protocol Details::
32542 * Tracepoint Packets::
32543 * Host I/O Packets::
32544 * Interrupts::
32545 * Notification Packets::
32546 * Remote Non-Stop::
32547 * Packet Acknowledgment::
32548 * Examples::
32549 * File-I/O Remote Protocol Extension::
32550 * Library List Format::
32551 * Memory Map Format::
32552 * Thread List Format::
32553 * Traceframe Info Format::
32554 @end menu
32555
32556 @node Overview
32557 @section Overview
32558
32559 There may be occasions when you need to know something about the
32560 protocol---for example, if there is only one serial port to your target
32561 machine, you might want your program to do something special if it
32562 recognizes a packet meant for @value{GDBN}.
32563
32564 In the examples below, @samp{->} and @samp{<-} are used to indicate
32565 transmitted and received data, respectively.
32566
32567 @cindex protocol, @value{GDBN} remote serial
32568 @cindex serial protocol, @value{GDBN} remote
32569 @cindex remote serial protocol
32570 All @value{GDBN} commands and responses (other than acknowledgments
32571 and notifications, see @ref{Notification Packets}) are sent as a
32572 @var{packet}. A @var{packet} is introduced with the character
32573 @samp{$}, the actual @var{packet-data}, and the terminating character
32574 @samp{#} followed by a two-digit @var{checksum}:
32575
32576 @smallexample
32577 @code{$}@var{packet-data}@code{#}@var{checksum}
32578 @end smallexample
32579 @noindent
32580
32581 @cindex checksum, for @value{GDBN} remote
32582 @noindent
32583 The two-digit @var{checksum} is computed as the modulo 256 sum of all
32584 characters between the leading @samp{$} and the trailing @samp{#} (an
32585 eight bit unsigned checksum).
32586
32587 Implementors should note that prior to @value{GDBN} 5.0 the protocol
32588 specification also included an optional two-digit @var{sequence-id}:
32589
32590 @smallexample
32591 @code{$}@var{sequence-id}@code{:}@var{packet-data}@code{#}@var{checksum}
32592 @end smallexample
32593
32594 @cindex sequence-id, for @value{GDBN} remote
32595 @noindent
32596 That @var{sequence-id} was appended to the acknowledgment. @value{GDBN}
32597 has never output @var{sequence-id}s. Stubs that handle packets added
32598 since @value{GDBN} 5.0 must not accept @var{sequence-id}.
32599
32600 When either the host or the target machine receives a packet, the first
32601 response expected is an acknowledgment: either @samp{+} (to indicate
32602 the package was received correctly) or @samp{-} (to request
32603 retransmission):
32604
32605 @smallexample
32606 -> @code{$}@var{packet-data}@code{#}@var{checksum}
32607 <- @code{+}
32608 @end smallexample
32609 @noindent
32610
32611 The @samp{+}/@samp{-} acknowledgments can be disabled
32612 once a connection is established.
32613 @xref{Packet Acknowledgment}, for details.
32614
32615 The host (@value{GDBN}) sends @var{command}s, and the target (the
32616 debugging stub incorporated in your program) sends a @var{response}. In
32617 the case of step and continue @var{command}s, the response is only sent
32618 when the operation has completed, and the target has again stopped all
32619 threads in all attached processes. This is the default all-stop mode
32620 behavior, but the remote protocol also supports @value{GDBN}'s non-stop
32621 execution mode; see @ref{Remote Non-Stop}, for details.
32622
32623 @var{packet-data} consists of a sequence of characters with the
32624 exception of @samp{#} and @samp{$} (see @samp{X} packet for additional
32625 exceptions).
32626
32627 @cindex remote protocol, field separator
32628 Fields within the packet should be separated using @samp{,} @samp{;} or
32629 @samp{:}. Except where otherwise noted all numbers are represented in
32630 @sc{hex} with leading zeros suppressed.
32631
32632 Implementors should note that prior to @value{GDBN} 5.0, the character
32633 @samp{:} could not appear as the third character in a packet (as it
32634 would potentially conflict with the @var{sequence-id}).
32635
32636 @cindex remote protocol, binary data
32637 @anchor{Binary Data}
32638 Binary data in most packets is encoded either as two hexadecimal
32639 digits per byte of binary data. This allowed the traditional remote
32640 protocol to work over connections which were only seven-bit clean.
32641 Some packets designed more recently assume an eight-bit clean
32642 connection, and use a more efficient encoding to send and receive
32643 binary data.
32644
32645 The binary data representation uses @code{7d} (@sc{ascii} @samp{@}})
32646 as an escape character. Any escaped byte is transmitted as the escape
32647 character followed by the original character XORed with @code{0x20}.
32648 For example, the byte @code{0x7d} would be transmitted as the two
32649 bytes @code{0x7d 0x5d}. The bytes @code{0x23} (@sc{ascii} @samp{#}),
32650 @code{0x24} (@sc{ascii} @samp{$}), and @code{0x7d} (@sc{ascii}
32651 @samp{@}}) must always be escaped. Responses sent by the stub
32652 must also escape @code{0x2a} (@sc{ascii} @samp{*}), so that it
32653 is not interpreted as the start of a run-length encoded sequence
32654 (described next).
32655
32656 Response @var{data} can be run-length encoded to save space.
32657 Run-length encoding replaces runs of identical characters with one
32658 instance of the repeated character, followed by a @samp{*} and a
32659 repeat count. The repeat count is itself sent encoded, to avoid
32660 binary characters in @var{data}: a value of @var{n} is sent as
32661 @code{@var{n}+29}. For a repeat count greater or equal to 3, this
32662 produces a printable @sc{ascii} character, e.g.@: a space (@sc{ascii}
32663 code 32) for a repeat count of 3. (This is because run-length
32664 encoding starts to win for counts 3 or more.) Thus, for example,
32665 @samp{0* } is a run-length encoding of ``0000'': the space character
32666 after @samp{*} means repeat the leading @code{0} @w{@code{32 - 29 =
32667 3}} more times.
32668
32669 The printable characters @samp{#} and @samp{$} or with a numeric value
32670 greater than 126 must not be used. Runs of six repeats (@samp{#}) or
32671 seven repeats (@samp{$}) can be expanded using a repeat count of only
32672 five (@samp{"}). For example, @samp{00000000} can be encoded as
32673 @samp{0*"00}.
32674
32675 The error response returned for some packets includes a two character
32676 error number. That number is not well defined.
32677
32678 @cindex empty response, for unsupported packets
32679 For any @var{command} not supported by the stub, an empty response
32680 (@samp{$#00}) should be returned. That way it is possible to extend the
32681 protocol. A newer @value{GDBN} can tell if a packet is supported based
32682 on that response.
32683
32684 At a minimum, a stub is required to support the @samp{g} and @samp{G}
32685 commands for register access, and the @samp{m} and @samp{M} commands
32686 for memory access. Stubs that only control single-threaded targets
32687 can implement run control with the @samp{c} (continue), and @samp{s}
32688 (step) commands. Stubs that support multi-threading targets should
32689 support the @samp{vCont} command. All other commands are optional.
32690
32691 @node Packets
32692 @section Packets
32693
32694 The following table provides a complete list of all currently defined
32695 @var{command}s and their corresponding response @var{data}.
32696 @xref{File-I/O Remote Protocol Extension}, for details about the File
32697 I/O extension of the remote protocol.
32698
32699 Each packet's description has a template showing the packet's overall
32700 syntax, followed by an explanation of the packet's meaning. We
32701 include spaces in some of the templates for clarity; these are not
32702 part of the packet's syntax. No @value{GDBN} packet uses spaces to
32703 separate its components. For example, a template like @samp{foo
32704 @var{bar} @var{baz}} describes a packet beginning with the three ASCII
32705 bytes @samp{foo}, followed by a @var{bar}, followed directly by a
32706 @var{baz}. @value{GDBN} does not transmit a space character between the
32707 @samp{foo} and the @var{bar}, or between the @var{bar} and the
32708 @var{baz}.
32709
32710 @cindex @var{thread-id}, in remote protocol
32711 @anchor{thread-id syntax}
32712 Several packets and replies include a @var{thread-id} field to identify
32713 a thread. Normally these are positive numbers with a target-specific
32714 interpretation, formatted as big-endian hex strings. A @var{thread-id}
32715 can also be a literal @samp{-1} to indicate all threads, or @samp{0} to
32716 pick any thread.
32717
32718 In addition, the remote protocol supports a multiprocess feature in
32719 which the @var{thread-id} syntax is extended to optionally include both
32720 process and thread ID fields, as @samp{p@var{pid}.@var{tid}}.
32721 The @var{pid} (process) and @var{tid} (thread) components each have the
32722 format described above: a positive number with target-specific
32723 interpretation formatted as a big-endian hex string, literal @samp{-1}
32724 to indicate all processes or threads (respectively), or @samp{0} to
32725 indicate an arbitrary process or thread. Specifying just a process, as
32726 @samp{p@var{pid}}, is equivalent to @samp{p@var{pid}.-1}. It is an
32727 error to specify all processes but a specific thread, such as
32728 @samp{p-1.@var{tid}}. Note that the @samp{p} prefix is @emph{not} used
32729 for those packets and replies explicitly documented to include a process
32730 ID, rather than a @var{thread-id}.
32731
32732 The multiprocess @var{thread-id} syntax extensions are only used if both
32733 @value{GDBN} and the stub report support for the @samp{multiprocess}
32734 feature using @samp{qSupported}. @xref{multiprocess extensions}, for
32735 more information.
32736
32737 Note that all packet forms beginning with an upper- or lower-case
32738 letter, other than those described here, are reserved for future use.
32739
32740 Here are the packet descriptions.
32741
32742 @table @samp
32743
32744 @item !
32745 @cindex @samp{!} packet
32746 @anchor{extended mode}
32747 Enable extended mode. In extended mode, the remote server is made
32748 persistent. The @samp{R} packet is used to restart the program being
32749 debugged.
32750
32751 Reply:
32752 @table @samp
32753 @item OK
32754 The remote target both supports and has enabled extended mode.
32755 @end table
32756
32757 @item ?
32758 @cindex @samp{?} packet
32759 Indicate the reason the target halted. The reply is the same as for
32760 step and continue. This packet has a special interpretation when the
32761 target is in non-stop mode; see @ref{Remote Non-Stop}.
32762
32763 Reply:
32764 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
32765
32766 @item A @var{arglen},@var{argnum},@var{arg},@dots{}
32767 @cindex @samp{A} packet
32768 Initialized @code{argv[]} array passed into program. @var{arglen}
32769 specifies the number of bytes in the hex encoded byte stream
32770 @var{arg}. See @code{gdbserver} for more details.
32771
32772 Reply:
32773 @table @samp
32774 @item OK
32775 The arguments were set.
32776 @item E @var{NN}
32777 An error occurred.
32778 @end table
32779
32780 @item b @var{baud}
32781 @cindex @samp{b} packet
32782 (Don't use this packet; its behavior is not well-defined.)
32783 Change the serial line speed to @var{baud}.
32784
32785 JTC: @emph{When does the transport layer state change? When it's
32786 received, or after the ACK is transmitted. In either case, there are
32787 problems if the command or the acknowledgment packet is dropped.}
32788
32789 Stan: @emph{If people really wanted to add something like this, and get
32790 it working for the first time, they ought to modify ser-unix.c to send
32791 some kind of out-of-band message to a specially-setup stub and have the
32792 switch happen "in between" packets, so that from remote protocol's point
32793 of view, nothing actually happened.}
32794
32795 @item B @var{addr},@var{mode}
32796 @cindex @samp{B} packet
32797 Set (@var{mode} is @samp{S}) or clear (@var{mode} is @samp{C}) a
32798 breakpoint at @var{addr}.
32799
32800 Don't use this packet. Use the @samp{Z} and @samp{z} packets instead
32801 (@pxref{insert breakpoint or watchpoint packet}).
32802
32803 @cindex @samp{bc} packet
32804 @anchor{bc}
32805 @item bc
32806 Backward continue. Execute the target system in reverse. No parameter.
32807 @xref{Reverse Execution}, for more information.
32808
32809 Reply:
32810 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
32811
32812 @cindex @samp{bs} packet
32813 @anchor{bs}
32814 @item bs
32815 Backward single step. Execute one instruction in reverse. No parameter.
32816 @xref{Reverse Execution}, for more information.
32817
32818 Reply:
32819 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
32820
32821 @item c @r{[}@var{addr}@r{]}
32822 @cindex @samp{c} packet
32823 Continue. @var{addr} is address to resume. If @var{addr} is omitted,
32824 resume at current address.
32825
32826 This packet is deprecated for multi-threading support. @xref{vCont
32827 packet}.
32828
32829 Reply:
32830 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
32831
32832 @item C @var{sig}@r{[};@var{addr}@r{]}
32833 @cindex @samp{C} packet
32834 Continue with signal @var{sig} (hex signal number). If
32835 @samp{;@var{addr}} is omitted, resume at same address.
32836
32837 This packet is deprecated for multi-threading support. @xref{vCont
32838 packet}.
32839
32840 Reply:
32841 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
32842
32843 @item d
32844 @cindex @samp{d} packet
32845 Toggle debug flag.
32846
32847 Don't use this packet; instead, define a general set packet
32848 (@pxref{General Query Packets}).
32849
32850 @item D
32851 @itemx D;@var{pid}
32852 @cindex @samp{D} packet
32853 The first form of the packet is used to detach @value{GDBN} from the
32854 remote system. It is sent to the remote target
32855 before @value{GDBN} disconnects via the @code{detach} command.
32856
32857 The second form, including a process ID, is used when multiprocess
32858 protocol extensions are enabled (@pxref{multiprocess extensions}), to
32859 detach only a specific process. The @var{pid} is specified as a
32860 big-endian hex string.
32861
32862 Reply:
32863 @table @samp
32864 @item OK
32865 for success
32866 @item E @var{NN}
32867 for an error
32868 @end table
32869
32870 @item F @var{RC},@var{EE},@var{CF};@var{XX}
32871 @cindex @samp{F} packet
32872 A reply from @value{GDBN} to an @samp{F} packet sent by the target.
32873 This is part of the File-I/O protocol extension. @xref{File-I/O
32874 Remote Protocol Extension}, for the specification.
32875
32876 @item g
32877 @anchor{read registers packet}
32878 @cindex @samp{g} packet
32879 Read general registers.
32880
32881 Reply:
32882 @table @samp
32883 @item @var{XX@dots{}}
32884 Each byte of register data is described by two hex digits. The bytes
32885 with the register are transmitted in target byte order. The size of
32886 each register and their position within the @samp{g} packet are
32887 determined by the @value{GDBN} internal gdbarch functions
32888 @code{DEPRECATED_REGISTER_RAW_SIZE} and @code{gdbarch_register_name}. The
32889 specification of several standard @samp{g} packets is specified below.
32890
32891 When reading registers from a trace frame (@pxref{Analyze Collected
32892 Data,,Using the Collected Data}), the stub may also return a string of
32893 literal @samp{x}'s in place of the register data digits, to indicate
32894 that the corresponding register has not been collected, thus its value
32895 is unavailable. For example, for an architecture with 4 registers of
32896 4 bytes each, the following reply indicates to @value{GDBN} that
32897 registers 0 and 2 have not been collected, while registers 1 and 3
32898 have been collected, and both have zero value:
32899
32900 @smallexample
32901 -> @code{g}
32902 <- @code{xxxxxxxx00000000xxxxxxxx00000000}
32903 @end smallexample
32904
32905 @item E @var{NN}
32906 for an error.
32907 @end table
32908
32909 @item G @var{XX@dots{}}
32910 @cindex @samp{G} packet
32911 Write general registers. @xref{read registers packet}, for a
32912 description of the @var{XX@dots{}} data.
32913
32914 Reply:
32915 @table @samp
32916 @item OK
32917 for success
32918 @item E @var{NN}
32919 for an error
32920 @end table
32921
32922 @item H @var{op} @var{thread-id}
32923 @cindex @samp{H} packet
32924 Set thread for subsequent operations (@samp{m}, @samp{M}, @samp{g},
32925 @samp{G}, et.al.). @var{op} depends on the operation to be performed:
32926 it should be @samp{c} for step and continue operations (note that this
32927 is deprecated, supporting the @samp{vCont} command is a better
32928 option), @samp{g} for other operations. The thread designator
32929 @var{thread-id} has the format and interpretation described in
32930 @ref{thread-id syntax}.
32931
32932 Reply:
32933 @table @samp
32934 @item OK
32935 for success
32936 @item E @var{NN}
32937 for an error
32938 @end table
32939
32940 @c FIXME: JTC:
32941 @c 'H': How restrictive (or permissive) is the thread model. If a
32942 @c thread is selected and stopped, are other threads allowed
32943 @c to continue to execute? As I mentioned above, I think the
32944 @c semantics of each command when a thread is selected must be
32945 @c described. For example:
32946 @c
32947 @c 'g': If the stub supports threads and a specific thread is
32948 @c selected, returns the register block from that thread;
32949 @c otherwise returns current registers.
32950 @c
32951 @c 'G' If the stub supports threads and a specific thread is
32952 @c selected, sets the registers of the register block of
32953 @c that thread; otherwise sets current registers.
32954
32955 @item i @r{[}@var{addr}@r{[},@var{nnn}@r{]]}
32956 @anchor{cycle step packet}
32957 @cindex @samp{i} packet
32958 Step the remote target by a single clock cycle. If @samp{,@var{nnn}} is
32959 present, cycle step @var{nnn} cycles. If @var{addr} is present, cycle
32960 step starting at that address.
32961
32962 @item I
32963 @cindex @samp{I} packet
32964 Signal, then cycle step. @xref{step with signal packet}. @xref{cycle
32965 step packet}.
32966
32967 @item k
32968 @cindex @samp{k} packet
32969 Kill request.
32970
32971 FIXME: @emph{There is no description of how to operate when a specific
32972 thread context has been selected (i.e.@: does 'k' kill only that
32973 thread?)}.
32974
32975 @item m @var{addr},@var{length}
32976 @cindex @samp{m} packet
32977 Read @var{length} bytes of memory starting at address @var{addr}.
32978 Note that @var{addr} may not be aligned to any particular boundary.
32979
32980 The stub need not use any particular size or alignment when gathering
32981 data from memory for the response; even if @var{addr} is word-aligned
32982 and @var{length} is a multiple of the word size, the stub is free to
32983 use byte accesses, or not. For this reason, this packet may not be
32984 suitable for accessing memory-mapped I/O devices.
32985 @cindex alignment of remote memory accesses
32986 @cindex size of remote memory accesses
32987 @cindex memory, alignment and size of remote accesses
32988
32989 Reply:
32990 @table @samp
32991 @item @var{XX@dots{}}
32992 Memory contents; each byte is transmitted as a two-digit hexadecimal
32993 number. The reply may contain fewer bytes than requested if the
32994 server was able to read only part of the region of memory.
32995 @item E @var{NN}
32996 @var{NN} is errno
32997 @end table
32998
32999 @item M @var{addr},@var{length}:@var{XX@dots{}}
33000 @cindex @samp{M} packet
33001 Write @var{length} bytes of memory starting at address @var{addr}.
33002 @var{XX@dots{}} is the data; each byte is transmitted as a two-digit
33003 hexadecimal number.
33004
33005 Reply:
33006 @table @samp
33007 @item OK
33008 for success
33009 @item E @var{NN}
33010 for an error (this includes the case where only part of the data was
33011 written).
33012 @end table
33013
33014 @item p @var{n}
33015 @cindex @samp{p} packet
33016 Read the value of register @var{n}; @var{n} is in hex.
33017 @xref{read registers packet}, for a description of how the returned
33018 register value is encoded.
33019
33020 Reply:
33021 @table @samp
33022 @item @var{XX@dots{}}
33023 the register's value
33024 @item E @var{NN}
33025 for an error
33026 @item
33027 Indicating an unrecognized @var{query}.
33028 @end table
33029
33030 @item P @var{n@dots{}}=@var{r@dots{}}
33031 @anchor{write register packet}
33032 @cindex @samp{P} packet
33033 Write register @var{n@dots{}} with value @var{r@dots{}}. The register
33034 number @var{n} is in hexadecimal, and @var{r@dots{}} contains two hex
33035 digits for each byte in the register (target byte order).
33036
33037 Reply:
33038 @table @samp
33039 @item OK
33040 for success
33041 @item E @var{NN}
33042 for an error
33043 @end table
33044
33045 @item q @var{name} @var{params}@dots{}
33046 @itemx Q @var{name} @var{params}@dots{}
33047 @cindex @samp{q} packet
33048 @cindex @samp{Q} packet
33049 General query (@samp{q}) and set (@samp{Q}). These packets are
33050 described fully in @ref{General Query Packets}.
33051
33052 @item r
33053 @cindex @samp{r} packet
33054 Reset the entire system.
33055
33056 Don't use this packet; use the @samp{R} packet instead.
33057
33058 @item R @var{XX}
33059 @cindex @samp{R} packet
33060 Restart the program being debugged. @var{XX}, while needed, is ignored.
33061 This packet is only available in extended mode (@pxref{extended mode}).
33062
33063 The @samp{R} packet has no reply.
33064
33065 @item s @r{[}@var{addr}@r{]}
33066 @cindex @samp{s} packet
33067 Single step. @var{addr} is the address at which to resume. If
33068 @var{addr} is omitted, resume at same address.
33069
33070 This packet is deprecated for multi-threading support. @xref{vCont
33071 packet}.
33072
33073 Reply:
33074 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
33075
33076 @item S @var{sig}@r{[};@var{addr}@r{]}
33077 @anchor{step with signal packet}
33078 @cindex @samp{S} packet
33079 Step with signal. This is analogous to the @samp{C} packet, but
33080 requests a single-step, rather than a normal resumption of execution.
33081
33082 This packet is deprecated for multi-threading support. @xref{vCont
33083 packet}.
33084
33085 Reply:
33086 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
33087
33088 @item t @var{addr}:@var{PP},@var{MM}
33089 @cindex @samp{t} packet
33090 Search backwards starting at address @var{addr} for a match with pattern
33091 @var{PP} and mask @var{MM}. @var{PP} and @var{MM} are 4 bytes.
33092 @var{addr} must be at least 3 digits.
33093
33094 @item T @var{thread-id}
33095 @cindex @samp{T} packet
33096 Find out if the thread @var{thread-id} is alive. @xref{thread-id syntax}.
33097
33098 Reply:
33099 @table @samp
33100 @item OK
33101 thread is still alive
33102 @item E @var{NN}
33103 thread is dead
33104 @end table
33105
33106 @item v
33107 Packets starting with @samp{v} are identified by a multi-letter name,
33108 up to the first @samp{;} or @samp{?} (or the end of the packet).
33109
33110 @item vAttach;@var{pid}
33111 @cindex @samp{vAttach} packet
33112 Attach to a new process with the specified process ID @var{pid}.
33113 The process ID is a
33114 hexadecimal integer identifying the process. In all-stop mode, all
33115 threads in the attached process are stopped; in non-stop mode, it may be
33116 attached without being stopped if that is supported by the target.
33117
33118 @c In non-stop mode, on a successful vAttach, the stub should set the
33119 @c current thread to a thread of the newly-attached process. After
33120 @c attaching, GDB queries for the attached process's thread ID with qC.
33121 @c Also note that, from a user perspective, whether or not the
33122 @c target is stopped on attach in non-stop mode depends on whether you
33123 @c use the foreground or background version of the attach command, not
33124 @c on what vAttach does; GDB does the right thing with respect to either
33125 @c stopping or restarting threads.
33126
33127 This packet is only available in extended mode (@pxref{extended mode}).
33128
33129 Reply:
33130 @table @samp
33131 @item E @var{nn}
33132 for an error
33133 @item @r{Any stop packet}
33134 for success in all-stop mode (@pxref{Stop Reply Packets})
33135 @item OK
33136 for success in non-stop mode (@pxref{Remote Non-Stop})
33137 @end table
33138
33139 @item vCont@r{[};@var{action}@r{[}:@var{thread-id}@r{]]}@dots{}
33140 @cindex @samp{vCont} packet
33141 @anchor{vCont packet}
33142 Resume the inferior, specifying different actions for each thread.
33143 If an action is specified with no @var{thread-id}, then it is applied to any
33144 threads that don't have a specific action specified; if no default action is
33145 specified then other threads should remain stopped in all-stop mode and
33146 in their current state in non-stop mode.
33147 Specifying multiple
33148 default actions is an error; specifying no actions is also an error.
33149 Thread IDs are specified using the syntax described in @ref{thread-id syntax}.
33150
33151 Currently supported actions are:
33152
33153 @table @samp
33154 @item c
33155 Continue.
33156 @item C @var{sig}
33157 Continue with signal @var{sig}. The signal @var{sig} should be two hex digits.
33158 @item s
33159 Step.
33160 @item S @var{sig}
33161 Step with signal @var{sig}. The signal @var{sig} should be two hex digits.
33162 @item t
33163 Stop.
33164 @end table
33165
33166 The optional argument @var{addr} normally associated with the
33167 @samp{c}, @samp{C}, @samp{s}, and @samp{S} packets is
33168 not supported in @samp{vCont}.
