gdb/doc/
[deliverable/binutils-gdb.git] / gdb / doc / gdb.texinfo
1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
2 @c Copyright (C) 1988-2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
3 @c
4 @c %**start of header
5 @c makeinfo ignores cmds prev to setfilename, so its arg cannot make use
6 @c of @set vars. However, you can override filename with makeinfo -o.
7 @setfilename gdb.info
8 @c
9 @c man begin INCLUDE
10 @include gdb-cfg.texi
11 @c man end
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 @c To avoid file-name clashes between index.html and Index.html, when
24 @c the manual is produced on a Posix host and then moved to a
25 @c case-insensitive filesystem (e.g., MS-Windows), we separate the
26 @c indices into two: Concept Index and all the rest.
27 @syncodeindex ky fn
28 @syncodeindex tp fn
29
30 @c readline appendices use @vindex, @findex and @ftable,
31 @c annotate.texi and gdbmi use @findex.
32 @syncodeindex vr fn
33
34 @c !!set GDB manual's edition---not the same as GDB version!
35 @c This is updated by GNU Press.
36 @set EDITION Tenth
37
38 @c !!set GDB edit command default editor
39 @set EDITOR /bin/ex
40
41 @c THIS MANUAL REQUIRES TEXINFO 4.0 OR LATER.
42
43 @c This is a dir.info fragment to support semi-automated addition of
44 @c manuals to an info tree.
45 @dircategory Software development
46 @direntry
47 * Gdb: (gdb). The GNU debugger.
48 @end direntry
49
50 @copying
51 @c man begin COPYRIGHT
52 Copyright @copyright{} 1988-2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
53
54 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
55 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
56 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
57 Invariant Sections being ``Free Software'' and ``Free Software Needs
58 Free Documentation'', with the Front-Cover Texts being ``A GNU Manual,''
59 and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below.
60
61 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You are free to copy and modify
62 this GNU Manual. Buying copies from GNU Press supports the FSF in
63 developing GNU and promoting software freedom.''
64 @c man end
65 @end copying
66
67 @ifnottex
68 This file documents the @sc{gnu} debugger @value{GDBN}.
69
70 This is the @value{EDITION} Edition, of @cite{Debugging with
71 @value{GDBN}: the @sc{gnu} Source-Level Debugger} for @value{GDBN}
72 @ifset VERSION_PACKAGE
73 @value{VERSION_PACKAGE}
74 @end ifset
75 Version @value{GDBVN}.
76
77 @insertcopying
78 @end ifnottex
79
80 @titlepage
81 @title Debugging with @value{GDBN}
82 @subtitle The @sc{gnu} Source-Level Debugger
83 @sp 1
84 @subtitle @value{EDITION} Edition, for @value{GDBN} version @value{GDBVN}
85 @ifset VERSION_PACKAGE
86 @sp 1
87 @subtitle @value{VERSION_PACKAGE}
88 @end ifset
89 @author Richard Stallman, Roland Pesch, Stan Shebs, et al.
90 @page
91 @tex
92 {\parskip=0pt
93 \hfill (Send bugs and comments on @value{GDBN} to @value{BUGURL}.)\par
94 \hfill {\it Debugging with @value{GDBN}}\par
95 \hfill \TeX{}info \texinfoversion\par
96 }
97 @end tex
98
99 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
100 Published by the Free Software Foundation @*
101 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
102 Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA@*
103 ISBN 978-0-9831592-3-0 @*
104
105 @insertcopying
106 @end titlepage
107 @page
108
109 @ifnottex
110 @node Top, Summary, (dir), (dir)
111
112 @top Debugging with @value{GDBN}
113
114 This file describes @value{GDBN}, the @sc{gnu} symbolic debugger.
115
116 This is the @value{EDITION} Edition, for @value{GDBN}
117 @ifset VERSION_PACKAGE
118 @value{VERSION_PACKAGE}
119 @end ifset
120 Version @value{GDBVN}.
121
122 Copyright (C) 1988-2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
123
124 This edition of the GDB manual is dedicated to the memory of Fred
125 Fish. Fred was a long-standing contributor to GDB and to Free
126 software in general. We will miss him.
127
128 @menu
129 * Summary:: Summary of @value{GDBN}
130 * Sample Session:: A sample @value{GDBN} session
131
132 * Invocation:: Getting in and out of @value{GDBN}
133 * Commands:: @value{GDBN} commands
134 * Running:: Running programs under @value{GDBN}
135 * Stopping:: Stopping and continuing
136 * Reverse Execution:: Running programs backward
137 * Process Record and Replay:: Recording inferior's execution and replaying it
138 * Stack:: Examining the stack
139 * Source:: Examining source files
140 * Data:: Examining data
141 * Optimized Code:: Debugging optimized code
142 * Macros:: Preprocessor Macros
143 * Tracepoints:: Debugging remote targets non-intrusively
144 * Overlays:: Debugging programs that use overlays
145
146 * Languages:: Using @value{GDBN} with different languages
147
148 * Symbols:: Examining the symbol table
149 * Altering:: Altering execution
150 * GDB Files:: @value{GDBN} files
151 * Targets:: Specifying a debugging target
152 * Remote Debugging:: Debugging remote programs
153 * Configurations:: Configuration-specific information
154 * Controlling GDB:: Controlling @value{GDBN}
155 * Extending GDB:: Extending @value{GDBN}
156 * Interpreters:: Command Interpreters
157 * TUI:: @value{GDBN} Text User Interface
158 * Emacs:: Using @value{GDBN} under @sc{gnu} Emacs
159 * GDB/MI:: @value{GDBN}'s Machine Interface.
160 * Annotations:: @value{GDBN}'s annotation interface.
161 * JIT Interface:: Using the JIT debugging interface.
162 * In-Process Agent:: In-Process Agent
163
164 * GDB Bugs:: Reporting bugs in @value{GDBN}
165
166 @ifset SYSTEM_READLINE
167 * Command Line Editing: (rluserman). Command Line Editing
168 * Using History Interactively: (history). Using History Interactively
169 @end ifset
170 @ifclear SYSTEM_READLINE
171 * Command Line Editing:: Command Line Editing
172 * Using History Interactively:: Using History Interactively
173 @end ifclear
174 * In Memoriam:: In Memoriam
175 * Formatting Documentation:: How to format and print @value{GDBN} documentation
176 * Installing GDB:: Installing GDB
177 * Maintenance Commands:: Maintenance Commands
178 * Remote Protocol:: GDB Remote Serial Protocol
179 * Agent Expressions:: The GDB Agent Expression Mechanism
180 * Target Descriptions:: How targets can describe themselves to
181 @value{GDBN}
182 * Operating System Information:: Getting additional information from
183 the operating system
184 * Trace File Format:: GDB trace file format
185 * Index Section Format:: .gdb_index section format
186 * Man Pages:: Manual pages
187 * Copying:: GNU General Public License says
188 how you can copy and share GDB
189 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation
190 * Concept Index:: Index of @value{GDBN} concepts
191 * Command and Variable Index:: Index of @value{GDBN} commands, variables,
192 functions, and Python data types
193 @end menu
194
195 @end ifnottex
196
197 @contents
198
199 @node Summary
200 @unnumbered Summary of @value{GDBN}
201
202 The purpose of a debugger such as @value{GDBN} is to allow you to see what is
203 going on ``inside'' another program while it executes---or what another
204 program was doing at the moment it crashed.
205
206 @value{GDBN} can do four main kinds of things (plus other things in support of
207 these) to help you catch bugs in the act:
208
209 @itemize @bullet
210 @item
211 Start your program, specifying anything that might affect its behavior.
212
213 @item
214 Make your program stop on specified conditions.
215
216 @item
217 Examine what has happened, when your program has stopped.
218
219 @item
220 Change things in your program, so you can experiment with correcting the
221 effects of one bug and go on to learn about another.
222 @end itemize
223
224 You can use @value{GDBN} to debug programs written in C and C@t{++}.
225 For more information, see @ref{Supported Languages,,Supported Languages}.
226 For more information, see @ref{C,,C and C++}.
227
228 Support for D is partial. For information on D, see
229 @ref{D,,D}.
230
231 @cindex Modula-2
232 Support for Modula-2 is partial. For information on Modula-2, see
233 @ref{Modula-2,,Modula-2}.
234
235 Support for OpenCL C is partial. For information on OpenCL C, see
236 @ref{OpenCL C,,OpenCL C}.
237
238 @cindex Pascal
239 Debugging Pascal programs which use sets, subranges, file variables, or
240 nested functions does not currently work. @value{GDBN} does not support
241 entering expressions, printing values, or similar features using Pascal
242 syntax.
243
244 @cindex Fortran
245 @value{GDBN} can be used to debug programs written in Fortran, although
246 it may be necessary to refer to some variables with a trailing
247 underscore.
248
249 @value{GDBN} can be used to debug programs written in Objective-C,
250 using either the Apple/NeXT or the GNU Objective-C runtime.
251
252 @menu
253 * Free Software:: Freely redistributable software
254 * Free Documentation:: Free Software Needs Free Documentation
255 * Contributors:: Contributors to GDB
256 @end menu
257
258 @node Free Software
259 @unnumberedsec Free Software
260
261 @value{GDBN} is @dfn{free software}, protected by the @sc{gnu}
262 General Public License
263 (GPL). The GPL gives you the freedom to copy or adapt a licensed
264 program---but every person getting a copy also gets with it the
265 freedom to modify that copy (which means that they must get access to
266 the source code), and the freedom to distribute further copies.
267 Typical software companies use copyrights to limit your freedoms; the
268 Free Software Foundation uses the GPL to preserve these freedoms.
269
270 Fundamentally, the General Public License is a license which says that
271 you have these freedoms and that you cannot take these freedoms away
272 from anyone else.
273
274 @node Free Documentation
275 @unnumberedsec Free Software Needs Free Documentation
276
277 The biggest deficiency in the free software community today is not in
278 the software---it is the lack of good free documentation that we can
279 include with the free software. Many of our most important
280 programs do not come with free reference manuals and free introductory
281 texts. Documentation is an essential part of any software package;
282 when an important free software package does not come with a free
283 manual and a free tutorial, that is a major gap. We have many such
284 gaps today.
285
286 Consider Perl, for instance. The tutorial manuals that people
287 normally use are non-free. How did this come about? Because the
288 authors of those manuals published them with restrictive terms---no
289 copying, no modification, source files not available---which exclude
290 them from the free software world.
291
292 That wasn't the first time this sort of thing happened, and it was far
293 from the last. Many times we have heard a GNU user eagerly describe a
294 manual that he is writing, his intended contribution to the community,
295 only to learn that he had ruined everything by signing a publication
296 contract to make it non-free.
297
298 Free documentation, like free software, is a matter of freedom, not
299 price. The problem with the non-free manual is not that publishers
300 charge a price for printed copies---that in itself is fine. (The Free
301 Software Foundation sells printed copies of manuals, too.) The
302 problem is the restrictions on the use of the manual. Free manuals
303 are available in source code form, and give you permission to copy and
304 modify. Non-free manuals do not allow this.
305
306 The criteria of freedom for a free manual are roughly the same as for
307 free software. Redistribution (including the normal kinds of
308 commercial redistribution) must be permitted, so that the manual can
309 accompany every copy of the program, both on-line and on paper.
310
311 Permission for modification of the technical content is crucial too.
312 When people modify the software, adding or changing features, if they
313 are conscientious they will change the manual too---so they can
314 provide accurate and clear documentation for the modified program. A
315 manual that leaves you no choice but to write a new manual to document
316 a changed version of the program is not really available to our
317 community.
318
319 Some kinds of limits on the way modification is handled are
320 acceptable. For example, requirements to preserve the original
321 author's copyright notice, the distribution terms, or the list of
322 authors, are ok. It is also no problem to require modified versions
323 to include notice that they were modified. Even entire sections that
324 may not be deleted or changed are acceptable, as long as they deal
325 with nontechnical topics (like this one). These kinds of restrictions
326 are acceptable because they don't obstruct the community's normal use
327 of the manual.
328
329 However, it must be possible to modify all the @emph{technical}
330 content of the manual, and then distribute the result in all the usual
331 media, through all the usual channels. Otherwise, the restrictions
332 obstruct the use of the manual, it is not free, and we need another
333 manual to replace it.
334
335 Please spread the word about this issue. Our community continues to
336 lose manuals to proprietary publishing. If we spread the word that
337 free software needs free reference manuals and free tutorials, perhaps
338 the next person who wants to contribute by writing documentation will
339 realize, before it is too late, that only free manuals contribute to
340 the free software community.
341
342 If you are writing documentation, please insist on publishing it under
343 the GNU Free Documentation License or another free documentation
344 license. Remember that this decision requires your approval---you
345 don't have to let the publisher decide. Some commercial publishers
346 will use a free license if you insist, but they will not propose the
347 option; it is up to you to raise the issue and say firmly that this is
348 what you want. If the publisher you are dealing with refuses, please
349 try other publishers. If you're not sure whether a proposed license
350 is free, write to @email{licensing@@gnu.org}.
351
352 You can encourage commercial publishers to sell more free, copylefted
353 manuals and tutorials by buying them, and particularly by buying
354 copies from the publishers that paid for their writing or for major
355 improvements. Meanwhile, try to avoid buying non-free documentation
356 at all. Check the distribution terms of a manual before you buy it,
357 and insist that whoever seeks your business must respect your freedom.
358 Check the history of the book, and try to reward the publishers that
359 have paid or pay the authors to work on it.
360
361 The Free Software Foundation maintains a list of free documentation
362 published by other publishers, at
363 @url{http://www.fsf.org/doc/other-free-books.html}.
364
365 @node Contributors
366 @unnumberedsec Contributors to @value{GDBN}
367
368 Richard Stallman was the original author of @value{GDBN}, and of many
369 other @sc{gnu} programs. Many others have contributed to its
370 development. This section attempts to credit major contributors. One
371 of the virtues of free software is that everyone is free to contribute
372 to it; with regret, we cannot actually acknowledge everyone here. The
373 file @file{ChangeLog} in the @value{GDBN} distribution approximates a
374 blow-by-blow account.
375
376 Changes much prior to version 2.0 are lost in the mists of time.
377
378 @quotation
379 @emph{Plea:} Additions to this section are particularly welcome. If you
380 or your friends (or enemies, to be evenhanded) have been unfairly
381 omitted from this list, we would like to add your names!
382 @end quotation
383
384 So that they may not regard their many labors as thankless, we
385 particularly thank those who shepherded @value{GDBN} through major
386 releases:
387 Andrew Cagney (releases 6.3, 6.2, 6.1, 6.0, 5.3, 5.2, 5.1 and 5.0);
388 Jim Blandy (release 4.18);
389 Jason Molenda (release 4.17);
390 Stan Shebs (release 4.14);
391 Fred Fish (releases 4.16, 4.15, 4.13, 4.12, 4.11, 4.10, and 4.9);
392 Stu Grossman and John Gilmore (releases 4.8, 4.7, 4.6, 4.5, and 4.4);
393 John Gilmore (releases 4.3, 4.2, 4.1, 4.0, and 3.9);
394 Jim Kingdon (releases 3.5, 3.4, and 3.3);
395 and Randy Smith (releases 3.2, 3.1, and 3.0).
396
397 Richard Stallman, assisted at various times by Peter TerMaat, Chris
398 Hanson, and Richard Mlynarik, handled releases through 2.8.
399
400 Michael Tiemann is the author of most of the @sc{gnu} C@t{++} support
401 in @value{GDBN}, with significant additional contributions from Per
402 Bothner and Daniel Berlin. James Clark wrote the @sc{gnu} C@t{++}
403 demangler. Early work on C@t{++} was by Peter TerMaat (who also did
404 much general update work leading to release 3.0).
405
406 @value{GDBN} uses the BFD subroutine library to examine multiple
407 object-file formats; BFD was a joint project of David V.
408 Henkel-Wallace, Rich Pixley, Steve Chamberlain, and John Gilmore.
409
410 David Johnson wrote the original COFF support; Pace Willison did
411 the original support for encapsulated COFF.
412
413 Brent Benson of Harris Computer Systems contributed DWARF 2 support.
414
415 Adam de Boor and Bradley Davis contributed the ISI Optimum V support.
416 Per Bothner, Noboyuki Hikichi, and Alessandro Forin contributed MIPS
417 support.
418 Jean-Daniel Fekete contributed Sun 386i support.
419 Chris Hanson improved the HP9000 support.
420 Noboyuki Hikichi and Tomoyuki Hasei contributed Sony/News OS 3 support.
421 David Johnson contributed Encore Umax support.
422 Jyrki Kuoppala contributed Altos 3068 support.
423 Jeff Law contributed HP PA and SOM support.
424 Keith Packard contributed NS32K support.
425 Doug Rabson contributed Acorn Risc Machine support.
426 Bob Rusk contributed Harris Nighthawk CX-UX support.
427 Chris Smith contributed Convex support (and Fortran debugging).
428 Jonathan Stone contributed Pyramid support.
429 Michael Tiemann contributed SPARC support.
430 Tim Tucker contributed support for the Gould NP1 and Gould Powernode.
431 Pace Willison contributed Intel 386 support.
432 Jay Vosburgh contributed Symmetry support.
433 Marko Mlinar contributed OpenRISC 1000 support.
434
435 Andreas Schwab contributed M68K @sc{gnu}/Linux support.
436
437 Rich Schaefer and Peter Schauer helped with support of SunOS shared
438 libraries.
439
440 Jay Fenlason and Roland McGrath ensured that @value{GDBN} and GAS agree
441 about several machine instruction sets.
442
443 Patrick Duval, Ted Goldstein, Vikram Koka and Glenn Engel helped develop
444 remote debugging. Intel Corporation, Wind River Systems, AMD, and ARM
445 contributed remote debugging modules for the i960, VxWorks, A29K UDI,
446 and RDI targets, respectively.
447
448 Brian Fox is the author of the readline libraries providing
449 command-line editing and command history.
450
451 Andrew Beers of SUNY Buffalo wrote the language-switching code, the
452 Modula-2 support, and contributed the Languages chapter of this manual.
453
454 Fred Fish wrote most of the support for Unix System Vr4.
455 He also enhanced the command-completion support to cover C@t{++} overloaded
456 symbols.
457
458 Hitachi America (now Renesas America), Ltd. sponsored the support for
459 H8/300, H8/500, and Super-H processors.
460
461 NEC sponsored the support for the v850, Vr4xxx, and Vr5xxx processors.
462
463 Mitsubishi (now Renesas) sponsored the support for D10V, D30V, and M32R/D
464 processors.
465
466 Toshiba sponsored the support for the TX39 Mips processor.
467
468 Matsushita sponsored the support for the MN10200 and MN10300 processors.
469
470 Fujitsu sponsored the support for SPARClite and FR30 processors.
471
472 Kung Hsu, Jeff Law, and Rick Sladkey added support for hardware
473 watchpoints.
474
475 Michael Snyder added support for tracepoints.
476
477 Stu Grossman wrote gdbserver.
478
479 Jim Kingdon, Peter Schauer, Ian Taylor, and Stu Grossman made
480 nearly innumerable bug fixes and cleanups throughout @value{GDBN}.
481
482 The following people at the Hewlett-Packard Company contributed
483 support for the PA-RISC 2.0 architecture, HP-UX 10.20, 10.30, and 11.0
484 (narrow mode), HP's implementation of kernel threads, HP's aC@t{++}
485 compiler, and the Text User Interface (nee Terminal User Interface):
486 Ben Krepp, Richard Title, John Bishop, Susan Macchia, Kathy Mann,
487 Satish Pai, India Paul, Steve Rehrauer, and Elena Zannoni. Kim Haase
488 provided HP-specific information in this manual.
489
490 DJ Delorie ported @value{GDBN} to MS-DOS, for the DJGPP project.
491 Robert Hoehne made significant contributions to the DJGPP port.
492
493 Cygnus Solutions has sponsored @value{GDBN} maintenance and much of its
494 development since 1991. Cygnus engineers who have worked on @value{GDBN}
495 fulltime include Mark Alexander, Jim Blandy, Per Bothner, Kevin
496 Buettner, Edith Epstein, Chris Faylor, Fred Fish, Martin Hunt, Jim
497 Ingham, John Gilmore, Stu Grossman, Kung Hsu, Jim Kingdon, John Metzler,
498 Fernando Nasser, Geoffrey Noer, Dawn Perchik, Rich Pixley, Zdenek
499 Radouch, Keith Seitz, Stan Shebs, David Taylor, and Elena Zannoni. In
500 addition, Dave Brolley, Ian Carmichael, Steve Chamberlain, Nick Clifton,
501 JT Conklin, Stan Cox, DJ Delorie, Ulrich Drepper, Frank Eigler, Doug
502 Evans, Sean Fagan, David Henkel-Wallace, Richard Henderson, Jeff
503 Holcomb, Jeff Law, Jim Lemke, Tom Lord, Bob Manson, Michael Meissner,
504 Jason Merrill, Catherine Moore, Drew Moseley, Ken Raeburn, Gavin
505 Romig-Koch, Rob Savoye, Jamie Smith, Mike Stump, Ian Taylor, Angela
506 Thomas, Michael Tiemann, Tom Tromey, Ron Unrau, Jim Wilson, and David
507 Zuhn have made contributions both large and small.
508
509 Andrew Cagney, Fernando Nasser, and Elena Zannoni, while working for
510 Cygnus Solutions, implemented the original @sc{gdb/mi} interface.
511
512 Jim Blandy added support for preprocessor macros, while working for Red
513 Hat.
514
515 Andrew Cagney designed @value{GDBN}'s architecture vector. Many
516 people including Andrew Cagney, Stephane Carrez, Randolph Chung, Nick
517 Duffek, Richard Henderson, Mark Kettenis, Grace Sainsbury, Kei
518 Sakamoto, Yoshinori Sato, Michael Snyder, Andreas Schwab, Jason
519 Thorpe, Corinna Vinschen, Ulrich Weigand, and Elena Zannoni, helped
520 with the migration of old architectures to this new framework.
521
522 Andrew Cagney completely re-designed and re-implemented @value{GDBN}'s
523 unwinder framework, this consisting of a fresh new design featuring
524 frame IDs, independent frame sniffers, and the sentinel frame. Mark
525 Kettenis implemented the @sc{dwarf 2} unwinder, Jeff Johnston the
526 libunwind unwinder, and Andrew Cagney the dummy, sentinel, tramp, and
527 trad unwinders. The architecture-specific changes, each involving a
528 complete rewrite of the architecture's frame code, were carried out by
529 Jim Blandy, Joel Brobecker, Kevin Buettner, Andrew Cagney, Stephane
530 Carrez, Randolph Chung, Orjan Friberg, Richard Henderson, Daniel
531 Jacobowitz, Jeff Johnston, Mark Kettenis, Theodore A. Roth, Kei
532 Sakamoto, Yoshinori Sato, Michael Snyder, Corinna Vinschen, and Ulrich
533 Weigand.
534
535 Christian Zankel, Ross Morley, Bob Wilson, and Maxim Grigoriev from
536 Tensilica, Inc.@: contributed support for Xtensa processors. Others
537 who have worked on the Xtensa port of @value{GDBN} in the past include
538 Steve Tjiang, John Newlin, and Scott Foehner.
539
540 Michael Eager and staff of Xilinx, Inc., contributed support for the
541 Xilinx MicroBlaze architecture.
542
543 @node Sample Session
544 @chapter A Sample @value{GDBN} Session
545
546 You can use this manual at your leisure to read all about @value{GDBN}.
547 However, a handful of commands are enough to get started using the
548 debugger. This chapter illustrates those commands.
549
550 @iftex
551 In this sample session, we emphasize user input like this: @b{input},
552 to make it easier to pick out from the surrounding output.
553 @end iftex
554
555 @c FIXME: this example may not be appropriate for some configs, where
556 @c FIXME...primary interest is in remote use.
557
558 One of the preliminary versions of @sc{gnu} @code{m4} (a generic macro
559 processor) exhibits the following bug: sometimes, when we change its
560 quote strings from the default, the commands used to capture one macro
561 definition within another stop working. In the following short @code{m4}
562 session, we define a macro @code{foo} which expands to @code{0000}; we
563 then use the @code{m4} built-in @code{defn} to define @code{bar} as the
564 same thing. However, when we change the open quote string to
565 @code{<QUOTE>} and the close quote string to @code{<UNQUOTE>}, the same
566 procedure fails to define a new synonym @code{baz}:
567
568 @smallexample
569 $ @b{cd gnu/m4}
570 $ @b{./m4}
571 @b{define(foo,0000)}
572
573 @b{foo}
574 0000
575 @b{define(bar,defn(`foo'))}
576
577 @b{bar}
578 0000
579 @b{changequote(<QUOTE>,<UNQUOTE>)}
580
581 @b{define(baz,defn(<QUOTE>foo<UNQUOTE>))}
582 @b{baz}
583 @b{Ctrl-d}
584 m4: End of input: 0: fatal error: EOF in string
585 @end smallexample
586
587 @noindent
588 Let us use @value{GDBN} to try to see what is going on.
589
590 @smallexample
591 $ @b{@value{GDBP} m4}
592 @c FIXME: this falsifies the exact text played out, to permit smallbook
593 @c FIXME... format to come out better.
594 @value{GDBN} is free software and you are welcome to distribute copies
595 of it under certain conditions; type "show copying" to see
596 the conditions.
597 There is absolutely no warranty for @value{GDBN}; type "show warranty"
598 for details.
599
600 @value{GDBN} @value{GDBVN}, Copyright 1999 Free Software Foundation, Inc...
601 (@value{GDBP})
602 @end smallexample
603
604 @noindent
605 @value{GDBN} reads only enough symbol data to know where to find the
606 rest when needed; as a result, the first prompt comes up very quickly.
607 We now tell @value{GDBN} to use a narrower display width than usual, so
608 that examples fit in this manual.
609
610 @smallexample
611 (@value{GDBP}) @b{set width 70}
612 @end smallexample
613
614 @noindent
615 We need to see how the @code{m4} built-in @code{changequote} works.
616 Having looked at the source, we know the relevant subroutine is
617 @code{m4_changequote}, so we set a breakpoint there with the @value{GDBN}
618 @code{break} command.
619
620 @smallexample
621 (@value{GDBP}) @b{break m4_changequote}
622 Breakpoint 1 at 0x62f4: file builtin.c, line 879.
623 @end smallexample
624
625 @noindent
626 Using the @code{run} command, we start @code{m4} running under @value{GDBN}
627 control; as long as control does not reach the @code{m4_changequote}
628 subroutine, the program runs as usual:
629
630 @smallexample
631 (@value{GDBP}) @b{run}
632 Starting program: /work/Editorial/gdb/gnu/m4/m4
633 @b{define(foo,0000)}
634
635 @b{foo}
636 0000
637 @end smallexample
638
639 @noindent
640 To trigger the breakpoint, we call @code{changequote}. @value{GDBN}
641 suspends execution of @code{m4}, displaying information about the
642 context where it stops.
643
644 @smallexample
645 @b{changequote(<QUOTE>,<UNQUOTE>)}
646
647 Breakpoint 1, m4_changequote (argc=3, argv=0x33c70)
648 at builtin.c:879
649 879 if (bad_argc(TOKEN_DATA_TEXT(argv[0]),argc,1,3))
650 @end smallexample
651
652 @noindent
653 Now we use the command @code{n} (@code{next}) to advance execution to
654 the next line of the current function.
655
656 @smallexample
657 (@value{GDBP}) @b{n}
658 882 set_quotes((argc >= 2) ? TOKEN_DATA_TEXT(argv[1])\
659 : nil,
660 @end smallexample
661
662 @noindent
663 @code{set_quotes} looks like a promising subroutine. We can go into it
664 by using the command @code{s} (@code{step}) instead of @code{next}.
665 @code{step} goes to the next line to be executed in @emph{any}
666 subroutine, so it steps into @code{set_quotes}.
667
668 @smallexample
669 (@value{GDBP}) @b{s}
670 set_quotes (lq=0x34c78 "<QUOTE>", rq=0x34c88 "<UNQUOTE>")
671 at input.c:530
672 530 if (lquote != def_lquote)
673 @end smallexample
674
675 @noindent
676 The display that shows the subroutine where @code{m4} is now
677 suspended (and its arguments) is called a stack frame display. It
678 shows a summary of the stack. We can use the @code{backtrace}
679 command (which can also be spelled @code{bt}), to see where we are
680 in the stack as a whole: the @code{backtrace} command displays a
681 stack frame for each active subroutine.
682
683 @smallexample
684 (@value{GDBP}) @b{bt}
685 #0 set_quotes (lq=0x34c78 "<QUOTE>", rq=0x34c88 "<UNQUOTE>")
686 at input.c:530
687 #1 0x6344 in m4_changequote (argc=3, argv=0x33c70)
688 at builtin.c:882
689 #2 0x8174 in expand_macro (sym=0x33320) at macro.c:242
690 #3 0x7a88 in expand_token (obs=0x0, t=209696, td=0xf7fffa30)
691 at macro.c:71
692 #4 0x79dc in expand_input () at macro.c:40
693 #5 0x2930 in main (argc=0, argv=0xf7fffb20) at m4.c:195
694 @end smallexample
695
696 @noindent
697 We step through a few more lines to see what happens. The first two
698 times, we can use @samp{s}; the next two times we use @code{n} to avoid
699 falling into the @code{xstrdup} subroutine.
700
701 @smallexample
702 (@value{GDBP}) @b{s}
703 0x3b5c 532 if (rquote != def_rquote)
704 (@value{GDBP}) @b{s}
705 0x3b80 535 lquote = (lq == nil || *lq == '\0') ? \
706 def_lquote : xstrdup(lq);
707 (@value{GDBP}) @b{n}
708 536 rquote = (rq == nil || *rq == '\0') ? def_rquote\
709 : xstrdup(rq);
710 (@value{GDBP}) @b{n}
711 538 len_lquote = strlen(rquote);
712 @end smallexample
713
714 @noindent
715 The last line displayed looks a little odd; we can examine the variables
716 @code{lquote} and @code{rquote} to see if they are in fact the new left
717 and right quotes we specified. We use the command @code{p}
718 (@code{print}) to see their values.
719
720 @smallexample
721 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p lquote}
722 $1 = 0x35d40 "<QUOTE>"
723 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p rquote}
724 $2 = 0x35d50 "<UNQUOTE>"
725 @end smallexample
726
727 @noindent
728 @code{lquote} and @code{rquote} are indeed the new left and right quotes.
729 To look at some context, we can display ten lines of source
730 surrounding the current line with the @code{l} (@code{list}) command.
731
732 @smallexample
733 (@value{GDBP}) @b{l}
734 533 xfree(rquote);
735 534
736 535 lquote = (lq == nil || *lq == '\0') ? def_lquote\
737 : xstrdup (lq);
738 536 rquote = (rq == nil || *rq == '\0') ? def_rquote\
739 : xstrdup (rq);
740 537
741 538 len_lquote = strlen(rquote);
742 539 len_rquote = strlen(lquote);
743 540 @}
744 541
745 542 void
746 @end smallexample
747
748 @noindent
749 Let us step past the two lines that set @code{len_lquote} and
750 @code{len_rquote}, and then examine the values of those variables.
751
752 @smallexample
753 (@value{GDBP}) @b{n}
754 539 len_rquote = strlen(lquote);
755 (@value{GDBP}) @b{n}
756 540 @}
757 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p len_lquote}
758 $3 = 9
759 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p len_rquote}
760 $4 = 7
761 @end smallexample
762
763 @noindent
764 That certainly looks wrong, assuming @code{len_lquote} and
765 @code{len_rquote} are meant to be the lengths of @code{lquote} and
766 @code{rquote} respectively. We can set them to better values using
767 the @code{p} command, since it can print the value of
768 any expression---and that expression can include subroutine calls and
769 assignments.
770
771 @smallexample
772 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p len_lquote=strlen(lquote)}
773 $5 = 7
774 (@value{GDBP}) @b{p len_rquote=strlen(rquote)}
775 $6 = 9
776 @end smallexample
777
778 @noindent
779 Is that enough to fix the problem of using the new quotes with the
780 @code{m4} built-in @code{defn}? We can allow @code{m4} to continue
781 executing with the @code{c} (@code{continue}) command, and then try the
782 example that caused trouble initially:
783
784 @smallexample
785 (@value{GDBP}) @b{c}
786 Continuing.
787
788 @b{define(baz,defn(<QUOTE>foo<UNQUOTE>))}
789
790 baz
791 0000
792 @end smallexample
793
794 @noindent
795 Success! The new quotes now work just as well as the default ones. The
796 problem seems to have been just the two typos defining the wrong
797 lengths. We allow @code{m4} exit by giving it an EOF as input:
798
799 @smallexample
800 @b{Ctrl-d}
801 Program exited normally.
802 @end smallexample
803
804 @noindent
805 The message @samp{Program exited normally.} is from @value{GDBN}; it
806 indicates @code{m4} has finished executing. We can end our @value{GDBN}
807 session with the @value{GDBN} @code{quit} command.
808
809 @smallexample
810 (@value{GDBP}) @b{quit}
811 @end smallexample
812
813 @node Invocation
814 @chapter Getting In and Out of @value{GDBN}
815
816 This chapter discusses how to start @value{GDBN}, and how to get out of it.
817 The essentials are:
818 @itemize @bullet
819 @item
820 type @samp{@value{GDBP}} to start @value{GDBN}.
821 @item
822 type @kbd{quit} or @kbd{Ctrl-d} to exit.
823 @end itemize
824
825 @menu
826 * Invoking GDB:: How to start @value{GDBN}
827 * Quitting GDB:: How to quit @value{GDBN}
828 * Shell Commands:: How to use shell commands inside @value{GDBN}
829 * Logging Output:: How to log @value{GDBN}'s output to a file
830 @end menu
831
832 @node Invoking GDB
833 @section Invoking @value{GDBN}
834
835 Invoke @value{GDBN} by running the program @code{@value{GDBP}}. Once started,
836 @value{GDBN} reads commands from the terminal until you tell it to exit.
837
838 You can also run @code{@value{GDBP}} with a variety of arguments and options,
839 to specify more of your debugging environment at the outset.
840
841 The command-line options described here are designed
842 to cover a variety of situations; in some environments, some of these
843 options may effectively be unavailable.
844
845 The most usual way to start @value{GDBN} is with one argument,
846 specifying an executable program:
847
848 @smallexample
849 @value{GDBP} @var{program}
850 @end smallexample
851
852 @noindent
853 You can also start with both an executable program and a core file
854 specified:
855
856 @smallexample
857 @value{GDBP} @var{program} @var{core}
858 @end smallexample
859
860 You can, instead, specify a process ID as a second argument, if you want
861 to debug a running process:
862
863 @smallexample
864 @value{GDBP} @var{program} 1234
865 @end smallexample
866
867 @noindent
868 would attach @value{GDBN} to process @code{1234} (unless you also have a file
869 named @file{1234}; @value{GDBN} does check for a core file first).
870
871 Taking advantage of the second command-line argument requires a fairly
872 complete operating system; when you use @value{GDBN} as a remote
873 debugger attached to a bare board, there may not be any notion of
874 ``process'', and there is often no way to get a core dump. @value{GDBN}
875 will warn you if it is unable to attach or to read core dumps.
876
877 You can optionally have @code{@value{GDBP}} pass any arguments after the
878 executable file to the inferior using @code{--args}. This option stops
879 option processing.
880 @smallexample
881 @value{GDBP} --args gcc -O2 -c foo.c
882 @end smallexample
883 This will cause @code{@value{GDBP}} to debug @code{gcc}, and to set
884 @code{gcc}'s command-line arguments (@pxref{Arguments}) to @samp{-O2 -c foo.c}.
885
886 You can run @code{@value{GDBP}} without printing the front material, which describes
887 @value{GDBN}'s non-warranty, by specifying @code{-silent}:
888
889 @smallexample
890 @value{GDBP} -silent
891 @end smallexample
892
893 @noindent
894 You can further control how @value{GDBN} starts up by using command-line
895 options. @value{GDBN} itself can remind you of the options available.
896
897 @noindent
898 Type
899
900 @smallexample
901 @value{GDBP} -help
902 @end smallexample
903
904 @noindent
905 to display all available options and briefly describe their use
906 (@samp{@value{GDBP} -h} is a shorter equivalent).
907
908 All options and command line arguments you give are processed
909 in sequential order. The order makes a difference when the
910 @samp{-x} option is used.
911
912
913 @menu
914 * File Options:: Choosing files
915 * Mode Options:: Choosing modes
916 * Startup:: What @value{GDBN} does during startup
917 @end menu
918
919 @node File Options
920 @subsection Choosing Files
921
922 When @value{GDBN} starts, it reads any arguments other than options as
923 specifying an executable file and core file (or process ID). This is
924 the same as if the arguments were specified by the @samp{-se} and
925 @samp{-c} (or @samp{-p}) options respectively. (@value{GDBN} reads the
926 first argument that does not have an associated option flag as
927 equivalent to the @samp{-se} option followed by that argument; and the
928 second argument that does not have an associated option flag, if any, as
929 equivalent to the @samp{-c}/@samp{-p} option followed by that argument.)
930 If the second argument begins with a decimal digit, @value{GDBN} will
931 first attempt to attach to it as a process, and if that fails, attempt
932 to open it as a corefile. If you have a corefile whose name begins with
933 a digit, you can prevent @value{GDBN} from treating it as a pid by
934 prefixing it with @file{./}, e.g.@: @file{./12345}.
935
936 If @value{GDBN} has not been configured to included core file support,
937 such as for most embedded targets, then it will complain about a second
938 argument and ignore it.
939
940 Many options have both long and short forms; both are shown in the
941 following list. @value{GDBN} also recognizes the long forms if you truncate
942 them, so long as enough of the option is present to be unambiguous.
943 (If you prefer, you can flag option arguments with @samp{--} rather
944 than @samp{-}, though we illustrate the more usual convention.)
945
946 @c NOTE: the @cindex entries here use double dashes ON PURPOSE. This
947 @c way, both those who look for -foo and --foo in the index, will find
948 @c it.
949
950 @table @code
951 @item -symbols @var{file}
952 @itemx -s @var{file}
953 @cindex @code{--symbols}
954 @cindex @code{-s}
955 Read symbol table from file @var{file}.
956
957 @item -exec @var{file}
958 @itemx -e @var{file}
959 @cindex @code{--exec}
960 @cindex @code{-e}
961 Use file @var{file} as the executable file to execute when appropriate,
962 and for examining pure data in conjunction with a core dump.
963
964 @item -se @var{file}
965 @cindex @code{--se}
966 Read symbol table from file @var{file} and use it as the executable
967 file.
968
969 @item -core @var{file}
970 @itemx -c @var{file}
971 @cindex @code{--core}
972 @cindex @code{-c}
973 Use file @var{file} as a core dump to examine.
974
975 @item -pid @var{number}
976 @itemx -p @var{number}
977 @cindex @code{--pid}
978 @cindex @code{-p}
979 Connect to process ID @var{number}, as with the @code{attach} command.
980
981 @item -command @var{file}
982 @itemx -x @var{file}
983 @cindex @code{--command}
984 @cindex @code{-x}
985 Execute commands from file @var{file}. The contents of this file is
986 evaluated exactly as the @code{source} command would.
987 @xref{Command Files,, Command files}.
988
989 @item -eval-command @var{command}
990 @itemx -ex @var{command}
991 @cindex @code{--eval-command}
992 @cindex @code{-ex}
993 Execute a single @value{GDBN} command.
994
995 This option may be used multiple times to call multiple commands. It may
996 also be interleaved with @samp{-command} as required.
997
998 @smallexample
999 @value{GDBP} -ex 'target sim' -ex 'load' \
1000 -x setbreakpoints -ex 'run' a.out
1001 @end smallexample
1002
1003 @item -init-command @var{file}
1004 @itemx -ix @var{file}
1005 @cindex @code{--init-command}
1006 @cindex @code{-ix}
1007 Execute commands from file @var{file} before loading the inferior (but
1008 after loading gdbinit files).
1009 @xref{Startup}.
1010
1011 @item -init-eval-command @var{command}
1012 @itemx -iex @var{command}
1013 @cindex @code{--init-eval-command}
1014 @cindex @code{-iex}
1015 Execute a single @value{GDBN} command before loading the inferior (but
1016 after loading gdbinit files).
1017 @xref{Startup}.
1018
1019 @item -directory @var{directory}
1020 @itemx -d @var{directory}
1021 @cindex @code{--directory}
1022 @cindex @code{-d}
1023 Add @var{directory} to the path to search for source and script files.
1024
1025 @item -r
1026 @itemx -readnow
1027 @cindex @code{--readnow}
1028 @cindex @code{-r}
1029 Read each symbol file's entire symbol table immediately, rather than
1030 the default, which is to read it incrementally as it is needed.
1031 This makes startup slower, but makes future operations faster.
1032
1033 @end table
1034
1035 @node Mode Options
1036 @subsection Choosing Modes
1037
1038 You can run @value{GDBN} in various alternative modes---for example, in
1039 batch mode or quiet mode.
1040
1041 @table @code
1042 @anchor{-nx}
1043 @item -nx
1044 @itemx -n
1045 @cindex @code{--nx}
1046 @cindex @code{-n}
1047 Do not execute commands found in any initialization file.
1048 There are three init files, loaded in the following order:
1049
1050 @table @code
1051 @item @file{system.gdbinit}
1052 This is the system-wide init file.
1053 Its location is specified with the @code{--with-system-gdbinit}
1054 configure option (@pxref{System-wide configuration}).
1055 It is loaded first when @value{GDBN} starts, before command line options
1056 have been processed.
1057 @item @file{~/.gdbinit}
1058 This is the init file in your home directory.
1059 It is loaded next, after @file{system.gdbinit}, and before
1060 command options have been processed.
1061 @item @file{./.gdbinit}
1062 This is the init file in the current directory.
1063 It is loaded last, after command line options other than @code{-x} and
1064 @code{-ex} have been processed. Command line options @code{-x} and
1065 @code{-ex} are processed last, after @file{./.gdbinit} has been loaded.
1066 @end table
1067
1068 For further documentation on startup processing, @xref{Startup}.
1069 For documentation on how to write command files,
1070 @xref{Command Files,,Command Files}.
1071
1072 @anchor{-nh}
1073 @item -nh
1074 @cindex @code{--nh}
1075 Do not execute commands found in @file{~/.gdbinit}, the init file
1076 in your home directory.
1077 @xref{Startup}.
1078
1079 @item -quiet
1080 @itemx -silent
1081 @itemx -q
1082 @cindex @code{--quiet}
1083 @cindex @code{--silent}
1084 @cindex @code{-q}
1085 ``Quiet''. Do not print the introductory and copyright messages. These
1086 messages are also suppressed in batch mode.
1087
1088 @item -batch
1089 @cindex @code{--batch}
1090 Run in batch mode. Exit with status @code{0} after processing all the
1091 command files specified with @samp{-x} (and all commands from
1092 initialization files, if not inhibited with @samp{-n}). Exit with
1093 nonzero status if an error occurs in executing the @value{GDBN} commands
1094 in the command files. Batch mode also disables pagination, sets unlimited
1095 terminal width and height @pxref{Screen Size}, and acts as if @kbd{set confirm
1096 off} were in effect (@pxref{Messages/Warnings}).
1097
1098 Batch mode may be useful for running @value{GDBN} as a filter, for
1099 example to download and run a program on another computer; in order to
1100 make this more useful, the message
1101
1102 @smallexample
1103 Program exited normally.
1104 @end smallexample
1105
1106 @noindent
1107 (which is ordinarily issued whenever a program running under
1108 @value{GDBN} control terminates) is not issued when running in batch
1109 mode.
1110
1111 @item -batch-silent
1112 @cindex @code{--batch-silent}
1113 Run in batch mode exactly like @samp{-batch}, but totally silently. All
1114 @value{GDBN} output to @code{stdout} is prevented (@code{stderr} is
1115 unaffected). This is much quieter than @samp{-silent} and would be useless
1116 for an interactive session.
1117
1118 This is particularly useful when using targets that give @samp{Loading section}
1119 messages, for example.
1120
1121 Note that targets that give their output via @value{GDBN}, as opposed to
1122 writing directly to @code{stdout}, will also be made silent.
1123
1124 @item -return-child-result
1125 @cindex @code{--return-child-result}
1126 The return code from @value{GDBN} will be the return code from the child
1127 process (the process being debugged), with the following exceptions:
1128
1129 @itemize @bullet
1130 @item
1131 @value{GDBN} exits abnormally. E.g., due to an incorrect argument or an
1132 internal error. In this case the exit code is the same as it would have been
1133 without @samp{-return-child-result}.
1134 @item
1135 The user quits with an explicit value. E.g., @samp{quit 1}.
1136 @item
1137 The child process never runs, or is not allowed to terminate, in which case
1138 the exit code will be -1.
1139 @end itemize
1140
1141 This option is useful in conjunction with @samp{-batch} or @samp{-batch-silent},
1142 when @value{GDBN} is being used as a remote program loader or simulator
1143 interface.
1144
1145 @item -nowindows
1146 @itemx -nw
1147 @cindex @code{--nowindows}
1148 @cindex @code{-nw}
1149 ``No windows''. If @value{GDBN} comes with a graphical user interface
1150 (GUI) built in, then this option tells @value{GDBN} to only use the command-line
1151 interface. If no GUI is available, this option has no effect.
1152
1153 @item -windows
1154 @itemx -w
1155 @cindex @code{--windows}
1156 @cindex @code{-w}
1157 If @value{GDBN} includes a GUI, then this option requires it to be
1158 used if possible.
1159
1160 @item -cd @var{directory}
1161 @cindex @code{--cd}
1162 Run @value{GDBN} using @var{directory} as its working directory,
1163 instead of the current directory.
1164
1165 @item -data-directory @var{directory}
1166 @cindex @code{--data-directory}
1167 Run @value{GDBN} using @var{directory} as its data directory.
1168 The data directory is where @value{GDBN} searches for its
1169 auxiliary files. @xref{Data Files}.
1170
1171 @item -fullname
1172 @itemx -f
1173 @cindex @code{--fullname}
1174 @cindex @code{-f}
1175 @sc{gnu} Emacs sets this option when it runs @value{GDBN} as a
1176 subprocess. It tells @value{GDBN} to output the full file name and line
1177 number in a standard, recognizable fashion each time a stack frame is
1178 displayed (which includes each time your program stops). This
1179 recognizable format looks like two @samp{\032} characters, followed by
1180 the file name, line number and character position separated by colons,
1181 and a newline. The Emacs-to-@value{GDBN} interface program uses the two
1182 @samp{\032} characters as a signal to display the source code for the
1183 frame.
1184
1185 @item -annotate @var{level}
1186 @cindex @code{--annotate}
1187 This option sets the @dfn{annotation level} inside @value{GDBN}. Its
1188 effect is identical to using @samp{set annotate @var{level}}
1189 (@pxref{Annotations}). The annotation @var{level} controls how much
1190 information @value{GDBN} prints together with its prompt, values of
1191 expressions, source lines, and other types of output. Level 0 is the
1192 normal, level 1 is for use when @value{GDBN} is run as a subprocess of
1193 @sc{gnu} Emacs, level 3 is the maximum annotation suitable for programs
1194 that control @value{GDBN}, and level 2 has been deprecated.
1195
1196 The annotation mechanism has largely been superseded by @sc{gdb/mi}
1197 (@pxref{GDB/MI}).
1198
1199 @item --args
1200 @cindex @code{--args}
1201 Change interpretation of command line so that arguments following the
1202 executable file are passed as command line arguments to the inferior.
1203 This option stops option processing.
1204
1205 @item -baud @var{bps}
1206 @itemx -b @var{bps}
1207 @cindex @code{--baud}
1208 @cindex @code{-b}
1209 Set the line speed (baud rate or bits per second) of any serial
1210 interface used by @value{GDBN} for remote debugging.
1211
1212 @item -l @var{timeout}
1213 @cindex @code{-l}
1214 Set the timeout (in seconds) of any communication used by @value{GDBN}
1215 for remote debugging.
1216
1217 @item -tty @var{device}
1218 @itemx -t @var{device}
1219 @cindex @code{--tty}
1220 @cindex @code{-t}
1221 Run using @var{device} for your program's standard input and output.
1222 @c FIXME: kingdon thinks there is more to -tty. Investigate.
1223
1224 @c resolve the situation of these eventually
1225 @item -tui
1226 @cindex @code{--tui}
1227 Activate the @dfn{Text User Interface} when starting. The Text User
1228 Interface manages several text windows on the terminal, showing
1229 source, assembly, registers and @value{GDBN} command outputs
1230 (@pxref{TUI, ,@value{GDBN} Text User Interface}). Do not use this
1231 option if you run @value{GDBN} from Emacs (@pxref{Emacs, ,
1232 Using @value{GDBN} under @sc{gnu} Emacs}).
1233
1234 @c @item -xdb
1235 @c @cindex @code{--xdb}
1236 @c Run in XDB compatibility mode, allowing the use of certain XDB commands.
1237 @c For information, see the file @file{xdb_trans.html}, which is usually
1238 @c installed in the directory @code{/opt/langtools/wdb/doc} on HP-UX
1239 @c systems.
1240
1241 @item -interpreter @var{interp}
1242 @cindex @code{--interpreter}
1243 Use the interpreter @var{interp} for interface with the controlling
1244 program or device. This option is meant to be set by programs which
1245 communicate with @value{GDBN} using it as a back end.
1246 @xref{Interpreters, , Command Interpreters}.
1247
1248 @samp{--interpreter=mi} (or @samp{--interpreter=mi2}) causes
1249 @value{GDBN} to use the @dfn{@sc{gdb/mi} interface} (@pxref{GDB/MI, ,
1250 The @sc{gdb/mi} Interface}) included since @value{GDBN} version 6.0. The
1251 previous @sc{gdb/mi} interface, included in @value{GDBN} version 5.3 and
1252 selected with @samp{--interpreter=mi1}, is deprecated. Earlier
1253 @sc{gdb/mi} interfaces are no longer supported.
1254
1255 @item -write
1256 @cindex @code{--write}
1257 Open the executable and core files for both reading and writing. This
1258 is equivalent to the @samp{set write on} command inside @value{GDBN}
1259 (@pxref{Patching}).
1260
1261 @item -statistics
1262 @cindex @code{--statistics}
1263 This option causes @value{GDBN} to print statistics about time and
1264 memory usage after it completes each command and returns to the prompt.
1265
1266 @item -version
1267 @cindex @code{--version}
1268 This option causes @value{GDBN} to print its version number and
1269 no-warranty blurb, and exit.
1270
1271 @end table
1272
1273 @node Startup
1274 @subsection What @value{GDBN} Does During Startup
1275 @cindex @value{GDBN} startup
1276
1277 Here's the description of what @value{GDBN} does during session startup:
1278
1279 @enumerate
1280 @item
1281 Sets up the command interpreter as specified by the command line
1282 (@pxref{Mode Options, interpreter}).
1283
1284 @item
1285 @cindex init file
1286 Reads the system-wide @dfn{init file} (if @option{--with-system-gdbinit} was
1287 used when building @value{GDBN}; @pxref{System-wide configuration,
1288 ,System-wide configuration and settings}) and executes all the commands in
1289 that file.
1290
1291 @anchor{Home Directory Init File}
1292 @item
1293 Reads the init file (if any) in your home directory@footnote{On
1294 DOS/Windows systems, the home directory is the one pointed to by the
1295 @code{HOME} environment variable.} and executes all the commands in
1296 that file.
1297
1298 @anchor{Option -init-eval-command}
1299 @item
1300 Executes commands and command files specified by the @samp{-iex} and
1301 @samp{-ix} options in their specified order. Usually you should use the
1302 @samp{-ex} and @samp{-x} options instead, but this way you can apply
1303 settings before @value{GDBN} init files get executed and before inferior
1304 gets loaded.
1305
1306 @item
1307 Processes command line options and operands.
1308
1309 @anchor{Init File in the Current Directory during Startup}
1310 @item
1311 Reads and executes the commands from init file (if any) in the current
1312 working directory as long as @samp{set auto-load local-gdbinit} is set to
1313 @samp{on} (@pxref{Init File in the Current Directory}).
1314 This is only done if the current directory is
1315 different from your home directory. Thus, you can have more than one
1316 init file, one generic in your home directory, and another, specific
1317 to the program you are debugging, in the directory where you invoke
1318 @value{GDBN}.
1319
1320 @item
1321 If the command line specified a program to debug, or a process to
1322 attach to, or a core file, @value{GDBN} loads any auto-loaded
1323 scripts provided for the program or for its loaded shared libraries.
1324 @xref{Auto-loading}.
1325
1326 If you wish to disable the auto-loading during startup,
1327 you must do something like the following:
1328
1329 @smallexample
1330 $ gdb -iex "set auto-load python-scripts off" myprogram
1331 @end smallexample
1332
1333 Option @samp{-ex} does not work because the auto-loading is then turned
1334 off too late.
1335
1336 @item
1337 Executes commands and command files specified by the @samp{-ex} and
1338 @samp{-x} options in their specified order. @xref{Command Files}, for
1339 more details about @value{GDBN} command files.
1340
1341 @item
1342 Reads the command history recorded in the @dfn{history file}.
1343 @xref{Command History}, for more details about the command history and the
1344 files where @value{GDBN} records it.
1345 @end enumerate
1346
1347 Init files use the same syntax as @dfn{command files} (@pxref{Command
1348 Files}) and are processed by @value{GDBN} in the same way. The init
1349 file in your home directory can set options (such as @samp{set
1350 complaints}) that affect subsequent processing of command line options
1351 and operands. Init files are not executed if you use the @samp{-nx}
1352 option (@pxref{Mode Options, ,Choosing Modes}).
1353
1354 To display the list of init files loaded by gdb at startup, you
1355 can use @kbd{gdb --help}.
1356
1357 @cindex init file name
1358 @cindex @file{.gdbinit}
1359 @cindex @file{gdb.ini}
1360 The @value{GDBN} init files are normally called @file{.gdbinit}.
1361 The DJGPP port of @value{GDBN} uses the name @file{gdb.ini}, due to
1362 the limitations of file names imposed by DOS filesystems. The Windows
1363 port of @value{GDBN} uses the standard name, but if it finds a
1364 @file{gdb.ini} file in your home directory, it warns you about that
1365 and suggests to rename the file to the standard name.
1366
1367
1368 @node Quitting GDB
1369 @section Quitting @value{GDBN}
1370 @cindex exiting @value{GDBN}
1371 @cindex leaving @value{GDBN}
1372
1373 @table @code
1374 @kindex quit @r{[}@var{expression}@r{]}
1375 @kindex q @r{(@code{quit})}
1376 @item quit @r{[}@var{expression}@r{]}
1377 @itemx q
1378 To exit @value{GDBN}, use the @code{quit} command (abbreviated
1379 @code{q}), or type an end-of-file character (usually @kbd{Ctrl-d}). If you
1380 do not supply @var{expression}, @value{GDBN} will terminate normally;
1381 otherwise it will terminate using the result of @var{expression} as the
1382 error code.
1383 @end table
1384
1385 @cindex interrupt
1386 An interrupt (often @kbd{Ctrl-c}) does not exit from @value{GDBN}, but rather
1387 terminates the action of any @value{GDBN} command that is in progress and
1388 returns to @value{GDBN} command level. It is safe to type the interrupt
1389 character at any time because @value{GDBN} does not allow it to take effect
1390 until a time when it is safe.
1391
1392 If you have been using @value{GDBN} to control an attached process or
1393 device, you can release it with the @code{detach} command
1394 (@pxref{Attach, ,Debugging an Already-running Process}).
1395
1396 @node Shell Commands
1397 @section Shell Commands
1398
1399 If you need to execute occasional shell commands during your
1400 debugging session, there is no need to leave or suspend @value{GDBN}; you can
1401 just use the @code{shell} command.
1402
1403 @table @code
1404 @kindex shell
1405 @kindex !
1406 @cindex shell escape
1407 @item shell @var{command-string}
1408 @itemx !@var{command-string}
1409 Invoke a standard shell to execute @var{command-string}.
1410 Note that no space is needed between @code{!} and @var{command-string}.
1411 If it exists, the environment variable @code{SHELL} determines which
1412 shell to run. Otherwise @value{GDBN} uses the default shell
1413 (@file{/bin/sh} on Unix systems, @file{COMMAND.COM} on MS-DOS, etc.).
1414 @end table
1415
1416 The utility @code{make} is often needed in development environments.
1417 You do not have to use the @code{shell} command for this purpose in
1418 @value{GDBN}:
1419
1420 @table @code
1421 @kindex make
1422 @cindex calling make
1423 @item make @var{make-args}
1424 Execute the @code{make} program with the specified
1425 arguments. This is equivalent to @samp{shell make @var{make-args}}.
1426 @end table
1427
1428 @node Logging Output
1429 @section Logging Output
1430 @cindex logging @value{GDBN} output
1431 @cindex save @value{GDBN} output to a file
1432
1433 You may want to save the output of @value{GDBN} commands to a file.
1434 There are several commands to control @value{GDBN}'s logging.
1435
1436 @table @code
1437 @kindex set logging
1438 @item set logging on
1439 Enable logging.
1440 @item set logging off
1441 Disable logging.
1442 @cindex logging file name
1443 @item set logging file @var{file}
1444 Change the name of the current logfile. The default logfile is @file{gdb.txt}.
1445 @item set logging overwrite [on|off]
1446 By default, @value{GDBN} will append to the logfile. Set @code{overwrite} if
1447 you want @code{set logging on} to overwrite the logfile instead.
1448 @item set logging redirect [on|off]
1449 By default, @value{GDBN} output will go to both the terminal and the logfile.
1450 Set @code{redirect} if you want output to go only to the log file.
1451 @kindex show logging
1452 @item show logging
1453 Show the current values of the logging settings.
1454 @end table
1455
1456 @node Commands
1457 @chapter @value{GDBN} Commands
1458
1459 You can abbreviate a @value{GDBN} command to the first few letters of the command
1460 name, if that abbreviation is unambiguous; and you can repeat certain
1461 @value{GDBN} commands by typing just @key{RET}. You can also use the @key{TAB}
1462 key to get @value{GDBN} to fill out the rest of a word in a command (or to
1463 show you the alternatives available, if there is more than one possibility).
1464
1465 @menu
1466 * Command Syntax:: How to give commands to @value{GDBN}
1467 * Completion:: Command completion
1468 * Help:: How to ask @value{GDBN} for help
1469 @end menu
1470
1471 @node Command Syntax
1472 @section Command Syntax
1473
1474 A @value{GDBN} command is a single line of input. There is no limit on
1475 how long it can be. It starts with a command name, which is followed by
1476 arguments whose meaning depends on the command name. For example, the
1477 command @code{step} accepts an argument which is the number of times to
1478 step, as in @samp{step 5}. You can also use the @code{step} command
1479 with no arguments. Some commands do not allow any arguments.
1480
1481 @cindex abbreviation
1482 @value{GDBN} command names may always be truncated if that abbreviation is
1483 unambiguous. Other possible command abbreviations are listed in the
1484 documentation for individual commands. In some cases, even ambiguous
1485 abbreviations are allowed; for example, @code{s} is specially defined as
1486 equivalent to @code{step} even though there are other commands whose
1487 names start with @code{s}. You can test abbreviations by using them as
1488 arguments to the @code{help} command.
1489
1490 @cindex repeating commands
1491 @kindex RET @r{(repeat last command)}
1492 A blank line as input to @value{GDBN} (typing just @key{RET}) means to
1493 repeat the previous command. Certain commands (for example, @code{run})
1494 will not repeat this way; these are commands whose unintentional
1495 repetition might cause trouble and which you are unlikely to want to
1496 repeat. User-defined commands can disable this feature; see
1497 @ref{Define, dont-repeat}.
1498
1499 The @code{list} and @code{x} commands, when you repeat them with
1500 @key{RET}, construct new arguments rather than repeating
1501 exactly as typed. This permits easy scanning of source or memory.
1502
1503 @value{GDBN} can also use @key{RET} in another way: to partition lengthy
1504 output, in a way similar to the common utility @code{more}
1505 (@pxref{Screen Size,,Screen Size}). Since it is easy to press one
1506 @key{RET} too many in this situation, @value{GDBN} disables command
1507 repetition after any command that generates this sort of display.
1508
1509 @kindex # @r{(a comment)}
1510 @cindex comment
1511 Any text from a @kbd{#} to the end of the line is a comment; it does
1512 nothing. This is useful mainly in command files (@pxref{Command
1513 Files,,Command Files}).
1514
1515 @cindex repeating command sequences
1516 @kindex Ctrl-o @r{(operate-and-get-next)}
1517 The @kbd{Ctrl-o} binding is useful for repeating a complex sequence of
1518 commands. This command accepts the current line, like @key{RET}, and
1519 then fetches the next line relative to the current line from the history
1520 for editing.
1521
1522 @node Completion
1523 @section Command Completion
1524
1525 @cindex completion
1526 @cindex word completion
1527 @value{GDBN} can fill in the rest of a word in a command for you, if there is
1528 only one possibility; it can also show you what the valid possibilities
1529 are for the next word in a command, at any time. This works for @value{GDBN}
1530 commands, @value{GDBN} subcommands, and the names of symbols in your program.
1531
1532 Press the @key{TAB} key whenever you want @value{GDBN} to fill out the rest
1533 of a word. If there is only one possibility, @value{GDBN} fills in the
1534 word, and waits for you to finish the command (or press @key{RET} to
1535 enter it). For example, if you type
1536
1537 @c FIXME "@key" does not distinguish its argument sufficiently to permit
1538 @c complete accuracy in these examples; space introduced for clarity.
1539 @c If texinfo enhancements make it unnecessary, it would be nice to
1540 @c replace " @key" by "@key" in the following...
1541 @smallexample
1542 (@value{GDBP}) info bre @key{TAB}
1543 @end smallexample
1544
1545 @noindent
1546 @value{GDBN} fills in the rest of the word @samp{breakpoints}, since that is
1547 the only @code{info} subcommand beginning with @samp{bre}:
1548
1549 @smallexample
1550 (@value{GDBP}) info breakpoints
1551 @end smallexample
1552
1553 @noindent
1554 You can either press @key{RET} at this point, to run the @code{info
1555 breakpoints} command, or backspace and enter something else, if
1556 @samp{breakpoints} does not look like the command you expected. (If you
1557 were sure you wanted @code{info breakpoints} in the first place, you
1558 might as well just type @key{RET} immediately after @samp{info bre},
1559 to exploit command abbreviations rather than command completion).
1560
1561 If there is more than one possibility for the next word when you press
1562 @key{TAB}, @value{GDBN} sounds a bell. You can either supply more
1563 characters and try again, or just press @key{TAB} a second time;
1564 @value{GDBN} displays all the possible completions for that word. For
1565 example, you might want to set a breakpoint on a subroutine whose name
1566 begins with @samp{make_}, but when you type @kbd{b make_@key{TAB}} @value{GDBN}
1567 just sounds the bell. Typing @key{TAB} again displays all the
1568 function names in your program that begin with those characters, for
1569 example:
1570
1571 @smallexample
1572 (@value{GDBP}) b make_ @key{TAB}
1573 @exdent @value{GDBN} sounds bell; press @key{TAB} again, to see:
1574 make_a_section_from_file make_environ
1575 make_abs_section make_function_type
1576 make_blockvector make_pointer_type
1577 make_cleanup make_reference_type
1578 make_command make_symbol_completion_list
1579 (@value{GDBP}) b make_
1580 @end smallexample
1581
1582 @noindent
1583 After displaying the available possibilities, @value{GDBN} copies your
1584 partial input (@samp{b make_} in the example) so you can finish the
1585 command.
1586
1587 If you just want to see the list of alternatives in the first place, you
1588 can press @kbd{M-?} rather than pressing @key{TAB} twice. @kbd{M-?}
1589 means @kbd{@key{META} ?}. You can type this either by holding down a
1590 key designated as the @key{META} shift on your keyboard (if there is
1591 one) while typing @kbd{?}, or as @key{ESC} followed by @kbd{?}.
1592
1593 @cindex quotes in commands
1594 @cindex completion of quoted strings
1595 Sometimes the string you need, while logically a ``word'', may contain
1596 parentheses or other characters that @value{GDBN} normally excludes from
1597 its notion of a word. To permit word completion to work in this
1598 situation, you may enclose words in @code{'} (single quote marks) in
1599 @value{GDBN} commands.
1600
1601 The most likely situation where you might need this is in typing the
1602 name of a C@t{++} function. This is because C@t{++} allows function
1603 overloading (multiple definitions of the same function, distinguished
1604 by argument type). For example, when you want to set a breakpoint you
1605 may need to distinguish whether you mean the version of @code{name}
1606 that takes an @code{int} parameter, @code{name(int)}, or the version
1607 that takes a @code{float} parameter, @code{name(float)}. To use the
1608 word-completion facilities in this situation, type a single quote
1609 @code{'} at the beginning of the function name. This alerts
1610 @value{GDBN} that it may need to consider more information than usual
1611 when you press @key{TAB} or @kbd{M-?} to request word completion:
1612
1613 @smallexample
1614 (@value{GDBP}) b 'bubble( @kbd{M-?}
1615 bubble(double,double) bubble(int,int)
1616 (@value{GDBP}) b 'bubble(
1617 @end smallexample
1618
1619 In some cases, @value{GDBN} can tell that completing a name requires using
1620 quotes. When this happens, @value{GDBN} inserts the quote for you (while
1621 completing as much as it can) if you do not type the quote in the first
1622 place:
1623
1624 @smallexample
1625 (@value{GDBP}) b bub @key{TAB}
1626 @exdent @value{GDBN} alters your input line to the following, and rings a bell:
1627 (@value{GDBP}) b 'bubble(
1628 @end smallexample
1629
1630 @noindent
1631 In general, @value{GDBN} can tell that a quote is needed (and inserts it) if
1632 you have not yet started typing the argument list when you ask for
1633 completion on an overloaded symbol.
1634
1635 For more information about overloaded functions, see @ref{C Plus Plus
1636 Expressions, ,C@t{++} Expressions}. You can use the command @code{set
1637 overload-resolution off} to disable overload resolution;
1638 see @ref{Debugging C Plus Plus, ,@value{GDBN} Features for C@t{++}}.
1639
1640 @cindex completion of structure field names
1641 @cindex structure field name completion
1642 @cindex completion of union field names
1643 @cindex union field name completion
1644 When completing in an expression which looks up a field in a
1645 structure, @value{GDBN} also tries@footnote{The completer can be
1646 confused by certain kinds of invalid expressions. Also, it only
1647 examines the static type of the expression, not the dynamic type.} to
1648 limit completions to the field names available in the type of the
1649 left-hand-side:
1650
1651 @smallexample
1652 (@value{GDBP}) p gdb_stdout.@kbd{M-?}
1653 magic to_fputs to_rewind
1654 to_data to_isatty to_write
1655 to_delete to_put to_write_async_safe
1656 to_flush to_read
1657 @end smallexample
1658
1659 @noindent
1660 This is because the @code{gdb_stdout} is a variable of the type
1661 @code{struct ui_file} that is defined in @value{GDBN} sources as
1662 follows:
1663
1664 @smallexample
1665 struct ui_file
1666 @{
1667 int *magic;
1668 ui_file_flush_ftype *to_flush;
1669 ui_file_write_ftype *to_write;
1670 ui_file_write_async_safe_ftype *to_write_async_safe;
1671 ui_file_fputs_ftype *to_fputs;
1672 ui_file_read_ftype *to_read;
1673 ui_file_delete_ftype *to_delete;
1674 ui_file_isatty_ftype *to_isatty;
1675 ui_file_rewind_ftype *to_rewind;
1676 ui_file_put_ftype *to_put;
1677 void *to_data;
1678 @}
1679 @end smallexample
1680
1681
1682 @node Help
1683 @section Getting Help
1684 @cindex online documentation
1685 @kindex help
1686
1687 You can always ask @value{GDBN} itself for information on its commands,
1688 using the command @code{help}.
1689
1690 @table @code
1691 @kindex h @r{(@code{help})}
1692 @item help
1693 @itemx h
1694 You can use @code{help} (abbreviated @code{h}) with no arguments to
1695 display a short list of named classes of commands:
1696
1697 @smallexample
1698 (@value{GDBP}) help
1699 List of classes of commands:
1700
1701 aliases -- Aliases of other commands
1702 breakpoints -- Making program stop at certain points
1703 data -- Examining data
1704 files -- Specifying and examining files
1705 internals -- Maintenance commands
1706 obscure -- Obscure features
1707 running -- Running the program
1708 stack -- Examining the stack
1709 status -- Status inquiries
1710 support -- Support facilities
1711 tracepoints -- Tracing of program execution without
1712 stopping the program
1713 user-defined -- User-defined commands
1714
1715 Type "help" followed by a class name for a list of
1716 commands in that class.
1717 Type "help" followed by command name for full
1718 documentation.
1719 Command name abbreviations are allowed if unambiguous.
1720 (@value{GDBP})
1721 @end smallexample
1722 @c the above line break eliminates huge line overfull...
1723
1724 @item help @var{class}
1725 Using one of the general help classes as an argument, you can get a
1726 list of the individual commands in that class. For example, here is the
1727 help display for the class @code{status}:
1728
1729 @smallexample
1730 (@value{GDBP}) help status
1731 Status inquiries.
1732
1733 List of commands:
1734
1735 @c Line break in "show" line falsifies real output, but needed
1736 @c to fit in smallbook page size.
1737 info -- Generic command for showing things
1738 about the program being debugged
1739 show -- Generic command for showing things
1740 about the debugger
1741
1742 Type "help" followed by command name for full
1743 documentation.
1744 Command name abbreviations are allowed if unambiguous.
1745 (@value{GDBP})
1746 @end smallexample
1747
1748 @item help @var{command}
1749 With a command name as @code{help} argument, @value{GDBN} displays a
1750 short paragraph on how to use that command.
1751
1752 @kindex apropos
1753 @item apropos @var{args}
1754 The @code{apropos} command searches through all of the @value{GDBN}
1755 commands, and their documentation, for the regular expression specified in
1756 @var{args}. It prints out all matches found. For example:
1757
1758 @smallexample
1759 apropos alias
1760 @end smallexample
1761
1762 @noindent
1763 results in:
1764
1765 @smallexample
1766 @c @group
1767 alias -- Define a new command that is an alias of an existing command
1768 aliases -- Aliases of other commands
1769 d -- Delete some breakpoints or auto-display expressions
1770 del -- Delete some breakpoints or auto-display expressions
1771 delete -- Delete some breakpoints or auto-display expressions
1772 @c @end group
1773 @end smallexample
1774
1775 @kindex complete
1776 @item complete @var{args}
1777 The @code{complete @var{args}} command lists all the possible completions
1778 for the beginning of a command. Use @var{args} to specify the beginning of the
1779 command you want completed. For example:
1780
1781 @smallexample
1782 complete i
1783 @end smallexample
1784
1785 @noindent results in:
1786
1787 @smallexample
1788 @group
1789 if
1790 ignore
1791 info
1792 inspect
1793 @end group
1794 @end smallexample
1795
1796 @noindent This is intended for use by @sc{gnu} Emacs.
1797 @end table
1798
1799 In addition to @code{help}, you can use the @value{GDBN} commands @code{info}
1800 and @code{show} to inquire about the state of your program, or the state
1801 of @value{GDBN} itself. Each command supports many topics of inquiry; this
1802 manual introduces each of them in the appropriate context. The listings
1803 under @code{info} and under @code{show} in the Command, Variable, and
1804 Function Index point to all the sub-commands. @xref{Command and Variable
1805 Index}.
1806
1807 @c @group
1808 @table @code
1809 @kindex info
1810 @kindex i @r{(@code{info})}
1811 @item info
1812 This command (abbreviated @code{i}) is for describing the state of your
1813 program. For example, you can show the arguments passed to a function
1814 with @code{info args}, list the registers currently in use with @code{info
1815 registers}, or list the breakpoints you have set with @code{info breakpoints}.
1816 You can get a complete list of the @code{info} sub-commands with
1817 @w{@code{help info}}.
1818
1819 @kindex set
1820 @item set
1821 You can assign the result of an expression to an environment variable with
1822 @code{set}. For example, you can set the @value{GDBN} prompt to a $-sign with
1823 @code{set prompt $}.
1824
1825 @kindex show
1826 @item show
1827 In contrast to @code{info}, @code{show} is for describing the state of
1828 @value{GDBN} itself.
1829 You can change most of the things you can @code{show}, by using the
1830 related command @code{set}; for example, you can control what number
1831 system is used for displays with @code{set radix}, or simply inquire
1832 which is currently in use with @code{show radix}.
1833
1834 @kindex info set
1835 To display all the settable parameters and their current
1836 values, you can use @code{show} with no arguments; you may also use
1837 @code{info set}. Both commands produce the same display.
1838 @c FIXME: "info set" violates the rule that "info" is for state of
1839 @c FIXME...program. Ck w/ GNU: "info set" to be called something else,
1840 @c FIXME...or change desc of rule---eg "state of prog and debugging session"?
1841 @end table
1842 @c @end group
1843
1844 Here are three miscellaneous @code{show} subcommands, all of which are
1845 exceptional in lacking corresponding @code{set} commands:
1846
1847 @table @code
1848 @kindex show version
1849 @cindex @value{GDBN} version number
1850 @item show version
1851 Show what version of @value{GDBN} is running. You should include this
1852 information in @value{GDBN} bug-reports. If multiple versions of
1853 @value{GDBN} are in use at your site, you may need to determine which
1854 version of @value{GDBN} you are running; as @value{GDBN} evolves, new
1855 commands are introduced, and old ones may wither away. Also, many
1856 system vendors ship variant versions of @value{GDBN}, and there are
1857 variant versions of @value{GDBN} in @sc{gnu}/Linux distributions as well.
1858 The version number is the same as the one announced when you start
1859 @value{GDBN}.
1860
1861 @kindex show copying
1862 @kindex info copying
1863 @cindex display @value{GDBN} copyright
1864 @item show copying
1865 @itemx info copying
1866 Display information about permission for copying @value{GDBN}.
1867
1868 @kindex show warranty
1869 @kindex info warranty
1870 @item show warranty
1871 @itemx info warranty
1872 Display the @sc{gnu} ``NO WARRANTY'' statement, or a warranty,
1873 if your version of @value{GDBN} comes with one.
1874
1875 @end table
1876
1877 @node Running
1878 @chapter Running Programs Under @value{GDBN}
1879
1880 When you run a program under @value{GDBN}, you must first generate
1881 debugging information when you compile it.
1882
1883 You may start @value{GDBN} with its arguments, if any, in an environment
1884 of your choice. If you are doing native debugging, you may redirect
1885 your program's input and output, debug an already running process, or
1886 kill a child process.
1887
1888 @menu
1889 * Compilation:: Compiling for debugging
1890 * Starting:: Starting your program
1891 * Arguments:: Your program's arguments
1892 * Environment:: Your program's environment
1893
1894 * Working Directory:: Your program's working directory
1895 * Input/Output:: Your program's input and output
1896 * Attach:: Debugging an already-running process
1897 * Kill Process:: Killing the child process
1898
1899 * Inferiors and Programs:: Debugging multiple inferiors and programs
1900 * Threads:: Debugging programs with multiple threads
1901 * Forks:: Debugging forks
1902 * Checkpoint/Restart:: Setting a @emph{bookmark} to return to later
1903 @end menu
1904
1905 @node Compilation
1906 @section Compiling for Debugging
1907
1908 In order to debug a program effectively, you need to generate
1909 debugging information when you compile it. This debugging information
1910 is stored in the object file; it describes the data type of each
1911 variable or function and the correspondence between source line numbers
1912 and addresses in the executable code.
1913
1914 To request debugging information, specify the @samp{-g} option when you run
1915 the compiler.
1916
1917 Programs that are to be shipped to your customers are compiled with
1918 optimizations, using the @samp{-O} compiler option. However, some
1919 compilers are unable to handle the @samp{-g} and @samp{-O} options
1920 together. Using those compilers, you cannot generate optimized
1921 executables containing debugging information.
1922
1923 @value{NGCC}, the @sc{gnu} C/C@t{++} compiler, supports @samp{-g} with or
1924 without @samp{-O}, making it possible to debug optimized code. We
1925 recommend that you @emph{always} use @samp{-g} whenever you compile a
1926 program. You may think your program is correct, but there is no sense
1927 in pushing your luck. For more information, see @ref{Optimized Code}.
1928
1929 Older versions of the @sc{gnu} C compiler permitted a variant option
1930 @w{@samp{-gg}} for debugging information. @value{GDBN} no longer supports this
1931 format; if your @sc{gnu} C compiler has this option, do not use it.
1932
1933 @value{GDBN} knows about preprocessor macros and can show you their
1934 expansion (@pxref{Macros}). Most compilers do not include information
1935 about preprocessor macros in the debugging information if you specify
1936 the @option{-g} flag alone. Version 3.1 and later of @value{NGCC},
1937 the @sc{gnu} C compiler, provides macro information if you are using
1938 the DWARF debugging format, and specify the option @option{-g3}.
1939
1940 @xref{Debugging Options,,Options for Debugging Your Program or GCC,
1941 gcc.info, Using the @sc{gnu} Compiler Collection (GCC)}, for more
1942 information on @value{NGCC} options affecting debug information.
1943
1944 You will have the best debugging experience if you use the latest
1945 version of the DWARF debugging format that your compiler supports.
1946 DWARF is currently the most expressive and best supported debugging
1947 format in @value{GDBN}.
1948
1949 @need 2000
1950 @node Starting
1951 @section Starting your Program
1952 @cindex starting
1953 @cindex running
1954
1955 @table @code
1956 @kindex run
1957 @kindex r @r{(@code{run})}
1958 @item run
1959 @itemx r
1960 Use the @code{run} command to start your program under @value{GDBN}.
1961 You must first specify the program name (except on VxWorks) with an
1962 argument to @value{GDBN} (@pxref{Invocation, ,Getting In and Out of
1963 @value{GDBN}}), or by using the @code{file} or @code{exec-file} command
1964 (@pxref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}).
1965
1966 @end table
1967
1968 If you are running your program in an execution environment that
1969 supports processes, @code{run} creates an inferior process and makes
1970 that process run your program. In some environments without processes,
1971 @code{run} jumps to the start of your program. Other targets,
1972 like @samp{remote}, are always running. If you get an error
1973 message like this one:
1974
1975 @smallexample
1976 The "remote" target does not support "run".
1977 Try "help target" or "continue".
1978 @end smallexample
1979
1980 @noindent
1981 then use @code{continue} to run your program. You may need @code{load}
1982 first (@pxref{load}).
1983
1984 The execution of a program is affected by certain information it
1985 receives from its superior. @value{GDBN} provides ways to specify this
1986 information, which you must do @emph{before} starting your program. (You
1987 can change it after starting your program, but such changes only affect
1988 your program the next time you start it.) This information may be
1989 divided into four categories:
1990
1991 @table @asis
1992 @item The @emph{arguments.}
1993 Specify the arguments to give your program as the arguments of the
1994 @code{run} command. If a shell is available on your target, the shell
1995 is used to pass the arguments, so that you may use normal conventions
1996 (such as wildcard expansion or variable substitution) in describing
1997 the arguments.
1998 In Unix systems, you can control which shell is used with the
1999 @code{SHELL} environment variable.
2000 @xref{Arguments, ,Your Program's Arguments}.
2001
2002 @item The @emph{environment.}
2003 Your program normally inherits its environment from @value{GDBN}, but you can
2004 use the @value{GDBN} commands @code{set environment} and @code{unset
2005 environment} to change parts of the environment that affect
2006 your program. @xref{Environment, ,Your Program's Environment}.
2007
2008 @item The @emph{working directory.}
2009 Your program inherits its working directory from @value{GDBN}. You can set
2010 the @value{GDBN} working directory with the @code{cd} command in @value{GDBN}.
2011 @xref{Working Directory, ,Your Program's Working Directory}.
2012
2013 @item The @emph{standard input and output.}
2014 Your program normally uses the same device for standard input and
2015 standard output as @value{GDBN} is using. You can redirect input and output
2016 in the @code{run} command line, or you can use the @code{tty} command to
2017 set a different device for your program.
2018 @xref{Input/Output, ,Your Program's Input and Output}.
2019
2020 @cindex pipes
2021 @emph{Warning:} While input and output redirection work, you cannot use
2022 pipes to pass the output of the program you are debugging to another
2023 program; if you attempt this, @value{GDBN} is likely to wind up debugging the
2024 wrong program.
2025 @end table
2026
2027 When you issue the @code{run} command, your program begins to execute
2028 immediately. @xref{Stopping, ,Stopping and Continuing}, for discussion
2029 of how to arrange for your program to stop. Once your program has
2030 stopped, you may call functions in your program, using the @code{print}
2031 or @code{call} commands. @xref{Data, ,Examining Data}.
2032
2033 If the modification time of your symbol file has changed since the last
2034 time @value{GDBN} read its symbols, @value{GDBN} discards its symbol
2035 table, and reads it again. When it does this, @value{GDBN} tries to retain
2036 your current breakpoints.
2037
2038 @table @code
2039 @kindex start
2040 @item start
2041 @cindex run to main procedure
2042 The name of the main procedure can vary from language to language.
2043 With C or C@t{++}, the main procedure name is always @code{main}, but
2044 other languages such as Ada do not require a specific name for their
2045 main procedure. The debugger provides a convenient way to start the
2046 execution of the program and to stop at the beginning of the main
2047 procedure, depending on the language used.
2048
2049 The @samp{start} command does the equivalent of setting a temporary
2050 breakpoint at the beginning of the main procedure and then invoking
2051 the @samp{run} command.
2052
2053 @cindex elaboration phase
2054 Some programs contain an @dfn{elaboration} phase where some startup code is
2055 executed before the main procedure is called. This depends on the
2056 languages used to write your program. In C@t{++}, for instance,
2057 constructors for static and global objects are executed before
2058 @code{main} is called. It is therefore possible that the debugger stops
2059 before reaching the main procedure. However, the temporary breakpoint
2060 will remain to halt execution.
2061
2062 Specify the arguments to give to your program as arguments to the
2063 @samp{start} command. These arguments will be given verbatim to the
2064 underlying @samp{run} command. Note that the same arguments will be
2065 reused if no argument is provided during subsequent calls to
2066 @samp{start} or @samp{run}.
2067
2068 It is sometimes necessary to debug the program during elaboration. In
2069 these cases, using the @code{start} command would stop the execution of
2070 your program too late, as the program would have already completed the
2071 elaboration phase. Under these circumstances, insert breakpoints in your
2072 elaboration code before running your program.
2073
2074 @kindex set exec-wrapper
2075 @item set exec-wrapper @var{wrapper}
2076 @itemx show exec-wrapper
2077 @itemx unset exec-wrapper
2078 When @samp{exec-wrapper} is set, the specified wrapper is used to
2079 launch programs for debugging. @value{GDBN} starts your program
2080 with a shell command of the form @kbd{exec @var{wrapper}
2081 @var{program}}. Quoting is added to @var{program} and its
2082 arguments, but not to @var{wrapper}, so you should add quotes if
2083 appropriate for your shell. The wrapper runs until it executes
2084 your program, and then @value{GDBN} takes control.
2085
2086 You can use any program that eventually calls @code{execve} with
2087 its arguments as a wrapper. Several standard Unix utilities do
2088 this, e.g.@: @code{env} and @code{nohup}. Any Unix shell script ending
2089 with @code{exec "$@@"} will also work.
2090
2091 For example, you can use @code{env} to pass an environment variable to
2092 the debugged program, without setting the variable in your shell's
2093 environment:
2094
2095 @smallexample
2096 (@value{GDBP}) set exec-wrapper env 'LD_PRELOAD=libtest.so'
2097 (@value{GDBP}) run
2098 @end smallexample
2099
2100 This command is available when debugging locally on most targets, excluding
2101 @sc{djgpp}, Cygwin, MS Windows, and QNX Neutrino.
2102
2103 @kindex set disable-randomization
2104 @item set disable-randomization
2105 @itemx set disable-randomization on
2106 This option (enabled by default in @value{GDBN}) will turn off the native
2107 randomization of the virtual address space of the started program. This option
2108 is useful for multiple debugging sessions to make the execution better
2109 reproducible and memory addresses reusable across debugging sessions.
2110
2111 This feature is implemented only on certain targets, including @sc{gnu}/Linux.
2112 On @sc{gnu}/Linux you can get the same behavior using
2113
2114 @smallexample
2115 (@value{GDBP}) set exec-wrapper setarch `uname -m` -R
2116 @end smallexample
2117
2118 @item set disable-randomization off
2119 Leave the behavior of the started executable unchanged. Some bugs rear their
2120 ugly heads only when the program is loaded at certain addresses. If your bug
2121 disappears when you run the program under @value{GDBN}, that might be because
2122 @value{GDBN} by default disables the address randomization on platforms, such
2123 as @sc{gnu}/Linux, which do that for stand-alone programs. Use @kbd{set
2124 disable-randomization off} to try to reproduce such elusive bugs.
2125
2126 On targets where it is available, virtual address space randomization
2127 protects the programs against certain kinds of security attacks. In these
2128 cases the attacker needs to know the exact location of a concrete executable
2129 code. Randomizing its location makes it impossible to inject jumps misusing
2130 a code at its expected addresses.
2131
2132 Prelinking shared libraries provides a startup performance advantage but it
2133 makes addresses in these libraries predictable for privileged processes by
2134 having just unprivileged access at the target system. Reading the shared
2135 library binary gives enough information for assembling the malicious code
2136 misusing it. Still even a prelinked shared library can get loaded at a new
2137 random address just requiring the regular relocation process during the
2138 startup. Shared libraries not already prelinked are always loaded at
2139 a randomly chosen address.
2140
2141 Position independent executables (PIE) contain position independent code
2142 similar to the shared libraries and therefore such executables get loaded at
2143 a randomly chosen address upon startup. PIE executables always load even
2144 already prelinked shared libraries at a random address. You can build such
2145 executable using @command{gcc -fPIE -pie}.
2146
2147 Heap (malloc storage), stack and custom mmap areas are always placed randomly
2148 (as long as the randomization is enabled).
2149
2150 @item show disable-randomization
2151 Show the current setting of the explicit disable of the native randomization of
2152 the virtual address space of the started program.
2153
2154 @end table
2155
2156 @node Arguments
2157 @section Your Program's Arguments
2158
2159 @cindex arguments (to your program)
2160 The arguments to your program can be specified by the arguments of the
2161 @code{run} command.
2162 They are passed to a shell, which expands wildcard characters and
2163 performs redirection of I/O, and thence to your program. Your
2164 @code{SHELL} environment variable (if it exists) specifies what shell
2165 @value{GDBN} uses. If you do not define @code{SHELL}, @value{GDBN} uses
2166 the default shell (@file{/bin/sh} on Unix).
2167
2168 On non-Unix systems, the program is usually invoked directly by
2169 @value{GDBN}, which emulates I/O redirection via the appropriate system
2170 calls, and the wildcard characters are expanded by the startup code of
2171 the program, not by the shell.
2172
2173 @code{run} with no arguments uses the same arguments used by the previous
2174 @code{run}, or those set by the @code{set args} command.
2175
2176 @table @code
2177 @kindex set args
2178 @item set args
2179 Specify the arguments to be used the next time your program is run. If
2180 @code{set args} has no arguments, @code{run} executes your program
2181 with no arguments. Once you have run your program with arguments,
2182 using @code{set args} before the next @code{run} is the only way to run
2183 it again without arguments.
2184
2185 @kindex show args
2186 @item show args
2187 Show the arguments to give your program when it is started.
2188 @end table
2189
2190 @node Environment
2191 @section Your Program's Environment
2192
2193 @cindex environment (of your program)
2194 The @dfn{environment} consists of a set of environment variables and
2195 their values. Environment variables conventionally record such things as
2196 your user name, your home directory, your terminal type, and your search
2197 path for programs to run. Usually you set up environment variables with
2198 the shell and they are inherited by all the other programs you run. When
2199 debugging, it can be useful to try running your program with a modified
2200 environment without having to start @value{GDBN} over again.
2201
2202 @table @code
2203 @kindex path
2204 @item path @var{directory}
2205 Add @var{directory} to the front of the @code{PATH} environment variable
2206 (the search path for executables) that will be passed to your program.
2207 The value of @code{PATH} used by @value{GDBN} does not change.
2208 You may specify several directory names, separated by whitespace or by a
2209 system-dependent separator character (@samp{:} on Unix, @samp{;} on
2210 MS-DOS and MS-Windows). If @var{directory} is already in the path, it
2211 is moved to the front, so it is searched sooner.
2212
2213 You can use the string @samp{$cwd} to refer to whatever is the current
2214 working directory at the time @value{GDBN} searches the path. If you
2215 use @samp{.} instead, it refers to the directory where you executed the
2216 @code{path} command. @value{GDBN} replaces @samp{.} in the
2217 @var{directory} argument (with the current path) before adding
2218 @var{directory} to the search path.
2219 @c 'path' is explicitly nonrepeatable, but RMS points out it is silly to
2220 @c document that, since repeating it would be a no-op.
2221
2222 @kindex show paths
2223 @item show paths
2224 Display the list of search paths for executables (the @code{PATH}
2225 environment variable).
2226
2227 @kindex show environment
2228 @item show environment @r{[}@var{varname}@r{]}
2229 Print the value of environment variable @var{varname} to be given to
2230 your program when it starts. If you do not supply @var{varname},
2231 print the names and values of all environment variables to be given to
2232 your program. You can abbreviate @code{environment} as @code{env}.
2233
2234 @kindex set environment
2235 @item set environment @var{varname} @r{[}=@var{value}@r{]}
2236 Set environment variable @var{varname} to @var{value}. The value
2237 changes for your program only, not for @value{GDBN} itself. @var{value} may
2238 be any string; the values of environment variables are just strings, and
2239 any interpretation is supplied by your program itself. The @var{value}
2240 parameter is optional; if it is eliminated, the variable is set to a
2241 null value.
2242 @c "any string" here does not include leading, trailing
2243 @c blanks. Gnu asks: does anyone care?
2244
2245 For example, this command:
2246
2247 @smallexample
2248 set env USER = foo
2249 @end smallexample
2250
2251 @noindent
2252 tells the debugged program, when subsequently run, that its user is named
2253 @samp{foo}. (The spaces around @samp{=} are used for clarity here; they
2254 are not actually required.)
2255
2256 @kindex unset environment
2257 @item unset environment @var{varname}
2258 Remove variable @var{varname} from the environment to be passed to your
2259 program. This is different from @samp{set env @var{varname} =};
2260 @code{unset environment} removes the variable from the environment,
2261 rather than assigning it an empty value.
2262 @end table
2263
2264 @emph{Warning:} On Unix systems, @value{GDBN} runs your program using
2265 the shell indicated
2266 by your @code{SHELL} environment variable if it exists (or
2267 @code{/bin/sh} if not). If your @code{SHELL} variable names a shell
2268 that runs an initialization file---such as @file{.cshrc} for C-shell, or
2269 @file{.bashrc} for BASH---any variables you set in that file affect
2270 your program. You may wish to move setting of environment variables to
2271 files that are only run when you sign on, such as @file{.login} or
2272 @file{.profile}.
2273
2274 @node Working Directory
2275 @section Your Program's Working Directory
2276
2277 @cindex working directory (of your program)
2278 Each time you start your program with @code{run}, it inherits its
2279 working directory from the current working directory of @value{GDBN}.
2280 The @value{GDBN} working directory is initially whatever it inherited
2281 from its parent process (typically the shell), but you can specify a new
2282 working directory in @value{GDBN} with the @code{cd} command.
2283
2284 The @value{GDBN} working directory also serves as a default for the commands
2285 that specify files for @value{GDBN} to operate on. @xref{Files, ,Commands to
2286 Specify Files}.
2287
2288 @table @code
2289 @kindex cd
2290 @cindex change working directory
2291 @item cd @r{[}@var{directory}@r{]}
2292 Set the @value{GDBN} working directory to @var{directory}. If not
2293 given, @var{directory} uses @file{'~'}.
2294
2295 @kindex pwd
2296 @item pwd
2297 Print the @value{GDBN} working directory.
2298 @end table
2299
2300 It is generally impossible to find the current working directory of
2301 the process being debugged (since a program can change its directory
2302 during its run). If you work on a system where @value{GDBN} is
2303 configured with the @file{/proc} support, you can use the @code{info
2304 proc} command (@pxref{SVR4 Process Information}) to find out the
2305 current working directory of the debuggee.
2306
2307 @node Input/Output
2308 @section Your Program's Input and Output
2309
2310 @cindex redirection
2311 @cindex i/o
2312 @cindex terminal
2313 By default, the program you run under @value{GDBN} does input and output to
2314 the same terminal that @value{GDBN} uses. @value{GDBN} switches the terminal
2315 to its own terminal modes to interact with you, but it records the terminal
2316 modes your program was using and switches back to them when you continue
2317 running your program.
2318
2319 @table @code
2320 @kindex info terminal
2321 @item info terminal
2322 Displays information recorded by @value{GDBN} about the terminal modes your
2323 program is using.
2324 @end table
2325
2326 You can redirect your program's input and/or output using shell
2327 redirection with the @code{run} command. For example,
2328
2329 @smallexample
2330 run > outfile
2331 @end smallexample
2332
2333 @noindent
2334 starts your program, diverting its output to the file @file{outfile}.
2335
2336 @kindex tty
2337 @cindex controlling terminal
2338 Another way to specify where your program should do input and output is
2339 with the @code{tty} command. This command accepts a file name as
2340 argument, and causes this file to be the default for future @code{run}
2341 commands. It also resets the controlling terminal for the child
2342 process, for future @code{run} commands. For example,
2343
2344 @smallexample
2345 tty /dev/ttyb
2346 @end smallexample
2347
2348 @noindent
2349 directs that processes started with subsequent @code{run} commands
2350 default to do input and output on the terminal @file{/dev/ttyb} and have
2351 that as their controlling terminal.
2352
2353 An explicit redirection in @code{run} overrides the @code{tty} command's
2354 effect on the input/output device, but not its effect on the controlling
2355 terminal.
2356
2357 When you use the @code{tty} command or redirect input in the @code{run}
2358 command, only the input @emph{for your program} is affected. The input
2359 for @value{GDBN} still comes from your terminal. @code{tty} is an alias
2360 for @code{set inferior-tty}.
2361
2362 @cindex inferior tty
2363 @cindex set inferior controlling terminal
2364 You can use the @code{show inferior-tty} command to tell @value{GDBN} to
2365 display the name of the terminal that will be used for future runs of your
2366 program.
2367
2368 @table @code
2369 @item set inferior-tty /dev/ttyb
2370 @kindex set inferior-tty
2371 Set the tty for the program being debugged to /dev/ttyb.
2372
2373 @item show inferior-tty
2374 @kindex show inferior-tty
2375 Show the current tty for the program being debugged.
2376 @end table
2377
2378 @node Attach
2379 @section Debugging an Already-running Process
2380 @kindex attach
2381 @cindex attach
2382
2383 @table @code
2384 @item attach @var{process-id}
2385 This command attaches to a running process---one that was started
2386 outside @value{GDBN}. (@code{info files} shows your active
2387 targets.) The command takes as argument a process ID. The usual way to
2388 find out the @var{process-id} of a Unix process is with the @code{ps} utility,
2389 or with the @samp{jobs -l} shell command.
2390
2391 @code{attach} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} a second time after
2392 executing the command.
2393 @end table
2394
2395 To use @code{attach}, your program must be running in an environment
2396 which supports processes; for example, @code{attach} does not work for
2397 programs on bare-board targets that lack an operating system. You must
2398 also have permission to send the process a signal.
2399
2400 When you use @code{attach}, the debugger finds the program running in
2401 the process first by looking in the current working directory, then (if
2402 the program is not found) by using the source file search path
2403 (@pxref{Source Path, ,Specifying Source Directories}). You can also use
2404 the @code{file} command to load the program. @xref{Files, ,Commands to
2405 Specify Files}.
2406
2407 The first thing @value{GDBN} does after arranging to debug the specified
2408 process is to stop it. You can examine and modify an attached process
2409 with all the @value{GDBN} commands that are ordinarily available when
2410 you start processes with @code{run}. You can insert breakpoints; you
2411 can step and continue; you can modify storage. If you would rather the
2412 process continue running, you may use the @code{continue} command after
2413 attaching @value{GDBN} to the process.
2414
2415 @table @code
2416 @kindex detach
2417 @item detach
2418 When you have finished debugging the attached process, you can use the
2419 @code{detach} command to release it from @value{GDBN} control. Detaching
2420 the process continues its execution. After the @code{detach} command,
2421 that process and @value{GDBN} become completely independent once more, and you
2422 are ready to @code{attach} another process or start one with @code{run}.
2423 @code{detach} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} again after
2424 executing the command.
2425 @end table
2426
2427 If you exit @value{GDBN} while you have an attached process, you detach
2428 that process. If you use the @code{run} command, you kill that process.
2429 By default, @value{GDBN} asks for confirmation if you try to do either of these
2430 things; you can control whether or not you need to confirm by using the
2431 @code{set confirm} command (@pxref{Messages/Warnings, ,Optional Warnings and
2432 Messages}).
2433
2434 @node Kill Process
2435 @section Killing the Child Process
2436
2437 @table @code
2438 @kindex kill
2439 @item kill
2440 Kill the child process in which your program is running under @value{GDBN}.
2441 @end table
2442
2443 This command is useful if you wish to debug a core dump instead of a
2444 running process. @value{GDBN} ignores any core dump file while your program
2445 is running.
2446
2447 On some operating systems, a program cannot be executed outside @value{GDBN}
2448 while you have breakpoints set on it inside @value{GDBN}. You can use the
2449 @code{kill} command in this situation to permit running your program
2450 outside the debugger.
2451
2452 The @code{kill} command is also useful if you wish to recompile and
2453 relink your program, since on many systems it is impossible to modify an
2454 executable file while it is running in a process. In this case, when you
2455 next type @code{run}, @value{GDBN} notices that the file has changed, and
2456 reads the symbol table again (while trying to preserve your current
2457 breakpoint settings).
2458
2459 @node Inferiors and Programs
2460 @section Debugging Multiple Inferiors and Programs
2461
2462 @value{GDBN} lets you run and debug multiple programs in a single
2463 session. In addition, @value{GDBN} on some systems may let you run
2464 several programs simultaneously (otherwise you have to exit from one
2465 before starting another). In the most general case, you can have
2466 multiple threads of execution in each of multiple processes, launched
2467 from multiple executables.
2468
2469 @cindex inferior
2470 @value{GDBN} represents the state of each program execution with an
2471 object called an @dfn{inferior}. An inferior typically corresponds to
2472 a process, but is more general and applies also to targets that do not
2473 have processes. Inferiors may be created before a process runs, and
2474 may be retained after a process exits. Inferiors have unique
2475 identifiers that are different from process ids. Usually each
2476 inferior will also have its own distinct address space, although some
2477 embedded targets may have several inferiors running in different parts
2478 of a single address space. Each inferior may in turn have multiple
2479 threads running in it.
2480
2481 To find out what inferiors exist at any moment, use @w{@code{info
2482 inferiors}}:
2483
2484 @table @code
2485 @kindex info inferiors
2486 @item info inferiors
2487 Print a list of all inferiors currently being managed by @value{GDBN}.
2488
2489 @value{GDBN} displays for each inferior (in this order):
2490
2491 @enumerate
2492 @item
2493 the inferior number assigned by @value{GDBN}
2494
2495 @item
2496 the target system's inferior identifier
2497
2498 @item
2499 the name of the executable the inferior is running.
2500
2501 @end enumerate
2502
2503 @noindent
2504 An asterisk @samp{*} preceding the @value{GDBN} inferior number
2505 indicates the current inferior.
2506
2507 For example,
2508 @end table
2509 @c end table here to get a little more width for example
2510
2511 @smallexample
2512 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
2513 Num Description Executable
2514 2 process 2307 hello
2515 * 1 process 3401 goodbye
2516 @end smallexample
2517
2518 To switch focus between inferiors, use the @code{inferior} command:
2519
2520 @table @code
2521 @kindex inferior @var{infno}
2522 @item inferior @var{infno}
2523 Make inferior number @var{infno} the current inferior. The argument
2524 @var{infno} is the inferior number assigned by @value{GDBN}, as shown
2525 in the first field of the @samp{info inferiors} display.
2526 @end table
2527
2528
2529 You can get multiple executables into a debugging session via the
2530 @code{add-inferior} and @w{@code{clone-inferior}} commands. On some
2531 systems @value{GDBN} can add inferiors to the debug session
2532 automatically by following calls to @code{fork} and @code{exec}. To
2533 remove inferiors from the debugging session use the
2534 @w{@code{remove-inferiors}} command.
2535
2536 @table @code
2537 @kindex add-inferior
2538 @item add-inferior [ -copies @var{n} ] [ -exec @var{executable} ]
2539 Adds @var{n} inferiors to be run using @var{executable} as the
2540 executable. @var{n} defaults to 1. If no executable is specified,
2541 the inferiors begins empty, with no program. You can still assign or
2542 change the program assigned to the inferior at any time by using the
2543 @code{file} command with the executable name as its argument.
2544
2545 @kindex clone-inferior
2546 @item clone-inferior [ -copies @var{n} ] [ @var{infno} ]
2547 Adds @var{n} inferiors ready to execute the same program as inferior
2548 @var{infno}. @var{n} defaults to 1. @var{infno} defaults to the
2549 number of the current inferior. This is a convenient command when you
2550 want to run another instance of the inferior you are debugging.
2551
2552 @smallexample
2553 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
2554 Num Description Executable
2555 * 1 process 29964 helloworld
2556 (@value{GDBP}) clone-inferior
2557 Added inferior 2.
2558 1 inferiors added.
2559 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
2560 Num Description Executable
2561 2 <null> helloworld
2562 * 1 process 29964 helloworld
2563 @end smallexample
2564
2565 You can now simply switch focus to inferior 2 and run it.
2566
2567 @kindex remove-inferiors
2568 @item remove-inferiors @var{infno}@dots{}
2569 Removes the inferior or inferiors @var{infno}@dots{}. It is not
2570 possible to remove an inferior that is running with this command. For
2571 those, use the @code{kill} or @code{detach} command first.
2572
2573 @end table
2574
2575 To quit debugging one of the running inferiors that is not the current
2576 inferior, you can either detach from it by using the @w{@code{detach
2577 inferior}} command (allowing it to run independently), or kill it
2578 using the @w{@code{kill inferiors}} command:
2579
2580 @table @code
2581 @kindex detach inferiors @var{infno}@dots{}
2582 @item detach inferior @var{infno}@dots{}
2583 Detach from the inferior or inferiors identified by @value{GDBN}
2584 inferior number(s) @var{infno}@dots{}. Note that the inferior's entry
2585 still stays on the list of inferiors shown by @code{info inferiors},
2586 but its Description will show @samp{<null>}.
2587
2588 @kindex kill inferiors @var{infno}@dots{}
2589 @item kill inferiors @var{infno}@dots{}
2590 Kill the inferior or inferiors identified by @value{GDBN} inferior
2591 number(s) @var{infno}@dots{}. Note that the inferior's entry still
2592 stays on the list of inferiors shown by @code{info inferiors}, but its
2593 Description will show @samp{<null>}.
2594 @end table
2595
2596 After the successful completion of a command such as @code{detach},
2597 @code{detach inferiors}, @code{kill} or @code{kill inferiors}, or after
2598 a normal process exit, the inferior is still valid and listed with
2599 @code{info inferiors}, ready to be restarted.
2600
2601
2602 To be notified when inferiors are started or exit under @value{GDBN}'s
2603 control use @w{@code{set print inferior-events}}:
2604
2605 @table @code
2606 @kindex set print inferior-events
2607 @cindex print messages on inferior start and exit
2608 @item set print inferior-events
2609 @itemx set print inferior-events on
2610 @itemx set print inferior-events off
2611 The @code{set print inferior-events} command allows you to enable or
2612 disable printing of messages when @value{GDBN} notices that new
2613 inferiors have started or that inferiors have exited or have been
2614 detached. By default, these messages will not be printed.
2615
2616 @kindex show print inferior-events
2617 @item show print inferior-events
2618 Show whether messages will be printed when @value{GDBN} detects that
2619 inferiors have started, exited or have been detached.
2620 @end table
2621
2622 Many commands will work the same with multiple programs as with a
2623 single program: e.g., @code{print myglobal} will simply display the
2624 value of @code{myglobal} in the current inferior.
2625
2626
2627 Occasionaly, when debugging @value{GDBN} itself, it may be useful to
2628 get more info about the relationship of inferiors, programs, address
2629 spaces in a debug session. You can do that with the @w{@code{maint
2630 info program-spaces}} command.
2631
2632 @table @code
2633 @kindex maint info program-spaces
2634 @item maint info program-spaces
2635 Print a list of all program spaces currently being managed by
2636 @value{GDBN}.
2637
2638 @value{GDBN} displays for each program space (in this order):
2639
2640 @enumerate
2641 @item
2642 the program space number assigned by @value{GDBN}
2643
2644 @item
2645 the name of the executable loaded into the program space, with e.g.,
2646 the @code{file} command.
2647
2648 @end enumerate
2649
2650 @noindent
2651 An asterisk @samp{*} preceding the @value{GDBN} program space number
2652 indicates the current program space.
2653
2654 In addition, below each program space line, @value{GDBN} prints extra
2655 information that isn't suitable to display in tabular form. For
2656 example, the list of inferiors bound to the program space.
2657
2658 @smallexample
2659 (@value{GDBP}) maint info program-spaces
2660 Id Executable
2661 2 goodbye
2662 Bound inferiors: ID 1 (process 21561)
2663 * 1 hello
2664 @end smallexample
2665
2666 Here we can see that no inferior is running the program @code{hello},
2667 while @code{process 21561} is running the program @code{goodbye}. On
2668 some targets, it is possible that multiple inferiors are bound to the
2669 same program space. The most common example is that of debugging both
2670 the parent and child processes of a @code{vfork} call. For example,
2671
2672 @smallexample
2673 (@value{GDBP}) maint info program-spaces
2674 Id Executable
2675 * 1 vfork-test
2676 Bound inferiors: ID 2 (process 18050), ID 1 (process 18045)
2677 @end smallexample
2678
2679 Here, both inferior 2 and inferior 1 are running in the same program
2680 space as a result of inferior 1 having executed a @code{vfork} call.
2681 @end table
2682
2683 @node Threads
2684 @section Debugging Programs with Multiple Threads
2685
2686 @cindex threads of execution
2687 @cindex multiple threads
2688 @cindex switching threads
2689 In some operating systems, such as HP-UX and Solaris, a single program
2690 may have more than one @dfn{thread} of execution. The precise semantics
2691 of threads differ from one operating system to another, but in general
2692 the threads of a single program are akin to multiple processes---except
2693 that they share one address space (that is, they can all examine and
2694 modify the same variables). On the other hand, each thread has its own
2695 registers and execution stack, and perhaps private memory.
2696
2697 @value{GDBN} provides these facilities for debugging multi-thread
2698 programs:
2699
2700 @itemize @bullet
2701 @item automatic notification of new threads
2702 @item @samp{thread @var{threadno}}, a command to switch among threads
2703 @item @samp{info threads}, a command to inquire about existing threads
2704 @item @samp{thread apply [@var{threadno}] [@var{all}] @var{args}},
2705 a command to apply a command to a list of threads
2706 @item thread-specific breakpoints
2707 @item @samp{set print thread-events}, which controls printing of
2708 messages on thread start and exit.
2709 @item @samp{set libthread-db-search-path @var{path}}, which lets
2710 the user specify which @code{libthread_db} to use if the default choice
2711 isn't compatible with the program.
2712 @end itemize
2713
2714 @quotation
2715 @emph{Warning:} These facilities are not yet available on every
2716 @value{GDBN} configuration where the operating system supports threads.
2717 If your @value{GDBN} does not support threads, these commands have no
2718 effect. For example, a system without thread support shows no output
2719 from @samp{info threads}, and always rejects the @code{thread} command,
2720 like this:
2721
2722 @smallexample
2723 (@value{GDBP}) info threads
2724 (@value{GDBP}) thread 1
2725 Thread ID 1 not known. Use the "info threads" command to
2726 see the IDs of currently known threads.
2727 @end smallexample
2728 @c FIXME to implementors: how hard would it be to say "sorry, this GDB
2729 @c doesn't support threads"?
2730 @end quotation
2731
2732 @cindex focus of debugging
2733 @cindex current thread
2734 The @value{GDBN} thread debugging facility allows you to observe all
2735 threads while your program runs---but whenever @value{GDBN} takes
2736 control, one thread in particular is always the focus of debugging.
2737 This thread is called the @dfn{current thread}. Debugging commands show
2738 program information from the perspective of the current thread.
2739
2740 @cindex @code{New} @var{systag} message
2741 @cindex thread identifier (system)
2742 @c FIXME-implementors!! It would be more helpful if the [New...] message
2743 @c included GDB's numeric thread handle, so you could just go to that
2744 @c thread without first checking `info threads'.
2745 Whenever @value{GDBN} detects a new thread in your program, it displays
2746 the target system's identification for the thread with a message in the
2747 form @samp{[New @var{systag}]}. @var{systag} is a thread identifier
2748 whose form varies depending on the particular system. For example, on
2749 @sc{gnu}/Linux, you might see
2750
2751 @smallexample
2752 [New Thread 0x41e02940 (LWP 25582)]
2753 @end smallexample
2754
2755 @noindent
2756 when @value{GDBN} notices a new thread. In contrast, on an SGI system,
2757 the @var{systag} is simply something like @samp{process 368}, with no
2758 further qualifier.
2759
2760 @c FIXME!! (1) Does the [New...] message appear even for the very first
2761 @c thread of a program, or does it only appear for the
2762 @c second---i.e.@: when it becomes obvious we have a multithread
2763 @c program?
2764 @c (2) *Is* there necessarily a first thread always? Or do some
2765 @c multithread systems permit starting a program with multiple
2766 @c threads ab initio?
2767
2768 @cindex thread number
2769 @cindex thread identifier (GDB)
2770 For debugging purposes, @value{GDBN} associates its own thread
2771 number---always a single integer---with each thread in your program.
2772
2773 @table @code
2774 @kindex info threads
2775 @item info threads @r{[}@var{id}@dots{}@r{]}
2776 Display a summary of all threads currently in your program. Optional
2777 argument @var{id}@dots{} is one or more thread ids separated by spaces, and
2778 means to print information only about the specified thread or threads.
2779 @value{GDBN} displays for each thread (in this order):
2780
2781 @enumerate
2782 @item
2783 the thread number assigned by @value{GDBN}
2784
2785 @item
2786 the target system's thread identifier (@var{systag})
2787
2788 @item
2789 the thread's name, if one is known. A thread can either be named by
2790 the user (see @code{thread name}, below), or, in some cases, by the
2791 program itself.
2792
2793 @item
2794 the current stack frame summary for that thread
2795 @end enumerate
2796
2797 @noindent
2798 An asterisk @samp{*} to the left of the @value{GDBN} thread number
2799 indicates the current thread.
2800
2801 For example,
2802 @end table
2803 @c end table here to get a little more width for example
2804
2805 @smallexample
2806 (@value{GDBP}) info threads
2807 Id Target Id Frame
2808 3 process 35 thread 27 0x34e5 in sigpause ()
2809 2 process 35 thread 23 0x34e5 in sigpause ()
2810 * 1 process 35 thread 13 main (argc=1, argv=0x7ffffff8)
2811 at threadtest.c:68
2812 @end smallexample
2813
2814 On Solaris, you can display more information about user threads with a
2815 Solaris-specific command:
2816
2817 @table @code
2818 @item maint info sol-threads
2819 @kindex maint info sol-threads
2820 @cindex thread info (Solaris)
2821 Display info on Solaris user threads.
2822 @end table
2823
2824 @table @code
2825 @kindex thread @var{threadno}
2826 @item thread @var{threadno}
2827 Make thread number @var{threadno} the current thread. The command
2828 argument @var{threadno} is the internal @value{GDBN} thread number, as
2829 shown in the first field of the @samp{info threads} display.
2830 @value{GDBN} responds by displaying the system identifier of the thread
2831 you selected, and its current stack frame summary:
2832
2833 @smallexample
2834 (@value{GDBP}) thread 2
2835 [Switching to thread 2 (Thread 0xb7fdab70 (LWP 12747))]
2836 #0 some_function (ignore=0x0) at example.c:8
2837 8 printf ("hello\n");
2838 @end smallexample
2839
2840 @noindent
2841 As with the @samp{[New @dots{}]} message, the form of the text after
2842 @samp{Switching to} depends on your system's conventions for identifying
2843 threads.
2844
2845 @vindex $_thread@r{, convenience variable}
2846 The debugger convenience variable @samp{$_thread} contains the number
2847 of the current thread. You may find this useful in writing breakpoint
2848 conditional expressions, command scripts, and so forth. See
2849 @xref{Convenience Vars,, Convenience Variables}, for general
2850 information on convenience variables.
2851
2852 @kindex thread apply
2853 @cindex apply command to several threads
2854 @item thread apply [@var{threadno} | all] @var{command}
2855 The @code{thread apply} command allows you to apply the named
2856 @var{command} to one or more threads. Specify the numbers of the
2857 threads that you want affected with the command argument
2858 @var{threadno}. It can be a single thread number, one of the numbers
2859 shown in the first field of the @samp{info threads} display; or it
2860 could be a range of thread numbers, as in @code{2-4}. To apply a
2861 command to all threads, type @kbd{thread apply all @var{command}}.
2862
2863 @kindex thread name
2864 @cindex name a thread
2865 @item thread name [@var{name}]
2866 This command assigns a name to the current thread. If no argument is
2867 given, any existing user-specified name is removed. The thread name
2868 appears in the @samp{info threads} display.
2869
2870 On some systems, such as @sc{gnu}/Linux, @value{GDBN} is able to
2871 determine the name of the thread as given by the OS. On these
2872 systems, a name specified with @samp{thread name} will override the
2873 system-give name, and removing the user-specified name will cause
2874 @value{GDBN} to once again display the system-specified name.
2875
2876 @kindex thread find
2877 @cindex search for a thread
2878 @item thread find [@var{regexp}]
2879 Search for and display thread ids whose name or @var{systag}
2880 matches the supplied regular expression.
2881
2882 As well as being the complement to the @samp{thread name} command,
2883 this command also allows you to identify a thread by its target
2884 @var{systag}. For instance, on @sc{gnu}/Linux, the target @var{systag}
2885 is the LWP id.
2886
2887 @smallexample
2888 (@value{GDBN}) thread find 26688
2889 Thread 4 has target id 'Thread 0x41e02940 (LWP 26688)'
2890 (@value{GDBN}) info thread 4
2891 Id Target Id Frame
2892 4 Thread 0x41e02940 (LWP 26688) 0x00000031ca6cd372 in select ()
2893 @end smallexample
2894
2895 @kindex set print thread-events
2896 @cindex print messages on thread start and exit
2897 @item set print thread-events
2898 @itemx set print thread-events on
2899 @itemx set print thread-events off
2900 The @code{set print thread-events} command allows you to enable or
2901 disable printing of messages when @value{GDBN} notices that new threads have
2902 started or that threads have exited. By default, these messages will
2903 be printed if detection of these events is supported by the target.
2904 Note that these messages cannot be disabled on all targets.
2905
2906 @kindex show print thread-events
2907 @item show print thread-events
2908 Show whether messages will be printed when @value{GDBN} detects that threads
2909 have started and exited.
2910 @end table
2911
2912 @xref{Thread Stops,,Stopping and Starting Multi-thread Programs}, for
2913 more information about how @value{GDBN} behaves when you stop and start
2914 programs with multiple threads.
2915
2916 @xref{Set Watchpoints,,Setting Watchpoints}, for information about
2917 watchpoints in programs with multiple threads.
2918
2919 @anchor{set libthread-db-search-path}
2920 @table @code
2921 @kindex set libthread-db-search-path
2922 @cindex search path for @code{libthread_db}
2923 @item set libthread-db-search-path @r{[}@var{path}@r{]}
2924 If this variable is set, @var{path} is a colon-separated list of
2925 directories @value{GDBN} will use to search for @code{libthread_db}.
2926 If you omit @var{path}, @samp{libthread-db-search-path} will be reset to
2927 its default value (@code{$sdir:$pdir} on @sc{gnu}/Linux and Solaris systems).
2928 Internally, the default value comes from the @code{LIBTHREAD_DB_SEARCH_PATH}
2929 macro.
2930
2931 On @sc{gnu}/Linux and Solaris systems, @value{GDBN} uses a ``helper''
2932 @code{libthread_db} library to obtain information about threads in the
2933 inferior process. @value{GDBN} will use @samp{libthread-db-search-path}
2934 to find @code{libthread_db}. @value{GDBN} also consults first if inferior
2935 specific thread debugging library loading is enabled
2936 by @samp{set auto-load libthread-db} (@pxref{libthread_db.so.1 file}).
2937
2938 A special entry @samp{$sdir} for @samp{libthread-db-search-path}
2939 refers to the default system directories that are
2940 normally searched for loading shared libraries. The @samp{$sdir} entry
2941 is the only kind not needing to be enabled by @samp{set auto-load libthread-db}
2942 (@pxref{libthread_db.so.1 file}).
2943
2944 A special entry @samp{$pdir} for @samp{libthread-db-search-path}
2945 refers to the directory from which @code{libpthread}
2946 was loaded in the inferior process.
2947
2948 For any @code{libthread_db} library @value{GDBN} finds in above directories,
2949 @value{GDBN} attempts to initialize it with the current inferior process.
2950 If this initialization fails (which could happen because of a version
2951 mismatch between @code{libthread_db} and @code{libpthread}), @value{GDBN}
2952 will unload @code{libthread_db}, and continue with the next directory.
2953 If none of @code{libthread_db} libraries initialize successfully,
2954 @value{GDBN} will issue a warning and thread debugging will be disabled.
2955
2956 Setting @code{libthread-db-search-path} is currently implemented
2957 only on some platforms.
2958
2959 @kindex show libthread-db-search-path
2960 @item show libthread-db-search-path
2961 Display current libthread_db search path.
2962
2963 @kindex set debug libthread-db
2964 @kindex show debug libthread-db
2965 @cindex debugging @code{libthread_db}
2966 @item set debug libthread-db
2967 @itemx show debug libthread-db
2968 Turns on or off display of @code{libthread_db}-related events.
2969 Use @code{1} to enable, @code{0} to disable.
2970 @end table
2971
2972 @node Forks
2973 @section Debugging Forks
2974
2975 @cindex fork, debugging programs which call
2976 @cindex multiple processes
2977 @cindex processes, multiple
2978 On most systems, @value{GDBN} has no special support for debugging
2979 programs which create additional processes using the @code{fork}
2980 function. When a program forks, @value{GDBN} will continue to debug the
2981 parent process and the child process will run unimpeded. If you have
2982 set a breakpoint in any code which the child then executes, the child
2983 will get a @code{SIGTRAP} signal which (unless it catches the signal)
2984 will cause it to terminate.
2985
2986 However, if you want to debug the child process there is a workaround
2987 which isn't too painful. Put a call to @code{sleep} in the code which
2988 the child process executes after the fork. It may be useful to sleep
2989 only if a certain environment variable is set, or a certain file exists,
2990 so that the delay need not occur when you don't want to run @value{GDBN}
2991 on the child. While the child is sleeping, use the @code{ps} program to
2992 get its process ID. Then tell @value{GDBN} (a new invocation of
2993 @value{GDBN} if you are also debugging the parent process) to attach to
2994 the child process (@pxref{Attach}). From that point on you can debug
2995 the child process just like any other process which you attached to.
2996
2997 On some systems, @value{GDBN} provides support for debugging programs that
2998 create additional processes using the @code{fork} or @code{vfork} functions.
2999 Currently, the only platforms with this feature are HP-UX (11.x and later
3000 only?) and @sc{gnu}/Linux (kernel version 2.5.60 and later).
3001
3002 By default, when a program forks, @value{GDBN} will continue to debug
3003 the parent process and the child process will run unimpeded.
3004
3005 If you want to follow the child process instead of the parent process,
3006 use the command @w{@code{set follow-fork-mode}}.
3007
3008 @table @code
3009 @kindex set follow-fork-mode
3010 @item set follow-fork-mode @var{mode}
3011 Set the debugger response to a program call of @code{fork} or
3012 @code{vfork}. A call to @code{fork} or @code{vfork} creates a new
3013 process. The @var{mode} argument can be:
3014
3015 @table @code
3016 @item parent
3017 The original process is debugged after a fork. The child process runs
3018 unimpeded. This is the default.
3019
3020 @item child
3021 The new process is debugged after a fork. The parent process runs
3022 unimpeded.
3023
3024 @end table
3025
3026 @kindex show follow-fork-mode
3027 @item show follow-fork-mode
3028 Display the current debugger response to a @code{fork} or @code{vfork} call.
3029 @end table
3030
3031 @cindex debugging multiple processes
3032 On Linux, if you want to debug both the parent and child processes, use the
3033 command @w{@code{set detach-on-fork}}.
3034
3035 @table @code
3036 @kindex set detach-on-fork
3037 @item set detach-on-fork @var{mode}
3038 Tells gdb whether to detach one of the processes after a fork, or
3039 retain debugger control over them both.
3040
3041 @table @code
3042 @item on
3043 The child process (or parent process, depending on the value of
3044 @code{follow-fork-mode}) will be detached and allowed to run
3045 independently. This is the default.
3046
3047 @item off
3048 Both processes will be held under the control of @value{GDBN}.
3049 One process (child or parent, depending on the value of
3050 @code{follow-fork-mode}) is debugged as usual, while the other
3051 is held suspended.
3052
3053 @end table
3054
3055 @kindex show detach-on-fork
3056 @item show detach-on-fork
3057 Show whether detach-on-fork mode is on/off.
3058 @end table
3059
3060 If you choose to set @samp{detach-on-fork} mode off, then @value{GDBN}
3061 will retain control of all forked processes (including nested forks).
3062 You can list the forked processes under the control of @value{GDBN} by
3063 using the @w{@code{info inferiors}} command, and switch from one fork
3064 to another by using the @code{inferior} command (@pxref{Inferiors and
3065 Programs, ,Debugging Multiple Inferiors and Programs}).
3066
3067 To quit debugging one of the forked processes, you can either detach
3068 from it by using the @w{@code{detach inferiors}} command (allowing it
3069 to run independently), or kill it using the @w{@code{kill inferiors}}
3070 command. @xref{Inferiors and Programs, ,Debugging Multiple Inferiors
3071 and Programs}.
3072
3073 If you ask to debug a child process and a @code{vfork} is followed by an
3074 @code{exec}, @value{GDBN} executes the new target up to the first
3075 breakpoint in the new target. If you have a breakpoint set on
3076 @code{main} in your original program, the breakpoint will also be set on
3077 the child process's @code{main}.
3078
3079 On some systems, when a child process is spawned by @code{vfork}, you
3080 cannot debug the child or parent until an @code{exec} call completes.
3081
3082 If you issue a @code{run} command to @value{GDBN} after an @code{exec}
3083 call executes, the new target restarts. To restart the parent
3084 process, use the @code{file} command with the parent executable name
3085 as its argument. By default, after an @code{exec} call executes,
3086 @value{GDBN} discards the symbols of the previous executable image.
3087 You can change this behaviour with the @w{@code{set follow-exec-mode}}
3088 command.
3089
3090 @table @code
3091 @kindex set follow-exec-mode
3092 @item set follow-exec-mode @var{mode}
3093
3094 Set debugger response to a program call of @code{exec}. An
3095 @code{exec} call replaces the program image of a process.
3096
3097 @code{follow-exec-mode} can be:
3098
3099 @table @code
3100 @item new
3101 @value{GDBN} creates a new inferior and rebinds the process to this
3102 new inferior. The program the process was running before the
3103 @code{exec} call can be restarted afterwards by restarting the
3104 original inferior.
3105
3106 For example:
3107
3108 @smallexample
3109 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
3110 (gdb) info inferior
3111 Id Description Executable
3112 * 1 <null> prog1
3113 (@value{GDBP}) run
3114 process 12020 is executing new program: prog2
3115 Program exited normally.
3116 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
3117 Id Description Executable
3118 * 2 <null> prog2
3119 1 <null> prog1
3120 @end smallexample
3121
3122 @item same
3123 @value{GDBN} keeps the process bound to the same inferior. The new
3124 executable image replaces the previous executable loaded in the
3125 inferior. Restarting the inferior after the @code{exec} call, with
3126 e.g., the @code{run} command, restarts the executable the process was
3127 running after the @code{exec} call. This is the default mode.
3128
3129 For example:
3130
3131 @smallexample
3132 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
3133 Id Description Executable
3134 * 1 <null> prog1
3135 (@value{GDBP}) run
3136 process 12020 is executing new program: prog2
3137 Program exited normally.
3138 (@value{GDBP}) info inferiors
3139 Id Description Executable
3140 * 1 <null> prog2
3141 @end smallexample
3142
3143 @end table
3144 @end table
3145
3146 You can use the @code{catch} command to make @value{GDBN} stop whenever
3147 a @code{fork}, @code{vfork}, or @code{exec} call is made. @xref{Set
3148 Catchpoints, ,Setting Catchpoints}.
3149
3150 @node Checkpoint/Restart
3151 @section Setting a @emph{Bookmark} to Return to Later
3152
3153 @cindex checkpoint
3154 @cindex restart
3155 @cindex bookmark
3156 @cindex snapshot of a process
3157 @cindex rewind program state
3158
3159 On certain operating systems@footnote{Currently, only
3160 @sc{gnu}/Linux.}, @value{GDBN} is able to save a @dfn{snapshot} of a
3161 program's state, called a @dfn{checkpoint}, and come back to it
3162 later.
3163
3164 Returning to a checkpoint effectively undoes everything that has
3165 happened in the program since the @code{checkpoint} was saved. This
3166 includes changes in memory, registers, and even (within some limits)
3167 system state. Effectively, it is like going back in time to the
3168 moment when the checkpoint was saved.
3169
3170 Thus, if you're stepping thru a program and you think you're
3171 getting close to the point where things go wrong, you can save
3172 a checkpoint. Then, if you accidentally go too far and miss
3173 the critical statement, instead of having to restart your program
3174 from the beginning, you can just go back to the checkpoint and
3175 start again from there.
3176
3177 This can be especially useful if it takes a lot of time or
3178 steps to reach the point where you think the bug occurs.
3179
3180 To use the @code{checkpoint}/@code{restart} method of debugging:
3181
3182 @table @code
3183 @kindex checkpoint
3184 @item checkpoint
3185 Save a snapshot of the debugged program's current execution state.
3186 The @code{checkpoint} command takes no arguments, but each checkpoint
3187 is assigned a small integer id, similar to a breakpoint id.
3188
3189 @kindex info checkpoints
3190 @item info checkpoints
3191 List the checkpoints that have been saved in the current debugging
3192 session. For each checkpoint, the following information will be
3193 listed:
3194
3195 @table @code
3196 @item Checkpoint ID
3197 @item Process ID
3198 @item Code Address
3199 @item Source line, or label
3200 @end table
3201
3202 @kindex restart @var{checkpoint-id}
3203 @item restart @var{checkpoint-id}
3204 Restore the program state that was saved as checkpoint number
3205 @var{checkpoint-id}. All program variables, registers, stack frames
3206 etc.@: will be returned to the values that they had when the checkpoint
3207 was saved. In essence, gdb will ``wind back the clock'' to the point
3208 in time when the checkpoint was saved.
3209
3210 Note that breakpoints, @value{GDBN} variables, command history etc.
3211 are not affected by restoring a checkpoint. In general, a checkpoint
3212 only restores things that reside in the program being debugged, not in
3213 the debugger.
3214
3215 @kindex delete checkpoint @var{checkpoint-id}
3216 @item delete checkpoint @var{checkpoint-id}
3217 Delete the previously-saved checkpoint identified by @var{checkpoint-id}.
3218
3219 @end table
3220
3221 Returning to a previously saved checkpoint will restore the user state
3222 of the program being debugged, plus a significant subset of the system
3223 (OS) state, including file pointers. It won't ``un-write'' data from
3224 a file, but it will rewind the file pointer to the previous location,
3225 so that the previously written data can be overwritten. For files
3226 opened in read mode, the pointer will also be restored so that the
3227 previously read data can be read again.
3228
3229 Of course, characters that have been sent to a printer (or other
3230 external device) cannot be ``snatched back'', and characters received
3231 from eg.@: a serial device can be removed from internal program buffers,
3232 but they cannot be ``pushed back'' into the serial pipeline, ready to
3233 be received again. Similarly, the actual contents of files that have
3234 been changed cannot be restored (at this time).
3235
3236 However, within those constraints, you actually can ``rewind'' your
3237 program to a previously saved point in time, and begin debugging it
3238 again --- and you can change the course of events so as to debug a
3239 different execution path this time.
3240
3241 @cindex checkpoints and process id
3242 Finally, there is one bit of internal program state that will be
3243 different when you return to a checkpoint --- the program's process
3244 id. Each checkpoint will have a unique process id (or @var{pid}),
3245 and each will be different from the program's original @var{pid}.
3246 If your program has saved a local copy of its process id, this could
3247 potentially pose a problem.
3248
3249 @subsection A Non-obvious Benefit of Using Checkpoints
3250
3251 On some systems such as @sc{gnu}/Linux, address space randomization
3252 is performed on new processes for security reasons. This makes it
3253 difficult or impossible to set a breakpoint, or watchpoint, on an
3254 absolute address if you have to restart the program, since the
3255 absolute location of a symbol will change from one execution to the
3256 next.
3257
3258 A checkpoint, however, is an @emph{identical} copy of a process.
3259 Therefore if you create a checkpoint at (eg.@:) the start of main,
3260 and simply return to that checkpoint instead of restarting the
3261 process, you can avoid the effects of address randomization and
3262 your symbols will all stay in the same place.
3263
3264 @node Stopping
3265 @chapter Stopping and Continuing
3266
3267 The principal purposes of using a debugger are so that you can stop your
3268 program before it terminates; or so that, if your program runs into
3269 trouble, you can investigate and find out why.
3270
3271 Inside @value{GDBN}, your program may stop for any of several reasons,
3272 such as a signal, a breakpoint, or reaching a new line after a
3273 @value{GDBN} command such as @code{step}. You may then examine and
3274 change variables, set new breakpoints or remove old ones, and then
3275 continue execution. Usually, the messages shown by @value{GDBN} provide
3276 ample explanation of the status of your program---but you can also
3277 explicitly request this information at any time.
3278
3279 @table @code
3280 @kindex info program
3281 @item info program
3282 Display information about the status of your program: whether it is
3283 running or not, what process it is, and why it stopped.
3284 @end table
3285
3286 @menu
3287 * Breakpoints:: Breakpoints, watchpoints, and catchpoints
3288 * Continuing and Stepping:: Resuming execution
3289 * Skipping Over Functions and Files::
3290 Skipping over functions and files
3291 * Signals:: Signals
3292 * Thread Stops:: Stopping and starting multi-thread programs
3293 @end menu
3294
3295 @node Breakpoints
3296 @section Breakpoints, Watchpoints, and Catchpoints
3297
3298 @cindex breakpoints
3299 A @dfn{breakpoint} makes your program stop whenever a certain point in
3300 the program is reached. For each breakpoint, you can add conditions to
3301 control in finer detail whether your program stops. You can set
3302 breakpoints with the @code{break} command and its variants (@pxref{Set
3303 Breaks, ,Setting Breakpoints}), to specify the place where your program
3304 should stop by line number, function name or exact address in the
3305 program.
3306
3307 On some systems, you can set breakpoints in shared libraries before
3308 the executable is run. There is a minor limitation on HP-UX systems:
3309 you must wait until the executable is run in order to set breakpoints
3310 in shared library routines that are not called directly by the program
3311 (for example, routines that are arguments in a @code{pthread_create}
3312 call).
3313
3314 @cindex watchpoints
3315 @cindex data breakpoints
3316 @cindex memory tracing
3317 @cindex breakpoint on memory address
3318 @cindex breakpoint on variable modification
3319 A @dfn{watchpoint} is a special breakpoint that stops your program
3320 when the value of an expression changes. The expression may be a value
3321 of a variable, or it could involve values of one or more variables
3322 combined by operators, such as @samp{a + b}. This is sometimes called
3323 @dfn{data breakpoints}. You must use a different command to set
3324 watchpoints (@pxref{Set Watchpoints, ,Setting Watchpoints}), but aside
3325 from that, you can manage a watchpoint like any other breakpoint: you
3326 enable, disable, and delete both breakpoints and watchpoints using the
3327 same commands.
3328
3329 You can arrange to have values from your program displayed automatically
3330 whenever @value{GDBN} stops at a breakpoint. @xref{Auto Display,,
3331 Automatic Display}.
3332
3333 @cindex catchpoints
3334 @cindex breakpoint on events
3335 A @dfn{catchpoint} is another special breakpoint that stops your program
3336 when a certain kind of event occurs, such as the throwing of a C@t{++}
3337 exception or the loading of a library. As with watchpoints, you use a
3338 different command to set a catchpoint (@pxref{Set Catchpoints, ,Setting
3339 Catchpoints}), but aside from that, you can manage a catchpoint like any
3340 other breakpoint. (To stop when your program receives a signal, use the
3341 @code{handle} command; see @ref{Signals, ,Signals}.)
3342
3343 @cindex breakpoint numbers
3344 @cindex numbers for breakpoints
3345 @value{GDBN} assigns a number to each breakpoint, watchpoint, or
3346 catchpoint when you create it; these numbers are successive integers
3347 starting with one. In many of the commands for controlling various
3348 features of breakpoints you use the breakpoint number to say which
3349 breakpoint you want to change. Each breakpoint may be @dfn{enabled} or
3350 @dfn{disabled}; if disabled, it has no effect on your program until you
3351 enable it again.
3352
3353 @cindex breakpoint ranges
3354 @cindex ranges of breakpoints
3355 Some @value{GDBN} commands accept a range of breakpoints on which to
3356 operate. A breakpoint range is either a single breakpoint number, like
3357 @samp{5}, or two such numbers, in increasing order, separated by a
3358 hyphen, like @samp{5-7}. When a breakpoint range is given to a command,
3359 all breakpoints in that range are operated on.
3360
3361 @menu
3362 * Set Breaks:: Setting breakpoints
3363 * Set Watchpoints:: Setting watchpoints
3364 * Set Catchpoints:: Setting catchpoints
3365 * Delete Breaks:: Deleting breakpoints
3366 * Disabling:: Disabling breakpoints
3367 * Conditions:: Break conditions
3368 * Break Commands:: Breakpoint command lists
3369 * Dynamic Printf:: Dynamic printf
3370 * Save Breakpoints:: How to save breakpoints in a file
3371 * Static Probe Points:: Listing static probe points
3372 * Error in Breakpoints:: ``Cannot insert breakpoints''
3373 * Breakpoint-related Warnings:: ``Breakpoint address adjusted...''
3374 @end menu
3375
3376 @node Set Breaks
3377 @subsection Setting Breakpoints
3378
3379 @c FIXME LMB what does GDB do if no code on line of breakpt?
3380 @c consider in particular declaration with/without initialization.
3381 @c
3382 @c FIXME 2 is there stuff on this already? break at fun start, already init?
3383
3384 @kindex break
3385 @kindex b @r{(@code{break})}
3386 @vindex $bpnum@r{, convenience variable}
3387 @cindex latest breakpoint
3388 Breakpoints are set with the @code{break} command (abbreviated
3389 @code{b}). The debugger convenience variable @samp{$bpnum} records the
3390 number of the breakpoint you've set most recently; see @ref{Convenience
3391 Vars,, Convenience Variables}, for a discussion of what you can do with
3392 convenience variables.
3393
3394 @table @code
3395 @item break @var{location}
3396 Set a breakpoint at the given @var{location}, which can specify a
3397 function name, a line number, or an address of an instruction.
3398 (@xref{Specify Location}, for a list of all the possible ways to
3399 specify a @var{location}.) The breakpoint will stop your program just
3400 before it executes any of the code in the specified @var{location}.
3401
3402 When using source languages that permit overloading of symbols, such as
3403 C@t{++}, a function name may refer to more than one possible place to break.
3404 @xref{Ambiguous Expressions,,Ambiguous Expressions}, for a discussion of
3405 that situation.
3406
3407 It is also possible to insert a breakpoint that will stop the program
3408 only if a specific thread (@pxref{Thread-Specific Breakpoints})
3409 or a specific task (@pxref{Ada Tasks}) hits that breakpoint.
3410
3411 @item break
3412 When called without any arguments, @code{break} sets a breakpoint at
3413 the next instruction to be executed in the selected stack frame
3414 (@pxref{Stack, ,Examining the Stack}). In any selected frame but the
3415 innermost, this makes your program stop as soon as control
3416 returns to that frame. This is similar to the effect of a
3417 @code{finish} command in the frame inside the selected frame---except
3418 that @code{finish} does not leave an active breakpoint. If you use
3419 @code{break} without an argument in the innermost frame, @value{GDBN} stops
3420 the next time it reaches the current location; this may be useful
3421 inside loops.
3422
3423 @value{GDBN} normally ignores breakpoints when it resumes execution, until at
3424 least one instruction has been executed. If it did not do this, you
3425 would be unable to proceed past a breakpoint without first disabling the
3426 breakpoint. This rule applies whether or not the breakpoint already
3427 existed when your program stopped.
3428
3429 @item break @dots{} if @var{cond}
3430 Set a breakpoint with condition @var{cond}; evaluate the expression
3431 @var{cond} each time the breakpoint is reached, and stop only if the
3432 value is nonzero---that is, if @var{cond} evaluates as true.
3433 @samp{@dots{}} stands for one of the possible arguments described
3434 above (or no argument) specifying where to break. @xref{Conditions,
3435 ,Break Conditions}, for more information on breakpoint conditions.
3436
3437 @kindex tbreak
3438 @item tbreak @var{args}
3439 Set a breakpoint enabled only for one stop. @var{args} are the
3440 same as for the @code{break} command, and the breakpoint is set in the same
3441 way, but the breakpoint is automatically deleted after the first time your
3442 program stops there. @xref{Disabling, ,Disabling Breakpoints}.
3443
3444 @kindex hbreak
3445 @cindex hardware breakpoints
3446 @item hbreak @var{args}
3447 Set a hardware-assisted breakpoint. @var{args} are the same as for the
3448 @code{break} command and the breakpoint is set in the same way, but the
3449 breakpoint requires hardware support and some target hardware may not
3450 have this support. The main purpose of this is EPROM/ROM code
3451 debugging, so you can set a breakpoint at an instruction without
3452 changing the instruction. This can be used with the new trap-generation
3453 provided by SPARClite DSU and most x86-based targets. These targets
3454 will generate traps when a program accesses some data or instruction
3455 address that is assigned to the debug registers. However the hardware
3456 breakpoint registers can take a limited number of breakpoints. For
3457 example, on the DSU, only two data breakpoints can be set at a time, and
3458 @value{GDBN} will reject this command if more than two are used. Delete
3459 or disable unused hardware breakpoints before setting new ones
3460 (@pxref{Disabling, ,Disabling Breakpoints}).
3461 @xref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions}.
3462 For remote targets, you can restrict the number of hardware
3463 breakpoints @value{GDBN} will use, see @ref{set remote
3464 hardware-breakpoint-limit}.
3465
3466 @kindex thbreak
3467 @item thbreak @var{args}
3468 Set a hardware-assisted breakpoint enabled only for one stop. @var{args}
3469 are the same as for the @code{hbreak} command and the breakpoint is set in
3470 the same way. However, like the @code{tbreak} command,
3471 the breakpoint is automatically deleted after the
3472 first time your program stops there. Also, like the @code{hbreak}
3473 command, the breakpoint requires hardware support and some target hardware
3474 may not have this support. @xref{Disabling, ,Disabling Breakpoints}.
3475 See also @ref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions}.
3476
3477 @kindex rbreak
3478 @cindex regular expression
3479 @cindex breakpoints at functions matching a regexp
3480 @cindex set breakpoints in many functions
3481 @item rbreak @var{regex}
3482 Set breakpoints on all functions matching the regular expression
3483 @var{regex}. This command sets an unconditional breakpoint on all
3484 matches, printing a list of all breakpoints it set. Once these
3485 breakpoints are set, they are treated just like the breakpoints set with
3486 the @code{break} command. You can delete them, disable them, or make
3487 them conditional the same way as any other breakpoint.
3488
3489 The syntax of the regular expression is the standard one used with tools
3490 like @file{grep}. Note that this is different from the syntax used by
3491 shells, so for instance @code{foo*} matches all functions that include
3492 an @code{fo} followed by zero or more @code{o}s. There is an implicit
3493 @code{.*} leading and trailing the regular expression you supply, so to
3494 match only functions that begin with @code{foo}, use @code{^foo}.
3495
3496 @cindex non-member C@t{++} functions, set breakpoint in
3497 When debugging C@t{++} programs, @code{rbreak} is useful for setting
3498 breakpoints on overloaded functions that are not members of any special
3499 classes.
3500
3501 @cindex set breakpoints on all functions
3502 The @code{rbreak} command can be used to set breakpoints in
3503 @strong{all} the functions in a program, like this:
3504
3505 @smallexample
3506 (@value{GDBP}) rbreak .
3507 @end smallexample
3508
3509 @item rbreak @var{file}:@var{regex}
3510 If @code{rbreak} is called with a filename qualification, it limits
3511 the search for functions matching the given regular expression to the
3512 specified @var{file}. This can be used, for example, to set breakpoints on
3513 every function in a given file:
3514
3515 @smallexample
3516 (@value{GDBP}) rbreak file.c:.
3517 @end smallexample
3518
3519 The colon separating the filename qualifier from the regex may
3520 optionally be surrounded by spaces.
3521
3522 @kindex info breakpoints
3523 @cindex @code{$_} and @code{info breakpoints}
3524 @item info breakpoints @r{[}@var{n}@dots{}@r{]}
3525 @itemx info break @r{[}@var{n}@dots{}@r{]}
3526 Print a table of all breakpoints, watchpoints, and catchpoints set and
3527 not deleted. Optional argument @var{n} means print information only
3528 about the specified breakpoint(s) (or watchpoint(s) or catchpoint(s)).
3529 For each breakpoint, following columns are printed:
3530
3531 @table @emph
3532 @item Breakpoint Numbers
3533 @item Type
3534 Breakpoint, watchpoint, or catchpoint.
3535 @item Disposition
3536 Whether the breakpoint is marked to be disabled or deleted when hit.
3537 @item Enabled or Disabled
3538 Enabled breakpoints are marked with @samp{y}. @samp{n} marks breakpoints
3539 that are not enabled.
3540 @item Address
3541 Where the breakpoint is in your program, as a memory address. For a
3542 pending breakpoint whose address is not yet known, this field will
3543 contain @samp{<PENDING>}. Such breakpoint won't fire until a shared
3544 library that has the symbol or line referred by breakpoint is loaded.
3545 See below for details. A breakpoint with several locations will
3546 have @samp{<MULTIPLE>} in this field---see below for details.
3547 @item What
3548 Where the breakpoint is in the source for your program, as a file and
3549 line number. For a pending breakpoint, the original string passed to
3550 the breakpoint command will be listed as it cannot be resolved until
3551 the appropriate shared library is loaded in the future.
3552 @end table
3553
3554 @noindent
3555 If a breakpoint is conditional, there are two evaluation modes: ``host'' and
3556 ``target''. If mode is ``host'', breakpoint condition evaluation is done by
3557 @value{GDBN} on the host's side. If it is ``target'', then the condition
3558 is evaluated by the target. The @code{info break} command shows
3559 the condition on the line following the affected breakpoint, together with
3560 its condition evaluation mode in between parentheses.
3561
3562 Breakpoint commands, if any, are listed after that. A pending breakpoint is
3563 allowed to have a condition specified for it. The condition is not parsed for
3564 validity until a shared library is loaded that allows the pending
3565 breakpoint to resolve to a valid location.
3566
3567 @noindent
3568 @code{info break} with a breakpoint
3569 number @var{n} as argument lists only that breakpoint. The
3570 convenience variable @code{$_} and the default examining-address for
3571 the @code{x} command are set to the address of the last breakpoint
3572 listed (@pxref{Memory, ,Examining Memory}).
3573
3574 @noindent
3575 @code{info break} displays a count of the number of times the breakpoint
3576 has been hit. This is especially useful in conjunction with the
3577 @code{ignore} command. You can ignore a large number of breakpoint
3578 hits, look at the breakpoint info to see how many times the breakpoint
3579 was hit, and then run again, ignoring one less than that number. This
3580 will get you quickly to the last hit of that breakpoint.
3581
3582 @noindent
3583 For a breakpoints with an enable count (xref) greater than 1,
3584 @code{info break} also displays that count.
3585
3586 @end table
3587
3588 @value{GDBN} allows you to set any number of breakpoints at the same place in
3589 your program. There is nothing silly or meaningless about this. When
3590 the breakpoints are conditional, this is even useful
3591 (@pxref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions}).
3592
3593 @cindex multiple locations, breakpoints
3594 @cindex breakpoints, multiple locations
3595 It is possible that a breakpoint corresponds to several locations
3596 in your program. Examples of this situation are:
3597
3598 @itemize @bullet
3599 @item
3600 Multiple functions in the program may have the same name.
3601
3602 @item
3603 For a C@t{++} constructor, the @value{NGCC} compiler generates several
3604 instances of the function body, used in different cases.
3605
3606 @item
3607 For a C@t{++} template function, a given line in the function can
3608 correspond to any number of instantiations.
3609
3610 @item
3611 For an inlined function, a given source line can correspond to
3612 several places where that function is inlined.
3613 @end itemize
3614
3615 In all those cases, @value{GDBN} will insert a breakpoint at all
3616 the relevant locations.
3617
3618 A breakpoint with multiple locations is displayed in the breakpoint
3619 table using several rows---one header row, followed by one row for
3620 each breakpoint location. The header row has @samp{<MULTIPLE>} in the
3621 address column. The rows for individual locations contain the actual
3622 addresses for locations, and show the functions to which those
3623 locations belong. The number column for a location is of the form
3624 @var{breakpoint-number}.@var{location-number}.
3625
3626 For example:
3627
3628 @smallexample
3629 Num Type Disp Enb Address What
3630 1 breakpoint keep y <MULTIPLE>
3631 stop only if i==1
3632 breakpoint already hit 1 time
3633 1.1 y 0x080486a2 in void foo<int>() at t.cc:8
3634 1.2 y 0x080486ca in void foo<double>() at t.cc:8
3635 @end smallexample
3636
3637 Each location can be individually enabled or disabled by passing
3638 @var{breakpoint-number}.@var{location-number} as argument to the
3639 @code{enable} and @code{disable} commands. Note that you cannot
3640 delete the individual locations from the list, you can only delete the
3641 entire list of locations that belong to their parent breakpoint (with
3642 the @kbd{delete @var{num}} command, where @var{num} is the number of
3643 the parent breakpoint, 1 in the above example). Disabling or enabling
3644 the parent breakpoint (@pxref{Disabling}) affects all of the locations
3645 that belong to that breakpoint.