33169
33170 The @samp{t} action is only relevant in non-stop mode
33171 (@pxref{Remote Non-Stop}) and may be ignored by the stub otherwise.
33172 A stop reply should be generated for any affected thread not already stopped.
33173 When a thread is stopped by means of a @samp{t} action,
33174 the corresponding stop reply should indicate that the thread has stopped with
33175 signal @samp{0}, regardless of whether the target uses some other signal
33176 as an implementation detail.
33177
33178 Reply:
33179 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
33180
33181 @item vCont?
33182 @cindex @samp{vCont?} packet
33183 Request a list of actions supported by the @samp{vCont} packet.
33184
33185 Reply:
33186 @table @samp
33187 @item vCont@r{[};@var{action}@dots{}@r{]}
33188 The @samp{vCont} packet is supported. Each @var{action} is a supported
33189 command in the @samp{vCont} packet.
33190 @item
33191 The @samp{vCont} packet is not supported.
33192 @end table
33193
33194 @item vFile:@var{operation}:@var{parameter}@dots{}
33195 @cindex @samp{vFile} packet
33196 Perform a file operation on the target system. For details,
33197 see @ref{Host I/O Packets}.
33198
33199 @item vFlashErase:@var{addr},@var{length}
33200 @cindex @samp{vFlashErase} packet
33201 Direct the stub to erase @var{length} bytes of flash starting at
33202 @var{addr}. The region may enclose any number of flash blocks, but
33203 its start and end must fall on block boundaries, as indicated by the
33204 flash block size appearing in the memory map (@pxref{Memory Map
33205 Format}). @value{GDBN} groups flash memory programming operations
33206 together, and sends a @samp{vFlashDone} request after each group; the
33207 stub is allowed to delay erase operation until the @samp{vFlashDone}
33208 packet is received.
33209
33210 The stub must support @samp{vCont} if it reports support for
33211 multiprocess extensions (@pxref{multiprocess extensions}). Note that in
33212 this case @samp{vCont} actions can be specified to apply to all threads
33213 in a process by using the @samp{p@var{pid}.-1} form of the
33214 @var{thread-id}.
33215
33216 Reply:
33217 @table @samp
33218 @item OK
33219 for success
33220 @item E @var{NN}
33221 for an error
33222 @end table
33223
33224 @item vFlashWrite:@var{addr}:@var{XX@dots{}}
33225 @cindex @samp{vFlashWrite} packet
33226 Direct the stub to write data to flash address @var{addr}. The data
33227 is passed in binary form using the same encoding as for the @samp{X}
33228 packet (@pxref{Binary Data}). The memory ranges specified by
33229 @samp{vFlashWrite} packets preceding a @samp{vFlashDone} packet must
33230 not overlap, and must appear in order of increasing addresses
33231 (although @samp{vFlashErase} packets for higher addresses may already
33232 have been received; the ordering is guaranteed only between
33233 @samp{vFlashWrite} packets). If a packet writes to an address that was
33234 neither erased by a preceding @samp{vFlashErase} packet nor by some other
33235 target-specific method, the results are unpredictable.
33236
33237
33238 Reply:
33239 @table @samp
33240 @item OK
33241 for success
33242 @item E.memtype
33243 for vFlashWrite addressing non-flash memory
33244 @item E @var{NN}
33245 for an error
33246 @end table
33247
33248 @item vFlashDone
33249 @cindex @samp{vFlashDone} packet
33250 Indicate to the stub that flash programming operation is finished.
33251 The stub is permitted to delay or batch the effects of a group of
33252 @samp{vFlashErase} and @samp{vFlashWrite} packets until a
33253 @samp{vFlashDone} packet is received. The contents of the affected
33254 regions of flash memory are unpredictable until the @samp{vFlashDone}
33255 request is completed.
33256
33257 @item vKill;@var{pid}
33258 @cindex @samp{vKill} packet
33259 Kill the process with the specified process ID. @var{pid} is a
33260 hexadecimal integer identifying the process. This packet is used in
33261 preference to @samp{k} when multiprocess protocol extensions are
33262 supported; see @ref{multiprocess extensions}.
33263
33264 Reply:
33265 @table @samp
33266 @item E @var{nn}
33267 for an error
33268 @item OK
33269 for success
33270 @end table
33271
33272 @item vRun;@var{filename}@r{[};@var{argument}@r{]}@dots{}
33273 @cindex @samp{vRun} packet
33274 Run the program @var{filename}, passing it each @var{argument} on its
33275 command line. The file and arguments are hex-encoded strings. If
33276 @var{filename} is an empty string, the stub may use a default program
33277 (e.g.@: the last program run). The program is created in the stopped
33278 state.
33279
33280 @c FIXME: What about non-stop mode?
33281
33282 This packet is only available in extended mode (@pxref{extended mode}).
33283
33284 Reply:
33285 @table @samp
33286 @item E @var{nn}
33287 for an error
33288 @item @r{Any stop packet}
33289 for success (@pxref{Stop Reply Packets})
33290 @end table
33291
33292 @item vStopped
33293 @anchor{vStopped packet}
33294 @cindex @samp{vStopped} packet
33295
33296 In non-stop mode (@pxref{Remote Non-Stop}), acknowledge a previous stop
33297 reply and prompt for the stub to report another one.
33298
33299 Reply:
33300 @table @samp
33301 @item @r{Any stop packet}
33302 if there is another unreported stop event (@pxref{Stop Reply Packets})
33303 @item OK
33304 if there are no unreported stop events
33305 @end table
33306
33307 @item X @var{addr},@var{length}:@var{XX@dots{}}
33308 @anchor{X packet}
33309 @cindex @samp{X} packet
33310 Write data to memory, where the data is transmitted in binary.
33311 @var{addr} is address, @var{length} is number of bytes,
33312 @samp{@var{XX}@dots{}} is binary data (@pxref{Binary Data}).
33313
33314 Reply:
33315 @table @samp
33316 @item OK
33317 for success
33318 @item E @var{NN}
33319 for an error
33320 @end table
33321
33322 @item z @var{type},@var{addr},@var{kind}
33323 @itemx Z @var{type},@var{addr},@var{kind}
33324 @anchor{insert breakpoint or watchpoint packet}
33325 @cindex @samp{z} packet
33326 @cindex @samp{Z} packets
33327 Insert (@samp{Z}) or remove (@samp{z}) a @var{type} breakpoint or
33328 watchpoint starting at address @var{address} of kind @var{kind}.
33329
33330 Each breakpoint and watchpoint packet @var{type} is documented
33331 separately.
33332
33333 @emph{Implementation notes: A remote target shall return an empty string
33334 for an unrecognized breakpoint or watchpoint packet @var{type}. A
33335 remote target shall support either both or neither of a given
33336 @samp{Z@var{type}@dots{}} and @samp{z@var{type}@dots{}} packet pair. To
33337 avoid potential problems with duplicate packets, the operations should
33338 be implemented in an idempotent way.}
33339
33340 @item z0,@var{addr},@var{kind}
33341 @itemx Z0,@var{addr},@var{kind}
33342 @cindex @samp{z0} packet
33343 @cindex @samp{Z0} packet
33344 Insert (@samp{Z0}) or remove (@samp{z0}) a memory breakpoint at address
33345 @var{addr} of type @var{kind}.
33346
33347 A memory breakpoint is implemented by replacing the instruction at
33348 @var{addr} with a software breakpoint or trap instruction. The
33349 @var{kind} is target-specific and typically indicates the size of
33350 the breakpoint in bytes that should be inserted. E.g., the @sc{arm}
33351 and @sc{mips} can insert either a 2 or 4 byte breakpoint. Some
33352 architectures have additional meanings for @var{kind};
33353 see @ref{Architecture-Specific Protocol Details}.
33354
33355 @emph{Implementation note: It is possible for a target to copy or move
33356 code that contains memory breakpoints (e.g., when implementing
33357 overlays). The behavior of this packet, in the presence of such a
33358 target, is not defined.}
33359
33360 Reply:
33361 @table @samp
33362 @item OK
33363 success
33364 @item
33365 not supported
33366 @item E @var{NN}
33367 for an error
33368 @end table
33369
33370 @item z1,@var{addr},@var{kind}
33371 @itemx Z1,@var{addr},@var{kind}
33372 @cindex @samp{z1} packet
33373 @cindex @samp{Z1} packet
33374 Insert (@samp{Z1}) or remove (@samp{z1}) a hardware breakpoint at
33375 address @var{addr}.
33376
33377 A hardware breakpoint is implemented using a mechanism that is not
33378 dependant on being able to modify the target's memory. @var{kind}
33379 has the same meaning as in @samp{Z0} packets.
33380
33381 @emph{Implementation note: A hardware breakpoint is not affected by code
33382 movement.}
33383
33384 Reply:
33385 @table @samp
33386 @item OK
33387 success
33388 @item
33389 not supported
33390 @item E @var{NN}
33391 for an error
33392 @end table
33393
33394 @item z2,@var{addr},@var{kind}
33395 @itemx Z2,@var{addr},@var{kind}
33396 @cindex @samp{z2} packet
33397 @cindex @samp{Z2} packet
33398 Insert (@samp{Z2}) or remove (@samp{z2}) a write watchpoint at @var{addr}.
33399 @var{kind} is interpreted as the number of bytes to watch.
33400
33401 Reply:
33402 @table @samp
33403 @item OK
33404 success
33405 @item
33406 not supported
33407 @item E @var{NN}
33408 for an error
33409 @end table
33410
33411 @item z3,@var{addr},@var{kind}
33412 @itemx Z3,@var{addr},@var{kind}
33413 @cindex @samp{z3} packet
33414 @cindex @samp{Z3} packet
33415 Insert (@samp{Z3}) or remove (@samp{z3}) a read watchpoint at @var{addr}.
33416 @var{kind} is interpreted as the number of bytes to watch.
33417
33418 Reply:
33419 @table @samp
33420 @item OK
33421 success
33422 @item
33423 not supported
33424 @item E @var{NN}
33425 for an error
33426 @end table
33427
33428 @item z4,@var{addr},@var{kind}
33429 @itemx Z4,@var{addr},@var{kind}
33430 @cindex @samp{z4} packet
33431 @cindex @samp{Z4} packet
33432 Insert (@samp{Z4}) or remove (@samp{z4}) an access watchpoint at @var{addr}.
33433 @var{kind} is interpreted as the number of bytes to watch.
33434
33435 Reply:
33436 @table @samp
33437 @item OK
33438 success
33439 @item
33440 not supported
33441 @item E @var{NN}
33442 for an error
33443 @end table
33444
33445 @end table
33446
33447 @node Stop Reply Packets
33448 @section Stop Reply Packets
33449 @cindex stop reply packets
33450
33451 The @samp{C}, @samp{c}, @samp{S}, @samp{s}, @samp{vCont},
33452 @samp{vAttach}, @samp{vRun}, @samp{vStopped}, and @samp{?} packets can
33453 receive any of the below as a reply. Except for @samp{?}
33454 and @samp{vStopped}, that reply is only returned
33455 when the target halts. In the below the exact meaning of @dfn{signal
33456 number} is defined by the header @file{include/gdb/signals.h} in the
33457 @value{GDBN} source code.
33458
33459 As in the description of request packets, we include spaces in the
33460 reply templates for clarity; these are not part of the reply packet's
33461 syntax. No @value{GDBN} stop reply packet uses spaces to separate its
33462 components.
33463
33464 @table @samp
33465
33466 @item S @var{AA}
33467 The program received signal number @var{AA} (a two-digit hexadecimal
33468 number). This is equivalent to a @samp{T} response with no
33469 @var{n}:@var{r} pairs.
33470
33471 @item T @var{AA} @var{n1}:@var{r1};@var{n2}:@var{r2};@dots{}
33472 @cindex @samp{T} packet reply
33473 The program received signal number @var{AA} (a two-digit hexadecimal
33474 number). This is equivalent to an @samp{S} response, except that the
33475 @samp{@var{n}:@var{r}} pairs can carry values of important registers
33476 and other information directly in the stop reply packet, reducing
33477 round-trip latency. Single-step and breakpoint traps are reported
33478 this way. Each @samp{@var{n}:@var{r}} pair is interpreted as follows:
33479
33480 @itemize @bullet
33481 @item
33482 If @var{n} is a hexadecimal number, it is a register number, and the
33483 corresponding @var{r} gives that register's value. @var{r} is a
33484 series of bytes in target byte order, with each byte given by a
33485 two-digit hex number.
33486
33487 @item
33488 If @var{n} is @samp{thread}, then @var{r} is the @var{thread-id} of
33489 the stopped thread, as specified in @ref{thread-id syntax}.
33490
33491 @item
33492 If @var{n} is @samp{core}, then @var{r} is the hexadecimal number of
33493 the core on which the stop event was detected.
33494
33495 @item
33496 If @var{n} is a recognized @dfn{stop reason}, it describes a more
33497 specific event that stopped the target. The currently defined stop
33498 reasons are listed below. @var{aa} should be @samp{05}, the trap
33499 signal. At most one stop reason should be present.
33500
33501 @item
33502 Otherwise, @value{GDBN} should ignore this @samp{@var{n}:@var{r}} pair
33503 and go on to the next; this allows us to extend the protocol in the
33504 future.
33505 @end itemize
33506
33507 The currently defined stop reasons are:
33508
33509 @table @samp
33510 @item watch
33511 @itemx rwatch
33512 @itemx awatch
33513 The packet indicates a watchpoint hit, and @var{r} is the data address, in
33514 hex.
33515
33516 @cindex shared library events, remote reply
33517 @item library
33518 The packet indicates that the loaded libraries have changed.
33519 @value{GDBN} should use @samp{qXfer:libraries:read} to fetch a new
33520 list of loaded libraries. @var{r} is ignored.
33521
33522 @cindex replay log events, remote reply
33523 @item replaylog
33524 The packet indicates that the target cannot continue replaying
33525 logged execution events, because it has reached the end (or the
33526 beginning when executing backward) of the log. The value of @var{r}
33527 will be either @samp{begin} or @samp{end}. @xref{Reverse Execution},
33528 for more information.
33529 @end table
33530
33531 @item W @var{AA}
33532 @itemx W @var{AA} ; process:@var{pid}
33533 The process exited, and @var{AA} is the exit status. This is only
33534 applicable to certain targets.
33535
33536 The second form of the response, including the process ID of the exited
33537 process, can be used only when @value{GDBN} has reported support for
33538 multiprocess protocol extensions; see @ref{multiprocess extensions}.
33539 The @var{pid} is formatted as a big-endian hex string.
33540
33541 @item X @var{AA}
33542 @itemx X @var{AA} ; process:@var{pid}
33543 The process terminated with signal @var{AA}.
33544
33545 The second form of the response, including the process ID of the
33546 terminated process, can be used only when @value{GDBN} has reported
33547 support for multiprocess protocol extensions; see @ref{multiprocess
33548 extensions}. The @var{pid} is formatted as a big-endian hex string.
33549
33550 @item O @var{XX}@dots{}
33551 @samp{@var{XX}@dots{}} is hex encoding of @sc{ascii} data, to be
33552 written as the program's console output. This can happen at any time
33553 while the program is running and the debugger should continue to wait
33554 for @samp{W}, @samp{T}, etc. This reply is not permitted in non-stop mode.
33555
33556 @item F @var{call-id},@var{parameter}@dots{}
33557 @var{call-id} is the identifier which says which host system call should
33558 be called. This is just the name of the function. Translation into the
33559 correct system call is only applicable as it's defined in @value{GDBN}.
33560 @xref{File-I/O Remote Protocol Extension}, for a list of implemented
33561 system calls.
33562
33563 @samp{@var{parameter}@dots{}} is a list of parameters as defined for
33564 this very system call.
33565
33566 The target replies with this packet when it expects @value{GDBN} to
33567 call a host system call on behalf of the target. @value{GDBN} replies
33568 with an appropriate @samp{F} packet and keeps up waiting for the next
33569 reply packet from the target. The latest @samp{C}, @samp{c}, @samp{S}
33570 or @samp{s} action is expected to be continued. @xref{File-I/O Remote
33571 Protocol Extension}, for more details.
33572
33573 @end table
33574
33575 @node General Query Packets
33576 @section General Query Packets
33577 @cindex remote query requests
33578
33579 Packets starting with @samp{q} are @dfn{general query packets};
33580 packets starting with @samp{Q} are @dfn{general set packets}. General
33581 query and set packets are a semi-unified form for retrieving and
33582 sending information to and from the stub.
33583
33584 The initial letter of a query or set packet is followed by a name
33585 indicating what sort of thing the packet applies to. For example,
33586 @value{GDBN} may use a @samp{qSymbol} packet to exchange symbol
33587 definitions with the stub. These packet names follow some
33588 conventions:
33589
33590 @itemize @bullet
33591 @item
33592 The name must not contain commas, colons or semicolons.
33593 @item
33594 Most @value{GDBN} query and set packets have a leading upper case
33595 letter.
33596 @item
33597 The names of custom vendor packets should use a company prefix, in
33598 lower case, followed by a period. For example, packets designed at
33599 the Acme Corporation might begin with @samp{qacme.foo} (for querying
33600 foos) or @samp{Qacme.bar} (for setting bars).
33601 @end itemize
33602
33603 The name of a query or set packet should be separated from any
33604 parameters by a @samp{:}; the parameters themselves should be
33605 separated by @samp{,} or @samp{;}. Stubs must be careful to match the
33606 full packet name, and check for a separator or the end of the packet,
33607 in case two packet names share a common prefix. New packets should not begin
33608 with @samp{qC}, @samp{qP}, or @samp{qL}@footnote{The @samp{qP} and @samp{qL}
33609 packets predate these conventions, and have arguments without any terminator
33610 for the packet name; we suspect they are in widespread use in places that
33611 are difficult to upgrade. The @samp{qC} packet has no arguments, but some
33612 existing stubs (e.g.@: RedBoot) are known to not check for the end of the
33613 packet.}.
33614
33615 Like the descriptions of the other packets, each description here
33616 has a template showing the packet's overall syntax, followed by an
33617 explanation of the packet's meaning. We include spaces in some of the
33618 templates for clarity; these are not part of the packet's syntax. No
33619 @value{GDBN} packet uses spaces to separate its components.
33620
33621 Here are the currently defined query and set packets:
33622
33623 @table @samp
33624
33625 @item QAllow:@var{op}:@var{val}@dots{}
33626 @cindex @samp{QAllow} packet
33627 Specify which operations @value{GDBN} expects to request of the
33628 target, as a semicolon-separated list of operation name and value
33629 pairs. Possible values for @var{op} include @samp{WriteReg},
33630 @samp{WriteMem}, @samp{InsertBreak}, @samp{InsertTrace},
33631 @samp{InsertFastTrace}, and @samp{Stop}. @var{val} is either 0,
33632 indicating that @value{GDBN} will not request the operation, or 1,
33633 indicating that it may. (The target can then use this to set up its
33634 own internals optimally, for instance if the debugger never expects to
33635 insert breakpoints, it may not need to install its own trap handler.)
33636
33637 @item qC
33638 @cindex current thread, remote request
33639 @cindex @samp{qC} packet
33640 Return the current thread ID.
33641
33642 Reply:
33643 @table @samp
33644 @item QC @var{thread-id}
33645 Where @var{thread-id} is a thread ID as documented in
33646 @ref{thread-id syntax}.
33647 @item @r{(anything else)}
33648 Any other reply implies the old thread ID.
33649 @end table
33650
33651 @item qCRC:@var{addr},@var{length}
33652 @cindex CRC of memory block, remote request
33653 @cindex @samp{qCRC} packet
33654 Compute the CRC checksum of a block of memory using CRC-32 defined in
33655 IEEE 802.3. The CRC is computed byte at a time, taking the most
33656 significant bit of each byte first. The initial pattern code
33657 @code{0xffffffff} is used to ensure leading zeros affect the CRC.
33658
33659 @emph{Note:} This is the same CRC used in validating separate debug
33660 files (@pxref{Separate Debug Files, , Debugging Information in Separate
33661 Files}). However the algorithm is slightly different. When validating
33662 separate debug files, the CRC is computed taking the @emph{least}
33663 significant bit of each byte first, and the final result is inverted to
33664 detect trailing zeros.
33665
33666 Reply:
33667 @table @samp
33668 @item E @var{NN}
33669 An error (such as memory fault)
33670 @item C @var{crc32}
33671 The specified memory region's checksum is @var{crc32}.
33672 @end table
33673
33674 @item QDisableRandomization:@var{value}
33675 @cindex disable address space randomization, remote request
33676 @cindex @samp{QDisableRandomization} packet
33677 Some target operating systems will randomize the virtual address space
33678 of the inferior process as a security feature, but provide a feature
33679 to disable such randomization, e.g.@: to allow for a more deterministic
33680 debugging experience. On such systems, this packet with a @var{value}
33681 of 1 directs the target to disable address space randomization for
33682 processes subsequently started via @samp{vRun} packets, while a packet
33683 with a @var{value} of 0 tells the target to enable address space
33684 randomization.
33685
33686 This packet is only available in extended mode (@pxref{extended mode}).
33687
33688 Reply:
33689 @table @samp
33690 @item OK
33691 The request succeeded.
33692
33693 @item E @var{nn}
33694 An error occurred. @var{nn} are hex digits.
33695
33696 @item
33697 An empty reply indicates that @samp{QDisableRandomization} is not supported
33698 by the stub.
33699 @end table
33700
33701 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
33702 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
33703 This should only be done on targets that actually support disabling
33704 address space randomization.
33705
33706 @item qfThreadInfo
33707 @itemx qsThreadInfo
33708 @cindex list active threads, remote request
33709 @cindex @samp{qfThreadInfo} packet
33710 @cindex @samp{qsThreadInfo} packet
33711 Obtain a list of all active thread IDs from the target (OS). Since there
33712 may be too many active threads to fit into one reply packet, this query
33713 works iteratively: it may require more than one query/reply sequence to
33714 obtain the entire list of threads. The first query of the sequence will
33715 be the @samp{qfThreadInfo} query; subsequent queries in the
33716 sequence will be the @samp{qsThreadInfo} query.
33717
33718 NOTE: This packet replaces the @samp{qL} query (see below).
33719
33720 Reply:
33721 @table @samp
33722 @item m @var{thread-id}
33723 A single thread ID
33724 @item m @var{thread-id},@var{thread-id}@dots{}
33725 a comma-separated list of thread IDs
33726 @item l
33727 (lower case letter @samp{L}) denotes end of list.
33728 @end table
33729
33730 In response to each query, the target will reply with a list of one or
33731 more thread IDs, separated by commas.
33732 @value{GDBN} will respond to each reply with a request for more thread
33733 ids (using the @samp{qs} form of the query), until the target responds
33734 with @samp{l} (lower-case ell, for @dfn{last}).
33735 Refer to @ref{thread-id syntax}, for the format of the @var{thread-id}
33736 fields.
33737
33738 @item qGetTLSAddr:@var{thread-id},@var{offset},@var{lm}
33739 @cindex get thread-local storage address, remote request
33740 @cindex @samp{qGetTLSAddr} packet
33741 Fetch the address associated with thread local storage specified
33742 by @var{thread-id}, @var{offset}, and @var{lm}.
33743
33744 @var{thread-id} is the thread ID associated with the
33745 thread for which to fetch the TLS address. @xref{thread-id syntax}.
33746
33747 @var{offset} is the (big endian, hex encoded) offset associated with the
33748 thread local variable. (This offset is obtained from the debug
33749 information associated with the variable.)
33750
33751 @var{lm} is the (big endian, hex encoded) OS/ABI-specific encoding of the
33752 load module associated with the thread local storage. For example,
33753 a @sc{gnu}/Linux system will pass the link map address of the shared
33754 object associated with the thread local storage under consideration.
33755 Other operating environments may choose to represent the load module
33756 differently, so the precise meaning of this parameter will vary.
33757
33758 Reply:
33759 @table @samp
33760 @item @var{XX}@dots{}
33761 Hex encoded (big endian) bytes representing the address of the thread
33762 local storage requested.
33763
33764 @item E @var{nn}
33765 An error occurred. @var{nn} are hex digits.
33766
33767 @item
33768 An empty reply indicates that @samp{qGetTLSAddr} is not supported by the stub.
33769 @end table
33770
33771 @item qGetTIBAddr:@var{thread-id}
33772 @cindex get thread information block address
33773 @cindex @samp{qGetTIBAddr} packet
33774 Fetch address of the Windows OS specific Thread Information Block.
33775
33776 @var{thread-id} is the thread ID associated with the thread.
33777
33778 Reply:
33779 @table @samp
33780 @item @var{XX}@dots{}
33781 Hex encoded (big endian) bytes representing the linear address of the
33782 thread information block.
33783
33784 @item E @var{nn}
33785 An error occured. This means that either the thread was not found, or the
33786 address could not be retrieved.