3646
3647 @cindex pending breakpoints
3648 It's quite common to have a breakpoint inside a shared library.
3649 Shared libraries can be loaded and unloaded explicitly,
3650 and possibly repeatedly, as the program is executed. To support
3651 this use case, @value{GDBN} updates breakpoint locations whenever
3652 any shared library is loaded or unloaded. Typically, you would
3653 set a breakpoint in a shared library at the beginning of your
3654 debugging session, when the library is not loaded, and when the
3655 symbols from the library are not available. When you try to set
3656 breakpoint, @value{GDBN} will ask you if you want to set
3657 a so called @dfn{pending breakpoint}---breakpoint whose address
3658 is not yet resolved.
3659
3660 After the program is run, whenever a new shared library is loaded,
3661 @value{GDBN} reevaluates all the breakpoints. When a newly loaded
3662 shared library contains the symbol or line referred to by some
3663 pending breakpoint, that breakpoint is resolved and becomes an
3664 ordinary breakpoint. When a library is unloaded, all breakpoints
3665 that refer to its symbols or source lines become pending again.
3666
3667 This logic works for breakpoints with multiple locations, too. For
3668 example, if you have a breakpoint in a C@t{++} template function, and
3669 a newly loaded shared library has an instantiation of that template,
3670 a new location is added to the list of locations for the breakpoint.
3671
3672 Except for having unresolved address, pending breakpoints do not
3673 differ from regular breakpoints. You can set conditions or commands,
3674 enable and disable them and perform other breakpoint operations.
3675
3676 @value{GDBN} provides some additional commands for controlling what
3677 happens when the @samp{break} command cannot resolve breakpoint
3678 address specification to an address:
3679
3680 @kindex set breakpoint pending
3681 @kindex show breakpoint pending
3682 @table @code
3683 @item set breakpoint pending auto
3684 This is the default behavior. When @value{GDBN} cannot find the breakpoint
3685 location, it queries you whether a pending breakpoint should be created.
3686
3687 @item set breakpoint pending on
3688 This indicates that an unrecognized breakpoint location should automatically
3689 result in a pending breakpoint being created.
3690
3691 @item set breakpoint pending off
3692 This indicates that pending breakpoints are not to be created. Any
3693 unrecognized breakpoint location results in an error. This setting does
3694 not affect any pending breakpoints previously created.
3695
3696 @item show breakpoint pending
3697 Show the current behavior setting for creating pending breakpoints.
3698 @end table
3699
3700 The settings above only affect the @code{break} command and its
3701 variants. Once breakpoint is set, it will be automatically updated
3702 as shared libraries are loaded and unloaded.
3703
3704 @cindex automatic hardware breakpoints
3705 For some targets, @value{GDBN} can automatically decide if hardware or
3706 software breakpoints should be used, depending on whether the
3707 breakpoint address is read-only or read-write. This applies to
3708 breakpoints set with the @code{break} command as well as to internal
3709 breakpoints set by commands like @code{next} and @code{finish}. For
3710 breakpoints set with @code{hbreak}, @value{GDBN} will always use hardware
3711 breakpoints.
3712
3713 You can control this automatic behaviour with the following commands::
3714
3715 @kindex set breakpoint auto-hw
3716 @kindex show breakpoint auto-hw
3717 @table @code
3718 @item set breakpoint auto-hw on
3719 This is the default behavior. When @value{GDBN} sets a breakpoint, it
3720 will try to use the target memory map to decide if software or hardware
3721 breakpoint must be used.
3722
3723 @item set breakpoint auto-hw off
3724 This indicates @value{GDBN} should not automatically select breakpoint
3725 type. If the target provides a memory map, @value{GDBN} will warn when
3726 trying to set software breakpoint at a read-only address.
3727 @end table
3728
3729 @value{GDBN} normally implements breakpoints by replacing the program code
3730 at the breakpoint address with a special instruction, which, when
3731 executed, given control to the debugger. By default, the program
3732 code is so modified only when the program is resumed. As soon as
3733 the program stops, @value{GDBN} restores the original instructions. This
3734 behaviour guards against leaving breakpoints inserted in the
3735 target should gdb abrubptly disconnect. However, with slow remote
3736 targets, inserting and removing breakpoint can reduce the performance.
3737 This behavior can be controlled with the following commands::
3738
3739 @kindex set breakpoint always-inserted
3740 @kindex show breakpoint always-inserted
3741 @table @code
3742 @item set breakpoint always-inserted off
3743 All breakpoints, including newly added by the user, are inserted in
3744 the target only when the target is resumed. All breakpoints are
3745 removed from the target when it stops.
3746
3747 @item set breakpoint always-inserted on
3748 Causes all breakpoints to be inserted in the target at all times. If
3749 the user adds a new breakpoint, or changes an existing breakpoint, the
3750 breakpoints in the target are updated immediately. A breakpoint is
3751 removed from the target only when breakpoint itself is removed.
3752
3753 @cindex non-stop mode, and @code{breakpoint always-inserted}
3754 @item set breakpoint always-inserted auto
3755 This is the default mode. If @value{GDBN} is controlling the inferior
3756 in non-stop mode (@pxref{Non-Stop Mode}), gdb behaves as if
3757 @code{breakpoint always-inserted} mode is on. If @value{GDBN} is
3758 controlling the inferior in all-stop mode, @value{GDBN} behaves as if
3759 @code{breakpoint always-inserted} mode is off.
3760 @end table
3761
3762 @value{GDBN} handles conditional breakpoints by evaluating these conditions
3763 when a breakpoint breaks. If the condition is true, then the process being
3764 debugged stops, otherwise the process is resumed.
3765
3766 If the target supports evaluating conditions on its end, @value{GDBN} may
3767 download the breakpoint, together with its conditions, to it.
3768
3769 This feature can be controlled via the following commands:
3770
3771 @kindex set breakpoint condition-evaluation
3772 @kindex show breakpoint condition-evaluation
3773 @table @code
3774 @item set breakpoint condition-evaluation host
3775 This option commands @value{GDBN} to evaluate the breakpoint
3776 conditions on the host's side. Unconditional breakpoints are sent to
3777 the target which in turn receives the triggers and reports them back to GDB
3778 for condition evaluation. This is the standard evaluation mode.
3779
3780 @item set breakpoint condition-evaluation target
3781 This option commands @value{GDBN} to download breakpoint conditions
3782 to the target at the moment of their insertion. The target
3783 is responsible for evaluating the conditional expression and reporting
3784 breakpoint stop events back to @value{GDBN} whenever the condition
3785 is true. Due to limitations of target-side evaluation, some conditions
3786 cannot be evaluated there, e.g., conditions that depend on local data
3787 that is only known to the host. Examples include
3788 conditional expressions involving convenience variables, complex types
3789 that cannot be handled by the agent expression parser and expressions
3790 that are too long to be sent over to the target, specially when the
3791 target is a remote system. In these cases, the conditions will be
3792 evaluated by @value{GDBN}.
3793
3794 @item set breakpoint condition-evaluation auto
3795 This is the default mode. If the target supports evaluating breakpoint
3796 conditions on its end, @value{GDBN} will download breakpoint conditions to
3797 the target (limitations mentioned previously apply). If the target does
3798 not support breakpoint condition evaluation, then @value{GDBN} will fallback
3799 to evaluating all these conditions on the host's side.
3800 @end table
3801
3802
3803 @cindex negative breakpoint numbers
3804 @cindex internal @value{GDBN} breakpoints
3805 @value{GDBN} itself sometimes sets breakpoints in your program for
3806 special purposes, such as proper handling of @code{longjmp} (in C
3807 programs). These internal breakpoints are assigned negative numbers,
3808 starting with @code{-1}; @samp{info breakpoints} does not display them.
3809 You can see these breakpoints with the @value{GDBN} maintenance command
3810 @samp{maint info breakpoints} (@pxref{maint info breakpoints}).
3811
3812
3813 @node Set Watchpoints
3814 @subsection Setting Watchpoints
3815
3816 @cindex setting watchpoints
3817 You can use a watchpoint to stop execution whenever the value of an
3818 expression changes, without having to predict a particular place where
3819 this may happen. (This is sometimes called a @dfn{data breakpoint}.)
3820 The expression may be as simple as the value of a single variable, or
3821 as complex as many variables combined by operators. Examples include:
3822
3823 @itemize @bullet
3824 @item
3825 A reference to the value of a single variable.
3826
3827 @item
3828 An address cast to an appropriate data type. For example,
3829 @samp{*(int *)0x12345678} will watch a 4-byte region at the specified
3830 address (assuming an @code{int} occupies 4 bytes).
3831
3832 @item
3833 An arbitrarily complex expression, such as @samp{a*b + c/d}. The
3834 expression can use any operators valid in the program's native
3835 language (@pxref{Languages}).
3836 @end itemize
3837
3838 You can set a watchpoint on an expression even if the expression can
3839 not be evaluated yet. For instance, you can set a watchpoint on
3840 @samp{*global_ptr} before @samp{global_ptr} is initialized.
3841 @value{GDBN} will stop when your program sets @samp{global_ptr} and
3842 the expression produces a valid value. If the expression becomes
3843 valid in some other way than changing a variable (e.g.@: if the memory
3844 pointed to by @samp{*global_ptr} becomes readable as the result of a
3845 @code{malloc} call), @value{GDBN} may not stop until the next time
3846 the expression changes.
3847
3848 @cindex software watchpoints
3849 @cindex hardware watchpoints
3850 Depending on your system, watchpoints may be implemented in software or
3851 hardware. @value{GDBN} does software watchpointing by single-stepping your
3852 program and testing the variable's value each time, which is hundreds of
3853 times slower than normal execution. (But this may still be worth it, to
3854 catch errors where you have no clue what part of your program is the
3855 culprit.)
3856
3857 On some systems, such as HP-UX, PowerPC, @sc{gnu}/Linux and most other
3858 x86-based targets, @value{GDBN} includes support for hardware
3859 watchpoints, which do not slow down the running of your program.
3860
3861 @table @code
3862 @kindex watch
3863 @item watch @r{[}-l@r{|}-location@r{]} @var{expr} @r{[}thread @var{threadnum}@r{]} @r{[}mask @var{maskvalue}@r{]}
3864 Set a watchpoint for an expression. @value{GDBN} will break when the
3865 expression @var{expr} is written into by the program and its value
3866 changes. The simplest (and the most popular) use of this command is
3867 to watch the value of a single variable:
3868
3869 @smallexample
3870 (@value{GDBP}) watch foo
3871 @end smallexample
3872
3873 If the command includes a @code{@r{[}thread @var{threadnum}@r{]}}
3874 argument, @value{GDBN} breaks only when the thread identified by
3875 @var{threadnum} changes the value of @var{expr}. If any other threads
3876 change the value of @var{expr}, @value{GDBN} will not break. Note
3877 that watchpoints restricted to a single thread in this way only work
3878 with Hardware Watchpoints.
3879
3880 Ordinarily a watchpoint respects the scope of variables in @var{expr}
3881 (see below). The @code{-location} argument tells @value{GDBN} to
3882 instead watch the memory referred to by @var{expr}. In this case,
3883 @value{GDBN} will evaluate @var{expr}, take the address of the result,
3884 and watch the memory at that address. The type of the result is used
3885 to determine the size of the watched memory. If the expression's
3886 result does not have an address, then @value{GDBN} will print an
3887 error.
3888
3889 The @code{@r{[}mask @var{maskvalue}@r{]}} argument allows creation
3890 of masked watchpoints, if the current architecture supports this
3891 feature (e.g., PowerPC Embedded architecture, see @ref{PowerPC
3892 Embedded}.) A @dfn{masked watchpoint} specifies a mask in addition
3893 to an address to watch. The mask specifies that some bits of an address
3894 (the bits which are reset in the mask) should be ignored when matching
3895 the address accessed by the inferior against the watchpoint address.
3896 Thus, a masked watchpoint watches many addresses simultaneously---those
3897 addresses whose unmasked bits are identical to the unmasked bits in the
3898 watchpoint address. The @code{mask} argument implies @code{-location}.
3899 Examples:
3900
3901 @smallexample
3902 (@value{GDBP}) watch foo mask 0xffff00ff
3903 (@value{GDBP}) watch *0xdeadbeef mask 0xffffff00
3904 @end smallexample
3905
3906 @kindex rwatch
3907 @item rwatch @r{[}-l@r{|}-location@r{]} @var{expr} @r{[}thread @var{threadnum}@r{]} @r{[}mask @var{maskvalue}@r{]}
3908 Set a watchpoint that will break when the value of @var{expr} is read
3909 by the program.
3910
3911 @kindex awatch
3912 @item awatch @r{[}-l@r{|}-location@r{]} @var{expr} @r{[}thread @var{threadnum}@r{]} @r{[}mask @var{maskvalue}@r{]}
3913 Set a watchpoint that will break when @var{expr} is either read from
3914 or written into by the program.
3915
3916 @kindex info watchpoints @r{[}@var{n}@dots{}@r{]}
3917 @item info watchpoints @r{[}@var{n}@dots{}@r{]}
3918 This command prints a list of watchpoints, using the same format as
3919 @code{info break} (@pxref{Set Breaks}).
3920 @end table
3921
3922 If you watch for a change in a numerically entered address you need to
3923 dereference it, as the address itself is just a constant number which will
3924 never change. @value{GDBN} refuses to create a watchpoint that watches
3925 a never-changing value:
3926
3927 @smallexample
3928 (@value{GDBP}) watch 0x600850
3929 Cannot watch constant value 0x600850.
3930 (@value{GDBP}) watch *(int *) 0x600850
3931 Watchpoint 1: *(int *) 6293584
3932 @end smallexample
3933
3934 @value{GDBN} sets a @dfn{hardware watchpoint} if possible. Hardware
3935 watchpoints execute very quickly, and the debugger reports a change in
3936 value at the exact instruction where the change occurs. If @value{GDBN}
3937 cannot set a hardware watchpoint, it sets a software watchpoint, which
3938 executes more slowly and reports the change in value at the next
3939 @emph{statement}, not the instruction, after the change occurs.
3940
3941 @cindex use only software watchpoints
3942 You can force @value{GDBN} to use only software watchpoints with the
3943 @kbd{set can-use-hw-watchpoints 0} command. With this variable set to
3944 zero, @value{GDBN} will never try to use hardware watchpoints, even if
3945 the underlying system supports them. (Note that hardware-assisted
3946 watchpoints that were set @emph{before} setting
3947 @code{can-use-hw-watchpoints} to zero will still use the hardware
3948 mechanism of watching expression values.)
3949
3950 @table @code
3951 @item set can-use-hw-watchpoints
3952 @kindex set can-use-hw-watchpoints
3953 Set whether or not to use hardware watchpoints.
3954
3955 @item show can-use-hw-watchpoints
3956 @kindex show can-use-hw-watchpoints
3957 Show the current mode of using hardware watchpoints.
3958 @end table
3959
3960 For remote targets, you can restrict the number of hardware
3961 watchpoints @value{GDBN} will use, see @ref{set remote
3962 hardware-breakpoint-limit}.
3963
3964 When you issue the @code{watch} command, @value{GDBN} reports
3965
3966 @smallexample
3967 Hardware watchpoint @var{num}: @var{expr}
3968 @end smallexample
3969
3970 @noindent
3971 if it was able to set a hardware watchpoint.
3972
3973 Currently, the @code{awatch} and @code{rwatch} commands can only set
3974 hardware watchpoints, because accesses to data that don't change the
3975 value of the watched expression cannot be detected without examining
3976 every instruction as it is being executed, and @value{GDBN} does not do
3977 that currently. If @value{GDBN} finds that it is unable to set a
3978 hardware breakpoint with the @code{awatch} or @code{rwatch} command, it
3979 will print a message like this:
3980
3981 @smallexample
3982 Expression cannot be implemented with read/access watchpoint.
3983 @end smallexample
3984
3985 Sometimes, @value{GDBN} cannot set a hardware watchpoint because the
3986 data type of the watched expression is wider than what a hardware
3987 watchpoint on the target machine can handle. For example, some systems
3988 can only watch regions that are up to 4 bytes wide; on such systems you
3989 cannot set hardware watchpoints for an expression that yields a
3990 double-precision floating-point number (which is typically 8 bytes
3991 wide). As a work-around, it might be possible to break the large region
3992 into a series of smaller ones and watch them with separate watchpoints.
3993
3994 If you set too many hardware watchpoints, @value{GDBN} might be unable
3995 to insert all of them when you resume the execution of your program.
3996 Since the precise number of active watchpoints is unknown until such
3997 time as the program is about to be resumed, @value{GDBN} might not be
3998 able to warn you about this when you set the watchpoints, and the
3999 warning will be printed only when the program is resumed:
4000
4001 @smallexample
4002 Hardware watchpoint @var{num}: Could not insert watchpoint
4003 @end smallexample
4004
4005 @noindent
4006 If this happens, delete or disable some of the watchpoints.
4007
4008 Watching complex expressions that reference many variables can also
4009 exhaust the resources available for hardware-assisted watchpoints.
4010 That's because @value{GDBN} needs to watch every variable in the
4011 expression with separately allocated resources.
4012
4013 If you call a function interactively using @code{print} or @code{call},
4014 any watchpoints you have set will be inactive until @value{GDBN} reaches another
4015 kind of breakpoint or the call completes.
4016
4017 @value{GDBN} automatically deletes watchpoints that watch local
4018 (automatic) variables, or expressions that involve such variables, when
4019 they go out of scope, that is, when the execution leaves the block in
4020 which these variables were defined. In particular, when the program
4021 being debugged terminates, @emph{all} local variables go out of scope,
4022 and so only watchpoints that watch global variables remain set. If you
4023 rerun the program, you will need to set all such watchpoints again. One
4024 way of doing that would be to set a code breakpoint at the entry to the
4025 @code{main} function and when it breaks, set all the watchpoints.
4026
4027 @cindex watchpoints and threads
4028 @cindex threads and watchpoints
4029 In multi-threaded programs, watchpoints will detect changes to the
4030 watched expression from every thread.
4031
4032 @quotation
4033 @emph{Warning:} In multi-threaded programs, software watchpoints
4034 have only limited usefulness. If @value{GDBN} creates a software
4035 watchpoint, it can only watch the value of an expression @emph{in a
4036 single thread}. If you are confident that the expression can only
4037 change due to the current thread's activity (and if you are also
4038 confident that no other thread can become current), then you can use
4039 software watchpoints as usual. However, @value{GDBN} may not notice
4040 when a non-current thread's activity changes the expression. (Hardware
4041 watchpoints, in contrast, watch an expression in all threads.)
4042 @end quotation
4043
4044 @xref{set remote hardware-watchpoint-limit}.
4045
4046 @node Set Catchpoints
4047 @subsection Setting Catchpoints
4048 @cindex catchpoints, setting
4049 @cindex exception handlers
4050 @cindex event handling
4051
4052 You can use @dfn{catchpoints} to cause the debugger to stop for certain
4053 kinds of program events, such as C@t{++} exceptions or the loading of a
4054 shared library. Use the @code{catch} command to set a catchpoint.
4055
4056 @table @code
4057 @kindex catch
4058 @item catch @var{event}
4059 Stop when @var{event} occurs. @var{event} can be any of the following:
4060 @table @code
4061 @item throw
4062 @cindex stop on C@t{++} exceptions
4063 The throwing of a C@t{++} exception.
4064
4065 @item catch
4066 The catching of a C@t{++} exception.
4067
4068 @item exception
4069 @cindex Ada exception catching
4070 @cindex catch Ada exceptions
4071 An Ada exception being raised. If an exception name is specified
4072 at the end of the command (eg @code{catch exception Program_Error}),
4073 the debugger will stop only when this specific exception is raised.
4074 Otherwise, the debugger stops execution when any Ada exception is raised.
4075
4076 When inserting an exception catchpoint on a user-defined exception whose
4077 name is identical to one of the exceptions defined by the language, the
4078 fully qualified name must be used as the exception name. Otherwise,
4079 @value{GDBN} will assume that it should stop on the pre-defined exception
4080 rather than the user-defined one. For instance, assuming an exception
4081 called @code{Constraint_Error} is defined in package @code{Pck}, then
4082 the command to use to catch such exceptions is @kbd{catch exception
4083 Pck.Constraint_Error}.
4084
4085 @item exception unhandled
4086 An exception that was raised but is not handled by the program.
4087
4088 @item assert
4089 A failed Ada assertion.
4090
4091 @item exec
4092 @cindex break on fork/exec
4093 A call to @code{exec}. This is currently only available for HP-UX
4094 and @sc{gnu}/Linux.
4095
4096 @item syscall
4097 @itemx syscall @r{[}@var{name} @r{|} @var{number}@r{]} @dots{}
4098 @cindex break on a system call.
4099 A call to or return from a system call, a.k.a.@: @dfn{syscall}. A
4100 syscall is a mechanism for application programs to request a service
4101 from the operating system (OS) or one of the OS system services.
4102 @value{GDBN} can catch some or all of the syscalls issued by the
4103 debuggee, and show the related information for each syscall. If no
4104 argument is specified, calls to and returns from all system calls
4105 will be caught.
4106
4107 @var{name} can be any system call name that is valid for the
4108 underlying OS. Just what syscalls are valid depends on the OS. On
4109 GNU and Unix systems, you can find the full list of valid syscall
4110 names on @file{/usr/include/asm/unistd.h}.
4111
4112 @c For MS-Windows, the syscall names and the corresponding numbers
4113 @c can be found, e.g., on this URL:
4114 @c http://www.metasploit.com/users/opcode/syscalls.html
4115 @c but we don't support Windows syscalls yet.
4116
4117 Normally, @value{GDBN} knows in advance which syscalls are valid for
4118 each OS, so you can use the @value{GDBN} command-line completion
4119 facilities (@pxref{Completion,, command completion}) to list the
4120 available choices.
4121
4122 You may also specify the system call numerically. A syscall's
4123 number is the value passed to the OS's syscall dispatcher to
4124 identify the requested service. When you specify the syscall by its
4125 name, @value{GDBN} uses its database of syscalls to convert the name
4126 into the corresponding numeric code, but using the number directly
4127 may be useful if @value{GDBN}'s database does not have the complete
4128 list of syscalls on your system (e.g., because @value{GDBN} lags
4129 behind the OS upgrades).
4130
4131 The example below illustrates how this command works if you don't provide
4132 arguments to it:
4133
4134 @smallexample
4135 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall
4136 Catchpoint 1 (syscall)
4137 (@value{GDBP}) r
4138 Starting program: /tmp/catch-syscall
4139
4140 Catchpoint 1 (call to syscall 'close'), \
4141 0xffffe424 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
4142 (@value{GDBP}) c
4143 Continuing.
4144
4145 Catchpoint 1 (returned from syscall 'close'), \
4146 0xffffe424 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
4147 (@value{GDBP})
4148 @end smallexample
4149
4150 Here is an example of catching a system call by name:
4151
4152 @smallexample
4153 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall chroot
4154 Catchpoint 1 (syscall 'chroot' [61])
4155 (@value{GDBP}) r
4156 Starting program: /tmp/catch-syscall
4157
4158 Catchpoint 1 (call to syscall 'chroot'), \
4159 0xffffe424 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
4160 (@value{GDBP}) c
4161 Continuing.
4162
4163 Catchpoint 1 (returned from syscall 'chroot'), \
4164 0xffffe424 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
4165 (@value{GDBP})
4166 @end smallexample
4167
4168 An example of specifying a system call numerically. In the case
4169 below, the syscall number has a corresponding entry in the XML
4170 file, so @value{GDBN} finds its name and prints it:
4171
4172 @smallexample
4173 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall 252
4174 Catchpoint 1 (syscall(s) 'exit_group')
4175 (@value{GDBP}) r
4176 Starting program: /tmp/catch-syscall
4177
4178 Catchpoint 1 (call to syscall 'exit_group'), \
4179 0xffffe424 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
4180 (@value{GDBP}) c
4181 Continuing.
4182
4183 Program exited normally.
4184 (@value{GDBP})
4185 @end smallexample
4186
4187 However, there can be situations when there is no corresponding name
4188 in XML file for that syscall number. In this case, @value{GDBN} prints
4189 a warning message saying that it was not able to find the syscall name,
4190 but the catchpoint will be set anyway. See the example below:
4191
4192 @smallexample
4193 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall 764
4194 warning: The number '764' does not represent a known syscall.
4195 Catchpoint 2 (syscall 764)
4196 (@value{GDBP})
4197 @end smallexample
4198
4199 If you configure @value{GDBN} using the @samp{--without-expat} option,
4200 it will not be able to display syscall names. Also, if your
4201 architecture does not have an XML file describing its system calls,
4202 you will not be able to see the syscall names. It is important to
4203 notice that these two features are used for accessing the syscall
4204 name database. In either case, you will see a warning like this:
4205
4206 @smallexample
4207 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall
4208 warning: Could not open "syscalls/i386-linux.xml"
4209 warning: Could not load the syscall XML file 'syscalls/i386-linux.xml'.
4210 GDB will not be able to display syscall names.
4211 Catchpoint 1 (syscall)
4212 (@value{GDBP})
4213 @end smallexample
4214
4215 Of course, the file name will change depending on your architecture and system.
4216
4217 Still using the example above, you can also try to catch a syscall by its
4218 number. In this case, you would see something like:
4219
4220 @smallexample
4221 (@value{GDBP}) catch syscall 252
4222 Catchpoint 1 (syscall(s) 252)
4223 @end smallexample
4224
4225 Again, in this case @value{GDBN} would not be able to display syscall's names.
4226
4227 @item fork
4228 A call to @code{fork}. This is currently only available for HP-UX
4229 and @sc{gnu}/Linux.
4230
4231 @item vfork
4232 A call to @code{vfork}. This is currently only available for HP-UX
4233 and @sc{gnu}/Linux.
4234
4235 @item load @r{[}regexp@r{]}
4236 @itemx unload @r{[}regexp@r{]}
4237 The loading or unloading of a shared library. If @var{regexp} is
4238 given, then the catchpoint will stop only if the regular expression
4239 matches one of the affected libraries.
4240
4241 @item signal @r{[}@var{signal}@dots{} @r{|} @samp{all}@r{]}
4242 The delivery of a signal.
4243
4244 With no arguments, this catchpoint will catch any signal that is not
4245 used internally by @value{GDBN}, specifically, all signals except
4246 @samp{SIGTRAP} and @samp{SIGINT}.
4247
4248 With the argument @samp{all}, all signals, including those used by
4249 @value{GDBN}, will be caught. This argument cannot be used with other
4250 signal names.
4251
4252 Otherwise, the arguments are a list of signal names as given to
4253 @code{handle} (@pxref{Signals}). Only signals specified in this list
4254 will be caught.
4255
4256 One reason that @code{catch signal} can be more useful than
4257 @code{handle} is that you can attach commands and conditions to the
4258 catchpoint.
4259
4260 When a signal is caught by a catchpoint, the signal's @code{stop} and
4261 @code{print} settings, as specified by @code{handle}, are ignored.
4262 However, whether the signal is still delivered to the inferior depends
4263 on the @code{pass} setting; this can be changed in the catchpoint's
4264 commands.
4265
4266 @end table
4267
4268 @item tcatch @var{event}
4269 Set a catchpoint that is enabled only for one stop. The catchpoint is
4270 automatically deleted after the first time the event is caught.
4271
4272 @end table
4273
4274 Use the @code{info break} command to list the current catchpoints.
4275
4276 There are currently some limitations to C@t{++} exception handling
4277 (@code{catch throw} and @code{catch catch}) in @value{GDBN}:
4278
4279 @itemize @bullet
4280 @item
4281 If you call a function interactively, @value{GDBN} normally returns
4282 control to you when the function has finished executing. If the call
4283 raises an exception, however, the call may bypass the mechanism that
4284 returns control to you and cause your program either to abort or to
4285 simply continue running until it hits a breakpoint, catches a signal
4286 that @value{GDBN} is listening for, or exits. This is the case even if
4287 you set a catchpoint for the exception; catchpoints on exceptions are
4288 disabled within interactive calls.
4289
4290 @item
4291 You cannot raise an exception interactively.
4292
4293 @item
4294 You cannot install an exception handler interactively.
4295 @end itemize
4296
4297 @cindex raise exceptions
4298 Sometimes @code{catch} is not the best way to debug exception handling:
4299 if you need to know exactly where an exception is raised, it is better to
4300 stop @emph{before} the exception handler is called, since that way you
4301 can see the stack before any unwinding takes place. If you set a
4302 breakpoint in an exception handler instead, it may not be easy to find
4303 out where the exception was raised.
4304
4305 To stop just before an exception handler is called, you need some
4306 knowledge of the implementation. In the case of @sc{gnu} C@t{++}, exceptions are
4307 raised by calling a library function named @code{__raise_exception}
4308 which has the following ANSI C interface:
4309
4310 @smallexample
4311 /* @var{addr} is where the exception identifier is stored.
4312 @var{id} is the exception identifier. */
4313 void __raise_exception (void **addr, void *id);
4314 @end smallexample
4315
4316 @noindent
4317 To make the debugger catch all exceptions before any stack
4318 unwinding takes place, set a breakpoint on @code{__raise_exception}
4319 (@pxref{Breakpoints, ,Breakpoints; Watchpoints; and Exceptions}).
4320
4321 With a conditional breakpoint (@pxref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions})
4322 that depends on the value of @var{id}, you can stop your program when
4323 a specific exception is raised. You can use multiple conditional
4324 breakpoints to stop your program when any of a number of exceptions are
4325 raised.
4326
4327
4328 @node Delete Breaks
4329 @subsection Deleting Breakpoints
4330
4331 @cindex clearing breakpoints, watchpoints, catchpoints
4332 @cindex deleting breakpoints, watchpoints, catchpoints
4333 It is often necessary to eliminate a breakpoint, watchpoint, or
4334 catchpoint once it has done its job and you no longer want your program
4335 to stop there. This is called @dfn{deleting} the breakpoint. A
4336 breakpoint that has been deleted no longer exists; it is forgotten.
4337
4338 With the @code{clear} command you can delete breakpoints according to
4339 where they are in your program. With the @code{delete} command you can
4340 delete individual breakpoints, watchpoints, or catchpoints by specifying
4341 their breakpoint numbers.
4342
4343 It is not necessary to delete a breakpoint to proceed past it. @value{GDBN}
4344 automatically ignores breakpoints on the first instruction to be executed
4345 when you continue execution without changing the execution address.
4346
4347 @table @code
4348 @kindex clear
4349 @item clear
4350 Delete any breakpoints at the next instruction to be executed in the
4351 selected stack frame (@pxref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}). When
4352 the innermost frame is selected, this is a good way to delete a
4353 breakpoint where your program just stopped.
4354
4355 @item clear @var{location}
4356 Delete any breakpoints set at the specified @var{location}.
4357 @xref{Specify Location}, for the various forms of @var{location}; the
4358 most useful ones are listed below:
4359
4360 @table @code
4361 @item clear @var{function}
4362 @itemx clear @var{filename}:@var{function}
4363 Delete any breakpoints set at entry to the named @var{function}.
4364
4365 @item clear @var{linenum}
4366 @itemx clear @var{filename}:@var{linenum}
4367 Delete any breakpoints set at or within the code of the specified
4368 @var{linenum} of the specified @var{filename}.
4369 @end table
4370
4371 @cindex delete breakpoints
4372 @kindex delete
4373 @kindex d @r{(@code{delete})}
4374 @item delete @r{[}breakpoints@r{]} @r{[}@var{range}@dots{}@r{]}
4375 Delete the breakpoints, watchpoints, or catchpoints of the breakpoint
4376 ranges specified as arguments. If no argument is specified, delete all
4377 breakpoints (@value{GDBN} asks confirmation, unless you have @code{set
4378 confirm off}). You can abbreviate this command as @code{d}.
4379 @end table
4380
4381 @node Disabling
4382 @subsection Disabling Breakpoints
4383
4384 @cindex enable/disable a breakpoint
4385 Rather than deleting a breakpoint, watchpoint, or catchpoint, you might
4386 prefer to @dfn{disable} it. This makes the breakpoint inoperative as if
4387 it had been deleted, but remembers the information on the breakpoint so
4388 that you can @dfn{enable} it again later.
4389
4390 You disable and enable breakpoints, watchpoints, and catchpoints with
4391 the @code{enable} and @code{disable} commands, optionally specifying
4392 one or more breakpoint numbers as arguments. Use @code{info break} to
4393 print a list of all breakpoints, watchpoints, and catchpoints if you
4394 do not know which numbers to use.
4395
4396 Disabling and enabling a breakpoint that has multiple locations
4397 affects all of its locations.
4398
4399 A breakpoint, watchpoint, or catchpoint can have any of several
4400 different states of enablement:
4401
4402 @itemize @bullet
4403 @item
4404 Enabled. The breakpoint stops your program. A breakpoint set
4405 with the @code{break} command starts out in this state.
4406 @item
4407 Disabled. The breakpoint has no effect on your program.
4408 @item
4409 Enabled once. The breakpoint stops your program, but then becomes
4410 disabled.
4411 @item
4412 Enabled for a count. The breakpoint stops your program for the next
4413 N times, then becomes disabled.
4414 @item
4415 Enabled for deletion. The breakpoint stops your program, but
4416 immediately after it does so it is deleted permanently. A breakpoint
4417 set with the @code{tbreak} command starts out in this state.
4418 @end itemize
4419
4420 You can use the following commands to enable or disable breakpoints,
4421 watchpoints, and catchpoints:
4422
4423 @table @code
4424 @kindex disable
4425 @kindex dis @r{(@code{disable})}
4426 @item disable @r{[}breakpoints@r{]} @r{[}@var{range}@dots{}@r{]}
4427 Disable the specified breakpoints---or all breakpoints, if none are
4428 listed. A disabled breakpoint has no effect but is not forgotten. All
4429 options such as ignore-counts, conditions and commands are remembered in
4430 case the breakpoint is enabled again later. You may abbreviate
4431 @code{disable} as @code{dis}.
4432
4433 @kindex enable
4434 @item enable @r{[}breakpoints@r{]} @r{[}@var{range}@dots{}@r{]}
4435 Enable the specified breakpoints (or all defined breakpoints). They
4436 become effective once again in stopping your program.
4437
4438 @item enable @r{[}breakpoints@r{]} once @var{range}@dots{}
4439 Enable the specified breakpoints temporarily. @value{GDBN} disables any
4440 of these breakpoints immediately after stopping your program.
4441
4442 @item enable @r{[}breakpoints@r{]} count @var{count} @var{range}@dots{}
4443 Enable the specified breakpoints temporarily. @value{GDBN} records
4444 @var{count} with each of the specified breakpoints, and decrements a
4445 breakpoint's count when it is hit. When any count reaches 0,
4446 @value{GDBN} disables that breakpoint. If a breakpoint has an ignore
4447 count (@pxref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions}), that will be
4448 decremented to 0 before @var{count} is affected.
4449
4450 @item enable @r{[}breakpoints@r{]} delete @var{range}@dots{}
4451 Enable the specified breakpoints to work once, then die. @value{GDBN}
4452 deletes any of these breakpoints as soon as your program stops there.
4453 Breakpoints set by the @code{tbreak} command start out in this state.
4454 @end table
4455
4456 @c FIXME: I think the following ``Except for [...] @code{tbreak}'' is
4457 @c confusing: tbreak is also initially enabled.
4458 Except for a breakpoint set with @code{tbreak} (@pxref{Set Breaks,
4459 ,Setting Breakpoints}), breakpoints that you set are initially enabled;
4460 subsequently, they become disabled or enabled only when you use one of
4461 the commands above. (The command @code{until} can set and delete a
4462 breakpoint of its own, but it does not change the state of your other
4463 breakpoints; see @ref{Continuing and Stepping, ,Continuing and
4464 Stepping}.)
4465
4466 @node Conditions
4467 @subsection Break Conditions
4468 @cindex conditional breakpoints
4469 @cindex breakpoint conditions
4470
4471 @c FIXME what is scope of break condition expr? Context where wanted?
4472 @c in particular for a watchpoint?
4473 The simplest sort of breakpoint breaks every time your program reaches a
4474 specified place. You can also specify a @dfn{condition} for a
4475 breakpoint. A condition is just a Boolean expression in your
4476 programming language (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}). A breakpoint with
4477 a condition evaluates the expression each time your program reaches it,
4478 and your program stops only if the condition is @emph{true}.
4479
4480 This is the converse of using assertions for program validation; in that
4481 situation, you want to stop when the assertion is violated---that is,
4482 when the condition is false. In C, if you want to test an assertion expressed
4483 by the condition @var{assert}, you should set the condition
4484 @samp{! @var{assert}} on the appropriate breakpoint.
4485
4486 Conditions are also accepted for watchpoints; you may not need them,
4487 since a watchpoint is inspecting the value of an expression anyhow---but
4488 it might be simpler, say, to just set a watchpoint on a variable name,
4489 and specify a condition that tests whether the new value is an interesting
4490 one.
4491
4492 Break conditions can have side effects, and may even call functions in
4493 your program. This can be useful, for example, to activate functions
4494 that log program progress, or to use your own print functions to
4495 format special data structures. The effects are completely predictable
4496 unless there is another enabled breakpoint at the same address. (In
4497 that case, @value{GDBN} might see the other breakpoint first and stop your
4498 program without checking the condition of this one.) Note that
4499 breakpoint commands are usually more convenient and flexible than break
4500 conditions for the
4501 purpose of performing side effects when a breakpoint is reached
4502 (@pxref{Break Commands, ,Breakpoint Command Lists}).
4503
4504 Breakpoint conditions can also be evaluated on the target's side if
4505 the target supports it. Instead of evaluating the conditions locally,
4506 @value{GDBN} encodes the expression into an agent expression
4507 (@pxref{Agent Expressions}) suitable for execution on the target,
4508 independently of @value{GDBN}. Global variables become raw memory
4509 locations, locals become stack accesses, and so forth.
4510
4511 In this case, @value{GDBN} will only be notified of a breakpoint trigger
4512 when its condition evaluates to true. This mechanism may provide faster
4513 response times depending on the performance characteristics of the target
4514 since it does not need to keep @value{GDBN} informed about
4515 every breakpoint trigger, even those with false conditions.
4516
4517 Break conditions can be specified when a breakpoint is set, by using
4518 @samp{if} in the arguments to the @code{break} command. @xref{Set
4519 Breaks, ,Setting Breakpoints}. They can also be changed at any time
4520 with the @code{condition} command.
4521
4522 You can also use the @code{if} keyword with the @code{watch} command.
4523 The @code{catch} command does not recognize the @code{if} keyword;
4524 @code{condition} is the only way to impose a further condition on a
4525 catchpoint.
4526
4527 @table @code
4528 @kindex condition
4529 @item condition @var{bnum} @var{expression}
4530 Specify @var{expression} as the break condition for breakpoint,
4531 watchpoint, or catchpoint number @var{bnum}. After you set a condition,
4532 breakpoint @var{bnum} stops your program only if the value of
4533 @var{expression} is true (nonzero, in C). When you use
4534 @code{condition}, @value{GDBN} checks @var{expression} immediately for
4535 syntactic correctness, and to determine whether symbols in it have
4536 referents in the context of your breakpoint. If @var{expression} uses
4537 symbols not referenced in the context of the breakpoint, @value{GDBN}
4538 prints an error message:
4539
4540 @smallexample
4541 No symbol "foo" in current context.
4542 @end smallexample
4543
4544 @noindent
4545 @value{GDBN} does
4546 not actually evaluate @var{expression} at the time the @code{condition}
4547 command (or a command that sets a breakpoint with a condition, like
4548 @code{break if @dots{}}) is given, however. @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}.
4549
4550 @item condition @var{bnum}
4551 Remove the condition from breakpoint number @var{bnum}. It becomes
4552 an ordinary unconditional breakpoint.
4553 @end table
4554
4555 @cindex ignore count (of breakpoint)
4556 A special case of a breakpoint condition is to stop only when the
4557 breakpoint has been reached a certain number of times. This is so
4558 useful that there is a special way to do it, using the @dfn{ignore
4559 count} of the breakpoint. Every breakpoint has an ignore count, which
4560 is an integer. Most of the time, the ignore count is zero, and
4561 therefore has no effect. But if your program reaches a breakpoint whose
4562 ignore count is positive, then instead of stopping, it just decrements
4563 the ignore count by one and continues. As a result, if the ignore count
4564 value is @var{n}, the breakpoint does not stop the next @var{n} times
4565 your program reaches it.
4566
4567 @table @code
4568 @kindex ignore
4569 @item ignore @var{bnum} @var{count}
4570 Set the ignore count of breakpoint number @var{bnum} to @var{count}.
4571 The next @var{count} times the breakpoint is reached, your program's
4572 execution does not stop; other than to decrement the ignore count, @value{GDBN}
4573 takes no action.
4574
4575 To make the breakpoint stop the next time it is reached, specify
4576 a count of zero.
4577
4578 When you use @code{continue} to resume execution of your program from a
4579 breakpoint, you can specify an ignore count directly as an argument to
4580 @code{continue}, rather than using @code{ignore}. @xref{Continuing and
4581 Stepping,,Continuing and Stepping}.
4582
4583 If a breakpoint has a positive ignore count and a condition, the
4584 condition is not checked. Once the ignore count reaches zero,
4585 @value{GDBN} resumes checking the condition.
4586
4587 You could achieve the effect of the ignore count with a condition such
4588 as @w{@samp{$foo-- <= 0}} using a debugger convenience variable that
4589 is decremented each time. @xref{Convenience Vars, ,Convenience
4590 Variables}.
4591 @end table
4592
4593 Ignore counts apply to breakpoints, watchpoints, and catchpoints.
4594
4595
4596 @node Break Commands
4597 @subsection Breakpoint Command Lists
4598
4599 @cindex breakpoint commands
4600 You can give any breakpoint (or watchpoint or catchpoint) a series of
4601 commands to execute when your program stops due to that breakpoint. For
4602 example, you might want to print the values of certain expressions, or
4603 enable other breakpoints.
4604
4605 @table @code
4606 @kindex commands
4607 @kindex end@r{ (breakpoint commands)}
4608 @item commands @r{[}@var{range}@dots{}@r{]}
4609 @itemx @dots{} @var{command-list} @dots{}
4610 @itemx end
4611 Specify a list of commands for the given breakpoints. The commands
4612 themselves appear on the following lines. Type a line containing just
4613 @code{end} to terminate the commands.
4614
4615 To remove all commands from a breakpoint, type @code{commands} and
4616 follow it immediately with @code{end}; that is, give no commands.
4617
4618 With no argument, @code{commands} refers to the last breakpoint,
4619 watchpoint, or catchpoint set (not to the breakpoint most recently
4620 encountered). If the most recent breakpoints were set with a single
4621 command, then the @code{commands} will apply to all the breakpoints
4622 set by that command. This applies to breakpoints set by
4623 @code{rbreak}, and also applies when a single @code{break} command
4624 creates multiple breakpoints (@pxref{Ambiguous Expressions,,Ambiguous
4625 Expressions}).
4626 @end table
4627
4628 Pressing @key{RET} as a means of repeating the last @value{GDBN} command is
4629 disabled within a @var{command-list}.
4630
4631 You can use breakpoint commands to start your program up again. Simply
4632 use the @code{continue} command, or @code{step}, or any other command
4633 that resumes execution.
4634
4635 Any other commands in the command list, after a command that resumes
4636 execution, are ignored. This is because any time you resume execution
4637 (even with a simple @code{next} or @code{step}), you may encounter
4638 another breakpoint---which could have its own command list, leading to
4639 ambiguities about which list to execute.
4640
4641 @kindex silent
4642 If the first command you specify in a command list is @code{silent}, the
4643 usual message about stopping at a breakpoint is not printed. This may
4644 be desirable for breakpoints that are to print a specific message and
4645 then continue. If none of the remaining commands print anything, you
4646 see no sign that the breakpoint was reached. @code{silent} is
4647 meaningful only at the beginning of a breakpoint command list.
4648
4649 The commands @code{echo}, @code{output}, and @code{printf} allow you to
4650 print precisely controlled output, and are often useful in silent
4651 breakpoints. @xref{Output, ,Commands for Controlled Output}.
4652
4653 For example, here is how you could use breakpoint commands to print the
4654 value of @code{x} at entry to @code{foo} whenever @code{x} is positive.
4655
4656 @smallexample
4657 break foo if x>0
4658 commands
4659 silent
4660 printf "x is %d\n",x
4661 cont
4662 end
4663 @end smallexample
4664
4665 One application for breakpoint commands is to compensate for one bug so
4666 you can test for another. Put a breakpoint just after the erroneous line
4667 of code, give it a condition to detect the case in which something
4668 erroneous has been done, and give it commands to assign correct values
4669 to any variables that need them. End with the @code{continue} command
4670 so that your program does not stop, and start with the @code{silent}
4671 command so that no output is produced. Here is an example:
4672
4673 @smallexample
4674 break 403
4675 commands
4676 silent
4677 set x = y + 4
4678 cont
4679 end
4680 @end smallexample
4681
4682 @node Dynamic Printf
4683 @subsection Dynamic Printf
4684
4685 @cindex dynamic printf
4686 @cindex dprintf
4687 The dynamic printf command @code{dprintf} combines a breakpoint with
4688 formatted printing of your program's data to give you the effect of
4689 inserting @code{printf} calls into your program on-the-fly, without
4690 having to recompile it.
4691
4692 In its most basic form, the output goes to the GDB console. However,
4693 you can set the variable @code{dprintf-style} for alternate handling.
4694 For instance, you can ask to format the output by calling your
4695 program's @code{printf} function. This has the advantage that the
4696 characters go to the program's output device, so they can recorded in
4697 redirects to files and so forth.
4698
4699 If you are doing remote debugging with a stub or agent, you can also
4700 ask to have the printf handled by the remote agent. In addition to
4701 ensuring that the output goes to the remote program's device along
4702 with any other output the program might produce, you can also ask that
4703 the dprintf remain active even after disconnecting from the remote
4704 target. Using the stub/agent is also more efficient, as it can do
4705 everything without needing to communicate with @value{GDBN}.
4706
4707 @table @code
4708 @kindex dprintf
4709 @item dprintf @var{location},@var{template},@var{expression}[,@var{expression}@dots{}]
4710 Whenever execution reaches @var{location}, print the values of one or
4711 more @var{expressions} under the control of the string @var{template}.
4712 To print several values, separate them with commas.
4713
4714 @item set dprintf-style @var{style}
4715 Set the dprintf output to be handled in one of several different
4716 styles enumerated below. A change of style affects all existing
4717 dynamic printfs immediately. (If you need individual control over the
4718 print commands, simply define normal breakpoints with
4719 explicitly-supplied command lists.)
4720
4721 @item gdb
4722 @kindex dprintf-style gdb
4723 Handle the output using the @value{GDBN} @code{printf} command.
4724
4725 @item call
4726 @kindex dprintf-style call
4727 Handle the output by calling a function in your program (normally
4728 @code{printf}).
4729
4730 @item agent
4731 @kindex dprintf-style agent
4732 Have the remote debugging agent (such as @code{gdbserver}) handle
4733 the output itself. This style is only available for agents that
4734 support running commands on the target.
4735
4736 @item set dprintf-function @var{function}
4737 Set the function to call if the dprintf style is @code{call}. By
4738 default its value is @code{printf}. You may set it to any expression.
4739 that @value{GDBN} can evaluate to a function, as per the @code{call}
4740 command.
4741
4742 @item set dprintf-channel @var{channel}
4743 Set a ``channel'' for dprintf. If set to a non-empty value,
4744 @value{GDBN} will evaluate it as an expression and pass the result as
4745 a first argument to the @code{dprintf-function}, in the manner of
4746 @code{fprintf} and similar functions. Otherwise, the dprintf format
4747 string will be the first argument, in the manner of @code{printf}.
4748
4749 As an example, if you wanted @code{dprintf} output to go to a logfile
4750 that is a standard I/O stream assigned to the variable @code{mylog},
4751 you could do the following:
4752
4753 @example
4754 (gdb) set dprintf-style call
4755 (gdb) set dprintf-function fprintf
4756 (gdb) set dprintf-channel mylog
4757 (gdb) dprintf 25,"at line 25, glob=%d\n",glob
4758 Dprintf 1 at 0x123456: file main.c, line 25.
4759 (gdb) info break
4760 1 dprintf keep y 0x00123456 in main at main.c:25
4761 call (void) fprintf (mylog,"at line 25, glob=%d\n",glob)
4762 continue
4763 (gdb)
4764 @end example
4765
4766 Note that the @code{info break} displays the dynamic printf commands
4767 as normal breakpoint commands; you can thus easily see the effect of
4768 the variable settings.
4769
4770 @item set disconnected-dprintf on
4771 @itemx set disconnected-dprintf off
4772 @kindex set disconnected-dprintf
4773 Choose whether @code{dprintf} commands should continue to run if
4774 @value{GDBN} has disconnected from the target. This only applies
4775 if the @code{dprintf-style} is @code{agent}.
4776
4777 @item show disconnected-dprintf off
4778 @kindex show disconnected-dprintf
4779 Show the current choice for disconnected @code{dprintf}.
4780
4781 @end table
4782
4783 @value{GDBN} does not check the validity of function and channel,
4784 relying on you to supply values that are meaningful for the contexts
4785 in which they are being used. For instance, the function and channel
4786 may be the values of local variables, but if that is the case, then
4787 all enabled dynamic prints must be at locations within the scope of
4788 those locals. If evaluation fails, @value{GDBN} will report an error.
4789
4790 @node Save Breakpoints
4791 @subsection How to save breakpoints to a file
4792
4793 To save breakpoint definitions to a file use the @w{@code{save
4794 breakpoints}} command.
4795
4796 @table @code
4797 @kindex save breakpoints
4798 @cindex save breakpoints to a file for future sessions
4799 @item save breakpoints [@var{filename}]
4800 This command saves all current breakpoint definitions together with
4801 their commands and ignore counts, into a file @file{@var{filename}}
4802 suitable for use in a later debugging session. This includes all
4803 types of breakpoints (breakpoints, watchpoints, catchpoints,
4804 tracepoints). To read the saved breakpoint definitions, use the
4805 @code{source} command (@pxref{Command Files}). Note that watchpoints
4806 with expressions involving local variables may fail to be recreated
4807 because it may not be possible to access the context where the
4808 watchpoint is valid anymore. Because the saved breakpoint definitions
4809 are simply a sequence of @value{GDBN} commands that recreate the
4810 breakpoints, you can edit the file in your favorite editing program,
4811 and remove the breakpoint definitions you're not interested in, or
4812 that can no longer be recreated.
4813 @end table
4814
4815 @node Static Probe Points
4816 @subsection Static Probe Points
4817
4818 @cindex static probe point, SystemTap
4819 @value{GDBN} supports @dfn{SDT} probes in the code. @acronym{SDT} stands
4820 for Statically Defined Tracing, and the probes are designed to have a tiny
4821 runtime code and data footprint, and no dynamic relocations. They are
4822 usable from assembly, C and C@t{++} languages. See
4823 @uref{http://sourceware.org/systemtap/wiki/UserSpaceProbeImplementation}
4824 for a good reference on how the @acronym{SDT} probes are implemented.
4825
4826 Currently, @code{SystemTap} (@uref{http://sourceware.org/systemtap/})
4827 @acronym{SDT} probes are supported on ELF-compatible systems. See
4828 @uref{http://sourceware.org/systemtap/wiki/AddingUserSpaceProbingToApps}
4829 for more information on how to add @code{SystemTap} @acronym{SDT} probes
4830 in your applications.
4831
4832 @cindex semaphores on static probe points
4833 Some probes have an associated semaphore variable; for instance, this
4834 happens automatically if you defined your probe using a DTrace-style
4835 @file{.d} file. If your probe has a semaphore, @value{GDBN} will
4836 automatically enable it when you specify a breakpoint using the
4837 @samp{-probe-stap} notation. But, if you put a breakpoint at a probe's
4838 location by some other method (e.g., @code{break file:line}), then
4839 @value{GDBN} will not automatically set the semaphore.
4840
4841 You can examine the available static static probes using @code{info
4842 probes}, with optional arguments:
4843
4844 @table @code
4845 @kindex info probes
4846 @item info probes stap @r{[}@var{provider} @r{[}@var{name} @r{[}@var{objfile}@r{]}@r{]}@r{]}
4847 If given, @var{provider} is a regular expression used to match against provider
4848 names when selecting which probes to list. If omitted, probes by all
4849 probes from all providers are listed.
4850
4851 If given, @var{name} is a regular expression to match against probe names
4852 when selecting which probes to list. If omitted, probe names are not
4853 considered when deciding whether to display them.
4854
4855 If given, @var{objfile} is a regular expression used to select which
4856 object files (executable or shared libraries) to examine. If not
4857 given, all object files are considered.
4858
4859 @item info probes all
4860 List the available static probes, from all types.
4861 @end table
4862
4863 @vindex $_probe_arg@r{, convenience variable}
4864 A probe may specify up to twelve arguments. These are available at the
4865 point at which the probe is defined---that is, when the current PC is
4866 at the probe's location. The arguments are available using the
4867 convenience variables (@pxref{Convenience Vars})
4868 @code{$_probe_arg0}@dots{}@code{$_probe_arg11}. Each probe argument is
4869 an integer of the appropriate size; types are not preserved. The
4870 convenience variable @code{$_probe_argc} holds the number of arguments
4871 at the current probe point.
4872
4873 These variables are always available, but attempts to access them at
4874 any location other than a probe point will cause @value{GDBN} to give
4875 an error message.
4876
4877
4878 @c @ifclear BARETARGET
4879 @node Error in Breakpoints
4880 @subsection ``Cannot insert breakpoints''
4881
4882 If you request too many active hardware-assisted breakpoints and
4883 watchpoints, you will see this error message:
4884
4885 @c FIXME: the precise wording of this message may change; the relevant
4886 @c source change is not committed yet (Sep 3, 1999).
4887 @smallexample
4888 Stopped; cannot insert breakpoints.
4889 You may have requested too many hardware breakpoints and watchpoints.
4890 @end smallexample
4891
4892 @noindent
4893 This message is printed when you attempt to resume the program, since
4894 only then @value{GDBN} knows exactly how many hardware breakpoints and
4895 watchpoints it needs to insert.
4896
4897 When this message is printed, you need to disable or remove some of the
4898 hardware-assisted breakpoints and watchpoints, and then continue.
4899
4900 @node Breakpoint-related Warnings
4901 @subsection ``Breakpoint address adjusted...''
4902 @cindex breakpoint address adjusted
4903
4904 Some processor architectures place constraints on the addresses at
4905 which breakpoints may be placed. For architectures thus constrained,
4906 @value{GDBN} will attempt to adjust the breakpoint's address to comply
4907 with the constraints dictated by the architecture.
4908
4909 One example of such an architecture is the Fujitsu FR-V. The FR-V is
4910 a VLIW architecture in which a number of RISC-like instructions may be
4911 bundled together for parallel execution. The FR-V architecture
4912 constrains the location of a breakpoint instruction within such a
4913 bundle to the instruction with the lowest address. @value{GDBN}
4914 honors this constraint by adjusting a breakpoint's address to the
4915 first in the bundle.
4916
4917 It is not uncommon for optimized code to have bundles which contain
4918 instructions from different source statements, thus it may happen that
4919 a breakpoint's address will be adjusted from one source statement to
4920 another. Since this adjustment may significantly alter @value{GDBN}'s
4921 breakpoint related behavior from what the user expects, a warning is
4922 printed when the breakpoint is first set and also when the breakpoint
4923 is hit.
4924
4925 A warning like the one below is printed when setting a breakpoint
4926 that's been subject to address adjustment:
4927
4928 @smallexample
4929 warning: Breakpoint address adjusted from 0x00010414 to 0x00010410.
4930 @end smallexample
4931
4932 Such warnings are printed both for user settable and @value{GDBN}'s
4933 internal breakpoints. If you see one of these warnings, you should
4934 verify that a breakpoint set at the adjusted address will have the
4935 desired affect. If not, the breakpoint in question may be removed and
4936 other breakpoints may be set which will have the desired behavior.
4937 E.g., it may be sufficient to place the breakpoint at a later
4938 instruction. A conditional breakpoint may also be useful in some
4939 cases to prevent the breakpoint from triggering too often.
4940
4941 @value{GDBN} will also issue a warning when stopping at one of these
4942 adjusted breakpoints:
4943
4944 @smallexample
4945 warning: Breakpoint 1 address previously adjusted from 0x00010414
4946 to 0x00010410.
4947 @end smallexample
4948
4949 When this warning is encountered, it may be too late to take remedial
4950 action except in cases where the breakpoint is hit earlier or more
4951 frequently than expected.
4952
4953 @node Continuing and Stepping
4954 @section Continuing and Stepping
4955
4956 @cindex stepping
4957 @cindex continuing
4958 @cindex resuming execution
4959 @dfn{Continuing} means resuming program execution until your program
4960 completes normally. In contrast, @dfn{stepping} means executing just
4961 one more ``step'' of your program, where ``step'' may mean either one
4962 line of source code, or one machine instruction (depending on what
4963 particular command you use). Either when continuing or when stepping,
4964 your program may stop even sooner, due to a breakpoint or a signal. (If
4965 it stops due to a signal, you may want to use @code{handle}, or use
4966 @samp{signal 0} to resume execution. @xref{Signals, ,Signals}.)
4967
4968 @table @code
4969 @kindex continue
4970 @kindex c @r{(@code{continue})}
4971 @kindex fg @r{(resume foreground execution)}
4972 @item continue @r{[}@var{ignore-count}@r{]}
4973 @itemx c @r{[}@var{ignore-count}@r{]}
4974 @itemx fg @r{[}@var{ignore-count}@r{]}
4975 Resume program execution, at the address where your program last stopped;
4976 any breakpoints set at that address are bypassed. The optional argument
4977 @var{ignore-count} allows you to specify a further number of times to
4978 ignore a breakpoint at this location; its effect is like that of
4979 @code{ignore} (@pxref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions}).
4980
4981 The argument @var{ignore-count} is meaningful only when your program
4982 stopped due to a breakpoint. At other times, the argument to
4983 @code{continue} is ignored.
4984
4985 The synonyms @code{c} and @code{fg} (for @dfn{foreground}, as the
4986 debugged program is deemed to be the foreground program) are provided
4987 purely for convenience, and have exactly the same behavior as
4988 @code{continue}.
4989 @end table
4990
4991 To resume execution at a different place, you can use @code{return}
4992 (@pxref{Returning, ,Returning from a Function}) to go back to the
4993 calling function; or @code{jump} (@pxref{Jumping, ,Continuing at a
4994 Different Address}) to go to an arbitrary location in your program.
4995
4996 A typical technique for using stepping is to set a breakpoint
4997 (@pxref{Breakpoints, ,Breakpoints; Watchpoints; and Catchpoints}) at the
4998 beginning of the function or the section of your program where a problem
4999 is believed to lie, run your program until it stops at that breakpoint,
5000 and then step through the suspect area, examining the variables that are
5001 interesting, until you see the problem happen.
5002
5003 @table @code
5004 @kindex step
5005 @kindex s @r{(@code{step})}
5006 @item step
5007 Continue running your program until control reaches a different source
5008 line, then stop it and return control to @value{GDBN}. This command is
5009 abbreviated @code{s}.
5010
5011 @quotation
5012 @c "without debugging information" is imprecise; actually "without line
5013 @c numbers in the debugging information". (gcc -g1 has debugging info but
5014 @c not line numbers). But it seems complex to try to make that
5015 @c distinction here.
5016 @emph{Warning:} If you use the @code{step} command while control is
5017 within a function that was compiled without debugging information,
5018 execution proceeds until control reaches a function that does have
5019 debugging information. Likewise, it will not step into a function which
5020 is compiled without debugging information. To step through functions
5021 without debugging information, use the @code{stepi} command, described
5022 below.
5023 @end quotation
5024
5025 The @code{step} command only stops at the first instruction of a source
5026 line. This prevents the multiple stops that could otherwise occur in
5027 @code{switch} statements, @code{for} loops, etc. @code{step} continues
5028 to stop if a function that has debugging information is called within
5029 the line. In other words, @code{step} @emph{steps inside} any functions
5030 called within the line.
5031
5032 Also, the @code{step} command only enters a function if there is line
5033 number information for the function. Otherwise it acts like the
5034 @code{next} command. This avoids problems when using @code{cc -gl}
5035 on @acronym{MIPS} machines. Previously, @code{step} entered subroutines if there
5036 was any debugging information about the routine.
5037
5038 @item step @var{count}
5039 Continue running as in @code{step}, but do so @var{count} times. If a
5040 breakpoint is reached, or a signal not related to stepping occurs before
5041 @var{count} steps, stepping stops right away.
5042
5043 @kindex next
5044 @kindex n @r{(@code{next})}
5045 @item next @r{[}@var{count}@r{]}
5046 Continue to the next source line in the current (innermost) stack frame.
5047 This is similar to @code{step}, but function calls that appear within
5048 the line of code are executed without stopping. Execution stops when
5049 control reaches a different line of code at the original stack level
5050 that was executing when you gave the @code{next} command. This command
5051 is abbreviated @code{n}.
5052
5053 An argument @var{count} is a repeat count, as for @code{step}.
5054
5055
5056 @c FIX ME!! Do we delete this, or is there a way it fits in with
5057 @c the following paragraph? --- Vctoria
5058 @c
5059 @c @code{next} within a function that lacks debugging information acts like
5060 @c @code{step}, but any function calls appearing within the code of the
5061 @c function are executed without stopping.
5062
5063 The @code{next} command only stops at the first instruction of a
5064 source line. This prevents multiple stops that could otherwise occur in
5065 @code{switch} statements, @code{for} loops, etc.
5066
5067 @kindex set step-mode
5068 @item set step-mode
5069 @cindex functions without line info, and stepping
5070 @cindex stepping into functions with no line info
5071 @itemx set step-mode on
5072 The @code{set step-mode on} command causes the @code{step} command to
5073 stop at the first instruction of a function which contains no debug line
5074 information rather than stepping over it.
5075
5076 This is useful in cases where you may be interested in inspecting the
5077 machine instructions of a function which has no symbolic info and do not
5078 want @value{GDBN} to automatically skip over this function.
5079
5080 @item set step-mode off
5081 Causes the @code{step} command to step over any functions which contains no
5082 debug information. This is the default.
5083
5084 @item show step-mode
5085 Show whether @value{GDBN} will stop in or step over functions without
5086 source line debug information.
5087
5088 @kindex finish
5089 @kindex fin @r{(@code{finish})}
5090 @item finish
5091 Continue running until just after function in the selected stack frame
5092 returns. Print the returned value (if any). This command can be
5093 abbreviated as @code{fin}.
5094
5095 Contrast this with the @code{return} command (@pxref{Returning,
5096 ,Returning from a Function}).
5097
5098 @kindex until
5099 @kindex u @r{(@code{until})}
5100 @cindex run until specified location
5101 @item until
5102 @itemx u
5103 Continue running until a source line past the current line, in the
5104 current stack frame, is reached. This command is used to avoid single
5105 stepping through a loop more than once. It is like the @code{next}
5106 command, except that when @code{until} encounters a jump, it
5107 automatically continues execution until the program counter is greater
5108 than the address of the jump.
5109
5110 This means that when you reach the end of a loop after single stepping
5111 though it, @code{until} makes your program continue execution until it
5112 exits the loop. In contrast, a @code{next} command at the end of a loop
5113 simply steps back to the beginning of the loop, which forces you to step
5114 through the next iteration.
5115
5116 @code{until} always stops your program if it attempts to exit the current
5117 stack frame.
5118
5119 @code{until} may produce somewhat counterintuitive results if the order
5120 of machine code does not match the order of the source lines. For
5121 example, in the following excerpt from a debugging session, the @code{f}
5122 (@code{frame}) command shows that execution is stopped at line
5123 @code{206}; yet when we use @code{until}, we get to line @code{195}:
5124
5125 @smallexample
5126 (@value{GDBP}) f
5127 #0 main (argc=4, argv=0xf7fffae8) at m4.c:206
5128 206 expand_input();
5129 (@value{GDBP}) until
5130 195 for ( ; argc > 0; NEXTARG) @{
5131 @end smallexample
5132
5133 This happened because, for execution efficiency, the compiler had
5134 generated code for the loop closure test at the end, rather than the
5135 start, of the loop---even though the test in a C @code{for}-loop is
5136 written before the body of the loop. The @code{until} command appeared
5137 to step back to the beginning of the loop when it advanced to this
5138 expression; however, it has not really gone to an earlier
5139 statement---not in terms of the actual machine code.
5140
5141 @code{until} with no argument works by means of single
5142 instruction stepping, and hence is slower than @code{until} with an
5143 argument.
5144
5145 @item until @var{location}
5146 @itemx u @var{location}
5147 Continue running your program until either the specified location is
5148 reached, or the current stack frame returns. @var{location} is any of
5149 the forms described in @ref{Specify Location}.
5150 This form of the command uses temporary breakpoints, and
5151 hence is quicker than @code{until} without an argument. The specified
5152 location is actually reached only if it is in the current frame. This
5153 implies that @code{until} can be used to skip over recursive function
5154 invocations. For instance in the code below, if the current location is
5155 line @code{96}, issuing @code{until 99} will execute the program up to
5156 line @code{99} in the same invocation of factorial, i.e., after the inner
5157 invocations have returned.
5158
5159 @smallexample
5160 94 int factorial (int value)
5161 95 @{
5162 96 if (value > 1) @{
5163 97 value *= factorial (value - 1);
5164 98 @}
5165 99 return (value);
5166 100 @}
5167 @end smallexample
5168
5169
5170 @kindex advance @var{location}
5171 @item advance @var{location}
5172 Continue running the program up to the given @var{location}. An argument is
5173 required, which should be of one of the forms described in
5174 @ref{Specify Location}.
5175 Execution will also stop upon exit from the current stack
5176 frame. This command is similar to @code{until}, but @code{advance} will
5177 not skip over recursive function calls, and the target location doesn't
5178 have to be in the same frame as the current one.
5179
5180
5181 @kindex stepi
5182 @kindex si @r{(@code{stepi})}
5183 @item stepi
5184 @itemx stepi @var{arg}
5185 @itemx si
5186 Execute one machine instruction, then stop and return to the debugger.
5187
5188 It is often useful to do @samp{display/i $pc} when stepping by machine
5189 instructions. This makes @value{GDBN} automatically display the next
5190 instruction to be executed, each time your program stops. @xref{Auto
5191 Display,, Automatic Display}.
5192
5193 An argument is a repeat count, as in @code{step}.
5194
5195 @need 750
5196 @kindex nexti
5197 @kindex ni @r{(@code{nexti})}
5198 @item nexti
5199 @itemx nexti @var{arg}
5200 @itemx ni
5201 Execute one machine instruction, but if it is a function call,
5202 proceed until the function returns.
5203
5204 An argument is a repeat count, as in @code{next}.
5205 @end table
5206
5207 @node Skipping Over Functions and Files
5208 @section Skipping Over Functions and Files
5209 @cindex skipping over functions and files
5210
5211 The program you are debugging may contain some functions which are
5212 uninteresting to debug. The @code{skip} comand lets you tell @value{GDBN} to
5213 skip a function or all functions in a file when stepping.
5214
5215 For example, consider the following C function:
5216
5217 @smallexample
5218 101 int func()
5219 102 @{
5220 103 foo(boring());
5221 104 bar(boring());
5222 105 @}
5223 @end smallexample
5224
5225 @noindent
5226 Suppose you wish to step into the functions @code{foo} and @code{bar}, but you
5227 are not interested in stepping through @code{boring}. If you run @code{step}
5228 at line 103, you'll enter @code{boring()}, but if you run @code{next}, you'll
5229 step over both @code{foo} and @code{boring}!
5230
5231 One solution is to @code{step} into @code{boring} and use the @code{finish}
5232 command to immediately exit it. But this can become tedious if @code{boring}
5233 is called from many places.
5234
5235 A more flexible solution is to execute @kbd{skip boring}. This instructs
5236 @value{GDBN} never to step into @code{boring}. Now when you execute
5237 @code{step} at line 103, you'll step over @code{boring} and directly into
5238 @code{foo}.
5239
5240 You can also instruct @value{GDBN} to skip all functions in a file, with, for
5241 example, @code{skip file boring.c}.
5242
5243 @table @code
5244 @kindex skip function
5245 @item skip @r{[}@var{linespec}@r{]}
5246 @itemx skip function @r{[}@var{linespec}@r{]}
5247 After running this command, the function named by @var{linespec} or the
5248 function containing the line named by @var{linespec} will be skipped over when
5249 stepping. @xref{Specify Location}.
5250
5251 If you do not specify @var{linespec}, the function you're currently debugging
5252 will be skipped.
5253
5254 (If you have a function called @code{file} that you want to skip, use
5255 @kbd{skip function file}.)
5256
5257 @kindex skip file
5258 @item skip file @r{[}@var{filename}@r{]}
5259 After running this command, any function whose source lives in @var{filename}
5260 will be skipped over when stepping.
5261
5262 If you do not specify @var{filename}, functions whose source lives in the file
5263 you're currently debugging will be skipped.
5264 @end table
5265
5266 Skips can be listed, deleted, disabled, and enabled, much like breakpoints.
5267 These are the commands for managing your list of skips:
5268
5269 @table @code
5270 @kindex info skip
5271 @item info skip @r{[}@var{range}@r{]}
5272 Print details about the specified skip(s). If @var{range} is not specified,
5273 print a table with details about all functions and files marked for skipping.
5274 @code{info skip} prints the following information about each skip:
5275
5276 @table @emph
5277 @item Identifier
5278 A number identifying this skip.
5279 @item Type
5280 The type of this skip, either @samp{function} or @samp{file}.
5281 @item Enabled or Disabled
5282 Enabled skips are marked with @samp{y}. Disabled skips are marked with @samp{n}.
5283 @item Address
5284 For function skips, this column indicates the address in memory of the function
5285 being skipped. If you've set a function skip on a function which has not yet
5286 been loaded, this field will contain @samp{<PENDING>}. Once a shared library
5287 which has the function is loaded, @code{info skip} will show the function's
5288 address here.
5289 @item What
5290 For file skips, this field contains the filename being skipped. For functions
5291 skips, this field contains the function name and its line number in the file
5292 where it is defined.
5293 @end table
5294
5295 @kindex skip delete
5296 @item skip delete @r{[}@var{range}@r{]}
5297 Delete the specified skip(s). If @var{range} is not specified, delete all
5298 skips.
5299
5300 @kindex skip enable
5301 @item skip enable @r{[}@var{range}@r{]}
5302 Enable the specified skip(s). If @var{range} is not specified, enable all
5303 skips.
5304
5305 @kindex skip disable
5306 @item skip disable @r{[}@var{range}@r{]}
5307 Disable the specified skip(s). If @var{range} is not specified, disable all
5308 skips.
5309
5310 @end table
5311
5312 @node Signals
5313 @section Signals
5314 @cindex signals
5315
5316 A signal is an asynchronous event that can happen in a program. The
5317 operating system defines the possible kinds of signals, and gives each
5318 kind a name and a number. For example, in Unix @code{SIGINT} is the
5319 signal a program gets when you type an interrupt character (often @kbd{Ctrl-c});
5320 @code{SIGSEGV} is the signal a program gets from referencing a place in
5321 memory far away from all the areas in use; @code{SIGALRM} occurs when
5322 the alarm clock timer goes off (which happens only if your program has
5323 requested an alarm).
5324
5325 @cindex fatal signals
5326 Some signals, including @code{SIGALRM}, are a normal part of the
5327 functioning of your program. Others, such as @code{SIGSEGV}, indicate
5328 errors; these signals are @dfn{fatal} (they kill your program immediately) if the
5329 program has not specified in advance some other way to handle the signal.
5330 @code{SIGINT} does not indicate an error in your program, but it is normally
5331 fatal so it can carry out the purpose of the interrupt: to kill the program.
5332
5333 @value{GDBN} has the ability to detect any occurrence of a signal in your
5334 program. You can tell @value{GDBN} in advance what to do for each kind of
5335 signal.
5336
5337 @cindex handling signals
5338 Normally, @value{GDBN} is set up to let the non-erroneous signals like
5339 @code{SIGALRM} be silently passed to your program
5340 (so as not to interfere with their role in the program's functioning)
5341 but to stop your program immediately whenever an error signal happens.
5342 You can change these settings with the @code{handle} command.
5343
5344 @table @code
5345 @kindex info signals
5346 @kindex info handle
5347 @item info signals
5348 @itemx info handle
5349 Print a table of all the kinds of signals and how @value{GDBN} has been told to
5350 handle each one. You can use this to see the signal numbers of all
5351 the defined types of signals.
5352
5353 @item info signals @var{sig}
5354 Similar, but print information only about the specified signal number.
5355
5356 @code{info handle} is an alias for @code{info signals}.
5357
5358 @item catch signal @r{[}@var{signal}@dots{} @r{|} @samp{all}@r{]}
5359 Set a catchpoint for the indicated signals. @xref{Set Catchpoints},
5360 for details about this command.
5361
5362 @kindex handle
5363 @item handle @var{signal} @r{[}@var{keywords}@dots{}@r{]}
5364 Change the way @value{GDBN} handles signal @var{signal}. @var{signal}
5365 can be the number of a signal or its name (with or without the
5366 @samp{SIG} at the beginning); a list of signal numbers of the form
5367 @samp{@var{low}-@var{high}}; or the word @samp{all}, meaning all the
5368 known signals. Optional arguments @var{keywords}, described below,
5369 say what change to make.
5370 @end table
5371
5372 @c @group
5373 The keywords allowed by the @code{handle} command can be abbreviated.
5374 Their full names are:
5375
5376 @table @code
5377 @item nostop
5378 @value{GDBN} should not stop your program when this signal happens. It may
5379 still print a message telling you that the signal has come in.
5380
5381 @item stop
5382 @value{GDBN} should stop your program when this signal happens. This implies
5383 the @code{print} keyword as well.
5384
5385 @item print
5386 @value{GDBN} should print a message when this signal happens.
5387
5388 @item noprint
5389 @value{GDBN} should not mention the occurrence of the signal at all. This
5390 implies the @code{nostop} keyword as well.
5391
5392 @item pass
5393 @itemx noignore
5394 @value{GDBN} should allow your program to see this signal; your program
5395 can handle the signal, or else it may terminate if the signal is fatal
5396 and not handled. @code{pass} and @code{noignore} are synonyms.
5397
5398 @item nopass
5399 @itemx ignore
5400 @value{GDBN} should not allow your program to see this signal.
5401 @code{nopass} and @code{ignore} are synonyms.
5402 @end table
5403 @c @end group
5404
5405 When a signal stops your program, the signal is not visible to the
5406 program until you
5407 continue. Your program sees the signal then, if @code{pass} is in
5408 effect for the signal in question @emph{at that time}. In other words,
5409 after @value{GDBN} reports a signal, you can use the @code{handle}
5410 command with @code{pass} or @code{nopass} to control whether your
5411 program sees that signal when you continue.
5412
5413 The default is set to @code{nostop}, @code{noprint}, @code{pass} for
5414 non-erroneous signals such as @code{SIGALRM}, @code{SIGWINCH} and
5415 @code{SIGCHLD}, and to @code{stop}, @code{print}, @code{pass} for the
5416 erroneous signals.
5417
5418 You can also use the @code{signal} command to prevent your program from
5419 seeing a signal, or cause it to see a signal it normally would not see,
5420 or to give it any signal at any time. For example, if your program stopped
5421 due to some sort of memory reference error, you might store correct
5422 values into the erroneous variables and continue, hoping to see more
5423 execution; but your program would probably terminate immediately as
5424 a result of the fatal signal once it saw the signal. To prevent this,
5425 you can continue with @samp{signal 0}. @xref{Signaling, ,Giving your
5426 Program a Signal}.
5427
5428 @cindex extra signal information
5429 @anchor{extra signal information}
5430
5431 On some targets, @value{GDBN} can inspect extra signal information
5432 associated with the intercepted signal, before it is actually
5433 delivered to the program being debugged. This information is exported
5434 by the convenience variable @code{$_siginfo}, and consists of data
5435 that is passed by the kernel to the signal handler at the time of the
5436 receipt of a signal. The data type of the information itself is
5437 target dependent. You can see the data type using the @code{ptype
5438 $_siginfo} command. On Unix systems, it typically corresponds to the
5439 standard @code{siginfo_t} type, as defined in the @file{signal.h}
5440 system header.
5441
5442 Here's an example, on a @sc{gnu}/Linux system, printing the stray
5443 referenced address that raised a segmentation fault.
5444
5445 @smallexample
5446 @group
5447 (@value{GDBP}) continue
5448 Program received signal SIGSEGV, Segmentation fault.
5449 0x0000000000400766 in main ()
5450 69 *(int *)p = 0;
5451 (@value{GDBP}) ptype $_siginfo
5452 type = struct @{
5453 int si_signo;
5454 int si_errno;
5455 int si_code;
5456 union @{
5457 int _pad[28];
5458 struct @{...@} _kill;
5459 struct @{...@} _timer;
5460 struct @{...@} _rt;
5461 struct @{...@} _sigchld;
5462 struct @{...@} _sigfault;
5463 struct @{...@} _sigpoll;
5464 @} _sifields;
5465 @}
5466 (@value{GDBP}) ptype $_siginfo._sifields._sigfault
5467 type = struct @{
5468 void *si_addr;
5469 @}
5470 (@value{GDBP}) p $_siginfo._sifields._sigfault.si_addr
5471 $1 = (void *) 0x7ffff7ff7000
5472 @end group
5473 @end smallexample
5474
5475 Depending on target support, @code{$_siginfo} may also be writable.
5476
5477 @node Thread Stops
5478 @section Stopping and Starting Multi-thread Programs
5479
5480 @cindex stopped threads
5481 @cindex threads, stopped
5482
5483 @cindex continuing threads
5484 @cindex threads, continuing
5485
5486 @value{GDBN} supports debugging programs with multiple threads
5487 (@pxref{Threads,, Debugging Programs with Multiple Threads}). There
5488 are two modes of controlling execution of your program within the
5489 debugger. In the default mode, referred to as @dfn{all-stop mode},
5490 when any thread in your program stops (for example, at a breakpoint
5491 or while being stepped), all other threads in the program are also stopped by
5492 @value{GDBN}. On some targets, @value{GDBN} also supports
5493 @dfn{non-stop mode}, in which other threads can continue to run freely while
5494 you examine the stopped thread in the debugger.
5495
5496 @menu
5497 * All-Stop Mode:: All threads stop when GDB takes control
5498 * Non-Stop Mode:: Other threads continue to execute
5499 * Background Execution:: Running your program asynchronously
5500 * Thread-Specific Breakpoints:: Controlling breakpoints
5501 * Interrupted System Calls:: GDB may interfere with system calls
5502 * Observer Mode:: GDB does not alter program behavior
5503 @end menu
5504
5505 @node All-Stop Mode
5506 @subsection All-Stop Mode
5507
5508 @cindex all-stop mode
5509
5510 In all-stop mode, whenever your program stops under @value{GDBN} for any reason,
5511 @emph{all} threads of execution stop, not just the current thread. This
5512 allows you to examine the overall state of the program, including
5513 switching between threads, without worrying that things may change
5514 underfoot.
5515
5516 Conversely, whenever you restart the program, @emph{all} threads start
5517 executing. @emph{This is true even when single-stepping} with commands
5518 like @code{step} or @code{next}.
5519
5520 In particular, @value{GDBN} cannot single-step all threads in lockstep.
5521 Since thread scheduling is up to your debugging target's operating
5522 system (not controlled by @value{GDBN}), other threads may
5523 execute more than one statement while the current thread completes a
5524 single step. Moreover, in general other threads stop in the middle of a
5525 statement, rather than at a clean statement boundary, when the program
5526 stops.
5527
5528 You might even find your program stopped in another thread after
5529 continuing or even single-stepping. This happens whenever some other
5530 thread runs into a breakpoint, a signal, or an exception before the
5531 first thread completes whatever you requested.
5532
5533 @cindex automatic thread selection
5534 @cindex switching threads automatically
5535 @cindex threads, automatic switching
5536 Whenever @value{GDBN} stops your program, due to a breakpoint or a
5537 signal, it automatically selects the thread where that breakpoint or
5538 signal happened. @value{GDBN} alerts you to the context switch with a
5539 message such as @samp{[Switching to Thread @var{n}]} to identify the
5540 thread.
5541
5542 On some OSes, you can modify @value{GDBN}'s default behavior by
5543 locking the OS scheduler to allow only a single thread to run.
5544
5545 @table @code
5546 @item set scheduler-locking @var{mode}
5547 @cindex scheduler locking mode
5548 @cindex lock scheduler
5549 Set the scheduler locking mode. If it is @code{off}, then there is no
5550 locking and any thread may run at any time. If @code{on}, then only the
5551 current thread may run when the inferior is resumed. The @code{step}
5552 mode optimizes for single-stepping; it prevents other threads
5553 from preempting the current thread while you are stepping, so that
5554 the focus of debugging does not change unexpectedly.
5555 Other threads only rarely (or never) get a chance to run
5556 when you step. They are more likely to run when you @samp{next} over a
5557 function call, and they are completely free to run when you use commands
5558 like @samp{continue}, @samp{until}, or @samp{finish}. However, unless another
5559 thread hits a breakpoint during its timeslice, @value{GDBN} does not change
5560 the current thread away from the thread that you are debugging.
5561
5562 @item show scheduler-locking
5563 Display the current scheduler locking mode.
5564 @end table
5565
5566 @cindex resume threads of multiple processes simultaneously
5567 By default, when you issue one of the execution commands such as
5568 @code{continue}, @code{next} or @code{step}, @value{GDBN} allows only
5569 threads of the current inferior to run. For example, if @value{GDBN}
5570 is attached to two inferiors, each with two threads, the
5571 @code{continue} command resumes only the two threads of the current
5572 inferior. This is useful, for example, when you debug a program that
5573 forks and you want to hold the parent stopped (so that, for instance,
5574 it doesn't run to exit), while you debug the child. In other
5575 situations, you may not be interested in inspecting the current state
5576 of any of the processes @value{GDBN} is attached to, and you may want
5577 to resume them all until some breakpoint is hit. In the latter case,
5578 you can instruct @value{GDBN} to allow all threads of all the
5579 inferiors to run with the @w{@code{set schedule-multiple}} command.
5580
5581 @table @code
5582 @kindex set schedule-multiple
5583 @item set schedule-multiple
5584 Set the mode for allowing threads of multiple processes to be resumed
5585 when an execution command is issued. When @code{on}, all threads of
5586 all processes are allowed to run. When @code{off}, only the threads
5587 of the current process are resumed. The default is @code{off}. The
5588 @code{scheduler-locking} mode takes precedence when set to @code{on},
5589 or while you are stepping and set to @code{step}.
5590
5591 @item show schedule-multiple
5592 Display the current mode for resuming the execution of threads of
5593 multiple processes.
5594 @end table
5595
5596 @node Non-Stop Mode
5597 @subsection Non-Stop Mode
5598
5599 @cindex non-stop mode
5600
5601 @c This section is really only a place-holder, and needs to be expanded
5602 @c with more details.
5603
5604 For some multi-threaded targets, @value{GDBN} supports an optional
5605 mode of operation in which you can examine stopped program threads in
5606 the debugger while other threads continue to execute freely. This
5607 minimizes intrusion when debugging live systems, such as programs
5608 where some threads have real-time constraints or must continue to
5609 respond to external events. This is referred to as @dfn{non-stop} mode.
5610
5611 In non-stop mode, when a thread stops to report a debugging event,
5612 @emph{only} that thread is stopped; @value{GDBN} does not stop other
5613 threads as well, in contrast to the all-stop mode behavior. Additionally,
5614 execution commands such as @code{continue} and @code{step} apply by default
5615 only to the current thread in non-stop mode, rather than all threads as
5616 in all-stop mode. This allows you to control threads explicitly in
5617 ways that are not possible in all-stop mode --- for example, stepping
5618 one thread while allowing others to run freely, stepping
5619 one thread while holding all others stopped, or stepping several threads
5620 independently and simultaneously.
5621
5622 To enter non-stop mode, use this sequence of commands before you run
5623 or attach to your program:
5624
5625 @smallexample
5626 # Enable the async interface.
5627 set target-async 1
5628
5629 # If using the CLI, pagination breaks non-stop.
5630 set pagination off
5631
5632 # Finally, turn it on!
5633 set non-stop on
5634 @end smallexample
5635
5636 You can use these commands to manipulate the non-stop mode setting:
5637
5638 @table @code
5639 @kindex set non-stop
5640 @item set non-stop on
5641 Enable selection of non-stop mode.
5642 @item set non-stop off
5643 Disable selection of non-stop mode.
5644 @kindex show non-stop
5645 @item show non-stop
5646 Show the current non-stop enablement setting.
5647 @end table
5648
5649 Note these commands only reflect whether non-stop mode is enabled,
5650 not whether the currently-executing program is being run in non-stop mode.
5651 In particular, the @code{set non-stop} preference is only consulted when
5652 @value{GDBN} starts or connects to the target program, and it is generally
5653 not possible to switch modes once debugging has started. Furthermore,
5654 since not all targets support non-stop mode, even when you have enabled
5655 non-stop mode, @value{GDBN} may still fall back to all-stop operation by
5656 default.
5657
5658 In non-stop mode, all execution commands apply only to the current thread
5659 by default. That is, @code{continue} only continues one thread.
5660 To continue all threads, issue @code{continue -a} or @code{c -a}.
5661
5662 You can use @value{GDBN}'s background execution commands
5663 (@pxref{Background Execution}) to run some threads in the background
5664 while you continue to examine or step others from @value{GDBN}.
5665 The MI execution commands (@pxref{GDB/MI Program Execution}) are
5666 always executed asynchronously in non-stop mode.
5667
5668 Suspending execution is done with the @code{interrupt} command when
5669 running in the background, or @kbd{Ctrl-c} during foreground execution.
5670 In all-stop mode, this stops the whole process;
5671 but in non-stop mode the interrupt applies only to the current thread.
5672 To stop the whole program, use @code{interrupt -a}.
5673
5674 Other execution commands do not currently support the @code{-a} option.
5675
5676 In non-stop mode, when a thread stops, @value{GDBN} doesn't automatically make
5677 that thread current, as it does in all-stop mode. This is because the
5678 thread stop notifications are asynchronous with respect to @value{GDBN}'s
5679 command interpreter, and it would be confusing if @value{GDBN} unexpectedly
5680 changed to a different thread just as you entered a command to operate on the
5681 previously current thread.
5682
5683 @node Background Execution
5684 @subsection Background Execution
5685
5686 @cindex foreground execution
5687 @cindex background execution
5688 @cindex asynchronous execution
5689 @cindex execution, foreground, background and asynchronous
5690
5691 @value{GDBN}'s execution commands have two variants: the normal
5692 foreground (synchronous) behavior, and a background
5693 (asynchronous) behavior. In foreground execution, @value{GDBN} waits for
5694 the program to report that some thread has stopped before prompting for
5695 another command. In background execution, @value{GDBN} immediately gives
5696 a command prompt so that you can issue other commands while your program runs.
5697
5698 You need to explicitly enable asynchronous mode before you can use
5699 background execution commands. You can use these commands to
5700 manipulate the asynchronous mode setting:
5701
5702 @table @code
5703 @kindex set target-async
5704 @item set target-async on
5705 Enable asynchronous mode.
5706 @item set target-async off
5707 Disable asynchronous mode.
5708 @kindex show target-async
5709 @item show target-async
5710 Show the current target-async setting.
5711 @end table
5712
5713 If the target doesn't support async mode, @value{GDBN} issues an error
5714 message if you attempt to use the background execution commands.
5715
5716 To specify background execution, add a @code{&} to the command. For example,
5717 the background form of the @code{continue} command is @code{continue&}, or
5718 just @code{c&}. The execution commands that accept background execution
5719 are:
5720
5721 @table @code
5722 @kindex run&
5723 @item run
5724 @xref{Starting, , Starting your Program}.
5725
5726 @item attach
5727 @kindex attach&
5728 @xref{Attach, , Debugging an Already-running Process}.
5729
5730 @item step
5731 @kindex step&
5732 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, step}.
5733
5734 @item stepi
5735 @kindex stepi&
5736 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, stepi}.
5737
5738 @item next
5739 @kindex next&
5740 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, next}.
5741
5742 @item nexti
5743 @kindex nexti&
5744 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, nexti}.
5745
5746 @item continue
5747 @kindex continue&
5748 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, continue}.
5749
5750 @item finish
5751 @kindex finish&
5752 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, finish}.
5753
5754 @item until
5755 @kindex until&
5756 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, until}.
5757
5758 @end table
5759
5760 Background execution is especially useful in conjunction with non-stop
5761 mode for debugging programs with multiple threads; see @ref{Non-Stop Mode}.
5762 However, you can also use these commands in the normal all-stop mode with
5763 the restriction that you cannot issue another execution command until the
5764 previous one finishes. Examples of commands that are valid in all-stop
5765 mode while the program is running include @code{help} and @code{info break}.
5766
5767 You can interrupt your program while it is running in the background by
5768 using the @code{interrupt} command.
5769
5770 @table @code
5771 @kindex interrupt
5772 @item interrupt
5773 @itemx interrupt -a
5774
5775 Suspend execution of the running program. In all-stop mode,
5776 @code{interrupt} stops the whole process, but in non-stop mode, it stops
5777 only the current thread. To stop the whole program in non-stop mode,
5778 use @code{interrupt -a}.
5779 @end table
5780
5781 @node Thread-Specific Breakpoints
5782 @subsection Thread-Specific Breakpoints
5783
5784 When your program has multiple threads (@pxref{Threads,, Debugging
5785 Programs with Multiple Threads}), you can choose whether to set
5786 breakpoints on all threads, or on a particular thread.
5787
5788 @table @code
5789 @cindex breakpoints and threads
5790 @cindex thread breakpoints
5791 @kindex break @dots{} thread @var{threadno}
5792 @item break @var{linespec} thread @var{threadno}
5793 @itemx break @var{linespec} thread @var{threadno} if @dots{}
5794 @var{linespec} specifies source lines; there are several ways of
5795 writing them (@pxref{Specify Location}), but the effect is always to
5796 specify some source line.
5797
5798 Use the qualifier @samp{thread @var{threadno}} with a breakpoint command
5799 to specify that you only want @value{GDBN} to stop the program when a
5800 particular thread reaches this breakpoint. @var{threadno} is one of the
5801 numeric thread identifiers assigned by @value{GDBN}, shown in the first
5802 column of the @samp{info threads} display.
5803
5804 If you do not specify @samp{thread @var{threadno}} when you set a
5805 breakpoint, the breakpoint applies to @emph{all} threads of your
5806 program.
5807
5808 You can use the @code{thread} qualifier on conditional breakpoints as
5809 well; in this case, place @samp{thread @var{threadno}} before or
5810 after the breakpoint condition, like this:
5811
5812 @smallexample
5813 (@value{GDBP}) break frik.c:13 thread 28 if bartab > lim
5814 @end smallexample
5815
5816 @end table
5817
5818 @node Interrupted System Calls
5819 @subsection Interrupted System Calls
5820
5821 @cindex thread breakpoints and system calls
5822 @cindex system calls and thread breakpoints
5823 @cindex premature return from system calls
5824 There is an unfortunate side effect when using @value{GDBN} to debug
5825 multi-threaded programs. If one thread stops for a
5826 breakpoint, or for some other reason, and another thread is blocked in a
5827 system call, then the system call may return prematurely. This is a
5828 consequence of the interaction between multiple threads and the signals
5829 that @value{GDBN} uses to implement breakpoints and other events that
5830 stop execution.
5831
5832 To handle this problem, your program should check the return value of
5833 each system call and react appropriately. This is good programming
5834 style anyways.
5835
5836 For example, do not write code like this:
5837
5838 @smallexample
5839 sleep (10);
5840 @end smallexample
5841
5842 The call to @code{sleep} will return early if a different thread stops
5843 at a breakpoint or for some other reason.
5844
5845 Instead, write this:
5846
5847 @smallexample
5848 int unslept = 10;
5849 while (unslept > 0)
5850 unslept = sleep (unslept);
5851 @end smallexample
5852
5853 A system call is allowed to return early, so the system is still
5854 conforming to its specification. But @value{GDBN} does cause your
5855 multi-threaded program to behave differently than it would without
5856 @value{GDBN}.
5857
5858 Also, @value{GDBN} uses internal breakpoints in the thread library to
5859 monitor certain events such as thread creation and thread destruction.
5860 When such an event happens, a system call in another thread may return
5861 prematurely, even though your program does not appear to stop.
5862
5863 @node Observer Mode
5864 @subsection Observer Mode
5865
5866 If you want to build on non-stop mode and observe program behavior
5867 without any chance of disruption by @value{GDBN}, you can set
5868 variables to disable all of the debugger's attempts to modify state,
5869 whether by writing memory, inserting breakpoints, etc. These operate
5870 at a low level, intercepting operations from all commands.
5871
5872 When all of these are set to @code{off}, then @value{GDBN} is said to
5873 be @dfn{observer mode}. As a convenience, the variable
5874 @code{observer} can be set to disable these, plus enable non-stop
5875 mode.
5876
5877 Note that @value{GDBN} will not prevent you from making nonsensical
5878 combinations of these settings. For instance, if you have enabled
5879 @code{may-insert-breakpoints} but disabled @code{may-write-memory},
5880 then breakpoints that work by writing trap instructions into the code
5881 stream will still not be able to be placed.
5882
5883 @table @code
5884
5885 @kindex observer
5886 @item set observer on
5887 @itemx set observer off
5888 When set to @code{on}, this disables all the permission variables
5889 below (except for @code{insert-fast-tracepoints}), plus enables
5890 non-stop debugging. Setting this to @code{off} switches back to
5891 normal debugging, though remaining in non-stop mode.
5892
5893 @item show observer
5894 Show whether observer mode is on or off.
5895
5896 @kindex may-write-registers
5897 @item set may-write-registers on
5898 @itemx set may-write-registers off
5899 This controls whether @value{GDBN} will attempt to alter the values of
5900 registers, such as with assignment expressions in @code{print}, or the
5901 @code{jump} command. It defaults to @code{on}.
5902
5903 @item show may-write-registers
5904 Show the current permission to write registers.
5905
5906 @kindex may-write-memory
5907 @item set may-write-memory on
5908 @itemx set may-write-memory off
5909 This controls whether @value{GDBN} will attempt to alter the contents
5910 of memory, such as with assignment expressions in @code{print}. It
5911 defaults to @code{on}.
5912
5913 @item show may-write-memory
5914 Show the current permission to write memory.
5915
5916 @kindex may-insert-breakpoints
5917 @item set may-insert-breakpoints on
5918 @itemx set may-insert-breakpoints off
5919 This controls whether @value{GDBN} will attempt to insert breakpoints.
5920 This affects all breakpoints, including internal breakpoints defined
5921 by @value{GDBN}. It defaults to @code{on}.
5922
5923 @item show may-insert-breakpoints
5924 Show the current permission to insert breakpoints.
5925
5926 @kindex may-insert-tracepoints
5927 @item set may-insert-tracepoints on
5928 @itemx set may-insert-tracepoints off
5929 This controls whether @value{GDBN} will attempt to insert (regular)
5930 tracepoints at the beginning of a tracing experiment. It affects only
5931 non-fast tracepoints, fast tracepoints being under the control of
5932 @code{may-insert-fast-tracepoints}. It defaults to @code{on}.
5933
5934 @item show may-insert-tracepoints
5935 Show the current permission to insert tracepoints.
5936
5937 @kindex may-insert-fast-tracepoints
5938 @item set may-insert-fast-tracepoints on
5939 @itemx set may-insert-fast-tracepoints off
5940 This controls whether @value{GDBN} will attempt to insert fast
5941 tracepoints at the beginning of a tracing experiment. It affects only
5942 fast tracepoints, regular (non-fast) tracepoints being under the
5943 control of @code{may-insert-tracepoints}. It defaults to @code{on}.
5944
5945 @item show may-insert-fast-tracepoints
5946 Show the current permission to insert fast tracepoints.
5947
5948 @kindex may-interrupt
5949 @item set may-interrupt on
5950 @itemx set may-interrupt off
5951 This controls whether @value{GDBN} will attempt to interrupt or stop
5952 program execution. When this variable is @code{off}, the
5953 @code{interrupt} command will have no effect, nor will
5954 @kbd{Ctrl-c}. It defaults to @code{on}.
5955
5956 @item show may-interrupt
5957 Show the current permission to interrupt or stop the program.
5958
5959 @end table
5960
5961 @node Reverse Execution
5962 @chapter Running programs backward
5963 @cindex reverse execution
5964 @cindex running programs backward
5965
5966 When you are debugging a program, it is not unusual to realize that
5967 you have gone too far, and some event of interest has already happened.
5968 If the target environment supports it, @value{GDBN} can allow you to
5969 ``rewind'' the program by running it backward.
5970
5971 A target environment that supports reverse execution should be able
5972 to ``undo'' the changes in machine state that have taken place as the
5973 program was executing normally. Variables, registers etc.@: should
5974 revert to their previous values. Obviously this requires a great
5975 deal of sophistication on the part of the target environment; not
5976 all target environments can support reverse execution.
5977
5978 When a program is executed in reverse, the instructions that
5979 have most recently been executed are ``un-executed'', in reverse
5980 order. The program counter runs backward, following the previous
5981 thread of execution in reverse. As each instruction is ``un-executed'',
5982 the values of memory and/or registers that were changed by that
5983 instruction are reverted to their previous states. After executing
5984 a piece of source code in reverse, all side effects of that code
5985 should be ``undone'', and all variables should be returned to their
5986 prior values@footnote{
5987 Note that some side effects are easier to undo than others. For instance,
5988 memory and registers are relatively easy, but device I/O is hard. Some
5989 targets may be able undo things like device I/O, and some may not.
5990
5991 The contract between @value{GDBN} and the reverse executing target
5992 requires only that the target do something reasonable when
5993 @value{GDBN} tells it to execute backwards, and then report the
5994 results back to @value{GDBN}. Whatever the target reports back to
5995 @value{GDBN}, @value{GDBN} will report back to the user. @value{GDBN}
5996 assumes that the memory and registers that the target reports are in a
5997 consistant state, but @value{GDBN} accepts whatever it is given.
5998 }.
5999
6000 If you are debugging in a target environment that supports
6001 reverse execution, @value{GDBN} provides the following commands.
6002
6003 @table @code
6004 @kindex reverse-continue
6005 @kindex rc @r{(@code{reverse-continue})}
6006 @item reverse-continue @r{[}@var{ignore-count}@r{]}
6007 @itemx rc @r{[}@var{ignore-count}@r{]}
6008 Beginning at the point where your program last stopped, start executing
6009 in reverse. Reverse execution will stop for breakpoints and synchronous
6010 exceptions (signals), just like normal execution. Behavior of
6011 asynchronous signals depends on the target environment.
6012
6013 @kindex reverse-step
6014 @kindex rs @r{(@code{step})}
6015 @item reverse-step @r{[}@var{count}@r{]}
6016 Run the program backward until control reaches the start of a
6017 different source line; then stop it, and return control to @value{GDBN}.
6018
6019 Like the @code{step} command, @code{reverse-step} will only stop
6020 at the beginning of a source line. It ``un-executes'' the previously
6021 executed source line. If the previous source line included calls to
6022 debuggable functions, @code{reverse-step} will step (backward) into
6023 the called function, stopping at the beginning of the @emph{last}
6024 statement in the called function (typically a return statement).
6025
6026 Also, as with the @code{step} command, if non-debuggable functions are
6027 called, @code{reverse-step} will run thru them backward without stopping.
6028
6029 @kindex reverse-stepi
6030 @kindex rsi @r{(@code{reverse-stepi})}
6031 @item reverse-stepi @r{[}@var{count}@r{]}
6032 Reverse-execute one machine instruction. Note that the instruction
6033 to be reverse-executed is @emph{not} the one pointed to by the program
6034 counter, but the instruction executed prior to that one. For instance,
6035 if the last instruction was a jump, @code{reverse-stepi} will take you
6036 back from the destination of the jump to the jump instruction itself.
6037
6038 @kindex reverse-next
6039 @kindex rn @r{(@code{reverse-next})}
6040 @item reverse-next @r{[}@var{count}@r{]}
6041 Run backward to the beginning of the previous line executed in
6042 the current (innermost) stack frame. If the line contains function
6043 calls, they will be ``un-executed'' without stopping. Starting from
6044 the first line of a function, @code{reverse-next} will take you back
6045 to the caller of that function, @emph{before} the function was called,
6046 just as the normal @code{next} command would take you from the last
6047 line of a function back to its return to its caller
6048 @footnote{Unless the code is too heavily optimized.}.
6049
6050 @kindex reverse-nexti
6051 @kindex rni @r{(@code{reverse-nexti})}
6052 @item reverse-nexti @r{[}@var{count}@r{]}
6053 Like @code{nexti}, @code{reverse-nexti} executes a single instruction
6054 in reverse, except that called functions are ``un-executed'' atomically.
6055 That is, if the previously executed instruction was a return from
6056 another function, @code{reverse-nexti} will continue to execute
6057 in reverse until the call to that function (from the current stack
6058 frame) is reached.
6059
6060 @kindex reverse-finish
6061 @item reverse-finish
6062 Just as the @code{finish} command takes you to the point where the
6063 current function returns, @code{reverse-finish} takes you to the point
6064 where it was called. Instead of ending up at the end of the current
6065 function invocation, you end up at the beginning.
6066
6067 @kindex set exec-direction
6068 @item set exec-direction
6069 Set the direction of target execution.
6070 @item set exec-direction reverse
6071 @cindex execute forward or backward in time
6072 @value{GDBN} will perform all execution commands in reverse, until the
6073 exec-direction mode is changed to ``forward''. Affected commands include
6074 @code{step, stepi, next, nexti, continue, and finish}. The @code{return}
6075 command cannot be used in reverse mode.
6076 @item set exec-direction forward
6077 @value{GDBN} will perform all execution commands in the normal fashion.
6078 This is the default.
6079 @end table
6080
6081
6082 @node Process Record and Replay
6083 @chapter Recording Inferior's Execution and Replaying It
6084 @cindex process record and replay
6085 @cindex recording inferior's execution and replaying it
6086
6087 On some platforms, @value{GDBN} provides a special @dfn{process record
6088 and replay} target that can record a log of the process execution, and
6089 replay it later with both forward and reverse execution commands.
6090
6091 @cindex replay mode
6092 When this target is in use, if the execution log includes the record
6093 for the next instruction, @value{GDBN} will debug in @dfn{replay
6094 mode}. In the replay mode, the inferior does not really execute code
6095 instructions. Instead, all the events that normally happen during
6096 code execution are taken from the execution log. While code is not
6097 really executed in replay mode, the values of registers (including the
6098 program counter register) and the memory of the inferior are still
6099 changed as they normally would. Their contents are taken from the
6100 execution log.
6101
6102 @cindex record mode
6103 If the record for the next instruction is not in the execution log,
6104 @value{GDBN} will debug in @dfn{record mode}. In this mode, the
6105 inferior executes normally, and @value{GDBN} records the execution log
6106 for future replay.
6107
6108 The process record and replay target supports reverse execution
6109 (@pxref{Reverse Execution}), even if the platform on which the
6110 inferior runs does not. However, the reverse execution is limited in
6111 this case by the range of the instructions recorded in the execution
6112 log. In other words, reverse execution on platforms that don't
6113 support it directly can only be done in the replay mode.
6114
6115 When debugging in the reverse direction, @value{GDBN} will work in
6116 replay mode as long as the execution log includes the record for the
6117 previous instruction; otherwise, it will work in record mode, if the
6118 platform supports reverse execution, or stop if not.
6119
6120 For architecture environments that support process record and replay,
6121 @value{GDBN} provides the following commands:
6122
6123 @table @code
6124 @kindex target record
6125 @kindex target record-full
6126 @kindex target record-btrace
6127 @kindex record
6128 @kindex record full
6129 @kindex record btrace
6130 @kindex rec
6131 @kindex rec full
6132 @kindex rec btrace
6133 @item record @var{method}
6134 This command starts the process record and replay target. The
6135 recording method can be specified as parameter. Without a parameter
6136 the command uses the @code{full} recording method. The following
6137 recording methods are available:
6138
6139 @table @code
6140 @item full
6141 Full record/replay recording using @value{GDBN}'s software record and
6142 replay implementation. This method allows replaying and reverse
6143 execution.
6144
6145 @item btrace
6146 Hardware-supported instruction recording. This method does not allow
6147 replaying and reverse execution.
6148
6149 This recording method may not be available on all processors.
6150 @end table
6151
6152 The process record and replay target can only debug a process that is
6153 already running. Therefore, you need first to start the process with
6154 the @kbd{run} or @kbd{start} commands, and then start the recording
6155 with the @kbd{record @var{method}} command.
6156
6157 Both @code{record @var{method}} and @code{rec @var{method}} are
6158 aliases of @code{target record-@var{method}}.
6159
6160 @cindex displaced stepping, and process record and replay
6161 Displaced stepping (@pxref{Maintenance Commands,, displaced stepping})
6162 will be automatically disabled when process record and replay target
6163 is started. That's because the process record and replay target
6164 doesn't support displaced stepping.
6165
6166 @cindex non-stop mode, and process record and replay
6167 @cindex asynchronous execution, and process record and replay
6168 If the inferior is in the non-stop mode (@pxref{Non-Stop Mode}) or in
6169 the asynchronous execution mode (@pxref{Background Execution}), not
6170 all recording methods are available. The @code{full} recording method
6171 does not support these two modes.
6172
6173 @kindex record stop
6174 @kindex rec s
6175 @item record stop
6176 Stop the process record and replay target. When process record and
6177 replay target stops, the entire execution log will be deleted and the
6178 inferior will either be terminated, or will remain in its final state.
6179
6180 When you stop the process record and replay target in record mode (at
6181 the end of the execution log), the inferior will be stopped at the
6182 next instruction that would have been recorded. In other words, if
6183 you record for a while and then stop recording, the inferior process
6184 will be left in the same state as if the recording never happened.
6185
6186 On the other hand, if the process record and replay target is stopped
6187 while in replay mode (that is, not at the end of the execution log,
6188 but at some earlier point), the inferior process will become ``live''
6189 at that earlier state, and it will then be possible to continue the
6190 usual ``live'' debugging of the process from that state.
6191
6192 When the inferior process exits, or @value{GDBN} detaches from it,
6193 process record and replay target will automatically stop itself.
6194
6195 @kindex record save
6196 @item record save @var{filename}
6197 Save the execution log to a file @file{@var{filename}}.
6198 Default filename is @file{gdb_record.@var{process_id}}, where
6199 @var{process_id} is the process ID of the inferior.
6200
6201 This command may not be available for all recording methods.
6202
6203 @kindex record restore
6204 @item record restore @var{filename}
6205 Restore the execution log from a file @file{@var{filename}}.
6206 File must have been created with @code{record save}.
6207
6208 @kindex set record full
6209 @item set record full insn-number-max @var{limit}
6210 Set the limit of instructions to be recorded for the @code{full}
6211 recording method. Default value is 200000.
6212
6213 If @var{limit} is a positive number, then @value{GDBN} will start
6214 deleting instructions from the log once the number of the record
6215 instructions becomes greater than @var{limit}. For every new recorded
6216 instruction, @value{GDBN} will delete the earliest recorded
6217 instruction to keep the number of recorded instructions at the limit.
6218 (Since deleting recorded instructions loses information, @value{GDBN}
6219 lets you control what happens when the limit is reached, by means of
6220 the @code{stop-at-limit} option, described below.)
6221
6222 If @var{limit} is zero, @value{GDBN} will never delete recorded
6223 instructions from the execution log. The number of recorded
6224 instructions is unlimited in this case.
6225
6226 @kindex show record full
6227 @item show record full insn-number-max
6228 Show the limit of instructions to be recorded with the @code{full}
6229 recording method.
6230
6231 @item set record full stop-at-limit
6232 Control the behavior of the @code{full} recording method when the
6233 number of recorded instructions reaches the limit. If ON (the
6234 default), @value{GDBN} will stop when the limit is reached for the
6235 first time and ask you whether you want to stop the inferior or
6236 continue running it and recording the execution log. If you decide
6237 to continue recording, each new recorded instruction will cause the
6238 oldest one to be deleted.
6239
6240 If this option is OFF, @value{GDBN} will automatically delete the
6241 oldest record to make room for each new one, without asking.
6242
6243 @item show record full stop-at-limit
6244 Show the current setting of @code{stop-at-limit}.
6245
6246 @item set record full memory-query
6247 Control the behavior when @value{GDBN} is unable to record memory
6248 changes caused by an instruction for the @code{full} recording method.
6249 If ON, @value{GDBN} will query whether to stop the inferior in that
6250 case.
6251
6252 If this option is OFF (the default), @value{GDBN} will automatically
6253 ignore the effect of such instructions on memory. Later, when
6254 @value{GDBN} replays this execution log, it will mark the log of this
6255 instruction as not accessible, and it will not affect the replay
6256 results.
6257
6258 @item show record full memory-query
6259 Show the current setting of @code{memory-query}.
6260
6261 @kindex info record
6262 @item info record
6263 Show various statistics about the recording depending on the recording
6264 method:
6265
6266 @table @code
6267 @item full
6268 For the @code{full} recording method, it shows the state of process
6269 record and its in-memory execution log buffer, including:
6270
6271 @itemize @bullet
6272 @item
6273 Whether in record mode or replay mode.
6274 @item
6275 Lowest recorded instruction number (counting from when the current execution log started recording instructions).
6276 @item
6277 Highest recorded instruction number.
6278 @item
6279 Current instruction about to be replayed (if in replay mode).
6280 @item
6281 Number of instructions contained in the execution log.
6282 @item
6283 Maximum number of instructions that may be contained in the execution log.
6284 @end itemize
6285
6286 @item btrace
6287 For the @code{btrace} recording method, it shows the number of
6288 instructions that have been recorded and the number of blocks of
6289 sequential control-flow that is formed by the recorded instructions.
6290 @end table
6291
6292 @kindex record delete
6293 @kindex rec del
6294 @item record delete
6295 When record target runs in replay mode (``in the past''), delete the
6296 subsequent execution log and begin to record a new execution log starting
6297 from the current address. This means you will abandon the previously
6298 recorded ``future'' and begin recording a new ``future''.
6299
6300 @kindex record instruction-history
6301 @kindex rec instruction-history
6302 @item record instruction-history
6303 Disassembles instructions from the recorded execution log. By
6304 default, ten instructions are disassembled. This can be changed using
6305 the @code{set record instruction-history-size} command. Instructions
6306 are printed in execution order. There are several ways to specify
6307 what part of the execution log to disassemble:
6308
6309 @table @code
6310 @item record instruction-history @var{insn}
6311 Disassembles ten instructions starting from instruction number
6312 @var{insn}.
6313
6314 @item record instruction-history @var{insn}, +/-@var{n}
6315 Disassembles @var{n} instructions around instruction number
6316 @var{insn}. If @var{n} is preceded with @code{+}, disassembles
6317 @var{n} instructions after instruction number @var{insn}. If
6318 @var{n} is preceded with @code{-}, disassembles @var{n}
6319 instructions before instruction number @var{insn}.
6320
6321 @item record instruction-history
6322 Disassembles ten more instructions after the last disassembly.
6323
6324 @item record instruction-history -
6325 Disassembles ten more instructions before the last disassembly.
6326
6327 @item record instruction-history @var{begin} @var{end}
6328 Disassembles instructions beginning with instruction number
6329 @var{begin} until instruction number @var{end}. The instruction
6330 number @var{end} is not included.
6331 @end table
6332
6333 This command may not be available for all recording methods.
6334
6335 @kindex set record
6336 @item set record instruction-history-size
6337 Define how many instructions to disassemble in the @code{record
6338 instruction-history} command. The default value is 10.
6339
6340 @kindex show record
6341 @item show record instruction-history-size
6342 Show how many instructions to disassemble in the @code{record
6343 instruction-history} command.
6344
6345 @kindex record function-call-history
6346 @kindex rec function-call-history
6347 @item record function-call-history
6348 Prints the execution history at function granularity. It prints one
6349 line for each sequence of instructions that belong to the same
6350 function giving the name of that function, the source lines
6351 for this instruction sequence (if the @code{/l} modifier is
6352 specified), and the instructions numbers that form the sequence (if
6353 the @code{/i} modifier is specified).
6354
6355 @smallexample
6356 (@value{GDBP}) @b{list 1, 10}
6357 1 void foo (void)
6358 2 @{
6359 3 @}
6360 4
6361 5 void bar (void)
6362 6 @{
6363 7 ...
6364 8 foo ();
6365 9 ...
6366 10 @}
6367 (@value{GDBP}) @b{record function-call-history /l}
6368 1 foo.c:6-8 bar
6369 2 foo.c:2-3 foo
6370 3 foo.c:9-10 bar
6371 @end smallexample
6372
6373 By default, ten lines are printed. This can be changed using the
6374 @code{set record function-call-history-size} command. Functions are
6375 printed in execution order. There are several ways to specify what
6376 to print:
6377
6378 @table @code
6379 @item record function-call-history @var{func}
6380 Prints ten functions starting from function number @var{func}.
6381
6382 @item record function-call-history @var{func}, +/-@var{n}
6383 Prints @var{n} functions around function number @var{func}. If
6384 @var{n} is preceded with @code{+}, prints @var{n} functions after
6385 function number @var{func}. If @var{n} is preceded with @code{-},
6386 prints @var{n} functions before function number @var{func}.
6387
6388 @item record function-call-history
6389 Prints ten more functions after the last ten-line print.
6390
6391 @item record function-call-history -
6392 Prints ten more functions before the last ten-line print.
6393
6394 @item record function-call-history @var{begin} @var{end}
6395 Prints functions beginning with function number @var{begin} until
6396 function number @var{end}. The function number @var{end} is not
6397 included.
6398 @end table
6399
6400 This command may not be available for all recording methods.
6401
6402 @item set record function-call-history-size
6403 Define how many lines to print in the
6404 @code{record function-call-history} command. The default value is 10.
6405
6406 @item show record function-call-history-size
6407 Show how many lines to print in the
6408 @code{record function-call-history} command.
6409 @end table
6410
6411
6412 @node Stack
6413 @chapter Examining the Stack
6414
6415 When your program has stopped, the first thing you need to know is where it
6416 stopped and how it got there.
6417
6418 @cindex call stack
6419 Each time your program performs a function call, information about the call
6420 is generated.
6421 That information includes the location of the call in your program,
6422 the arguments of the call,
6423 and the local variables of the function being called.
6424 The information is saved in a block of data called a @dfn{stack frame}.
6425 The stack frames are allocated in a region of memory called the @dfn{call
6426 stack}.
6427
6428 When your program stops, the @value{GDBN} commands for examining the
6429 stack allow you to see all of this information.
6430
6431 @cindex selected frame
6432 One of the stack frames is @dfn{selected} by @value{GDBN} and many
6433 @value{GDBN} commands refer implicitly to the selected frame. In
6434 particular, whenever you ask @value{GDBN} for the value of a variable in
6435 your program, the value is found in the selected frame. There are
6436 special @value{GDBN} commands to select whichever frame you are
6437 interested in. @xref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}.
6438
6439 When your program stops, @value{GDBN} automatically selects the
6440 currently executing frame and describes it briefly, similar to the
6441 @code{frame} command (@pxref{Frame Info, ,Information about a Frame}).
6442
6443 @menu
6444 * Frames:: Stack frames
6445 * Backtrace:: Backtraces
6446 * Selection:: Selecting a frame
6447 * Frame Info:: Information on a frame
6448
6449 @end menu
6450
6451 @node Frames
6452 @section Stack Frames
6453
6454 @cindex frame, definition
6455 @cindex stack frame
6456 The call stack is divided up into contiguous pieces called @dfn{stack
6457 frames}, or @dfn{frames} for short; each frame is the data associated
6458 with one call to one function. The frame contains the arguments given
6459 to the function, the function's local variables, and the address at
6460 which the function is executing.
6461
6462 @cindex initial frame
6463 @cindex outermost frame
6464 @cindex innermost frame
6465 When your program is started, the stack has only one frame, that of the
6466 function @code{main}. This is called the @dfn{initial} frame or the
6467 @dfn{outermost} frame. Each time a function is called, a new frame is
6468 made. Each time a function returns, the frame for that function invocation
6469 is eliminated. If a function is recursive, there can be many frames for
6470 the same function. The frame for the function in which execution is
6471 actually occurring is called the @dfn{innermost} frame. This is the most
6472 recently created of all the stack frames that still exist.
6473
6474 @cindex frame pointer
6475 Inside your program, stack frames are identified by their addresses. A
6476 stack frame consists of many bytes, each of which has its own address; each
6477 kind of computer has a convention for choosing one byte whose
6478 address serves as the address of the frame. Usually this address is kept
6479 in a register called the @dfn{frame pointer register}
6480 (@pxref{Registers, $fp}) while execution is going on in that frame.
6481
6482 @cindex frame number
6483 @value{GDBN} assigns numbers to all existing stack frames, starting with
6484 zero for the innermost frame, one for the frame that called it,
6485 and so on upward. These numbers do not really exist in your program;
6486 they are assigned by @value{GDBN} to give you a way of designating stack
6487 frames in @value{GDBN} commands.
6488
6489 @c The -fomit-frame-pointer below perennially causes hbox overflow
6490 @c underflow problems.
6491 @cindex frameless execution
6492 Some compilers provide a way to compile functions so that they operate
6493 without stack frames. (For example, the @value{NGCC} option
6494 @smallexample
6495 @samp{-fomit-frame-pointer}
6496 @end smallexample
6497 generates functions without a frame.)
6498 This is occasionally done with heavily used library functions to save
6499 the frame setup time. @value{GDBN} has limited facilities for dealing
6500 with these function invocations. If the innermost function invocation
6501 has no stack frame, @value{GDBN} nevertheless regards it as though
6502 it had a separate frame, which is numbered zero as usual, allowing
6503 correct tracing of the function call chain. However, @value{GDBN} has
6504 no provision for frameless functions elsewhere in the stack.
6505
6506 @table @code
6507 @kindex frame@r{, command}
6508 @cindex current stack frame
6509 @item frame @var{args}
6510 The @code{frame} command allows you to move from one stack frame to another,
6511 and to print the stack frame you select. @var{args} may be either the
6512 address of the frame or the stack frame number. Without an argument,
6513 @code{frame} prints the current stack frame.
6514
6515 @kindex select-frame
6516 @cindex selecting frame silently
6517 @item select-frame
6518 The @code{select-frame} command allows you to move from one stack frame
6519 to another without printing the frame. This is the silent version of
6520 @code{frame}.
6521 @end table
6522
6523 @node Backtrace
6524 @section Backtraces
6525
6526 @cindex traceback
6527 @cindex call stack traces
6528 A backtrace is a summary of how your program got where it is. It shows one
6529 line per frame, for many frames, starting with the currently executing
6530 frame (frame zero), followed by its caller (frame one), and on up the
6531 stack.
6532
6533 @table @code
6534 @kindex backtrace
6535 @kindex bt @r{(@code{backtrace})}
6536 @item backtrace
6537 @itemx bt
6538 Print a backtrace of the entire stack: one line per frame for all
6539 frames in the stack.
6540
6541 You can stop the backtrace at any time by typing the system interrupt
6542 character, normally @kbd{Ctrl-c}.
6543
6544 @item backtrace @var{n}
6545 @itemx bt @var{n}
6546 Similar, but print only the innermost @var{n} frames.
6547
6548 @item backtrace -@var{n}
6549 @itemx bt -@var{n}
6550 Similar, but print only the outermost @var{n} frames.
6551
6552 @item backtrace full
6553 @itemx bt full
6554 @itemx bt full @var{n}
6555 @itemx bt full -@var{n}
6556 Print the values of the local variables also. @var{n} specifies the
6557 number of frames to print, as described above.
6558 @end table
6559
6560 @kindex where
6561 @kindex info stack
6562 The names @code{where} and @code{info stack} (abbreviated @code{info s})
6563 are additional aliases for @code{backtrace}.
6564
6565 @cindex multiple threads, backtrace
6566 In a multi-threaded program, @value{GDBN} by default shows the
6567 backtrace only for the current thread. To display the backtrace for
6568 several or all of the threads, use the command @code{thread apply}
6569 (@pxref{Threads, thread apply}). For example, if you type @kbd{thread
6570 apply all backtrace}, @value{GDBN} will display the backtrace for all
6571 the threads; this is handy when you debug a core dump of a
6572 multi-threaded program.
6573
6574 Each line in the backtrace shows the frame number and the function name.
6575 The program counter value is also shown---unless you use @code{set
6576 print address off}. The backtrace also shows the source file name and
6577 line number, as well as the arguments to the function. The program
6578 counter value is omitted if it is at the beginning of the code for that
6579 line number.
6580
6581 Here is an example of a backtrace. It was made with the command
6582 @samp{bt 3}, so it shows the innermost three frames.
6583
6584 @smallexample
6585 @group
6586 #0 m4_traceon (obs=0x24eb0, argc=1, argv=0x2b8c8)
6587 at builtin.c:993
6588 #1 0x6e38 in expand_macro (sym=0x2b600, data=...) at macro.c:242
6589 #2 0x6840 in expand_token (obs=0x0, t=177664, td=0xf7fffb08)
6590 at macro.c:71
6591 (More stack frames follow...)
6592 @end group
6593 @end smallexample
6594
6595 @noindent
6596 The display for frame zero does not begin with a program counter
6597 value, indicating that your program has stopped at the beginning of the
6598 code for line @code{993} of @code{builtin.c}.
6599
6600 @noindent
6601 The value of parameter @code{data} in frame 1 has been replaced by
6602 @code{@dots{}}. By default, @value{GDBN} prints the value of a parameter
6603 only if it is a scalar (integer, pointer, enumeration, etc). See command
6604 @kbd{set print frame-arguments} in @ref{Print Settings} for more details
6605 on how to configure the way function parameter values are printed.
6606
6607 @cindex optimized out, in backtrace
6608 @cindex function call arguments, optimized out
6609 If your program was compiled with optimizations, some compilers will
6610 optimize away arguments passed to functions if those arguments are
6611 never used after the call. Such optimizations generate code that
6612 passes arguments through registers, but doesn't store those arguments
6613 in the stack frame. @value{GDBN} has no way of displaying such
6614 arguments in stack frames other than the innermost one. Here's what
6615 such a backtrace might look like:
6616
6617 @smallexample
6618 @group
6619 #0 m4_traceon (obs=0x24eb0, argc=1, argv=0x2b8c8)
6620 at builtin.c:993
6621 #1 0x6e38 in expand_macro (sym=<optimized out>) at macro.c:242
6622 #2 0x6840 in expand_token (obs=0x0, t=<optimized out>, td=0xf7fffb08)
6623 at macro.c:71
6624 (More stack frames follow...)
6625 @end group
6626 @end smallexample
6627
6628 @noindent
6629 The values of arguments that were not saved in their stack frames are
6630 shown as @samp{<optimized out>}.
6631
6632 If you need to display the values of such optimized-out arguments,
6633 either deduce that from other variables whose values depend on the one
6634 you are interested in, or recompile without optimizations.
6635
6636 @cindex backtrace beyond @code{main} function
6637 @cindex program entry point
6638 @cindex startup code, and backtrace
6639 Most programs have a standard user entry point---a place where system
6640 libraries and startup code transition into user code. For C this is
6641 @code{main}@footnote{
6642 Note that embedded programs (the so-called ``free-standing''
6643 environment) are not required to have a @code{main} function as the
6644 entry point. They could even have multiple entry points.}.
6645 When @value{GDBN} finds the entry function in a backtrace
6646 it will terminate the backtrace, to avoid tracing into highly
6647 system-specific (and generally uninteresting) code.
6648
6649 If you need to examine the startup code, or limit the number of levels
6650 in a backtrace, you can change this behavior:
6651
6652 @table @code
6653 @item set backtrace past-main
6654 @itemx set backtrace past-main on
6655 @kindex set backtrace
6656 Backtraces will continue past the user entry point.
6657
6658 @item set backtrace past-main off
6659 Backtraces will stop when they encounter the user entry point. This is the
6660 default.
6661
6662 @item show backtrace past-main
6663 @kindex show backtrace
6664 Display the current user entry point backtrace policy.
6665
6666 @item set backtrace past-entry
6667 @itemx set backtrace past-entry on
6668 Backtraces will continue past the internal entry point of an application.
6669 This entry point is encoded by the linker when the application is built,
6670 and is likely before the user entry point @code{main} (or equivalent) is called.
6671
6672 @item set backtrace past-entry off
6673 Backtraces will stop when they encounter the internal entry point of an
6674 application. This is the default.
6675
6676 @item show backtrace past-entry
6677 Display the current internal entry point backtrace policy.
6678
6679 @item set backtrace limit @var{n}
6680 @itemx set backtrace limit 0
6681 @cindex backtrace limit
6682 Limit the backtrace to @var{n} levels. A value of zero means
6683 unlimited.
6684
6685 @item show backtrace limit
6686 Display the current limit on backtrace levels.
6687 @end table
6688
6689 You can control how file names are displayed.
6690
6691 @table @code
6692 @item set filename-display
6693 @itemx set filename-display relative
6694 @cindex filename-display
6695 Display file names relative to the compilation directory. This is the default.
6696
6697 @item set filename-display basename
6698 Display only basename of a filename.
6699
6700 @item set filename-display absolute
6701 Display an absolute filename.
6702
6703 @item show filename-display
6704 Show the current way to display filenames.
6705 @end table
6706
6707 @node Selection
6708 @section Selecting a Frame
6709
6710 Most commands for examining the stack and other data in your program work on
6711 whichever stack frame is selected at the moment. Here are the commands for
6712 selecting a stack frame; all of them finish by printing a brief description
6713 of the stack frame just selected.
6714
6715 @table @code
6716 @kindex frame@r{, selecting}
6717 @kindex f @r{(@code{frame})}
6718 @item frame @var{n}
6719 @itemx f @var{n}
6720 Select frame number @var{n}. Recall that frame zero is the innermost
6721 (currently executing) frame, frame one is the frame that called the
6722 innermost one, and so on. The highest-numbered frame is the one for
6723 @code{main}.
6724
6725 @item frame @var{addr}
6726 @itemx f @var{addr}
6727 Select the frame at address @var{addr}. This is useful mainly if the
6728 chaining of stack frames has been damaged by a bug, making it
6729 impossible for @value{GDBN} to assign numbers properly to all frames. In
6730 addition, this can be useful when your program has multiple stacks and
6731 switches between them.
6732
6733 On the SPARC architecture, @code{frame} needs two addresses to
6734 select an arbitrary frame: a frame pointer and a stack pointer.
6735
6736 On the @acronym{MIPS} and Alpha architecture, it needs two addresses: a stack
6737 pointer and a program counter.
6738
6739 On the 29k architecture, it needs three addresses: a register stack
6740 pointer, a program counter, and a memory stack pointer.
6741
6742 @kindex up
6743 @item up @var{n}
6744 Move @var{n} frames up the stack. For positive numbers @var{n}, this
6745 advances toward the outermost frame, to higher frame numbers, to frames
6746 that have existed longer. @var{n} defaults to one.
6747
6748 @kindex down
6749 @kindex do @r{(@code{down})}
6750 @item down @var{n}
6751 Move @var{n} frames down the stack. For positive numbers @var{n}, this
6752 advances toward the innermost frame, to lower frame numbers, to frames
6753 that were created more recently. @var{n} defaults to one. You may
6754 abbreviate @code{down} as @code{do}.
6755 @end table
6756
6757 All of these commands end by printing two lines of output describing the
6758 frame. The first line shows the frame number, the function name, the
6759 arguments, and the source file and line number of execution in that
6760 frame. The second line shows the text of that source line.
6761
6762 @need 1000
6763 For example:
6764
6765 @smallexample
6766 @group
6767 (@value{GDBP}) up
6768 #1 0x22f0 in main (argc=1, argv=0xf7fffbf4, env=0xf7fffbfc)
6769 at env.c:10
6770 10 read_input_file (argv[i]);
6771 @end group
6772 @end smallexample
6773
6774 After such a printout, the @code{list} command with no arguments
6775 prints ten lines centered on the point of execution in the frame.
6776 You can also edit the program at the point of execution with your favorite
6777 editing program by typing @code{edit}.
6778 @xref{List, ,Printing Source Lines},
6779 for details.
6780
6781 @table @code
6782 @kindex down-silently
6783 @kindex up-silently
6784 @item up-silently @var{n}
6785 @itemx down-silently @var{n}
6786 These two commands are variants of @code{up} and @code{down},
6787 respectively; they differ in that they do their work silently, without
6788 causing display of the new frame. They are intended primarily for use
6789 in @value{GDBN} command scripts, where the output might be unnecessary and
6790 distracting.
6791 @end table
6792
6793 @node Frame Info
6794 @section Information About a Frame
6795
6796 There are several other commands to print information about the selected
6797 stack frame.
6798
6799 @table @code
6800 @item frame
6801 @itemx f
6802 When used without any argument, this command does not change which
6803 frame is selected, but prints a brief description of the currently
6804 selected stack frame. It can be abbreviated @code{f}. With an
6805 argument, this command is used to select a stack frame.
6806 @xref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}.
6807
6808 @kindex info frame
6809 @kindex info f @r{(@code{info frame})}
6810 @item info frame
6811 @itemx info f
6812 This command prints a verbose description of the selected stack frame,
6813 including:
6814
6815 @itemize @bullet
6816 @item
6817 the address of the frame
6818 @item
6819 the address of the next frame down (called by this frame)
6820 @item
6821 the address of the next frame up (caller of this frame)
6822 @item
6823 the language in which the source code corresponding to this frame is written
6824 @item
6825 the address of the frame's arguments
6826 @item
6827 the address of the frame's local variables
6828 @item
6829 the program counter saved in it (the address of execution in the caller frame)
6830 @item
6831 which registers were saved in the frame
6832 @end itemize
6833
6834 @noindent The verbose description is useful when
6835 something has gone wrong that has made the stack format fail to fit
6836 the usual conventions.
6837
6838 @item info frame @var{addr}
6839 @itemx info f @var{addr}
6840 Print a verbose description of the frame at address @var{addr}, without
6841 selecting that frame. The selected frame remains unchanged by this
6842 command. This requires the same kind of address (more than one for some
6843 architectures) that you specify in the @code{frame} command.
6844 @xref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}.
6845
6846 @kindex info args
6847 @item info args
6848 Print the arguments of the selected frame, each on a separate line.
6849
6850 @item info locals
6851 @kindex info locals
6852 Print the local variables of the selected frame, each on a separate
6853 line. These are all variables (declared either static or automatic)
6854 accessible at the point of execution of the selected frame.
6855
6856 @end table
6857
6858
6859 @node Source
6860 @chapter Examining Source Files
6861
6862 @value{GDBN} can print parts of your program's source, since the debugging
6863 information recorded in the program tells @value{GDBN} what source files were
6864 used to build it. When your program stops, @value{GDBN} spontaneously prints
6865 the line where it stopped. Likewise, when you select a stack frame
6866 (@pxref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}), @value{GDBN} prints the line where
6867 execution in that frame has stopped. You can print other portions of
6868 source files by explicit command.
6869
6870 If you use @value{GDBN} through its @sc{gnu} Emacs interface, you may
6871 prefer to use Emacs facilities to view source; see @ref{Emacs, ,Using
6872 @value{GDBN} under @sc{gnu} Emacs}.
6873
6874 @menu
6875 * List:: Printing source lines
6876 * Specify Location:: How to specify code locations
6877 * Edit:: Editing source files
6878 * Search:: Searching source files
6879 * Source Path:: Specifying source directories
6880 * Machine Code:: Source and machine code
6881 @end menu
6882
6883 @node List
6884 @section Printing Source Lines
6885
6886 @kindex list
6887 @kindex l @r{(@code{list})}
6888 To print lines from a source file, use the @code{list} command
6889 (abbreviated @code{l}). By default, ten lines are printed.
6890 There are several ways to specify what part of the file you want to
6891 print; see @ref{Specify Location}, for the full list.
6892
6893 Here are the forms of the @code{list} command most commonly used:
6894
6895 @table @code
6896 @item list @var{linenum}
6897 Print lines centered around line number @var{linenum} in the
6898 current source file.
6899
6900 @item list @var{function}
6901 Print lines centered around the beginning of function
6902 @var{function}.
6903
6904 @item list
6905 Print more lines. If the last lines printed were printed with a
6906 @code{list} command, this prints lines following the last lines
6907 printed; however, if the last line printed was a solitary line printed
6908 as part of displaying a stack frame (@pxref{Stack, ,Examining the
6909 Stack}), this prints lines centered around that line.
6910
6911 @item list -
6912 Print lines just before the lines last printed.
6913 @end table
6914
6915 @cindex @code{list}, how many lines to display
6916 By default, @value{GDBN} prints ten source lines with any of these forms of
6917 the @code{list} command. You can change this using @code{set listsize}:
6918
6919 @table @code
6920 @kindex set listsize
6921 @item set listsize @var{count}
6922 Make the @code{list} command display @var{count} source lines (unless
6923 the @code{list} argument explicitly specifies some other number).
6924 Setting @var{count} to 0 means there's no limit.
6925
6926 @kindex show listsize
6927 @item show listsize
6928 Display the number of lines that @code{list} prints.
6929 @end table
6930
6931 Repeating a @code{list} command with @key{RET} discards the argument,
6932 so it is equivalent to typing just @code{list}. This is more useful
6933 than listing the same lines again. An exception is made for an
6934 argument of @samp{-}; that argument is preserved in repetition so that
6935 each repetition moves up in the source file.
6936
6937 In general, the @code{list} command expects you to supply zero, one or two
6938 @dfn{linespecs}. Linespecs specify source lines; there are several ways
6939 of writing them (@pxref{Specify Location}), but the effect is always
6940 to specify some source line.
6941
6942 Here is a complete description of the possible arguments for @code{list}:
6943
6944 @table @code
6945 @item list @var{linespec}
6946 Print lines centered around the line specified by @var{linespec}.
6947
6948 @item list @var{first},@var{last}
6949 Print lines from @var{first} to @var{last}. Both arguments are
6950 linespecs. When a @code{list} command has two linespecs, and the
6951 source file of the second linespec is omitted, this refers to
6952 the same source file as the first linespec.
6953
6954 @item list ,@var{last}
6955 Print lines ending with @var{last}.
6956
6957 @item list @var{first},
6958 Print lines starting with @var{first}.
6959
6960 @item list +
6961 Print lines just after the lines last printed.
6962
6963 @item list -
6964 Print lines just before the lines last printed.
6965
6966 @item list
6967 As described in the preceding table.
6968 @end table
6969
6970 @node Specify Location
6971 @section Specifying a Location
6972 @cindex specifying location
6973 @cindex linespec
6974
6975 Several @value{GDBN} commands accept arguments that specify a location
6976 of your program's code. Since @value{GDBN} is a source-level
6977 debugger, a location usually specifies some line in the source code;
6978 for that reason, locations are also known as @dfn{linespecs}.
6979
6980 Here are all the different ways of specifying a code location that
6981 @value{GDBN} understands:
6982
6983 @table @code
6984 @item @var{linenum}
6985 Specifies the line number @var{linenum} of the current source file.
6986
6987 @item -@var{offset}
6988 @itemx +@var{offset}
6989 Specifies the line @var{offset} lines before or after the @dfn{current
6990 line}. For the @code{list} command, the current line is the last one
6991 printed; for the breakpoint commands, this is the line at which
6992 execution stopped in the currently selected @dfn{stack frame}
6993 (@pxref{Frames, ,Frames}, for a description of stack frames.) When
6994 used as the second of the two linespecs in a @code{list} command,
6995 this specifies the line @var{offset} lines up or down from the first
6996 linespec.
6997
6998 @item @var{filename}:@var{linenum}
6999 Specifies the line @var{linenum} in the source file @var{filename}.
7000 If @var{filename} is a relative file name, then it will match any
7001 source file name with the same trailing components. For example, if
7002 @var{filename} is @samp{gcc/expr.c}, then it will match source file
7003 name of @file{/build/trunk/gcc/expr.c}, but not
7004 @file{/build/trunk/libcpp/expr.c} or @file{/build/trunk/gcc/x-expr.c}.
7005
7006 @item @var{function}
7007 Specifies the line that begins the body of the function @var{function}.
7008 For example, in C, this is the line with the open brace.
7009
7010 @item @var{function}:@var{label}
7011 Specifies the line where @var{label} appears in @var{function}.
7012
7013 @item @var{filename}:@var{function}
7014 Specifies the line that begins the body of the function @var{function}
7015 in the file @var{filename}. You only need the file name with a
7016 function name to avoid ambiguity when there are identically named
7017 functions in different source files.
7018
7019 @item @var{label}
7020 Specifies the line at which the label named @var{label} appears.
7021 @value{GDBN} searches for the label in the function corresponding to
7022 the currently selected stack frame. If there is no current selected
7023 stack frame (for instance, if the inferior is not running), then
7024 @value{GDBN} will not search for a label.
7025
7026 @item *@var{address}
7027 Specifies the program address @var{address}. For line-oriented
7028 commands, such as @code{list} and @code{edit}, this specifies a source
7029 line that contains @var{address}. For @code{break} and other
7030 breakpoint oriented commands, this can be used to set breakpoints in
7031 parts of your program which do not have debugging information or
7032 source files.
7033
7034 Here @var{address} may be any expression valid in the current working
7035 language (@pxref{Languages, working language}) that specifies a code
7036 address. In addition, as a convenience, @value{GDBN} extends the
7037 semantics of expressions used in locations to cover the situations
7038 that frequently happen during debugging. Here are the various forms
7039 of @var{address}:
7040
7041 @table @code
7042 @item @var{expression}
7043 Any expression valid in the current working language.
7044
7045 @item @var{funcaddr}
7046 An address of a function or procedure derived from its name. In C,
7047 C@t{++}, Java, Objective-C, Fortran, minimal, and assembly, this is
7048 simply the function's name @var{function} (and actually a special case
7049 of a valid expression). In Pascal and Modula-2, this is
7050 @code{&@var{function}}. In Ada, this is @code{@var{function}'Address}
7051 (although the Pascal form also works).
7052
7053 This form specifies the address of the function's first instruction,
7054 before the stack frame and arguments have been set up.
7055
7056 @item '@var{filename}'::@var{funcaddr}
7057 Like @var{funcaddr} above, but also specifies the name of the source
7058 file explicitly. This is useful if the name of the function does not
7059 specify the function unambiguously, e.g., if there are several
7060 functions with identical names in different source files.
7061 @end table
7062
7063 @cindex breakpoint at static probe point
7064 @item -pstap|-probe-stap @r{[}@var{objfile}:@r{[}@var{provider}:@r{]}@r{]}@var{name}
7065 The @sc{gnu}/Linux tool @code{SystemTap} provides a way for
7066 applications to embed static probes. @xref{Static Probe Points}, for more
7067 information on finding and using static probes. This form of linespec
7068 specifies the location of such a static probe.
7069
7070 If @var{objfile} is given, only probes coming from that shared library
7071 or executable matching @var{objfile} as a regular expression are considered.
7072 If @var{provider} is given, then only probes from that provider are considered.
7073 If several probes match the spec, @value{GDBN} will insert a breakpoint at
7074 each one of those probes.
7075
7076 @end table
7077
7078
7079 @node Edit
7080 @section Editing Source Files
7081 @cindex editing source files
7082
7083 @kindex edit
7084 @kindex e @r{(@code{edit})}
7085 To edit the lines in a source file, use the @code{edit} command.
7086 The editing program of your choice
7087 is invoked with the current line set to
7088 the active line in the program.
7089 Alternatively, there are several ways to specify what part of the file you
7090 want to print if you want to see other parts of the program:
7091
7092 @table @code
7093 @item edit @var{location}
7094 Edit the source file specified by @code{location}. Editing starts at
7095 that @var{location}, e.g., at the specified source line of the
7096 specified file. @xref{Specify Location}, for all the possible forms
7097 of the @var{location} argument; here are the forms of the @code{edit}
7098 command most commonly used:
7099
7100 @table @code
7101 @item edit @var{number}
7102 Edit the current source file with @var{number} as the active line number.
7103
7104 @item edit @var{function}
7105 Edit the file containing @var{function} at the beginning of its definition.
7106 @end table
7107
7108 @end table
7109
7110 @subsection Choosing your Editor
7111 You can customize @value{GDBN} to use any editor you want
7112 @footnote{
7113 The only restriction is that your editor (say @code{ex}), recognizes the
7114 following command-line syntax:
7115 @smallexample
7116 ex +@var{number} file
7117 @end smallexample
7118 The optional numeric value +@var{number} specifies the number of the line in
7119 the file where to start editing.}.
7120 By default, it is @file{@value{EDITOR}}, but you can change this
7121 by setting the environment variable @code{EDITOR} before using
7122 @value{GDBN}. For example, to configure @value{GDBN} to use the
7123 @code{vi} editor, you could use these commands with the @code{sh} shell:
7124 @smallexample
7125 EDITOR=/usr/bin/vi
7126 export EDITOR
7127 gdb @dots{}
7128 @end smallexample
7129 or in the @code{csh} shell,
7130 @smallexample
7131 setenv EDITOR /usr/bin/vi
7132 gdb @dots{}
7133 @end smallexample
7134
7135 @node Search
7136 @section Searching Source Files
7137 @cindex searching source files
7138
7139 There are two commands for searching through the current source file for a
7140 regular expression.
7141
7142 @table @code
7143 @kindex search
7144 @kindex forward-search
7145 @kindex fo @r{(@code{forward-search})}
7146 @item forward-search @var{regexp}
7147 @itemx search @var{regexp}
7148 The command @samp{forward-search @var{regexp}} checks each line,
7149 starting with the one following the last line listed, for a match for
7150 @var{regexp}. It lists the line that is found. You can use the
7151 synonym @samp{search @var{regexp}} or abbreviate the command name as
7152 @code{fo}.
7153
7154 @kindex reverse-search
7155 @item reverse-search @var{regexp}
7156 The command @samp{reverse-search @var{regexp}} checks each line, starting
7157 with the one before the last line listed and going backward, for a match
7158 for @var{regexp}. It lists the line that is found. You can abbreviate
7159 this command as @code{rev}.
7160 @end table
7161
7162 @node Source Path
7163 @section Specifying Source Directories
7164
7165 @cindex source path
7166 @cindex directories for source files
7167 Executable programs sometimes do not record the directories of the source
7168 files from which they were compiled, just the names. Even when they do,
7169 the directories could be moved between the compilation and your debugging
7170 session. @value{GDBN} has a list of directories to search for source files;
7171 this is called the @dfn{source path}. Each time @value{GDBN} wants a source file,
7172 it tries all the directories in the list, in the order they are present
7173 in the list, until it finds a file with the desired name.
7174
7175 For example, suppose an executable references the file
7176 @file{/usr/src/foo-1.0/lib/foo.c}, and our source path is
7177 @file{/mnt/cross}. The file is first looked up literally; if this
7178 fails, @file{/mnt/cross/usr/src/foo-1.0/lib/foo.c} is tried; if this
7179 fails, @file{/mnt/cross/foo.c} is opened; if this fails, an error
7180 message is printed. @value{GDBN} does not look up the parts of the
7181 source file name, such as @file{/mnt/cross/src/foo-1.0/lib/foo.c}.
7182 Likewise, the subdirectories of the source path are not searched: if
7183 the source path is @file{/mnt/cross}, and the binary refers to
7184 @file{foo.c}, @value{GDBN} would not find it under
7185 @file{/mnt/cross/usr/src/foo-1.0/lib}.
7186
7187 Plain file names, relative file names with leading directories, file
7188 names containing dots, etc.@: are all treated as described above; for
7189 instance, if the source path is @file{/mnt/cross}, and the source file
7190 is recorded as @file{../lib/foo.c}, @value{GDBN} would first try
7191 @file{../lib/foo.c}, then @file{/mnt/cross/../lib/foo.c}, and after
7192 that---@file{/mnt/cross/foo.c}.
7193
7194 Note that the executable search path is @emph{not} used to locate the
7195 source files.
7196
7197 Whenever you reset or rearrange the source path, @value{GDBN} clears out
7198 any information it has cached about where source files are found and where
7199 each line is in the file.
7200
7201 @kindex directory
7202 @kindex dir
7203 When you start @value{GDBN}, its source path includes only @samp{cdir}
7204 and @samp{cwd}, in that order.
7205 To add other directories, use the @code{directory} command.
7206
7207 The search path is used to find both program source files and @value{GDBN}
7208 script files (read using the @samp{-command} option and @samp{source} command).
7209
7210 In addition to the source path, @value{GDBN} provides a set of commands
7211 that manage a list of source path substitution rules. A @dfn{substitution
7212 rule} specifies how to rewrite source directories stored in the program's
7213 debug information in case the sources were moved to a different
7214 directory between compilation and debugging. A rule is made of
7215 two strings, the first specifying what needs to be rewritten in
7216 the path, and the second specifying how it should be rewritten.
7217 In @ref{set substitute-path}, we name these two parts @var{from} and
7218 @var{to} respectively. @value{GDBN} does a simple string replacement
7219 of @var{from} with @var{to} at the start of the directory part of the
7220 source file name, and uses that result instead of the original file
7221 name to look up the sources.
7222
7223 Using the previous example, suppose the @file{foo-1.0} tree has been
7224 moved from @file{/usr/src} to @file{/mnt/cross}, then you can tell
7225 @value{GDBN} to replace @file{/usr/src} in all source path names with
7226 @file{/mnt/cross}. The first lookup will then be
7227 @file{/mnt/cross/foo-1.0/lib/foo.c} in place of the original location
7228 of @file{/usr/src/foo-1.0/lib/foo.c}. To define a source path
7229 substitution rule, use the @code{set substitute-path} command
7230 (@pxref{set substitute-path}).
7231
7232 To avoid unexpected substitution results, a rule is applied only if the
7233 @var{from} part of the directory name ends at a directory separator.
7234 For instance, a rule substituting @file{/usr/source} into
7235 @file{/mnt/cross} will be applied to @file{/usr/source/foo-1.0} but
7236 not to @file{/usr/sourceware/foo-2.0}. And because the substitution
7237 is applied only at the beginning of the directory name, this rule will
7238 not be applied to @file{/root/usr/source/baz.c} either.
7239
7240 In many cases, you can achieve the same result using the @code{directory}
7241 command. However, @code{set substitute-path} can be more efficient in
7242 the case where the sources are organized in a complex tree with multiple
7243 subdirectories. With the @code{directory} command, you need to add each
7244 subdirectory of your project. If you moved the entire tree while
7245 preserving its internal organization, then @code{set substitute-path}
7246 allows you to direct the debugger to all the sources with one single
7247 command.
7248
7249 @code{set substitute-path} is also more than just a shortcut command.
7250 The source path is only used if the file at the original location no
7251 longer exists. On the other hand, @code{set substitute-path} modifies
7252 the debugger behavior to look at the rewritten location instead. So, if
7253 for any reason a source file that is not relevant to your executable is
7254 located at the original location, a substitution rule is the only
7255 method available to point @value{GDBN} at the new location.
7256
7257 @cindex @samp{--with-relocated-sources}
7258 @cindex default source path substitution
7259 You can configure a default source path substitution rule by
7260 configuring @value{GDBN} with the
7261 @samp{--with-relocated-sources=@var{dir}} option. The @var{dir}
7262 should be the name of a directory under @value{GDBN}'s configured
7263 prefix (set with @samp{--prefix} or @samp{--exec-prefix}), and
7264 directory names in debug information under @var{dir} will be adjusted
7265 automatically if the installed @value{GDBN} is moved to a new
7266 location. This is useful if @value{GDBN}, libraries or executables
7267 with debug information and corresponding source code are being moved
7268 together.