33787
33788 @item
33789 An empty reply indicates that @samp{qGetTIBAddr} is not supported by the stub.
33790 @end table
33791
33792 @item qL @var{startflag} @var{threadcount} @var{nextthread}
33793 Obtain thread information from RTOS. Where: @var{startflag} (one hex
33794 digit) is one to indicate the first query and zero to indicate a
33795 subsequent query; @var{threadcount} (two hex digits) is the maximum
33796 number of threads the response packet can contain; and @var{nextthread}
33797 (eight hex digits), for subsequent queries (@var{startflag} is zero), is
33798 returned in the response as @var{argthread}.
33799
33800 Don't use this packet; use the @samp{qfThreadInfo} query instead (see above).
33801
33802 Reply:
33803 @table @samp
33804 @item qM @var{count} @var{done} @var{argthread} @var{thread}@dots{}
33805 Where: @var{count} (two hex digits) is the number of threads being
33806 returned; @var{done} (one hex digit) is zero to indicate more threads
33807 and one indicates no further threads; @var{argthreadid} (eight hex
33808 digits) is @var{nextthread} from the request packet; @var{thread}@dots{}
33809 is a sequence of thread IDs from the target. @var{threadid} (eight hex
33810 digits). See @code{remote.c:parse_threadlist_response()}.
33811 @end table
33812
33813 @item qOffsets
33814 @cindex section offsets, remote request
33815 @cindex @samp{qOffsets} packet
33816 Get section offsets that the target used when relocating the downloaded
33817 image.
33818
33819 Reply:
33820 @table @samp
33821 @item Text=@var{xxx};Data=@var{yyy}@r{[};Bss=@var{zzz}@r{]}
33822 Relocate the @code{Text} section by @var{xxx} from its original address.
33823 Relocate the @code{Data} section by @var{yyy} from its original address.
33824 If the object file format provides segment information (e.g.@: @sc{elf}
33825 @samp{PT_LOAD} program headers), @value{GDBN} will relocate entire
33826 segments by the supplied offsets.
33827
33828 @emph{Note: while a @code{Bss} offset may be included in the response,
33829 @value{GDBN} ignores this and instead applies the @code{Data} offset
33830 to the @code{Bss} section.}
33831
33832 @item TextSeg=@var{xxx}@r{[};DataSeg=@var{yyy}@r{]}
33833 Relocate the first segment of the object file, which conventionally
33834 contains program code, to a starting address of @var{xxx}. If
33835 @samp{DataSeg} is specified, relocate the second segment, which
33836 conventionally contains modifiable data, to a starting address of
33837 @var{yyy}. @value{GDBN} will report an error if the object file
33838 does not contain segment information, or does not contain at least
33839 as many segments as mentioned in the reply. Extra segments are
33840 kept at fixed offsets relative to the last relocated segment.
33841 @end table
33842
33843 @item qP @var{mode} @var{thread-id}
33844 @cindex thread information, remote request
33845 @cindex @samp{qP} packet
33846 Returns information on @var{thread-id}. Where: @var{mode} is a hex
33847 encoded 32 bit mode; @var{thread-id} is a thread ID
33848 (@pxref{thread-id syntax}).
33849
33850 Don't use this packet; use the @samp{qThreadExtraInfo} query instead
33851 (see below).
33852
33853 Reply: see @code{remote.c:remote_unpack_thread_info_response()}.
33854
33855 @item QNonStop:1
33856 @item QNonStop:0
33857 @cindex non-stop mode, remote request
33858 @cindex @samp{QNonStop} packet
33859 @anchor{QNonStop}
33860 Enter non-stop (@samp{QNonStop:1}) or all-stop (@samp{QNonStop:0}) mode.
33861 @xref{Remote Non-Stop}, for more information.
33862
33863 Reply:
33864 @table @samp
33865 @item OK
33866 The request succeeded.
33867
33868 @item E @var{nn}
33869 An error occurred. @var{nn} are hex digits.
33870
33871 @item
33872 An empty reply indicates that @samp{QNonStop} is not supported by
33873 the stub.
33874 @end table
33875
33876 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
33877 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
33878 Use of this packet is controlled by the @code{set non-stop} command;
33879 @pxref{Non-Stop Mode}.
33880
33881 @item QPassSignals: @var{signal} @r{[};@var{signal}@r{]}@dots{}
33882 @cindex pass signals to inferior, remote request
33883 @cindex @samp{QPassSignals} packet
33884 @anchor{QPassSignals}
33885 Each listed @var{signal} should be passed directly to the inferior process.
33886 Signals are numbered identically to continue packets and stop replies
33887 (@pxref{Stop Reply Packets}). Each @var{signal} list item should be
33888 strictly greater than the previous item. These signals do not need to stop
33889 the inferior, or be reported to @value{GDBN}. All other signals should be
33890 reported to @value{GDBN}. Multiple @samp{QPassSignals} packets do not
33891 combine; any earlier @samp{QPassSignals} list is completely replaced by the
33892 new list. This packet improves performance when using @samp{handle
33893 @var{signal} nostop noprint pass}.
33894
33895 Reply:
33896 @table @samp
33897 @item OK
33898 The request succeeded.
33899
33900 @item E @var{nn}
33901 An error occurred. @var{nn} are hex digits.
33902
33903 @item
33904 An empty reply indicates that @samp{QPassSignals} is not supported by
33905 the stub.
33906 @end table
33907
33908 Use of this packet is controlled by the @code{set remote pass-signals}
33909 command (@pxref{Remote Configuration, set remote pass-signals}).
33910 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
33911 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
33912
33913 @item qRcmd,@var{command}
33914 @cindex execute remote command, remote request
33915 @cindex @samp{qRcmd} packet
33916 @var{command} (hex encoded) is passed to the local interpreter for
33917 execution. Invalid commands should be reported using the output
33918 string. Before the final result packet, the target may also respond
33919 with a number of intermediate @samp{O@var{output}} console output
33920 packets. @emph{Implementors should note that providing access to a
33921 stubs's interpreter may have security implications}.
33922
33923 Reply:
33924 @table @samp
33925 @item OK
33926 A command response with no output.
33927 @item @var{OUTPUT}
33928 A command response with the hex encoded output string @var{OUTPUT}.
33929 @item E @var{NN}
33930 Indicate a badly formed request.
33931 @item
33932 An empty reply indicates that @samp{qRcmd} is not recognized.
33933 @end table
33934
33935 (Note that the @code{qRcmd} packet's name is separated from the
33936 command by a @samp{,}, not a @samp{:}, contrary to the naming
33937 conventions above. Please don't use this packet as a model for new
33938 packets.)
33939
33940 @item qSearch:memory:@var{address};@var{length};@var{search-pattern}
33941 @cindex searching memory, in remote debugging
33942 @cindex @samp{qSearch:memory} packet
33943 @anchor{qSearch memory}
33944 Search @var{length} bytes at @var{address} for @var{search-pattern}.
33945 @var{address} and @var{length} are encoded in hex.
33946 @var{search-pattern} is a sequence of bytes, hex encoded.
33947
33948 Reply:
33949 @table @samp
33950 @item 0
33951 The pattern was not found.
33952 @item 1,address
33953 The pattern was found at @var{address}.
33954 @item E @var{NN}
33955 A badly formed request or an error was encountered while searching memory.
33956 @item
33957 An empty reply indicates that @samp{qSearch:memory} is not recognized.
33958 @end table
33959
33960 @item QStartNoAckMode
33961 @cindex @samp{QStartNoAckMode} packet
33962 @anchor{QStartNoAckMode}
33963 Request that the remote stub disable the normal @samp{+}/@samp{-}
33964 protocol acknowledgments (@pxref{Packet Acknowledgment}).
33965
33966 Reply:
33967 @table @samp
33968 @item OK
33969 The stub has switched to no-acknowledgment mode.
33970 @value{GDBN} acknowledges this reponse,
33971 but neither the stub nor @value{GDBN} shall send or expect further
33972 @samp{+}/@samp{-} acknowledgments in the current connection.
33973 @item
33974 An empty reply indicates that the stub does not support no-acknowledgment mode.
33975 @end table
33976
33977 @item qSupported @r{[}:@var{gdbfeature} @r{[};@var{gdbfeature}@r{]}@dots{} @r{]}
33978 @cindex supported packets, remote query
33979 @cindex features of the remote protocol
33980 @cindex @samp{qSupported} packet
33981 @anchor{qSupported}
33982 Tell the remote stub about features supported by @value{GDBN}, and
33983 query the stub for features it supports. This packet allows
33984 @value{GDBN} and the remote stub to take advantage of each others'
33985 features. @samp{qSupported} also consolidates multiple feature probes
33986 at startup, to improve @value{GDBN} performance---a single larger
33987 packet performs better than multiple smaller probe packets on
33988 high-latency links. Some features may enable behavior which must not
33989 be on by default, e.g.@: because it would confuse older clients or
33990 stubs. Other features may describe packets which could be
33991 automatically probed for, but are not. These features must be
33992 reported before @value{GDBN} will use them. This ``default
33993 unsupported'' behavior is not appropriate for all packets, but it
33994 helps to keep the initial connection time under control with new
33995 versions of @value{GDBN} which support increasing numbers of packets.
33996
33997 Reply:
33998 @table @samp
33999 @item @var{stubfeature} @r{[};@var{stubfeature}@r{]}@dots{}
34000 The stub supports or does not support each returned @var{stubfeature},
34001 depending on the form of each @var{stubfeature} (see below for the
34002 possible forms).
34003 @item
34004 An empty reply indicates that @samp{qSupported} is not recognized,
34005 or that no features needed to be reported to @value{GDBN}.
34006 @end table
34007
34008 The allowed forms for each feature (either a @var{gdbfeature} in the
34009 @samp{qSupported} packet, or a @var{stubfeature} in the response)
34010 are:
34011
34012 @table @samp
34013 @item @var{name}=@var{value}
34014 The remote protocol feature @var{name} is supported, and associated
34015 with the specified @var{value}. The format of @var{value} depends
34016 on the feature, but it must not include a semicolon.
34017 @item @var{name}+
34018 The remote protocol feature @var{name} is supported, and does not
34019 need an associated value.
34020 @item @var{name}-
34021 The remote protocol feature @var{name} is not supported.
34022 @item @var{name}?
34023 The remote protocol feature @var{name} may be supported, and
34024 @value{GDBN} should auto-detect support in some other way when it is
34025 needed. This form will not be used for @var{gdbfeature} notifications,
34026 but may be used for @var{stubfeature} responses.
34027 @end table
34028
34029 Whenever the stub receives a @samp{qSupported} request, the
34030 supplied set of @value{GDBN} features should override any previous
34031 request. This allows @value{GDBN} to put the stub in a known
34032 state, even if the stub had previously been communicating with
34033 a different version of @value{GDBN}.
34034
34035 The following values of @var{gdbfeature} (for the packet sent by @value{GDBN})
34036 are defined:
34037
34038 @table @samp
34039 @item multiprocess
34040 This feature indicates whether @value{GDBN} supports multiprocess
34041 extensions to the remote protocol. @value{GDBN} does not use such
34042 extensions unless the stub also reports that it supports them by
34043 including @samp{multiprocess+} in its @samp{qSupported} reply.
34044 @xref{multiprocess extensions}, for details.
34045
34046 @item xmlRegisters
34047 This feature indicates that @value{GDBN} supports the XML target
34048 description. If the stub sees @samp{xmlRegisters=} with target
34049 specific strings separated by a comma, it will report register
34050 description.
34051
34052 @item qRelocInsn
34053 This feature indicates whether @value{GDBN} supports the
34054 @samp{qRelocInsn} packet (@pxref{Tracepoint Packets,,Relocate
34055 instruction reply packet}).
34056 @end table
34057
34058 Stubs should ignore any unknown values for
34059 @var{gdbfeature}. Any @value{GDBN} which sends a @samp{qSupported}
34060 packet supports receiving packets of unlimited length (earlier
34061 versions of @value{GDBN} may reject overly long responses). Additional values
34062 for @var{gdbfeature} may be defined in the future to let the stub take
34063 advantage of new features in @value{GDBN}, e.g.@: incompatible
34064 improvements in the remote protocol---the @samp{multiprocess} feature is
34065 an example of such a feature. The stub's reply should be independent
34066 of the @var{gdbfeature} entries sent by @value{GDBN}; first @value{GDBN}
34067 describes all the features it supports, and then the stub replies with
34068 all the features it supports.
34069
34070 Similarly, @value{GDBN} will silently ignore unrecognized stub feature
34071 responses, as long as each response uses one of the standard forms.
34072
34073 Some features are flags. A stub which supports a flag feature
34074 should respond with a @samp{+} form response. Other features
34075 require values, and the stub should respond with an @samp{=}
34076 form response.
34077
34078 Each feature has a default value, which @value{GDBN} will use if
34079 @samp{qSupported} is not available or if the feature is not mentioned
34080 in the @samp{qSupported} response. The default values are fixed; a
34081 stub is free to omit any feature responses that match the defaults.
34082
34083 Not all features can be probed, but for those which can, the probing
34084 mechanism is useful: in some cases, a stub's internal
34085 architecture may not allow the protocol layer to know some information
34086 about the underlying target in advance. This is especially common in
34087 stubs which may be configured for multiple targets.
34088
34089 These are the currently defined stub features and their properties:
34090
34091 @multitable @columnfractions 0.35 0.2 0.12 0.2
34092 @c NOTE: The first row should be @headitem, but we do not yet require
34093 @c a new enough version of Texinfo (4.7) to use @headitem.
34094 @item Feature Name
34095 @tab Value Required
34096 @tab Default
34097 @tab Probe Allowed
34098
34099 @item @samp{PacketSize}
34100 @tab Yes
34101 @tab @samp{-}
34102 @tab No
34103
34104 @item @samp{qXfer:auxv:read}
34105 @tab No
34106 @tab @samp{-}
34107 @tab Yes
34108
34109 @item @samp{qXfer:features:read}
34110 @tab No
34111 @tab @samp{-}
34112 @tab Yes
34113
34114 @item @samp{qXfer:libraries:read}
34115 @tab No
34116 @tab @samp{-}
34117 @tab Yes
34118
34119 @item @samp{qXfer:memory-map:read}
34120 @tab No
34121 @tab @samp{-}
34122 @tab Yes
34123
34124 @item @samp{qXfer:sdata:read}
34125 @tab No
34126 @tab @samp{-}
34127 @tab Yes
34128
34129 @item @samp{qXfer:spu:read}
34130 @tab No
34131 @tab @samp{-}
34132 @tab Yes
34133
34134 @item @samp{qXfer:spu:write}
34135 @tab No
34136 @tab @samp{-}
34137 @tab Yes
34138
34139 @item @samp{qXfer:siginfo:read}
34140 @tab No
34141 @tab @samp{-}
34142 @tab Yes
34143
34144 @item @samp{qXfer:siginfo:write}
34145 @tab No
34146 @tab @samp{-}
34147 @tab Yes
34148
34149 @item @samp{qXfer:threads:read}
34150 @tab No
34151 @tab @samp{-}
34152 @tab Yes
34153
34154 @item @samp{qXfer:traceframe-info:read}
34155 @tab No
34156 @tab @samp{-}
34157 @tab Yes
34158
34159 @item @samp{qXfer:fdpic:read}
34160 @tab No
34161 @tab @samp{-}
34162 @tab Yes
34163
34164 @item @samp{QNonStop}
34165 @tab No
34166 @tab @samp{-}
34167 @tab Yes
34168
34169 @item @samp{QPassSignals}
34170 @tab No
34171 @tab @samp{-}
34172 @tab Yes
34173
34174 @item @samp{QStartNoAckMode}
34175 @tab No
34176 @tab @samp{-}
34177 @tab Yes
34178
34179 @item @samp{multiprocess}
34180 @tab No
34181 @tab @samp{-}
34182 @tab No
34183
34184 @item @samp{ConditionalTracepoints}
34185 @tab No
34186 @tab @samp{-}
34187 @tab No
34188
34189 @item @samp{ReverseContinue}
34190 @tab No
34191 @tab @samp{-}
34192 @tab No
34193
34194 @item @samp{ReverseStep}
34195 @tab No
34196 @tab @samp{-}
34197 @tab No
34198
34199 @item @samp{TracepointSource}
34200 @tab No
34201 @tab @samp{-}
34202 @tab No
34203
34204 @item @samp{QAllow}
34205 @tab No
34206 @tab @samp{-}
34207 @tab No
34208
34209 @item @samp{QDisableRandomization}
34210 @tab No
34211 @tab @samp{-}
34212 @tab No
34213
34214 @item @samp{EnableDisableTracepoints}
34215 @tab No
34216 @tab @samp{-}
34217 @tab No
34218
34219 @end multitable
34220
34221 These are the currently defined stub features, in more detail:
34222
34223 @table @samp
34224 @cindex packet size, remote protocol
34225 @item PacketSize=@var{bytes}
34226 The remote stub can accept packets up to at least @var{bytes} in
34227 length. @value{GDBN} will send packets up to this size for bulk
34228 transfers, and will never send larger packets. This is a limit on the
34229 data characters in the packet, including the frame and checksum.
34230 There is no trailing NUL byte in a remote protocol packet; if the stub
34231 stores packets in a NUL-terminated format, it should allow an extra
34232 byte in its buffer for the NUL. If this stub feature is not supported,
34233 @value{GDBN} guesses based on the size of the @samp{g} packet response.
34234
34235 @item qXfer:auxv:read
34236 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:auxv:read} packet
34237 (@pxref{qXfer auxiliary vector read}).
34238
34239 @item qXfer:features:read
34240 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:features:read} packet
34241 (@pxref{qXfer target description read}).
34242
34243 @item qXfer:libraries:read
34244 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:libraries:read} packet
34245 (@pxref{qXfer library list read}).
34246
34247 @item qXfer:memory-map:read
34248 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:memory-map:read} packet
34249 (@pxref{qXfer memory map read}).
34250
34251 @item qXfer:sdata:read
34252 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:sdata:read} packet
34253 (@pxref{qXfer sdata read}).
34254
34255 @item qXfer:spu:read
34256 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:spu:read} packet
34257 (@pxref{qXfer spu read}).
34258
34259 @item qXfer:spu:write
34260 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:spu:write} packet
34261 (@pxref{qXfer spu write}).
34262
34263 @item qXfer:siginfo:read
34264 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:siginfo:read} packet
34265 (@pxref{qXfer siginfo read}).
34266
34267 @item qXfer:siginfo:write
34268 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:siginfo:write} packet
34269 (@pxref{qXfer siginfo write}).
34270
34271 @item qXfer:threads:read
34272 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:threads:read} packet
34273 (@pxref{qXfer threads read}).
34274
34275 @item qXfer:traceframe-info:read
34276 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:traceframe-info:read}
34277 packet (@pxref{qXfer traceframe info read}).
34278
34279 @item qXfer:fdpic:read
34280 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:fdpic:read}
34281 packet (@pxref{qXfer fdpic loadmap read}).
34282
34283 @item QNonStop
34284 The remote stub understands the @samp{QNonStop} packet
34285 (@pxref{QNonStop}).
34286
34287 @item QPassSignals
34288 The remote stub understands the @samp{QPassSignals} packet
34289 (@pxref{QPassSignals}).
34290
34291 @item QStartNoAckMode
34292 The remote stub understands the @samp{QStartNoAckMode} packet and
34293 prefers to operate in no-acknowledgment mode. @xref{Packet Acknowledgment}.
34294
34295 @item multiprocess
34296 @anchor{multiprocess extensions}
34297 @cindex multiprocess extensions, in remote protocol
34298 The remote stub understands the multiprocess extensions to the remote
34299 protocol syntax. The multiprocess extensions affect the syntax of
34300 thread IDs in both packets and replies (@pxref{thread-id syntax}), and
34301 add process IDs to the @samp{D} packet and @samp{W} and @samp{X}
34302 replies. Note that reporting this feature indicates support for the
34303 syntactic extensions only, not that the stub necessarily supports
34304 debugging of more than one process at a time. The stub must not use
34305 multiprocess extensions in packet replies unless @value{GDBN} has also
34306 indicated it supports them in its @samp{qSupported} request.
34307
34308 @item qXfer:osdata:read
34309 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:osdata:read} packet
34310 ((@pxref{qXfer osdata read}).
34311
34312 @item ConditionalTracepoints
34313 The remote stub accepts and implements conditional expressions defined
34314 for tracepoints (@pxref{Tracepoint Conditions}).
34315
34316 @item ReverseContinue
34317 The remote stub accepts and implements the reverse continue packet
34318 (@pxref{bc}).
34319
34320 @item ReverseStep
34321 The remote stub accepts and implements the reverse step packet
34322 (@pxref{bs}).
34323
34324 @item TracepointSource
34325 The remote stub understands the @samp{QTDPsrc} packet that supplies
34326 the source form of tracepoint definitions.
34327
34328 @item QAllow
34329 The remote stub understands the @samp{QAllow} packet.
34330
34331 @item QDisableRandomization
34332 The remote stub understands the @samp{QDisableRandomization} packet.
34333
34334 @item StaticTracepoint
34335 @cindex static tracepoints, in remote protocol
34336 The remote stub supports static tracepoints.
34337
34338 @item EnableDisableTracepoints
34339 The remote stub supports the @samp{QTEnable} (@pxref{QTEnable}) and
34340 @samp{QTDisable} (@pxref{QTDisable}) packets that allow tracepoints
34341 to be enabled and disabled while a trace experiment is running.
34342
34343 @end table
34344
34345 @item qSymbol::
34346 @cindex symbol lookup, remote request
34347 @cindex @samp{qSymbol} packet
34348 Notify the target that @value{GDBN} is prepared to serve symbol lookup
34349 requests. Accept requests from the target for the values of symbols.
34350
34351 Reply:
34352 @table @samp
34353 @item OK
34354 The target does not need to look up any (more) symbols.
34355 @item qSymbol:@var{sym_name}
34356 The target requests the value of symbol @var{sym_name} (hex encoded).
34357 @value{GDBN} may provide the value by using the
34358 @samp{qSymbol:@var{sym_value}:@var{sym_name}} message, described
34359 below.
34360 @end table
34361
34362 @item qSymbol:@var{sym_value}:@var{sym_name}
34363 Set the value of @var{sym_name} to @var{sym_value}.
34364
34365 @var{sym_name} (hex encoded) is the name of a symbol whose value the
34366 target has previously requested.
34367
34368 @var{sym_value} (hex) is the value for symbol @var{sym_name}. If
34369 @value{GDBN} cannot supply a value for @var{sym_name}, then this field
34370 will be empty.
34371
34372 Reply:
34373 @table @samp
34374 @item OK
34375 The target does not need to look up any (more) symbols.
34376 @item qSymbol:@var{sym_name}
34377 The target requests the value of a new symbol @var{sym_name} (hex
34378 encoded). @value{GDBN} will continue to supply the values of symbols
34379 (if available), until the target ceases to request them.
34380 @end table
34381
34382 @item qTBuffer
34383 @item QTBuffer
34384 @item QTDisconnected
34385 @itemx QTDP
34386 @itemx QTDPsrc
34387 @itemx QTDV
34388 @itemx qTfP
34389 @itemx qTfV
34390 @itemx QTFrame
34391 @xref{Tracepoint Packets}.
34392
34393 @item qThreadExtraInfo,@var{thread-id}
34394 @cindex thread attributes info, remote request
34395 @cindex @samp{qThreadExtraInfo} packet
34396 Obtain a printable string description of a thread's attributes from
34397 the target OS. @var{thread-id} is a thread ID;
34398 see @ref{thread-id syntax}. This
34399 string may contain anything that the target OS thinks is interesting
34400 for @value{GDBN} to tell the user about the thread. The string is
34401 displayed in @value{GDBN}'s @code{info threads} display. Some
34402 examples of possible thread extra info strings are @samp{Runnable}, or
34403 @samp{Blocked on Mutex}.
34404
34405 Reply:
34406 @table @samp
34407 @item @var{XX}@dots{}
34408 Where @samp{@var{XX}@dots{}} is a hex encoding of @sc{ascii} data,
34409 comprising the printable string containing the extra information about
34410 the thread's attributes.
34411 @end table
34412
34413 (Note that the @code{qThreadExtraInfo} packet's name is separated from
34414 the command by a @samp{,}, not a @samp{:}, contrary to the naming
34415 conventions above. Please don't use this packet as a model for new
34416 packets.)
34417
34418 @item QTSave
34419 @item qTsP
34420 @item qTsV
34421 @itemx QTStart
34422 @itemx QTStop
34423 @itemx QTEnable
34424 @itemx QTDisable
34425 @itemx QTinit
34426 @itemx QTro
34427 @itemx qTStatus
34428 @itemx qTV
34429 @itemx qTfSTM
34430 @itemx qTsSTM
34431 @itemx qTSTMat
34432 @xref{Tracepoint Packets}.