7269
7270 @table @code
7271 @item directory @var{dirname} @dots{}
7272 @item dir @var{dirname} @dots{}
7273 Add directory @var{dirname} to the front of the source path. Several
7274 directory names may be given to this command, separated by @samp{:}
7275 (@samp{;} on MS-DOS and MS-Windows, where @samp{:} usually appears as
7276 part of absolute file names) or
7277 whitespace. You may specify a directory that is already in the source
7278 path; this moves it forward, so @value{GDBN} searches it sooner.
7279
7280 @kindex cdir
7281 @kindex cwd
7282 @vindex $cdir@r{, convenience variable}
7283 @vindex $cwd@r{, convenience variable}
7284 @cindex compilation directory
7285 @cindex current directory
7286 @cindex working directory
7287 @cindex directory, current
7288 @cindex directory, compilation
7289 You can use the string @samp{$cdir} to refer to the compilation
7290 directory (if one is recorded), and @samp{$cwd} to refer to the current
7291 working directory. @samp{$cwd} is not the same as @samp{.}---the former
7292 tracks the current working directory as it changes during your @value{GDBN}
7293 session, while the latter is immediately expanded to the current
7294 directory at the time you add an entry to the source path.
7295
7296 @item directory
7297 Reset the source path to its default value (@samp{$cdir:$cwd} on Unix systems). This requires confirmation.
7298
7299 @c RET-repeat for @code{directory} is explicitly disabled, but since
7300 @c repeating it would be a no-op we do not say that. (thanks to RMS)
7301
7302 @item set directories @var{path-list}
7303 @kindex set directories
7304 Set the source path to @var{path-list}.
7305 @samp{$cdir:$cwd} are added if missing.
7306
7307 @item show directories
7308 @kindex show directories
7309 Print the source path: show which directories it contains.
7310
7311 @anchor{set substitute-path}
7312 @item set substitute-path @var{from} @var{to}
7313 @kindex set substitute-path
7314 Define a source path substitution rule, and add it at the end of the
7315 current list of existing substitution rules. If a rule with the same
7316 @var{from} was already defined, then the old rule is also deleted.
7317
7318 For example, if the file @file{/foo/bar/baz.c} was moved to
7319 @file{/mnt/cross/baz.c}, then the command
7320
7321 @smallexample
7322 (@value{GDBP}) set substitute-path /usr/src /mnt/cross
7323 @end smallexample
7324
7325 @noindent
7326 will tell @value{GDBN} to replace @samp{/usr/src} with
7327 @samp{/mnt/cross}, which will allow @value{GDBN} to find the file
7328 @file{baz.c} even though it was moved.
7329
7330 In the case when more than one substitution rule have been defined,
7331 the rules are evaluated one by one in the order where they have been
7332 defined. The first one matching, if any, is selected to perform
7333 the substitution.
7334
7335 For instance, if we had entered the following commands:
7336
7337 @smallexample
7338 (@value{GDBP}) set substitute-path /usr/src/include /mnt/include
7339 (@value{GDBP}) set substitute-path /usr/src /mnt/src
7340 @end smallexample
7341
7342 @noindent
7343 @value{GDBN} would then rewrite @file{/usr/src/include/defs.h} into
7344 @file{/mnt/include/defs.h} by using the first rule. However, it would
7345 use the second rule to rewrite @file{/usr/src/lib/foo.c} into
7346 @file{/mnt/src/lib/foo.c}.
7347
7348
7349 @item unset substitute-path [path]
7350 @kindex unset substitute-path
7351 If a path is specified, search the current list of substitution rules
7352 for a rule that would rewrite that path. Delete that rule if found.
7353 A warning is emitted by the debugger if no rule could be found.
7354
7355 If no path is specified, then all substitution rules are deleted.
7356
7357 @item show substitute-path [path]
7358 @kindex show substitute-path
7359 If a path is specified, then print the source path substitution rule
7360 which would rewrite that path, if any.
7361
7362 If no path is specified, then print all existing source path substitution
7363 rules.
7364
7365 @end table
7366
7367 If your source path is cluttered with directories that are no longer of
7368 interest, @value{GDBN} may sometimes cause confusion by finding the wrong
7369 versions of source. You can correct the situation as follows:
7370
7371 @enumerate
7372 @item
7373 Use @code{directory} with no argument to reset the source path to its default value.
7374
7375 @item
7376 Use @code{directory} with suitable arguments to reinstall the
7377 directories you want in the source path. You can add all the
7378 directories in one command.
7379 @end enumerate
7380
7381 @node Machine Code
7382 @section Source and Machine Code
7383 @cindex source line and its code address
7384
7385 You can use the command @code{info line} to map source lines to program
7386 addresses (and vice versa), and the command @code{disassemble} to display
7387 a range of addresses as machine instructions. You can use the command
7388 @code{set disassemble-next-line} to set whether to disassemble next
7389 source line when execution stops. When run under @sc{gnu} Emacs
7390 mode, the @code{info line} command causes the arrow to point to the
7391 line specified. Also, @code{info line} prints addresses in symbolic form as
7392 well as hex.
7393
7394 @table @code
7395 @kindex info line
7396 @item info line @var{linespec}
7397 Print the starting and ending addresses of the compiled code for
7398 source line @var{linespec}. You can specify source lines in any of
7399 the ways documented in @ref{Specify Location}.
7400 @end table
7401
7402 For example, we can use @code{info line} to discover the location of
7403 the object code for the first line of function
7404 @code{m4_changequote}:
7405
7406 @c FIXME: I think this example should also show the addresses in
7407 @c symbolic form, as they usually would be displayed.
7408 @smallexample
7409 (@value{GDBP}) info line m4_changequote
7410 Line 895 of "builtin.c" starts at pc 0x634c and ends at 0x6350.
7411 @end smallexample
7412
7413 @noindent
7414 @cindex code address and its source line
7415 We can also inquire (using @code{*@var{addr}} as the form for
7416 @var{linespec}) what source line covers a particular address:
7417 @smallexample
7418 (@value{GDBP}) info line *0x63ff
7419 Line 926 of "builtin.c" starts at pc 0x63e4 and ends at 0x6404.
7420 @end smallexample
7421
7422 @cindex @code{$_} and @code{info line}
7423 @cindex @code{x} command, default address
7424 @kindex x@r{(examine), and} info line
7425 After @code{info line}, the default address for the @code{x} command
7426 is changed to the starting address of the line, so that @samp{x/i} is
7427 sufficient to begin examining the machine code (@pxref{Memory,
7428 ,Examining Memory}). Also, this address is saved as the value of the
7429 convenience variable @code{$_} (@pxref{Convenience Vars, ,Convenience
7430 Variables}).
7431
7432 @table @code
7433 @kindex disassemble
7434 @cindex assembly instructions
7435 @cindex instructions, assembly
7436 @cindex machine instructions
7437 @cindex listing machine instructions
7438 @item disassemble
7439 @itemx disassemble /m
7440 @itemx disassemble /r
7441 This specialized command dumps a range of memory as machine
7442 instructions. It can also print mixed source+disassembly by specifying
7443 the @code{/m} modifier and print the raw instructions in hex as well as
7444 in symbolic form by specifying the @code{/r}.
7445 The default memory range is the function surrounding the
7446 program counter of the selected frame. A single argument to this
7447 command is a program counter value; @value{GDBN} dumps the function
7448 surrounding this value. When two arguments are given, they should
7449 be separated by a comma, possibly surrounded by whitespace. The
7450 arguments specify a range of addresses to dump, in one of two forms:
7451
7452 @table @code
7453 @item @var{start},@var{end}
7454 the addresses from @var{start} (inclusive) to @var{end} (exclusive)
7455 @item @var{start},+@var{length}
7456 the addresses from @var{start} (inclusive) to
7457 @code{@var{start}+@var{length}} (exclusive).
7458 @end table
7459
7460 @noindent
7461 When 2 arguments are specified, the name of the function is also
7462 printed (since there could be several functions in the given range).
7463
7464 The argument(s) can be any expression yielding a numeric value, such as
7465 @samp{0x32c4}, @samp{&main+10} or @samp{$pc - 8}.
7466
7467 If the range of memory being disassembled contains current program counter,
7468 the instruction at that location is shown with a @code{=>} marker.
7469 @end table
7470
7471 The following example shows the disassembly of a range of addresses of
7472 HP PA-RISC 2.0 code:
7473
7474 @smallexample
7475 (@value{GDBP}) disas 0x32c4, 0x32e4
7476 Dump of assembler code from 0x32c4 to 0x32e4:
7477 0x32c4 <main+204>: addil 0,dp
7478 0x32c8 <main+208>: ldw 0x22c(sr0,r1),r26
7479 0x32cc <main+212>: ldil 0x3000,r31
7480 0x32d0 <main+216>: ble 0x3f8(sr4,r31)
7481 0x32d4 <main+220>: ldo 0(r31),rp
7482 0x32d8 <main+224>: addil -0x800,dp
7483 0x32dc <main+228>: ldo 0x588(r1),r26
7484 0x32e0 <main+232>: ldil 0x3000,r31
7485 End of assembler dump.
7486 @end smallexample
7487
7488 Here is an example showing mixed source+assembly for Intel x86, when the
7489 program is stopped just after function prologue:
7490
7491 @smallexample
7492 (@value{GDBP}) disas /m main
7493 Dump of assembler code for function main:
7494 5 @{
7495 0x08048330 <+0>: push %ebp
7496 0x08048331 <+1>: mov %esp,%ebp
7497 0x08048333 <+3>: sub $0x8,%esp
7498 0x08048336 <+6>: and $0xfffffff0,%esp
7499 0x08048339 <+9>: sub $0x10,%esp
7500
7501 6 printf ("Hello.\n");
7502 => 0x0804833c <+12>: movl $0x8048440,(%esp)
7503 0x08048343 <+19>: call 0x8048284 <puts@@plt>
7504
7505 7 return 0;
7506 8 @}
7507 0x08048348 <+24>: mov $0x0,%eax
7508 0x0804834d <+29>: leave
7509 0x0804834e <+30>: ret
7510
7511 End of assembler dump.
7512 @end smallexample
7513
7514 Here is another example showing raw instructions in hex for AMD x86-64,
7515
7516 @smallexample
7517 (gdb) disas /r 0x400281,+10
7518 Dump of assembler code from 0x400281 to 0x40028b:
7519 0x0000000000400281: 38 36 cmp %dh,(%rsi)
7520 0x0000000000400283: 2d 36 34 2e 73 sub $0x732e3436,%eax
7521 0x0000000000400288: 6f outsl %ds:(%rsi),(%dx)
7522 0x0000000000400289: 2e 32 00 xor %cs:(%rax),%al
7523 End of assembler dump.
7524 @end smallexample
7525
7526 Addresses cannot be specified as a linespec (@pxref{Specify Location}).
7527 So, for example, if you want to disassemble function @code{bar}
7528 in file @file{foo.c}, you must type @samp{disassemble 'foo.c'::bar}
7529 and not @samp{disassemble foo.c:bar}.
7530
7531 Some architectures have more than one commonly-used set of instruction
7532 mnemonics or other syntax.
7533
7534 For programs that were dynamically linked and use shared libraries,
7535 instructions that call functions or branch to locations in the shared
7536 libraries might show a seemingly bogus location---it's actually a
7537 location of the relocation table. On some architectures, @value{GDBN}
7538 might be able to resolve these to actual function names.
7539
7540 @table @code
7541 @kindex set disassembly-flavor
7542 @cindex Intel disassembly flavor
7543 @cindex AT&T disassembly flavor
7544 @item set disassembly-flavor @var{instruction-set}
7545 Select the instruction set to use when disassembling the
7546 program via the @code{disassemble} or @code{x/i} commands.
7547
7548 Currently this command is only defined for the Intel x86 family. You
7549 can set @var{instruction-set} to either @code{intel} or @code{att}.
7550 The default is @code{att}, the AT&T flavor used by default by Unix
7551 assemblers for x86-based targets.
7552
7553 @kindex show disassembly-flavor
7554 @item show disassembly-flavor
7555 Show the current setting of the disassembly flavor.
7556 @end table
7557
7558 @table @code
7559 @kindex set disassemble-next-line
7560 @kindex show disassemble-next-line
7561 @item set disassemble-next-line
7562 @itemx show disassemble-next-line
7563 Control whether or not @value{GDBN} will disassemble the next source
7564 line or instruction when execution stops. If ON, @value{GDBN} will
7565 display disassembly of the next source line when execution of the
7566 program being debugged stops. This is @emph{in addition} to
7567 displaying the source line itself, which @value{GDBN} always does if
7568 possible. If the next source line cannot be displayed for some reason
7569 (e.g., if @value{GDBN} cannot find the source file, or there's no line
7570 info in the debug info), @value{GDBN} will display disassembly of the
7571 next @emph{instruction} instead of showing the next source line. If
7572 AUTO, @value{GDBN} will display disassembly of next instruction only
7573 if the source line cannot be displayed. This setting causes
7574 @value{GDBN} to display some feedback when you step through a function
7575 with no line info or whose source file is unavailable. The default is
7576 OFF, which means never display the disassembly of the next line or
7577 instruction.
7578 @end table
7579
7580
7581 @node Data
7582 @chapter Examining Data
7583
7584 @cindex printing data
7585 @cindex examining data
7586 @kindex print
7587 @kindex inspect
7588 The usual way to examine data in your program is with the @code{print}
7589 command (abbreviated @code{p}), or its synonym @code{inspect}. It
7590 evaluates and prints the value of an expression of the language your
7591 program is written in (@pxref{Languages, ,Using @value{GDBN} with
7592 Different Languages}). It may also print the expression using a
7593 Python-based pretty-printer (@pxref{Pretty Printing}).
7594
7595 @table @code
7596 @item print @var{expr}
7597 @itemx print /@var{f} @var{expr}
7598 @var{expr} is an expression (in the source language). By default the
7599 value of @var{expr} is printed in a format appropriate to its data type;
7600 you can choose a different format by specifying @samp{/@var{f}}, where
7601 @var{f} is a letter specifying the format; see @ref{Output Formats,,Output
7602 Formats}.
7603
7604 @item print
7605 @itemx print /@var{f}
7606 @cindex reprint the last value
7607 If you omit @var{expr}, @value{GDBN} displays the last value again (from the
7608 @dfn{value history}; @pxref{Value History, ,Value History}). This allows you to
7609 conveniently inspect the same value in an alternative format.
7610 @end table
7611
7612 A more low-level way of examining data is with the @code{x} command.
7613 It examines data in memory at a specified address and prints it in a
7614 specified format. @xref{Memory, ,Examining Memory}.
7615
7616 If you are interested in information about types, or about how the
7617 fields of a struct or a class are declared, use the @code{ptype @var{exp}}
7618 command rather than @code{print}. @xref{Symbols, ,Examining the Symbol
7619 Table}.
7620
7621 @cindex exploring hierarchical data structures
7622 @kindex explore
7623 Another way of examining values of expressions and type information is
7624 through the Python extension command @code{explore} (available only if
7625 the @value{GDBN} build is configured with @code{--with-python}). It
7626 offers an interactive way to start at the highest level (or, the most
7627 abstract level) of the data type of an expression (or, the data type
7628 itself) and explore all the way down to leaf scalar values/fields
7629 embedded in the higher level data types.
7630
7631 @table @code
7632 @item explore @var{arg}
7633 @var{arg} is either an expression (in the source language), or a type
7634 visible in the current context of the program being debugged.
7635 @end table
7636
7637 The working of the @code{explore} command can be illustrated with an
7638 example. If a data type @code{struct ComplexStruct} is defined in your
7639 C program as
7640
7641 @smallexample
7642 struct SimpleStruct
7643 @{
7644 int i;
7645 double d;
7646 @};
7647
7648 struct ComplexStruct
7649 @{
7650 struct SimpleStruct *ss_p;
7651 int arr[10];
7652 @};
7653 @end smallexample
7654
7655 @noindent
7656 followed by variable declarations as
7657
7658 @smallexample
7659 struct SimpleStruct ss = @{ 10, 1.11 @};
7660 struct ComplexStruct cs = @{ &ss, @{ 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 @} @};
7661 @end smallexample
7662
7663 @noindent
7664 then, the value of the variable @code{cs} can be explored using the
7665 @code{explore} command as follows.
7666
7667 @smallexample
7668 (gdb) explore cs
7669 The value of `cs' is a struct/class of type `struct ComplexStruct' with
7670 the following fields:
7671
7672 ss_p = <Enter 0 to explore this field of type `struct SimpleStruct *'>
7673 arr = <Enter 1 to explore this field of type `int [10]'>
7674
7675 Enter the field number of choice:
7676 @end smallexample
7677
7678 @noindent
7679 Since the fields of @code{cs} are not scalar values, you are being
7680 prompted to chose the field you want to explore. Let's say you choose
7681 the field @code{ss_p} by entering @code{0}. Then, since this field is a
7682 pointer, you will be asked if it is pointing to a single value. From
7683 the declaration of @code{cs} above, it is indeed pointing to a single
7684 value, hence you enter @code{y}. If you enter @code{n}, then you will
7685 be asked if it were pointing to an array of values, in which case this
7686 field will be explored as if it were an array.
7687
7688 @smallexample
7689 `cs.ss_p' is a pointer to a value of type `struct SimpleStruct'
7690 Continue exploring it as a pointer to a single value [y/n]: y
7691 The value of `*(cs.ss_p)' is a struct/class of type `struct
7692 SimpleStruct' with the following fields:
7693
7694 i = 10 .. (Value of type `int')
7695 d = 1.1100000000000001 .. (Value of type `double')
7696
7697 Press enter to return to parent value:
7698 @end smallexample
7699
7700 @noindent
7701 If the field @code{arr} of @code{cs} was chosen for exploration by
7702 entering @code{1} earlier, then since it is as array, you will be
7703 prompted to enter the index of the element in the array that you want
7704 to explore.
7705
7706 @smallexample
7707 `cs.arr' is an array of `int'.
7708 Enter the index of the element you want to explore in `cs.arr': 5
7709
7710 `(cs.arr)[5]' is a scalar value of type `int'.
7711
7712 (cs.arr)[5] = 4
7713
7714 Press enter to return to parent value:
7715 @end smallexample
7716
7717 In general, at any stage of exploration, you can go deeper towards the
7718 leaf values by responding to the prompts appropriately, or hit the
7719 return key to return to the enclosing data structure (the @i{higher}
7720 level data structure).
7721
7722 Similar to exploring values, you can use the @code{explore} command to
7723 explore types. Instead of specifying a value (which is typically a
7724 variable name or an expression valid in the current context of the
7725 program being debugged), you specify a type name. If you consider the
7726 same example as above, your can explore the type
7727 @code{struct ComplexStruct} by passing the argument
7728 @code{struct ComplexStruct} to the @code{explore} command.
7729
7730 @smallexample
7731 (gdb) explore struct ComplexStruct
7732 @end smallexample
7733
7734 @noindent
7735 By responding to the prompts appropriately in the subsequent interactive
7736 session, you can explore the type @code{struct ComplexStruct} in a
7737 manner similar to how the value @code{cs} was explored in the above
7738 example.
7739
7740 The @code{explore} command also has two sub-commands,
7741 @code{explore value} and @code{explore type}. The former sub-command is
7742 a way to explicitly specify that value exploration of the argument is
7743 being invoked, while the latter is a way to explicitly specify that type
7744 exploration of the argument is being invoked.
7745
7746 @table @code
7747 @item explore value @var{expr}
7748 @cindex explore value
7749 This sub-command of @code{explore} explores the value of the
7750 expression @var{expr} (if @var{expr} is an expression valid in the
7751 current context of the program being debugged). The behavior of this
7752 command is identical to that of the behavior of the @code{explore}
7753 command being passed the argument @var{expr}.
7754
7755 @item explore type @var{arg}
7756 @cindex explore type
7757 This sub-command of @code{explore} explores the type of @var{arg} (if
7758 @var{arg} is a type visible in the current context of program being
7759 debugged), or the type of the value/expression @var{arg} (if @var{arg}
7760 is an expression valid in the current context of the program being
7761 debugged). If @var{arg} is a type, then the behavior of this command is
7762 identical to that of the @code{explore} command being passed the
7763 argument @var{arg}. If @var{arg} is an expression, then the behavior of
7764 this command will be identical to that of the @code{explore} command
7765 being passed the type of @var{arg} as the argument.
7766 @end table
7767
7768 @menu
7769 * Expressions:: Expressions
7770 * Ambiguous Expressions:: Ambiguous Expressions
7771 * Variables:: Program variables
7772 * Arrays:: Artificial arrays
7773 * Output Formats:: Output formats
7774 * Memory:: Examining memory
7775 * Auto Display:: Automatic display
7776 * Print Settings:: Print settings
7777 * Pretty Printing:: Python pretty printing
7778 * Value History:: Value history
7779 * Convenience Vars:: Convenience variables
7780 * Convenience Funs:: Convenience functions
7781 * Registers:: Registers
7782 * Floating Point Hardware:: Floating point hardware
7783 * Vector Unit:: Vector Unit
7784 * OS Information:: Auxiliary data provided by operating system
7785 * Memory Region Attributes:: Memory region attributes
7786 * Dump/Restore Files:: Copy between memory and a file
7787 * Core File Generation:: Cause a program dump its core
7788 * Character Sets:: Debugging programs that use a different
7789 character set than GDB does
7790 * Caching Remote Data:: Data caching for remote targets
7791 * Searching Memory:: Searching memory for a sequence of bytes
7792 @end menu
7793
7794 @node Expressions
7795 @section Expressions
7796
7797 @cindex expressions
7798 @code{print} and many other @value{GDBN} commands accept an expression and
7799 compute its value. Any kind of constant, variable or operator defined
7800 by the programming language you are using is valid in an expression in
7801 @value{GDBN}. This includes conditional expressions, function calls,
7802 casts, and string constants. It also includes preprocessor macros, if
7803 you compiled your program to include this information; see
7804 @ref{Compilation}.
7805
7806 @cindex arrays in expressions
7807 @value{GDBN} supports array constants in expressions input by
7808 the user. The syntax is @{@var{element}, @var{element}@dots{}@}. For example,
7809 you can use the command @code{print @{1, 2, 3@}} to create an array
7810 of three integers. If you pass an array to a function or assign it
7811 to a program variable, @value{GDBN} copies the array to memory that
7812 is @code{malloc}ed in the target program.
7813
7814 Because C is so widespread, most of the expressions shown in examples in
7815 this manual are in C. @xref{Languages, , Using @value{GDBN} with Different
7816 Languages}, for information on how to use expressions in other
7817 languages.
7818
7819 In this section, we discuss operators that you can use in @value{GDBN}
7820 expressions regardless of your programming language.
7821
7822 @cindex casts, in expressions
7823 Casts are supported in all languages, not just in C, because it is so
7824 useful to cast a number into a pointer in order to examine a structure
7825 at that address in memory.
7826 @c FIXME: casts supported---Mod2 true?
7827
7828 @value{GDBN} supports these operators, in addition to those common
7829 to programming languages:
7830
7831 @table @code
7832 @item @@
7833 @samp{@@} is a binary operator for treating parts of memory as arrays.
7834 @xref{Arrays, ,Artificial Arrays}, for more information.
7835
7836 @item ::
7837 @samp{::} allows you to specify a variable in terms of the file or
7838 function where it is defined. @xref{Variables, ,Program Variables}.
7839
7840 @cindex @{@var{type}@}
7841 @cindex type casting memory
7842 @cindex memory, viewing as typed object
7843 @cindex casts, to view memory
7844 @item @{@var{type}@} @var{addr}
7845 Refers to an object of type @var{type} stored at address @var{addr} in
7846 memory. @var{addr} may be any expression whose value is an integer or
7847 pointer (but parentheses are required around binary operators, just as in
7848 a cast). This construct is allowed regardless of what kind of data is
7849 normally supposed to reside at @var{addr}.
7850 @end table
7851
7852 @node Ambiguous Expressions
7853 @section Ambiguous Expressions
7854 @cindex ambiguous expressions
7855
7856 Expressions can sometimes contain some ambiguous elements. For instance,
7857 some programming languages (notably Ada, C@t{++} and Objective-C) permit
7858 a single function name to be defined several times, for application in
7859 different contexts. This is called @dfn{overloading}. Another example
7860 involving Ada is generics. A @dfn{generic package} is similar to C@t{++}
7861 templates and is typically instantiated several times, resulting in
7862 the same function name being defined in different contexts.
7863
7864 In some cases and depending on the language, it is possible to adjust
7865 the expression to remove the ambiguity. For instance in C@t{++}, you
7866 can specify the signature of the function you want to break on, as in
7867 @kbd{break @var{function}(@var{types})}. In Ada, using the fully
7868 qualified name of your function often makes the expression unambiguous
7869 as well.
7870
7871 When an ambiguity that needs to be resolved is detected, the debugger
7872 has the capability to display a menu of numbered choices for each
7873 possibility, and then waits for the selection with the prompt @samp{>}.
7874 The first option is always @samp{[0] cancel}, and typing @kbd{0 @key{RET}}
7875 aborts the current command. If the command in which the expression was
7876 used allows more than one choice to be selected, the next option in the
7877 menu is @samp{[1] all}, and typing @kbd{1 @key{RET}} selects all possible
7878 choices.
7879
7880 For example, the following session excerpt shows an attempt to set a
7881 breakpoint at the overloaded symbol @code{String::after}.
7882 We choose three particular definitions of that function name:
7883
7884 @c FIXME! This is likely to change to show arg type lists, at least
7885 @smallexample
7886 @group
7887 (@value{GDBP}) b String::after
7888 [0] cancel
7889 [1] all
7890 [2] file:String.cc; line number:867
7891 [3] file:String.cc; line number:860
7892 [4] file:String.cc; line number:875
7893 [5] file:String.cc; line number:853
7894 [6] file:String.cc; line number:846
7895 [7] file:String.cc; line number:735
7896 > 2 4 6
7897 Breakpoint 1 at 0xb26c: file String.cc, line 867.
7898 Breakpoint 2 at 0xb344: file String.cc, line 875.
7899 Breakpoint 3 at 0xafcc: file String.cc, line 846.
7900 Multiple breakpoints were set.
7901 Use the "delete" command to delete unwanted
7902 breakpoints.
7903 (@value{GDBP})
7904 @end group
7905 @end smallexample
7906
7907 @table @code
7908 @kindex set multiple-symbols
7909 @item set multiple-symbols @var{mode}
7910 @cindex multiple-symbols menu
7911
7912 This option allows you to adjust the debugger behavior when an expression
7913 is ambiguous.
7914
7915 By default, @var{mode} is set to @code{all}. If the command with which
7916 the expression is used allows more than one choice, then @value{GDBN}
7917 automatically selects all possible choices. For instance, inserting
7918 a breakpoint on a function using an ambiguous name results in a breakpoint
7919 inserted on each possible match. However, if a unique choice must be made,
7920 then @value{GDBN} uses the menu to help you disambiguate the expression.
7921 For instance, printing the address of an overloaded function will result
7922 in the use of the menu.
7923
7924 When @var{mode} is set to @code{ask}, the debugger always uses the menu
7925 when an ambiguity is detected.
7926
7927 Finally, when @var{mode} is set to @code{cancel}, the debugger reports
7928 an error due to the ambiguity and the command is aborted.
7929
7930 @kindex show multiple-symbols
7931 @item show multiple-symbols
7932 Show the current value of the @code{multiple-symbols} setting.
7933 @end table
7934
7935 @node Variables
7936 @section Program Variables
7937
7938 The most common kind of expression to use is the name of a variable
7939 in your program.
7940
7941 Variables in expressions are understood in the selected stack frame
7942 (@pxref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}); they must be either:
7943
7944 @itemize @bullet
7945 @item
7946 global (or file-static)
7947 @end itemize
7948
7949 @noindent or
7950
7951 @itemize @bullet
7952 @item
7953 visible according to the scope rules of the
7954 programming language from the point of execution in that frame
7955 @end itemize
7956
7957 @noindent This means that in the function
7958
7959 @smallexample
7960 foo (a)
7961 int a;
7962 @{
7963 bar (a);
7964 @{
7965 int b = test ();
7966 bar (b);
7967 @}
7968 @}
7969 @end smallexample
7970
7971 @noindent
7972 you can examine and use the variable @code{a} whenever your program is
7973 executing within the function @code{foo}, but you can only use or
7974 examine the variable @code{b} while your program is executing inside
7975 the block where @code{b} is declared.
7976
7977 @cindex variable name conflict
7978 There is an exception: you can refer to a variable or function whose
7979 scope is a single source file even if the current execution point is not
7980 in this file. But it is possible to have more than one such variable or
7981 function with the same name (in different source files). If that
7982 happens, referring to that name has unpredictable effects. If you wish,
7983 you can specify a static variable in a particular function or file by
7984 using the colon-colon (@code{::}) notation:
7985
7986 @cindex colon-colon, context for variables/functions
7987 @ifnotinfo
7988 @c info cannot cope with a :: index entry, but why deprive hard copy readers?
7989 @cindex @code{::}, context for variables/functions
7990 @end ifnotinfo
7991 @smallexample
7992 @var{file}::@var{variable}
7993 @var{function}::@var{variable}
7994 @end smallexample
7995
7996 @noindent
7997 Here @var{file} or @var{function} is the name of the context for the
7998 static @var{variable}. In the case of file names, you can use quotes to
7999 make sure @value{GDBN} parses the file name as a single word---for example,
8000 to print a global value of @code{x} defined in @file{f2.c}:
8001
8002 @smallexample
8003 (@value{GDBP}) p 'f2.c'::x
8004 @end smallexample
8005
8006 The @code{::} notation is normally used for referring to
8007 static variables, since you typically disambiguate uses of local variables
8008 in functions by selecting the appropriate frame and using the
8009 simple name of the variable. However, you may also use this notation
8010 to refer to local variables in frames enclosing the selected frame:
8011
8012 @smallexample
8013 void
8014 foo (int a)
8015 @{
8016 if (a < 10)
8017 bar (a);
8018 else
8019 process (a); /* Stop here */
8020 @}
8021
8022 int
8023 bar (int a)
8024 @{
8025 foo (a + 5);
8026 @}
8027 @end smallexample
8028
8029 @noindent
8030 For example, if there is a breakpoint at the commented line,
8031 here is what you might see
8032 when the program stops after executing the call @code{bar(0)}:
8033
8034 @smallexample
8035 (@value{GDBP}) p a
8036 $1 = 10
8037 (@value{GDBP}) p bar::a
8038 $2 = 5
8039 (@value{GDBP}) up 2
8040 #2 0x080483d0 in foo (a=5) at foobar.c:12
8041 (@value{GDBP}) p a
8042 $3 = 5
8043 (@value{GDBP}) p bar::a
8044 $4 = 0
8045 @end smallexample
8046
8047 @cindex C@t{++} scope resolution
8048 These uses of @samp{::} are very rarely in conflict with the very similar
8049 use of the same notation in C@t{++}. @value{GDBN} also supports use of the C@t{++}
8050 scope resolution operator in @value{GDBN} expressions.
8051 @c FIXME: Um, so what happens in one of those rare cases where it's in
8052 @c conflict?? --mew
8053
8054 @cindex wrong values
8055 @cindex variable values, wrong
8056 @cindex function entry/exit, wrong values of variables
8057 @cindex optimized code, wrong values of variables
8058 @quotation
8059 @emph{Warning:} Occasionally, a local variable may appear to have the
8060 wrong value at certain points in a function---just after entry to a new
8061 scope, and just before exit.
8062 @end quotation
8063 You may see this problem when you are stepping by machine instructions.
8064 This is because, on most machines, it takes more than one instruction to
8065 set up a stack frame (including local variable definitions); if you are
8066 stepping by machine instructions, variables may appear to have the wrong
8067 values until the stack frame is completely built. On exit, it usually
8068 also takes more than one machine instruction to destroy a stack frame;
8069 after you begin stepping through that group of instructions, local
8070 variable definitions may be gone.
8071
8072 This may also happen when the compiler does significant optimizations.
8073 To be sure of always seeing accurate values, turn off all optimization
8074 when compiling.
8075
8076 @cindex ``No symbol "foo" in current context''
8077 Another possible effect of compiler optimizations is to optimize
8078 unused variables out of existence, or assign variables to registers (as
8079 opposed to memory addresses). Depending on the support for such cases
8080 offered by the debug info format used by the compiler, @value{GDBN}
8081 might not be able to display values for such local variables. If that
8082 happens, @value{GDBN} will print a message like this:
8083
8084 @smallexample
8085 No symbol "foo" in current context.
8086 @end smallexample
8087
8088 To solve such problems, either recompile without optimizations, or use a
8089 different debug info format, if the compiler supports several such
8090 formats. @xref{Compilation}, for more information on choosing compiler
8091 options. @xref{C, ,C and C@t{++}}, for more information about debug
8092 info formats that are best suited to C@t{++} programs.
8093
8094 If you ask to print an object whose contents are unknown to
8095 @value{GDBN}, e.g., because its data type is not completely specified
8096 by the debug information, @value{GDBN} will say @samp{<incomplete
8097 type>}. @xref{Symbols, incomplete type}, for more about this.
8098
8099 If you append @kbd{@@entry} string to a function parameter name you get its
8100 value at the time the function got called. If the value is not available an
8101 error message is printed. Entry values are available only with some compilers.
8102 Entry values are normally also printed at the function parameter list according
8103 to @ref{set print entry-values}.
8104
8105 @smallexample
8106 Breakpoint 1, d (i=30) at gdb.base/entry-value.c:29
8107 29 i++;
8108 (gdb) next
8109 30 e (i);
8110 (gdb) print i
8111 $1 = 31
8112 (gdb) print i@@entry
8113 $2 = 30
8114 @end smallexample
8115
8116 Strings are identified as arrays of @code{char} values without specified
8117 signedness. Arrays of either @code{signed char} or @code{unsigned char} get
8118 printed as arrays of 1 byte sized integers. @code{-fsigned-char} or
8119 @code{-funsigned-char} @value{NGCC} options have no effect as @value{GDBN}
8120 defines literal string type @code{"char"} as @code{char} without a sign.
8121 For program code
8122
8123 @smallexample
8124 char var0[] = "A";
8125 signed char var1[] = "A";
8126 @end smallexample
8127
8128 You get during debugging
8129 @smallexample
8130 (gdb) print var0
8131 $1 = "A"
8132 (gdb) print var1
8133 $2 = @{65 'A', 0 '\0'@}
8134 @end smallexample
8135
8136 @node Arrays
8137 @section Artificial Arrays
8138
8139 @cindex artificial array
8140 @cindex arrays
8141 @kindex @@@r{, referencing memory as an array}
8142 It is often useful to print out several successive objects of the
8143 same type in memory; a section of an array, or an array of
8144 dynamically determined size for which only a pointer exists in the
8145 program.
8146
8147 You can do this by referring to a contiguous span of memory as an
8148 @dfn{artificial array}, using the binary operator @samp{@@}. The left
8149 operand of @samp{@@} should be the first element of the desired array
8150 and be an individual object. The right operand should be the desired length
8151 of the array. The result is an array value whose elements are all of
8152 the type of the left argument. The first element is actually the left
8153 argument; the second element comes from bytes of memory immediately
8154 following those that hold the first element, and so on. Here is an
8155 example. If a program says
8156
8157 @smallexample
8158 int *array = (int *) malloc (len * sizeof (int));
8159 @end smallexample
8160
8161 @noindent
8162 you can print the contents of @code{array} with
8163
8164 @smallexample
8165 p *array@@len
8166 @end smallexample
8167
8168 The left operand of @samp{@@} must reside in memory. Array values made
8169 with @samp{@@} in this way behave just like other arrays in terms of
8170 subscripting, and are coerced to pointers when used in expressions.
8171 Artificial arrays most often appear in expressions via the value history
8172 (@pxref{Value History, ,Value History}), after printing one out.
8173
8174 Another way to create an artificial array is to use a cast.
8175 This re-interprets a value as if it were an array.
8176 The value need not be in memory:
8177 @smallexample
8178 (@value{GDBP}) p/x (short[2])0x12345678
8179 $1 = @{0x1234, 0x5678@}
8180 @end smallexample
8181
8182 As a convenience, if you leave the array length out (as in
8183 @samp{(@var{type}[])@var{value}}) @value{GDBN} calculates the size to fill
8184 the value (as @samp{sizeof(@var{value})/sizeof(@var{type})}:
8185 @smallexample
8186 (@value{GDBP}) p/x (short[])0x12345678
8187 $2 = @{0x1234, 0x5678@}
8188 @end smallexample
8189
8190 Sometimes the artificial array mechanism is not quite enough; in
8191 moderately complex data structures, the elements of interest may not
8192 actually be adjacent---for example, if you are interested in the values
8193 of pointers in an array. One useful work-around in this situation is
8194 to use a convenience variable (@pxref{Convenience Vars, ,Convenience
8195 Variables}) as a counter in an expression that prints the first
8196 interesting value, and then repeat that expression via @key{RET}. For
8197 instance, suppose you have an array @code{dtab} of pointers to
8198 structures, and you are interested in the values of a field @code{fv}
8199 in each structure. Here is an example of what you might type:
8200
8201 @smallexample
8202 set $i = 0
8203 p dtab[$i++]->fv
8204 @key{RET}
8205 @key{RET}
8206 @dots{}
8207 @end smallexample
8208
8209 @node Output Formats
8210 @section Output Formats
8211
8212 @cindex formatted output
8213 @cindex output formats
8214 By default, @value{GDBN} prints a value according to its data type. Sometimes
8215 this is not what you want. For example, you might want to print a number
8216 in hex, or a pointer in decimal. Or you might want to view data in memory
8217 at a certain address as a character string or as an instruction. To do
8218 these things, specify an @dfn{output format} when you print a value.
8219
8220 The simplest use of output formats is to say how to print a value
8221 already computed. This is done by starting the arguments of the
8222 @code{print} command with a slash and a format letter. The format
8223 letters supported are:
8224
8225 @table @code
8226 @item x
8227 Regard the bits of the value as an integer, and print the integer in
8228 hexadecimal.
8229
8230 @item d
8231 Print as integer in signed decimal.
8232
8233 @item u
8234 Print as integer in unsigned decimal.
8235
8236 @item o
8237 Print as integer in octal.
8238
8239 @item t
8240 Print as integer in binary. The letter @samp{t} stands for ``two''.
8241 @footnote{@samp{b} cannot be used because these format letters are also
8242 used with the @code{x} command, where @samp{b} stands for ``byte'';
8243 see @ref{Memory,,Examining Memory}.}
8244
8245 @item a
8246 @cindex unknown address, locating
8247 @cindex locate address
8248 Print as an address, both absolute in hexadecimal and as an offset from
8249 the nearest preceding symbol. You can use this format used to discover
8250 where (in what function) an unknown address is located:
8251
8252 @smallexample
8253 (@value{GDBP}) p/a 0x54320
8254 $3 = 0x54320 <_initialize_vx+396>
8255 @end smallexample
8256
8257 @noindent
8258 The command @code{info symbol 0x54320} yields similar results.
8259 @xref{Symbols, info symbol}.
8260
8261 @item c
8262 Regard as an integer and print it as a character constant. This
8263 prints both the numerical value and its character representation. The
8264 character representation is replaced with the octal escape @samp{\nnn}
8265 for characters outside the 7-bit @sc{ascii} range.
8266
8267 Without this format, @value{GDBN} displays @code{char},
8268 @w{@code{unsigned char}}, and @w{@code{signed char}} data as character
8269 constants. Single-byte members of vectors are displayed as integer
8270 data.
8271
8272 @item f
8273 Regard the bits of the value as a floating point number and print
8274 using typical floating point syntax.
8275
8276 @item s
8277 @cindex printing strings
8278 @cindex printing byte arrays
8279 Regard as a string, if possible. With this format, pointers to single-byte
8280 data are displayed as null-terminated strings and arrays of single-byte data
8281 are displayed as fixed-length strings. Other values are displayed in their
8282 natural types.
8283
8284 Without this format, @value{GDBN} displays pointers to and arrays of
8285 @code{char}, @w{@code{unsigned char}}, and @w{@code{signed char}} as
8286 strings. Single-byte members of a vector are displayed as an integer
8287 array.
8288
8289 @item r
8290 @cindex raw printing
8291 Print using the @samp{raw} formatting. By default, @value{GDBN} will
8292 use a Python-based pretty-printer, if one is available (@pxref{Pretty
8293 Printing}). This typically results in a higher-level display of the
8294 value's contents. The @samp{r} format bypasses any Python
8295 pretty-printer which might exist.
8296 @end table
8297
8298 For example, to print the program counter in hex (@pxref{Registers}), type
8299
8300 @smallexample
8301 p/x $pc
8302 @end smallexample
8303
8304 @noindent
8305 Note that no space is required before the slash; this is because command
8306 names in @value{GDBN} cannot contain a slash.
8307
8308 To reprint the last value in the value history with a different format,
8309 you can use the @code{print} command with just a format and no
8310 expression. For example, @samp{p/x} reprints the last value in hex.
8311
8312 @node Memory
8313 @section Examining Memory
8314
8315 You can use the command @code{x} (for ``examine'') to examine memory in
8316 any of several formats, independently of your program's data types.
8317
8318 @cindex examining memory
8319 @table @code
8320 @kindex x @r{(examine memory)}
8321 @item x/@var{nfu} @var{addr}
8322 @itemx x @var{addr}
8323 @itemx x
8324 Use the @code{x} command to examine memory.
8325 @end table
8326
8327 @var{n}, @var{f}, and @var{u} are all optional parameters that specify how
8328 much memory to display and how to format it; @var{addr} is an
8329 expression giving the address where you want to start displaying memory.
8330 If you use defaults for @var{nfu}, you need not type the slash @samp{/}.
8331 Several commands set convenient defaults for @var{addr}.
8332
8333 @table @r
8334 @item @var{n}, the repeat count
8335 The repeat count is a decimal integer; the default is 1. It specifies
8336 how much memory (counting by units @var{u}) to display.
8337 @c This really is **decimal**; unaffected by 'set radix' as of GDB
8338 @c 4.1.2.
8339
8340 @item @var{f}, the display format
8341 The display format is one of the formats used by @code{print}
8342 (@samp{x}, @samp{d}, @samp{u}, @samp{o}, @samp{t}, @samp{a}, @samp{c},
8343 @samp{f}, @samp{s}), and in addition @samp{i} (for machine instructions).
8344 The default is @samp{x} (hexadecimal) initially. The default changes
8345 each time you use either @code{x} or @code{print}.
8346
8347 @item @var{u}, the unit size
8348 The unit size is any of
8349
8350 @table @code
8351 @item b
8352 Bytes.
8353 @item h
8354 Halfwords (two bytes).
8355 @item w
8356 Words (four bytes). This is the initial default.
8357 @item g
8358 Giant words (eight bytes).
8359 @end table
8360
8361 Each time you specify a unit size with @code{x}, that size becomes the
8362 default unit the next time you use @code{x}. For the @samp{i} format,
8363 the unit size is ignored and is normally not written. For the @samp{s} format,
8364 the unit size defaults to @samp{b}, unless it is explicitly given.
8365 Use @kbd{x /hs} to display 16-bit char strings and @kbd{x /ws} to display
8366 32-bit strings. The next use of @kbd{x /s} will again display 8-bit strings.
8367 Note that the results depend on the programming language of the
8368 current compilation unit. If the language is C, the @samp{s}
8369 modifier will use the UTF-16 encoding while @samp{w} will use
8370 UTF-32. The encoding is set by the programming language and cannot
8371 be altered.
8372
8373 @item @var{addr}, starting display address
8374 @var{addr} is the address where you want @value{GDBN} to begin displaying
8375 memory. The expression need not have a pointer value (though it may);
8376 it is always interpreted as an integer address of a byte of memory.
8377 @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}, for more information on expressions. The default for
8378 @var{addr} is usually just after the last address examined---but several
8379 other commands also set the default address: @code{info breakpoints} (to
8380 the address of the last breakpoint listed), @code{info line} (to the
8381 starting address of a line), and @code{print} (if you use it to display
8382 a value from memory).
8383 @end table
8384
8385 For example, @samp{x/3uh 0x54320} is a request to display three halfwords
8386 (@code{h}) of memory, formatted as unsigned decimal integers (@samp{u}),
8387 starting at address @code{0x54320}. @samp{x/4xw $sp} prints the four
8388 words (@samp{w}) of memory above the stack pointer (here, @samp{$sp};
8389 @pxref{Registers, ,Registers}) in hexadecimal (@samp{x}).
8390
8391 Since the letters indicating unit sizes are all distinct from the
8392 letters specifying output formats, you do not have to remember whether
8393 unit size or format comes first; either order works. The output
8394 specifications @samp{4xw} and @samp{4wx} mean exactly the same thing.
8395 (However, the count @var{n} must come first; @samp{wx4} does not work.)
8396
8397 Even though the unit size @var{u} is ignored for the formats @samp{s}
8398 and @samp{i}, you might still want to use a count @var{n}; for example,
8399 @samp{3i} specifies that you want to see three machine instructions,
8400 including any operands. For convenience, especially when used with
8401 the @code{display} command, the @samp{i} format also prints branch delay
8402 slot instructions, if any, beyond the count specified, which immediately
8403 follow the last instruction that is within the count. The command
8404 @code{disassemble} gives an alternative way of inspecting machine
8405 instructions; see @ref{Machine Code,,Source and Machine Code}.
8406
8407 All the defaults for the arguments to @code{x} are designed to make it
8408 easy to continue scanning memory with minimal specifications each time
8409 you use @code{x}. For example, after you have inspected three machine
8410 instructions with @samp{x/3i @var{addr}}, you can inspect the next seven
8411 with just @samp{x/7}. If you use @key{RET} to repeat the @code{x} command,
8412 the repeat count @var{n} is used again; the other arguments default as
8413 for successive uses of @code{x}.
8414
8415 When examining machine instructions, the instruction at current program
8416 counter is shown with a @code{=>} marker. For example:
8417
8418 @smallexample
8419 (@value{GDBP}) x/5i $pc-6
8420 0x804837f <main+11>: mov %esp,%ebp
8421 0x8048381 <main+13>: push %ecx
8422 0x8048382 <main+14>: sub $0x4,%esp
8423 => 0x8048385 <main+17>: movl $0x8048460,(%esp)
8424 0x804838c <main+24>: call 0x80482d4 <puts@@plt>
8425 @end smallexample
8426
8427 @cindex @code{$_}, @code{$__}, and value history
8428 The addresses and contents printed by the @code{x} command are not saved
8429 in the value history because there is often too much of them and they
8430 would get in the way. Instead, @value{GDBN} makes these values available for
8431 subsequent use in expressions as values of the convenience variables
8432 @code{$_} and @code{$__}. After an @code{x} command, the last address
8433 examined is available for use in expressions in the convenience variable
8434 @code{$_}. The contents of that address, as examined, are available in
8435 the convenience variable @code{$__}.
8436
8437 If the @code{x} command has a repeat count, the address and contents saved
8438 are from the last memory unit printed; this is not the same as the last
8439 address printed if several units were printed on the last line of output.
8440
8441 @cindex remote memory comparison
8442 @cindex verify remote memory image
8443 When you are debugging a program running on a remote target machine
8444 (@pxref{Remote Debugging}), you may wish to verify the program's image in the
8445 remote machine's memory against the executable file you downloaded to
8446 the target. The @code{compare-sections} command is provided for such
8447 situations.
8448
8449 @table @code
8450 @kindex compare-sections
8451 @item compare-sections @r{[}@var{section-name}@r{]}
8452 Compare the data of a loadable section @var{section-name} in the
8453 executable file of the program being debugged with the same section in
8454 the remote machine's memory, and report any mismatches. With no
8455 arguments, compares all loadable sections. This command's
8456 availability depends on the target's support for the @code{"qCRC"}
8457 remote request.
8458 @end table
8459
8460 @node Auto Display
8461 @section Automatic Display
8462 @cindex automatic display
8463 @cindex display of expressions
8464
8465 If you find that you want to print the value of an expression frequently
8466 (to see how it changes), you might want to add it to the @dfn{automatic
8467 display list} so that @value{GDBN} prints its value each time your program stops.
8468 Each expression added to the list is given a number to identify it;
8469 to remove an expression from the list, you specify that number.
8470 The automatic display looks like this:
8471
8472 @smallexample
8473 2: foo = 38
8474 3: bar[5] = (struct hack *) 0x3804
8475 @end smallexample
8476
8477 @noindent
8478 This display shows item numbers, expressions and their current values. As with
8479 displays you request manually using @code{x} or @code{print}, you can
8480 specify the output format you prefer; in fact, @code{display} decides
8481 whether to use @code{print} or @code{x} depending your format
8482 specification---it uses @code{x} if you specify either the @samp{i}
8483 or @samp{s} format, or a unit size; otherwise it uses @code{print}.
8484
8485 @table @code
8486 @kindex display
8487 @item display @var{expr}
8488 Add the expression @var{expr} to the list of expressions to display
8489 each time your program stops. @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}.
8490
8491 @code{display} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} again after using it.
8492
8493 @item display/@var{fmt} @var{expr}
8494 For @var{fmt} specifying only a display format and not a size or
8495 count, add the expression @var{expr} to the auto-display list but
8496 arrange to display it each time in the specified format @var{fmt}.
8497 @xref{Output Formats,,Output Formats}.
8498
8499 @item display/@var{fmt} @var{addr}
8500 For @var{fmt} @samp{i} or @samp{s}, or including a unit-size or a
8501 number of units, add the expression @var{addr} as a memory address to
8502 be examined each time your program stops. Examining means in effect
8503 doing @samp{x/@var{fmt} @var{addr}}. @xref{Memory, ,Examining Memory}.
8504 @end table
8505
8506 For example, @samp{display/i $pc} can be helpful, to see the machine
8507 instruction about to be executed each time execution stops (@samp{$pc}
8508 is a common name for the program counter; @pxref{Registers, ,Registers}).
8509
8510 @table @code
8511 @kindex delete display
8512 @kindex undisplay
8513 @item undisplay @var{dnums}@dots{}
8514 @itemx delete display @var{dnums}@dots{}
8515 Remove items from the list of expressions to display. Specify the
8516 numbers of the displays that you want affected with the command
8517 argument @var{dnums}. It can be a single display number, one of the
8518 numbers shown in the first field of the @samp{info display} display;
8519 or it could be a range of display numbers, as in @code{2-4}.
8520
8521 @code{undisplay} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} after using it.
8522 (Otherwise you would just get the error @samp{No display number @dots{}}.)
8523
8524 @kindex disable display
8525 @item disable display @var{dnums}@dots{}
8526 Disable the display of item numbers @var{dnums}. A disabled display
8527 item is not printed automatically, but is not forgotten. It may be
8528 enabled again later. Specify the numbers of the displays that you
8529 want affected with the command argument @var{dnums}. It can be a
8530 single display number, one of the numbers shown in the first field of
8531 the @samp{info display} display; or it could be a range of display
8532 numbers, as in @code{2-4}.
8533
8534 @kindex enable display
8535 @item enable display @var{dnums}@dots{}
8536 Enable display of item numbers @var{dnums}. It becomes effective once
8537 again in auto display of its expression, until you specify otherwise.
8538 Specify the numbers of the displays that you want affected with the
8539 command argument @var{dnums}. It can be a single display number, one
8540 of the numbers shown in the first field of the @samp{info display}
8541 display; or it could be a range of display numbers, as in @code{2-4}.
8542
8543 @item display
8544 Display the current values of the expressions on the list, just as is
8545 done when your program stops.
8546
8547 @kindex info display
8548 @item info display
8549 Print the list of expressions previously set up to display
8550 automatically, each one with its item number, but without showing the
8551 values. This includes disabled expressions, which are marked as such.
8552 It also includes expressions which would not be displayed right now
8553 because they refer to automatic variables not currently available.
8554 @end table
8555
8556 @cindex display disabled out of scope
8557 If a display expression refers to local variables, then it does not make
8558 sense outside the lexical context for which it was set up. Such an
8559 expression is disabled when execution enters a context where one of its
8560 variables is not defined. For example, if you give the command
8561 @code{display last_char} while inside a function with an argument
8562 @code{last_char}, @value{GDBN} displays this argument while your program
8563 continues to stop inside that function. When it stops elsewhere---where
8564 there is no variable @code{last_char}---the display is disabled
8565 automatically. The next time your program stops where @code{last_char}
8566 is meaningful, you can enable the display expression once again.
8567
8568 @node Print Settings
8569 @section Print Settings
8570
8571 @cindex format options
8572 @cindex print settings
8573 @value{GDBN} provides the following ways to control how arrays, structures,
8574 and symbols are printed.
8575
8576 @noindent
8577 These settings are useful for debugging programs in any language:
8578
8579 @table @code
8580 @kindex set print
8581 @item set print address
8582 @itemx set print address on
8583 @cindex print/don't print memory addresses
8584 @value{GDBN} prints memory addresses showing the location of stack
8585 traces, structure values, pointer values, breakpoints, and so forth,
8586 even when it also displays the contents of those addresses. The default
8587 is @code{on}. For example, this is what a stack frame display looks like with
8588 @code{set print address on}:
8589
8590 @smallexample
8591 @group
8592 (@value{GDBP}) f
8593 #0 set_quotes (lq=0x34c78 "<<", rq=0x34c88 ">>")
8594 at input.c:530
8595 530 if (lquote != def_lquote)
8596 @end group
8597 @end smallexample
8598
8599 @item set print address off
8600 Do not print addresses when displaying their contents. For example,
8601 this is the same stack frame displayed with @code{set print address off}:
8602
8603 @smallexample
8604 @group
8605 (@value{GDBP}) set print addr off
8606 (@value{GDBP}) f
8607 #0 set_quotes (lq="<<", rq=">>") at input.c:530
8608 530 if (lquote != def_lquote)
8609 @end group
8610 @end smallexample
8611
8612 You can use @samp{set print address off} to eliminate all machine
8613 dependent displays from the @value{GDBN} interface. For example, with
8614 @code{print address off}, you should get the same text for backtraces on
8615 all machines---whether or not they involve pointer arguments.
8616
8617 @kindex show print
8618 @item show print address
8619 Show whether or not addresses are to be printed.
8620 @end table
8621
8622 When @value{GDBN} prints a symbolic address, it normally prints the
8623 closest earlier symbol plus an offset. If that symbol does not uniquely
8624 identify the address (for example, it is a name whose scope is a single
8625 source file), you may need to clarify. One way to do this is with
8626 @code{info line}, for example @samp{info line *0x4537}. Alternately,
8627 you can set @value{GDBN} to print the source file and line number when
8628 it prints a symbolic address:
8629
8630 @table @code
8631 @item set print symbol-filename on
8632 @cindex source file and line of a symbol
8633 @cindex symbol, source file and line
8634 Tell @value{GDBN} to print the source file name and line number of a
8635 symbol in the symbolic form of an address.
8636
8637 @item set print symbol-filename off
8638 Do not print source file name and line number of a symbol. This is the
8639 default.
8640
8641 @item show print symbol-filename
8642 Show whether or not @value{GDBN} will print the source file name and
8643 line number of a symbol in the symbolic form of an address.
8644 @end table
8645
8646 Another situation where it is helpful to show symbol filenames and line
8647 numbers is when disassembling code; @value{GDBN} shows you the line
8648 number and source file that corresponds to each instruction.
8649
8650 Also, you may wish to see the symbolic form only if the address being
8651 printed is reasonably close to the closest earlier symbol:
8652
8653 @table @code
8654 @item set print max-symbolic-offset @var{max-offset}
8655 @cindex maximum value for offset of closest symbol
8656 Tell @value{GDBN} to only display the symbolic form of an address if the
8657 offset between the closest earlier symbol and the address is less than
8658 @var{max-offset}. The default is 0, which tells @value{GDBN}
8659 to always print the symbolic form of an address if any symbol precedes it.
8660
8661 @item show print max-symbolic-offset
8662 Ask how large the maximum offset is that @value{GDBN} prints in a
8663 symbolic address.
8664 @end table
8665
8666 @cindex wild pointer, interpreting
8667 @cindex pointer, finding referent
8668 If you have a pointer and you are not sure where it points, try
8669 @samp{set print symbol-filename on}. Then you can determine the name
8670 and source file location of the variable where it points, using
8671 @samp{p/a @var{pointer}}. This interprets the address in symbolic form.
8672 For example, here @value{GDBN} shows that a variable @code{ptt} points
8673 at another variable @code{t}, defined in @file{hi2.c}:
8674
8675 @smallexample
8676 (@value{GDBP}) set print symbol-filename on
8677 (@value{GDBP}) p/a ptt
8678 $4 = 0xe008 <t in hi2.c>
8679 @end smallexample
8680
8681 @quotation
8682 @emph{Warning:} For pointers that point to a local variable, @samp{p/a}
8683 does not show the symbol name and filename of the referent, even with
8684 the appropriate @code{set print} options turned on.
8685 @end quotation
8686
8687 You can also enable @samp{/a}-like formatting all the time using
8688 @samp{set print symbol on}:
8689
8690 @table @code
8691 @item set print symbol on
8692 Tell @value{GDBN} to print the symbol corresponding to an address, if
8693 one exists.
8694
8695 @item set print symbol off
8696 Tell @value{GDBN} not to print the symbol corresponding to an
8697 address. In this mode, @value{GDBN} will still print the symbol
8698 corresponding to pointers to functions. This is the default.
8699
8700 @item show print symbol
8701 Show whether @value{GDBN} will display the symbol corresponding to an
8702 address.
8703 @end table
8704
8705 Other settings control how different kinds of objects are printed:
8706
8707 @table @code
8708 @item set print array
8709 @itemx set print array on
8710 @cindex pretty print arrays
8711 Pretty print arrays. This format is more convenient to read,
8712 but uses more space. The default is off.
8713
8714 @item set print array off
8715 Return to compressed format for arrays.
8716
8717 @item show print array
8718 Show whether compressed or pretty format is selected for displaying
8719 arrays.
8720
8721 @cindex print array indexes
8722 @item set print array-indexes
8723 @itemx set print array-indexes on
8724 Print the index of each element when displaying arrays. May be more
8725 convenient to locate a given element in the array or quickly find the
8726 index of a given element in that printed array. The default is off.
8727
8728 @item set print array-indexes off
8729 Stop printing element indexes when displaying arrays.
8730
8731 @item show print array-indexes
8732 Show whether the index of each element is printed when displaying
8733 arrays.
8734
8735 @item set print elements @var{number-of-elements}
8736 @cindex number of array elements to print
8737 @cindex limit on number of printed array elements
8738 Set a limit on how many elements of an array @value{GDBN} will print.
8739 If @value{GDBN} is printing a large array, it stops printing after it has
8740 printed the number of elements set by the @code{set print elements} command.
8741 This limit also applies to the display of strings.
8742 When @value{GDBN} starts, this limit is set to 200.
8743 Setting @var{number-of-elements} to zero means that the printing is unlimited.
8744
8745 @item show print elements
8746 Display the number of elements of a large array that @value{GDBN} will print.
8747 If the number is 0, then the printing is unlimited.
8748
8749 @item set print frame-arguments @var{value}
8750 @kindex set print frame-arguments
8751 @cindex printing frame argument values
8752 @cindex print all frame argument values
8753 @cindex print frame argument values for scalars only
8754 @cindex do not print frame argument values
8755 This command allows to control how the values of arguments are printed
8756 when the debugger prints a frame (@pxref{Frames}). The possible
8757 values are:
8758
8759 @table @code
8760 @item all
8761 The values of all arguments are printed.
8762
8763 @item scalars
8764 Print the value of an argument only if it is a scalar. The value of more
8765 complex arguments such as arrays, structures, unions, etc, is replaced
8766 by @code{@dots{}}. This is the default. Here is an example where
8767 only scalar arguments are shown:
8768
8769 @smallexample
8770 #1 0x08048361 in call_me (i=3, s=@dots{}, ss=0xbf8d508c, u=@dots{}, e=green)
8771 at frame-args.c:23
8772 @end smallexample
8773
8774 @item none
8775 None of the argument values are printed. Instead, the value of each argument
8776 is replaced by @code{@dots{}}. In this case, the example above now becomes:
8777
8778 @smallexample
8779 #1 0x08048361 in call_me (i=@dots{}, s=@dots{}, ss=@dots{}, u=@dots{}, e=@dots{})
8780 at frame-args.c:23
8781 @end smallexample
8782 @end table
8783
8784 By default, only scalar arguments are printed. This command can be used
8785 to configure the debugger to print the value of all arguments, regardless
8786 of their type. However, it is often advantageous to not print the value
8787 of more complex parameters. For instance, it reduces the amount of
8788 information printed in each frame, making the backtrace more readable.
8789 Also, it improves performance when displaying Ada frames, because
8790 the computation of large arguments can sometimes be CPU-intensive,
8791 especially in large applications. Setting @code{print frame-arguments}
8792 to @code{scalars} (the default) or @code{none} avoids this computation,
8793 thus speeding up the display of each Ada frame.
8794
8795 @item show print frame-arguments
8796 Show how the value of arguments should be displayed when printing a frame.
8797
8798 @anchor{set print entry-values}
8799 @item set print entry-values @var{value}
8800 @kindex set print entry-values
8801 Set printing of frame argument values at function entry. In some cases
8802 @value{GDBN} can determine the value of function argument which was passed by
8803 the function caller, even if the value was modified inside the called function
8804 and therefore is different. With optimized code, the current value could be
8805 unavailable, but the entry value may still be known.
8806
8807 The default value is @code{default} (see below for its description). Older
8808 @value{GDBN} behaved as with the setting @code{no}. Compilers not supporting
8809 this feature will behave in the @code{default} setting the same way as with the
8810 @code{no} setting.
8811
8812 This functionality is currently supported only by DWARF 2 debugging format and
8813 the compiler has to produce @samp{DW_TAG_GNU_call_site} tags. With
8814 @value{NGCC}, you need to specify @option{-O -g} during compilation, to get
8815 this information.
8816
8817 The @var{value} parameter can be one of the following:
8818
8819 @table @code
8820 @item no
8821 Print only actual parameter values, never print values from function entry
8822 point.
8823 @smallexample
8824 #0 equal (val=5)
8825 #0 different (val=6)
8826 #0 lost (val=<optimized out>)
8827 #0 born (val=10)
8828 #0 invalid (val=<optimized out>)
8829 @end smallexample
8830
8831 @item only
8832 Print only parameter values from function entry point. The actual parameter
8833 values are never printed.
8834 @smallexample
8835 #0 equal (val@@entry=5)
8836 #0 different (val@@entry=5)
8837 #0 lost (val@@entry=5)
8838 #0 born (val@@entry=<optimized out>)
8839 #0 invalid (val@@entry=<optimized out>)
8840 @end smallexample
8841
8842 @item preferred
8843 Print only parameter values from function entry point. If value from function
8844 entry point is not known while the actual value is known, print the actual
8845 value for such parameter.
8846 @smallexample
8847 #0 equal (val@@entry=5)
8848 #0 different (val@@entry=5)
8849 #0 lost (val@@entry=5)
8850 #0 born (val=10)
8851 #0 invalid (val@@entry=<optimized out>)
8852 @end smallexample
8853
8854 @item if-needed
8855 Print actual parameter values. If actual parameter value is not known while
8856 value from function entry point is known, print the entry point value for such
8857 parameter.
8858 @smallexample
8859 #0 equal (val=5)
8860 #0 different (val=6)
8861 #0 lost (val@@entry=5)
8862 #0 born (val=10)
8863 #0 invalid (val=<optimized out>)
8864 @end smallexample
8865
8866 @item both
8867 Always print both the actual parameter value and its value from function entry
8868 point, even if values of one or both are not available due to compiler
8869 optimizations.
8870 @smallexample
8871 #0 equal (val=5, val@@entry=5)
8872 #0 different (val=6, val@@entry=5)
8873 #0 lost (val=<optimized out>, val@@entry=5)
8874 #0 born (val=10, val@@entry=<optimized out>)
8875 #0 invalid (val=<optimized out>, val@@entry=<optimized out>)
8876 @end smallexample
8877
8878 @item compact
8879 Print the actual parameter value if it is known and also its value from
8880 function entry point if it is known. If neither is known, print for the actual
8881 value @code{<optimized out>}. If not in MI mode (@pxref{GDB/MI}) and if both
8882 values are known and identical, print the shortened
8883 @code{param=param@@entry=VALUE} notation.
8884 @smallexample
8885 #0 equal (val=val@@entry=5)
8886 #0 different (val=6, val@@entry=5)
8887 #0 lost (val@@entry=5)
8888 #0 born (val=10)
8889 #0 invalid (val=<optimized out>)
8890 @end smallexample
8891
8892 @item default
8893 Always print the actual parameter value. Print also its value from function
8894 entry point, but only if it is known. If not in MI mode (@pxref{GDB/MI}) and
8895 if both values are known and identical, print the shortened
8896 @code{param=param@@entry=VALUE} notation.
8897 @smallexample
8898 #0 equal (val=val@@entry=5)
8899 #0 different (val=6, val@@entry=5)
8900 #0 lost (val=<optimized out>, val@@entry=5)
8901 #0 born (val=10)
8902 #0 invalid (val=<optimized out>)
8903 @end smallexample
8904 @end table
8905
8906 For analysis messages on possible failures of frame argument values at function
8907 entry resolution see @ref{set debug entry-values}.
8908
8909 @item show print entry-values
8910 Show the method being used for printing of frame argument values at function
8911 entry.
8912
8913 @item set print repeats
8914 @cindex repeated array elements
8915 Set the threshold for suppressing display of repeated array
8916 elements. When the number of consecutive identical elements of an
8917 array exceeds the threshold, @value{GDBN} prints the string
8918 @code{"<repeats @var{n} times>"}, where @var{n} is the number of
8919 identical repetitions, instead of displaying the identical elements
8920 themselves. Setting the threshold to zero will cause all elements to
8921 be individually printed. The default threshold is 10.
8922
8923 @item show print repeats
8924 Display the current threshold for printing repeated identical
8925 elements.
8926
8927 @item set print null-stop
8928 @cindex @sc{null} elements in arrays
8929 Cause @value{GDBN} to stop printing the characters of an array when the first
8930 @sc{null} is encountered. This is useful when large arrays actually
8931 contain only short strings.
8932 The default is off.
8933
8934 @item show print null-stop
8935 Show whether @value{GDBN} stops printing an array on the first
8936 @sc{null} character.
8937
8938 @item set print pretty on
8939 @cindex print structures in indented form
8940 @cindex indentation in structure display
8941 Cause @value{GDBN} to print structures in an indented format with one member
8942 per line, like this:
8943
8944 @smallexample
8945 @group
8946 $1 = @{
8947 next = 0x0,
8948 flags = @{
8949 sweet = 1,
8950 sour = 1
8951 @},
8952 meat = 0x54 "Pork"
8953 @}
8954 @end group
8955 @end smallexample
8956
8957 @item set print pretty off
8958 Cause @value{GDBN} to print structures in a compact format, like this:
8959
8960 @smallexample
8961 @group
8962 $1 = @{next = 0x0, flags = @{sweet = 1, sour = 1@}, \
8963 meat = 0x54 "Pork"@}
8964 @end group
8965 @end smallexample
8966
8967 @noindent
8968 This is the default format.
8969
8970 @item show print pretty
8971 Show which format @value{GDBN} is using to print structures.
8972
8973 @item set print sevenbit-strings on
8974 @cindex eight-bit characters in strings
8975 @cindex octal escapes in strings
8976 Print using only seven-bit characters; if this option is set,
8977 @value{GDBN} displays any eight-bit characters (in strings or
8978 character values) using the notation @code{\}@var{nnn}. This setting is
8979 best if you are working in English (@sc{ascii}) and you use the
8980 high-order bit of characters as a marker or ``meta'' bit.
8981
8982 @item set print sevenbit-strings off
8983 Print full eight-bit characters. This allows the use of more
8984 international character sets, and is the default.
8985
8986 @item show print sevenbit-strings
8987 Show whether or not @value{GDBN} is printing only seven-bit characters.
8988
8989 @item set print union on
8990 @cindex unions in structures, printing
8991 Tell @value{GDBN} to print unions which are contained in structures
8992 and other unions. This is the default setting.
8993
8994 @item set print union off
8995 Tell @value{GDBN} not to print unions which are contained in
8996 structures and other unions. @value{GDBN} will print @code{"@{...@}"}
8997 instead.
8998
8999 @item show print union
9000 Ask @value{GDBN} whether or not it will print unions which are contained in
9001 structures and other unions.
9002
9003 For example, given the declarations
9004
9005 @smallexample
9006 typedef enum @{Tree, Bug@} Species;
9007 typedef enum @{Big_tree, Acorn, Seedling@} Tree_forms;
9008 typedef enum @{Caterpillar, Cocoon, Butterfly@}
9009 Bug_forms;
9010
9011 struct thing @{
9012 Species it;
9013 union @{
9014 Tree_forms tree;
9015 Bug_forms bug;
9016 @} form;
9017 @};
9018
9019 struct thing foo = @{Tree, @{Acorn@}@};
9020 @end smallexample
9021
9022 @noindent
9023 with @code{set print union on} in effect @samp{p foo} would print
9024
9025 @smallexample
9026 $1 = @{it = Tree, form = @{tree = Acorn, bug = Cocoon@}@}
9027 @end smallexample
9028
9029 @noindent
9030 and with @code{set print union off} in effect it would print
9031
9032 @smallexample
9033 $1 = @{it = Tree, form = @{...@}@}
9034 @end smallexample
9035
9036 @noindent
9037 @code{set print union} affects programs written in C-like languages
9038 and in Pascal.
9039 @end table
9040
9041 @need 1000
9042 @noindent
9043 These settings are of interest when debugging C@t{++} programs:
9044
9045 @table @code
9046 @cindex demangling C@t{++} names
9047 @item set print demangle
9048 @itemx set print demangle on
9049 Print C@t{++} names in their source form rather than in the encoded
9050 (``mangled'') form passed to the assembler and linker for type-safe
9051 linkage. The default is on.
9052
9053 @item show print demangle
9054 Show whether C@t{++} names are printed in mangled or demangled form.
9055
9056 @item set print asm-demangle
9057 @itemx set print asm-demangle on
9058 Print C@t{++} names in their source form rather than their mangled form, even
9059 in assembler code printouts such as instruction disassemblies.
9060 The default is off.
9061
9062 @item show print asm-demangle
9063 Show whether C@t{++} names in assembly listings are printed in mangled
9064 or demangled form.
9065
9066 @cindex C@t{++} symbol decoding style
9067 @cindex symbol decoding style, C@t{++}
9068 @kindex set demangle-style
9069 @item set demangle-style @var{style}
9070 Choose among several encoding schemes used by different compilers to
9071 represent C@t{++} names. The choices for @var{style} are currently:
9072
9073 @table @code
9074 @item auto
9075 Allow @value{GDBN} to choose a decoding style by inspecting your program.
9076 This is the default.
9077
9078 @item gnu
9079 Decode based on the @sc{gnu} C@t{++} compiler (@code{g++}) encoding algorithm.
9080
9081 @item hp
9082 Decode based on the HP ANSI C@t{++} (@code{aCC}) encoding algorithm.
9083
9084 @item lucid
9085 Decode based on the Lucid C@t{++} compiler (@code{lcc}) encoding algorithm.
9086
9087 @item arm
9088 Decode using the algorithm in the @cite{C@t{++} Annotated Reference Manual}.
9089 @strong{Warning:} this setting alone is not sufficient to allow
9090 debugging @code{cfront}-generated executables. @value{GDBN} would
9091 require further enhancement to permit that.
9092
9093 @end table
9094 If you omit @var{style}, you will see a list of possible formats.
9095
9096 @item show demangle-style
9097 Display the encoding style currently in use for decoding C@t{++} symbols.
9098
9099 @item set print object
9100 @itemx set print object on
9101 @cindex derived type of an object, printing
9102 @cindex display derived types
9103 When displaying a pointer to an object, identify the @emph{actual}
9104 (derived) type of the object rather than the @emph{declared} type, using
9105 the virtual function table. Note that the virtual function table is
9106 required---this feature can only work for objects that have run-time
9107 type identification; a single virtual method in the object's declared
9108 type is sufficient. Note that this setting is also taken into account when
9109 working with variable objects via MI (@pxref{GDB/MI}).
9110
9111 @item set print object off
9112 Display only the declared type of objects, without reference to the
9113 virtual function table. This is the default setting.
9114
9115 @item show print object
9116 Show whether actual, or declared, object types are displayed.
9117
9118 @item set print static-members
9119 @itemx set print static-members on
9120 @cindex static members of C@t{++} objects
9121 Print static members when displaying a C@t{++} object. The default is on.
9122
9123 @item set print static-members off
9124 Do not print static members when displaying a C@t{++} object.
9125
9126 @item show print static-members
9127 Show whether C@t{++} static members are printed or not.
9128
9129 @item set print pascal_static-members
9130 @itemx set print pascal_static-members on
9131 @cindex static members of Pascal objects
9132 @cindex Pascal objects, static members display
9133 Print static members when displaying a Pascal object. The default is on.
9134
9135 @item set print pascal_static-members off
9136 Do not print static members when displaying a Pascal object.
9137
9138 @item show print pascal_static-members
9139 Show whether Pascal static members are printed or not.
9140
9141 @c These don't work with HP ANSI C++ yet.
9142 @item set print vtbl
9143 @itemx set print vtbl on
9144 @cindex pretty print C@t{++} virtual function tables
9145 @cindex virtual functions (C@t{++}) display
9146 @cindex VTBL display
9147 Pretty print C@t{++} virtual function tables. The default is off.
9148 (The @code{vtbl} commands do not work on programs compiled with the HP
9149 ANSI C@t{++} compiler (@code{aCC}).)
9150
9151 @item set print vtbl off
9152 Do not pretty print C@t{++} virtual function tables.
9153
9154 @item show print vtbl
9155 Show whether C@t{++} virtual function tables are pretty printed, or not.
9156 @end table
9157
9158 @node Pretty Printing
9159 @section Pretty Printing
9160
9161 @value{GDBN} provides a mechanism to allow pretty-printing of values using
9162 Python code. It greatly simplifies the display of complex objects. This
9163 mechanism works for both MI and the CLI.