34433
34434 @item qXfer:@var{object}:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
34435 @cindex read special object, remote request
34436 @cindex @samp{qXfer} packet
34437 @anchor{qXfer read}
34438 Read uninterpreted bytes from the target's special data area
34439 identified by the keyword @var{object}. Request @var{length} bytes
34440 starting at @var{offset} bytes into the data. The content and
34441 encoding of @var{annex} is specific to @var{object}; it can supply
34442 additional details about what data to access.
34443
34444 Here are the specific requests of this form defined so far. All
34445 @samp{qXfer:@var{object}:read:@dots{}} requests use the same reply
34446 formats, listed below.
34447
34448 @table @samp
34449 @item qXfer:auxv:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
34450 @anchor{qXfer auxiliary vector read}
34451 Access the target's @dfn{auxiliary vector}. @xref{OS Information,
34452 auxiliary vector}. Note @var{annex} must be empty.
34453
34454 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
34455 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
34456
34457 @item qXfer:features:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
34458 @anchor{qXfer target description read}
34459 Access the @dfn{target description}. @xref{Target Descriptions}. The
34460 annex specifies which XML document to access. The main description is
34461 always loaded from the @samp{target.xml} annex.
34462
34463 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
34464 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
34465
34466 @item qXfer:libraries:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
34467 @anchor{qXfer library list read}
34468 Access the target's list of loaded libraries. @xref{Library List Format}.
34469 The annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must be empty
34470 (@pxref{qXfer read}).
34471
34472 Targets which maintain a list of libraries in the program's memory do
34473 not need to implement this packet; it is designed for platforms where
34474 the operating system manages the list of loaded libraries.
34475
34476 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
34477 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
34478
34479 @item qXfer:memory-map:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
34480 @anchor{qXfer memory map read}
34481 Access the target's @dfn{memory-map}. @xref{Memory Map Format}. The
34482 annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must be empty
34483 (@pxref{qXfer read}).
34484
34485 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
34486 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
34487
34488 @item qXfer:sdata:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
34489 @anchor{qXfer sdata read}
34490
34491 Read contents of the extra collected static tracepoint marker
34492 information. The annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must
34493 be empty (@pxref{qXfer read}). @xref{Tracepoint Actions,,Tracepoint
34494 Action Lists}.
34495
34496 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
34497 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response
34498 (@pxref{qSupported}).
34499
34500 @item qXfer:siginfo:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
34501 @anchor{qXfer siginfo read}
34502 Read contents of the extra signal information on the target
34503 system. The annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must be
34504 empty (@pxref{qXfer read}).
34505
34506 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
34507 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response
34508 (@pxref{qSupported}).
34509
34510 @item qXfer:spu:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
34511 @anchor{qXfer spu read}
34512 Read contents of an @code{spufs} file on the target system. The
34513 annex specifies which file to read; it must be of the form
34514 @file{@var{id}/@var{name}}, where @var{id} specifies an SPU context ID
34515 in the target process, and @var{name} identifes the @code{spufs} file
34516 in that context to be accessed.
34517
34518 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
34519 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response
34520 (@pxref{qSupported}).
34521
34522 @item qXfer:threads:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
34523 @anchor{qXfer threads read}
34524 Access the list of threads on target. @xref{Thread List Format}. The
34525 annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must be empty
34526 (@pxref{qXfer read}).
34527
34528 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
34529 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
34530
34531 @item qXfer:traceframe-info:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
34532 @anchor{qXfer traceframe info read}
34533
34534 Return a description of the current traceframe's contents.
34535 @xref{Traceframe Info Format}. The annex part of the generic
34536 @samp{qXfer} packet must be empty (@pxref{qXfer read}).
34537
34538 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
34539 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
34540
34541 @item qXfer:fdpic:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
34542 @anchor{qXfer fdpic loadmap read}
34543 Read contents of @code{loadmap}s on the target system. The
34544 annex, either @samp{exec} or @samp{interp}, specifies which @code{loadmap},
34545 executable @code{loadmap} or interpreter @code{loadmap} to read.
34546
34547 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
34548 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
34549
34550 @item qXfer:osdata:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
34551 @anchor{qXfer osdata read}
34552 Access the target's @dfn{operating system information}.
34553 @xref{Operating System Information}.
34554
34555 @end table
34556
34557 Reply:
34558 @table @samp
34559 @item m @var{data}
34560 Data @var{data} (@pxref{Binary Data}) has been read from the
34561 target. There may be more data at a higher address (although
34562 it is permitted to return @samp{m} even for the last valid
34563 block of data, as long as at least one byte of data was read).
34564 @var{data} may have fewer bytes than the @var{length} in the
34565 request.
34566
34567 @item l @var{data}
34568 Data @var{data} (@pxref{Binary Data}) has been read from the target.
34569 There is no more data to be read. @var{data} may have fewer bytes
34570 than the @var{length} in the request.
34571
34572 @item l
34573 The @var{offset} in the request is at the end of the data.
34574 There is no more data to be read.
34575
34576 @item E00
34577 The request was malformed, or @var{annex} was invalid.
34578
34579 @item E @var{nn}
34580 The offset was invalid, or there was an error encountered reading the data.
34581 @var{nn} is a hex-encoded @code{errno} value.
34582
34583 @item
34584 An empty reply indicates the @var{object} string was not recognized by
34585 the stub, or that the object does not support reading.
34586 @end table
34587
34588 @item qXfer:@var{object}:write:@var{annex}:@var{offset}:@var{data}@dots{}
34589 @cindex write data into object, remote request
34590 @anchor{qXfer write}
34591 Write uninterpreted bytes into the target's special data area
34592 identified by the keyword @var{object}, starting at @var{offset} bytes
34593 into the data. @var{data}@dots{} is the binary-encoded data
34594 (@pxref{Binary Data}) to be written. The content and encoding of @var{annex}
34595 is specific to @var{object}; it can supply additional details about what data
34596 to access.
34597
34598 Here are the specific requests of this form defined so far. All
34599 @samp{qXfer:@var{object}:write:@dots{}} requests use the same reply
34600 formats, listed below.
34601
34602 @table @samp
34603 @item qXfer:siginfo:write::@var{offset}:@var{data}@dots{}
34604 @anchor{qXfer siginfo write}
34605 Write @var{data} to the extra signal information on the target system.
34606 The annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must be
34607 empty (@pxref{qXfer write}).
34608
34609 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
34610 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response
34611 (@pxref{qSupported}).
34612
34613 @item qXfer:spu:write:@var{annex}:@var{offset}:@var{data}@dots{}
34614 @anchor{qXfer spu write}
34615 Write @var{data} to an @code{spufs} file on the target system. The
34616 annex specifies which file to write; it must be of the form
34617 @file{@var{id}/@var{name}}, where @var{id} specifies an SPU context ID
34618 in the target process, and @var{name} identifes the @code{spufs} file
34619 in that context to be accessed.
34620
34621 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
34622 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
34623 @end table
34624
34625 Reply:
34626 @table @samp
34627 @item @var{nn}
34628 @var{nn} (hex encoded) is the number of bytes written.
34629 This may be fewer bytes than supplied in the request.
34630
34631 @item E00
34632 The request was malformed, or @var{annex} was invalid.
34633
34634 @item E @var{nn}
34635 The offset was invalid, or there was an error encountered writing the data.
34636 @var{nn} is a hex-encoded @code{errno} value.
34637
34638 @item
34639 An empty reply indicates the @var{object} string was not
34640 recognized by the stub, or that the object does not support writing.
34641 @end table
34642
34643 @item qXfer:@var{object}:@var{operation}:@dots{}
34644 Requests of this form may be added in the future. When a stub does
34645 not recognize the @var{object} keyword, or its support for
34646 @var{object} does not recognize the @var{operation} keyword, the stub
34647 must respond with an empty packet.
34648
34649 @item qAttached:@var{pid}
34650 @cindex query attached, remote request
34651 @cindex @samp{qAttached} packet
34652 Return an indication of whether the remote server attached to an
34653 existing process or created a new process. When the multiprocess
34654 protocol extensions are supported (@pxref{multiprocess extensions}),
34655 @var{pid} is an integer in hexadecimal format identifying the target
34656 process. Otherwise, @value{GDBN} will omit the @var{pid} field and
34657 the query packet will be simplified as @samp{qAttached}.
34658
34659 This query is used, for example, to know whether the remote process
34660 should be detached or killed when a @value{GDBN} session is ended with
34661 the @code{quit} command.
34662
34663 Reply:
34664 @table @samp
34665 @item 1
34666 The remote server attached to an existing process.
34667 @item 0
34668 The remote server created a new process.
34669 @item E @var{NN}
34670 A badly formed request or an error was encountered.
34671 @end table
34672
34673 @end table
34674
34675 @node Architecture-Specific Protocol Details
34676 @section Architecture-Specific Protocol Details
34677
34678 This section describes how the remote protocol is applied to specific
34679 target architectures. Also see @ref{Standard Target Features}, for
34680 details of XML target descriptions for each architecture.
34681
34682 @subsection ARM
34683
34684 @subsubsection Breakpoint Kinds
34685
34686 These breakpoint kinds are defined for the @samp{Z0} and @samp{Z1} packets.
34687
34688 @table @r
34689
34690 @item 2
34691 16-bit Thumb mode breakpoint.
34692
34693 @item 3
34694 32-bit Thumb mode (Thumb-2) breakpoint.
34695
34696 @item 4
34697 32-bit ARM mode breakpoint.
34698
34699 @end table
34700
34701 @subsection MIPS
34702
34703 @subsubsection Register Packet Format
34704
34705 The following @code{g}/@code{G} packets have previously been defined.
34706 In the below, some thirty-two bit registers are transferred as
34707 sixty-four bits. Those registers should be zero/sign extended (which?)
34708 to fill the space allocated. Register bytes are transferred in target
34709 byte order. The two nibbles within a register byte are transferred
34710 most-significant - least-significant.
34711
34712 @table @r
34713
34714 @item MIPS32
34715
34716 All registers are transferred as thirty-two bit quantities in the order:
34717 32 general-purpose; sr; lo; hi; bad; cause; pc; 32 floating-point
34718 registers; fsr; fir; fp.
34719
34720 @item MIPS64
34721
34722 All registers are transferred as sixty-four bit quantities (including
34723 thirty-two bit registers such as @code{sr}). The ordering is the same
34724 as @code{MIPS32}.
34725
34726 @end table
34727
34728 @node Tracepoint Packets
34729 @section Tracepoint Packets
34730 @cindex tracepoint packets
34731 @cindex packets, tracepoint
34732
34733 Here we describe the packets @value{GDBN} uses to implement
34734 tracepoints (@pxref{Tracepoints}).
34735
34736 @table @samp
34737
34738 @item QTDP:@var{n}:@var{addr}:@var{ena}:@var{step}:@var{pass}[:F@var{flen}][:X@var{len},@var{bytes}]@r{[}-@r{]}
34739 Create a new tracepoint, number @var{n}, at @var{addr}. If @var{ena}
34740 is @samp{E}, then the tracepoint is enabled; if it is @samp{D}, then
34741 the tracepoint is disabled. @var{step} is the tracepoint's step
34742 count, and @var{pass} is its pass count. If an @samp{F} is present,
34743 then the tracepoint is to be a fast tracepoint, and the @var{flen} is
34744 the number of bytes that the target should copy elsewhere to make room
34745 for the tracepoint. If an @samp{X} is present, it introduces a
34746 tracepoint condition, which consists of a hexadecimal length, followed
34747 by a comma and hex-encoded bytes, in a manner similar to action
34748 encodings as described below. If the trailing @samp{-} is present,
34749 further @samp{QTDP} packets will follow to specify this tracepoint's
34750 actions.
34751
34752 Replies:
34753 @table @samp
34754 @item OK
34755 The packet was understood and carried out.
34756 @item qRelocInsn
34757 @xref{Tracepoint Packets,,Relocate instruction reply packet}.
34758 @item
34759 The packet was not recognized.
34760 @end table
34761
34762 @item QTDP:-@var{n}:@var{addr}:@r{[}S@r{]}@var{action}@dots{}@r{[}-@r{]}
34763 Define actions to be taken when a tracepoint is hit. @var{n} and
34764 @var{addr} must be the same as in the initial @samp{QTDP} packet for
34765 this tracepoint. This packet may only be sent immediately after
34766 another @samp{QTDP} packet that ended with a @samp{-}. If the
34767 trailing @samp{-} is present, further @samp{QTDP} packets will follow,
34768 specifying more actions for this tracepoint.
34769
34770 In the series of action packets for a given tracepoint, at most one
34771 can have an @samp{S} before its first @var{action}. If such a packet
34772 is sent, it and the following packets define ``while-stepping''
34773 actions. Any prior packets define ordinary actions --- that is, those
34774 taken when the tracepoint is first hit. If no action packet has an
34775 @samp{S}, then all the packets in the series specify ordinary
34776 tracepoint actions.
34777
34778 The @samp{@var{action}@dots{}} portion of the packet is a series of
34779 actions, concatenated without separators. Each action has one of the
34780 following forms:
34781
34782 @table @samp
34783
34784 @item R @var{mask}
34785 Collect the registers whose bits are set in @var{mask}. @var{mask} is
34786 a hexadecimal number whose @var{i}'th bit is set if register number
34787 @var{i} should be collected. (The least significant bit is numbered
34788 zero.) Note that @var{mask} may be any number of digits long; it may
34789 not fit in a 32-bit word.
34790
34791 @item M @var{basereg},@var{offset},@var{len}
34792 Collect @var{len} bytes of memory starting at the address in register
34793 number @var{basereg}, plus @var{offset}. If @var{basereg} is
34794 @samp{-1}, then the range has a fixed address: @var{offset} is the
34795 address of the lowest byte to collect. The @var{basereg},
34796 @var{offset}, and @var{len} parameters are all unsigned hexadecimal
34797 values (the @samp{-1} value for @var{basereg} is a special case).
34798
34799 @item X @var{len},@var{expr}
34800 Evaluate @var{expr}, whose length is @var{len}, and collect memory as
34801 it directs. @var{expr} is an agent expression, as described in
34802 @ref{Agent Expressions}. Each byte of the expression is encoded as a
34803 two-digit hex number in the packet; @var{len} is the number of bytes
34804 in the expression (and thus one-half the number of hex digits in the
34805 packet).
34806
34807 @end table
34808
34809 Any number of actions may be packed together in a single @samp{QTDP}
34810 packet, as long as the packet does not exceed the maximum packet
34811 length (400 bytes, for many stubs). There may be only one @samp{R}
34812 action per tracepoint, and it must precede any @samp{M} or @samp{X}
34813 actions. Any registers referred to by @samp{M} and @samp{X} actions
34814 must be collected by a preceding @samp{R} action. (The
34815 ``while-stepping'' actions are treated as if they were attached to a
34816 separate tracepoint, as far as these restrictions are concerned.)
34817
34818 Replies:
34819 @table @samp
34820 @item OK
34821 The packet was understood and carried out.
34822 @item qRelocInsn
34823 @xref{Tracepoint Packets,,Relocate instruction reply packet}.
34824 @item
34825 The packet was not recognized.
34826 @end table
34827
34828 @item QTDPsrc:@var{n}:@var{addr}:@var{type}:@var{start}:@var{slen}:@var{bytes}
34829 @cindex @samp{QTDPsrc} packet
34830 Specify a source string of tracepoint @var{n} at address @var{addr}.
34831 This is useful to get accurate reproduction of the tracepoints
34832 originally downloaded at the beginning of the trace run. @var{type}
34833 is the name of the tracepoint part, such as @samp{cond} for the
34834 tracepoint's conditional expression (see below for a list of types), while
34835 @var{bytes} is the string, encoded in hexadecimal.
34836
34837 @var{start} is the offset of the @var{bytes} within the overall source
34838 string, while @var{slen} is the total length of the source string.
34839 This is intended for handling source strings that are longer than will
34840 fit in a single packet.
34841 @c Add detailed example when this info is moved into a dedicated
34842 @c tracepoint descriptions section.
34843
34844 The available string types are @samp{at} for the location,
34845 @samp{cond} for the conditional, and @samp{cmd} for an action command.
34846 @value{GDBN} sends a separate packet for each command in the action
34847 list, in the same order in which the commands are stored in the list.
34848
34849 The target does not need to do anything with source strings except
34850 report them back as part of the replies to the @samp{qTfP}/@samp{qTsP}
34851 query packets.
34852
34853 Although this packet is optional, and @value{GDBN} will only send it
34854 if the target replies with @samp{TracepointSource} @xref{General
34855 Query Packets}, it makes both disconnected tracing and trace files
34856 much easier to use. Otherwise the user must be careful that the
34857 tracepoints in effect while looking at trace frames are identical to
34858 the ones in effect during the trace run; even a small discrepancy
34859 could cause @samp{tdump} not to work, or a particular trace frame not
34860 be found.
34861
34862 @item QTDV:@var{n}:@var{value}
34863 @cindex define trace state variable, remote request
34864 @cindex @samp{QTDV} packet
34865 Create a new trace state variable, number @var{n}, with an initial
34866 value of @var{value}, which is a 64-bit signed integer. Both @var{n}
34867 and @var{value} are encoded as hexadecimal values. @value{GDBN} has
34868 the option of not using this packet for initial values of zero; the
34869 target should simply create the trace state variables as they are
34870 mentioned in expressions.
34871
34872 @item QTFrame:@var{n}
34873 Select the @var{n}'th tracepoint frame from the buffer, and use the
34874 register and memory contents recorded there to answer subsequent
34875 request packets from @value{GDBN}.
34876
34877 A successful reply from the stub indicates that the stub has found the
34878 requested frame. The response is a series of parts, concatenated
34879 without separators, describing the frame we selected. Each part has
34880 one of the following forms:
34881
34882 @table @samp
34883 @item F @var{f}
34884 The selected frame is number @var{n} in the trace frame buffer;
34885 @var{f} is a hexadecimal number. If @var{f} is @samp{-1}, then there
34886 was no frame matching the criteria in the request packet.
34887
34888 @item T @var{t}
34889 The selected trace frame records a hit of tracepoint number @var{t};
34890 @var{t} is a hexadecimal number.
34891
34892 @end table
34893
34894 @item QTFrame:pc:@var{addr}
34895 Like @samp{QTFrame:@var{n}}, but select the first tracepoint frame after the
34896 currently selected frame whose PC is @var{addr};
34897 @var{addr} is a hexadecimal number.
34898
34899 @item QTFrame:tdp:@var{t}
34900 Like @samp{QTFrame:@var{n}}, but select the first tracepoint frame after the
34901 currently selected frame that is a hit of tracepoint @var{t}; @var{t}
34902 is a hexadecimal number.
34903
34904 @item QTFrame:range:@var{start}:@var{end}
34905 Like @samp{QTFrame:@var{n}}, but select the first tracepoint frame after the
34906 currently selected frame whose PC is between @var{start} (inclusive)
34907 and @var{end} (inclusive); @var{start} and @var{end} are hexadecimal
34908 numbers.
34909
34910 @item QTFrame:outside:@var{start}:@var{end}
34911 Like @samp{QTFrame:range:@var{start}:@var{end}}, but select the first
34912 frame @emph{outside} the given range of addresses (exclusive).
34913
34914 @item QTStart
34915 Begin the tracepoint experiment. Begin collecting data from
34916 tracepoint hits in the trace frame buffer. This packet supports the
34917 @samp{qRelocInsn} reply (@pxref{Tracepoint Packets,,Relocate
34918 instruction reply packet}).
34919
34920 @item QTStop
34921 End the tracepoint experiment. Stop collecting trace frames.
34922
34923 @item QTEnable:@var{n}:@var{addr}
34924 @anchor{QTEnable}
34925 Enable tracepoint @var{n} at address @var{addr} in a started tracepoint
34926 experiment. If the tracepoint was previously disabled, then collection
34927 of data from it will resume.
34928
34929 @item QTDisable:@var{n}:@var{addr}
34930 @anchor{QTDisable}
34931 Disable tracepoint @var{n} at address @var{addr} in a started tracepoint
34932 experiment. No more data will be collected from the tracepoint unless
34933 @samp{QTEnable:@var{n}:@var{addr}} is subsequently issued.
34934
34935 @item QTinit
34936 Clear the table of tracepoints, and empty the trace frame buffer.
34937
34938 @item QTro:@var{start1},@var{end1}:@var{start2},@var{end2}:@dots{}
34939 Establish the given ranges of memory as ``transparent''. The stub
34940 will answer requests for these ranges from memory's current contents,
34941 if they were not collected as part of the tracepoint hit.
34942
34943 @value{GDBN} uses this to mark read-only regions of memory, like those
34944 containing program code. Since these areas never change, they should
34945 still have the same contents they did when the tracepoint was hit, so
34946 there's no reason for the stub to refuse to provide their contents.
34947
34948 @item QTDisconnected:@var{value}
34949 Set the choice to what to do with the tracing run when @value{GDBN}
34950 disconnects from the target. A @var{value} of 1 directs the target to
34951 continue the tracing run, while 0 tells the target to stop tracing if
34952 @value{GDBN} is no longer in the picture.
34953
34954 @item qTStatus
34955 Ask the stub if there is a trace experiment running right now.
34956
34957 The reply has the form:
34958
34959 @table @samp
34960
34961 @item T@var{running}@r{[};@var{field}@r{]}@dots{}
34962 @var{running} is a single digit @code{1} if the trace is presently
34963 running, or @code{0} if not. It is followed by semicolon-separated
34964 optional fields that an agent may use to report additional status.
34965
34966 @end table
34967
34968 If the trace is not running, the agent may report any of several
34969 explanations as one of the optional fields:
34970
34971 @table @samp
34972
34973 @item tnotrun:0
34974 No trace has been run yet.
34975
34976 @item tstop:0
34977 The trace was stopped by a user-originated stop command.
34978
34979 @item tfull:0
34980 The trace stopped because the trace buffer filled up.
34981
34982 @item tdisconnected:0
34983 The trace stopped because @value{GDBN} disconnected from the target.
34984
34985 @item tpasscount:@var{tpnum}
34986 The trace stopped because tracepoint @var{tpnum} exceeded its pass count.
34987
34988 @item terror:@var{text}:@var{tpnum}
34989 The trace stopped because tracepoint @var{tpnum} had an error. The
34990 string @var{text} is available to describe the nature of the error
34991 (for instance, a divide by zero in the condition expression).
34992 @var{text} is hex encoded.
34993
34994 @item tunknown:0
34995 The trace stopped for some other reason.
34996
34997 @end table
34998
34999 Additional optional fields supply statistical and other information.
35000 Although not required, they are extremely useful for users monitoring
35001 the progress of a trace run. If a trace has stopped, and these
35002 numbers are reported, they must reflect the state of the just-stopped
35003 trace.
35004
35005 @table @samp
35006
35007 @item tframes:@var{n}
35008 The number of trace frames in the buffer.
35009
35010 @item tcreated:@var{n}
35011 The total number of trace frames created during the run. This may
35012 be larger than the trace frame count, if the buffer is circular.
35013
35014 @item tsize:@var{n}
35015 The total size of the trace buffer, in bytes.
35016
35017 @item tfree:@var{n}
35018 The number of bytes still unused in the buffer.
35019
35020 @item circular:@var{n}
35021 The value of the circular trace buffer flag. @code{1} means that the
35022 trace buffer is circular and old trace frames will be discarded if
35023 necessary to make room, @code{0} means that the trace buffer is linear
35024 and may fill up.
35025
35026 @item disconn:@var{n}
35027 The value of the disconnected tracing flag. @code{1} means that
35028 tracing will continue after @value{GDBN} disconnects, @code{0} means
35029 that the trace run will stop.
35030
35031 @end table
35032
35033 @item qTV:@var{var}
35034 @cindex trace state variable value, remote request
35035 @cindex @samp{qTV} packet
35036 Ask the stub for the value of the trace state variable number @var{var}.
35037
35038 Replies:
35039 @table @samp
35040 @item V@var{value}
35041 The value of the variable is @var{value}. This will be the current
35042 value of the variable if the user is examining a running target, or a
35043 saved value if the variable was collected in the trace frame that the
35044 user is looking at. Note that multiple requests may result in
35045 different reply values, such as when requesting values while the
35046 program is running.
35047
35048 @item U
35049 The value of the variable is unknown. This would occur, for example,
35050 if the user is examining a trace frame in which the requested variable
35051 was not collected.
35052 @end table
35053
35054 @item qTfP
35055 @itemx qTsP
35056 These packets request data about tracepoints that are being used by
35057 the target. @value{GDBN} sends @code{qTfP} to get the first piece
35058 of data, and multiple @code{qTsP} to get additional pieces. Replies
35059 to these packets generally take the form of the @code{QTDP} packets
35060 that define tracepoints. (FIXME add detailed syntax)
35061
35062 @item qTfV
35063 @itemx qTsV
35064 These packets request data about trace state variables that are on the
35065 target. @value{GDBN} sends @code{qTfV} to get the first vari of data,
35066 and multiple @code{qTsV} to get additional variables. Replies to
35067 these packets follow the syntax of the @code{QTDV} packets that define
35068 trace state variables.
35069
35070 @item qTfSTM
35071 @itemx qTsSTM
35072 These packets request data about static tracepoint markers that exist
35073 in the target program. @value{GDBN} sends @code{qTfSTM} to get the
35074 first piece of data, and multiple @code{qTsSTM} to get additional
35075 pieces. Replies to these packets take the following form:
35076
35077 Reply:
35078 @table @samp
35079 @item m @var{address}:@var{id}:@var{extra}
35080 A single marker
35081 @item m @var{address}:@var{id}:@var{extra},@var{address}:@var{id}:@var{extra}@dots{}
35082 a comma-separated list of markers
35083 @item l
35084 (lower case letter @samp{L}) denotes end of list.
35085 @item E @var{nn}
35086 An error occurred. @var{nn} are hex digits.
35087 @item
35088 An empty reply indicates that the request is not supported by the
35089 stub.
35090 @end table
35091
35092 @var{address} is encoded in hex.
35093 @var{id} and @var{extra} are strings encoded in hex.
35094
35095 In response to each query, the target will reply with a list of one or
35096 more markers, separated by commas. @value{GDBN} will respond to each
35097 reply with a request for more markers (using the @samp{qs} form of the
35098 query), until the target responds with @samp{l} (lower-case ell, for
35099 @dfn{last}).
35100
35101 @item qTSTMat:@var{address}
35102 This packets requests data about static tracepoint markers in the
35103 target program at @var{address}. Replies to this packet follow the
35104 syntax of the @samp{qTfSTM} and @code{qTsSTM} packets that list static
35105 tracepoint markers.
35106
35107 @item QTSave:@var{filename}
35108 This packet directs the target to save trace data to the file name
35109 @var{filename} in the target's filesystem. @var{filename} is encoded
35110 as a hex string; the interpretation of the file name (relative vs
35111 absolute, wild cards, etc) is up to the target.
35112
35113 @item qTBuffer:@var{offset},@var{len}
35114 Return up to @var{len} bytes of the current contents of trace buffer,
35115 starting at @var{offset}. The trace buffer is treated as if it were
35116 a contiguous collection of traceframes, as per the trace file format.
35117 The reply consists as many hex-encoded bytes as the target can deliver
35118 in a packet; it is not an error to return fewer than were asked for.
35119 A reply consisting of just @code{l} indicates that no bytes are
35120 available.
35121
35122 @item QTBuffer:circular:@var{value}
35123 This packet directs the target to use a circular trace buffer if
35124 @var{value} is 1, or a linear buffer if the value is 0.
35125
35126 @end table
35127
35128 @subsection Relocate instruction reply packet
35129 When installing fast tracepoints in memory, the target may need to
35130 relocate the instruction currently at the tracepoint address to a
35131 different address in memory. For most instructions, a simple copy is
35132 enough, but, for example, call instructions that implicitly push the
35133 return address on the stack, and relative branches or other
35134 PC-relative instructions require offset adjustment, so that the effect
35135 of executing the instruction at a different address is the same as if
35136 it had executed in the original location.
35137
35138 In response to several of the tracepoint packets, the target may also
35139 respond with a number of intermediate @samp{qRelocInsn} request
35140 packets before the final result packet, to have @value{GDBN} handle
35141 this relocation operation. If a packet supports this mechanism, its
35142 documentation will explicitly say so. See for example the above
35143 descriptions for the @samp{QTStart} and @samp{QTDP} packets. The
35144 format of the request is:
35145
35146 @table @samp
35147 @item qRelocInsn:@var{from};@var{to}
35148
35149 This requests @value{GDBN} to copy instruction at address @var{from}
35150 to address @var{to}, possibly adjusted so that executing the
35151 instruction at @var{to} has the same effect as executing it at
35152 @var{from}. @value{GDBN} writes the adjusted instruction to target
35153 memory starting at @var{to}.
35154 @end table
35155
35156 Replies:
35157 @table @samp
35158 @item qRelocInsn:@var{adjusted_size}
35159 Informs the stub the relocation is complete. @var{adjusted_size} is
35160 the length in bytes of resulting relocated instruction sequence.
35161 @item E @var{NN}
35162 A badly formed request was detected, or an error was encountered while
35163 relocating the instruction.
35164 @end table
35165
35166 @node Host I/O Packets
35167 @section Host I/O Packets
35168 @cindex Host I/O, remote protocol
35169 @cindex file transfer, remote protocol
35170
35171 The @dfn{Host I/O} packets allow @value{GDBN} to perform I/O
35172 operations on the far side of a remote link. For example, Host I/O is
35173 used to upload and download files to a remote target with its own
35174 filesystem. Host I/O uses the same constant values and data structure
35175 layout as the target-initiated File-I/O protocol. However, the
35176 Host I/O packets are structured differently. The target-initiated
35177 protocol relies on target memory to store parameters and buffers.
35178 Host I/O requests are initiated by @value{GDBN}, and the
35179 target's memory is not involved. @xref{File-I/O Remote Protocol
35180 Extension}, for more details on the target-initiated protocol.
35181
35182 The Host I/O request packets all encode a single operation along with
35183 its arguments. They have this format:
35184
35185 @table @samp
35186
35187 @item vFile:@var{operation}: @var{parameter}@dots{}
35188 @var{operation} is the name of the particular request; the target
35189 should compare the entire packet name up to the second colon when checking
35190 for a supported operation. The format of @var{parameter} depends on
35191 the operation. Numbers are always passed in hexadecimal. Negative
35192 numbers have an explicit minus sign (i.e.@: two's complement is not
35193 used). Strings (e.g.@: filenames) are encoded as a series of
35194 hexadecimal bytes. The last argument to a system call may be a
35195 buffer of escaped binary data (@pxref{Binary Data}).
35196
35197 @end table
35198
35199 The valid responses to Host I/O packets are:
35200
35201 @table @samp
35202
35203 @item F @var{result} [, @var{errno}] [; @var{attachment}]
35204 @var{result} is the integer value returned by this operation, usually
35205 non-negative for success and -1 for errors. If an error has occured,
35206 @var{errno} will be included in the result. @var{errno} will have a
35207 value defined by the File-I/O protocol (@pxref{Errno Values}). For
35208 operations which return data, @var{attachment} supplies the data as a
35209 binary buffer. Binary buffers in response packets are escaped in the
35210 normal way (@pxref{Binary Data}). See the individual packet
35211 documentation for the interpretation of @var{result} and
35212 @var{attachment}.
35213
35214 @item
35215 An empty response indicates that this operation is not recognized.
35216
35217 @end table
35218
35219 These are the supported Host I/O operations:
35220
35221 @table @samp
35222 @item vFile:open: @var{pathname}, @var{flags}, @var{mode}
35223 Open a file at @var{pathname} and return a file descriptor for it, or
35224 return -1 if an error occurs. @var{pathname} is a string,
35225 @var{flags} is an integer indicating a mask of open flags
35226 (@pxref{Open Flags}), and @var{mode} is an integer indicating a mask
35227 of mode bits to use if the file is created (@pxref{mode_t Values}).
35228 @xref{open}, for details of the open flags and mode values.
35229
35230 @item vFile:close: @var{fd}
35231 Close the open file corresponding to @var{fd} and return 0, or
35232 -1 if an error occurs.
35233
35234 @item vFile:pread: @var{fd}, @var{count}, @var{offset}
35235 Read data from the open file corresponding to @var{fd}. Up to
35236 @var{count} bytes will be read from the file, starting at @var{offset}
35237 relative to the start of the file. The target may read fewer bytes;
35238 common reasons include packet size limits and an end-of-file
35239 condition. The number of bytes read is returned. Zero should only be
35240 returned for a successful read at the end of the file, or if
35241 @var{count} was zero.
35242
35243 The data read should be returned as a binary attachment on success.
35244 If zero bytes were read, the response should include an empty binary
35245 attachment (i.e.@: a trailing semicolon). The return value is the
35246 number of target bytes read; the binary attachment may be longer if
35247 some characters were escaped.
35248
35249 @item vFile:pwrite: @var{fd}, @var{offset}, @var{data}
35250 Write @var{data} (a binary buffer) to the open file corresponding
35251 to @var{fd}. Start the write at @var{offset} from the start of the
35252 file. Unlike many @code{write} system calls, there is no
35253 separate @var{count} argument; the length of @var{data} in the
35254 packet is used. @samp{vFile:write} returns the number of bytes written,
35255 which may be shorter than the length of @var{data}, or -1 if an
35256 error occurred.
35257
35258 @item vFile:unlink: @var{pathname}
35259 Delete the file at @var{pathname} on the target. Return 0,
35260 or -1 if an error occurs. @var{pathname} is a string.
35261
35262 @end table
35263
35264 @node Interrupts
35265 @section Interrupts
35266 @cindex interrupts (remote protocol)
35267
35268 When a program on the remote target is running, @value{GDBN} may
35269 attempt to interrupt it by sending a @samp{Ctrl-C}, @code{BREAK} or
35270 a @code{BREAK} followed by @code{g},
35271 control of which is specified via @value{GDBN}'s @samp{interrupt-sequence}.
35272
35273 The precise meaning of @code{BREAK} is defined by the transport
35274 mechanism and may, in fact, be undefined. @value{GDBN} does not
35275 currently define a @code{BREAK} mechanism for any of the network
35276 interfaces except for TCP, in which case @value{GDBN} sends the
35277 @code{telnet} BREAK sequence.
35278
35279 @samp{Ctrl-C}, on the other hand, is defined and implemented for all
35280 transport mechanisms. It is represented by sending the single byte
35281 @code{0x03} without any of the usual packet overhead described in
35282 the Overview section (@pxref{Overview}). When a @code{0x03} byte is
35283 transmitted as part of a packet, it is considered to be packet data
35284 and does @emph{not} represent an interrupt. E.g., an @samp{X} packet
35285 (@pxref{X packet}), used for binary downloads, may include an unescaped
35286 @code{0x03} as part of its packet.
35287
35288 @code{BREAK} followed by @code{g} is also known as Magic SysRq g.
35289 When Linux kernel receives this sequence from serial port,
35290 it stops execution and connects to gdb.
35291
35292 Stubs are not required to recognize these interrupt mechanisms and the
35293 precise meaning associated with receipt of the interrupt is
35294 implementation defined. If the target supports debugging of multiple
35295 threads and/or processes, it should attempt to interrupt all
35296 currently-executing threads and processes.
35297 If the stub is successful at interrupting the
35298 running program, it should send one of the stop
35299 reply packets (@pxref{Stop Reply Packets}) to @value{GDBN} as a result
35300 of successfully stopping the program in all-stop mode, and a stop reply
35301 for each stopped thread in non-stop mode.
35302 Interrupts received while the
35303 program is stopped are discarded.
35304
35305 @node Notification Packets
35306 @section Notification Packets
35307 @cindex notification packets
35308 @cindex packets, notification
35309
35310 The @value{GDBN} remote serial protocol includes @dfn{notifications},
35311 packets that require no acknowledgment. Both the GDB and the stub
35312 may send notifications (although the only notifications defined at
35313 present are sent by the stub). Notifications carry information
35314 without incurring the round-trip latency of an acknowledgment, and so
35315 are useful for low-impact communications where occasional packet loss
35316 is not a problem.
35317
35318 A notification packet has the form @samp{% @var{data} #
35319 @var{checksum}}, where @var{data} is the content of the notification,
35320 and @var{checksum} is a checksum of @var{data}, computed and formatted
35321 as for ordinary @value{GDBN} packets. A notification's @var{data}
35322 never contains @samp{$}, @samp{%} or @samp{#} characters. Upon
35323 receiving a notification, the recipient sends no @samp{+} or @samp{-}
35324 to acknowledge the notification's receipt or to report its corruption.
35325
35326 Every notification's @var{data} begins with a name, which contains no
35327 colon characters, followed by a colon character.
35328
35329 Recipients should silently ignore corrupted notifications and
35330 notifications they do not understand. Recipients should restart
35331 timeout periods on receipt of a well-formed notification, whether or
35332 not they understand it.
35333
35334 Senders should only send the notifications described here when this
35335 protocol description specifies that they are permitted. In the
35336 future, we may extend the protocol to permit existing notifications in
35337 new contexts; this rule helps older senders avoid confusing newer
35338 recipients.
35339
35340 (Older versions of @value{GDBN} ignore bytes received until they see
35341 the @samp{$} byte that begins an ordinary packet, so new stubs may
35342 transmit notifications without fear of confusing older clients. There
35343 are no notifications defined for @value{GDBN} to send at the moment, but we
35344 assume that most older stubs would ignore them, as well.)
35345
35346 The following notification packets from the stub to @value{GDBN} are
35347 defined:
35348
35349 @table @samp
35350 @item Stop: @var{reply}
35351 Report an asynchronous stop event in non-stop mode.
35352 The @var{reply} has the form of a stop reply, as
35353 described in @ref{Stop Reply Packets}. Refer to @ref{Remote Non-Stop},
35354 for information on how these notifications are acknowledged by
35355 @value{GDBN}.
35356 @end table
35357
35358 @node Remote Non-Stop
35359 @section Remote Protocol Support for Non-Stop Mode
35360
35361 @value{GDBN}'s remote protocol supports non-stop debugging of
35362 multi-threaded programs, as described in @ref{Non-Stop Mode}. If the stub
35363 supports non-stop mode, it should report that to @value{GDBN} by including
35364 @samp{QNonStop+} in its @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
35365
35366 @value{GDBN} typically sends a @samp{QNonStop} packet only when
35367 establishing a new connection with the stub. Entering non-stop mode
35368 does not alter the state of any currently-running threads, but targets
35369 must stop all threads in any already-attached processes when entering
35370 all-stop mode. @value{GDBN} uses the @samp{?} packet as necessary to
35371 probe the target state after a mode change.
35372
35373 In non-stop mode, when an attached process encounters an event that
35374 would otherwise be reported with a stop reply, it uses the
35375 asynchronous notification mechanism (@pxref{Notification Packets}) to
35376 inform @value{GDBN}. In contrast to all-stop mode, where all threads
35377 in all processes are stopped when a stop reply is sent, in non-stop
35378 mode only the thread reporting the stop event is stopped. That is,
35379 when reporting a @samp{S} or @samp{T} response to indicate completion
35380 of a step operation, hitting a breakpoint, or a fault, only the
35381 affected thread is stopped; any other still-running threads continue
35382 to run. When reporting a @samp{W} or @samp{X} response, all running
35383 threads belonging to other attached processes continue to run.
35384
35385 Only one stop reply notification at a time may be pending; if
35386 additional stop events occur before @value{GDBN} has acknowledged the
35387 previous notification, they must be queued by the stub for later
35388 synchronous transmission in response to @samp{vStopped} packets from
35389 @value{GDBN}. Because the notification mechanism is unreliable,
35390 the stub is permitted to resend a stop reply notification
35391 if it believes @value{GDBN} may not have received it. @value{GDBN}
35392 ignores additional stop reply notifications received before it has
35393 finished processing a previous notification and the stub has completed
35394 sending any queued stop events.
35395
35396 Otherwise, @value{GDBN} must be prepared to receive a stop reply
35397 notification at any time. Specifically, they may appear when
35398 @value{GDBN} is not otherwise reading input from the stub, or when
35399 @value{GDBN} is expecting to read a normal synchronous response or a
35400 @samp{+}/@samp{-} acknowledgment to a packet it has sent.
35401 Notification packets are distinct from any other communication from
35402 the stub so there is no ambiguity.
35403
35404 After receiving a stop reply notification, @value{GDBN} shall
35405 acknowledge it by sending a @samp{vStopped} packet (@pxref{vStopped packet})
35406 as a regular, synchronous request to the stub. Such acknowledgment
35407 is not required to happen immediately, as @value{GDBN} is permitted to
35408 send other, unrelated packets to the stub first, which the stub should
35409 process normally.
35410
35411 Upon receiving a @samp{vStopped} packet, if the stub has other queued
35412 stop events to report to @value{GDBN}, it shall respond by sending a
35413 normal stop reply response. @value{GDBN} shall then send another
35414 @samp{vStopped} packet to solicit further responses; again, it is
35415 permitted to send other, unrelated packets as well which the stub
35416 should process normally.
35417
35418 If the stub receives a @samp{vStopped} packet and there are no
35419 additional stop events to report, the stub shall return an @samp{OK}
35420 response. At this point, if further stop events occur, the stub shall
35421 send a new stop reply notification, @value{GDBN} shall accept the
35422 notification, and the process shall be repeated.
35423
35424 In non-stop mode, the target shall respond to the @samp{?} packet as
35425 follows. First, any incomplete stop reply notification/@samp{vStopped}
35426 sequence in progress is abandoned. The target must begin a new
35427 sequence reporting stop events for all stopped threads, whether or not
35428 it has previously reported those events to @value{GDBN}. The first
35429 stop reply is sent as a synchronous reply to the @samp{?} packet, and
35430 subsequent stop replies are sent as responses to @samp{vStopped} packets
35431 using the mechanism described above. The target must not send
35432 asynchronous stop reply notifications until the sequence is complete.
35433 If all threads are running when the target receives the @samp{?} packet,
35434 or if the target is not attached to any process, it shall respond
35435 @samp{OK}.
35436
35437 @node Packet Acknowledgment
35438 @section Packet Acknowledgment
35439
35440 @cindex acknowledgment, for @value{GDBN} remote
35441 @cindex packet acknowledgment, for @value{GDBN} remote
35442 By default, when either the host or the target machine receives a packet,
35443 the first response expected is an acknowledgment: either @samp{+} (to indicate
35444 the package was received correctly) or @samp{-} (to request retransmission).
35445 This mechanism allows the @value{GDBN} remote protocol to operate over
35446 unreliable transport mechanisms, such as a serial line.
35447
35448 In cases where the transport mechanism is itself reliable (such as a pipe or
35449 TCP connection), the @samp{+}/@samp{-} acknowledgments are redundant.
35450 It may be desirable to disable them in that case to reduce communication
35451 overhead, or for other reasons. This can be accomplished by means of the
35452 @samp{QStartNoAckMode} packet; @pxref{QStartNoAckMode}.
35453
35454 When in no-acknowledgment mode, neither the stub nor @value{GDBN} shall send or
35455 expect @samp{+}/@samp{-} protocol acknowledgments. The packet
35456 and response format still includes the normal checksum, as described in
35457 @ref{Overview}, but the checksum may be ignored by the receiver.
35458
35459 If the stub supports @samp{QStartNoAckMode} and prefers to operate in
35460 no-acknowledgment mode, it should report that to @value{GDBN}
35461 by including @samp{QStartNoAckMode+} in its response to @samp{qSupported};
35462 @pxref{qSupported}.
35463 If @value{GDBN} also supports @samp{QStartNoAckMode} and it has not been
35464 disabled via the @code{set remote noack-packet off} command
35465 (@pxref{Remote Configuration}),
35466 @value{GDBN} may then send a @samp{QStartNoAckMode} packet to the stub.
35467 Only then may the stub actually turn off packet acknowledgments.
35468 @value{GDBN} sends a final @samp{+} acknowledgment of the stub's @samp{OK}
35469 response, which can be safely ignored by the stub.
35470
35471 Note that @code{set remote noack-packet} command only affects negotiation
35472 between @value{GDBN} and the stub when subsequent connections are made;
35473 it does not affect the protocol acknowledgment state for any current
35474 connection.
35475 Since @samp{+}/@samp{-} acknowledgments are enabled by default when a
35476 new connection is established,
35477 there is also no protocol request to re-enable the acknowledgments
35478 for the current connection, once disabled.
35479
35480 @node Examples
35481 @section Examples
35482
35483 Example sequence of a target being re-started. Notice how the restart
35484 does not get any direct output:
35485
35486 @smallexample
35487 -> @code{R00}
35488 <- @code{+}
35489 @emph{target restarts}
35490 -> @code{?}
35491 <- @code{+}
35492 <- @code{T001:1234123412341234}
35493 -> @code{+}
35494 @end smallexample
35495
35496 Example sequence of a target being stepped by a single instruction:
35497
35498 @smallexample
35499 -> @code{G1445@dots{}}
35500 <- @code{+}
35501 -> @code{s}
35502 <- @code{+}
35503 @emph{time passes}
35504 <- @code{T001:1234123412341234}
35505 -> @code{+}
35506 -> @code{g}
35507 <- @code{+}
35508 <- @code{1455@dots{}}
35509 -> @code{+}
35510 @end smallexample
35511
35512 @node File-I/O Remote Protocol Extension
35513 @section File-I/O Remote Protocol Extension
35514 @cindex File-I/O remote protocol extension
35515
35516 @menu
35517 * File-I/O Overview::
35518 * Protocol Basics::
35519 * The F Request Packet::
35520 * The F Reply Packet::
35521 * The Ctrl-C Message::
35522 * Console I/O::
35523 * List of Supported Calls::
35524 * Protocol-specific Representation of Datatypes::
35525 * Constants::
35526 * File-I/O Examples::
35527 @end menu
35528
35529 @node File-I/O Overview
35530 @subsection File-I/O Overview
35531 @cindex file-i/o overview
35532
35533 The @dfn{File I/O remote protocol extension} (short: File-I/O) allows the
35534 target to use the host's file system and console I/O to perform various
35535 system calls. System calls on the target system are translated into a
35536 remote protocol packet to the host system, which then performs the needed
35537 actions and returns a response packet to the target system.
35538 This simulates file system operations even on targets that lack file systems.
35539
35540 The protocol is defined to be independent of both the host and target systems.
35541 It uses its own internal representation of datatypes and values. Both
35542 @value{GDBN} and the target's @value{GDBN} stub are responsible for
35543 translating the system-dependent value representations into the internal
35544 protocol representations when data is transmitted.
35545
35546 The communication is synchronous. A system call is possible only when
35547 @value{GDBN} is waiting for a response from the @samp{C}, @samp{c}, @samp{S}
35548 or @samp{s} packets. While @value{GDBN} handles the request for a system call,
35549 the target is stopped to allow deterministic access to the target's
35550 memory. Therefore File-I/O is not interruptible by target signals. On
35551 the other hand, it is possible to interrupt File-I/O by a user interrupt
35552 (@samp{Ctrl-C}) within @value{GDBN}.
35553
35554 The target's request to perform a host system call does not finish
35555 the latest @samp{C}, @samp{c}, @samp{S} or @samp{s} action. That means,
35556 after finishing the system call, the target returns to continuing the
35557 previous activity (continue, step). No additional continue or step
35558 request from @value{GDBN} is required.
35559
35560 @smallexample
35561 (@value{GDBP}) continue
35562 <- target requests 'system call X'
35563 target is stopped, @value{GDBN} executes system call
35564 -> @value{GDBN} returns result
35565 ... target continues, @value{GDBN} returns to wait for the target
35566 <- target hits breakpoint and sends a Txx packet
35567 @end smallexample
35568
35569 The protocol only supports I/O on the console and to regular files on
35570 the host file system. Character or block special devices, pipes,
35571 named pipes, sockets or any other communication method on the host
35572 system are not supported by this protocol.
35573
35574 File I/O is not supported in non-stop mode.
35575
35576 @node Protocol Basics
35577 @subsection Protocol Basics
35578 @cindex protocol basics, file-i/o
35579
35580 The File-I/O protocol uses the @code{F} packet as the request as well
35581 as reply packet. Since a File-I/O system call can only occur when
35582 @value{GDBN} is waiting for a response from the continuing or stepping target,
35583 the File-I/O request is a reply that @value{GDBN} has to expect as a result
35584 of a previous @samp{C}, @samp{c}, @samp{S} or @samp{s} packet.
35585 This @code{F} packet contains all information needed to allow @value{GDBN}
35586 to call the appropriate host system call:
35587
35588 @itemize @bullet
35589 @item
35590 A unique identifier for the requested system call.
35591
35592 @item
35593 All parameters to the system call. Pointers are given as addresses
35594 in the target memory address space. Pointers to strings are given as
35595 pointer/length pair. Numerical values are given as they are.
35596 Numerical control flags are given in a protocol-specific representation.
35597
35598 @end itemize
35599
35600 At this point, @value{GDBN} has to perform the following actions.
35601
35602 @itemize @bullet
35603 @item
35604 If the parameters include pointer values to data needed as input to a
35605 system call, @value{GDBN} requests this data from the target with a
35606 standard @code{m} packet request. This additional communication has to be
35607 expected by the target implementation and is handled as any other @code{m}
35608 packet.
35609
35610 @item
35611 @value{GDBN} translates all value from protocol representation to host
35612 representation as needed. Datatypes are coerced into the host types.
35613
35614 @item
35615 @value{GDBN} calls the system call.
35616
35617 @item
35618 It then coerces datatypes back to protocol representation.
35619
35620 @item
35621 If the system call is expected to return data in buffer space specified
35622 by pointer parameters to the call, the data is transmitted to the
35623 target using a @code{M} or @code{X} packet. This packet has to be expected
35624 by the target implementation and is handled as any other @code{M} or @code{X}
35625 packet.