9164
9165 @menu
9166 * Pretty-Printer Introduction:: Introduction to pretty-printers
9167 * Pretty-Printer Example:: An example pretty-printer
9168 * Pretty-Printer Commands:: Pretty-printer commands
9169 @end menu
9170
9171 @node Pretty-Printer Introduction
9172 @subsection Pretty-Printer Introduction
9173
9174 When @value{GDBN} prints a value, it first sees if there is a pretty-printer
9175 registered for the value. If there is then @value{GDBN} invokes the
9176 pretty-printer to print the value. Otherwise the value is printed normally.
9177
9178 Pretty-printers are normally named. This makes them easy to manage.
9179 The @samp{info pretty-printer} command will list all the installed
9180 pretty-printers with their names.
9181 If a pretty-printer can handle multiple data types, then its
9182 @dfn{subprinters} are the printers for the individual data types.
9183 Each such subprinter has its own name.
9184 The format of the name is @var{printer-name};@var{subprinter-name}.
9185
9186 Pretty-printers are installed by @dfn{registering} them with @value{GDBN}.
9187 Typically they are automatically loaded and registered when the corresponding
9188 debug information is loaded, thus making them available without having to
9189 do anything special.
9190
9191 There are three places where a pretty-printer can be registered.
9192
9193 @itemize @bullet
9194 @item
9195 Pretty-printers registered globally are available when debugging
9196 all inferiors.
9197
9198 @item
9199 Pretty-printers registered with a program space are available only
9200 when debugging that program.
9201 @xref{Progspaces In Python}, for more details on program spaces in Python.
9202
9203 @item
9204 Pretty-printers registered with an objfile are loaded and unloaded
9205 with the corresponding objfile (e.g., shared library).
9206 @xref{Objfiles In Python}, for more details on objfiles in Python.
9207 @end itemize
9208
9209 @xref{Selecting Pretty-Printers}, for further information on how
9210 pretty-printers are selected,
9211
9212 @xref{Writing a Pretty-Printer}, for implementing pretty printers
9213 for new types.
9214
9215 @node Pretty-Printer Example
9216 @subsection Pretty-Printer Example
9217
9218 Here is how a C@t{++} @code{std::string} looks without a pretty-printer:
9219
9220 @smallexample
9221 (@value{GDBP}) print s
9222 $1 = @{
9223 static npos = 4294967295,
9224 _M_dataplus = @{
9225 <std::allocator<char>> = @{
9226 <__gnu_cxx::new_allocator<char>> = @{
9227 <No data fields>@}, <No data fields>
9228 @},
9229 members of std::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>,
9230 std::allocator<char> >::_Alloc_hider:
9231 _M_p = 0x804a014 "abcd"
9232 @}
9233 @}
9234 @end smallexample
9235
9236 With a pretty-printer for @code{std::string} only the contents are printed:
9237
9238 @smallexample
9239 (@value{GDBP}) print s
9240 $2 = "abcd"
9241 @end smallexample
9242
9243 @node Pretty-Printer Commands
9244 @subsection Pretty-Printer Commands
9245 @cindex pretty-printer commands
9246
9247 @table @code
9248 @kindex info pretty-printer
9249 @item info pretty-printer [@var{object-regexp} [@var{name-regexp}]]
9250 Print the list of installed pretty-printers.
9251 This includes disabled pretty-printers, which are marked as such.
9252
9253 @var{object-regexp} is a regular expression matching the objects
9254 whose pretty-printers to list.
9255 Objects can be @code{global}, the program space's file
9256 (@pxref{Progspaces In Python}),
9257 and the object files within that program space (@pxref{Objfiles In Python}).
9258 @xref{Selecting Pretty-Printers}, for details on how @value{GDBN}
9259 looks up a printer from these three objects.
9260
9261 @var{name-regexp} is a regular expression matching the name of the printers
9262 to list.
9263
9264 @kindex disable pretty-printer
9265 @item disable pretty-printer [@var{object-regexp} [@var{name-regexp}]]
9266 Disable pretty-printers matching @var{object-regexp} and @var{name-regexp}.
9267 A disabled pretty-printer is not forgotten, it may be enabled again later.
9268
9269 @kindex enable pretty-printer
9270 @item enable pretty-printer [@var{object-regexp} [@var{name-regexp}]]
9271 Enable pretty-printers matching @var{object-regexp} and @var{name-regexp}.
9272 @end table
9273
9274 Example:
9275
9276 Suppose we have three pretty-printers installed: one from library1.so
9277 named @code{foo} that prints objects of type @code{foo}, and
9278 another from library2.so named @code{bar} that prints two types of objects,
9279 @code{bar1} and @code{bar2}.
9280
9281 @smallexample
9282 (gdb) info pretty-printer
9283 library1.so:
9284 foo
9285 library2.so:
9286 bar
9287 bar1
9288 bar2
9289 (gdb) info pretty-printer library2
9290 library2.so:
9291 bar
9292 bar1
9293 bar2
9294 (gdb) disable pretty-printer library1
9295 1 printer disabled
9296 2 of 3 printers enabled
9297 (gdb) info pretty-printer
9298 library1.so:
9299 foo [disabled]
9300 library2.so:
9301 bar
9302 bar1
9303 bar2
9304 (gdb) disable pretty-printer library2 bar:bar1
9305 1 printer disabled
9306 1 of 3 printers enabled
9307 (gdb) info pretty-printer library2
9308 library1.so:
9309 foo [disabled]
9310 library2.so:
9311 bar
9312 bar1 [disabled]
9313 bar2
9314 (gdb) disable pretty-printer library2 bar
9315 1 printer disabled
9316 0 of 3 printers enabled
9317 (gdb) info pretty-printer library2
9318 library1.so:
9319 foo [disabled]
9320 library2.so:
9321 bar [disabled]
9322 bar1 [disabled]
9323 bar2
9324 @end smallexample
9325
9326 Note that for @code{bar} the entire printer can be disabled,
9327 as can each individual subprinter.
9328
9329 @node Value History
9330 @section Value History
9331
9332 @cindex value history
9333 @cindex history of values printed by @value{GDBN}
9334 Values printed by the @code{print} command are saved in the @value{GDBN}
9335 @dfn{value history}. This allows you to refer to them in other expressions.
9336 Values are kept until the symbol table is re-read or discarded
9337 (for example with the @code{file} or @code{symbol-file} commands).
9338 When the symbol table changes, the value history is discarded,
9339 since the values may contain pointers back to the types defined in the
9340 symbol table.
9341
9342 @cindex @code{$}
9343 @cindex @code{$$}
9344 @cindex history number
9345 The values printed are given @dfn{history numbers} by which you can
9346 refer to them. These are successive integers starting with one.
9347 @code{print} shows you the history number assigned to a value by
9348 printing @samp{$@var{num} = } before the value; here @var{num} is the
9349 history number.
9350
9351 To refer to any previous value, use @samp{$} followed by the value's
9352 history number. The way @code{print} labels its output is designed to
9353 remind you of this. Just @code{$} refers to the most recent value in
9354 the history, and @code{$$} refers to the value before that.
9355 @code{$$@var{n}} refers to the @var{n}th value from the end; @code{$$2}
9356 is the value just prior to @code{$$}, @code{$$1} is equivalent to
9357 @code{$$}, and @code{$$0} is equivalent to @code{$}.
9358
9359 For example, suppose you have just printed a pointer to a structure and
9360 want to see the contents of the structure. It suffices to type
9361
9362 @smallexample
9363 p *$
9364 @end smallexample
9365
9366 If you have a chain of structures where the component @code{next} points
9367 to the next one, you can print the contents of the next one with this:
9368
9369 @smallexample
9370 p *$.next
9371 @end smallexample
9372
9373 @noindent
9374 You can print successive links in the chain by repeating this
9375 command---which you can do by just typing @key{RET}.
9376
9377 Note that the history records values, not expressions. If the value of
9378 @code{x} is 4 and you type these commands:
9379
9380 @smallexample
9381 print x
9382 set x=5
9383 @end smallexample
9384
9385 @noindent
9386 then the value recorded in the value history by the @code{print} command
9387 remains 4 even though the value of @code{x} has changed.
9388
9389 @table @code
9390 @kindex show values
9391 @item show values
9392 Print the last ten values in the value history, with their item numbers.
9393 This is like @samp{p@ $$9} repeated ten times, except that @code{show
9394 values} does not change the history.
9395
9396 @item show values @var{n}
9397 Print ten history values centered on history item number @var{n}.
9398
9399 @item show values +
9400 Print ten history values just after the values last printed. If no more
9401 values are available, @code{show values +} produces no display.
9402 @end table
9403
9404 Pressing @key{RET} to repeat @code{show values @var{n}} has exactly the
9405 same effect as @samp{show values +}.
9406
9407 @node Convenience Vars
9408 @section Convenience Variables
9409
9410 @cindex convenience variables
9411 @cindex user-defined variables
9412 @value{GDBN} provides @dfn{convenience variables} that you can use within
9413 @value{GDBN} to hold on to a value and refer to it later. These variables
9414 exist entirely within @value{GDBN}; they are not part of your program, and
9415 setting a convenience variable has no direct effect on further execution
9416 of your program. That is why you can use them freely.
9417
9418 Convenience variables are prefixed with @samp{$}. Any name preceded by
9419 @samp{$} can be used for a convenience variable, unless it is one of
9420 the predefined machine-specific register names (@pxref{Registers, ,Registers}).
9421 (Value history references, in contrast, are @emph{numbers} preceded
9422 by @samp{$}. @xref{Value History, ,Value History}.)
9423
9424 You can save a value in a convenience variable with an assignment
9425 expression, just as you would set a variable in your program.
9426 For example:
9427
9428 @smallexample
9429 set $foo = *object_ptr
9430 @end smallexample
9431
9432 @noindent
9433 would save in @code{$foo} the value contained in the object pointed to by
9434 @code{object_ptr}.
9435
9436 Using a convenience variable for the first time creates it, but its
9437 value is @code{void} until you assign a new value. You can alter the
9438 value with another assignment at any time.
9439
9440 Convenience variables have no fixed types. You can assign a convenience
9441 variable any type of value, including structures and arrays, even if
9442 that variable already has a value of a different type. The convenience
9443 variable, when used as an expression, has the type of its current value.
9444
9445 @table @code
9446 @kindex show convenience
9447 @cindex show all user variables and functions
9448 @item show convenience
9449 Print a list of convenience variables used so far, and their values,
9450 as well as a list of the convenience functions.
9451 Abbreviated @code{show conv}.
9452
9453 @kindex init-if-undefined
9454 @cindex convenience variables, initializing
9455 @item init-if-undefined $@var{variable} = @var{expression}
9456 Set a convenience variable if it has not already been set. This is useful
9457 for user-defined commands that keep some state. It is similar, in concept,
9458 to using local static variables with initializers in C (except that
9459 convenience variables are global). It can also be used to allow users to
9460 override default values used in a command script.
9461
9462 If the variable is already defined then the expression is not evaluated so
9463 any side-effects do not occur.
9464 @end table
9465
9466 One of the ways to use a convenience variable is as a counter to be
9467 incremented or a pointer to be advanced. For example, to print
9468 a field from successive elements of an array of structures:
9469
9470 @smallexample
9471 set $i = 0
9472 print bar[$i++]->contents
9473 @end smallexample
9474
9475 @noindent
9476 Repeat that command by typing @key{RET}.
9477
9478 Some convenience variables are created automatically by @value{GDBN} and given
9479 values likely to be useful.
9480
9481 @table @code
9482 @vindex $_@r{, convenience variable}
9483 @item $_
9484 The variable @code{$_} is automatically set by the @code{x} command to
9485 the last address examined (@pxref{Memory, ,Examining Memory}). Other
9486 commands which provide a default address for @code{x} to examine also
9487 set @code{$_} to that address; these commands include @code{info line}
9488 and @code{info breakpoint}. The type of @code{$_} is @code{void *}
9489 except when set by the @code{x} command, in which case it is a pointer
9490 to the type of @code{$__}.
9491
9492 @vindex $__@r{, convenience variable}
9493 @item $__
9494 The variable @code{$__} is automatically set by the @code{x} command
9495 to the value found in the last address examined. Its type is chosen
9496 to match the format in which the data was printed.
9497
9498 @item $_exitcode
9499 @vindex $_exitcode@r{, convenience variable}
9500 The variable @code{$_exitcode} is automatically set to the exit code when
9501 the program being debugged terminates.
9502
9503 @item $_probe_argc
9504 @itemx $_probe_arg0@dots{}$_probe_arg11
9505 Arguments to a static probe. @xref{Static Probe Points}.
9506
9507 @item $_sdata
9508 @vindex $_sdata@r{, inspect, convenience variable}
9509 The variable @code{$_sdata} contains extra collected static tracepoint
9510 data. @xref{Tracepoint Actions,,Tracepoint Action Lists}. Note that
9511 @code{$_sdata} could be empty, if not inspecting a trace buffer, or
9512 if extra static tracepoint data has not been collected.
9513
9514 @item $_siginfo
9515 @vindex $_siginfo@r{, convenience variable}
9516 The variable @code{$_siginfo} contains extra signal information
9517 (@pxref{extra signal information}). Note that @code{$_siginfo}
9518 could be empty, if the application has not yet received any signals.
9519 For example, it will be empty before you execute the @code{run} command.
9520
9521 @item $_tlb
9522 @vindex $_tlb@r{, convenience variable}
9523 The variable @code{$_tlb} is automatically set when debugging
9524 applications running on MS-Windows in native mode or connected to
9525 gdbserver that supports the @code{qGetTIBAddr} request.
9526 @xref{General Query Packets}.
9527 This variable contains the address of the thread information block.
9528
9529 @end table
9530
9531 On HP-UX systems, if you refer to a function or variable name that
9532 begins with a dollar sign, @value{GDBN} searches for a user or system
9533 name first, before it searches for a convenience variable.
9534
9535 @node Convenience Funs
9536 @section Convenience Functions
9537
9538 @cindex convenience functions
9539 @value{GDBN} also supplies some @dfn{convenience functions}. These
9540 have a syntax similar to convenience variables. A convenience
9541 function can be used in an expression just like an ordinary function;
9542 however, a convenience function is implemented internally to
9543 @value{GDBN}.
9544
9545 These functions require @value{GDBN} to be configured with
9546 @code{Python} support.
9547
9548 @table @code
9549
9550 @item $_memeq(@var{buf1}, @var{buf2}, @var{length})
9551 @findex $_memeq@r{, convenience function}
9552 Returns one if the @var{length} bytes at the addresses given by
9553 @var{buf1} and @var{buf2} are equal.
9554 Otherwise it returns zero.
9555
9556 @item $_regex(@var{str}, @var{regex})
9557 @findex $_regex@r{, convenience function}
9558 Returns one if the string @var{str} matches the regular expression
9559 @var{regex}. Otherwise it returns zero.
9560 The syntax of the regular expression is that specified by @code{Python}'s
9561 regular expression support.
9562
9563 @item $_streq(@var{str1}, @var{str2})
9564 @findex $_streq@r{, convenience function}
9565 Returns one if the strings @var{str1} and @var{str2} are equal.
9566 Otherwise it returns zero.
9567
9568 @item $_strlen(@var{str})
9569 @findex $_strlen@r{, convenience function}
9570 Returns the length of string @var{str}.
9571
9572 @end table
9573
9574 @value{GDBN} provides the ability to list and get help on
9575 convenience functions.
9576
9577 @table @code
9578 @item help function
9579 @kindex help function
9580 @cindex show all convenience functions
9581 Print a list of all convenience functions.
9582 @end table
9583
9584 @node Registers
9585 @section Registers
9586
9587 @cindex registers
9588 You can refer to machine register contents, in expressions, as variables
9589 with names starting with @samp{$}. The names of registers are different
9590 for each machine; use @code{info registers} to see the names used on
9591 your machine.
9592
9593 @table @code
9594 @kindex info registers
9595 @item info registers
9596 Print the names and values of all registers except floating-point
9597 and vector registers (in the selected stack frame).
9598
9599 @kindex info all-registers
9600 @cindex floating point registers
9601 @item info all-registers
9602 Print the names and values of all registers, including floating-point
9603 and vector registers (in the selected stack frame).
9604
9605 @item info registers @var{regname} @dots{}
9606 Print the @dfn{relativized} value of each specified register @var{regname}.
9607 As discussed in detail below, register values are normally relative to
9608 the selected stack frame. @var{regname} may be any register name valid on
9609 the machine you are using, with or without the initial @samp{$}.
9610 @end table
9611
9612 @cindex stack pointer register
9613 @cindex program counter register
9614 @cindex process status register
9615 @cindex frame pointer register
9616 @cindex standard registers
9617 @value{GDBN} has four ``standard'' register names that are available (in
9618 expressions) on most machines---whenever they do not conflict with an
9619 architecture's canonical mnemonics for registers. The register names
9620 @code{$pc} and @code{$sp} are used for the program counter register and
9621 the stack pointer. @code{$fp} is used for a register that contains a
9622 pointer to the current stack frame, and @code{$ps} is used for a
9623 register that contains the processor status. For example,
9624 you could print the program counter in hex with
9625
9626 @smallexample
9627 p/x $pc
9628 @end smallexample
9629
9630 @noindent
9631 or print the instruction to be executed next with
9632
9633 @smallexample
9634 x/i $pc
9635 @end smallexample
9636
9637 @noindent
9638 or add four to the stack pointer@footnote{This is a way of removing
9639 one word from the stack, on machines where stacks grow downward in
9640 memory (most machines, nowadays). This assumes that the innermost
9641 stack frame is selected; setting @code{$sp} is not allowed when other
9642 stack frames are selected. To pop entire frames off the stack,
9643 regardless of machine architecture, use @code{return};
9644 see @ref{Returning, ,Returning from a Function}.} with
9645
9646 @smallexample
9647 set $sp += 4
9648 @end smallexample
9649
9650 Whenever possible, these four standard register names are available on
9651 your machine even though the machine has different canonical mnemonics,
9652 so long as there is no conflict. The @code{info registers} command
9653 shows the canonical names. For example, on the SPARC, @code{info
9654 registers} displays the processor status register as @code{$psr} but you
9655 can also refer to it as @code{$ps}; and on x86-based machines @code{$ps}
9656 is an alias for the @sc{eflags} register.
9657
9658 @value{GDBN} always considers the contents of an ordinary register as an
9659 integer when the register is examined in this way. Some machines have
9660 special registers which can hold nothing but floating point; these
9661 registers are considered to have floating point values. There is no way
9662 to refer to the contents of an ordinary register as floating point value
9663 (although you can @emph{print} it as a floating point value with
9664 @samp{print/f $@var{regname}}).
9665
9666 Some registers have distinct ``raw'' and ``virtual'' data formats. This
9667 means that the data format in which the register contents are saved by
9668 the operating system is not the same one that your program normally
9669 sees. For example, the registers of the 68881 floating point
9670 coprocessor are always saved in ``extended'' (raw) format, but all C
9671 programs expect to work with ``double'' (virtual) format. In such
9672 cases, @value{GDBN} normally works with the virtual format only (the format
9673 that makes sense for your program), but the @code{info registers} command
9674 prints the data in both formats.
9675
9676 @cindex SSE registers (x86)
9677 @cindex MMX registers (x86)
9678 Some machines have special registers whose contents can be interpreted
9679 in several different ways. For example, modern x86-based machines
9680 have SSE and MMX registers that can hold several values packed
9681 together in several different formats. @value{GDBN} refers to such
9682 registers in @code{struct} notation:
9683
9684 @smallexample
9685 (@value{GDBP}) print $xmm1
9686 $1 = @{
9687 v4_float = @{0, 3.43859137e-038, 1.54142831e-044, 1.821688e-044@},
9688 v2_double = @{9.92129282474342e-303, 2.7585945287983262e-313@},
9689 v16_int8 = "\000\000\000\000\3706;\001\v\000\000\000\r\000\000",
9690 v8_int16 = @{0, 0, 14072, 315, 11, 0, 13, 0@},
9691 v4_int32 = @{0, 20657912, 11, 13@},
9692 v2_int64 = @{88725056443645952, 55834574859@},
9693 uint128 = 0x0000000d0000000b013b36f800000000
9694 @}
9695 @end smallexample
9696
9697 @noindent
9698 To set values of such registers, you need to tell @value{GDBN} which
9699 view of the register you wish to change, as if you were assigning
9700 value to a @code{struct} member:
9701
9702 @smallexample
9703 (@value{GDBP}) set $xmm1.uint128 = 0x000000000000000000000000FFFFFFFF
9704 @end smallexample
9705
9706 Normally, register values are relative to the selected stack frame
9707 (@pxref{Selection, ,Selecting a Frame}). This means that you get the
9708 value that the register would contain if all stack frames farther in
9709 were exited and their saved registers restored. In order to see the
9710 true contents of hardware registers, you must select the innermost
9711 frame (with @samp{frame 0}).
9712
9713 However, @value{GDBN} must deduce where registers are saved, from the machine
9714 code generated by your compiler. If some registers are not saved, or if
9715 @value{GDBN} is unable to locate the saved registers, the selected stack
9716 frame makes no difference.
9717
9718 @node Floating Point Hardware
9719 @section Floating Point Hardware
9720 @cindex floating point
9721
9722 Depending on the configuration, @value{GDBN} may be able to give
9723 you more information about the status of the floating point hardware.
9724
9725 @table @code
9726 @kindex info float
9727 @item info float
9728 Display hardware-dependent information about the floating
9729 point unit. The exact contents and layout vary depending on the
9730 floating point chip. Currently, @samp{info float} is supported on
9731 the ARM and x86 machines.
9732 @end table
9733
9734 @node Vector Unit
9735 @section Vector Unit
9736 @cindex vector unit
9737
9738 Depending on the configuration, @value{GDBN} may be able to give you
9739 more information about the status of the vector unit.
9740
9741 @table @code
9742 @kindex info vector
9743 @item info vector
9744 Display information about the vector unit. The exact contents and
9745 layout vary depending on the hardware.
9746 @end table
9747
9748 @node OS Information
9749 @section Operating System Auxiliary Information
9750 @cindex OS information
9751
9752 @value{GDBN} provides interfaces to useful OS facilities that can help
9753 you debug your program.
9754
9755 @cindex auxiliary vector
9756 @cindex vector, auxiliary
9757 Some operating systems supply an @dfn{auxiliary vector} to programs at
9758 startup. This is akin to the arguments and environment that you
9759 specify for a program, but contains a system-dependent variety of
9760 binary values that tell system libraries important details about the
9761 hardware, operating system, and process. Each value's purpose is
9762 identified by an integer tag; the meanings are well-known but system-specific.
9763 Depending on the configuration and operating system facilities,
9764 @value{GDBN} may be able to show you this information. For remote
9765 targets, this functionality may further depend on the remote stub's
9766 support of the @samp{qXfer:auxv:read} packet, see
9767 @ref{qXfer auxiliary vector read}.
9768
9769 @table @code
9770 @kindex info auxv
9771 @item info auxv
9772 Display the auxiliary vector of the inferior, which can be either a
9773 live process or a core dump file. @value{GDBN} prints each tag value
9774 numerically, and also shows names and text descriptions for recognized
9775 tags. Some values in the vector are numbers, some bit masks, and some
9776 pointers to strings or other data. @value{GDBN} displays each value in the
9777 most appropriate form for a recognized tag, and in hexadecimal for
9778 an unrecognized tag.
9779 @end table
9780
9781 On some targets, @value{GDBN} can access operating system-specific
9782 information and show it to you. The types of information available
9783 will differ depending on the type of operating system running on the
9784 target. The mechanism used to fetch the data is described in
9785 @ref{Operating System Information}. For remote targets, this
9786 functionality depends on the remote stub's support of the
9787 @samp{qXfer:osdata:read} packet, see @ref{qXfer osdata read}.
9788
9789 @table @code
9790 @kindex info os
9791 @item info os @var{infotype}
9792
9793 Display OS information of the requested type.
9794
9795 On @sc{gnu}/Linux, the following values of @var{infotype} are valid:
9796
9797 @anchor{linux info os infotypes}
9798 @table @code
9799 @kindex info os processes
9800 @item processes
9801 Display the list of processes on the target. For each process,
9802 @value{GDBN} prints the process identifier, the name of the user, the
9803 command corresponding to the process, and the list of processor cores
9804 that the process is currently running on. (To understand what these
9805 properties mean, for this and the following info types, please consult
9806 the general @sc{gnu}/Linux documentation.)
9807
9808 @kindex info os procgroups
9809 @item procgroups
9810 Display the list of process groups on the target. For each process,
9811 @value{GDBN} prints the identifier of the process group that it belongs
9812 to, the command corresponding to the process group leader, the process
9813 identifier, and the command line of the process. The list is sorted
9814 first by the process group identifier, then by the process identifier,
9815 so that processes belonging to the same process group are grouped together
9816 and the process group leader is listed first.
9817
9818 @kindex info os threads
9819 @item threads
9820 Display the list of threads running on the target. For each thread,
9821 @value{GDBN} prints the identifier of the process that the thread
9822 belongs to, the command of the process, the thread identifier, and the
9823 processor core that it is currently running on. The main thread of a
9824 process is not listed.
9825
9826 @kindex info os files
9827 @item files
9828 Display the list of open file descriptors on the target. For each
9829 file descriptor, @value{GDBN} prints the identifier of the process
9830 owning the descriptor, the command of the owning process, the value
9831 of the descriptor, and the target of the descriptor.
9832
9833 @kindex info os sockets
9834 @item sockets
9835 Display the list of Internet-domain sockets on the target. For each
9836 socket, @value{GDBN} prints the address and port of the local and
9837 remote endpoints, the current state of the connection, the creator of
9838 the socket, the IP address family of the socket, and the type of the
9839 connection.
9840
9841 @kindex info os shm
9842 @item shm
9843 Display the list of all System V shared-memory regions on the target.
9844 For each shared-memory region, @value{GDBN} prints the region key,
9845 the shared-memory identifier, the access permissions, the size of the
9846 region, the process that created the region, the process that last
9847 attached to or detached from the region, the current number of live
9848 attaches to the region, and the times at which the region was last
9849 attached to, detach from, and changed.
9850
9851 @kindex info os semaphores
9852 @item semaphores
9853 Display the list of all System V semaphore sets on the target. For each
9854 semaphore set, @value{GDBN} prints the semaphore set key, the semaphore
9855 set identifier, the access permissions, the number of semaphores in the
9856 set, the user and group of the owner and creator of the semaphore set,
9857 and the times at which the semaphore set was operated upon and changed.
9858
9859 @kindex info os msg
9860 @item msg
9861 Display the list of all System V message queues on the target. For each
9862 message queue, @value{GDBN} prints the message queue key, the message
9863 queue identifier, the access permissions, the current number of bytes
9864 on the queue, the current number of messages on the queue, the processes
9865 that last sent and received a message on the queue, the user and group
9866 of the owner and creator of the message queue, the times at which a
9867 message was last sent and received on the queue, and the time at which
9868 the message queue was last changed.
9869
9870 @kindex info os modules
9871 @item modules
9872 Display the list of all loaded kernel modules on the target. For each
9873 module, @value{GDBN} prints the module name, the size of the module in
9874 bytes, the number of times the module is used, the dependencies of the
9875 module, the status of the module, and the address of the loaded module
9876 in memory.
9877 @end table
9878
9879 @item info os
9880 If @var{infotype} is omitted, then list the possible values for
9881 @var{infotype} and the kind of OS information available for each
9882 @var{infotype}. If the target does not return a list of possible
9883 types, this command will report an error.
9884 @end table
9885
9886 @node Memory Region Attributes
9887 @section Memory Region Attributes
9888 @cindex memory region attributes
9889
9890 @dfn{Memory region attributes} allow you to describe special handling
9891 required by regions of your target's memory. @value{GDBN} uses
9892 attributes to determine whether to allow certain types of memory
9893 accesses; whether to use specific width accesses; and whether to cache
9894 target memory. By default the description of memory regions is
9895 fetched from the target (if the current target supports this), but the
9896 user can override the fetched regions.
9897
9898 Defined memory regions can be individually enabled and disabled. When a
9899 memory region is disabled, @value{GDBN} uses the default attributes when
9900 accessing memory in that region. Similarly, if no memory regions have
9901 been defined, @value{GDBN} uses the default attributes when accessing
9902 all memory.
9903
9904 When a memory region is defined, it is given a number to identify it;
9905 to enable, disable, or remove a memory region, you specify that number.
9906
9907 @table @code
9908 @kindex mem
9909 @item mem @var{lower} @var{upper} @var{attributes}@dots{}
9910 Define a memory region bounded by @var{lower} and @var{upper} with
9911 attributes @var{attributes}@dots{}, and add it to the list of regions
9912 monitored by @value{GDBN}. Note that @var{upper} == 0 is a special
9913 case: it is treated as the target's maximum memory address.
9914 (0xffff on 16 bit targets, 0xffffffff on 32 bit targets, etc.)
9915
9916 @item mem auto
9917 Discard any user changes to the memory regions and use target-supplied
9918 regions, if available, or no regions if the target does not support.
9919
9920 @kindex delete mem
9921 @item delete mem @var{nums}@dots{}
9922 Remove memory regions @var{nums}@dots{} from the list of regions
9923 monitored by @value{GDBN}.
9924
9925 @kindex disable mem
9926 @item disable mem @var{nums}@dots{}
9927 Disable monitoring of memory regions @var{nums}@dots{}.
9928 A disabled memory region is not forgotten.
9929 It may be enabled again later.
9930
9931 @kindex enable mem
9932 @item enable mem @var{nums}@dots{}
9933 Enable monitoring of memory regions @var{nums}@dots{}.
9934
9935 @kindex info mem
9936 @item info mem
9937 Print a table of all defined memory regions, with the following columns
9938 for each region:
9939
9940 @table @emph
9941 @item Memory Region Number
9942 @item Enabled or Disabled.
9943 Enabled memory regions are marked with @samp{y}.
9944 Disabled memory regions are marked with @samp{n}.
9945
9946 @item Lo Address
9947 The address defining the inclusive lower bound of the memory region.
9948
9949 @item Hi Address
9950 The address defining the exclusive upper bound of the memory region.
9951
9952 @item Attributes
9953 The list of attributes set for this memory region.
9954 @end table
9955 @end table
9956
9957
9958 @subsection Attributes
9959
9960 @subsubsection Memory Access Mode
9961 The access mode attributes set whether @value{GDBN} may make read or
9962 write accesses to a memory region.
9963
9964 While these attributes prevent @value{GDBN} from performing invalid
9965 memory accesses, they do nothing to prevent the target system, I/O DMA,
9966 etc.@: from accessing memory.
9967
9968 @table @code
9969 @item ro
9970 Memory is read only.
9971 @item wo
9972 Memory is write only.
9973 @item rw
9974 Memory is read/write. This is the default.
9975 @end table
9976
9977 @subsubsection Memory Access Size
9978 The access size attribute tells @value{GDBN} to use specific sized
9979 accesses in the memory region. Often memory mapped device registers
9980 require specific sized accesses. If no access size attribute is
9981 specified, @value{GDBN} may use accesses of any size.
9982
9983 @table @code
9984 @item 8
9985 Use 8 bit memory accesses.
9986 @item 16
9987 Use 16 bit memory accesses.
9988 @item 32
9989 Use 32 bit memory accesses.
9990 @item 64
9991 Use 64 bit memory accesses.
9992 @end table
9993
9994 @c @subsubsection Hardware/Software Breakpoints
9995 @c The hardware/software breakpoint attributes set whether @value{GDBN}
9996 @c will use hardware or software breakpoints for the internal breakpoints
9997 @c used by the step, next, finish, until, etc. commands.
9998 @c
9999 @c @table @code
10000 @c @item hwbreak
10001 @c Always use hardware breakpoints
10002 @c @item swbreak (default)
10003 @c @end table
10004
10005 @subsubsection Data Cache
10006 The data cache attributes set whether @value{GDBN} will cache target
10007 memory. While this generally improves performance by reducing debug
10008 protocol overhead, it can lead to incorrect results because @value{GDBN}
10009 does not know about volatile variables or memory mapped device
10010 registers.
10011
10012 @table @code
10013 @item cache
10014 Enable @value{GDBN} to cache target memory.
10015 @item nocache
10016 Disable @value{GDBN} from caching target memory. This is the default.
10017 @end table
10018
10019 @subsection Memory Access Checking
10020 @value{GDBN} can be instructed to refuse accesses to memory that is
10021 not explicitly described. This can be useful if accessing such
10022 regions has undesired effects for a specific target, or to provide
10023 better error checking. The following commands control this behaviour.
10024
10025 @table @code
10026 @kindex set mem inaccessible-by-default
10027 @item set mem inaccessible-by-default [on|off]
10028 If @code{on} is specified, make @value{GDBN} treat memory not
10029 explicitly described by the memory ranges as non-existent and refuse accesses
10030 to such memory. The checks are only performed if there's at least one
10031 memory range defined. If @code{off} is specified, make @value{GDBN}
10032 treat the memory not explicitly described by the memory ranges as RAM.
10033 The default value is @code{on}.
10034 @kindex show mem inaccessible-by-default
10035 @item show mem inaccessible-by-default
10036 Show the current handling of accesses to unknown memory.
10037 @end table
10038
10039
10040 @c @subsubsection Memory Write Verification
10041 @c The memory write verification attributes set whether @value{GDBN}
10042 @c will re-reads data after each write to verify the write was successful.
10043 @c
10044 @c @table @code
10045 @c @item verify
10046 @c @item noverify (default)
10047 @c @end table
10048
10049 @node Dump/Restore Files
10050 @section Copy Between Memory and a File
10051 @cindex dump/restore files
10052 @cindex append data to a file
10053 @cindex dump data to a file
10054 @cindex restore data from a file
10055
10056 You can use the commands @code{dump}, @code{append}, and
10057 @code{restore} to copy data between target memory and a file. The
10058 @code{dump} and @code{append} commands write data to a file, and the
10059 @code{restore} command reads data from a file back into the inferior's
10060 memory. Files may be in binary, Motorola S-record, Intel hex, or
10061 Tektronix Hex format; however, @value{GDBN} can only append to binary
10062 files.
10063
10064 @table @code
10065
10066 @kindex dump
10067 @item dump @r{[}@var{format}@r{]} memory @var{filename} @var{start_addr} @var{end_addr}
10068 @itemx dump @r{[}@var{format}@r{]} value @var{filename} @var{expr}
10069 Dump the contents of memory from @var{start_addr} to @var{end_addr},
10070 or the value of @var{expr}, to @var{filename} in the given format.
10071
10072 The @var{format} parameter may be any one of:
10073 @table @code
10074 @item binary
10075 Raw binary form.
10076 @item ihex
10077 Intel hex format.
10078 @item srec
10079 Motorola S-record format.
10080 @item tekhex
10081 Tektronix Hex format.
10082 @end table
10083
10084 @value{GDBN} uses the same definitions of these formats as the
10085 @sc{gnu} binary utilities, like @samp{objdump} and @samp{objcopy}. If
10086 @var{format} is omitted, @value{GDBN} dumps the data in raw binary
10087 form.
10088
10089 @kindex append
10090 @item append @r{[}binary@r{]} memory @var{filename} @var{start_addr} @var{end_addr}
10091 @itemx append @r{[}binary@r{]} value @var{filename} @var{expr}
10092 Append the contents of memory from @var{start_addr} to @var{end_addr},
10093 or the value of @var{expr}, to the file @var{filename}, in raw binary form.
10094 (@value{GDBN} can only append data to files in raw binary form.)
10095
10096 @kindex restore
10097 @item restore @var{filename} @r{[}binary@r{]} @var{bias} @var{start} @var{end}
10098 Restore the contents of file @var{filename} into memory. The
10099 @code{restore} command can automatically recognize any known @sc{bfd}
10100 file format, except for raw binary. To restore a raw binary file you
10101 must specify the optional keyword @code{binary} after the filename.
10102
10103 If @var{bias} is non-zero, its value will be added to the addresses
10104 contained in the file. Binary files always start at address zero, so
10105 they will be restored at address @var{bias}. Other bfd files have
10106 a built-in location; they will be restored at offset @var{bias}
10107 from that location.
10108
10109 If @var{start} and/or @var{end} are non-zero, then only data between
10110 file offset @var{start} and file offset @var{end} will be restored.
10111 These offsets are relative to the addresses in the file, before
10112 the @var{bias} argument is applied.
10113
10114 @end table
10115
10116 @node Core File Generation
10117 @section How to Produce a Core File from Your Program
10118 @cindex dump core from inferior
10119
10120 A @dfn{core file} or @dfn{core dump} is a file that records the memory
10121 image of a running process and its process status (register values
10122 etc.). Its primary use is post-mortem debugging of a program that
10123 crashed while it ran outside a debugger. A program that crashes
10124 automatically produces a core file, unless this feature is disabled by
10125 the user. @xref{Files}, for information on invoking @value{GDBN} in
10126 the post-mortem debugging mode.
10127
10128 Occasionally, you may wish to produce a core file of the program you
10129 are debugging in order to preserve a snapshot of its state.
10130 @value{GDBN} has a special command for that.
10131
10132 @table @code
10133 @kindex gcore
10134 @kindex generate-core-file
10135 @item generate-core-file [@var{file}]
10136 @itemx gcore [@var{file}]
10137 Produce a core dump of the inferior process. The optional argument
10138 @var{file} specifies the file name where to put the core dump. If not
10139 specified, the file name defaults to @file{core.@var{pid}}, where
10140 @var{pid} is the inferior process ID.
10141
10142 Note that this command is implemented only for some systems (as of
10143 this writing, @sc{gnu}/Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, and S390).
10144 @end table
10145
10146 @node Character Sets
10147 @section Character Sets
10148 @cindex character sets
10149 @cindex charset
10150 @cindex translating between character sets
10151 @cindex host character set
10152 @cindex target character set
10153
10154 If the program you are debugging uses a different character set to
10155 represent characters and strings than the one @value{GDBN} uses itself,
10156 @value{GDBN} can automatically translate between the character sets for
10157 you. The character set @value{GDBN} uses we call the @dfn{host
10158 character set}; the one the inferior program uses we call the
10159 @dfn{target character set}.
10160
10161 For example, if you are running @value{GDBN} on a @sc{gnu}/Linux system, which
10162 uses the ISO Latin 1 character set, but you are using @value{GDBN}'s
10163 remote protocol (@pxref{Remote Debugging}) to debug a program
10164 running on an IBM mainframe, which uses the @sc{ebcdic} character set,
10165 then the host character set is Latin-1, and the target character set is
10166 @sc{ebcdic}. If you give @value{GDBN} the command @code{set
10167 target-charset EBCDIC-US}, then @value{GDBN} translates between
10168 @sc{ebcdic} and Latin 1 as you print character or string values, or use
10169 character and string literals in expressions.
10170
10171 @value{GDBN} has no way to automatically recognize which character set
10172 the inferior program uses; you must tell it, using the @code{set
10173 target-charset} command, described below.
10174
10175 Here are the commands for controlling @value{GDBN}'s character set
10176 support:
10177
10178 @table @code
10179 @item set target-charset @var{charset}
10180 @kindex set target-charset
10181 Set the current target character set to @var{charset}. To display the
10182 list of supported target character sets, type
10183 @kbd{@w{set target-charset @key{TAB}@key{TAB}}}.
10184
10185 @item set host-charset @var{charset}
10186 @kindex set host-charset
10187 Set the current host character set to @var{charset}.
10188
10189 By default, @value{GDBN} uses a host character set appropriate to the
10190 system it is running on; you can override that default using the
10191 @code{set host-charset} command. On some systems, @value{GDBN} cannot
10192 automatically determine the appropriate host character set. In this
10193 case, @value{GDBN} uses @samp{UTF-8}.
10194
10195 @value{GDBN} can only use certain character sets as its host character
10196 set. If you type @kbd{@w{set host-charset @key{TAB}@key{TAB}}},
10197 @value{GDBN} will list the host character sets it supports.
10198
10199 @item set charset @var{charset}
10200 @kindex set charset
10201 Set the current host and target character sets to @var{charset}. As
10202 above, if you type @kbd{@w{set charset @key{TAB}@key{TAB}}},
10203 @value{GDBN} will list the names of the character sets that can be used
10204 for both host and target.
10205
10206 @item show charset
10207 @kindex show charset
10208 Show the names of the current host and target character sets.
10209
10210 @item show host-charset
10211 @kindex show host-charset
10212 Show the name of the current host character set.
10213
10214 @item show target-charset
10215 @kindex show target-charset
10216 Show the name of the current target character set.
10217
10218 @item set target-wide-charset @var{charset}
10219 @kindex set target-wide-charset
10220 Set the current target's wide character set to @var{charset}. This is
10221 the character set used by the target's @code{wchar_t} type. To
10222 display the list of supported wide character sets, type
10223 @kbd{@w{set target-wide-charset @key{TAB}@key{TAB}}}.
10224
10225 @item show target-wide-charset
10226 @kindex show target-wide-charset
10227 Show the name of the current target's wide character set.
10228 @end table
10229
10230 Here is an example of @value{GDBN}'s character set support in action.
10231 Assume that the following source code has been placed in the file
10232 @file{charset-test.c}:
10233
10234 @smallexample
10235 #include <stdio.h>
10236
10237 char ascii_hello[]
10238 = @{72, 101, 108, 108, 111, 44, 32, 119,
10239 111, 114, 108, 100, 33, 10, 0@};
10240 char ibm1047_hello[]
10241 = @{200, 133, 147, 147, 150, 107, 64, 166,
10242 150, 153, 147, 132, 90, 37, 0@};
10243
10244 main ()
10245 @{
10246 printf ("Hello, world!\n");
10247 @}
10248 @end smallexample
10249
10250 In this program, @code{ascii_hello} and @code{ibm1047_hello} are arrays
10251 containing the string @samp{Hello, world!} followed by a newline,
10252 encoded in the @sc{ascii} and @sc{ibm1047} character sets.
10253
10254 We compile the program, and invoke the debugger on it:
10255
10256 @smallexample
10257 $ gcc -g charset-test.c -o charset-test
10258 $ gdb -nw charset-test
10259 GNU gdb 2001-12-19-cvs
10260 Copyright 2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
10261 @dots{}
10262 (@value{GDBP})
10263 @end smallexample
10264
10265 We can use the @code{show charset} command to see what character sets
10266 @value{GDBN} is currently using to interpret and display characters and
10267 strings:
10268
10269 @smallexample
10270 (@value{GDBP}) show charset
10271 The current host and target character set is `ISO-8859-1'.
10272 (@value{GDBP})
10273 @end smallexample
10274
10275 For the sake of printing this manual, let's use @sc{ascii} as our
10276 initial character set:
10277 @smallexample
10278 (@value{GDBP}) set charset ASCII
10279 (@value{GDBP}) show charset
10280 The current host and target character set is `ASCII'.
10281 (@value{GDBP})
10282 @end smallexample
10283
10284 Let's assume that @sc{ascii} is indeed the correct character set for our
10285 host system --- in other words, let's assume that if @value{GDBN} prints
10286 characters using the @sc{ascii} character set, our terminal will display
10287 them properly. Since our current target character set is also
10288 @sc{ascii}, the contents of @code{ascii_hello} print legibly:
10289
10290 @smallexample
10291 (@value{GDBP}) print ascii_hello
10292 $1 = 0x401698 "Hello, world!\n"
10293 (@value{GDBP}) print ascii_hello[0]
10294 $2 = 72 'H'
10295 (@value{GDBP})
10296 @end smallexample
10297
10298 @value{GDBN} uses the target character set for character and string
10299 literals you use in expressions:
10300
10301 @smallexample
10302 (@value{GDBP}) print '+'
10303 $3 = 43 '+'
10304 (@value{GDBP})
10305 @end smallexample
10306
10307 The @sc{ascii} character set uses the number 43 to encode the @samp{+}
10308 character.
10309
10310 @value{GDBN} relies on the user to tell it which character set the
10311 target program uses. If we print @code{ibm1047_hello} while our target
10312 character set is still @sc{ascii}, we get jibberish:
10313
10314 @smallexample
10315 (@value{GDBP}) print ibm1047_hello
10316 $4 = 0x4016a8 "\310\205\223\223\226k@@\246\226\231\223\204Z%"
10317 (@value{GDBP}) print ibm1047_hello[0]
10318 $5 = 200 '\310'
10319 (@value{GDBP})
10320 @end smallexample
10321
10322 If we invoke the @code{set target-charset} followed by @key{TAB}@key{TAB},
10323 @value{GDBN} tells us the character sets it supports:
10324
10325 @smallexample
10326 (@value{GDBP}) set target-charset
10327 ASCII EBCDIC-US IBM1047 ISO-8859-1
10328 (@value{GDBP}) set target-charset
10329 @end smallexample
10330
10331 We can select @sc{ibm1047} as our target character set, and examine the
10332 program's strings again. Now the @sc{ascii} string is wrong, but
10333 @value{GDBN} translates the contents of @code{ibm1047_hello} from the
10334 target character set, @sc{ibm1047}, to the host character set,
10335 @sc{ascii}, and they display correctly:
10336
10337 @smallexample
10338 (@value{GDBP}) set target-charset IBM1047
10339 (@value{GDBP}) show charset
10340 The current host character set is `ASCII'.
10341 The current target character set is `IBM1047'.
10342 (@value{GDBP}) print ascii_hello
10343 $6 = 0x401698 "\110\145%%?\054\040\167?\162%\144\041\012"
10344 (@value{GDBP}) print ascii_hello[0]
10345 $7 = 72 '\110'
10346 (@value{GDBP}) print ibm1047_hello
10347 $8 = 0x4016a8 "Hello, world!\n"
10348 (@value{GDBP}) print ibm1047_hello[0]
10349 $9 = 200 'H'
10350 (@value{GDBP})
10351 @end smallexample
10352
10353 As above, @value{GDBN} uses the target character set for character and
10354 string literals you use in expressions:
10355
10356 @smallexample
10357 (@value{GDBP}) print '+'
10358 $10 = 78 '+'
10359 (@value{GDBP})
10360 @end smallexample
10361
10362 The @sc{ibm1047} character set uses the number 78 to encode the @samp{+}
10363 character.
10364
10365 @node Caching Remote Data
10366 @section Caching Data of Remote Targets
10367 @cindex caching data of remote targets
10368
10369 @value{GDBN} caches data exchanged between the debugger and a
10370 remote target (@pxref{Remote Debugging}). Such caching generally improves
10371 performance, because it reduces the overhead of the remote protocol by
10372 bundling memory reads and writes into large chunks. Unfortunately, simply
10373 caching everything would lead to incorrect results, since @value{GDBN}
10374 does not necessarily know anything about volatile values, memory-mapped I/O
10375 addresses, etc. Furthermore, in non-stop mode (@pxref{Non-Stop Mode})
10376 memory can be changed @emph{while} a gdb command is executing.
10377 Therefore, by default, @value{GDBN} only caches data
10378 known to be on the stack@footnote{In non-stop mode, it is moderately
10379 rare for a running thread to modify the stack of a stopped thread
10380 in a way that would interfere with a backtrace, and caching of
10381 stack reads provides a significant speed up of remote backtraces.}.
10382 Other regions of memory can be explicitly marked as
10383 cacheable; see @pxref{Memory Region Attributes}.
10384
10385 @table @code
10386 @kindex set remotecache
10387 @item set remotecache on
10388 @itemx set remotecache off
10389 This option no longer does anything; it exists for compatibility
10390 with old scripts.
10391
10392 @kindex show remotecache
10393 @item show remotecache
10394 Show the current state of the obsolete remotecache flag.
10395
10396 @kindex set stack-cache
10397 @item set stack-cache on
10398 @itemx set stack-cache off
10399 Enable or disable caching of stack accesses. When @code{ON}, use
10400 caching. By default, this option is @code{ON}.
10401
10402 @kindex show stack-cache
10403 @item show stack-cache
10404 Show the current state of data caching for memory accesses.
10405
10406 @kindex info dcache
10407 @item info dcache @r{[}line@r{]}
10408 Print the information about the data cache performance. The
10409 information displayed includes the dcache width and depth, and for
10410 each cache line, its number, address, and how many times it was
10411 referenced. This command is useful for debugging the data cache
10412 operation.
10413
10414 If a line number is specified, the contents of that line will be
10415 printed in hex.
10416
10417 @item set dcache size @var{size}
10418 @cindex dcache size
10419 @kindex set dcache size
10420 Set maximum number of entries in dcache (dcache depth above).
10421
10422 @item set dcache line-size @var{line-size}
10423 @cindex dcache line-size
10424 @kindex set dcache line-size
10425 Set number of bytes each dcache entry caches (dcache width above).
10426 Must be a power of 2.
10427
10428 @item show dcache size
10429 @kindex show dcache size
10430 Show maximum number of dcache entries. See also @ref{Caching Remote Data, info dcache}.
10431
10432 @item show dcache line-size
10433 @kindex show dcache line-size
10434 Show default size of dcache lines. See also @ref{Caching Remote Data, info dcache}.
10435
10436 @end table
10437
10438 @node Searching Memory
10439 @section Search Memory
10440 @cindex searching memory
10441
10442 Memory can be searched for a particular sequence of bytes with the
10443 @code{find} command.
10444
10445 @table @code
10446 @kindex find
10447 @item find @r{[}/@var{sn}@r{]} @var{start_addr}, +@var{len}, @var{val1} @r{[}, @var{val2}, @dots{}@r{]}
10448 @itemx find @r{[}/@var{sn}@r{]} @var{start_addr}, @var{end_addr}, @var{val1} @r{[}, @var{val2}, @dots{}@r{]}
10449 Search memory for the sequence of bytes specified by @var{val1}, @var{val2},
10450 etc. The search begins at address @var{start_addr} and continues for either
10451 @var{len} bytes or through to @var{end_addr} inclusive.
10452 @end table
10453
10454 @var{s} and @var{n} are optional parameters.
10455 They may be specified in either order, apart or together.
10456
10457 @table @r
10458 @item @var{s}, search query size
10459 The size of each search query value.
10460
10461 @table @code
10462 @item b
10463 bytes
10464 @item h
10465 halfwords (two bytes)
10466 @item w
10467 words (four bytes)
10468 @item g
10469 giant words (eight bytes)
10470 @end table
10471
10472 All values are interpreted in the current language.
10473 This means, for example, that if the current source language is C/C@t{++}
10474 then searching for the string ``hello'' includes the trailing '\0'.
10475
10476 If the value size is not specified, it is taken from the
10477 value's type in the current language.
10478 This is useful when one wants to specify the search
10479 pattern as a mixture of types.
10480 Note that this means, for example, that in the case of C-like languages
10481 a search for an untyped 0x42 will search for @samp{(int) 0x42}
10482 which is typically four bytes.
10483
10484 @item @var{n}, maximum number of finds
10485 The maximum number of matches to print. The default is to print all finds.
10486 @end table
10487
10488 You can use strings as search values. Quote them with double-quotes
10489 (@code{"}).
10490 The string value is copied into the search pattern byte by byte,
10491 regardless of the endianness of the target and the size specification.
10492
10493 The address of each match found is printed as well as a count of the
10494 number of matches found.
10495
10496 The address of the last value found is stored in convenience variable
10497 @samp{$_}.
10498 A count of the number of matches is stored in @samp{$numfound}.
10499
10500 For example, if stopped at the @code{printf} in this function:
10501
10502 @smallexample
10503 void
10504 hello ()
10505 @{
10506 static char hello[] = "hello-hello";
10507 static struct @{ char c; short s; int i; @}
10508 __attribute__ ((packed)) mixed
10509 = @{ 'c', 0x1234, 0x87654321 @};
10510 printf ("%s\n", hello);
10511 @}
10512 @end smallexample
10513
10514 @noindent
10515 you get during debugging:
10516
10517 @smallexample
10518 (gdb) find &hello[0], +sizeof(hello), "hello"
10519 0x804956d <hello.1620+6>
10520 1 pattern found
10521 (gdb) find &hello[0], +sizeof(hello), 'h', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o'
10522 0x8049567 <hello.1620>
10523 0x804956d <hello.1620+6>
10524 2 patterns found
10525 (gdb) find /b1 &hello[0], +sizeof(hello), 'h', 0x65, 'l'
10526 0x8049567 <hello.1620>
10527 1 pattern found
10528 (gdb) find &mixed, +sizeof(mixed), (char) 'c', (short) 0x1234, (int) 0x87654321
10529 0x8049560 <mixed.1625>
10530 1 pattern found
10531 (gdb) print $numfound
10532 $1 = 1
10533 (gdb) print $_
10534 $2 = (void *) 0x8049560
10535 @end smallexample
10536
10537 @node Optimized Code
10538 @chapter Debugging Optimized Code
10539 @cindex optimized code, debugging
10540 @cindex debugging optimized code
10541
10542 Almost all compilers support optimization. With optimization
10543 disabled, the compiler generates assembly code that corresponds
10544 directly to your source code, in a simplistic way. As the compiler
10545 applies more powerful optimizations, the generated assembly code
10546 diverges from your original source code. With help from debugging
10547 information generated by the compiler, @value{GDBN} can map from
10548 the running program back to constructs from your original source.
10549
10550 @value{GDBN} is more accurate with optimization disabled. If you
10551 can recompile without optimization, it is easier to follow the
10552 progress of your program during debugging. But, there are many cases
10553 where you may need to debug an optimized version.
10554
10555 When you debug a program compiled with @samp{-g -O}, remember that the
10556 optimizer has rearranged your code; the debugger shows you what is
10557 really there. Do not be too surprised when the execution path does not
10558 exactly match your source file! An extreme example: if you define a
10559 variable, but never use it, @value{GDBN} never sees that
10560 variable---because the compiler optimizes it out of existence.
10561
10562 Some things do not work as well with @samp{-g -O} as with just
10563 @samp{-g}, particularly on machines with instruction scheduling. If in
10564 doubt, recompile with @samp{-g} alone, and if this fixes the problem,
10565 please report it to us as a bug (including a test case!).
10566 @xref{Variables}, for more information about debugging optimized code.
10567
10568 @menu
10569 * Inline Functions:: How @value{GDBN} presents inlining
10570 * Tail Call Frames:: @value{GDBN} analysis of jumps to functions
10571 @end menu
10572
10573 @node Inline Functions
10574 @section Inline Functions
10575 @cindex inline functions, debugging
10576
10577 @dfn{Inlining} is an optimization that inserts a copy of the function
10578 body directly at each call site, instead of jumping to a shared
10579 routine. @value{GDBN} displays inlined functions just like
10580 non-inlined functions. They appear in backtraces. You can view their
10581 arguments and local variables, step into them with @code{step}, skip
10582 them with @code{next}, and escape from them with @code{finish}.
10583 You can check whether a function was inlined by using the
10584 @code{info frame} command.
10585
10586 For @value{GDBN} to support inlined functions, the compiler must
10587 record information about inlining in the debug information ---
10588 @value{NGCC} using the @sc{dwarf 2} format does this, and several
10589 other compilers do also. @value{GDBN} only supports inlined functions
10590 when using @sc{dwarf 2}. Versions of @value{NGCC} before 4.1
10591 do not emit two required attributes (@samp{DW_AT_call_file} and
10592 @samp{DW_AT_call_line}); @value{GDBN} does not display inlined
10593 function calls with earlier versions of @value{NGCC}. It instead
10594 displays the arguments and local variables of inlined functions as
10595 local variables in the caller.
10596
10597 The body of an inlined function is directly included at its call site;
10598 unlike a non-inlined function, there are no instructions devoted to
10599 the call. @value{GDBN} still pretends that the call site and the
10600 start of the inlined function are different instructions. Stepping to
10601 the call site shows the call site, and then stepping again shows
10602 the first line of the inlined function, even though no additional
10603 instructions are executed.
10604
10605 This makes source-level debugging much clearer; you can see both the
10606 context of the call and then the effect of the call. Only stepping by
10607 a single instruction using @code{stepi} or @code{nexti} does not do
10608 this; single instruction steps always show the inlined body.
10609
10610 There are some ways that @value{GDBN} does not pretend that inlined
10611 function calls are the same as normal calls:
10612
10613 @itemize @bullet
10614 @item
10615 Setting breakpoints at the call site of an inlined function may not
10616 work, because the call site does not contain any code. @value{GDBN}
10617 may incorrectly move the breakpoint to the next line of the enclosing
10618 function, after the call. This limitation will be removed in a future
10619 version of @value{GDBN}; until then, set a breakpoint on an earlier line
10620 or inside the inlined function instead.
10621
10622 @item
10623 @value{GDBN} cannot locate the return value of inlined calls after
10624 using the @code{finish} command. This is a limitation of compiler-generated
10625 debugging information; after @code{finish}, you can step to the next line
10626 and print a variable where your program stored the return value.
10627
10628 @end itemize
10629
10630 @node Tail Call Frames
10631 @section Tail Call Frames
10632 @cindex tail call frames, debugging
10633
10634 Function @code{B} can call function @code{C} in its very last statement. In
10635 unoptimized compilation the call of @code{C} is immediately followed by return
10636 instruction at the end of @code{B} code. Optimizing compiler may replace the
10637 call and return in function @code{B} into one jump to function @code{C}
10638 instead. Such use of a jump instruction is called @dfn{tail call}.
10639
10640 During execution of function @code{C}, there will be no indication in the
10641 function call stack frames that it was tail-called from @code{B}. If function
10642 @code{A} regularly calls function @code{B} which tail-calls function @code{C},
10643 then @value{GDBN} will see @code{A} as the caller of @code{C}. However, in
10644 some cases @value{GDBN} can determine that @code{C} was tail-called from
10645 @code{B}, and it will then create fictitious call frame for that, with the
10646 return address set up as if @code{B} called @code{C} normally.
10647
10648 This functionality is currently supported only by DWARF 2 debugging format and
10649 the compiler has to produce @samp{DW_TAG_GNU_call_site} tags. With
10650 @value{NGCC}, you need to specify @option{-O -g} during compilation, to get
10651 this information.
10652
10653 @kbd{info frame} command (@pxref{Frame Info}) will indicate the tail call frame
10654 kind by text @code{tail call frame} such as in this sample @value{GDBN} output:
10655
10656 @smallexample
10657 (gdb) x/i $pc - 2
10658 0x40066b <b(int, double)+11>: jmp 0x400640 <c(int, double)>
10659 (gdb) info frame
10660 Stack level 1, frame at 0x7fffffffda30:
10661 rip = 0x40066d in b (amd64-entry-value.cc:59); saved rip 0x4004c5
10662 tail call frame, caller of frame at 0x7fffffffda30
10663 source language c++.
10664 Arglist at unknown address.
10665 Locals at unknown address, Previous frame's sp is 0x7fffffffda30
10666 @end smallexample
10667
10668 The detection of all the possible code path executions can find them ambiguous.
10669 There is no execution history stored (possible @ref{Reverse Execution} is never
10670 used for this purpose) and the last known caller could have reached the known
10671 callee by multiple different jump sequences. In such case @value{GDBN} still
10672 tries to show at least all the unambiguous top tail callers and all the
10673 unambiguous bottom tail calees, if any.
10674
10675 @table @code
10676 @anchor{set debug entry-values}
10677 @item set debug entry-values
10678 @kindex set debug entry-values
10679 When set to on, enables printing of analysis messages for both frame argument
10680 values at function entry and tail calls. It will show all the possible valid
10681 tail calls code paths it has considered. It will also print the intersection
10682 of them with the final unambiguous (possibly partial or even empty) code path
10683 result.
10684
10685 @item show debug entry-values
10686 @kindex show debug entry-values
10687 Show the current state of analysis messages printing for both frame argument
10688 values at function entry and tail calls.
10689 @end table
10690
10691 The analysis messages for tail calls can for example show why the virtual tail
10692 call frame for function @code{c} has not been recognized (due to the indirect
10693 reference by variable @code{x}):
10694
10695 @smallexample
10696 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) c (void);
10697 void (*x) (void) = c;
10698 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) a (void) @{ x++; @}
10699 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) c (void) @{ a (); @}
10700 int main (void) @{ x (); return 0; @}
10701
10702 Breakpoint 1, DW_OP_GNU_entry_value resolving cannot find
10703 DW_TAG_GNU_call_site 0x40039a in main
10704 a () at t.c:3
10705 3 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) a (void) @{ x++; @}
10706 (gdb) bt
10707 #0 a () at t.c:3
10708 #1 0x000000000040039a in main () at t.c:5
10709 @end smallexample
10710
10711 Another possibility is an ambiguous virtual tail call frames resolution:
10712
10713 @smallexample
10714 int i;
10715 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) f (void) @{ i++; @}
10716 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) e (void) @{ f (); @}
10717 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) d (void) @{ f (); @}
10718 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) c (void) @{ d (); @}
10719 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) b (void)
10720 @{ if (i) c (); else e (); @}
10721 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) a (void) @{ b (); @}
10722 int main (void) @{ a (); return 0; @}
10723
10724 tailcall: initial: 0x4004d2(a) 0x4004ce(b) 0x4004b2(c) 0x4004a2(d)
10725 tailcall: compare: 0x4004d2(a) 0x4004cc(b) 0x400492(e)
10726 tailcall: reduced: 0x4004d2(a) |
10727 (gdb) bt
10728 #0 f () at t.c:2
10729 #1 0x00000000004004d2 in a () at t.c:8
10730 #2 0x0000000000400395 in main () at t.c:9
10731 @end smallexample
10732
10733 @set CALLSEQ1A @code{main@value{ARROW}a@value{ARROW}b@value{ARROW}c@value{ARROW}d@value{ARROW}f}
10734 @set CALLSEQ2A @code{main@value{ARROW}a@value{ARROW}b@value{ARROW}e@value{ARROW}f}
10735
10736 @c Convert CALLSEQ#A to CALLSEQ#B depending on HAVE_MAKEINFO_CLICK.
10737 @ifset HAVE_MAKEINFO_CLICK
10738 @set ARROW @click{}
10739 @set CALLSEQ1B @clicksequence{@value{CALLSEQ1A}}
10740 @set CALLSEQ2B @clicksequence{@value{CALLSEQ2A}}
10741 @end ifset
10742 @ifclear HAVE_MAKEINFO_CLICK
10743 @set ARROW ->
10744 @set CALLSEQ1B @value{CALLSEQ1A}
10745 @set CALLSEQ2B @value{CALLSEQ2A}
10746 @end ifclear
10747
10748 Frames #0 and #2 are real, #1 is a virtual tail call frame.
10749 The code can have possible execution paths @value{CALLSEQ1B} or
10750 @value{CALLSEQ2B}, @value{GDBN} cannot find which one from the inferior state.
10751
10752 @code{initial:} state shows some random possible calling sequence @value{GDBN}
10753 has found. It then finds another possible calling sequcen - that one is
10754 prefixed by @code{compare:}. The non-ambiguous intersection of these two is
10755 printed as the @code{reduced:} calling sequence. That one could have many
10756 futher @code{compare:} and @code{reduced:} statements as long as there remain
10757 any non-ambiguous sequence entries.
10758
10759 For the frame of function @code{b} in both cases there are different possible
10760 @code{$pc} values (@code{0x4004cc} or @code{0x4004ce}), therefore this frame is
10761 also ambigous. The only non-ambiguous frame is the one for function @code{a},
10762 therefore this one is displayed to the user while the ambiguous frames are
10763 omitted.
10764
10765 There can be also reasons why printing of frame argument values at function
10766 entry may fail:
10767
10768 @smallexample
10769 int v;
10770 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) c (int i) @{ v++; @}
10771 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) a (int i);
10772 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) b (int i) @{ a (i); @}
10773 static void __attribute__((noinline, noclone)) a (int i)
10774 @{ if (i) b (i - 1); else c (0); @}
10775 int main (void) @{ a (5); return 0; @}
10776
10777 (gdb) bt
10778 #0 c (i=i@@entry=0) at t.c:2
10779 #1 0x0000000000400428 in a (DW_OP_GNU_entry_value resolving has found
10780 function "a" at 0x400420 can call itself via tail calls
10781 i=<optimized out>) at t.c:6
10782 #2 0x000000000040036e in main () at t.c:7
10783 @end smallexample
10784
10785 @value{GDBN} cannot find out from the inferior state if and how many times did
10786 function @code{a} call itself (via function @code{b}) as these calls would be
10787 tail calls. Such tail calls would modify thue @code{i} variable, therefore
10788 @value{GDBN} cannot be sure the value it knows would be right - @value{GDBN}
10789 prints @code{<optimized out>} instead.
10790
10791 @node Macros
10792 @chapter C Preprocessor Macros
10793
10794 Some languages, such as C and C@t{++}, provide a way to define and invoke
10795 ``preprocessor macros'' which expand into strings of tokens.
10796 @value{GDBN} can evaluate expressions containing macro invocations, show
10797 the result of macro expansion, and show a macro's definition, including
10798 where it was defined.
10799
10800 You may need to compile your program specially to provide @value{GDBN}
10801 with information about preprocessor macros. Most compilers do not
10802 include macros in their debugging information, even when you compile
10803 with the @option{-g} flag. @xref{Compilation}.
10804
10805 A program may define a macro at one point, remove that definition later,
10806 and then provide a different definition after that. Thus, at different
10807 points in the program, a macro may have different definitions, or have
10808 no definition at all. If there is a current stack frame, @value{GDBN}
10809 uses the macros in scope at that frame's source code line. Otherwise,
10810 @value{GDBN} uses the macros in scope at the current listing location;
10811 see @ref{List}.
10812
10813 Whenever @value{GDBN} evaluates an expression, it always expands any
10814 macro invocations present in the expression. @value{GDBN} also provides
10815 the following commands for working with macros explicitly.
10816
10817 @table @code
10818
10819 @kindex macro expand
10820 @cindex macro expansion, showing the results of preprocessor
10821 @cindex preprocessor macro expansion, showing the results of
10822 @cindex expanding preprocessor macros
10823 @item macro expand @var{expression}
10824 @itemx macro exp @var{expression}
10825 Show the results of expanding all preprocessor macro invocations in
10826 @var{expression}. Since @value{GDBN} simply expands macros, but does
10827 not parse the result, @var{expression} need not be a valid expression;
10828 it can be any string of tokens.
10829
10830 @kindex macro exp1
10831 @item macro expand-once @var{expression}
10832 @itemx macro exp1 @var{expression}
10833 @cindex expand macro once
10834 @i{(This command is not yet implemented.)} Show the results of
10835 expanding those preprocessor macro invocations that appear explicitly in
10836 @var{expression}. Macro invocations appearing in that expansion are
10837 left unchanged. This command allows you to see the effect of a
10838 particular macro more clearly, without being confused by further
10839 expansions. Since @value{GDBN} simply expands macros, but does not
10840 parse the result, @var{expression} need not be a valid expression; it
10841 can be any string of tokens.
10842
10843 @kindex info macro
10844 @cindex macro definition, showing
10845 @cindex definition of a macro, showing
10846 @cindex macros, from debug info
10847 @item info macro [-a|-all] [--] @var{macro}
10848 Show the current definition or all definitions of the named @var{macro},
10849 and describe the source location or compiler command-line where that
10850 definition was established. The optional double dash is to signify the end of
10851 argument processing and the beginning of @var{macro} for non C-like macros where
10852 the macro may begin with a hyphen.
10853
10854 @kindex info macros
10855 @item info macros @var{linespec}
10856 Show all macro definitions that are in effect at the location specified
10857 by @var{linespec}, and describe the source location or compiler
10858 command-line where those definitions were established.
10859
10860 @kindex macro define
10861 @cindex user-defined macros
10862 @cindex defining macros interactively
10863 @cindex macros, user-defined
10864 @item macro define @var{macro} @var{replacement-list}
10865 @itemx macro define @var{macro}(@var{arglist}) @var{replacement-list}
10866 Introduce a definition for a preprocessor macro named @var{macro},
10867 invocations of which are replaced by the tokens given in
10868 @var{replacement-list}. The first form of this command defines an
10869 ``object-like'' macro, which takes no arguments; the second form
10870 defines a ``function-like'' macro, which takes the arguments given in
10871 @var{arglist}.
10872
10873 A definition introduced by this command is in scope in every
10874 expression evaluated in @value{GDBN}, until it is removed with the
10875 @code{macro undef} command, described below. The definition overrides
10876 all definitions for @var{macro} present in the program being debugged,
10877 as well as any previous user-supplied definition.
10878
10879 @kindex macro undef
10880 @item macro undef @var{macro}
10881 Remove any user-supplied definition for the macro named @var{macro}.
10882 This command only affects definitions provided with the @code{macro
10883 define} command, described above; it cannot remove definitions present
10884 in the program being debugged.
10885
10886 @kindex macro list
10887 @item macro list
10888 List all the macros defined using the @code{macro define} command.
10889 @end table
10890
10891 @cindex macros, example of debugging with
10892 Here is a transcript showing the above commands in action. First, we
10893 show our source files:
10894
10895 @smallexample
10896 $ cat sample.c
10897 #include <stdio.h>
10898 #include "sample.h"
10899
10900 #define M 42
10901 #define ADD(x) (M + x)
10902
10903 main ()
10904 @{
10905 #define N 28
10906 printf ("Hello, world!\n");
10907 #undef N
10908 printf ("We're so creative.\n");
10909 #define N 1729
10910 printf ("Goodbye, world!\n");
10911 @}
10912 $ cat sample.h
10913 #define Q <
10914 $
10915 @end smallexample
10916
10917 Now, we compile the program using the @sc{gnu} C compiler,
10918 @value{NGCC}. We pass the @option{-gdwarf-2}@footnote{This is the
10919 minimum. Recent versions of @value{NGCC} support @option{-gdwarf-3}
10920 and @option{-gdwarf-4}; we recommend always choosing the most recent
10921 version of DWARF.} @emph{and} @option{-g3} flags to ensure the compiler
10922 includes information about preprocessor macros in the debugging
10923 information.
10924
10925 @smallexample
10926 $ gcc -gdwarf-2 -g3 sample.c -o sample
10927 $
10928 @end smallexample
10929
10930 Now, we start @value{GDBN} on our sample program:
10931
10932 @smallexample
10933 $ gdb -nw sample
10934 GNU gdb 2002-05-06-cvs
10935 Copyright 2002 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
10936 GDB is free software, @dots{}
10937 (@value{GDBP})
10938 @end smallexample
10939
10940 We can expand macros and examine their definitions, even when the
10941 program is not running. @value{GDBN} uses the current listing position
10942 to decide which macro definitions are in scope:
10943
10944 @smallexample
10945 (@value{GDBP}) list main
10946 3
10947 4 #define M 42
10948 5 #define ADD(x) (M + x)
10949 6
10950 7 main ()
10951 8 @{
10952 9 #define N 28
10953 10 printf ("Hello, world!\n");
10954 11 #undef N
10955 12 printf ("We're so creative.\n");
10956 (@value{GDBP}) info macro ADD
10957 Defined at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:5
10958 #define ADD(x) (M + x)
10959 (@value{GDBP}) info macro Q
10960 Defined at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.h:1
10961 included at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:2
10962 #define Q <
10963 (@value{GDBP}) macro expand ADD(1)
10964 expands to: (42 + 1)
10965 (@value{GDBP}) macro expand-once ADD(1)
10966 expands to: once (M + 1)
10967 (@value{GDBP})
10968 @end smallexample
10969
10970 In the example above, note that @code{macro expand-once} expands only
10971 the macro invocation explicit in the original text --- the invocation of
10972 @code{ADD} --- but does not expand the invocation of the macro @code{M},
10973 which was introduced by @code{ADD}.
10974
10975 Once the program is running, @value{GDBN} uses the macro definitions in
10976 force at the source line of the current stack frame:
10977
10978 @smallexample
10979 (@value{GDBP}) break main
10980 Breakpoint 1 at 0x8048370: file sample.c, line 10.
10981 (@value{GDBP}) run
10982 Starting program: /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample
10983
10984 Breakpoint 1, main () at sample.c:10
10985 10 printf ("Hello, world!\n");
10986 (@value{GDBP})
10987 @end smallexample
10988
10989 At line 10, the definition of the macro @code{N} at line 9 is in force:
10990
10991 @smallexample
10992 (@value{GDBP}) info macro N
10993 Defined at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:9
10994 #define N 28
10995 (@value{GDBP}) macro expand N Q M
10996 expands to: 28 < 42
10997 (@value{GDBP}) print N Q M
10998 $1 = 1
10999 (@value{GDBP})
11000 @end smallexample
11001
11002 As we step over directives that remove @code{N}'s definition, and then
11003 give it a new definition, @value{GDBN} finds the definition (or lack
11004 thereof) in force at each point:
11005
11006 @smallexample
11007 (@value{GDBP}) next
11008 Hello, world!
11009 12 printf ("We're so creative.\n");
11010 (@value{GDBP}) info macro N
11011 The symbol `N' has no definition as a C/C++ preprocessor macro
11012 at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:12
11013 (@value{GDBP}) next
11014 We're so creative.
11015 14 printf ("Goodbye, world!\n");
11016 (@value{GDBP}) info macro N
11017 Defined at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:13
11018 #define N 1729
11019 (@value{GDBP}) macro expand N Q M
11020 expands to: 1729 < 42
11021 (@value{GDBP}) print N Q M
11022 $2 = 0
11023 (@value{GDBP})
11024 @end smallexample
11025
11026 In addition to source files, macros can be defined on the compilation command
11027 line using the @option{-D@var{name}=@var{value}} syntax. For macros defined in
11028 such a way, @value{GDBN} displays the location of their definition as line zero
11029 of the source file submitted to the compiler.