35626
35627 @end itemize
35628
35629 Eventually @value{GDBN} replies with another @code{F} packet which contains all
35630 necessary information for the target to continue. This at least contains
35631
35632 @itemize @bullet
35633 @item
35634 Return value.
35635
35636 @item
35637 @code{errno}, if has been changed by the system call.
35638
35639 @item
35640 ``Ctrl-C'' flag.
35641
35642 @end itemize
35643
35644 After having done the needed type and value coercion, the target continues
35645 the latest continue or step action.
35646
35647 @node The F Request Packet
35648 @subsection The @code{F} Request Packet
35649 @cindex file-i/o request packet
35650 @cindex @code{F} request packet
35651
35652 The @code{F} request packet has the following format:
35653
35654 @table @samp
35655 @item F@var{call-id},@var{parameter@dots{}}
35656
35657 @var{call-id} is the identifier to indicate the host system call to be called.
35658 This is just the name of the function.
35659
35660 @var{parameter@dots{}} are the parameters to the system call.
35661 Parameters are hexadecimal integer values, either the actual values in case
35662 of scalar datatypes, pointers to target buffer space in case of compound
35663 datatypes and unspecified memory areas, or pointer/length pairs in case
35664 of string parameters. These are appended to the @var{call-id} as a
35665 comma-delimited list. All values are transmitted in ASCII
35666 string representation, pointer/length pairs separated by a slash.
35667
35668 @end table
35669
35670
35671
35672 @node The F Reply Packet
35673 @subsection The @code{F} Reply Packet
35674 @cindex file-i/o reply packet
35675 @cindex @code{F} reply packet
35676
35677 The @code{F} reply packet has the following format:
35678
35679 @table @samp
35680
35681 @item F@var{retcode},@var{errno},@var{Ctrl-C flag};@var{call-specific attachment}
35682
35683 @var{retcode} is the return code of the system call as hexadecimal value.
35684
35685 @var{errno} is the @code{errno} set by the call, in protocol-specific
35686 representation.
35687 This parameter can be omitted if the call was successful.
35688
35689 @var{Ctrl-C flag} is only sent if the user requested a break. In this
35690 case, @var{errno} must be sent as well, even if the call was successful.
35691 The @var{Ctrl-C flag} itself consists of the character @samp{C}:
35692
35693 @smallexample
35694 F0,0,C
35695 @end smallexample
35696
35697 @noindent
35698 or, if the call was interrupted before the host call has been performed:
35699
35700 @smallexample
35701 F-1,4,C
35702 @end smallexample
35703
35704 @noindent
35705 assuming 4 is the protocol-specific representation of @code{EINTR}.
35706
35707 @end table
35708
35709
35710 @node The Ctrl-C Message
35711 @subsection The @samp{Ctrl-C} Message
35712 @cindex ctrl-c message, in file-i/o protocol
35713
35714 If the @samp{Ctrl-C} flag is set in the @value{GDBN}
35715 reply packet (@pxref{The F Reply Packet}),
35716 the target should behave as if it had
35717 gotten a break message. The meaning for the target is ``system call
35718 interrupted by @code{SIGINT}''. Consequentially, the target should actually stop
35719 (as with a break message) and return to @value{GDBN} with a @code{T02}
35720 packet.
35721
35722 It's important for the target to know in which
35723 state the system call was interrupted. There are two possible cases:
35724
35725 @itemize @bullet
35726 @item
35727 The system call hasn't been performed on the host yet.
35728
35729 @item
35730 The system call on the host has been finished.
35731
35732 @end itemize
35733
35734 These two states can be distinguished by the target by the value of the
35735 returned @code{errno}. If it's the protocol representation of @code{EINTR}, the system
35736 call hasn't been performed. This is equivalent to the @code{EINTR} handling
35737 on POSIX systems. In any other case, the target may presume that the
35738 system call has been finished --- successfully or not --- and should behave
35739 as if the break message arrived right after the system call.
35740
35741 @value{GDBN} must behave reliably. If the system call has not been called
35742 yet, @value{GDBN} may send the @code{F} reply immediately, setting @code{EINTR} as
35743 @code{errno} in the packet. If the system call on the host has been finished
35744 before the user requests a break, the full action must be finished by
35745 @value{GDBN}. This requires sending @code{M} or @code{X} packets as necessary.
35746 The @code{F} packet may only be sent when either nothing has happened
35747 or the full action has been completed.
35748
35749 @node Console I/O
35750 @subsection Console I/O
35751 @cindex console i/o as part of file-i/o
35752
35753 By default and if not explicitly closed by the target system, the file
35754 descriptors 0, 1 and 2 are connected to the @value{GDBN} console. Output
35755 on the @value{GDBN} console is handled as any other file output operation
35756 (@code{write(1, @dots{})} or @code{write(2, @dots{})}). Console input is handled
35757 by @value{GDBN} so that after the target read request from file descriptor
35758 0 all following typing is buffered until either one of the following
35759 conditions is met:
35760
35761 @itemize @bullet
35762 @item
35763 The user types @kbd{Ctrl-c}. The behaviour is as explained above, and the
35764 @code{read}
35765 system call is treated as finished.
35766
35767 @item
35768 The user presses @key{RET}. This is treated as end of input with a trailing
35769 newline.
35770
35771 @item
35772 The user types @kbd{Ctrl-d}. This is treated as end of input. No trailing
35773 character (neither newline nor @samp{Ctrl-D}) is appended to the input.
35774
35775 @end itemize
35776
35777 If the user has typed more characters than fit in the buffer given to
35778 the @code{read} call, the trailing characters are buffered in @value{GDBN} until
35779 either another @code{read(0, @dots{})} is requested by the target, or debugging
35780 is stopped at the user's request.
35781
35782
35783 @node List of Supported Calls
35784 @subsection List of Supported Calls
35785 @cindex list of supported file-i/o calls
35786
35787 @menu
35788 * open::
35789 * close::
35790 * read::
35791 * write::
35792 * lseek::
35793 * rename::
35794 * unlink::
35795 * stat/fstat::
35796 * gettimeofday::
35797 * isatty::
35798 * system::
35799 @end menu
35800
35801 @node open
35802 @unnumberedsubsubsec open
35803 @cindex open, file-i/o system call
35804
35805 @table @asis
35806 @item Synopsis:
35807 @smallexample
35808 int open(const char *pathname, int flags);
35809 int open(const char *pathname, int flags, mode_t mode);
35810 @end smallexample
35811
35812 @item Request:
35813 @samp{Fopen,@var{pathptr}/@var{len},@var{flags},@var{mode}}
35814
35815 @noindent
35816 @var{flags} is the bitwise @code{OR} of the following values:
35817
35818 @table @code
35819 @item O_CREAT
35820 If the file does not exist it will be created. The host
35821 rules apply as far as file ownership and time stamps
35822 are concerned.
35823
35824 @item O_EXCL
35825 When used with @code{O_CREAT}, if the file already exists it is
35826 an error and open() fails.
35827
35828 @item O_TRUNC
35829 If the file already exists and the open mode allows
35830 writing (@code{O_RDWR} or @code{O_WRONLY} is given) it will be
35831 truncated to zero length.
35832
35833 @item O_APPEND
35834 The file is opened in append mode.
35835
35836 @item O_RDONLY
35837 The file is opened for reading only.
35838
35839 @item O_WRONLY
35840 The file is opened for writing only.
35841
35842 @item O_RDWR
35843 The file is opened for reading and writing.
35844 @end table
35845
35846 @noindent
35847 Other bits are silently ignored.
35848
35849
35850 @noindent
35851 @var{mode} is the bitwise @code{OR} of the following values:
35852
35853 @table @code
35854 @item S_IRUSR
35855 User has read permission.
35856
35857 @item S_IWUSR
35858 User has write permission.
35859
35860 @item S_IRGRP
35861 Group has read permission.
35862
35863 @item S_IWGRP
35864 Group has write permission.
35865
35866 @item S_IROTH
35867 Others have read permission.
35868
35869 @item S_IWOTH
35870 Others have write permission.
35871 @end table
35872
35873 @noindent
35874 Other bits are silently ignored.
35875
35876
35877 @item Return value:
35878 @code{open} returns the new file descriptor or -1 if an error
35879 occurred.
35880
35881 @item Errors:
35882
35883 @table @code
35884 @item EEXIST
35885 @var{pathname} already exists and @code{O_CREAT} and @code{O_EXCL} were used.
35886
35887 @item EISDIR
35888 @var{pathname} refers to a directory.
35889
35890 @item EACCES
35891 The requested access is not allowed.
35892
35893 @item ENAMETOOLONG
35894 @var{pathname} was too long.
35895
35896 @item ENOENT
35897 A directory component in @var{pathname} does not exist.
35898
35899 @item ENODEV
35900 @var{pathname} refers to a device, pipe, named pipe or socket.
35901
35902 @item EROFS
35903 @var{pathname} refers to a file on a read-only filesystem and
35904 write access was requested.
35905
35906 @item EFAULT
35907 @var{pathname} is an invalid pointer value.
35908
35909 @item ENOSPC
35910 No space on device to create the file.
35911
35912 @item EMFILE
35913 The process already has the maximum number of files open.
35914
35915 @item ENFILE
35916 The limit on the total number of files open on the system
35917 has been reached.
35918
35919 @item EINTR
35920 The call was interrupted by the user.
35921 @end table
35922
35923 @end table
35924
35925 @node close
35926 @unnumberedsubsubsec close
35927 @cindex close, file-i/o system call
35928
35929 @table @asis
35930 @item Synopsis:
35931 @smallexample
35932 int close(int fd);
35933 @end smallexample
35934
35935 @item Request:
35936 @samp{Fclose,@var{fd}}
35937
35938 @item Return value:
35939 @code{close} returns zero on success, or -1 if an error occurred.
35940
35941 @item Errors:
35942
35943 @table @code
35944 @item EBADF
35945 @var{fd} isn't a valid open file descriptor.
35946
35947 @item EINTR
35948 The call was interrupted by the user.
35949 @end table
35950
35951 @end table
35952
35953 @node read
35954 @unnumberedsubsubsec read
35955 @cindex read, file-i/o system call
35956
35957 @table @asis
35958 @item Synopsis:
35959 @smallexample
35960 int read(int fd, void *buf, unsigned int count);
35961 @end smallexample
35962
35963 @item Request:
35964 @samp{Fread,@var{fd},@var{bufptr},@var{count}}
35965
35966 @item Return value:
35967 On success, the number of bytes read is returned.
35968 Zero indicates end of file. If count is zero, read
35969 returns zero as well. On error, -1 is returned.
35970
35971 @item Errors:
35972
35973 @table @code
35974 @item EBADF
35975 @var{fd} is not a valid file descriptor or is not open for
35976 reading.
35977
35978 @item EFAULT
35979 @var{bufptr} is an invalid pointer value.
35980
35981 @item EINTR
35982 The call was interrupted by the user.
35983 @end table
35984
35985 @end table
35986
35987 @node write
35988 @unnumberedsubsubsec write
35989 @cindex write, file-i/o system call
35990
35991 @table @asis
35992 @item Synopsis:
35993 @smallexample
35994 int write(int fd, const void *buf, unsigned int count);
35995 @end smallexample
35996
35997 @item Request:
35998 @samp{Fwrite,@var{fd},@var{bufptr},@var{count}}
35999
36000 @item Return value:
36001 On success, the number of bytes written are returned.
36002 Zero indicates nothing was written. On error, -1
36003 is returned.
36004
36005 @item Errors:
36006
36007 @table @code
36008 @item EBADF
36009 @var{fd} is not a valid file descriptor or is not open for
36010 writing.
36011
36012 @item EFAULT
36013 @var{bufptr} is an invalid pointer value.
36014
36015 @item EFBIG
36016 An attempt was made to write a file that exceeds the
36017 host-specific maximum file size allowed.
36018
36019 @item ENOSPC
36020 No space on device to write the data.
36021
36022 @item EINTR
36023 The call was interrupted by the user.
36024 @end table
36025
36026 @end table
36027
36028 @node lseek
36029 @unnumberedsubsubsec lseek
36030 @cindex lseek, file-i/o system call
36031
36032 @table @asis
36033 @item Synopsis:
36034 @smallexample
36035 long lseek (int fd, long offset, int flag);
36036 @end smallexample
36037
36038 @item Request:
36039 @samp{Flseek,@var{fd},@var{offset},@var{flag}}
36040
36041 @var{flag} is one of:
36042
36043 @table @code
36044 @item SEEK_SET
36045 The offset is set to @var{offset} bytes.
36046
36047 @item SEEK_CUR
36048 The offset is set to its current location plus @var{offset}
36049 bytes.
36050
36051 @item SEEK_END
36052 The offset is set to the size of the file plus @var{offset}
36053 bytes.
36054 @end table
36055
36056 @item Return value:
36057 On success, the resulting unsigned offset in bytes from
36058 the beginning of the file is returned. Otherwise, a
36059 value of -1 is returned.
36060
36061 @item Errors:
36062
36063 @table @code
36064 @item EBADF
36065 @var{fd} is not a valid open file descriptor.
36066
36067 @item ESPIPE
36068 @var{fd} is associated with the @value{GDBN} console.
36069
36070 @item EINVAL
36071 @var{flag} is not a proper value.
36072
36073 @item EINTR
36074 The call was interrupted by the user.
36075 @end table
36076
36077 @end table
36078
36079 @node rename
36080 @unnumberedsubsubsec rename
36081 @cindex rename, file-i/o system call
36082
36083 @table @asis
36084 @item Synopsis:
36085 @smallexample
36086 int rename(const char *oldpath, const char *newpath);
36087 @end smallexample
36088
36089 @item Request:
36090 @samp{Frename,@var{oldpathptr}/@var{len},@var{newpathptr}/@var{len}}
36091
36092 @item Return value:
36093 On success, zero is returned. On error, -1 is returned.
36094
36095 @item Errors:
36096
36097 @table @code
36098 @item EISDIR
36099 @var{newpath} is an existing directory, but @var{oldpath} is not a
36100 directory.
36101
36102 @item EEXIST
36103 @var{newpath} is a non-empty directory.
36104
36105 @item EBUSY
36106 @var{oldpath} or @var{newpath} is a directory that is in use by some
36107 process.
36108
36109 @item EINVAL
36110 An attempt was made to make a directory a subdirectory
36111 of itself.
36112
36113 @item ENOTDIR
36114 A component used as a directory in @var{oldpath} or new
36115 path is not a directory. Or @var{oldpath} is a directory
36116 and @var{newpath} exists but is not a directory.
36117
36118 @item EFAULT
36119 @var{oldpathptr} or @var{newpathptr} are invalid pointer values.
36120
36121 @item EACCES
36122 No access to the file or the path of the file.
36123
36124 @item ENAMETOOLONG
36125
36126 @var{oldpath} or @var{newpath} was too long.
36127
36128 @item ENOENT
36129 A directory component in @var{oldpath} or @var{newpath} does not exist.
36130
36131 @item EROFS
36132 The file is on a read-only filesystem.
36133
36134 @item ENOSPC
36135 The device containing the file has no room for the new
36136 directory entry.
36137
36138 @item EINTR
36139 The call was interrupted by the user.
36140 @end table
36141
36142 @end table
36143
36144 @node unlink
36145 @unnumberedsubsubsec unlink
36146 @cindex unlink, file-i/o system call
36147
36148 @table @asis
36149 @item Synopsis:
36150 @smallexample
36151 int unlink(const char *pathname);
36152 @end smallexample
36153
36154 @item Request:
36155 @samp{Funlink,@var{pathnameptr}/@var{len}}
36156
36157 @item Return value:
36158 On success, zero is returned. On error, -1 is returned.
36159
36160 @item Errors:
36161
36162 @table @code
36163 @item EACCES
36164 No access to the file or the path of the file.
36165
36166 @item EPERM
36167 The system does not allow unlinking of directories.
36168
36169 @item EBUSY
36170 The file @var{pathname} cannot be unlinked because it's
36171 being used by another process.
36172
36173 @item EFAULT
36174 @var{pathnameptr} is an invalid pointer value.
36175
36176 @item ENAMETOOLONG
36177 @var{pathname} was too long.
36178
36179 @item ENOENT
36180 A directory component in @var{pathname} does not exist.
36181
36182 @item ENOTDIR
36183 A component of the path is not a directory.
36184
36185 @item EROFS
36186 The file is on a read-only filesystem.
36187
36188 @item EINTR
36189 The call was interrupted by the user.
36190 @end table
36191
36192 @end table
36193
36194 @node stat/fstat
36195 @unnumberedsubsubsec stat/fstat
36196 @cindex fstat, file-i/o system call
36197 @cindex stat, file-i/o system call
36198
36199 @table @asis
36200 @item Synopsis:
36201 @smallexample
36202 int stat(const char *pathname, struct stat *buf);
36203 int fstat(int fd, struct stat *buf);
36204 @end smallexample
36205
36206 @item Request:
36207 @samp{Fstat,@var{pathnameptr}/@var{len},@var{bufptr}}@*
36208 @samp{Ffstat,@var{fd},@var{bufptr}}
36209
36210 @item Return value:
36211 On success, zero is returned. On error, -1 is returned.
36212
36213 @item Errors:
36214
36215 @table @code
36216 @item EBADF
36217 @var{fd} is not a valid open file.
36218
36219 @item ENOENT
36220 A directory component in @var{pathname} does not exist or the
36221 path is an empty string.
36222
36223 @item ENOTDIR
36224 A component of the path is not a directory.
36225
36226 @item EFAULT
36227 @var{pathnameptr} is an invalid pointer value.
36228
36229 @item EACCES
36230 No access to the file or the path of the file.
36231
36232 @item ENAMETOOLONG
36233 @var{pathname} was too long.
36234
36235 @item EINTR
36236 The call was interrupted by the user.
36237 @end table
36238
36239 @end table
36240
36241 @node gettimeofday
36242 @unnumberedsubsubsec gettimeofday
36243 @cindex gettimeofday, file-i/o system call
36244
36245 @table @asis
36246 @item Synopsis:
36247 @smallexample
36248 int gettimeofday(struct timeval *tv, void *tz);
36249 @end smallexample
36250
36251 @item Request:
36252 @samp{Fgettimeofday,@var{tvptr},@var{tzptr}}
36253
36254 @item Return value:
36255 On success, 0 is returned, -1 otherwise.
36256
36257 @item Errors:
36258
36259 @table @code
36260 @item EINVAL
36261 @var{tz} is a non-NULL pointer.
36262
36263 @item EFAULT
36264 @var{tvptr} and/or @var{tzptr} is an invalid pointer value.
36265 @end table
36266
36267 @end table
36268
36269 @node isatty
36270 @unnumberedsubsubsec isatty
36271 @cindex isatty, file-i/o system call
36272
36273 @table @asis
36274 @item Synopsis:
36275 @smallexample
36276 int isatty(int fd);
36277 @end smallexample
36278
36279 @item Request:
36280 @samp{Fisatty,@var{fd}}
36281
36282 @item Return value:
36283 Returns 1 if @var{fd} refers to the @value{GDBN} console, 0 otherwise.
36284
36285 @item Errors:
36286
36287 @table @code
36288 @item EINTR
36289 The call was interrupted by the user.
36290 @end table
36291
36292 @end table
36293
36294 Note that the @code{isatty} call is treated as a special case: it returns
36295 1 to the target if the file descriptor is attached
36296 to the @value{GDBN} console, 0 otherwise. Implementing through system calls
36297 would require implementing @code{ioctl} and would be more complex than
36298 needed.
36299
36300
36301 @node system
36302 @unnumberedsubsubsec system
36303 @cindex system, file-i/o system call
36304
36305 @table @asis
36306 @item Synopsis:
36307 @smallexample
36308 int system(const char *command);
36309 @end smallexample
36310
36311 @item Request:
36312 @samp{Fsystem,@var{commandptr}/@var{len}}
36313
36314 @item Return value:
36315 If @var{len} is zero, the return value indicates whether a shell is
36316 available. A zero return value indicates a shell is not available.
36317 For non-zero @var{len}, the value returned is -1 on error and the
36318 return status of the command otherwise. Only the exit status of the
36319 command is returned, which is extracted from the host's @code{system}
36320 return value by calling @code{WEXITSTATUS(retval)}. In case
36321 @file{/bin/sh} could not be executed, 127 is returned.
36322
36323 @item Errors:
36324
36325 @table @code
36326 @item EINTR
36327 The call was interrupted by the user.
36328 @end table
36329
36330 @end table
36331
36332 @value{GDBN} takes over the full task of calling the necessary host calls
36333 to perform the @code{system} call. The return value of @code{system} on
36334 the host is simplified before it's returned
36335 to the target. Any termination signal information from the child process
36336 is discarded, and the return value consists
36337 entirely of the exit status of the called command.
36338
36339 Due to security concerns, the @code{system} call is by default refused
36340 by @value{GDBN}. The user has to allow this call explicitly with the
36341 @code{set remote system-call-allowed 1} command.
36342
36343 @table @code
36344 @item set remote system-call-allowed
36345 @kindex set remote system-call-allowed
36346 Control whether to allow the @code{system} calls in the File I/O
36347 protocol for the remote target. The default is zero (disabled).
36348
36349 @item show remote system-call-allowed
36350 @kindex show remote system-call-allowed
36351 Show whether the @code{system} calls are allowed in the File I/O
36352 protocol.
36353 @end table
36354
36355 @node Protocol-specific Representation of Datatypes
36356 @subsection Protocol-specific Representation of Datatypes
36357 @cindex protocol-specific representation of datatypes, in file-i/o protocol
36358
36359 @menu
36360 * Integral Datatypes::
36361 * Pointer Values::
36362 * Memory Transfer::
36363 * struct stat::
36364 * struct timeval::
36365 @end menu
36366
36367 @node Integral Datatypes
36368 @unnumberedsubsubsec Integral Datatypes
36369 @cindex integral datatypes, in file-i/o protocol
36370
36371 The integral datatypes used in the system calls are @code{int},
36372 @code{unsigned int}, @code{long}, @code{unsigned long},
36373 @code{mode_t}, and @code{time_t}.
36374
36375 @code{int}, @code{unsigned int}, @code{mode_t} and @code{time_t} are
36376 implemented as 32 bit values in this protocol.
36377
36378 @code{long} and @code{unsigned long} are implemented as 64 bit types.
36379
36380 @xref{Limits}, for corresponding MIN and MAX values (similar to those
36381 in @file{limits.h}) to allow range checking on host and target.
36382
36383 @code{time_t} datatypes are defined as seconds since the Epoch.
36384
36385 All integral datatypes transferred as part of a memory read or write of a
36386 structured datatype e.g.@: a @code{struct stat} have to be given in big endian
36387 byte order.
36388
36389 @node Pointer Values
36390 @unnumberedsubsubsec Pointer Values
36391 @cindex pointer values, in file-i/o protocol
36392
36393 Pointers to target data are transmitted as they are. An exception
36394 is made for pointers to buffers for which the length isn't
36395 transmitted as part of the function call, namely strings. Strings
36396 are transmitted as a pointer/length pair, both as hex values, e.g.@:
36397
36398 @smallexample
36399 @code{1aaf/12}
36400 @end smallexample
36401
36402 @noindent
36403 which is a pointer to data of length 18 bytes at position 0x1aaf.
36404 The length is defined as the full string length in bytes, including
36405 the trailing null byte. For example, the string @code{"hello world"}
36406 at address 0x123456 is transmitted as
36407
36408 @smallexample
36409 @code{123456/d}
36410 @end smallexample
36411
36412 @node Memory Transfer
36413 @unnumberedsubsubsec Memory Transfer
36414 @cindex memory transfer, in file-i/o protocol
36415
36416 Structured data which is transferred using a memory read or write (for
36417 example, a @code{struct stat}) is expected to be in a protocol-specific format
36418 with all scalar multibyte datatypes being big endian. Translation to
36419 this representation needs to be done both by the target before the @code{F}
36420 packet is sent, and by @value{GDBN} before
36421 it transfers memory to the target. Transferred pointers to structured
36422 data should point to the already-coerced data at any time.
36423
36424
36425 @node struct stat
36426 @unnumberedsubsubsec struct stat
36427 @cindex struct stat, in file-i/o protocol
36428
36429 The buffer of type @code{struct stat} used by the target and @value{GDBN}
36430 is defined as follows:
36431
36432 @smallexample
36433 struct stat @{
36434 unsigned int st_dev; /* device */
36435 unsigned int st_ino; /* inode */
36436 mode_t st_mode; /* protection */
36437 unsigned int st_nlink; /* number of hard links */
36438 unsigned int st_uid; /* user ID of owner */
36439 unsigned int st_gid; /* group ID of owner */
36440 unsigned int st_rdev; /* device type (if inode device) */
36441 unsigned long st_size; /* total size, in bytes */
36442 unsigned long st_blksize; /* blocksize for filesystem I/O */
36443 unsigned long st_blocks; /* number of blocks allocated */
36444 time_t st_atime; /* time of last access */
36445 time_t st_mtime; /* time of last modification */
36446 time_t st_ctime; /* time of last change */
36447 @};
36448 @end smallexample
36449
36450 The integral datatypes conform to the definitions given in the
36451 appropriate section (see @ref{Integral Datatypes}, for details) so this
36452 structure is of size 64 bytes.
36453
36454 The values of several fields have a restricted meaning and/or
36455 range of values.
36456
36457 @table @code
36458
36459 @item st_dev
36460 A value of 0 represents a file, 1 the console.
36461
36462 @item st_ino
36463 No valid meaning for the target. Transmitted unchanged.
36464
36465 @item st_mode
36466 Valid mode bits are described in @ref{Constants}. Any other
36467 bits have currently no meaning for the target.
36468
36469 @item st_uid
36470 @itemx st_gid
36471 @itemx st_rdev
36472 No valid meaning for the target. Transmitted unchanged.
36473
36474 @item st_atime
36475 @itemx st_mtime
36476 @itemx st_ctime
36477 These values have a host and file system dependent
36478 accuracy. Especially on Windows hosts, the file system may not
36479 support exact timing values.
36480 @end table
36481
36482 The target gets a @code{struct stat} of the above representation and is
36483 responsible for coercing it to the target representation before
36484 continuing.
36485
36486 Note that due to size differences between the host, target, and protocol
36487 representations of @code{struct stat} members, these members could eventually
36488 get truncated on the target.
36489
36490 @node struct timeval
36491 @unnumberedsubsubsec struct timeval
36492 @cindex struct timeval, in file-i/o protocol
36493
36494 The buffer of type @code{struct timeval} used by the File-I/O protocol
36495 is defined as follows:
36496
36497 @smallexample
36498 struct timeval @{
36499 time_t tv_sec; /* second */
36500 long tv_usec; /* microsecond */
36501 @};
36502 @end smallexample
36503
36504 The integral datatypes conform to the definitions given in the
36505 appropriate section (see @ref{Integral Datatypes}, for details) so this
36506 structure is of size 8 bytes.
36507
36508 @node Constants
36509 @subsection Constants
36510 @cindex constants, in file-i/o protocol
36511
36512 The following values are used for the constants inside of the
36513 protocol. @value{GDBN} and target are responsible for translating these
36514 values before and after the call as needed.
36515
36516 @menu
36517 * Open Flags::
36518 * mode_t Values::
36519 * Errno Values::
36520 * Lseek Flags::
36521 * Limits::
36522 @end menu
36523
36524 @node Open Flags
36525 @unnumberedsubsubsec Open Flags
36526 @cindex open flags, in file-i/o protocol
36527
36528 All values are given in hexadecimal representation.
36529
36530 @smallexample
36531 O_RDONLY 0x0
36532 O_WRONLY 0x1
36533 O_RDWR 0x2
36534 O_APPEND 0x8
36535 O_CREAT 0x200
36536 O_TRUNC 0x400
36537 O_EXCL 0x800
36538 @end smallexample
36539
36540 @node mode_t Values
36541 @unnumberedsubsubsec mode_t Values
36542 @cindex mode_t values, in file-i/o protocol
36543
36544 All values are given in octal representation.
36545
36546 @smallexample
36547 S_IFREG 0100000
36548 S_IFDIR 040000
36549 S_IRUSR 0400
36550 S_IWUSR 0200
36551 S_IXUSR 0100
36552 S_IRGRP 040
36553 S_IWGRP 020
36554 S_IXGRP 010
36555 S_IROTH 04
36556 S_IWOTH 02
36557 S_IXOTH 01
36558 @end smallexample
36559
36560 @node Errno Values
36561 @unnumberedsubsubsec Errno Values
36562 @cindex errno values, in file-i/o protocol
36563
36564 All values are given in decimal representation.
36565
36566 @smallexample
36567 EPERM 1
36568 ENOENT 2
36569 EINTR 4
36570 EBADF 9
36571 EACCES 13
36572 EFAULT 14
36573 EBUSY 16
36574 EEXIST 17
36575 ENODEV 19
36576 ENOTDIR 20
36577 EISDIR 21
36578 EINVAL 22
36579 ENFILE 23
36580 EMFILE 24
36581 EFBIG 27
36582 ENOSPC 28
36583 ESPIPE 29
36584 EROFS 30
36585 ENAMETOOLONG 91
36586 EUNKNOWN 9999
36587 @end smallexample
36588
36589 @code{EUNKNOWN} is used as a fallback error value if a host system returns
36590 any error value not in the list of supported error numbers.
36591
36592 @node Lseek Flags
36593 @unnumberedsubsubsec Lseek Flags
36594 @cindex lseek flags, in file-i/o protocol
36595
36596 @smallexample
36597 SEEK_SET 0
36598 SEEK_CUR 1
36599 SEEK_END 2
36600 @end smallexample
36601
36602 @node Limits
36603 @unnumberedsubsubsec Limits
36604 @cindex limits, in file-i/o protocol
36605
36606 All values are given in decimal representation.
36607
36608 @smallexample
36609 INT_MIN -2147483648
36610 INT_MAX 2147483647
36611 UINT_MAX 4294967295
36612 LONG_MIN -9223372036854775808
36613 LONG_MAX 9223372036854775807
36614 ULONG_MAX 18446744073709551615
36615 @end smallexample
36616
36617 @node File-I/O Examples
36618 @subsection File-I/O Examples
36619 @cindex file-i/o examples
36620
36621 Example sequence of a write call, file descriptor 3, buffer is at target
36622 address 0x1234, 6 bytes should be written:
36623
36624 @smallexample
36625 <- @code{Fwrite,3,1234,6}
36626 @emph{request memory read from target}
36627 -> @code{m1234,6}
36628 <- XXXXXX
36629 @emph{return "6 bytes written"}
36630 -> @code{F6}
36631 @end smallexample
36632
36633 Example sequence of a read call, file descriptor 3, buffer is at target
36634 address 0x1234, 6 bytes should be read:
36635
36636 @smallexample
36637 <- @code{Fread,3,1234,6}
36638 @emph{request memory write to target}
36639 -> @code{X1234,6:XXXXXX}
36640 @emph{return "6 bytes read"}
36641 -> @code{F6}
36642 @end smallexample
36643
36644 Example sequence of a read call, call fails on the host due to invalid
36645 file descriptor (@code{EBADF}):
36646
36647 @smallexample
36648 <- @code{Fread,3,1234,6}
36649 -> @code{F-1,9}
36650 @end smallexample
36651
36652 Example sequence of a read call, user presses @kbd{Ctrl-c} before syscall on
36653 host is called:
36654
36655 @smallexample
36656 <- @code{Fread,3,1234,6}
36657 -> @code{F-1,4,C}
36658 <- @code{T02}
36659 @end smallexample
36660
36661 Example sequence of a read call, user presses @kbd{Ctrl-c} after syscall on
36662 host is called:
36663
36664 @smallexample
36665 <- @code{Fread,3,1234,6}
36666 -> @code{X1234,6:XXXXXX}
36667 <- @code{T02}
36668 @end smallexample
36669
36670 @node Library List Format
36671 @section Library List Format
36672 @cindex library list format, remote protocol
36673
36674 On some platforms, a dynamic loader (e.g.@: @file{ld.so}) runs in the
36675 same process as your application to manage libraries. In this case,
36676 @value{GDBN} can use the loader's symbol table and normal memory
36677 operations to maintain a list of shared libraries. On other
36678 platforms, the operating system manages loaded libraries.
36679 @value{GDBN} can not retrieve the list of currently loaded libraries
36680 through memory operations, so it uses the @samp{qXfer:libraries:read}
36681 packet (@pxref{qXfer library list read}) instead. The remote stub
36682 queries the target's operating system and reports which libraries
36683 are loaded.
36684
36685 The @samp{qXfer:libraries:read} packet returns an XML document which
36686 lists loaded libraries and their offsets. Each library has an
36687 associated name and one or more segment or section base addresses,
36688 which report where the library was loaded in memory.
36689
36690 For the common case of libraries that are fully linked binaries, the
36691 library should have a list of segments. If the target supports
36692 dynamic linking of a relocatable object file, its library XML element
36693 should instead include a list of allocated sections. The segment or
36694 section bases are start addresses, not relocation offsets; they do not
36695 depend on the library's link-time base addresses.
36696
36697 @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support XML
36698 library lists. @xref{Expat}.
36699
36700 A simple memory map, with one loaded library relocated by a single
36701 offset, looks like this:
36702
36703 @smallexample
36704 <library-list>
36705 <library name="/lib/libc.so.6">
36706 <segment address="0x10000000"/>
36707 </library>
36708 </library-list>
36709 @end smallexample
36710
36711 Another simple memory map, with one loaded library with three
36712 allocated sections (.text, .data, .bss), looks like this:
36713
36714 @smallexample
36715 <library-list>
36716 <library name="sharedlib.o">
36717 <section address="0x10000000"/>
36718 <section address="0x20000000"/>
36719 <section address="0x30000000"/>
36720 </library>
36721 </library-list>
36722 @end smallexample
36723
36724 The format of a library list is described by this DTD:
36725
36726 @smallexample
36727 <!-- library-list: Root element with versioning -->
36728 <!ELEMENT library-list (library)*>
36729 <!ATTLIST library-list version CDATA #FIXED "1.0">
36730 <!ELEMENT library (segment*, section*)>
36731 <!ATTLIST library name CDATA #REQUIRED>
36732 <!ELEMENT segment EMPTY>
36733 <!ATTLIST segment address CDATA #REQUIRED>
36734 <!ELEMENT section EMPTY>
36735 <!ATTLIST section address CDATA #REQUIRED>
36736 @end smallexample
36737
36738 In addition, segments and section descriptors cannot be mixed within a
36739 single library element, and you must supply at least one segment or
36740 section for each library.
36741
36742 @node Memory Map Format
36743 @section Memory Map Format
36744 @cindex memory map format
36745
36746 To be able to write into flash memory, @value{GDBN} needs to obtain a
36747 memory map from the target. This section describes the format of the
36748 memory map.
36749
36750 The memory map is obtained using the @samp{qXfer:memory-map:read}
36751 (@pxref{qXfer memory map read}) packet and is an XML document that
36752 lists memory regions.
36753
36754 @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support XML
36755 memory maps. @xref{Expat}.
36756
36757 The top-level structure of the document is shown below:
36758
36759 @smallexample
36760 <?xml version="1.0"?>
36761 <!DOCTYPE memory-map
36762 PUBLIC "+//IDN gnu.org//DTD GDB Memory Map V1.0//EN"
36763 "http://sourceware.org/gdb/gdb-memory-map.dtd">
36764 <memory-map>
36765 region...
36766 </memory-map>
36767 @end smallexample
36768
36769 Each region can be either:
36770
36771 @itemize
36772
36773 @item
36774 A region of RAM starting at @var{addr} and extending for @var{length}
36775 bytes from there:
36776
36777 @smallexample
36778 <memory type="ram" start="@var{addr}" length="@var{length}"/>
36779 @end smallexample
36780
36781
36782 @item
36783 A region of read-only memory:
36784
36785 @smallexample
36786 <memory type="rom" start="@var{addr}" length="@var{length}"/>
36787 @end smallexample
36788
36789
36790 @item
36791 A region of flash memory, with erasure blocks @var{blocksize}
36792 bytes in length:
36793
36794 @smallexample
36795 <memory type="flash" start="@var{addr}" length="@var{length}">
36796 <property name="blocksize">@var{blocksize}</property>
36797 </memory>
36798 @end smallexample
36799
36800 @end itemize
36801
36802 Regions must not overlap. @value{GDBN} assumes that areas of memory not covered
36803 by the memory map are RAM, and uses the ordinary @samp{M} and @samp{X}
36804 packets to write to addresses in such ranges.
36805
36806 The formal DTD for memory map format is given below:
36807
36808 @smallexample
36809 <!-- ................................................... -->
36810 <!-- Memory Map XML DTD ................................ -->
36811 <!-- File: memory-map.dtd .............................. -->
36812 <!-- .................................... .............. -->
36813 <!-- memory-map.dtd -->
36814 <!-- memory-map: Root element with versioning -->
36815 <!ELEMENT memory-map (memory | property)>
36816 <!ATTLIST memory-map version CDATA #FIXED "1.0.0">
36817 <!ELEMENT memory (property)>
36818 <!-- memory: Specifies a memory region,
36819 and its type, or device. -->
36820 <!ATTLIST memory type CDATA #REQUIRED
36821 start CDATA #REQUIRED
36822 length CDATA #REQUIRED
36823 device CDATA #IMPLIED>
36824 <!-- property: Generic attribute tag -->
36825 <!ELEMENT property (#PCDATA | property)*>
36826 <!ATTLIST property name CDATA #REQUIRED>
36827 @end smallexample
36828
36829 @node Thread List Format
36830 @section Thread List Format
36831 @cindex thread list format
36832
36833 To efficiently update the list of threads and their attributes,
36834 @value{GDBN} issues the @samp{qXfer:threads:read} packet
36835 (@pxref{qXfer threads read}) and obtains the XML document with
36836 the following structure:
36837
36838 @smallexample
36839 <?xml version="1.0"?>
36840 <threads>
36841 <thread id="id" core="0">
36842 ... description ...
36843 </thread>
36844 </threads>
36845 @end smallexample
36846
36847 Each @samp{thread} element must have the @samp{id} attribute that
36848 identifies the thread (@pxref{thread-id syntax}). The
36849 @samp{core} attribute, if present, specifies which processor core
36850 the thread was last executing on. The content of the of @samp{thread}
36851 element is interpreted as human-readable auxilliary information.
36852
36853 @node Traceframe Info Format
36854 @section Traceframe Info Format
36855 @cindex traceframe info format
36856
36857 To be able to know which objects in the inferior can be examined when
36858 inspecting a tracepoint hit, @value{GDBN} needs to obtain the list of
36859 memory ranges, registers and trace state variables that have been
36860 collected in a traceframe.
36861
36862 This list is obtained using the @samp{qXfer:traceframe-info:read}
36863 (@pxref{qXfer traceframe info read}) packet and is an XML document.
36864
36865 @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support XML
36866 traceframe info discovery. @xref{Expat}.
36867
36868 The top-level structure of the document is shown below:
36869
36870 @smallexample
36871 <?xml version="1.0"?>
36872 <!DOCTYPE traceframe-info
36873 PUBLIC "+//IDN gnu.org//DTD GDB Memory Map V1.0//EN"
36874 "http://sourceware.org/gdb/gdb-traceframe-info.dtd">
36875 <traceframe-info>
36876 block...
36877 </traceframe-info>
36878 @end smallexample
36879
36880 Each traceframe block can be either:
36881
36882 @itemize
36883
36884 @item
36885 A region of collected memory starting at @var{addr} and extending for
36886 @var{length} bytes from there:
36887
36888 @smallexample
36889 <memory start="@var{addr}" length="@var{length}"/>
36890 @end smallexample
36891
36892 @end itemize
36893
36894 The formal DTD for the traceframe info format is given below:
36895
36896 @smallexample
36897 <!ELEMENT traceframe-info (memory)* >
36898 <!ATTLIST traceframe-info version CDATA #FIXED "1.0">
36899
36900 <!ELEMENT memory EMPTY>
36901 <!ATTLIST memory start CDATA #REQUIRED
36902 length CDATA #REQUIRED>
36903 @end smallexample
36904
36905 @include agentexpr.texi
36906
36907 @node Target Descriptions
36908 @appendix Target Descriptions
36909 @cindex target descriptions
36910
36911 One of the challenges of using @value{GDBN} to debug embedded systems
36912 is that there are so many minor variants of each processor
36913 architecture in use. It is common practice for vendors to start with
36914 a standard processor core --- ARM, PowerPC, or MIPS, for example ---
36915 and then make changes to adapt it to a particular market niche. Some
36916 architectures have hundreds of variants, available from dozens of
36917 vendors. This leads to a number of problems:
36918
36919 @itemize @bullet
36920 @item
36921 With so many different customized processors, it is difficult for
36922 the @value{GDBN} maintainers to keep up with the changes.
36923 @item
36924 Since individual variants may have short lifetimes or limited
36925 audiences, it may not be worthwhile to carry information about every
36926 variant in the @value{GDBN} source tree.
36927 @item
36928 When @value{GDBN} does support the architecture of the embedded system
36929 at hand, the task of finding the correct architecture name to give the
36930 @command{set architecture} command can be error-prone.
36931 @end itemize
36932
36933 To address these problems, the @value{GDBN} remote protocol allows a
36934 target system to not only identify itself to @value{GDBN}, but to
36935 actually describe its own features. This lets @value{GDBN} support
36936 processor variants it has never seen before --- to the extent that the
36937 descriptions are accurate, and that @value{GDBN} understands them.
36938
36939 @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support XML
36940 target descriptions. @xref{Expat}.
36941
36942 @menu
36943 * Retrieving Descriptions:: How descriptions are fetched from a target.
36944 * Target Description Format:: The contents of a target description.
36945 * Predefined Target Types:: Standard types available for target
36946 descriptions.
36947 * Standard Target Features:: Features @value{GDBN} knows about.
36948 @end menu
36949
36950 @node Retrieving Descriptions
36951 @section Retrieving Descriptions
36952
36953 Target descriptions can be read from the target automatically, or
36954 specified by the user manually. The default behavior is to read the
36955 description from the target. @value{GDBN} retrieves it via the remote
36956 protocol using @samp{qXfer} requests (@pxref{General Query Packets,
36957 qXfer}). The @var{annex} in the @samp{qXfer} packet will be
36958 @samp{target.xml}. The contents of the @samp{target.xml} annex are an
36959 XML document, of the form described in @ref{Target Description
36960 Format}.
36961
36962 Alternatively, you can specify a file to read for the target description.
36963 If a file is set, the target will not be queried. The commands to
36964 specify a file are:
36965
36966 @table @code
36967 @cindex set tdesc filename
36968 @item set tdesc filename @var{path}
36969 Read the target description from @var{path}.
36970
36971 @cindex unset tdesc filename
36972 @item unset tdesc filename
36973 Do not read the XML target description from a file. @value{GDBN}
36974 will use the description supplied by the current target.
36975
36976 @cindex show tdesc filename
36977 @item show tdesc filename
36978 Show the filename to read for a target description, if any.
36979 @end table
36980
36981
36982 @node Target Description Format
36983 @section Target Description Format
36984 @cindex target descriptions, XML format
36985
36986 A target description annex is an @uref{http://www.w3.org/XML/, XML}
36987 document which complies with the Document Type Definition provided in
36988 the @value{GDBN} sources in @file{gdb/features/gdb-target.dtd}. This
36989 means you can use generally available tools like @command{xmllint} to
36990 check that your feature descriptions are well-formed and valid.
36991 However, to help people unfamiliar with XML write descriptions for
36992 their targets, we also describe the grammar here.
36993
36994 Target descriptions can identify the architecture of the remote target
36995 and (for some architectures) provide information about custom register
36996 sets. They can also identify the OS ABI of the remote target.
36997 @value{GDBN} can use this information to autoconfigure for your
36998 target, or to warn you if you connect to an unsupported target.
36999
37000 Here is a simple target description:
37001
37002 @smallexample
37003 <target version="1.0">
37004 <architecture>i386:x86-64</architecture>
37005 </target>
37006 @end smallexample
37007
37008 @noindent
37009 This minimal description only says that the target uses
37010 the x86-64 architecture.
37011
37012 A target description has the following overall form, with [ ] marking
37013 optional elements and @dots{} marking repeatable elements. The elements
37014 are explained further below.
37015
37016 @smallexample
37017 <?xml version="1.0"?>
37018 <!DOCTYPE target SYSTEM "gdb-target.dtd">
37019 <target version="1.0">
37020 @r{[}@var{architecture}@r{]}
37021 @r{[}@var{osabi}@r{]}
37022 @r{[}@var{compatible}@r{]}
37023 @r{[}@var{feature}@dots{}@r{]}
37024 </target>
37025 @end smallexample
37026
37027 @noindent
37028 The description is generally insensitive to whitespace and line
37029 breaks, under the usual common-sense rules. The XML version
37030 declaration and document type declaration can generally be omitted
37031 (@value{GDBN} does not require them), but specifying them may be
37032 useful for XML validation tools. The @samp{version} attribute for
37033 @samp{<target>} may also be omitted, but we recommend
37034 including it; if future versions of @value{GDBN} use an incompatible
37035 revision of @file{gdb-target.dtd}, they will detect and report
37036 the version mismatch.
37037
37038 @subsection Inclusion
37039 @cindex target descriptions, inclusion
37040 @cindex XInclude
37041 @ifnotinfo
37042 @cindex <xi:include>
37043 @end ifnotinfo
37044
37045 It can sometimes be valuable to split a target description up into
37046 several different annexes, either for organizational purposes, or to
37047 share files between different possible target descriptions. You can
37048 divide a description into multiple files by replacing any element of
37049 the target description with an inclusion directive of the form:
37050
37051 @smallexample
37052 <xi:include href="@var{document}"/>
37053 @end smallexample
37054
37055 @noindent
37056 When @value{GDBN} encounters an element of this form, it will retrieve
37057 the named XML @var{document}, and replace the inclusion directive with
37058 the contents of that document. If the current description was read
37059 using @samp{qXfer}, then so will be the included document;
37060 @var{document} will be interpreted as the name of an annex. If the
37061 current description was read from a file, @value{GDBN} will look for
37062 @var{document} as a file in the same directory where it found the
37063 original description.
37064
37065 @subsection Architecture
37066 @cindex <architecture>
37067
37068 An @samp{<architecture>} element has this form:
37069
37070 @smallexample
37071 <architecture>@var{arch}</architecture>
37072 @end smallexample
37073
37074 @var{arch} is one of the architectures from the set accepted by
37075 @code{set architecture} (@pxref{Targets, ,Specifying a Debugging Target}).
37076
37077 @subsection OS ABI
37078 @cindex @code{<osabi>}
37079
37080 This optional field was introduced in @value{GDBN} version 7.0.
37081 Previous versions of @value{GDBN} ignore it.
37082
37083 An @samp{<osabi>} element has this form:
37084
37085 @smallexample
37086 <osabi>@var{abi-name}</osabi>
37087 @end smallexample
37088
37089 @var{abi-name} is an OS ABI name from the same selection accepted by
37090 @w{@code{set osabi}} (@pxref{ABI, ,Configuring the Current ABI}).
37091
37092 @subsection Compatible Architecture
37093 @cindex @code{<compatible>}
37094
37095 This optional field was introduced in @value{GDBN} version 7.0.
37096 Previous versions of @value{GDBN} ignore it.
37097
37098 A @samp{<compatible>} element has this form:
37099
37100 @smallexample
37101 <compatible>@var{arch}</compatible>
37102 @end smallexample
37103
37104 @var{arch} is one of the architectures from the set accepted by
37105 @code{set architecture} (@pxref{Targets, ,Specifying a Debugging Target}).
37106
37107 A @samp{<compatible>} element is used to specify that the target
37108 is able to run binaries in some other than the main target architecture
37109 given by the @samp{<architecture>} element. For example, on the
37110 Cell Broadband Engine, the main architecture is @code{powerpc:common}
37111 or @code{powerpc:common64}, but the system is able to run binaries
37112 in the @code{spu} architecture as well. The way to describe this
37113 capability with @samp{<compatible>} is as follows:
37114
37115 @smallexample
37116 <architecture>powerpc:common</architecture>
37117 <compatible>spu</compatible>
37118 @end smallexample
37119
37120 @subsection Features
37121 @cindex <feature>
37122
37123 Each @samp{<feature>} describes some logical portion of the target
37124 system. Features are currently used to describe available CPU
37125 registers and the types of their contents. A @samp{<feature>} element
37126 has this form:
37127
37128 @smallexample
37129 <feature name="@var{name}">
37130 @r{[}@var{type}@dots{}@r{]}
37131 @var{reg}@dots{}
37132 </feature>
37133 @end smallexample
37134
37135 @noindent
37136 Each feature's name should be unique within the description. The name
37137 of a feature does not matter unless @value{GDBN} has some special
37138 knowledge of the contents of that feature; if it does, the feature
37139 should have its standard name. @xref{Standard Target Features}.
37140
37141 @subsection Types
37142
37143 Any register's value is a collection of bits which @value{GDBN} must
37144 interpret. The default interpretation is a two's complement integer,
37145 but other types can be requested by name in the register description.
37146 Some predefined types are provided by @value{GDBN} (@pxref{Predefined
37147 Target Types}), and the description can define additional composite types.
37148
37149 Each type element must have an @samp{id} attribute, which gives
37150 a unique (within the containing @samp{<feature>}) name to the type.