11030
11031 @smallexample
11032 (@value{GDBP}) info macro __STDC__
11033 Defined at /home/jimb/gdb/macros/play/sample.c:0
11034 -D__STDC__=1
11035 (@value{GDBP})
11036 @end smallexample
11037
11038
11039 @node Tracepoints
11040 @chapter Tracepoints
11041 @c This chapter is based on the documentation written by Michael
11042 @c Snyder, David Taylor, Jim Blandy, and Elena Zannoni.
11043
11044 @cindex tracepoints
11045 In some applications, it is not feasible for the debugger to interrupt
11046 the program's execution long enough for the developer to learn
11047 anything helpful about its behavior. If the program's correctness
11048 depends on its real-time behavior, delays introduced by a debugger
11049 might cause the program to change its behavior drastically, or perhaps
11050 fail, even when the code itself is correct. It is useful to be able
11051 to observe the program's behavior without interrupting it.
11052
11053 Using @value{GDBN}'s @code{trace} and @code{collect} commands, you can
11054 specify locations in the program, called @dfn{tracepoints}, and
11055 arbitrary expressions to evaluate when those tracepoints are reached.
11056 Later, using the @code{tfind} command, you can examine the values
11057 those expressions had when the program hit the tracepoints. The
11058 expressions may also denote objects in memory---structures or arrays,
11059 for example---whose values @value{GDBN} should record; while visiting
11060 a particular tracepoint, you may inspect those objects as if they were
11061 in memory at that moment. However, because @value{GDBN} records these
11062 values without interacting with you, it can do so quickly and
11063 unobtrusively, hopefully not disturbing the program's behavior.
11064
11065 The tracepoint facility is currently available only for remote
11066 targets. @xref{Targets}. In addition, your remote target must know
11067 how to collect trace data. This functionality is implemented in the
11068 remote stub; however, none of the stubs distributed with @value{GDBN}
11069 support tracepoints as of this writing. The format of the remote
11070 packets used to implement tracepoints are described in @ref{Tracepoint
11071 Packets}.
11072
11073 It is also possible to get trace data from a file, in a manner reminiscent
11074 of corefiles; you specify the filename, and use @code{tfind} to search
11075 through the file. @xref{Trace Files}, for more details.
11076
11077 This chapter describes the tracepoint commands and features.
11078
11079 @menu
11080 * Set Tracepoints::
11081 * Analyze Collected Data::
11082 * Tracepoint Variables::
11083 * Trace Files::
11084 @end menu
11085
11086 @node Set Tracepoints
11087 @section Commands to Set Tracepoints
11088
11089 Before running such a @dfn{trace experiment}, an arbitrary number of
11090 tracepoints can be set. A tracepoint is actually a special type of
11091 breakpoint (@pxref{Set Breaks}), so you can manipulate it using
11092 standard breakpoint commands. For instance, as with breakpoints,
11093 tracepoint numbers are successive integers starting from one, and many
11094 of the commands associated with tracepoints take the tracepoint number
11095 as their argument, to identify which tracepoint to work on.
11096
11097 For each tracepoint, you can specify, in advance, some arbitrary set
11098 of data that you want the target to collect in the trace buffer when
11099 it hits that tracepoint. The collected data can include registers,
11100 local variables, or global data. Later, you can use @value{GDBN}
11101 commands to examine the values these data had at the time the
11102 tracepoint was hit.
11103
11104 Tracepoints do not support every breakpoint feature. Ignore counts on
11105 tracepoints have no effect, and tracepoints cannot run @value{GDBN}
11106 commands when they are hit. Tracepoints may not be thread-specific
11107 either.
11108
11109 @cindex fast tracepoints
11110 Some targets may support @dfn{fast tracepoints}, which are inserted in
11111 a different way (such as with a jump instead of a trap), that is
11112 faster but possibly restricted in where they may be installed.
11113
11114 @cindex static tracepoints
11115 @cindex markers, static tracepoints
11116 @cindex probing markers, static tracepoints
11117 Regular and fast tracepoints are dynamic tracing facilities, meaning
11118 that they can be used to insert tracepoints at (almost) any location
11119 in the target. Some targets may also support controlling @dfn{static
11120 tracepoints} from @value{GDBN}. With static tracing, a set of
11121 instrumentation points, also known as @dfn{markers}, are embedded in
11122 the target program, and can be activated or deactivated by name or
11123 address. These are usually placed at locations which facilitate
11124 investigating what the target is actually doing. @value{GDBN}'s
11125 support for static tracing includes being able to list instrumentation
11126 points, and attach them with @value{GDBN} defined high level
11127 tracepoints that expose the whole range of convenience of
11128 @value{GDBN}'s tracepoints support. Namely, support for collecting
11129 registers values and values of global or local (to the instrumentation
11130 point) variables; tracepoint conditions and trace state variables.
11131 The act of installing a @value{GDBN} static tracepoint on an
11132 instrumentation point, or marker, is referred to as @dfn{probing} a
11133 static tracepoint marker.
11134
11135 @code{gdbserver} supports tracepoints on some target systems.
11136 @xref{Server,,Tracepoints support in @code{gdbserver}}.
11137
11138 This section describes commands to set tracepoints and associated
11139 conditions and actions.
11140
11141 @menu
11142 * Create and Delete Tracepoints::
11143 * Enable and Disable Tracepoints::
11144 * Tracepoint Passcounts::
11145 * Tracepoint Conditions::
11146 * Trace State Variables::
11147 * Tracepoint Actions::
11148 * Listing Tracepoints::
11149 * Listing Static Tracepoint Markers::
11150 * Starting and Stopping Trace Experiments::
11151 * Tracepoint Restrictions::
11152 @end menu
11153
11154 @node Create and Delete Tracepoints
11155 @subsection Create and Delete Tracepoints
11156
11157 @table @code
11158 @cindex set tracepoint
11159 @kindex trace
11160 @item trace @var{location}
11161 The @code{trace} command is very similar to the @code{break} command.
11162 Its argument @var{location} can be a source line, a function name, or
11163 an address in the target program. @xref{Specify Location}. The
11164 @code{trace} command defines a tracepoint, which is a point in the
11165 target program where the debugger will briefly stop, collect some
11166 data, and then allow the program to continue. Setting a tracepoint or
11167 changing its actions takes effect immediately if the remote stub
11168 supports the @samp{InstallInTrace} feature (@pxref{install tracepoint
11169 in tracing}).
11170 If remote stub doesn't support the @samp{InstallInTrace} feature, all
11171 these changes don't take effect until the next @code{tstart}
11172 command, and once a trace experiment is running, further changes will
11173 not have any effect until the next trace experiment starts. In addition,
11174 @value{GDBN} supports @dfn{pending tracepoints}---tracepoints whose
11175 address is not yet resolved. (This is similar to pending breakpoints.)
11176 Pending tracepoints are not downloaded to the target and not installed
11177 until they are resolved. The resolution of pending tracepoints requires
11178 @value{GDBN} support---when debugging with the remote target, and
11179 @value{GDBN} disconnects from the remote stub (@pxref{disconnected
11180 tracing}), pending tracepoints can not be resolved (and downloaded to
11181 the remote stub) while @value{GDBN} is disconnected.
11182
11183 Here are some examples of using the @code{trace} command:
11184
11185 @smallexample
11186 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace foo.c:121} // a source file and line number
11187
11188 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace +2} // 2 lines forward
11189
11190 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace my_function} // first source line of function
11191
11192 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace *my_function} // EXACT start address of function
11193
11194 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace *0x2117c4} // an address
11195 @end smallexample
11196
11197 @noindent
11198 You can abbreviate @code{trace} as @code{tr}.
11199
11200 @item trace @var{location} if @var{cond}
11201 Set a tracepoint with condition @var{cond}; evaluate the expression
11202 @var{cond} each time the tracepoint is reached, and collect data only
11203 if the value is nonzero---that is, if @var{cond} evaluates as true.
11204 @xref{Tracepoint Conditions, ,Tracepoint Conditions}, for more
11205 information on tracepoint conditions.
11206
11207 @item ftrace @var{location} [ if @var{cond} ]
11208 @cindex set fast tracepoint
11209 @cindex fast tracepoints, setting
11210 @kindex ftrace
11211 The @code{ftrace} command sets a fast tracepoint. For targets that
11212 support them, fast tracepoints will use a more efficient but possibly
11213 less general technique to trigger data collection, such as a jump
11214 instruction instead of a trap, or some sort of hardware support. It
11215 may not be possible to create a fast tracepoint at the desired
11216 location, in which case the command will exit with an explanatory
11217 message.
11218
11219 @value{GDBN} handles arguments to @code{ftrace} exactly as for
11220 @code{trace}.
11221
11222 On 32-bit x86-architecture systems, fast tracepoints normally need to
11223 be placed at an instruction that is 5 bytes or longer, but can be
11224 placed at 4-byte instructions if the low 64K of memory of the target
11225 program is available to install trampolines. Some Unix-type systems,
11226 such as @sc{gnu}/Linux, exclude low addresses from the program's
11227 address space; but for instance with the Linux kernel it is possible
11228 to let @value{GDBN} use this area by doing a @command{sysctl} command
11229 to set the @code{mmap_min_addr} kernel parameter, as in
11230
11231 @example
11232 sudo sysctl -w vm.mmap_min_addr=32768
11233 @end example
11234
11235 @noindent
11236 which sets the low address to 32K, which leaves plenty of room for
11237 trampolines. The minimum address should be set to a page boundary.
11238
11239 @item strace @var{location} [ if @var{cond} ]
11240 @cindex set static tracepoint
11241 @cindex static tracepoints, setting
11242 @cindex probe static tracepoint marker
11243 @kindex strace
11244 The @code{strace} command sets a static tracepoint. For targets that
11245 support it, setting a static tracepoint probes a static
11246 instrumentation point, or marker, found at @var{location}. It may not
11247 be possible to set a static tracepoint at the desired location, in
11248 which case the command will exit with an explanatory message.
11249
11250 @value{GDBN} handles arguments to @code{strace} exactly as for
11251 @code{trace}, with the addition that the user can also specify
11252 @code{-m @var{marker}} as @var{location}. This probes the marker
11253 identified by the @var{marker} string identifier. This identifier
11254 depends on the static tracepoint backend library your program is
11255 using. You can find all the marker identifiers in the @samp{ID} field
11256 of the @code{info static-tracepoint-markers} command output.
11257 @xref{Listing Static Tracepoint Markers,,Listing Static Tracepoint
11258 Markers}. For example, in the following small program using the UST
11259 tracing engine:
11260
11261 @smallexample
11262 main ()
11263 @{
11264 trace_mark(ust, bar33, "str %s", "FOOBAZ");
11265 @}
11266 @end smallexample
11267
11268 @noindent
11269 the marker id is composed of joining the first two arguments to the
11270 @code{trace_mark} call with a slash, which translates to:
11271
11272 @smallexample
11273 (@value{GDBP}) info static-tracepoint-markers
11274 Cnt Enb ID Address What
11275 1 n ust/bar33 0x0000000000400ddc in main at stexample.c:22
11276 Data: "str %s"
11277 [etc...]
11278 @end smallexample
11279
11280 @noindent
11281 so you may probe the marker above with:
11282
11283 @smallexample
11284 (@value{GDBP}) strace -m ust/bar33
11285 @end smallexample
11286
11287 Static tracepoints accept an extra collect action --- @code{collect
11288 $_sdata}. This collects arbitrary user data passed in the probe point
11289 call to the tracing library. In the UST example above, you'll see
11290 that the third argument to @code{trace_mark} is a printf-like format
11291 string. The user data is then the result of running that formating
11292 string against the following arguments. Note that @code{info
11293 static-tracepoint-markers} command output lists that format string in
11294 the @samp{Data:} field.
11295
11296 You can inspect this data when analyzing the trace buffer, by printing
11297 the $_sdata variable like any other variable available to
11298 @value{GDBN}. @xref{Tracepoint Actions,,Tracepoint Action Lists}.
11299
11300 @vindex $tpnum
11301 @cindex last tracepoint number
11302 @cindex recent tracepoint number
11303 @cindex tracepoint number
11304 The convenience variable @code{$tpnum} records the tracepoint number
11305 of the most recently set tracepoint.
11306
11307 @kindex delete tracepoint
11308 @cindex tracepoint deletion
11309 @item delete tracepoint @r{[}@var{num}@r{]}
11310 Permanently delete one or more tracepoints. With no argument, the
11311 default is to delete all tracepoints. Note that the regular
11312 @code{delete} command can remove tracepoints also.
11313
11314 Examples:
11315
11316 @smallexample
11317 (@value{GDBP}) @b{delete trace 1 2 3} // remove three tracepoints
11318
11319 (@value{GDBP}) @b{delete trace} // remove all tracepoints
11320 @end smallexample
11321
11322 @noindent
11323 You can abbreviate this command as @code{del tr}.
11324 @end table
11325
11326 @node Enable and Disable Tracepoints
11327 @subsection Enable and Disable Tracepoints
11328
11329 These commands are deprecated; they are equivalent to plain @code{disable} and @code{enable}.
11330
11331 @table @code
11332 @kindex disable tracepoint
11333 @item disable tracepoint @r{[}@var{num}@r{]}
11334 Disable tracepoint @var{num}, or all tracepoints if no argument
11335 @var{num} is given. A disabled tracepoint will have no effect during
11336 a trace experiment, but it is not forgotten. You can re-enable
11337 a disabled tracepoint using the @code{enable tracepoint} command.
11338 If the command is issued during a trace experiment and the debug target
11339 has support for disabling tracepoints during a trace experiment, then the
11340 change will be effective immediately. Otherwise, it will be applied to the
11341 next trace experiment.
11342
11343 @kindex enable tracepoint
11344 @item enable tracepoint @r{[}@var{num}@r{]}
11345 Enable tracepoint @var{num}, or all tracepoints. If this command is
11346 issued during a trace experiment and the debug target supports enabling
11347 tracepoints during a trace experiment, then the enabled tracepoints will
11348 become effective immediately. Otherwise, they will become effective the
11349 next time a trace experiment is run.
11350 @end table
11351
11352 @node Tracepoint Passcounts
11353 @subsection Tracepoint Passcounts
11354
11355 @table @code
11356 @kindex passcount
11357 @cindex tracepoint pass count
11358 @item passcount @r{[}@var{n} @r{[}@var{num}@r{]]}
11359 Set the @dfn{passcount} of a tracepoint. The passcount is a way to
11360 automatically stop a trace experiment. If a tracepoint's passcount is
11361 @var{n}, then the trace experiment will be automatically stopped on
11362 the @var{n}'th time that tracepoint is hit. If the tracepoint number
11363 @var{num} is not specified, the @code{passcount} command sets the
11364 passcount of the most recently defined tracepoint. If no passcount is
11365 given, the trace experiment will run until stopped explicitly by the
11366 user.
11367
11368 Examples:
11369
11370 @smallexample
11371 (@value{GDBP}) @b{passcount 5 2} // Stop on the 5th execution of
11372 @exdent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @code{// tracepoint 2}
11373
11374 (@value{GDBP}) @b{passcount 12} // Stop on the 12th execution of the
11375 @exdent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @code{// most recently defined tracepoint.}
11376 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace foo}
11377 (@value{GDBP}) @b{pass 3}
11378 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace bar}
11379 (@value{GDBP}) @b{pass 2}
11380 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace baz}
11381 (@value{GDBP}) @b{pass 1} // Stop tracing when foo has been
11382 @exdent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @code{// executed 3 times OR when bar has}
11383 @exdent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @code{// been executed 2 times}
11384 @exdent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @code{// OR when baz has been executed 1 time.}
11385 @end smallexample
11386 @end table
11387
11388 @node Tracepoint Conditions
11389 @subsection Tracepoint Conditions
11390 @cindex conditional tracepoints
11391 @cindex tracepoint conditions
11392
11393 The simplest sort of tracepoint collects data every time your program
11394 reaches a specified place. You can also specify a @dfn{condition} for
11395 a tracepoint. A condition is just a Boolean expression in your
11396 programming language (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}). A
11397 tracepoint with a condition evaluates the expression each time your
11398 program reaches it, and data collection happens only if the condition
11399 is true.
11400
11401 Tracepoint conditions can be specified when a tracepoint is set, by
11402 using @samp{if} in the arguments to the @code{trace} command.
11403 @xref{Create and Delete Tracepoints, ,Setting Tracepoints}. They can
11404 also be set or changed at any time with the @code{condition} command,
11405 just as with breakpoints.
11406
11407 Unlike breakpoint conditions, @value{GDBN} does not actually evaluate
11408 the conditional expression itself. Instead, @value{GDBN} encodes the
11409 expression into an agent expression (@pxref{Agent Expressions})
11410 suitable for execution on the target, independently of @value{GDBN}.
11411 Global variables become raw memory locations, locals become stack
11412 accesses, and so forth.
11413
11414 For instance, suppose you have a function that is usually called
11415 frequently, but should not be called after an error has occurred. You
11416 could use the following tracepoint command to collect data about calls
11417 of that function that happen while the error code is propagating
11418 through the program; an unconditional tracepoint could end up
11419 collecting thousands of useless trace frames that you would have to
11420 search through.
11421
11422 @smallexample
11423 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{trace normal_operation if errcode > 0}
11424 @end smallexample
11425
11426 @node Trace State Variables
11427 @subsection Trace State Variables
11428 @cindex trace state variables
11429
11430 A @dfn{trace state variable} is a special type of variable that is
11431 created and managed by target-side code. The syntax is the same as
11432 that for GDB's convenience variables (a string prefixed with ``$''),
11433 but they are stored on the target. They must be created explicitly,
11434 using a @code{tvariable} command. They are always 64-bit signed
11435 integers.
11436
11437 Trace state variables are remembered by @value{GDBN}, and downloaded
11438 to the target along with tracepoint information when the trace
11439 experiment starts. There are no intrinsic limits on the number of
11440 trace state variables, beyond memory limitations of the target.
11441
11442 @cindex convenience variables, and trace state variables
11443 Although trace state variables are managed by the target, you can use
11444 them in print commands and expressions as if they were convenience
11445 variables; @value{GDBN} will get the current value from the target
11446 while the trace experiment is running. Trace state variables share
11447 the same namespace as other ``$'' variables, which means that you
11448 cannot have trace state variables with names like @code{$23} or
11449 @code{$pc}, nor can you have a trace state variable and a convenience
11450 variable with the same name.
11451
11452 @table @code
11453
11454 @item tvariable $@var{name} [ = @var{expression} ]
11455 @kindex tvariable
11456 The @code{tvariable} command creates a new trace state variable named
11457 @code{$@var{name}}, and optionally gives it an initial value of
11458 @var{expression}. @var{expression} is evaluated when this command is
11459 entered; the result will be converted to an integer if possible,
11460 otherwise @value{GDBN} will report an error. A subsequent
11461 @code{tvariable} command specifying the same name does not create a
11462 variable, but instead assigns the supplied initial value to the
11463 existing variable of that name, overwriting any previous initial
11464 value. The default initial value is 0.
11465
11466 @item info tvariables
11467 @kindex info tvariables
11468 List all the trace state variables along with their initial values.
11469 Their current values may also be displayed, if the trace experiment is
11470 currently running.
11471
11472 @item delete tvariable @r{[} $@var{name} @dots{} @r{]}
11473 @kindex delete tvariable
11474 Delete the given trace state variables, or all of them if no arguments
11475 are specified.
11476
11477 @end table
11478
11479 @node Tracepoint Actions
11480 @subsection Tracepoint Action Lists
11481
11482 @table @code
11483 @kindex actions
11484 @cindex tracepoint actions
11485 @item actions @r{[}@var{num}@r{]}
11486 This command will prompt for a list of actions to be taken when the
11487 tracepoint is hit. If the tracepoint number @var{num} is not
11488 specified, this command sets the actions for the one that was most
11489 recently defined (so that you can define a tracepoint and then say
11490 @code{actions} without bothering about its number). You specify the
11491 actions themselves on the following lines, one action at a time, and
11492 terminate the actions list with a line containing just @code{end}. So
11493 far, the only defined actions are @code{collect}, @code{teval}, and
11494 @code{while-stepping}.
11495
11496 @code{actions} is actually equivalent to @code{commands} (@pxref{Break
11497 Commands, ,Breakpoint Command Lists}), except that only the defined
11498 actions are allowed; any other @value{GDBN} command is rejected.
11499
11500 @cindex remove actions from a tracepoint
11501 To remove all actions from a tracepoint, type @samp{actions @var{num}}
11502 and follow it immediately with @samp{end}.
11503
11504 @smallexample
11505 (@value{GDBP}) @b{collect @var{data}} // collect some data
11506
11507 (@value{GDBP}) @b{while-stepping 5} // single-step 5 times, collect data
11508
11509 (@value{GDBP}) @b{end} // signals the end of actions.
11510 @end smallexample
11511
11512 In the following example, the action list begins with @code{collect}
11513 commands indicating the things to be collected when the tracepoint is
11514 hit. Then, in order to single-step and collect additional data
11515 following the tracepoint, a @code{while-stepping} command is used,
11516 followed by the list of things to be collected after each step in a
11517 sequence of single steps. The @code{while-stepping} command is
11518 terminated by its own separate @code{end} command. Lastly, the action
11519 list is terminated by an @code{end} command.
11520
11521 @smallexample
11522 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace foo}
11523 (@value{GDBP}) @b{actions}
11524 Enter actions for tracepoint 1, one per line:
11525 > collect bar,baz
11526 > collect $regs
11527 > while-stepping 12
11528 > collect $pc, arr[i]
11529 > end
11530 end
11531 @end smallexample
11532
11533 @kindex collect @r{(tracepoints)}
11534 @item collect@r{[}/@var{mods}@r{]} @var{expr1}, @var{expr2}, @dots{}
11535 Collect values of the given expressions when the tracepoint is hit.
11536 This command accepts a comma-separated list of any valid expressions.
11537 In addition to global, static, or local variables, the following
11538 special arguments are supported:
11539
11540 @table @code
11541 @item $regs
11542 Collect all registers.
11543
11544 @item $args
11545 Collect all function arguments.
11546
11547 @item $locals
11548 Collect all local variables.
11549
11550 @item $_ret
11551 Collect the return address. This is helpful if you want to see more
11552 of a backtrace.
11553
11554 @item $_probe_argc
11555 Collects the number of arguments from the static probe at which the
11556 tracepoint is located.
11557 @xref{Static Probe Points}.
11558
11559 @item $_probe_arg@var{n}
11560 @var{n} is an integer between 0 and 11. Collects the @var{n}th argument
11561 from the static probe at which the tracepoint is located.
11562 @xref{Static Probe Points}.
11563
11564 @item $_sdata
11565 @vindex $_sdata@r{, collect}
11566 Collect static tracepoint marker specific data. Only available for
11567 static tracepoints. @xref{Tracepoint Actions,,Tracepoint Action
11568 Lists}. On the UST static tracepoints library backend, an
11569 instrumentation point resembles a @code{printf} function call. The
11570 tracing library is able to collect user specified data formatted to a
11571 character string using the format provided by the programmer that
11572 instrumented the program. Other backends have similar mechanisms.
11573 Here's an example of a UST marker call:
11574
11575 @smallexample
11576 const char master_name[] = "$your_name";
11577 trace_mark(channel1, marker1, "hello %s", master_name)
11578 @end smallexample
11579
11580 In this case, collecting @code{$_sdata} collects the string
11581 @samp{hello $yourname}. When analyzing the trace buffer, you can
11582 inspect @samp{$_sdata} like any other variable available to
11583 @value{GDBN}.
11584 @end table
11585
11586 You can give several consecutive @code{collect} commands, each one
11587 with a single argument, or one @code{collect} command with several
11588 arguments separated by commas; the effect is the same.
11589
11590 The optional @var{mods} changes the usual handling of the arguments.
11591 @code{s} requests that pointers to chars be handled as strings, in
11592 particular collecting the contents of the memory being pointed at, up
11593 to the first zero. The upper bound is by default the value of the
11594 @code{print elements} variable; if @code{s} is followed by a decimal
11595 number, that is the upper bound instead. So for instance
11596 @samp{collect/s25 mystr} collects as many as 25 characters at
11597 @samp{mystr}.
11598
11599 The command @code{info scope} (@pxref{Symbols, info scope}) is
11600 particularly useful for figuring out what data to collect.
11601
11602 @kindex teval @r{(tracepoints)}
11603 @item teval @var{expr1}, @var{expr2}, @dots{}
11604 Evaluate the given expressions when the tracepoint is hit. This
11605 command accepts a comma-separated list of expressions. The results
11606 are discarded, so this is mainly useful for assigning values to trace
11607 state variables (@pxref{Trace State Variables}) without adding those
11608 values to the trace buffer, as would be the case if the @code{collect}
11609 action were used.
11610
11611 @kindex while-stepping @r{(tracepoints)}
11612 @item while-stepping @var{n}
11613 Perform @var{n} single-step instruction traces after the tracepoint,
11614 collecting new data after each step. The @code{while-stepping}
11615 command is followed by the list of what to collect while stepping
11616 (followed by its own @code{end} command):
11617
11618 @smallexample
11619 > while-stepping 12
11620 > collect $regs, myglobal
11621 > end
11622 >
11623 @end smallexample
11624
11625 @noindent
11626 Note that @code{$pc} is not automatically collected by
11627 @code{while-stepping}; you need to explicitly collect that register if
11628 you need it. You may abbreviate @code{while-stepping} as @code{ws} or
11629 @code{stepping}.
11630
11631 @item set default-collect @var{expr1}, @var{expr2}, @dots{}
11632 @kindex set default-collect
11633 @cindex default collection action
11634 This variable is a list of expressions to collect at each tracepoint
11635 hit. It is effectively an additional @code{collect} action prepended
11636 to every tracepoint action list. The expressions are parsed
11637 individually for each tracepoint, so for instance a variable named
11638 @code{xyz} may be interpreted as a global for one tracepoint, and a
11639 local for another, as appropriate to the tracepoint's location.
11640
11641 @item show default-collect
11642 @kindex show default-collect
11643 Show the list of expressions that are collected by default at each
11644 tracepoint hit.
11645
11646 @end table
11647
11648 @node Listing Tracepoints
11649 @subsection Listing Tracepoints
11650
11651 @table @code
11652 @kindex info tracepoints @r{[}@var{n}@dots{}@r{]}
11653 @kindex info tp @r{[}@var{n}@dots{}@r{]}
11654 @cindex information about tracepoints
11655 @item info tracepoints @r{[}@var{num}@dots{}@r{]}
11656 Display information about the tracepoint @var{num}. If you don't
11657 specify a tracepoint number, displays information about all the
11658 tracepoints defined so far. The format is similar to that used for
11659 @code{info breakpoints}; in fact, @code{info tracepoints} is the same
11660 command, simply restricting itself to tracepoints.
11661
11662 A tracepoint's listing may include additional information specific to
11663 tracing:
11664
11665 @itemize @bullet
11666 @item
11667 its passcount as given by the @code{passcount @var{n}} command
11668
11669 @item
11670 the state about installed on target of each location
11671 @end itemize
11672
11673 @smallexample
11674 (@value{GDBP}) @b{info trace}
11675 Num Type Disp Enb Address What
11676 1 tracepoint keep y 0x0804ab57 in foo() at main.cxx:7
11677 while-stepping 20
11678 collect globfoo, $regs
11679 end
11680 collect globfoo2
11681 end
11682 pass count 1200
11683 2 tracepoint keep y <MULTIPLE>
11684 collect $eip
11685 2.1 y 0x0804859c in func4 at change-loc.h:35
11686 installed on target
11687 2.2 y 0xb7ffc480 in func4 at change-loc.h:35
11688 installed on target
11689 2.3 y <PENDING> set_tracepoint
11690 3 tracepoint keep y 0x080485b1 in foo at change-loc.c:29
11691 not installed on target
11692 (@value{GDBP})
11693 @end smallexample
11694
11695 @noindent
11696 This command can be abbreviated @code{info tp}.
11697 @end table
11698
11699 @node Listing Static Tracepoint Markers
11700 @subsection Listing Static Tracepoint Markers
11701
11702 @table @code
11703 @kindex info static-tracepoint-markers
11704 @cindex information about static tracepoint markers
11705 @item info static-tracepoint-markers
11706 Display information about all static tracepoint markers defined in the
11707 program.
11708
11709 For each marker, the following columns are printed:
11710
11711 @table @emph
11712 @item Count
11713 An incrementing counter, output to help readability. This is not a
11714 stable identifier.
11715 @item ID
11716 The marker ID, as reported by the target.
11717 @item Enabled or Disabled
11718 Probed markers are tagged with @samp{y}. @samp{n} identifies marks
11719 that are not enabled.
11720 @item Address
11721 Where the marker is in your program, as a memory address.
11722 @item What
11723 Where the marker is in the source for your program, as a file and line
11724 number. If the debug information included in the program does not
11725 allow @value{GDBN} to locate the source of the marker, this column
11726 will be left blank.
11727 @end table
11728
11729 @noindent
11730 In addition, the following information may be printed for each marker:
11731
11732 @table @emph
11733 @item Data
11734 User data passed to the tracing library by the marker call. In the
11735 UST backend, this is the format string passed as argument to the
11736 marker call.
11737 @item Static tracepoints probing the marker
11738 The list of static tracepoints attached to the marker.
11739 @end table
11740
11741 @smallexample
11742 (@value{GDBP}) info static-tracepoint-markers
11743 Cnt ID Enb Address What
11744 1 ust/bar2 y 0x0000000000400e1a in main at stexample.c:25
11745 Data: number1 %d number2 %d
11746 Probed by static tracepoints: #2
11747 2 ust/bar33 n 0x0000000000400c87 in main at stexample.c:24
11748 Data: str %s
11749 (@value{GDBP})
11750 @end smallexample
11751 @end table
11752
11753 @node Starting and Stopping Trace Experiments
11754 @subsection Starting and Stopping Trace Experiments
11755
11756 @table @code
11757 @kindex tstart [ @var{notes} ]
11758 @cindex start a new trace experiment
11759 @cindex collected data discarded
11760 @item tstart
11761 This command starts the trace experiment, and begins collecting data.
11762 It has the side effect of discarding all the data collected in the
11763 trace buffer during the previous trace experiment. If any arguments
11764 are supplied, they are taken as a note and stored with the trace
11765 experiment's state. The notes may be arbitrary text, and are
11766 especially useful with disconnected tracing in a multi-user context;
11767 the notes can explain what the trace is doing, supply user contact
11768 information, and so forth.
11769
11770 @kindex tstop [ @var{notes} ]
11771 @cindex stop a running trace experiment
11772 @item tstop
11773 This command stops the trace experiment. If any arguments are
11774 supplied, they are recorded with the experiment as a note. This is
11775 useful if you are stopping a trace started by someone else, for
11776 instance if the trace is interfering with the system's behavior and
11777 needs to be stopped quickly.
11778
11779 @strong{Note}: a trace experiment and data collection may stop
11780 automatically if any tracepoint's passcount is reached
11781 (@pxref{Tracepoint Passcounts}), or if the trace buffer becomes full.
11782
11783 @kindex tstatus
11784 @cindex status of trace data collection
11785 @cindex trace experiment, status of
11786 @item tstatus
11787 This command displays the status of the current trace data
11788 collection.
11789 @end table
11790
11791 Here is an example of the commands we described so far:
11792
11793 @smallexample
11794 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace gdb_c_test}
11795 (@value{GDBP}) @b{actions}
11796 Enter actions for tracepoint #1, one per line.
11797 > collect $regs,$locals,$args
11798 > while-stepping 11
11799 > collect $regs
11800 > end
11801 > end
11802 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tstart}
11803 [time passes @dots{}]
11804 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tstop}
11805 @end smallexample
11806
11807 @anchor{disconnected tracing}
11808 @cindex disconnected tracing
11809 You can choose to continue running the trace experiment even if
11810 @value{GDBN} disconnects from the target, voluntarily or
11811 involuntarily. For commands such as @code{detach}, the debugger will
11812 ask what you want to do with the trace. But for unexpected
11813 terminations (@value{GDBN} crash, network outage), it would be
11814 unfortunate to lose hard-won trace data, so the variable
11815 @code{disconnected-tracing} lets you decide whether the trace should
11816 continue running without @value{GDBN}.
11817
11818 @table @code
11819 @item set disconnected-tracing on
11820 @itemx set disconnected-tracing off
11821 @kindex set disconnected-tracing
11822 Choose whether a tracing run should continue to run if @value{GDBN}
11823 has disconnected from the target. Note that @code{detach} or
11824 @code{quit} will ask you directly what to do about a running trace no
11825 matter what this variable's setting, so the variable is mainly useful
11826 for handling unexpected situations, such as loss of the network.
11827
11828 @item show disconnected-tracing
11829 @kindex show disconnected-tracing
11830 Show the current choice for disconnected tracing.
11831
11832 @end table
11833
11834 When you reconnect to the target, the trace experiment may or may not
11835 still be running; it might have filled the trace buffer in the
11836 meantime, or stopped for one of the other reasons. If it is running,
11837 it will continue after reconnection.
11838
11839 Upon reconnection, the target will upload information about the
11840 tracepoints in effect. @value{GDBN} will then compare that
11841 information to the set of tracepoints currently defined, and attempt
11842 to match them up, allowing for the possibility that the numbers may
11843 have changed due to creation and deletion in the meantime. If one of
11844 the target's tracepoints does not match any in @value{GDBN}, the
11845 debugger will create a new tracepoint, so that you have a number with
11846 which to specify that tracepoint. This matching-up process is
11847 necessarily heuristic, and it may result in useless tracepoints being
11848 created; you may simply delete them if they are of no use.
11849
11850 @cindex circular trace buffer
11851 If your target agent supports a @dfn{circular trace buffer}, then you
11852 can run a trace experiment indefinitely without filling the trace
11853 buffer; when space runs out, the agent deletes already-collected trace
11854 frames, oldest first, until there is enough room to continue
11855 collecting. This is especially useful if your tracepoints are being
11856 hit too often, and your trace gets terminated prematurely because the
11857 buffer is full. To ask for a circular trace buffer, simply set
11858 @samp{circular-trace-buffer} to on. You can set this at any time,
11859 including during tracing; if the agent can do it, it will change
11860 buffer handling on the fly, otherwise it will not take effect until
11861 the next run.
11862
11863 @table @code
11864 @item set circular-trace-buffer on
11865 @itemx set circular-trace-buffer off
11866 @kindex set circular-trace-buffer
11867 Choose whether a tracing run should use a linear or circular buffer
11868 for trace data. A linear buffer will not lose any trace data, but may
11869 fill up prematurely, while a circular buffer will discard old trace
11870 data, but it will have always room for the latest tracepoint hits.
11871
11872 @item show circular-trace-buffer
11873 @kindex show circular-trace-buffer
11874 Show the current choice for the trace buffer. Note that this may not
11875 match the agent's current buffer handling, nor is it guaranteed to
11876 match the setting that might have been in effect during a past run,
11877 for instance if you are looking at frames from a trace file.
11878
11879 @end table
11880
11881 @table @code
11882 @item set trace-buffer-size @var{n}
11883 @kindex set trace-buffer-size
11884 Request that the target use a trace buffer of @var{n} bytes. Not all
11885 targets will honor the request; they may have a compiled-in size for
11886 the trace buffer, or some other limitation. Set to a value of
11887 @code{-1} to let the target use whatever size it likes. This is also
11888 the default.
11889
11890 @item show trace-buffer-size
11891 @kindex show trace-buffer-size
11892 Show the current requested size for the trace buffer. Note that this
11893 will only match the actual size if the target supports size-setting,
11894 and was able to handle the requested size. For instance, if the
11895 target can only change buffer size between runs, this variable will
11896 not reflect the change until the next run starts. Use @code{tstatus}
11897 to get a report of the actual buffer size.
11898 @end table
11899
11900 @table @code
11901 @item set trace-user @var{text}
11902 @kindex set trace-user
11903
11904 @item show trace-user
11905 @kindex show trace-user
11906
11907 @item set trace-notes @var{text}
11908 @kindex set trace-notes
11909 Set the trace run's notes.
11910
11911 @item show trace-notes
11912 @kindex show trace-notes
11913 Show the trace run's notes.
11914
11915 @item set trace-stop-notes @var{text}
11916 @kindex set trace-stop-notes
11917 Set the trace run's stop notes. The handling of the note is as for
11918 @code{tstop} arguments; the set command is convenient way to fix a
11919 stop note that is mistaken or incomplete.
11920
11921 @item show trace-stop-notes
11922 @kindex show trace-stop-notes
11923 Show the trace run's stop notes.
11924
11925 @end table
11926
11927 @node Tracepoint Restrictions
11928 @subsection Tracepoint Restrictions
11929
11930 @cindex tracepoint restrictions
11931 There are a number of restrictions on the use of tracepoints. As
11932 described above, tracepoint data gathering occurs on the target
11933 without interaction from @value{GDBN}. Thus the full capabilities of
11934 the debugger are not available during data gathering, and then at data
11935 examination time, you will be limited by only having what was
11936 collected. The following items describe some common problems, but it
11937 is not exhaustive, and you may run into additional difficulties not
11938 mentioned here.
11939
11940 @itemize @bullet
11941
11942 @item
11943 Tracepoint expressions are intended to gather objects (lvalues). Thus
11944 the full flexibility of GDB's expression evaluator is not available.
11945 You cannot call functions, cast objects to aggregate types, access
11946 convenience variables or modify values (except by assignment to trace
11947 state variables). Some language features may implicitly call
11948 functions (for instance Objective-C fields with accessors), and therefore
11949 cannot be collected either.
11950
11951 @item
11952 Collection of local variables, either individually or in bulk with
11953 @code{$locals} or @code{$args}, during @code{while-stepping} may
11954 behave erratically. The stepping action may enter a new scope (for
11955 instance by stepping into a function), or the location of the variable
11956 may change (for instance it is loaded into a register). The
11957 tracepoint data recorded uses the location information for the
11958 variables that is correct for the tracepoint location. When the
11959 tracepoint is created, it is not possible, in general, to determine
11960 where the steps of a @code{while-stepping} sequence will advance the
11961 program---particularly if a conditional branch is stepped.
11962
11963 @item
11964 Collection of an incompletely-initialized or partially-destroyed object
11965 may result in something that @value{GDBN} cannot display, or displays
11966 in a misleading way.
11967
11968 @item
11969 When @value{GDBN} displays a pointer to character it automatically
11970 dereferences the pointer to also display characters of the string
11971 being pointed to. However, collecting the pointer during tracing does
11972 not automatically collect the string. You need to explicitly
11973 dereference the pointer and provide size information if you want to
11974 collect not only the pointer, but the memory pointed to. For example,
11975 @code{*ptr@@50} can be used to collect the 50 element array pointed to
11976 by @code{ptr}.
11977
11978 @item
11979 It is not possible to collect a complete stack backtrace at a
11980 tracepoint. Instead, you may collect the registers and a few hundred
11981 bytes from the stack pointer with something like @code{*(unsigned char *)$esp@@300}
11982 (adjust to use the name of the actual stack pointer register on your
11983 target architecture, and the amount of stack you wish to capture).
11984 Then the @code{backtrace} command will show a partial backtrace when
11985 using a trace frame. The number of stack frames that can be examined
11986 depends on the sizes of the frames in the collected stack. Note that
11987 if you ask for a block so large that it goes past the bottom of the
11988 stack, the target agent may report an error trying to read from an
11989 invalid address.
11990
11991 @item
11992 If you do not collect registers at a tracepoint, @value{GDBN} can
11993 infer that the value of @code{$pc} must be the same as the address of
11994 the tracepoint and use that when you are looking at a trace frame
11995 for that tracepoint. However, this cannot work if the tracepoint has
11996 multiple locations (for instance if it was set in a function that was
11997 inlined), or if it has a @code{while-stepping} loop. In those cases
11998 @value{GDBN} will warn you that it can't infer @code{$pc}, and default
11999 it to zero.
12000
12001 @end itemize
12002
12003 @node Analyze Collected Data
12004 @section Using the Collected Data
12005
12006 After the tracepoint experiment ends, you use @value{GDBN} commands
12007 for examining the trace data. The basic idea is that each tracepoint
12008 collects a trace @dfn{snapshot} every time it is hit and another
12009 snapshot every time it single-steps. All these snapshots are
12010 consecutively numbered from zero and go into a buffer, and you can
12011 examine them later. The way you examine them is to @dfn{focus} on a
12012 specific trace snapshot. When the remote stub is focused on a trace
12013 snapshot, it will respond to all @value{GDBN} requests for memory and
12014 registers by reading from the buffer which belongs to that snapshot,
12015 rather than from @emph{real} memory or registers of the program being
12016 debugged. This means that @strong{all} @value{GDBN} commands
12017 (@code{print}, @code{info registers}, @code{backtrace}, etc.) will
12018 behave as if we were currently debugging the program state as it was
12019 when the tracepoint occurred. Any requests for data that are not in
12020 the buffer will fail.
12021
12022 @menu
12023 * tfind:: How to select a trace snapshot
12024 * tdump:: How to display all data for a snapshot
12025 * save tracepoints:: How to save tracepoints for a future run
12026 @end menu
12027
12028 @node tfind
12029 @subsection @code{tfind @var{n}}
12030
12031 @kindex tfind
12032 @cindex select trace snapshot
12033 @cindex find trace snapshot
12034 The basic command for selecting a trace snapshot from the buffer is
12035 @code{tfind @var{n}}, which finds trace snapshot number @var{n},
12036 counting from zero. If no argument @var{n} is given, the next
12037 snapshot is selected.
12038
12039 Here are the various forms of using the @code{tfind} command.
12040
12041 @table @code
12042 @item tfind start
12043 Find the first snapshot in the buffer. This is a synonym for
12044 @code{tfind 0} (since 0 is the number of the first snapshot).
12045
12046 @item tfind none
12047 Stop debugging trace snapshots, resume @emph{live} debugging.
12048
12049 @item tfind end
12050 Same as @samp{tfind none}.
12051
12052 @item tfind
12053 No argument means find the next trace snapshot.
12054
12055 @item tfind -
12056 Find the previous trace snapshot before the current one. This permits
12057 retracing earlier steps.
12058
12059 @item tfind tracepoint @var{num}
12060 Find the next snapshot associated with tracepoint @var{num}. Search
12061 proceeds forward from the last examined trace snapshot. If no
12062 argument @var{num} is given, it means find the next snapshot collected
12063 for the same tracepoint as the current snapshot.
12064
12065 @item tfind pc @var{addr}
12066 Find the next snapshot associated with the value @var{addr} of the
12067 program counter. Search proceeds forward from the last examined trace
12068 snapshot. If no argument @var{addr} is given, it means find the next
12069 snapshot with the same value of PC as the current snapshot.
12070
12071 @item tfind outside @var{addr1}, @var{addr2}
12072 Find the next snapshot whose PC is outside the given range of
12073 addresses (exclusive).
12074
12075 @item tfind range @var{addr1}, @var{addr2}
12076 Find the next snapshot whose PC is between @var{addr1} and
12077 @var{addr2} (inclusive).
12078
12079 @item tfind line @r{[}@var{file}:@r{]}@var{n}
12080 Find the next snapshot associated with the source line @var{n}. If
12081 the optional argument @var{file} is given, refer to line @var{n} in
12082 that source file. Search proceeds forward from the last examined
12083 trace snapshot. If no argument @var{n} is given, it means find the
12084 next line other than the one currently being examined; thus saying
12085 @code{tfind line} repeatedly can appear to have the same effect as
12086 stepping from line to line in a @emph{live} debugging session.
12087 @end table
12088
12089 The default arguments for the @code{tfind} commands are specifically
12090 designed to make it easy to scan through the trace buffer. For
12091 instance, @code{tfind} with no argument selects the next trace
12092 snapshot, and @code{tfind -} with no argument selects the previous
12093 trace snapshot. So, by giving one @code{tfind} command, and then
12094 simply hitting @key{RET} repeatedly you can examine all the trace
12095 snapshots in order. Or, by saying @code{tfind -} and then hitting
12096 @key{RET} repeatedly you can examine the snapshots in reverse order.
12097 The @code{tfind line} command with no argument selects the snapshot
12098 for the next source line executed. The @code{tfind pc} command with
12099 no argument selects the next snapshot with the same program counter
12100 (PC) as the current frame. The @code{tfind tracepoint} command with
12101 no argument selects the next trace snapshot collected by the same
12102 tracepoint as the current one.
12103
12104 In addition to letting you scan through the trace buffer manually,
12105 these commands make it easy to construct @value{GDBN} scripts that
12106 scan through the trace buffer and print out whatever collected data
12107 you are interested in. Thus, if we want to examine the PC, FP, and SP
12108 registers from each trace frame in the buffer, we can say this:
12109
12110 @smallexample
12111 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tfind start}
12112 (@value{GDBP}) @b{while ($trace_frame != -1)}
12113 > printf "Frame %d, PC = %08X, SP = %08X, FP = %08X\n", \
12114 $trace_frame, $pc, $sp, $fp
12115 > tfind
12116 > end
12117
12118 Frame 0, PC = 0020DC64, SP = 0030BF3C, FP = 0030BF44
12119 Frame 1, PC = 0020DC6C, SP = 0030BF38, FP = 0030BF44
12120 Frame 2, PC = 0020DC70, SP = 0030BF34, FP = 0030BF44
12121 Frame 3, PC = 0020DC74, SP = 0030BF30, FP = 0030BF44
12122 Frame 4, PC = 0020DC78, SP = 0030BF2C, FP = 0030BF44
12123 Frame 5, PC = 0020DC7C, SP = 0030BF28, FP = 0030BF44
12124 Frame 6, PC = 0020DC80, SP = 0030BF24, FP = 0030BF44
12125 Frame 7, PC = 0020DC84, SP = 0030BF20, FP = 0030BF44
12126 Frame 8, PC = 0020DC88, SP = 0030BF1C, FP = 0030BF44
12127 Frame 9, PC = 0020DC8E, SP = 0030BF18, FP = 0030BF44
12128 Frame 10, PC = 00203F6C, SP = 0030BE3C, FP = 0030BF14
12129 @end smallexample
12130
12131 Or, if we want to examine the variable @code{X} at each source line in
12132 the buffer:
12133
12134 @smallexample
12135 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tfind start}
12136 (@value{GDBP}) @b{while ($trace_frame != -1)}
12137 > printf "Frame %d, X == %d\n", $trace_frame, X
12138 > tfind line
12139 > end
12140
12141 Frame 0, X = 1
12142 Frame 7, X = 2
12143 Frame 13, X = 255
12144 @end smallexample
12145
12146 @node tdump
12147 @subsection @code{tdump}
12148 @kindex tdump
12149 @cindex dump all data collected at tracepoint
12150 @cindex tracepoint data, display
12151
12152 This command takes no arguments. It prints all the data collected at
12153 the current trace snapshot.
12154
12155 @smallexample
12156 (@value{GDBP}) @b{trace 444}
12157 (@value{GDBP}) @b{actions}
12158 Enter actions for tracepoint #2, one per line:
12159 > collect $regs, $locals, $args, gdb_long_test
12160 > end
12161
12162 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tstart}
12163
12164 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tfind line 444}
12165 #0 gdb_test (p1=0x11, p2=0x22, p3=0x33, p4=0x44, p5=0x55, p6=0x66)
12166 at gdb_test.c:444
12167 444 printp( "%s: arguments = 0x%X 0x%X 0x%X 0x%X 0x%X 0x%X\n", )
12168
12169 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tdump}
12170 Data collected at tracepoint 2, trace frame 1:
12171 d0 0xc4aa0085 -995491707
12172 d1 0x18 24
12173 d2 0x80 128
12174 d3 0x33 51
12175 d4 0x71aea3d 119204413
12176 d5 0x22 34
12177 d6 0xe0 224
12178 d7 0x380035 3670069
12179 a0 0x19e24a 1696330
12180 a1 0x3000668 50333288
12181 a2 0x100 256
12182 a3 0x322000 3284992
12183 a4 0x3000698 50333336
12184 a5 0x1ad3cc 1758156
12185 fp 0x30bf3c 0x30bf3c
12186 sp 0x30bf34 0x30bf34
12187 ps 0x0 0
12188 pc 0x20b2c8 0x20b2c8
12189 fpcontrol 0x0 0
12190 fpstatus 0x0 0
12191 fpiaddr 0x0 0
12192 p = 0x20e5b4 "gdb-test"
12193 p1 = (void *) 0x11
12194 p2 = (void *) 0x22
12195 p3 = (void *) 0x33
12196 p4 = (void *) 0x44
12197 p5 = (void *) 0x55
12198 p6 = (void *) 0x66
12199 gdb_long_test = 17 '\021'
12200
12201 (@value{GDBP})
12202 @end smallexample
12203
12204 @code{tdump} works by scanning the tracepoint's current collection
12205 actions and printing the value of each expression listed. So
12206 @code{tdump} can fail, if after a run, you change the tracepoint's
12207 actions to mention variables that were not collected during the run.
12208
12209 Also, for tracepoints with @code{while-stepping} loops, @code{tdump}
12210 uses the collected value of @code{$pc} to distinguish between trace
12211 frames that were collected at the tracepoint hit, and frames that were
12212 collected while stepping. This allows it to correctly choose whether
12213 to display the basic list of collections, or the collections from the
12214 body of the while-stepping loop. However, if @code{$pc} was not collected,
12215 then @code{tdump} will always attempt to dump using the basic collection
12216 list, and may fail if a while-stepping frame does not include all the
12217 same data that is collected at the tracepoint hit.
12218 @c This is getting pretty arcane, example would be good.
12219
12220 @node save tracepoints
12221 @subsection @code{save tracepoints @var{filename}}
12222 @kindex save tracepoints
12223 @kindex save-tracepoints
12224 @cindex save tracepoints for future sessions
12225
12226 This command saves all current tracepoint definitions together with
12227 their actions and passcounts, into a file @file{@var{filename}}
12228 suitable for use in a later debugging session. To read the saved
12229 tracepoint definitions, use the @code{source} command (@pxref{Command
12230 Files}). The @w{@code{save-tracepoints}} command is a deprecated
12231 alias for @w{@code{save tracepoints}}
12232
12233 @node Tracepoint Variables
12234 @section Convenience Variables for Tracepoints
12235 @cindex tracepoint variables
12236 @cindex convenience variables for tracepoints
12237
12238 @table @code
12239 @vindex $trace_frame
12240 @item (int) $trace_frame
12241 The current trace snapshot (a.k.a.@: @dfn{frame}) number, or -1 if no
12242 snapshot is selected.
12243
12244 @vindex $tracepoint
12245 @item (int) $tracepoint
12246 The tracepoint for the current trace snapshot.
12247
12248 @vindex $trace_line
12249 @item (int) $trace_line
12250 The line number for the current trace snapshot.
12251
12252 @vindex $trace_file
12253 @item (char []) $trace_file
12254 The source file for the current trace snapshot.
12255
12256 @vindex $trace_func
12257 @item (char []) $trace_func
12258 The name of the function containing @code{$tracepoint}.
12259 @end table
12260
12261 Note: @code{$trace_file} is not suitable for use in @code{printf},
12262 use @code{output} instead.
12263
12264 Here's a simple example of using these convenience variables for
12265 stepping through all the trace snapshots and printing some of their
12266 data. Note that these are not the same as trace state variables,
12267 which are managed by the target.
12268
12269 @smallexample
12270 (@value{GDBP}) @b{tfind start}
12271
12272 (@value{GDBP}) @b{while $trace_frame != -1}
12273 > output $trace_file
12274 > printf ", line %d (tracepoint #%d)\n", $trace_line, $tracepoint
12275 > tfind
12276 > end
12277 @end smallexample
12278
12279 @node Trace Files
12280 @section Using Trace Files
12281 @cindex trace files
12282
12283 In some situations, the target running a trace experiment may no
12284 longer be available; perhaps it crashed, or the hardware was needed
12285 for a different activity. To handle these cases, you can arrange to
12286 dump the trace data into a file, and later use that file as a source
12287 of trace data, via the @code{target tfile} command.
12288
12289 @table @code
12290
12291 @kindex tsave
12292 @item tsave [ -r ] @var{filename}
12293 @itemx tsave [-ctf] @var{dirname}
12294 Save the trace data to @var{filename}. By default, this command
12295 assumes that @var{filename} refers to the host filesystem, so if
12296 necessary @value{GDBN} will copy raw trace data up from the target and
12297 then save it. If the target supports it, you can also supply the
12298 optional argument @code{-r} (``remote'') to direct the target to save
12299 the data directly into @var{filename} in its own filesystem, which may be
12300 more efficient if the trace buffer is very large. (Note, however, that
12301 @code{target tfile} can only read from files accessible to the host.)
12302 By default, this command will save trace frame in tfile format.
12303 You can supply the optional argument @code{-ctf} to save date in CTF
12304 format. The @dfn{Common Trace Format} (CTF) is proposed as a trace format
12305 that can be shared by multiple debugging and tracing tools. Please go to
12306 @indicateurl{http://www.efficios.com/ctf} to get more information.
12307
12308 @kindex target tfile
12309 @kindex tfile
12310 @item target tfile @var{filename}
12311 Use the file named @var{filename} as a source of trace data. Commands
12312 that examine data work as they do with a live target, but it is not
12313 possible to run any new trace experiments. @code{tstatus} will report
12314 the state of the trace run at the moment the data was saved, as well
12315 as the current trace frame you are examining. @var{filename} must be
12316 on a filesystem accessible to the host.
12317
12318 @end table
12319
12320 @node Overlays
12321 @chapter Debugging Programs That Use Overlays
12322 @cindex overlays
12323
12324 If your program is too large to fit completely in your target system's
12325 memory, you can sometimes use @dfn{overlays} to work around this
12326 problem. @value{GDBN} provides some support for debugging programs that
12327 use overlays.
12328
12329 @menu
12330 * How Overlays Work:: A general explanation of overlays.
12331 * Overlay Commands:: Managing overlays in @value{GDBN}.
12332 * Automatic Overlay Debugging:: @value{GDBN} can find out which overlays are
12333 mapped by asking the inferior.
12334 * Overlay Sample Program:: A sample program using overlays.
12335 @end menu
12336
12337 @node How Overlays Work
12338 @section How Overlays Work
12339 @cindex mapped overlays
12340 @cindex unmapped overlays
12341 @cindex load address, overlay's
12342 @cindex mapped address
12343 @cindex overlay area
12344
12345 Suppose you have a computer whose instruction address space is only 64
12346 kilobytes long, but which has much more memory which can be accessed by
12347 other means: special instructions, segment registers, or memory
12348 management hardware, for example. Suppose further that you want to
12349 adapt a program which is larger than 64 kilobytes to run on this system.
12350
12351 One solution is to identify modules of your program which are relatively
12352 independent, and need not call each other directly; call these modules
12353 @dfn{overlays}. Separate the overlays from the main program, and place
12354 their machine code in the larger memory. Place your main program in
12355 instruction memory, but leave at least enough space there to hold the
12356 largest overlay as well.
12357
12358 Now, to call a function located in an overlay, you must first copy that
12359 overlay's machine code from the large memory into the space set aside
12360 for it in the instruction memory, and then jump to its entry point
12361 there.
12362
12363 @c NB: In the below the mapped area's size is greater or equal to the
12364 @c size of all overlays. This is intentional to remind the developer
12365 @c that overlays don't necessarily need to be the same size.
12366
12367 @smallexample
12368 @group
12369 Data Instruction Larger
12370 Address Space Address Space Address Space
12371 +-----------+ +-----------+ +-----------+
12372 | | | | | |
12373 +-----------+ +-----------+ +-----------+<-- overlay 1
12374 | program | | main | .----| overlay 1 | load address
12375 | variables | | program | | +-----------+
12376 | and heap | | | | | |
12377 +-----------+ | | | +-----------+<-- overlay 2
12378 | | +-----------+ | | | load address
12379 +-----------+ | | | .-| overlay 2 |
12380 | | | | | |
12381 mapped --->+-----------+ | | +-----------+
12382 address | | | | | |
12383 | overlay | <-' | | |
12384 | area | <---' +-----------+<-- overlay 3
12385 | | <---. | | load address
12386 +-----------+ `--| overlay 3 |
12387 | | | |
12388 +-----------+ | |
12389 +-----------+
12390 | |
12391 +-----------+
12392
12393 @anchor{A code overlay}A code overlay
12394 @end group
12395 @end smallexample
12396
12397 The diagram (@pxref{A code overlay}) shows a system with separate data
12398 and instruction address spaces. To map an overlay, the program copies
12399 its code from the larger address space to the instruction address space.
12400 Since the overlays shown here all use the same mapped address, only one
12401 may be mapped at a time. For a system with a single address space for
12402 data and instructions, the diagram would be similar, except that the
12403 program variables and heap would share an address space with the main
12404 program and the overlay area.
12405
12406 An overlay loaded into instruction memory and ready for use is called a
12407 @dfn{mapped} overlay; its @dfn{mapped address} is its address in the
12408 instruction memory. An overlay not present (or only partially present)
12409 in instruction memory is called @dfn{unmapped}; its @dfn{load address}
12410 is its address in the larger memory. The mapped address is also called
12411 the @dfn{virtual memory address}, or @dfn{VMA}; the load address is also
12412 called the @dfn{load memory address}, or @dfn{LMA}.
12413
12414 Unfortunately, overlays are not a completely transparent way to adapt a
12415 program to limited instruction memory. They introduce a new set of
12416 global constraints you must keep in mind as you design your program:
12417
12418 @itemize @bullet
12419
12420 @item
12421 Before calling or returning to a function in an overlay, your program
12422 must make sure that overlay is actually mapped. Otherwise, the call or
12423 return will transfer control to the right address, but in the wrong
12424 overlay, and your program will probably crash.
12425
12426 @item
12427 If the process of mapping an overlay is expensive on your system, you
12428 will need to choose your overlays carefully to minimize their effect on
12429 your program's performance.
12430
12431 @item
12432 The executable file you load onto your system must contain each
12433 overlay's instructions, appearing at the overlay's load address, not its
12434 mapped address. However, each overlay's instructions must be relocated
12435 and its symbols defined as if the overlay were at its mapped address.
12436 You can use GNU linker scripts to specify different load and relocation
12437 addresses for pieces of your program; see @ref{Overlay Description,,,
12438 ld.info, Using ld: the GNU linker}.
12439
12440 @item
12441 The procedure for loading executable files onto your system must be able
12442 to load their contents into the larger address space as well as the
12443 instruction and data spaces.
12444
12445 @end itemize
12446
12447 The overlay system described above is rather simple, and could be
12448 improved in many ways:
12449
12450 @itemize @bullet
12451
12452 @item
12453 If your system has suitable bank switch registers or memory management
12454 hardware, you could use those facilities to make an overlay's load area
12455 contents simply appear at their mapped address in instruction space.
12456 This would probably be faster than copying the overlay to its mapped
12457 area in the usual way.
12458
12459 @item
12460 If your overlays are small enough, you could set aside more than one
12461 overlay area, and have more than one overlay mapped at a time.
12462
12463 @item
12464 You can use overlays to manage data, as well as instructions. In
12465 general, data overlays are even less transparent to your design than
12466 code overlays: whereas code overlays only require care when you call or
12467 return to functions, data overlays require care every time you access
12468 the data. Also, if you change the contents of a data overlay, you
12469 must copy its contents back out to its load address before you can copy a
12470 different data overlay into the same mapped area.
12471
12472 @end itemize
12473
12474
12475 @node Overlay Commands
12476 @section Overlay Commands
12477
12478 To use @value{GDBN}'s overlay support, each overlay in your program must
12479 correspond to a separate section of the executable file. The section's
12480 virtual memory address and load memory address must be the overlay's
12481 mapped and load addresses. Identifying overlays with sections allows
12482 @value{GDBN} to determine the appropriate address of a function or
12483 variable, depending on whether the overlay is mapped or not.
12484
12485 @value{GDBN}'s overlay commands all start with the word @code{overlay};
12486 you can abbreviate this as @code{ov} or @code{ovly}. The commands are:
12487
12488 @table @code
12489 @item overlay off
12490 @kindex overlay
12491 Disable @value{GDBN}'s overlay support. When overlay support is
12492 disabled, @value{GDBN} assumes that all functions and variables are
12493 always present at their mapped addresses. By default, @value{GDBN}'s
12494 overlay support is disabled.
12495
12496 @item overlay manual
12497 @cindex manual overlay debugging
12498 Enable @dfn{manual} overlay debugging. In this mode, @value{GDBN}
12499 relies on you to tell it which overlays are mapped, and which are not,
12500 using the @code{overlay map-overlay} and @code{overlay unmap-overlay}
12501 commands described below.
12502
12503 @item overlay map-overlay @var{overlay}
12504 @itemx overlay map @var{overlay}
12505 @cindex map an overlay
12506 Tell @value{GDBN} that @var{overlay} is now mapped; @var{overlay} must
12507 be the name of the object file section containing the overlay. When an
12508 overlay is mapped, @value{GDBN} assumes it can find the overlay's
12509 functions and variables at their mapped addresses. @value{GDBN} assumes
12510 that any other overlays whose mapped ranges overlap that of
12511 @var{overlay} are now unmapped.
12512
12513 @item overlay unmap-overlay @var{overlay}
12514 @itemx overlay unmap @var{overlay}
12515 @cindex unmap an overlay
12516 Tell @value{GDBN} that @var{overlay} is no longer mapped; @var{overlay}
12517 must be the name of the object file section containing the overlay.
12518 When an overlay is unmapped, @value{GDBN} assumes it can find the
12519 overlay's functions and variables at their load addresses.
12520
12521 @item overlay auto
12522 Enable @dfn{automatic} overlay debugging. In this mode, @value{GDBN}
12523 consults a data structure the overlay manager maintains in the inferior
12524 to see which overlays are mapped. For details, see @ref{Automatic
12525 Overlay Debugging}.
12526
12527 @item overlay load-target
12528 @itemx overlay load
12529 @cindex reloading the overlay table
12530 Re-read the overlay table from the inferior. Normally, @value{GDBN}
12531 re-reads the table @value{GDBN} automatically each time the inferior
12532 stops, so this command should only be necessary if you have changed the
12533 overlay mapping yourself using @value{GDBN}. This command is only
12534 useful when using automatic overlay debugging.
12535
12536 @item overlay list-overlays
12537 @itemx overlay list
12538 @cindex listing mapped overlays
12539 Display a list of the overlays currently mapped, along with their mapped
12540 addresses, load addresses, and sizes.
12541
12542 @end table
12543
12544 Normally, when @value{GDBN} prints a code address, it includes the name
12545 of the function the address falls in:
12546
12547 @smallexample
12548 (@value{GDBP}) print main
12549 $3 = @{int ()@} 0x11a0 <main>
12550 @end smallexample
12551 @noindent
12552 When overlay debugging is enabled, @value{GDBN} recognizes code in
12553 unmapped overlays, and prints the names of unmapped functions with
12554 asterisks around them. For example, if @code{foo} is a function in an
12555 unmapped overlay, @value{GDBN} prints it this way:
12556
12557 @smallexample
12558 (@value{GDBP}) overlay list
12559 No sections are mapped.
12560 (@value{GDBP}) print foo
12561 $5 = @{int (int)@} 0x100000 <*foo*>
12562 @end smallexample
12563 @noindent
12564 When @code{foo}'s overlay is mapped, @value{GDBN} prints the function's
12565 name normally:
12566
12567 @smallexample
12568 (@value{GDBP}) overlay list
12569 Section .ov.foo.text, loaded at 0x100000 - 0x100034,
12570 mapped at 0x1016 - 0x104a
12571 (@value{GDBP}) print foo
12572 $6 = @{int (int)@} 0x1016 <foo>
12573 @end smallexample
12574
12575 When overlay debugging is enabled, @value{GDBN} can find the correct
12576 address for functions and variables in an overlay, whether or not the
12577 overlay is mapped. This allows most @value{GDBN} commands, like
12578 @code{break} and @code{disassemble}, to work normally, even on unmapped
12579 code. However, @value{GDBN}'s breakpoint support has some limitations:
12580
12581 @itemize @bullet
12582 @item
12583 @cindex breakpoints in overlays
12584 @cindex overlays, setting breakpoints in
12585 You can set breakpoints in functions in unmapped overlays, as long as
12586 @value{GDBN} can write to the overlay at its load address.
12587 @item
12588 @value{GDBN} can not set hardware or simulator-based breakpoints in
12589 unmapped overlays. However, if you set a breakpoint at the end of your
12590 overlay manager (and tell @value{GDBN} which overlays are now mapped, if
12591 you are using manual overlay management), @value{GDBN} will re-set its
12592 breakpoints properly.
12593 @end itemize
12594
12595
12596 @node Automatic Overlay Debugging
12597 @section Automatic Overlay Debugging
12598 @cindex automatic overlay debugging
12599
12600 @value{GDBN} can automatically track which overlays are mapped and which
12601 are not, given some simple co-operation from the overlay manager in the
12602 inferior. If you enable automatic overlay debugging with the
12603 @code{overlay auto} command (@pxref{Overlay Commands}), @value{GDBN}
12604 looks in the inferior's memory for certain variables describing the
12605 current state of the overlays.
12606
12607 Here are the variables your overlay manager must define to support
12608 @value{GDBN}'s automatic overlay debugging:
12609
12610 @table @asis
12611
12612 @item @code{_ovly_table}:
12613 This variable must be an array of the following structures:
12614
12615 @smallexample
12616 struct
12617 @{
12618 /* The overlay's mapped address. */
12619 unsigned long vma;
12620
12621 /* The size of the overlay, in bytes. */
12622 unsigned long size;
12623
12624 /* The overlay's load address. */
12625 unsigned long lma;
12626
12627 /* Non-zero if the overlay is currently mapped;
12628 zero otherwise. */
12629 unsigned long mapped;
12630 @}
12631 @end smallexample
12632
12633 @item @code{_novlys}:
12634 This variable must be a four-byte signed integer, holding the total
12635 number of elements in @code{_ovly_table}.
12636
12637 @end table
12638
12639 To decide whether a particular overlay is mapped or not, @value{GDBN}
12640 looks for an entry in @w{@code{_ovly_table}} whose @code{vma} and
12641 @code{lma} members equal the VMA and LMA of the overlay's section in the
12642 executable file. When @value{GDBN} finds a matching entry, it consults
12643 the entry's @code{mapped} member to determine whether the overlay is
12644 currently mapped.
12645
12646 In addition, your overlay manager may define a function called
12647 @code{_ovly_debug_event}. If this function is defined, @value{GDBN}
12648 will silently set a breakpoint there. If the overlay manager then
12649 calls this function whenever it has changed the overlay table, this
12650 will enable @value{GDBN} to accurately keep track of which overlays
12651 are in program memory, and update any breakpoints that may be set
12652 in overlays. This will allow breakpoints to work even if the
12653 overlays are kept in ROM or other non-writable memory while they
12654 are not being executed.
12655
12656 @node Overlay Sample Program
12657 @section Overlay Sample Program
12658 @cindex overlay example program
12659
12660 When linking a program which uses overlays, you must place the overlays
12661 at their load addresses, while relocating them to run at their mapped
12662 addresses. To do this, you must write a linker script (@pxref{Overlay
12663 Description,,, ld.info, Using ld: the GNU linker}). Unfortunately,
12664 since linker scripts are specific to a particular host system, target
12665 architecture, and target memory layout, this manual cannot provide
12666 portable sample code demonstrating @value{GDBN}'s overlay support.
12667
12668 However, the @value{GDBN} source distribution does contain an overlaid
12669 program, with linker scripts for a few systems, as part of its test
12670 suite. The program consists of the following files from
12671 @file{gdb/testsuite/gdb.base}:
12672
12673 @table @file
12674 @item overlays.c
12675 The main program file.
12676 @item ovlymgr.c
12677 A simple overlay manager, used by @file{overlays.c}.
12678 @item foo.c
12679 @itemx bar.c
12680 @itemx baz.c
12681 @itemx grbx.c
12682 Overlay modules, loaded and used by @file{overlays.c}.
12683 @item d10v.ld
12684 @itemx m32r.ld
12685 Linker scripts for linking the test program on the @code{d10v-elf}
12686 and @code{m32r-elf} targets.
12687 @end table
12688
12689 You can build the test program using the @code{d10v-elf} GCC
12690 cross-compiler like this:
12691
12692 @smallexample
12693 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c overlays.c
12694 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c ovlymgr.c
12695 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c foo.c
12696 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c bar.c
12697 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c baz.c
12698 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g -c grbx.c
12699 $ d10v-elf-gcc -g overlays.o ovlymgr.o foo.o bar.o \
12700 baz.o grbx.o -Wl,-Td10v.ld -o overlays
12701 @end smallexample
12702
12703 The build process is identical for any other architecture, except that
12704 you must substitute the appropriate compiler and linker script for the
12705 target system for @code{d10v-elf-gcc} and @code{d10v.ld}.
12706
12707
12708 @node Languages
12709 @chapter Using @value{GDBN} with Different Languages
12710 @cindex languages
12711
12712 Although programming languages generally have common aspects, they are
12713 rarely expressed in the same manner. For instance, in ANSI C,
12714 dereferencing a pointer @code{p} is accomplished by @code{*p}, but in
12715 Modula-2, it is accomplished by @code{p^}. Values can also be
12716 represented (and displayed) differently. Hex numbers in C appear as
12717 @samp{0x1ae}, while in Modula-2 they appear as @samp{1AEH}.
12718
12719 @cindex working language
12720 Language-specific information is built into @value{GDBN} for some languages,
12721 allowing you to express operations like the above in your program's
12722 native language, and allowing @value{GDBN} to output values in a manner
12723 consistent with the syntax of your program's native language. The
12724 language you use to build expressions is called the @dfn{working
12725 language}.
12726
12727 @menu
12728 * Setting:: Switching between source languages
12729 * Show:: Displaying the language
12730 * Checks:: Type and range checks
12731 * Supported Languages:: Supported languages
12732 * Unsupported Languages:: Unsupported languages
12733 @end menu
12734
12735 @node Setting
12736 @section Switching Between Source Languages
12737
12738 There are two ways to control the working language---either have @value{GDBN}
12739 set it automatically, or select it manually yourself. You can use the
12740 @code{set language} command for either purpose. On startup, @value{GDBN}
12741 defaults to setting the language automatically. The working language is
12742 used to determine how expressions you type are interpreted, how values
12743 are printed, etc.
12744
12745 In addition to the working language, every source file that
12746 @value{GDBN} knows about has its own working language. For some object
12747 file formats, the compiler might indicate which language a particular
12748 source file is in. However, most of the time @value{GDBN} infers the
12749 language from the name of the file. The language of a source file
12750 controls whether C@t{++} names are demangled---this way @code{backtrace} can
12751 show each frame appropriately for its own language. There is no way to
12752 set the language of a source file from within @value{GDBN}, but you can
12753 set the language associated with a filename extension. @xref{Show, ,
12754 Displaying the Language}.
12755
12756 This is most commonly a problem when you use a program, such
12757 as @code{cfront} or @code{f2c}, that generates C but is written in
12758 another language. In that case, make the
12759 program use @code{#line} directives in its C output; that way
12760 @value{GDBN} will know the correct language of the source code of the original
12761 program, and will display that source code, not the generated C code.
12762
12763 @menu
12764 * Filenames:: Filename extensions and languages.
12765 * Manually:: Setting the working language manually
12766 * Automatically:: Having @value{GDBN} infer the source language
12767 @end menu
12768
12769 @node Filenames
12770 @subsection List of Filename Extensions and Languages
12771
12772 If a source file name ends in one of the following extensions, then
12773 @value{GDBN} infers that its language is the one indicated.
12774
12775 @table @file
12776 @item .ada
12777 @itemx .ads
12778 @itemx .adb
12779 @itemx .a
12780 Ada source file.
12781
12782 @item .c
12783 C source file
12784
12785 @item .C
12786 @itemx .cc
12787 @itemx .cp
12788 @itemx .cpp
12789 @itemx .cxx
12790 @itemx .c++
12791 C@t{++} source file
12792
12793 @item .d
12794 D source file
12795
12796 @item .m
12797 Objective-C source file
12798
12799 @item .f
12800 @itemx .F
12801 Fortran source file
12802
12803 @item .mod
12804 Modula-2 source file
12805
12806 @item .s
12807 @itemx .S
12808 Assembler source file. This actually behaves almost like C, but
12809 @value{GDBN} does not skip over function prologues when stepping.
12810 @end table
12811
12812 In addition, you may set the language associated with a filename
12813 extension. @xref{Show, , Displaying the Language}.
12814
12815 @node Manually
12816 @subsection Setting the Working Language
12817
12818 If you allow @value{GDBN} to set the language automatically,
12819 expressions are interpreted the same way in your debugging session and
12820 your program.
12821
12822 @kindex set language
12823 If you wish, you may set the language manually. To do this, issue the
12824 command @samp{set language @var{lang}}, where @var{lang} is the name of
12825 a language, such as
12826 @code{c} or @code{modula-2}.
12827 For a list of the supported languages, type @samp{set language}.
12828
12829 Setting the language manually prevents @value{GDBN} from updating the working
12830 language automatically. This can lead to confusion if you try
12831 to debug a program when the working language is not the same as the
12832 source language, when an expression is acceptable to both
12833 languages---but means different things. For instance, if the current
12834 source file were written in C, and @value{GDBN} was parsing Modula-2, a
12835 command such as:
12836
12837 @smallexample
12838 print a = b + c
12839 @end smallexample
12840
12841 @noindent
12842 might not have the effect you intended. In C, this means to add
12843 @code{b} and @code{c} and place the result in @code{a}. The result
12844 printed would be the value of @code{a}. In Modula-2, this means to compare
12845 @code{a} to the result of @code{b+c}, yielding a @code{BOOLEAN} value.