37151 Types must be defined before they are used.
37152
37153 @cindex <vector>
37154 Some targets offer vector registers, which can be treated as arrays
37155 of scalar elements. These types are written as @samp{<vector>} elements,
37156 specifying the array element type, @var{type}, and the number of elements,
37157 @var{count}:
37158
37159 @smallexample
37160 <vector id="@var{id}" type="@var{type}" count="@var{count}"/>
37161 @end smallexample
37162
37163 @cindex <union>
37164 If a register's value is usefully viewed in multiple ways, define it
37165 with a union type containing the useful representations. The
37166 @samp{<union>} element contains one or more @samp{<field>} elements,
37167 each of which has a @var{name} and a @var{type}:
37168
37169 @smallexample
37170 <union id="@var{id}">
37171 <field name="@var{name}" type="@var{type}"/>
37172 @dots{}
37173 </union>
37174 @end smallexample
37175
37176 @cindex <struct>
37177 If a register's value is composed from several separate values, define
37178 it with a structure type. There are two forms of the @samp{<struct>}
37179 element; a @samp{<struct>} element must either contain only bitfields
37180 or contain no bitfields. If the structure contains only bitfields,
37181 its total size in bytes must be specified, each bitfield must have an
37182 explicit start and end, and bitfields are automatically assigned an
37183 integer type. The field's @var{start} should be less than or
37184 equal to its @var{end}, and zero represents the least significant bit.
37185
37186 @smallexample
37187 <struct id="@var{id}" size="@var{size}">
37188 <field name="@var{name}" start="@var{start}" end="@var{end}"/>
37189 @dots{}
37190 </struct>
37191 @end smallexample
37192
37193 If the structure contains no bitfields, then each field has an
37194 explicit type, and no implicit padding is added.
37195
37196 @smallexample
37197 <struct id="@var{id}">
37198 <field name="@var{name}" type="@var{type}"/>
37199 @dots{}
37200 </struct>
37201 @end smallexample
37202
37203 @cindex <flags>
37204 If a register's value is a series of single-bit flags, define it with
37205 a flags type. The @samp{<flags>} element has an explicit @var{size}
37206 and contains one or more @samp{<field>} elements. Each field has a
37207 @var{name}, a @var{start}, and an @var{end}. Only single-bit flags
37208 are supported.
37209
37210 @smallexample
37211 <flags id="@var{id}" size="@var{size}">
37212 <field name="@var{name}" start="@var{start}" end="@var{end}"/>
37213 @dots{}
37214 </flags>
37215 @end smallexample
37216
37217 @subsection Registers
37218 @cindex <reg>
37219
37220 Each register is represented as an element with this form:
37221
37222 @smallexample
37223 <reg name="@var{name}"
37224 bitsize="@var{size}"
37225 @r{[}regnum="@var{num}"@r{]}
37226 @r{[}save-restore="@var{save-restore}"@r{]}
37227 @r{[}type="@var{type}"@r{]}
37228 @r{[}group="@var{group}"@r{]}/>
37229 @end smallexample
37230
37231 @noindent
37232 The components are as follows:
37233
37234 @table @var
37235
37236 @item name
37237 The register's name; it must be unique within the target description.
37238
37239 @item bitsize
37240 The register's size, in bits.
37241
37242 @item regnum
37243 The register's number. If omitted, a register's number is one greater
37244 than that of the previous register (either in the current feature or in
37245 a preceding feature); the first register in the target description
37246 defaults to zero. This register number is used to read or write
37247 the register; e.g.@: it is used in the remote @code{p} and @code{P}
37248 packets, and registers appear in the @code{g} and @code{G} packets
37249 in order of increasing register number.
37250
37251 @item save-restore
37252 Whether the register should be preserved across inferior function
37253 calls; this must be either @code{yes} or @code{no}. The default is
37254 @code{yes}, which is appropriate for most registers except for
37255 some system control registers; this is not related to the target's
37256 ABI.
37257
37258 @item type
37259 The type of the register. @var{type} may be a predefined type, a type
37260 defined in the current feature, or one of the special types @code{int}
37261 and @code{float}. @code{int} is an integer type of the correct size
37262 for @var{bitsize}, and @code{float} is a floating point type (in the
37263 architecture's normal floating point format) of the correct size for
37264 @var{bitsize}. The default is @code{int}.
37265
37266 @item group
37267 The register group to which this register belongs. @var{group} must
37268 be either @code{general}, @code{float}, or @code{vector}. If no
37269 @var{group} is specified, @value{GDBN} will not display the register
37270 in @code{info registers}.
37271
37272 @end table
37273
37274 @node Predefined Target Types
37275 @section Predefined Target Types
37276 @cindex target descriptions, predefined types
37277
37278 Type definitions in the self-description can build up composite types
37279 from basic building blocks, but can not define fundamental types. Instead,
37280 standard identifiers are provided by @value{GDBN} for the fundamental
37281 types. The currently supported types are:
37282
37283 @table @code
37284
37285 @item int8
37286 @itemx int16
37287 @itemx int32
37288 @itemx int64
37289 @itemx int128
37290 Signed integer types holding the specified number of bits.
37291
37292 @item uint8
37293 @itemx uint16
37294 @itemx uint32
37295 @itemx uint64
37296 @itemx uint128
37297 Unsigned integer types holding the specified number of bits.
37298
37299 @item code_ptr
37300 @itemx data_ptr
37301 Pointers to unspecified code and data. The program counter and
37302 any dedicated return address register may be marked as code
37303 pointers; printing a code pointer converts it into a symbolic
37304 address. The stack pointer and any dedicated address registers
37305 may be marked as data pointers.
37306
37307 @item ieee_single
37308 Single precision IEEE floating point.
37309
37310 @item ieee_double
37311 Double precision IEEE floating point.
37312
37313 @item arm_fpa_ext
37314 The 12-byte extended precision format used by ARM FPA registers.
37315
37316 @item i387_ext
37317 The 10-byte extended precision format used by x87 registers.
37318
37319 @item i386_eflags
37320 32bit @sc{eflags} register used by x86.
37321
37322 @item i386_mxcsr
37323 32bit @sc{mxcsr} register used by x86.
37324
37325 @end table
37326
37327 @node Standard Target Features
37328 @section Standard Target Features
37329 @cindex target descriptions, standard features
37330
37331 A target description must contain either no registers or all the
37332 target's registers. If the description contains no registers, then
37333 @value{GDBN} will assume a default register layout, selected based on
37334 the architecture. If the description contains any registers, the
37335 default layout will not be used; the standard registers must be
37336 described in the target description, in such a way that @value{GDBN}
37337 can recognize them.
37338
37339 This is accomplished by giving specific names to feature elements
37340 which contain standard registers. @value{GDBN} will look for features
37341 with those names and verify that they contain the expected registers;
37342 if any known feature is missing required registers, or if any required
37343 feature is missing, @value{GDBN} will reject the target
37344 description. You can add additional registers to any of the
37345 standard features --- @value{GDBN} will display them just as if
37346 they were added to an unrecognized feature.
37347
37348 This section lists the known features and their expected contents.
37349 Sample XML documents for these features are included in the
37350 @value{GDBN} source tree, in the directory @file{gdb/features}.
37351
37352 Names recognized by @value{GDBN} should include the name of the
37353 company or organization which selected the name, and the overall
37354 architecture to which the feature applies; so e.g.@: the feature
37355 containing ARM core registers is named @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.core}.
37356
37357 The names of registers are not case sensitive for the purpose
37358 of recognizing standard features, but @value{GDBN} will only display
37359 registers using the capitalization used in the description.
37360
37361 @menu
37362 * ARM Features::
37363 * i386 Features::
37364 * MIPS Features::
37365 * M68K Features::
37366 * PowerPC Features::
37367 * TIC6x Features::
37368 @end menu
37369
37370
37371 @node ARM Features
37372 @subsection ARM Features
37373 @cindex target descriptions, ARM features
37374
37375 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.core} feature is required for non-M-profile
37376 ARM targets.
37377 It should contain registers @samp{r0} through @samp{r13}, @samp{sp},
37378 @samp{lr}, @samp{pc}, and @samp{cpsr}.
37379
37380 For M-profile targets (e.g. Cortex-M3), the @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.core}
37381 feature is replaced by @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.m-profile}. It should contain
37382 registers @samp{r0} through @samp{r13}, @samp{sp}, @samp{lr}, @samp{pc},
37383 and @samp{xpsr}.
37384
37385 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.fpa} feature is optional. If present, it
37386 should contain registers @samp{f0} through @samp{f7} and @samp{fps}.
37387
37388 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.xscale.iwmmxt} feature is optional. If present,
37389 it should contain at least registers @samp{wR0} through @samp{wR15} and
37390 @samp{wCGR0} through @samp{wCGR3}. The @samp{wCID}, @samp{wCon},
37391 @samp{wCSSF}, and @samp{wCASF} registers are optional.
37392
37393 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.vfp} feature is optional. If present, it
37394 should contain at least registers @samp{d0} through @samp{d15}. If
37395 they are present, @samp{d16} through @samp{d31} should also be included.
37396 @value{GDBN} will synthesize the single-precision registers from
37397 halves of the double-precision registers.
37398
37399 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.neon} feature is optional. It does not
37400 need to contain registers; it instructs @value{GDBN} to display the
37401 VFP double-precision registers as vectors and to synthesize the
37402 quad-precision registers from pairs of double-precision registers.
37403 If this feature is present, @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.vfp} must also
37404 be present and include 32 double-precision registers.
37405
37406 @node i386 Features
37407 @subsection i386 Features
37408 @cindex target descriptions, i386 features
37409
37410 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.core} feature is required for i386/amd64
37411 targets. It should describe the following registers:
37412
37413 @itemize @minus
37414 @item
37415 @samp{eax} through @samp{edi} plus @samp{eip} for i386
37416 @item
37417 @samp{rax} through @samp{r15} plus @samp{rip} for amd64
37418 @item
37419 @samp{eflags}, @samp{cs}, @samp{ss}, @samp{ds}, @samp{es},
37420 @samp{fs}, @samp{gs}
37421 @item
37422 @samp{st0} through @samp{st7}
37423 @item
37424 @samp{fctrl}, @samp{fstat}, @samp{ftag}, @samp{fiseg}, @samp{fioff},
37425 @samp{foseg}, @samp{fooff} and @samp{fop}
37426 @end itemize
37427
37428 The register sets may be different, depending on the target.
37429
37430 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.sse} feature is optional. It should
37431 describe registers:
37432
37433 @itemize @minus
37434 @item
37435 @samp{xmm0} through @samp{xmm7} for i386
37436 @item
37437 @samp{xmm0} through @samp{xmm15} for amd64
37438 @item
37439 @samp{mxcsr}
37440 @end itemize
37441
37442 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.avx} feature is optional and requires the
37443 @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.sse} feature. It should
37444 describe the upper 128 bits of @sc{ymm} registers:
37445
37446 @itemize @minus
37447 @item
37448 @samp{ymm0h} through @samp{ymm7h} for i386
37449 @item
37450 @samp{ymm0h} through @samp{ymm15h} for amd64
37451 @end itemize
37452
37453 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.linux} feature is optional. It should
37454 describe a single register, @samp{orig_eax}.
37455
37456 @node MIPS Features
37457 @subsection MIPS Features
37458 @cindex target descriptions, MIPS features
37459
37460 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.mips.cpu} feature is required for MIPS targets.
37461 It should contain registers @samp{r0} through @samp{r31}, @samp{lo},
37462 @samp{hi}, and @samp{pc}. They may be 32-bit or 64-bit depending
37463 on the target.
37464
37465 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.mips.cp0} feature is also required. It should
37466 contain at least the @samp{status}, @samp{badvaddr}, and @samp{cause}
37467 registers. They may be 32-bit or 64-bit depending on the target.
37468
37469 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.mips.fpu} feature is currently required, though
37470 it may be optional in a future version of @value{GDBN}. It should
37471 contain registers @samp{f0} through @samp{f31}, @samp{fcsr}, and
37472 @samp{fir}. They may be 32-bit or 64-bit depending on the target.
37473
37474 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.mips.linux} feature is optional. It should
37475 contain a single register, @samp{restart}, which is used by the
37476 Linux kernel to control restartable syscalls.
37477
37478 @node M68K Features
37479 @subsection M68K Features
37480 @cindex target descriptions, M68K features
37481
37482 @table @code
37483 @item @samp{org.gnu.gdb.m68k.core}
37484 @itemx @samp{org.gnu.gdb.coldfire.core}
37485 @itemx @samp{org.gnu.gdb.fido.core}
37486 One of those features must be always present.
37487 The feature that is present determines which flavor of m68k is
37488 used. The feature that is present should contain registers
37489 @samp{d0} through @samp{d7}, @samp{a0} through @samp{a5}, @samp{fp},
37490 @samp{sp}, @samp{ps} and @samp{pc}.
37491
37492 @item @samp{org.gnu.gdb.coldfire.fp}
37493 This feature is optional. If present, it should contain registers
37494 @samp{fp0} through @samp{fp7}, @samp{fpcontrol}, @samp{fpstatus} and
37495 @samp{fpiaddr}.
37496 @end table
37497
37498 @node PowerPC Features
37499 @subsection PowerPC Features
37500 @cindex target descriptions, PowerPC features
37501
37502 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.core} feature is required for PowerPC
37503 targets. It should contain registers @samp{r0} through @samp{r31},
37504 @samp{pc}, @samp{msr}, @samp{cr}, @samp{lr}, @samp{ctr}, and
37505 @samp{xer}. They may be 32-bit or 64-bit depending on the target.
37506
37507 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.fpu} feature is optional. It should
37508 contain registers @samp{f0} through @samp{f31} and @samp{fpscr}.
37509
37510 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.altivec} feature is optional. It should
37511 contain registers @samp{vr0} through @samp{vr31}, @samp{vscr},
37512 and @samp{vrsave}.
37513
37514 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.vsx} feature is optional. It should
37515 contain registers @samp{vs0h} through @samp{vs31h}. @value{GDBN}
37516 will combine these registers with the floating point registers
37517 (@samp{f0} through @samp{f31}) and the altivec registers (@samp{vr0}
37518 through @samp{vr31}) to present the 128-bit wide registers @samp{vs0}
37519 through @samp{vs63}, the set of vector registers for POWER7.
37520
37521 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.spe} feature is optional. It should
37522 contain registers @samp{ev0h} through @samp{ev31h}, @samp{acc}, and
37523 @samp{spefscr}. SPE targets should provide 32-bit registers in
37524 @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.core} and provide the upper halves in
37525 @samp{ev0h} through @samp{ev31h}. @value{GDBN} will combine
37526 these to present registers @samp{ev0} through @samp{ev31} to the
37527 user.
37528
37529 @node TIC6x Features
37530 @subsection TMS320C6x Features
37531 @cindex target descriptions, TIC6x features
37532 @cindex target descriptions, TMS320C6x features
37533 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.tic6x.core} feature is required for TMS320C6x
37534 targets. It should contain registers @samp{A0} through @samp{A15},
37535 registers @samp{B0} through @samp{B15}, @samp{CSR} and @samp{PC}.
37536
37537 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.tic6x.gp} feature is optional. It should
37538 contain registers @samp{A16} through @samp{A31} and @samp{B16}
37539 through @samp{B31}.
37540
37541 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.tic6x.c6xp} feature is optional. It should
37542 contain registers @samp{TSR}, @samp{ILC} and @samp{RILC}.
37543
37544 @node Operating System Information
37545 @appendix Operating System Information
37546 @cindex operating system information
37547
37548 @menu
37549 * Process list::
37550 @end menu
37551
37552 Users of @value{GDBN} often wish to obtain information about the state of
37553 the operating system running on the target---for example the list of
37554 processes, or the list of open files. This section describes the
37555 mechanism that makes it possible. This mechanism is similar to the
37556 target features mechanism (@pxref{Target Descriptions}), but focuses
37557 on a different aspect of target.
37558
37559 Operating system information is retrived from the target via the
37560 remote protocol, using @samp{qXfer} requests (@pxref{qXfer osdata
37561 read}). The object name in the request should be @samp{osdata}, and
37562 the @var{annex} identifies the data to be fetched.
37563
37564 @node Process list
37565 @appendixsection Process list
37566 @cindex operating system information, process list
37567
37568 When requesting the process list, the @var{annex} field in the
37569 @samp{qXfer} request should be @samp{processes}. The returned data is
37570 an XML document. The formal syntax of this document is defined in
37571 @file{gdb/features/osdata.dtd}.
37572
37573 An example document is:
37574
37575 @smallexample
37576 <?xml version="1.0"?>
37577 <!DOCTYPE target SYSTEM "osdata.dtd">
37578 <osdata type="processes">
37579 <item>
37580 <column name="pid">1</column>
37581 <column name="user">root</column>
37582 <column name="command">/sbin/init</column>
37583 <column name="cores">1,2,3</column>
37584 </item>
37585 </osdata>
37586 @end smallexample
37587
37588 Each item should include a column whose name is @samp{pid}. The value
37589 of that column should identify the process on the target. The
37590 @samp{user} and @samp{command} columns are optional, and will be
37591 displayed by @value{GDBN}. The @samp{cores} column, if present,
37592 should contain a comma-separated list of cores that this process
37593 is running on. Target may provide additional columns,
37594 which @value{GDBN} currently ignores.
37595
37596 @node Trace File Format
37597 @appendix Trace File Format
37598 @cindex trace file format
37599
37600 The trace file comes in three parts: a header, a textual description
37601 section, and a trace frame section with binary data.
37602
37603 The header has the form @code{\x7fTRACE0\n}. The first byte is
37604 @code{0x7f} so as to indicate that the file contains binary data,
37605 while the @code{0} is a version number that may have different values
37606 in the future.
37607
37608 The description section consists of multiple lines of @sc{ascii} text
37609 separated by newline characters (@code{0xa}). The lines may include a
37610 variety of optional descriptive or context-setting information, such
37611 as tracepoint definitions or register set size. @value{GDBN} will
37612 ignore any line that it does not recognize. An empty line marks the end
37613 of this section.
37614
37615 @c FIXME add some specific types of data
37616
37617 The trace frame section consists of a number of consecutive frames.
37618 Each frame begins with a two-byte tracepoint number, followed by a
37619 four-byte size giving the amount of data in the frame. The data in
37620 the frame consists of a number of blocks, each introduced by a
37621 character indicating its type (at least register, memory, and trace
37622 state variable). The data in this section is raw binary, not a
37623 hexadecimal or other encoding; its endianness matches the target's
37624 endianness.
37625
37626 @c FIXME bi-arch may require endianness/arch info in description section
37627
37628 @table @code
37629 @item R @var{bytes}
37630 Register block. The number and ordering of bytes matches that of a
37631 @code{g} packet in the remote protocol. Note that these are the
37632 actual bytes, in target order and @value{GDBN} register order, not a
37633 hexadecimal encoding.
37634
37635 @item M @var{address} @var{length} @var{bytes}...
37636 Memory block. This is a contiguous block of memory, at the 8-byte
37637 address @var{address}, with a 2-byte length @var{length}, followed by
37638 @var{length} bytes.
37639
37640 @item V @var{number} @var{value}
37641 Trace state variable block. This records the 8-byte signed value
37642 @var{value} of trace state variable numbered @var{number}.
37643
37644 @end table
37645
37646 Future enhancements of the trace file format may include additional types
37647 of blocks.
37648
37649 @node Index Section Format
37650 @appendix @code{.gdb_index} section format
37651 @cindex .gdb_index section format
37652 @cindex index section format
37653
37654 This section documents the index section that is created by @code{save
37655 gdb-index} (@pxref{Index Files}). The index section is
37656 DWARF-specific; some knowledge of DWARF is assumed in this
37657 description.
37658
37659 The mapped index file format is designed to be directly
37660 @code{mmap}able on any architecture. In most cases, a datum is
37661 represented using a little-endian 32-bit integer value, called an
37662 @code{offset_type}. Big endian machines must byte-swap the values
37663 before using them. Exceptions to this rule are noted. The data is
37664 laid out such that alignment is always respected.
37665
37666 A mapped index consists of several areas, laid out in order.
37667
37668 @enumerate
37669 @item
37670 The file header. This is a sequence of values, of @code{offset_type}
37671 unless otherwise noted:
37672
37673 @enumerate
37674 @item
37675 The version number, currently 5. Versions 1, 2 and 3 are obsolete.
37676 Version 4 differs by its hashing function.
37677
37678 @item
37679 The offset, from the start of the file, of the CU list.
37680
37681 @item
37682 The offset, from the start of the file, of the types CU list. Note
37683 that this area can be empty, in which case this offset will be equal
37684 to the next offset.
37685
37686 @item
37687 The offset, from the start of the file, of the address area.
37688
37689 @item
37690 The offset, from the start of the file, of the symbol table.
37691
37692 @item
37693 The offset, from the start of the file, of the constant pool.
37694 @end enumerate
37695
37696 @item
37697 The CU list. This is a sequence of pairs of 64-bit little-endian
37698 values, sorted by the CU offset. The first element in each pair is
37699 the offset of a CU in the @code{.debug_info} section. The second
37700 element in each pair is the length of that CU. References to a CU
37701 elsewhere in the map are done using a CU index, which is just the
37702 0-based index into this table. Note that if there are type CUs, then
37703 conceptually CUs and type CUs form a single list for the purposes of
37704 CU indices.
37705
37706 @item
37707 The types CU list. This is a sequence of triplets of 64-bit
37708 little-endian values. In a triplet, the first value is the CU offset,
37709 the second value is the type offset in the CU, and the third value is
37710 the type signature. The types CU list is not sorted.
37711
37712 @item
37713 The address area. The address area consists of a sequence of address
37714 entries. Each address entry has three elements:
37715
37716 @enumerate
37717 @item
37718 The low address. This is a 64-bit little-endian value.
37719
37720 @item
37721 The high address. This is a 64-bit little-endian value. Like
37722 @code{DW_AT_high_pc}, the value is one byte beyond the end.
37723
37724 @item
37725 The CU index. This is an @code{offset_type} value.
37726 @end enumerate
37727
37728 @item
37729 The symbol table. This is an open-addressed hash table. The size of
37730 the hash table is always a power of 2.
37731
37732 Each slot in the hash table consists of a pair of @code{offset_type}
37733 values. The first value is the offset of the symbol's name in the
37734 constant pool. The second value is the offset of the CU vector in the
37735 constant pool.
37736
37737 If both values are 0, then this slot in the hash table is empty. This
37738 is ok because while 0 is a valid constant pool index, it cannot be a
37739 valid index for both a string and a CU vector.
37740
37741 The hash value for a table entry is computed by applying an
37742 iterative hash function to the symbol's name. Starting with an
37743 initial value of @code{r = 0}, each (unsigned) character @samp{c} in
37744 the string is incorporated into the hash using the formula depending on the
37745 index version:
37746
37747 @table @asis
37748 @item Version 4
37749 The formula is @code{r = r * 67 + c - 113}.
37750
37751 @item Version 5
37752 The formula is @code{r = r * 67 + tolower (c) - 113}.
37753 @end table
37754
37755 The terminating @samp{\0} is not incorporated into the hash.
37756
37757 The step size used in the hash table is computed via
37758 @code{((hash * 17) & (size - 1)) | 1}, where @samp{hash} is the hash
37759 value, and @samp{size} is the size of the hash table. The step size
37760 is used to find the next candidate slot when handling a hash
37761 collision.
37762
37763 The names of C@t{++} symbols in the hash table are canonicalized. We
37764 don't currently have a simple description of the canonicalization
37765 algorithm; if you intend to create new index sections, you must read
37766 the code.
37767
37768 @item
37769 The constant pool. This is simply a bunch of bytes. It is organized
37770 so that alignment is correct: CU vectors are stored first, followed by
37771 strings.
37772
37773 A CU vector in the constant pool is a sequence of @code{offset_type}
37774 values. The first value is the number of CU indices in the vector.
37775 Each subsequent value is the index of a CU in the CU list. This
37776 element in the hash table is used to indicate which CUs define the
37777 symbol.
37778
37779 A string in the constant pool is zero-terminated.
37780 @end enumerate
37781
37782 @include gpl.texi
37783
37784 @node GNU Free Documentation License
37785 @appendix GNU Free Documentation License
37786 @include fdl.texi
37787
37788 @node Index
37789 @unnumbered Index
37790
37791 @printindex cp
37792
37793 @tex
37794 % I think something like @colophon should be in texinfo. In the
37795 % meantime:
37796 \long\def\colophon{\hbox to0pt{}\vfill
37797 \centerline{The body of this manual is set in}
37798 \centerline{\fontname\tenrm,}
37799 \centerline{with headings in {\bf\fontname\tenbf}}
37800 \centerline{and examples in {\tt\fontname\tentt}.}
37801 \centerline{{\it\fontname\tenit\/},}
37802 \centerline{{\bf\fontname\tenbf}, and}
37803 \centerline{{\sl\fontname\tensl\/}}
37804 \centerline{are used for emphasis.}\vfill}
37805 \page\colophon
37806 % Blame: doc@cygnus.com, 1991.
37807 @end tex
37808
37809 @bye
This page took 0.933708 seconds and 4 git commands to generate.