12846
12847 @node Automatically
12848 @subsection Having @value{GDBN} Infer the Source Language
12849
12850 To have @value{GDBN} set the working language automatically, use
12851 @samp{set language local} or @samp{set language auto}. @value{GDBN}
12852 then infers the working language. That is, when your program stops in a
12853 frame (usually by encountering a breakpoint), @value{GDBN} sets the
12854 working language to the language recorded for the function in that
12855 frame. If the language for a frame is unknown (that is, if the function
12856 or block corresponding to the frame was defined in a source file that
12857 does not have a recognized extension), the current working language is
12858 not changed, and @value{GDBN} issues a warning.
12859
12860 This may not seem necessary for most programs, which are written
12861 entirely in one source language. However, program modules and libraries
12862 written in one source language can be used by a main program written in
12863 a different source language. Using @samp{set language auto} in this
12864 case frees you from having to set the working language manually.
12865
12866 @node Show
12867 @section Displaying the Language
12868
12869 The following commands help you find out which language is the
12870 working language, and also what language source files were written in.
12871
12872 @table @code
12873 @item show language
12874 @kindex show language
12875 Display the current working language. This is the
12876 language you can use with commands such as @code{print} to
12877 build and compute expressions that may involve variables in your program.
12878
12879 @item info frame
12880 @kindex info frame@r{, show the source language}
12881 Display the source language for this frame. This language becomes the
12882 working language if you use an identifier from this frame.
12883 @xref{Frame Info, ,Information about a Frame}, to identify the other
12884 information listed here.
12885
12886 @item info source
12887 @kindex info source@r{, show the source language}
12888 Display the source language of this source file.
12889 @xref{Symbols, ,Examining the Symbol Table}, to identify the other
12890 information listed here.
12891 @end table
12892
12893 In unusual circumstances, you may have source files with extensions
12894 not in the standard list. You can then set the extension associated
12895 with a language explicitly:
12896
12897 @table @code
12898 @item set extension-language @var{ext} @var{language}
12899 @kindex set extension-language
12900 Tell @value{GDBN} that source files with extension @var{ext} are to be
12901 assumed as written in the source language @var{language}.
12902
12903 @item info extensions
12904 @kindex info extensions
12905 List all the filename extensions and the associated languages.
12906 @end table
12907
12908 @node Checks
12909 @section Type and Range Checking
12910
12911 Some languages are designed to guard you against making seemingly common
12912 errors through a series of compile- and run-time checks. These include
12913 checking the type of arguments to functions and operators and making
12914 sure mathematical overflows are caught at run time. Checks such as
12915 these help to ensure a program's correctness once it has been compiled
12916 by eliminating type mismatches and providing active checks for range
12917 errors when your program is running.
12918
12919 By default @value{GDBN} checks for these errors according to the
12920 rules of the current source language. Although @value{GDBN} does not check
12921 the statements in your program, it can check expressions entered directly
12922 into @value{GDBN} for evaluation via the @code{print} command, for example.
12923
12924 @menu
12925 * Type Checking:: An overview of type checking
12926 * Range Checking:: An overview of range checking
12927 @end menu
12928
12929 @cindex type checking
12930 @cindex checks, type
12931 @node Type Checking
12932 @subsection An Overview of Type Checking
12933
12934 Some languages, such as C and C@t{++}, are strongly typed, meaning that the
12935 arguments to operators and functions have to be of the correct type,
12936 otherwise an error occurs. These checks prevent type mismatch
12937 errors from ever causing any run-time problems. For example,
12938
12939 @smallexample
12940 int klass::my_method(char *b) @{ return b ? 1 : 2; @}
12941
12942 (@value{GDBP}) print obj.my_method (0)
12943 $1 = 2
12944 @exdent but
12945 (@value{GDBP}) print obj.my_method (0x1234)
12946 Cannot resolve method klass::my_method to any overloaded instance
12947 @end smallexample
12948
12949 The second example fails because in C@t{++} the integer constant
12950 @samp{0x1234} is not type-compatible with the pointer parameter type.
12951
12952 For the expressions you use in @value{GDBN} commands, you can tell
12953 @value{GDBN} to not enforce strict type checking or
12954 to treat any mismatches as errors and abandon the expression;
12955 When type checking is disabled, @value{GDBN} successfully evaluates
12956 expressions like the second example above.
12957
12958 Even if type checking is off, there may be other reasons
12959 related to type that prevent @value{GDBN} from evaluating an expression.
12960 For instance, @value{GDBN} does not know how to add an @code{int} and
12961 a @code{struct foo}. These particular type errors have nothing to do
12962 with the language in use and usually arise from expressions which make
12963 little sense to evaluate anyway.
12964
12965 @value{GDBN} provides some additional commands for controlling type checking:
12966
12967 @kindex set check type
12968 @kindex show check type
12969 @table @code
12970 @item set check type on
12971 @itemx set check type off
12972 Set strict type checking on or off. If any type mismatches occur in
12973 evaluating an expression while type checking is on, @value{GDBN} prints a
12974 message and aborts evaluation of the expression.
12975
12976 @item show check type
12977 Show the current setting of type checking and whether @value{GDBN}
12978 is enforcing strict type checking rules.
12979 @end table
12980
12981 @cindex range checking
12982 @cindex checks, range
12983 @node Range Checking
12984 @subsection An Overview of Range Checking
12985
12986 In some languages (such as Modula-2), it is an error to exceed the
12987 bounds of a type; this is enforced with run-time checks. Such range
12988 checking is meant to ensure program correctness by making sure
12989 computations do not overflow, or indices on an array element access do
12990 not exceed the bounds of the array.
12991
12992 For expressions you use in @value{GDBN} commands, you can tell
12993 @value{GDBN} to treat range errors in one of three ways: ignore them,
12994 always treat them as errors and abandon the expression, or issue
12995 warnings but evaluate the expression anyway.
12996
12997 A range error can result from numerical overflow, from exceeding an
12998 array index bound, or when you type a constant that is not a member
12999 of any type. Some languages, however, do not treat overflows as an
13000 error. In many implementations of C, mathematical overflow causes the
13001 result to ``wrap around'' to lower values---for example, if @var{m} is
13002 the largest integer value, and @var{s} is the smallest, then
13003
13004 @smallexample
13005 @var{m} + 1 @result{} @var{s}
13006 @end smallexample
13007
13008 This, too, is specific to individual languages, and in some cases
13009 specific to individual compilers or machines. @xref{Supported Languages, ,
13010 Supported Languages}, for further details on specific languages.
13011
13012 @value{GDBN} provides some additional commands for controlling the range checker:
13013
13014 @kindex set check range
13015 @kindex show check range
13016 @table @code
13017 @item set check range auto
13018 Set range checking on or off based on the current working language.
13019 @xref{Supported Languages, ,Supported Languages}, for the default settings for
13020 each language.
13021
13022 @item set check range on
13023 @itemx set check range off
13024 Set range checking on or off, overriding the default setting for the
13025 current working language. A warning is issued if the setting does not
13026 match the language default. If a range error occurs and range checking is on,
13027 then a message is printed and evaluation of the expression is aborted.
13028
13029 @item set check range warn
13030 Output messages when the @value{GDBN} range checker detects a range error,
13031 but attempt to evaluate the expression anyway. Evaluating the
13032 expression may still be impossible for other reasons, such as accessing
13033 memory that the process does not own (a typical example from many Unix
13034 systems).
13035
13036 @item show range
13037 Show the current setting of the range checker, and whether or not it is
13038 being set automatically by @value{GDBN}.
13039 @end table
13040
13041 @node Supported Languages
13042 @section Supported Languages
13043
13044 @value{GDBN} supports C, C@t{++}, D, Go, Objective-C, Fortran, Java,
13045 OpenCL C, Pascal, assembly, Modula-2, and Ada.
13046 @c This is false ...
13047 Some @value{GDBN} features may be used in expressions regardless of the
13048 language you use: the @value{GDBN} @code{@@} and @code{::} operators,
13049 and the @samp{@{type@}addr} construct (@pxref{Expressions,
13050 ,Expressions}) can be used with the constructs of any supported
13051 language.
13052
13053 The following sections detail to what degree each source language is
13054 supported by @value{GDBN}. These sections are not meant to be language
13055 tutorials or references, but serve only as a reference guide to what the
13056 @value{GDBN} expression parser accepts, and what input and output
13057 formats should look like for different languages. There are many good
13058 books written on each of these languages; please look to these for a
13059 language reference or tutorial.
13060
13061 @menu
13062 * C:: C and C@t{++}
13063 * D:: D
13064 * Go:: Go
13065 * Objective-C:: Objective-C
13066 * OpenCL C:: OpenCL C
13067 * Fortran:: Fortran
13068 * Pascal:: Pascal
13069 * Modula-2:: Modula-2
13070 * Ada:: Ada
13071 @end menu
13072
13073 @node C
13074 @subsection C and C@t{++}
13075
13076 @cindex C and C@t{++}
13077 @cindex expressions in C or C@t{++}
13078
13079 Since C and C@t{++} are so closely related, many features of @value{GDBN} apply
13080 to both languages. Whenever this is the case, we discuss those languages
13081 together.
13082
13083 @cindex C@t{++}
13084 @cindex @code{g++}, @sc{gnu} C@t{++} compiler
13085 @cindex @sc{gnu} C@t{++}
13086 The C@t{++} debugging facilities are jointly implemented by the C@t{++}
13087 compiler and @value{GDBN}. Therefore, to debug your C@t{++} code
13088 effectively, you must compile your C@t{++} programs with a supported
13089 C@t{++} compiler, such as @sc{gnu} @code{g++}, or the HP ANSI C@t{++}
13090 compiler (@code{aCC}).
13091
13092 @menu
13093 * C Operators:: C and C@t{++} operators
13094 * C Constants:: C and C@t{++} constants
13095 * C Plus Plus Expressions:: C@t{++} expressions
13096 * C Defaults:: Default settings for C and C@t{++}
13097 * C Checks:: C and C@t{++} type and range checks
13098 * Debugging C:: @value{GDBN} and C
13099 * Debugging C Plus Plus:: @value{GDBN} features for C@t{++}
13100 * Decimal Floating Point:: Numbers in Decimal Floating Point format
13101 @end menu
13102
13103 @node C Operators
13104 @subsubsection C and C@t{++} Operators
13105
13106 @cindex C and C@t{++} operators
13107
13108 Operators must be defined on values of specific types. For instance,
13109 @code{+} is defined on numbers, but not on structures. Operators are
13110 often defined on groups of types.
13111
13112 For the purposes of C and C@t{++}, the following definitions hold:
13113
13114 @itemize @bullet
13115
13116 @item
13117 @emph{Integral types} include @code{int} with any of its storage-class
13118 specifiers; @code{char}; @code{enum}; and, for C@t{++}, @code{bool}.
13119
13120 @item
13121 @emph{Floating-point types} include @code{float}, @code{double}, and
13122 @code{long double} (if supported by the target platform).
13123
13124 @item
13125 @emph{Pointer types} include all types defined as @code{(@var{type} *)}.
13126
13127 @item
13128 @emph{Scalar types} include all of the above.
13129
13130 @end itemize
13131
13132 @noindent
13133 The following operators are supported. They are listed here
13134 in order of increasing precedence:
13135
13136 @table @code
13137 @item ,
13138 The comma or sequencing operator. Expressions in a comma-separated list
13139 are evaluated from left to right, with the result of the entire
13140 expression being the last expression evaluated.
13141
13142 @item =
13143 Assignment. The value of an assignment expression is the value
13144 assigned. Defined on scalar types.
13145
13146 @item @var{op}=
13147 Used in an expression of the form @w{@code{@var{a} @var{op}= @var{b}}},
13148 and translated to @w{@code{@var{a} = @var{a op b}}}.
13149 @w{@code{@var{op}=}} and @code{=} have the same precedence.
13150 @var{op} is any one of the operators @code{|}, @code{^}, @code{&},
13151 @code{<<}, @code{>>}, @code{+}, @code{-}, @code{*}, @code{/}, @code{%}.
13152
13153 @item ?:
13154 The ternary operator. @code{@var{a} ? @var{b} : @var{c}} can be thought
13155 of as: if @var{a} then @var{b} else @var{c}. @var{a} should be of an
13156 integral type.
13157
13158 @item ||
13159 Logical @sc{or}. Defined on integral types.
13160
13161 @item &&
13162 Logical @sc{and}. Defined on integral types.
13163
13164 @item |
13165 Bitwise @sc{or}. Defined on integral types.
13166
13167 @item ^
13168 Bitwise exclusive-@sc{or}. Defined on integral types.
13169
13170 @item &
13171 Bitwise @sc{and}. Defined on integral types.
13172
13173 @item ==@r{, }!=
13174 Equality and inequality. Defined on scalar types. The value of these
13175 expressions is 0 for false and non-zero for true.
13176
13177 @item <@r{, }>@r{, }<=@r{, }>=
13178 Less than, greater than, less than or equal, greater than or equal.
13179 Defined on scalar types. The value of these expressions is 0 for false
13180 and non-zero for true.
13181
13182 @item <<@r{, }>>
13183 left shift, and right shift. Defined on integral types.
13184
13185 @item @@
13186 The @value{GDBN} ``artificial array'' operator (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}).
13187
13188 @item +@r{, }-
13189 Addition and subtraction. Defined on integral types, floating-point types and
13190 pointer types.
13191
13192 @item *@r{, }/@r{, }%
13193 Multiplication, division, and modulus. Multiplication and division are
13194 defined on integral and floating-point types. Modulus is defined on
13195 integral types.
13196
13197 @item ++@r{, }--
13198 Increment and decrement. When appearing before a variable, the
13199 operation is performed before the variable is used in an expression;
13200 when appearing after it, the variable's value is used before the
13201 operation takes place.
13202
13203 @item *
13204 Pointer dereferencing. Defined on pointer types. Same precedence as
13205 @code{++}.
13206
13207 @item &
13208 Address operator. Defined on variables. Same precedence as @code{++}.
13209
13210 For debugging C@t{++}, @value{GDBN} implements a use of @samp{&} beyond what is
13211 allowed in the C@t{++} language itself: you can use @samp{&(&@var{ref})}
13212 to examine the address
13213 where a C@t{++} reference variable (declared with @samp{&@var{ref}}) is
13214 stored.
13215
13216 @item -
13217 Negative. Defined on integral and floating-point types. Same
13218 precedence as @code{++}.
13219
13220 @item !
13221 Logical negation. Defined on integral types. Same precedence as
13222 @code{++}.
13223
13224 @item ~
13225 Bitwise complement operator. Defined on integral types. Same precedence as
13226 @code{++}.
13227
13228
13229 @item .@r{, }->
13230 Structure member, and pointer-to-structure member. For convenience,
13231 @value{GDBN} regards the two as equivalent, choosing whether to dereference a
13232 pointer based on the stored type information.
13233 Defined on @code{struct} and @code{union} data.
13234
13235 @item .*@r{, }->*
13236 Dereferences of pointers to members.
13237
13238 @item []
13239 Array indexing. @code{@var{a}[@var{i}]} is defined as
13240 @code{*(@var{a}+@var{i})}. Same precedence as @code{->}.
13241
13242 @item ()
13243 Function parameter list. Same precedence as @code{->}.
13244
13245 @item ::
13246 C@t{++} scope resolution operator. Defined on @code{struct}, @code{union},
13247 and @code{class} types.
13248
13249 @item ::
13250 Doubled colons also represent the @value{GDBN} scope operator
13251 (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}). Same precedence as @code{::},
13252 above.
13253 @end table
13254
13255 If an operator is redefined in the user code, @value{GDBN} usually
13256 attempts to invoke the redefined version instead of using the operator's
13257 predefined meaning.
13258
13259 @node C Constants
13260 @subsubsection C and C@t{++} Constants
13261
13262 @cindex C and C@t{++} constants
13263
13264 @value{GDBN} allows you to express the constants of C and C@t{++} in the
13265 following ways:
13266
13267 @itemize @bullet
13268 @item
13269 Integer constants are a sequence of digits. Octal constants are
13270 specified by a leading @samp{0} (i.e.@: zero), and hexadecimal constants
13271 by a leading @samp{0x} or @samp{0X}. Constants may also end with a letter
13272 @samp{l}, specifying that the constant should be treated as a
13273 @code{long} value.
13274
13275 @item
13276 Floating point constants are a sequence of digits, followed by a decimal
13277 point, followed by a sequence of digits, and optionally followed by an
13278 exponent. An exponent is of the form:
13279 @samp{@w{e@r{[[}+@r{]|}-@r{]}@var{nnn}}}, where @var{nnn} is another
13280 sequence of digits. The @samp{+} is optional for positive exponents.
13281 A floating-point constant may also end with a letter @samp{f} or
13282 @samp{F}, specifying that the constant should be treated as being of
13283 the @code{float} (as opposed to the default @code{double}) type; or with
13284 a letter @samp{l} or @samp{L}, which specifies a @code{long double}
13285 constant.
13286
13287 @item
13288 Enumerated constants consist of enumerated identifiers, or their
13289 integral equivalents.
13290
13291 @item
13292 Character constants are a single character surrounded by single quotes
13293 (@code{'}), or a number---the ordinal value of the corresponding character
13294 (usually its @sc{ascii} value). Within quotes, the single character may
13295 be represented by a letter or by @dfn{escape sequences}, which are of
13296 the form @samp{\@var{nnn}}, where @var{nnn} is the octal representation
13297 of the character's ordinal value; or of the form @samp{\@var{x}}, where
13298 @samp{@var{x}} is a predefined special character---for example,
13299 @samp{\n} for newline.
13300
13301 Wide character constants can be written by prefixing a character
13302 constant with @samp{L}, as in C. For example, @samp{L'x'} is the wide
13303 form of @samp{x}. The target wide character set is used when
13304 computing the value of this constant (@pxref{Character Sets}).
13305
13306 @item
13307 String constants are a sequence of character constants surrounded by
13308 double quotes (@code{"}). Any valid character constant (as described
13309 above) may appear. Double quotes within the string must be preceded by
13310 a backslash, so for instance @samp{"a\"b'c"} is a string of five
13311 characters.
13312
13313 Wide string constants can be written by prefixing a string constant
13314 with @samp{L}, as in C. The target wide character set is used when
13315 computing the value of this constant (@pxref{Character Sets}).
13316
13317 @item
13318 Pointer constants are an integral value. You can also write pointers
13319 to constants using the C operator @samp{&}.
13320
13321 @item
13322 Array constants are comma-separated lists surrounded by braces @samp{@{}
13323 and @samp{@}}; for example, @samp{@{1,2,3@}} is a three-element array of
13324 integers, @samp{@{@{1,2@}, @{3,4@}, @{5,6@}@}} is a three-by-two array,
13325 and @samp{@{&"hi", &"there", &"fred"@}} is a three-element array of pointers.
13326 @end itemize
13327
13328 @node C Plus Plus Expressions
13329 @subsubsection C@t{++} Expressions
13330
13331 @cindex expressions in C@t{++}
13332 @value{GDBN} expression handling can interpret most C@t{++} expressions.
13333
13334 @cindex debugging C@t{++} programs
13335 @cindex C@t{++} compilers
13336 @cindex debug formats and C@t{++}
13337 @cindex @value{NGCC} and C@t{++}
13338 @quotation
13339 @emph{Warning:} @value{GDBN} can only debug C@t{++} code if you use
13340 the proper compiler and the proper debug format. Currently,
13341 @value{GDBN} works best when debugging C@t{++} code that is compiled
13342 with the most recent version of @value{NGCC} possible. The DWARF
13343 debugging format is preferred; @value{NGCC} defaults to this on most
13344 popular platforms. Other compilers and/or debug formats are likely to
13345 work badly or not at all when using @value{GDBN} to debug C@t{++}
13346 code. @xref{Compilation}.
13347 @end quotation
13348
13349 @enumerate
13350
13351 @cindex member functions
13352 @item
13353 Member function calls are allowed; you can use expressions like
13354
13355 @smallexample
13356 count = aml->GetOriginal(x, y)
13357 @end smallexample
13358
13359 @vindex this@r{, inside C@t{++} member functions}
13360 @cindex namespace in C@t{++}
13361 @item
13362 While a member function is active (in the selected stack frame), your
13363 expressions have the same namespace available as the member function;
13364 that is, @value{GDBN} allows implicit references to the class instance
13365 pointer @code{this} following the same rules as C@t{++}. @code{using}
13366 declarations in the current scope are also respected by @value{GDBN}.
13367
13368 @cindex call overloaded functions
13369 @cindex overloaded functions, calling
13370 @cindex type conversions in C@t{++}
13371 @item
13372 You can call overloaded functions; @value{GDBN} resolves the function
13373 call to the right definition, with some restrictions. @value{GDBN} does not
13374 perform overload resolution involving user-defined type conversions,
13375 calls to constructors, or instantiations of templates that do not exist
13376 in the program. It also cannot handle ellipsis argument lists or
13377 default arguments.
13378
13379 It does perform integral conversions and promotions, floating-point
13380 promotions, arithmetic conversions, pointer conversions, conversions of
13381 class objects to base classes, and standard conversions such as those of
13382 functions or arrays to pointers; it requires an exact match on the
13383 number of function arguments.
13384
13385 Overload resolution is always performed, unless you have specified
13386 @code{set overload-resolution off}. @xref{Debugging C Plus Plus,
13387 ,@value{GDBN} Features for C@t{++}}.
13388
13389 You must specify @code{set overload-resolution off} in order to use an
13390 explicit function signature to call an overloaded function, as in
13391 @smallexample
13392 p 'foo(char,int)'('x', 13)
13393 @end smallexample
13394
13395 The @value{GDBN} command-completion facility can simplify this;
13396 see @ref{Completion, ,Command Completion}.
13397
13398 @cindex reference declarations
13399 @item
13400 @value{GDBN} understands variables declared as C@t{++} references; you can use
13401 them in expressions just as you do in C@t{++} source---they are automatically
13402 dereferenced.
13403
13404 In the parameter list shown when @value{GDBN} displays a frame, the values of
13405 reference variables are not displayed (unlike other variables); this
13406 avoids clutter, since references are often used for large structures.
13407 The @emph{address} of a reference variable is always shown, unless
13408 you have specified @samp{set print address off}.
13409
13410 @item
13411 @value{GDBN} supports the C@t{++} name resolution operator @code{::}---your
13412 expressions can use it just as expressions in your program do. Since
13413 one scope may be defined in another, you can use @code{::} repeatedly if
13414 necessary, for example in an expression like
13415 @samp{@var{scope1}::@var{scope2}::@var{name}}. @value{GDBN} also allows
13416 resolving name scope by reference to source files, in both C and C@t{++}
13417 debugging (@pxref{Variables, ,Program Variables}).
13418
13419 @item
13420 @value{GDBN} performs argument-dependent lookup, following the C@t{++}
13421 specification.
13422 @end enumerate
13423
13424 @node C Defaults
13425 @subsubsection C and C@t{++} Defaults
13426
13427 @cindex C and C@t{++} defaults
13428
13429 If you allow @value{GDBN} to set range checking automatically, it
13430 defaults to @code{off} whenever the working language changes to
13431 C or C@t{++}. This happens regardless of whether you or @value{GDBN}
13432 selects the working language.
13433
13434 If you allow @value{GDBN} to set the language automatically, it
13435 recognizes source files whose names end with @file{.c}, @file{.C}, or
13436 @file{.cc}, etc, and when @value{GDBN} enters code compiled from one of
13437 these files, it sets the working language to C or C@t{++}.
13438 @xref{Automatically, ,Having @value{GDBN} Infer the Source Language},
13439 for further details.
13440
13441 @node C Checks
13442 @subsubsection C and C@t{++} Type and Range Checks
13443
13444 @cindex C and C@t{++} checks
13445
13446 By default, when @value{GDBN} parses C or C@t{++} expressions, strict type
13447 checking is used. However, if you turn type checking off, @value{GDBN}
13448 will allow certain non-standard conversions, such as promoting integer
13449 constants to pointers.
13450
13451 Range checking, if turned on, is done on mathematical operations. Array
13452 indices are not checked, since they are often used to index a pointer
13453 that is not itself an array.
13454
13455 @node Debugging C
13456 @subsubsection @value{GDBN} and C
13457
13458 The @code{set print union} and @code{show print union} commands apply to
13459 the @code{union} type. When set to @samp{on}, any @code{union} that is
13460 inside a @code{struct} or @code{class} is also printed. Otherwise, it
13461 appears as @samp{@{...@}}.
13462
13463 The @code{@@} operator aids in the debugging of dynamic arrays, formed
13464 with pointers and a memory allocation function. @xref{Expressions,
13465 ,Expressions}.
13466
13467 @node Debugging C Plus Plus
13468 @subsubsection @value{GDBN} Features for C@t{++}
13469
13470 @cindex commands for C@t{++}
13471
13472 Some @value{GDBN} commands are particularly useful with C@t{++}, and some are
13473 designed specifically for use with C@t{++}. Here is a summary:
13474
13475 @table @code
13476 @cindex break in overloaded functions
13477 @item @r{breakpoint menus}
13478 When you want a breakpoint in a function whose name is overloaded,
13479 @value{GDBN} has the capability to display a menu of possible breakpoint
13480 locations to help you specify which function definition you want.
13481 @xref{Ambiguous Expressions,,Ambiguous Expressions}.
13482
13483 @cindex overloading in C@t{++}
13484 @item rbreak @var{regex}
13485 Setting breakpoints using regular expressions is helpful for setting
13486 breakpoints on overloaded functions that are not members of any special
13487 classes.
13488 @xref{Set Breaks, ,Setting Breakpoints}.
13489
13490 @cindex C@t{++} exception handling
13491 @item catch throw
13492 @itemx catch catch
13493 Debug C@t{++} exception handling using these commands. @xref{Set
13494 Catchpoints, , Setting Catchpoints}.
13495
13496 @cindex inheritance
13497 @item ptype @var{typename}
13498 Print inheritance relationships as well as other information for type
13499 @var{typename}.
13500 @xref{Symbols, ,Examining the Symbol Table}.
13501
13502 @item info vtbl @var{expression}.
13503 The @code{info vtbl} command can be used to display the virtual
13504 method tables of the object computed by @var{expression}. This shows
13505 one entry per virtual table; there may be multiple virtual tables when
13506 multiple inheritance is in use.
13507
13508 @cindex C@t{++} symbol display
13509 @item set print demangle
13510 @itemx show print demangle
13511 @itemx set print asm-demangle
13512 @itemx show print asm-demangle
13513 Control whether C@t{++} symbols display in their source form, both when
13514 displaying code as C@t{++} source and when displaying disassemblies.
13515 @xref{Print Settings, ,Print Settings}.
13516
13517 @item set print object
13518 @itemx show print object
13519 Choose whether to print derived (actual) or declared types of objects.
13520 @xref{Print Settings, ,Print Settings}.
13521
13522 @item set print vtbl
13523 @itemx show print vtbl
13524 Control the format for printing virtual function tables.
13525 @xref{Print Settings, ,Print Settings}.
13526 (The @code{vtbl} commands do not work on programs compiled with the HP
13527 ANSI C@t{++} compiler (@code{aCC}).)
13528
13529 @kindex set overload-resolution
13530 @cindex overloaded functions, overload resolution
13531 @item set overload-resolution on
13532 Enable overload resolution for C@t{++} expression evaluation. The default
13533 is on. For overloaded functions, @value{GDBN} evaluates the arguments
13534 and searches for a function whose signature matches the argument types,
13535 using the standard C@t{++} conversion rules (see @ref{C Plus Plus
13536 Expressions, ,C@t{++} Expressions}, for details).
13537 If it cannot find a match, it emits a message.
13538
13539 @item set overload-resolution off
13540 Disable overload resolution for C@t{++} expression evaluation. For
13541 overloaded functions that are not class member functions, @value{GDBN}
13542 chooses the first function of the specified name that it finds in the
13543 symbol table, whether or not its arguments are of the correct type. For
13544 overloaded functions that are class member functions, @value{GDBN}
13545 searches for a function whose signature @emph{exactly} matches the
13546 argument types.
13547
13548 @kindex show overload-resolution
13549 @item show overload-resolution
13550 Show the current setting of overload resolution.
13551
13552 @item @r{Overloaded symbol names}
13553 You can specify a particular definition of an overloaded symbol, using
13554 the same notation that is used to declare such symbols in C@t{++}: type
13555 @code{@var{symbol}(@var{types})} rather than just @var{symbol}. You can
13556 also use the @value{GDBN} command-line word completion facilities to list the
13557 available choices, or to finish the type list for you.
13558 @xref{Completion,, Command Completion}, for details on how to do this.
13559 @end table
13560
13561 @node Decimal Floating Point
13562 @subsubsection Decimal Floating Point format
13563 @cindex decimal floating point format
13564
13565 @value{GDBN} can examine, set and perform computations with numbers in
13566 decimal floating point format, which in the C language correspond to the
13567 @code{_Decimal32}, @code{_Decimal64} and @code{_Decimal128} types as
13568 specified by the extension to support decimal floating-point arithmetic.
13569
13570 There are two encodings in use, depending on the architecture: BID (Binary
13571 Integer Decimal) for x86 and x86-64, and DPD (Densely Packed Decimal) for
13572 PowerPC. @value{GDBN} will use the appropriate encoding for the configured
13573 target.
13574
13575 Because of a limitation in @file{libdecnumber}, the library used by @value{GDBN}
13576 to manipulate decimal floating point numbers, it is not possible to convert
13577 (using a cast, for example) integers wider than 32-bit to decimal float.
13578
13579 In addition, in order to imitate @value{GDBN}'s behaviour with binary floating
13580 point computations, error checking in decimal float operations ignores
13581 underflow, overflow and divide by zero exceptions.
13582
13583 In the PowerPC architecture, @value{GDBN} provides a set of pseudo-registers
13584 to inspect @code{_Decimal128} values stored in floating point registers.
13585 See @ref{PowerPC,,PowerPC} for more details.
13586
13587 @node D
13588 @subsection D
13589
13590 @cindex D
13591 @value{GDBN} can be used to debug programs written in D and compiled with
13592 GDC, LDC or DMD compilers. Currently @value{GDBN} supports only one D
13593 specific feature --- dynamic arrays.
13594
13595 @node Go
13596 @subsection Go
13597
13598 @cindex Go (programming language)
13599 @value{GDBN} can be used to debug programs written in Go and compiled with
13600 @file{gccgo} or @file{6g} compilers.
13601
13602 Here is a summary of the Go-specific features and restrictions:
13603
13604 @table @code
13605 @cindex current Go package
13606 @item The current Go package
13607 The name of the current package does not need to be specified when
13608 specifying global variables and functions.
13609
13610 For example, given the program:
13611
13612 @example
13613 package main
13614 var myglob = "Shall we?"
13615 func main () @{
13616 // ...
13617 @}
13618 @end example
13619
13620 When stopped inside @code{main} either of these work:
13621
13622 @example
13623 (gdb) p myglob
13624 (gdb) p main.myglob
13625 @end example
13626
13627 @cindex builtin Go types
13628 @item Builtin Go types
13629 The @code{string} type is recognized by @value{GDBN} and is printed
13630 as a string.
13631
13632 @cindex builtin Go functions
13633 @item Builtin Go functions
13634 The @value{GDBN} expression parser recognizes the @code{unsafe.Sizeof}
13635 function and handles it internally.
13636
13637 @cindex restrictions on Go expressions
13638 @item Restrictions on Go expressions
13639 All Go operators are supported except @code{&^}.
13640 The Go @code{_} ``blank identifier'' is not supported.
13641 Automatic dereferencing of pointers is not supported.
13642 @end table
13643
13644 @node Objective-C
13645 @subsection Objective-C
13646
13647 @cindex Objective-C
13648 This section provides information about some commands and command
13649 options that are useful for debugging Objective-C code. See also
13650 @ref{Symbols, info classes}, and @ref{Symbols, info selectors}, for a
13651 few more commands specific to Objective-C support.
13652
13653 @menu
13654 * Method Names in Commands::
13655 * The Print Command with Objective-C::
13656 @end menu
13657
13658 @node Method Names in Commands
13659 @subsubsection Method Names in Commands
13660
13661 The following commands have been extended to accept Objective-C method
13662 names as line specifications:
13663
13664 @kindex clear@r{, and Objective-C}
13665 @kindex break@r{, and Objective-C}
13666 @kindex info line@r{, and Objective-C}
13667 @kindex jump@r{, and Objective-C}
13668 @kindex list@r{, and Objective-C}
13669 @itemize
13670 @item @code{clear}
13671 @item @code{break}
13672 @item @code{info line}
13673 @item @code{jump}
13674 @item @code{list}
13675 @end itemize
13676
13677 A fully qualified Objective-C method name is specified as
13678
13679 @smallexample
13680 -[@var{Class} @var{methodName}]
13681 @end smallexample
13682
13683 where the minus sign is used to indicate an instance method and a
13684 plus sign (not shown) is used to indicate a class method. The class
13685 name @var{Class} and method name @var{methodName} are enclosed in
13686 brackets, similar to the way messages are specified in Objective-C
13687 source code. For example, to set a breakpoint at the @code{create}
13688 instance method of class @code{Fruit} in the program currently being
13689 debugged, enter:
13690
13691 @smallexample
13692 break -[Fruit create]
13693 @end smallexample
13694
13695 To list ten program lines around the @code{initialize} class method,
13696 enter:
13697
13698 @smallexample
13699 list +[NSText initialize]
13700 @end smallexample
13701
13702 In the current version of @value{GDBN}, the plus or minus sign is
13703 required. In future versions of @value{GDBN}, the plus or minus
13704 sign will be optional, but you can use it to narrow the search. It
13705 is also possible to specify just a method name:
13706
13707 @smallexample
13708 break create
13709 @end smallexample
13710
13711 You must specify the complete method name, including any colons. If
13712 your program's source files contain more than one @code{create} method,
13713 you'll be presented with a numbered list of classes that implement that
13714 method. Indicate your choice by number, or type @samp{0} to exit if
13715 none apply.
13716
13717 As another example, to clear a breakpoint established at the
13718 @code{makeKeyAndOrderFront:} method of the @code{NSWindow} class, enter:
13719
13720 @smallexample
13721 clear -[NSWindow makeKeyAndOrderFront:]
13722 @end smallexample
13723
13724 @node The Print Command with Objective-C
13725 @subsubsection The Print Command With Objective-C
13726 @cindex Objective-C, print objects
13727 @kindex print-object
13728 @kindex po @r{(@code{print-object})}
13729
13730 The print command has also been extended to accept methods. For example:
13731
13732 @smallexample
13733 print -[@var{object} hash]
13734 @end smallexample
13735
13736 @cindex print an Objective-C object description
13737 @cindex @code{_NSPrintForDebugger}, and printing Objective-C objects
13738 @noindent
13739 will tell @value{GDBN} to send the @code{hash} message to @var{object}
13740 and print the result. Also, an additional command has been added,
13741 @code{print-object} or @code{po} for short, which is meant to print
13742 the description of an object. However, this command may only work
13743 with certain Objective-C libraries that have a particular hook
13744 function, @code{_NSPrintForDebugger}, defined.
13745
13746 @node OpenCL C
13747 @subsection OpenCL C
13748
13749 @cindex OpenCL C
13750 This section provides information about @value{GDBN}s OpenCL C support.
13751
13752 @menu
13753 * OpenCL C Datatypes::
13754 * OpenCL C Expressions::
13755 * OpenCL C Operators::
13756 @end menu
13757
13758 @node OpenCL C Datatypes
13759 @subsubsection OpenCL C Datatypes
13760
13761 @cindex OpenCL C Datatypes
13762 @value{GDBN} supports the builtin scalar and vector datatypes specified
13763 by OpenCL 1.1. In addition the half- and double-precision floating point
13764 data types of the @code{cl_khr_fp16} and @code{cl_khr_fp64} OpenCL
13765 extensions are also known to @value{GDBN}.
13766
13767 @node OpenCL C Expressions
13768 @subsubsection OpenCL C Expressions
13769
13770 @cindex OpenCL C Expressions
13771 @value{GDBN} supports accesses to vector components including the access as
13772 lvalue where possible. Since OpenCL C is based on C99 most C expressions
13773 supported by @value{GDBN} can be used as well.
13774
13775 @node OpenCL C Operators
13776 @subsubsection OpenCL C Operators
13777
13778 @cindex OpenCL C Operators
13779 @value{GDBN} supports the operators specified by OpenCL 1.1 for scalar and
13780 vector data types.
13781
13782 @node Fortran
13783 @subsection Fortran
13784 @cindex Fortran-specific support in @value{GDBN}
13785
13786 @value{GDBN} can be used to debug programs written in Fortran, but it
13787 currently supports only the features of Fortran 77 language.
13788
13789 @cindex trailing underscore, in Fortran symbols
13790 Some Fortran compilers (@sc{gnu} Fortran 77 and Fortran 95 compilers
13791 among them) append an underscore to the names of variables and
13792 functions. When you debug programs compiled by those compilers, you
13793 will need to refer to variables and functions with a trailing
13794 underscore.
13795
13796 @menu
13797 * Fortran Operators:: Fortran operators and expressions
13798 * Fortran Defaults:: Default settings for Fortran
13799 * Special Fortran Commands:: Special @value{GDBN} commands for Fortran
13800 @end menu
13801
13802 @node Fortran Operators
13803 @subsubsection Fortran Operators and Expressions
13804
13805 @cindex Fortran operators and expressions
13806
13807 Operators must be defined on values of specific types. For instance,
13808 @code{+} is defined on numbers, but not on characters or other non-
13809 arithmetic types. Operators are often defined on groups of types.
13810
13811 @table @code
13812 @item **
13813 The exponentiation operator. It raises the first operand to the power
13814 of the second one.
13815
13816 @item :
13817 The range operator. Normally used in the form of array(low:high) to
13818 represent a section of array.
13819
13820 @item %
13821 The access component operator. Normally used to access elements in derived
13822 types. Also suitable for unions. As unions aren't part of regular Fortran,
13823 this can only happen when accessing a register that uses a gdbarch-defined
13824 union type.
13825 @end table
13826
13827 @node Fortran Defaults
13828 @subsubsection Fortran Defaults
13829
13830 @cindex Fortran Defaults
13831
13832 Fortran symbols are usually case-insensitive, so @value{GDBN} by
13833 default uses case-insensitive matches for Fortran symbols. You can
13834 change that with the @samp{set case-insensitive} command, see
13835 @ref{Symbols}, for the details.
13836
13837 @node Special Fortran Commands
13838 @subsubsection Special Fortran Commands
13839
13840 @cindex Special Fortran commands
13841
13842 @value{GDBN} has some commands to support Fortran-specific features,
13843 such as displaying common blocks.
13844
13845 @table @code
13846 @cindex @code{COMMON} blocks, Fortran
13847 @kindex info common
13848 @item info common @r{[}@var{common-name}@r{]}
13849 This command prints the values contained in the Fortran @code{COMMON}
13850 block whose name is @var{common-name}. With no argument, the names of
13851 all @code{COMMON} blocks visible at the current program location are
13852 printed.
13853 @end table
13854
13855 @node Pascal
13856 @subsection Pascal
13857
13858 @cindex Pascal support in @value{GDBN}, limitations
13859 Debugging Pascal programs which use sets, subranges, file variables, or
13860 nested functions does not currently work. @value{GDBN} does not support
13861 entering expressions, printing values, or similar features using Pascal
13862 syntax.
13863
13864 The Pascal-specific command @code{set print pascal_static-members}
13865 controls whether static members of Pascal objects are displayed.
13866 @xref{Print Settings, pascal_static-members}.
13867
13868 @node Modula-2
13869 @subsection Modula-2
13870
13871 @cindex Modula-2, @value{GDBN} support
13872
13873 The extensions made to @value{GDBN} to support Modula-2 only support
13874 output from the @sc{gnu} Modula-2 compiler (which is currently being
13875 developed). Other Modula-2 compilers are not currently supported, and
13876 attempting to debug executables produced by them is most likely
13877 to give an error as @value{GDBN} reads in the executable's symbol
13878 table.
13879
13880 @cindex expressions in Modula-2
13881 @menu
13882 * M2 Operators:: Built-in operators
13883 * Built-In Func/Proc:: Built-in functions and procedures
13884 * M2 Constants:: Modula-2 constants
13885 * M2 Types:: Modula-2 types
13886 * M2 Defaults:: Default settings for Modula-2
13887 * Deviations:: Deviations from standard Modula-2
13888 * M2 Checks:: Modula-2 type and range checks
13889 * M2 Scope:: The scope operators @code{::} and @code{.}
13890 * GDB/M2:: @value{GDBN} and Modula-2
13891 @end menu
13892
13893 @node M2 Operators
13894 @subsubsection Operators
13895 @cindex Modula-2 operators
13896
13897 Operators must be defined on values of specific types. For instance,
13898 @code{+} is defined on numbers, but not on structures. Operators are
13899 often defined on groups of types. For the purposes of Modula-2, the
13900 following definitions hold:
13901
13902 @itemize @bullet
13903
13904 @item
13905 @emph{Integral types} consist of @code{INTEGER}, @code{CARDINAL}, and
13906 their subranges.
13907
13908 @item
13909 @emph{Character types} consist of @code{CHAR} and its subranges.
13910
13911 @item
13912 @emph{Floating-point types} consist of @code{REAL}.
13913
13914 @item
13915 @emph{Pointer types} consist of anything declared as @code{POINTER TO
13916 @var{type}}.
13917
13918 @item
13919 @emph{Scalar types} consist of all of the above.
13920
13921 @item
13922 @emph{Set types} consist of @code{SET} and @code{BITSET} types.
13923
13924 @item
13925 @emph{Boolean types} consist of @code{BOOLEAN}.
13926 @end itemize
13927
13928 @noindent
13929 The following operators are supported, and appear in order of
13930 increasing precedence:
13931
13932 @table @code
13933 @item ,
13934 Function argument or array index separator.
13935
13936 @item :=
13937 Assignment. The value of @var{var} @code{:=} @var{value} is
13938 @var{value}.
13939
13940 @item <@r{, }>
13941 Less than, greater than on integral, floating-point, or enumerated
13942 types.
13943
13944 @item <=@r{, }>=
13945 Less than or equal to, greater than or equal to
13946 on integral, floating-point and enumerated types, or set inclusion on
13947 set types. Same precedence as @code{<}.
13948
13949 @item =@r{, }<>@r{, }#
13950 Equality and two ways of expressing inequality, valid on scalar types.
13951 Same precedence as @code{<}. In @value{GDBN} scripts, only @code{<>} is
13952 available for inequality, since @code{#} conflicts with the script
13953 comment character.
13954
13955 @item IN
13956 Set membership. Defined on set types and the types of their members.
13957 Same precedence as @code{<}.
13958
13959 @item OR
13960 Boolean disjunction. Defined on boolean types.
13961
13962 @item AND@r{, }&
13963 Boolean conjunction. Defined on boolean types.
13964
13965 @item @@
13966 The @value{GDBN} ``artificial array'' operator (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}).
13967
13968 @item +@r{, }-
13969 Addition and subtraction on integral and floating-point types, or union
13970 and difference on set types.
13971
13972 @item *
13973 Multiplication on integral and floating-point types, or set intersection
13974 on set types.
13975
13976 @item /
13977 Division on floating-point types, or symmetric set difference on set
13978 types. Same precedence as @code{*}.
13979
13980 @item DIV@r{, }MOD
13981 Integer division and remainder. Defined on integral types. Same
13982 precedence as @code{*}.
13983
13984 @item -
13985 Negative. Defined on @code{INTEGER} and @code{REAL} data.
13986
13987 @item ^
13988 Pointer dereferencing. Defined on pointer types.
13989
13990 @item NOT
13991 Boolean negation. Defined on boolean types. Same precedence as
13992 @code{^}.
13993
13994 @item .
13995 @code{RECORD} field selector. Defined on @code{RECORD} data. Same
13996 precedence as @code{^}.
13997
13998 @item []
13999 Array indexing. Defined on @code{ARRAY} data. Same precedence as @code{^}.
14000
14001 @item ()
14002 Procedure argument list. Defined on @code{PROCEDURE} objects. Same precedence
14003 as @code{^}.
14004
14005 @item ::@r{, }.
14006 @value{GDBN} and Modula-2 scope operators.
14007 @end table
14008
14009 @quotation
14010 @emph{Warning:} Set expressions and their operations are not yet supported, so @value{GDBN}
14011 treats the use of the operator @code{IN}, or the use of operators
14012 @code{+}, @code{-}, @code{*}, @code{/}, @code{=}, , @code{<>}, @code{#},
14013 @code{<=}, and @code{>=} on sets as an error.
14014 @end quotation
14015
14016
14017 @node Built-In Func/Proc
14018 @subsubsection Built-in Functions and Procedures
14019 @cindex Modula-2 built-ins
14020
14021 Modula-2 also makes available several built-in procedures and functions.
14022 In describing these, the following metavariables are used:
14023
14024 @table @var
14025
14026 @item a
14027 represents an @code{ARRAY} variable.
14028
14029 @item c
14030 represents a @code{CHAR} constant or variable.
14031
14032 @item i
14033 represents a variable or constant of integral type.
14034
14035 @item m
14036 represents an identifier that belongs to a set. Generally used in the
14037 same function with the metavariable @var{s}. The type of @var{s} should
14038 be @code{SET OF @var{mtype}} (where @var{mtype} is the type of @var{m}).
14039
14040 @item n
14041 represents a variable or constant of integral or floating-point type.
14042
14043 @item r
14044 represents a variable or constant of floating-point type.
14045
14046 @item t
14047 represents a type.
14048
14049 @item v
14050 represents a variable.
14051
14052 @item x
14053 represents a variable or constant of one of many types. See the
14054 explanation of the function for details.
14055 @end table
14056
14057 All Modula-2 built-in procedures also return a result, described below.
14058
14059 @table @code
14060 @item ABS(@var{n})
14061 Returns the absolute value of @var{n}.
14062
14063 @item CAP(@var{c})
14064 If @var{c} is a lower case letter, it returns its upper case
14065 equivalent, otherwise it returns its argument.
14066
14067 @item CHR(@var{i})
14068 Returns the character whose ordinal value is @var{i}.
14069
14070 @item DEC(@var{v})
14071 Decrements the value in the variable @var{v} by one. Returns the new value.
14072
14073 @item DEC(@var{v},@var{i})
14074 Decrements the value in the variable @var{v} by @var{i}. Returns the
14075 new value.
14076
14077 @item EXCL(@var{m},@var{s})
14078 Removes the element @var{m} from the set @var{s}. Returns the new
14079 set.
14080
14081 @item FLOAT(@var{i})
14082 Returns the floating point equivalent of the integer @var{i}.
14083
14084 @item HIGH(@var{a})
14085 Returns the index of the last member of @var{a}.
14086
14087 @item INC(@var{v})
14088 Increments the value in the variable @var{v} by one. Returns the new value.
14089
14090 @item INC(@var{v},@var{i})
14091 Increments the value in the variable @var{v} by @var{i}. Returns the
14092 new value.
14093
14094 @item INCL(@var{m},@var{s})
14095 Adds the element @var{m} to the set @var{s} if it is not already
14096 there. Returns the new set.
14097
14098 @item MAX(@var{t})
14099 Returns the maximum value of the type @var{t}.
14100
14101 @item MIN(@var{t})
14102 Returns the minimum value of the type @var{t}.
14103
14104 @item ODD(@var{i})
14105 Returns boolean TRUE if @var{i} is an odd number.
14106
14107 @item ORD(@var{x})
14108 Returns the ordinal value of its argument. For example, the ordinal
14109 value of a character is its @sc{ascii} value (on machines supporting the
14110 @sc{ascii} character set). @var{x} must be of an ordered type, which include
14111 integral, character and enumerated types.
14112
14113 @item SIZE(@var{x})
14114 Returns the size of its argument. @var{x} can be a variable or a type.
14115
14116 @item TRUNC(@var{r})
14117 Returns the integral part of @var{r}.
14118
14119 @item TSIZE(@var{x})
14120 Returns the size of its argument. @var{x} can be a variable or a type.
14121
14122 @item VAL(@var{t},@var{i})
14123 Returns the member of the type @var{t} whose ordinal value is @var{i}.
14124 @end table
14125
14126 @quotation
14127 @emph{Warning:} Sets and their operations are not yet supported, so
14128 @value{GDBN} treats the use of procedures @code{INCL} and @code{EXCL} as
14129 an error.
14130 @end quotation
14131
14132 @cindex Modula-2 constants
14133 @node M2 Constants
14134 @subsubsection Constants
14135
14136 @value{GDBN} allows you to express the constants of Modula-2 in the following
14137 ways:
14138
14139 @itemize @bullet
14140
14141 @item
14142 Integer constants are simply a sequence of digits. When used in an
14143 expression, a constant is interpreted to be type-compatible with the
14144 rest of the expression. Hexadecimal integers are specified by a
14145 trailing @samp{H}, and octal integers by a trailing @samp{B}.
14146
14147 @item
14148 Floating point constants appear as a sequence of digits, followed by a
14149 decimal point and another sequence of digits. An optional exponent can
14150 then be specified, in the form @samp{E@r{[}+@r{|}-@r{]}@var{nnn}}, where
14151 @samp{@r{[}+@r{|}-@r{]}@var{nnn}} is the desired exponent. All of the
14152 digits of the floating point constant must be valid decimal (base 10)
14153 digits.
14154
14155 @item
14156 Character constants consist of a single character enclosed by a pair of
14157 like quotes, either single (@code{'}) or double (@code{"}). They may
14158 also be expressed by their ordinal value (their @sc{ascii} value, usually)
14159 followed by a @samp{C}.
14160
14161 @item
14162 String constants consist of a sequence of characters enclosed by a
14163 pair of like quotes, either single (@code{'}) or double (@code{"}).
14164 Escape sequences in the style of C are also allowed. @xref{C
14165 Constants, ,C and C@t{++} Constants}, for a brief explanation of escape
14166 sequences.
14167
14168 @item
14169 Enumerated constants consist of an enumerated identifier.
14170
14171 @item
14172 Boolean constants consist of the identifiers @code{TRUE} and
14173 @code{FALSE}.
14174
14175 @item
14176 Pointer constants consist of integral values only.
14177
14178 @item
14179 Set constants are not yet supported.
14180 @end itemize
14181
14182 @node M2 Types
14183 @subsubsection Modula-2 Types
14184 @cindex Modula-2 types
14185
14186 Currently @value{GDBN} can print the following data types in Modula-2
14187 syntax: array types, record types, set types, pointer types, procedure
14188 types, enumerated types, subrange types and base types. You can also
14189 print the contents of variables declared using these type.
14190 This section gives a number of simple source code examples together with
14191 sample @value{GDBN} sessions.
14192
14193 The first example contains the following section of code:
14194
14195 @smallexample
14196 VAR
14197 s: SET OF CHAR ;
14198 r: [20..40] ;
14199 @end smallexample
14200
14201 @noindent
14202 and you can request @value{GDBN} to interrogate the type and value of
14203 @code{r} and @code{s}.
14204
14205 @smallexample
14206 (@value{GDBP}) print s
14207 @{'A'..'C', 'Z'@}
14208 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
14209 SET OF CHAR
14210 (@value{GDBP}) print r
14211 21
14212 (@value{GDBP}) ptype r
14213 [20..40]
14214 @end smallexample
14215
14216 @noindent
14217 Likewise if your source code declares @code{s} as:
14218
14219 @smallexample
14220 VAR
14221 s: SET ['A'..'Z'] ;
14222 @end smallexample
14223
14224 @noindent
14225 then you may query the type of @code{s} by:
14226
14227 @smallexample
14228 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
14229 type = SET ['A'..'Z']
14230 @end smallexample
14231
14232 @noindent
14233 Note that at present you cannot interactively manipulate set
14234 expressions using the debugger.
14235
14236 The following example shows how you might declare an array in Modula-2
14237 and how you can interact with @value{GDBN} to print its type and contents:
14238
14239 @smallexample
14240 VAR
14241 s: ARRAY [-10..10] OF CHAR ;
14242 @end smallexample
14243
14244 @smallexample
14245 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
14246 ARRAY [-10..10] OF CHAR
14247 @end smallexample
14248
14249 Note that the array handling is not yet complete and although the type
14250 is printed correctly, expression handling still assumes that all
14251 arrays have a lower bound of zero and not @code{-10} as in the example
14252 above.
14253
14254 Here are some more type related Modula-2 examples:
14255
14256 @smallexample
14257 TYPE
14258 colour = (blue, red, yellow, green) ;
14259 t = [blue..yellow] ;
14260 VAR
14261 s: t ;
14262 BEGIN
14263 s := blue ;
14264 @end smallexample
14265
14266 @noindent
14267 The @value{GDBN} interaction shows how you can query the data type
14268 and value of a variable.
14269
14270 @smallexample
14271 (@value{GDBP}) print s
14272 $1 = blue
14273 (@value{GDBP}) ptype t
14274 type = [blue..yellow]
14275 @end smallexample
14276
14277 @noindent
14278 In this example a Modula-2 array is declared and its contents
14279 displayed. Observe that the contents are written in the same way as
14280 their @code{C} counterparts.
14281
14282 @smallexample
14283 VAR
14284 s: ARRAY [1..5] OF CARDINAL ;
14285 BEGIN
14286 s[1] := 1 ;
14287 @end smallexample
14288
14289 @smallexample
14290 (@value{GDBP}) print s
14291 $1 = @{1, 0, 0, 0, 0@}
14292 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
14293 type = ARRAY [1..5] OF CARDINAL
14294 @end smallexample
14295
14296 The Modula-2 language interface to @value{GDBN} also understands
14297 pointer types as shown in this example:
14298
14299 @smallexample
14300 VAR
14301 s: POINTER TO ARRAY [1..5] OF CARDINAL ;
14302 BEGIN
14303 NEW(s) ;
14304 s^[1] := 1 ;
14305 @end smallexample
14306
14307 @noindent
14308 and you can request that @value{GDBN} describes the type of @code{s}.
14309
14310 @smallexample
14311 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
14312 type = POINTER TO ARRAY [1..5] OF CARDINAL
14313 @end smallexample
14314
14315 @value{GDBN} handles compound types as we can see in this example.
14316 Here we combine array types, record types, pointer types and subrange
14317 types:
14318
14319 @smallexample
14320 TYPE
14321 foo = RECORD
14322 f1: CARDINAL ;
14323 f2: CHAR ;
14324 f3: myarray ;
14325 END ;
14326
14327 myarray = ARRAY myrange OF CARDINAL ;
14328 myrange = [-2..2] ;
14329 VAR
14330 s: POINTER TO ARRAY myrange OF foo ;
14331 @end smallexample
14332
14333 @noindent
14334 and you can ask @value{GDBN} to describe the type of @code{s} as shown
14335 below.
14336
14337 @smallexample
14338 (@value{GDBP}) ptype s
14339 type = POINTER TO ARRAY [-2..2] OF foo = RECORD
14340 f1 : CARDINAL;
14341 f2 : CHAR;
14342 f3 : ARRAY [-2..2] OF CARDINAL;
14343 END
14344 @end smallexample
14345
14346 @node M2 Defaults
14347 @subsubsection Modula-2 Defaults
14348 @cindex Modula-2 defaults
14349
14350 If type and range checking are set automatically by @value{GDBN}, they
14351 both default to @code{on} whenever the working language changes to
14352 Modula-2. This happens regardless of whether you or @value{GDBN}
14353 selected the working language.
14354
14355 If you allow @value{GDBN} to set the language automatically, then entering
14356 code compiled from a file whose name ends with @file{.mod} sets the
14357 working language to Modula-2. @xref{Automatically, ,Having @value{GDBN}
14358 Infer the Source Language}, for further details.
14359
14360 @node Deviations
14361 @subsubsection Deviations from Standard Modula-2
14362 @cindex Modula-2, deviations from
14363
14364 A few changes have been made to make Modula-2 programs easier to debug.
14365 This is done primarily via loosening its type strictness:
14366
14367 @itemize @bullet
14368 @item
14369 Unlike in standard Modula-2, pointer constants can be formed by
14370 integers. This allows you to modify pointer variables during
14371 debugging. (In standard Modula-2, the actual address contained in a
14372 pointer variable is hidden from you; it can only be modified
14373 through direct assignment to another pointer variable or expression that
14374 returned a pointer.)
14375
14376 @item
14377 C escape sequences can be used in strings and characters to represent
14378 non-printable characters. @value{GDBN} prints out strings with these
14379 escape sequences embedded. Single non-printable characters are
14380 printed using the @samp{CHR(@var{nnn})} format.
14381
14382 @item
14383 The assignment operator (@code{:=}) returns the value of its right-hand
14384 argument.
14385
14386 @item
14387 All built-in procedures both modify @emph{and} return their argument.
14388 @end itemize
14389
14390 @node M2 Checks
14391 @subsubsection Modula-2 Type and Range Checks
14392 @cindex Modula-2 checks
14393
14394 @quotation
14395 @emph{Warning:} in this release, @value{GDBN} does not yet perform type or
14396 range checking.
14397 @end quotation
14398 @c FIXME remove warning when type/range checks added
14399
14400 @value{GDBN} considers two Modula-2 variables type equivalent if:
14401
14402 @itemize @bullet
14403 @item
14404 They are of types that have been declared equivalent via a @code{TYPE
14405 @var{t1} = @var{t2}} statement
14406
14407 @item
14408 They have been declared on the same line. (Note: This is true of the
14409 @sc{gnu} Modula-2 compiler, but it may not be true of other compilers.)
14410 @end itemize
14411
14412 As long as type checking is enabled, any attempt to combine variables
14413 whose types are not equivalent is an error.
14414
14415 Range checking is done on all mathematical operations, assignment, array
14416 index bounds, and all built-in functions and procedures.
14417
14418 @node M2 Scope
14419 @subsubsection The Scope Operators @code{::} and @code{.}
14420 @cindex scope
14421 @cindex @code{.}, Modula-2 scope operator
14422 @cindex colon, doubled as scope operator
14423 @ifinfo
14424 @vindex colon-colon@r{, in Modula-2}
14425 @c Info cannot handle :: but TeX can.
14426 @end ifinfo
14427 @ifnotinfo
14428 @vindex ::@r{, in Modula-2}
14429 @end ifnotinfo
14430
14431 There are a few subtle differences between the Modula-2 scope operator
14432 (@code{.}) and the @value{GDBN} scope operator (@code{::}). The two have
14433 similar syntax:
14434
14435 @smallexample
14436
14437 @var{module} . @var{id}
14438 @var{scope} :: @var{id}
14439 @end smallexample
14440
14441 @noindent
14442 where @var{scope} is the name of a module or a procedure,
14443 @var{module} the name of a module, and @var{id} is any declared
14444 identifier within your program, except another module.
14445
14446 Using the @code{::} operator makes @value{GDBN} search the scope
14447 specified by @var{scope} for the identifier @var{id}. If it is not
14448 found in the specified scope, then @value{GDBN} searches all scopes
14449 enclosing the one specified by @var{scope}.
14450
14451 Using the @code{.} operator makes @value{GDBN} search the current scope for
14452 the identifier specified by @var{id} that was imported from the
14453 definition module specified by @var{module}. With this operator, it is
14454 an error if the identifier @var{id} was not imported from definition
14455 module @var{module}, or if @var{id} is not an identifier in
14456 @var{module}.
14457
14458 @node GDB/M2
14459 @subsubsection @value{GDBN} and Modula-2
14460
14461 Some @value{GDBN} commands have little use when debugging Modula-2 programs.
14462 Five subcommands of @code{set print} and @code{show print} apply
14463 specifically to C and C@t{++}: @samp{vtbl}, @samp{demangle},
14464 @samp{asm-demangle}, @samp{object}, and @samp{union}. The first four
14465 apply to C@t{++}, and the last to the C @code{union} type, which has no direct
14466 analogue in Modula-2.
14467
14468 The @code{@@} operator (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}), while available
14469 with any language, is not useful with Modula-2. Its
14470 intent is to aid the debugging of @dfn{dynamic arrays}, which cannot be
14471 created in Modula-2 as they can in C or C@t{++}. However, because an
14472 address can be specified by an integral constant, the construct
14473 @samp{@{@var{type}@}@var{adrexp}} is still useful.
14474
14475 @cindex @code{#} in Modula-2
14476 In @value{GDBN} scripts, the Modula-2 inequality operator @code{#} is
14477 interpreted as the beginning of a comment. Use @code{<>} instead.
14478
14479 @node Ada
14480 @subsection Ada
14481 @cindex Ada
14482
14483 The extensions made to @value{GDBN} for Ada only support
14484 output from the @sc{gnu} Ada (GNAT) compiler.
14485 Other Ada compilers are not currently supported, and
14486 attempting to debug executables produced by them is most likely
14487 to be difficult.
14488
14489
14490 @cindex expressions in Ada
14491 @menu
14492 * Ada Mode Intro:: General remarks on the Ada syntax
14493 and semantics supported by Ada mode
14494 in @value{GDBN}.
14495 * Omissions from Ada:: Restrictions on the Ada expression syntax.
14496 * Additions to Ada:: Extensions of the Ada expression syntax.
14497 * Stopping Before Main Program:: Debugging the program during elaboration.
14498 * Ada Tasks:: Listing and setting breakpoints in tasks.
14499 * Ada Tasks and Core Files:: Tasking Support when Debugging Core Files
14500 * Ravenscar Profile:: Tasking Support when using the Ravenscar
14501 Profile
14502 * Ada Glitches:: Known peculiarities of Ada mode.
14503 @end menu
14504
14505 @node Ada Mode Intro
14506 @subsubsection Introduction
14507 @cindex Ada mode, general
14508
14509 The Ada mode of @value{GDBN} supports a fairly large subset of Ada expression
14510 syntax, with some extensions.
14511 The philosophy behind the design of this subset is
14512
14513 @itemize @bullet
14514 @item
14515 That @value{GDBN} should provide basic literals and access to operations for
14516 arithmetic, dereferencing, field selection, indexing, and subprogram calls,
14517 leaving more sophisticated computations to subprograms written into the
14518 program (which therefore may be called from @value{GDBN}).
14519
14520 @item
14521 That type safety and strict adherence to Ada language restrictions
14522 are not particularly important to the @value{GDBN} user.
14523
14524 @item
14525 That brevity is important to the @value{GDBN} user.
14526 @end itemize
14527
14528 Thus, for brevity, the debugger acts as if all names declared in
14529 user-written packages are directly visible, even if they are not visible
14530 according to Ada rules, thus making it unnecessary to fully qualify most
14531 names with their packages, regardless of context. Where this causes
14532 ambiguity, @value{GDBN} asks the user's intent.
14533
14534 The debugger will start in Ada mode if it detects an Ada main program.
14535 As for other languages, it will enter Ada mode when stopped in a program that
14536 was translated from an Ada source file.
14537
14538 While in Ada mode, you may use `@t{--}' for comments. This is useful
14539 mostly for documenting command files. The standard @value{GDBN} comment
14540 (@samp{#}) still works at the beginning of a line in Ada mode, but not in the
14541 middle (to allow based literals).
14542
14543 The debugger supports limited overloading. Given a subprogram call in which
14544 the function symbol has multiple definitions, it will use the number of
14545 actual parameters and some information about their types to attempt to narrow
14546 the set of definitions. It also makes very limited use of context, preferring
14547 procedures to functions in the context of the @code{call} command, and
14548 functions to procedures elsewhere.
14549
14550 @node Omissions from Ada
14551 @subsubsection Omissions from Ada
14552 @cindex Ada, omissions from
14553
14554 Here are the notable omissions from the subset:
14555
14556 @itemize @bullet
14557 @item
14558 Only a subset of the attributes are supported:
14559
14560 @itemize @minus
14561 @item
14562 @t{'First}, @t{'Last}, and @t{'Length}
14563 on array objects (not on types and subtypes).
14564
14565 @item
14566 @t{'Min} and @t{'Max}.
14567
14568 @item
14569 @t{'Pos} and @t{'Val}.
14570
14571 @item
14572 @t{'Tag}.
14573
14574 @item
14575 @t{'Range} on array objects (not subtypes), but only as the right
14576 operand of the membership (@code{in}) operator.
14577
14578 @item
14579 @t{'Access}, @t{'Unchecked_Access}, and
14580 @t{'Unrestricted_Access} (a GNAT extension).
14581
14582 @item
14583 @t{'Address}.
14584 @end itemize
14585
14586 @item
14587 The names in
14588 @code{Characters.Latin_1} are not available and
14589 concatenation is not implemented. Thus, escape characters in strings are
14590 not currently available.
14591
14592 @item
14593 Equality tests (@samp{=} and @samp{/=}) on arrays test for bitwise
14594 equality of representations. They will generally work correctly
14595 for strings and arrays whose elements have integer or enumeration types.
14596 They may not work correctly for arrays whose element
14597 types have user-defined equality, for arrays of real values
14598 (in particular, IEEE-conformant floating point, because of negative
14599 zeroes and NaNs), and for arrays whose elements contain unused bits with
14600 indeterminate values.
14601
14602 @item
14603 The other component-by-component array operations (@code{and}, @code{or},
14604 @code{xor}, @code{not}, and relational tests other than equality)
14605 are not implemented.
14606
14607 @item
14608 @cindex array aggregates (Ada)
14609 @cindex record aggregates (Ada)
14610 @cindex aggregates (Ada)
14611 There is limited support for array and record aggregates. They are
14612 permitted only on the right sides of assignments, as in these examples:
14613
14614 @smallexample
14615 (@value{GDBP}) set An_Array := (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
14616 (@value{GDBP}) set An_Array := (1, others => 0)
14617 (@value{GDBP}) set An_Array := (0|4 => 1, 1..3 => 2, 5 => 6)
14618 (@value{GDBP}) set A_2D_Array := ((1, 2, 3), (4, 5, 6), (7, 8, 9))
14619 (@value{GDBP}) set A_Record := (1, "Peter", True);
14620 (@value{GDBP}) set A_Record := (Name => "Peter", Id => 1, Alive => True)
14621 @end smallexample
14622
14623 Changing a
14624 discriminant's value by assigning an aggregate has an
14625 undefined effect if that discriminant is used within the record.
14626 However, you can first modify discriminants by directly assigning to
14627 them (which normally would not be allowed in Ada), and then performing an
14628 aggregate assignment. For example, given a variable @code{A_Rec}
14629 declared to have a type such as:
14630
14631 @smallexample
14632 type Rec (Len : Small_Integer := 0) is record
14633 Id : Integer;
14634 Vals : IntArray (1 .. Len);
14635 end record;
14636 @end smallexample
14637
14638 you can assign a value with a different size of @code{Vals} with two
14639 assignments:
14640
14641 @smallexample
14642 (@value{GDBP}) set A_Rec.Len := 4
14643 (@value{GDBP}) set A_Rec := (Id => 42, Vals => (1, 2, 3, 4))
14644 @end smallexample
14645
14646 As this example also illustrates, @value{GDBN} is very loose about the usual
14647 rules concerning aggregates. You may leave out some of the
14648 components of an array or record aggregate (such as the @code{Len}
14649 component in the assignment to @code{A_Rec} above); they will retain their
14650 original values upon assignment. You may freely use dynamic values as
14651 indices in component associations. You may even use overlapping or
14652 redundant component associations, although which component values are
14653 assigned in such cases is not defined.
14654
14655 @item
14656 Calls to dispatching subprograms are not implemented.
14657
14658 @item
14659 The overloading algorithm is much more limited (i.e., less selective)
14660 than that of real Ada. It makes only limited use of the context in
14661 which a subexpression appears to resolve its meaning, and it is much
14662 looser in its rules for allowing type matches. As a result, some
14663 function calls will be ambiguous, and the user will be asked to choose
14664 the proper resolution.
14665
14666 @item
14667 The @code{new} operator is not implemented.
14668
14669 @item
14670 Entry calls are not implemented.
14671
14672 @item
14673 Aside from printing, arithmetic operations on the native VAX floating-point
14674 formats are not supported.
14675
14676 @item
14677 It is not possible to slice a packed array.
14678
14679 @item
14680 The names @code{True} and @code{False}, when not part of a qualified name,
14681 are interpreted as if implicitly prefixed by @code{Standard}, regardless of
14682 context.
14683 Should your program
14684 redefine these names in a package or procedure (at best a dubious practice),
14685 you will have to use fully qualified names to access their new definitions.
14686 @end itemize
14687
14688 @node Additions to Ada
14689 @subsubsection Additions to Ada
14690 @cindex Ada, deviations from
14691
14692 As it does for other languages, @value{GDBN} makes certain generic
14693 extensions to Ada (@pxref{Expressions}):
14694
14695 @itemize @bullet
14696 @item
14697 If the expression @var{E} is a variable residing in memory (typically
14698 a local variable or array element) and @var{N} is a positive integer,
14699 then @code{@var{E}@@@var{N}} displays the values of @var{E} and the
14700 @var{N}-1 adjacent variables following it in memory as an array. In
14701 Ada, this operator is generally not necessary, since its prime use is
14702 in displaying parts of an array, and slicing will usually do this in
14703 Ada. However, there are occasional uses when debugging programs in
14704 which certain debugging information has been optimized away.
14705
14706 @item
14707 @code{@var{B}::@var{var}} means ``the variable named @var{var} that
14708 appears in function or file @var{B}.'' When @var{B} is a file name,
14709 you must typically surround it in single quotes.
14710
14711 @item
14712 The expression @code{@{@var{type}@} @var{addr}} means ``the variable of type
14713 @var{type} that appears at address @var{addr}.''
14714
14715 @item
14716 A name starting with @samp{$} is a convenience variable
14717 (@pxref{Convenience Vars}) or a machine register (@pxref{Registers}).
14718 @end itemize
14719
14720 In addition, @value{GDBN} provides a few other shortcuts and outright
14721 additions specific to Ada:
14722
14723 @itemize @bullet
14724 @item
14725 The assignment statement is allowed as an expression, returning
14726 its right-hand operand as its value. Thus, you may enter
14727
14728 @smallexample
14729 (@value{GDBP}) set x := y + 3
14730 (@value{GDBP}) print A(tmp := y + 1)
14731 @end smallexample
14732
14733 @item
14734 The semicolon is allowed as an ``operator,'' returning as its value
14735 the value of its right-hand operand.
14736 This allows, for example,
14737 complex conditional breaks:
14738
14739 @smallexample
14740 (@value{GDBP}) break f
14741 (@value{GDBP}) condition 1 (report(i); k += 1; A(k) > 100)
14742 @end smallexample
14743
14744 @item
14745 Rather than use catenation and symbolic character names to introduce special
14746 characters into strings, one may instead use a special bracket notation,
14747 which is also used to print strings. A sequence of characters of the form
14748 @samp{["@var{XX}"]} within a string or character literal denotes the
14749 (single) character whose numeric encoding is @var{XX} in hexadecimal. The
14750 sequence of characters @samp{["""]} also denotes a single quotation mark
14751 in strings. For example,
14752 @smallexample
14753 "One line.["0a"]Next line.["0a"]"
14754 @end smallexample
14755 @noindent
14756 contains an ASCII newline character (@code{Ada.Characters.Latin_1.LF})
14757 after each period.
14758
14759 @item
14760 The subtype used as a prefix for the attributes @t{'Pos}, @t{'Min}, and
14761 @t{'Max} is optional (and is ignored in any case). For example, it is valid
14762 to write
14763
14764 @smallexample
14765 (@value{GDBP}) print 'max(x, y)
14766 @end smallexample
14767
14768 @item
14769 When printing arrays, @value{GDBN} uses positional notation when the
14770 array has a lower bound of 1, and uses a modified named notation otherwise.
14771 For example, a one-dimensional array of three integers with a lower bound
14772 of 3 might print as
14773
14774 @smallexample
14775 (3 => 10, 17, 1)
14776 @end smallexample
14777
14778 @noindent
14779 That is, in contrast to valid Ada, only the first component has a @code{=>}
14780 clause.
14781
14782 @item
14783 You may abbreviate attributes in expressions with any unique,
14784 multi-character subsequence of
14785 their names (an exact match gets preference).
14786 For example, you may use @t{a'len}, @t{a'gth}, or @t{a'lh}
14787 in place of @t{a'length}.
14788
14789 @item
14790 @cindex quoting Ada internal identifiers
14791 Since Ada is case-insensitive, the debugger normally maps identifiers you type
14792 to lower case. The GNAT compiler uses upper-case characters for
14793 some of its internal identifiers, which are normally of no interest to users.
14794 For the rare occasions when you actually have to look at them,
14795 enclose them in angle brackets to avoid the lower-case mapping.
14796 For example,
14797 @smallexample
14798 (@value{GDBP}) print <JMPBUF_SAVE>[0]
14799 @end smallexample
14800
14801 @item
14802 Printing an object of class-wide type or dereferencing an
14803 access-to-class-wide value will display all the components of the object's
14804 specific type (as indicated by its run-time tag). Likewise, component
14805 selection on such a value will operate on the specific type of the
14806 object.
14807
14808 @end itemize
14809
14810 @node Stopping Before Main Program
14811 @subsubsection Stopping at the Very Beginning
14812
14813 @cindex breakpointing Ada elaboration code
14814 It is sometimes necessary to debug the program during elaboration, and
14815 before reaching the main procedure.
14816 As defined in the Ada Reference
14817 Manual, the elaboration code is invoked from a procedure called
14818 @code{adainit}. To run your program up to the beginning of
14819 elaboration, simply use the following two commands:
14820 @code{tbreak adainit} and @code{run}.
14821
14822 @node Ada Tasks
14823 @subsubsection Extensions for Ada Tasks
14824 @cindex Ada, tasking
14825
14826 Support for Ada tasks is analogous to that for threads (@pxref{Threads}).
14827 @value{GDBN} provides the following task-related commands:
14828
14829 @table @code
14830 @kindex info tasks
14831 @item info tasks
14832 This command shows a list of current Ada tasks, as in the following example:
14833
14834
14835 @smallexample
14836 @iftex
14837 @leftskip=0.5cm
14838 @end iftex
14839 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
14840 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
14841 1 8088000 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
14842 2 80a4000 1 15 Accept Statement b
14843 3 809a800 1 15 Child Activation Wait a
14844 * 4 80ae800 3 15 Runnable c
14845
14846 @end smallexample
14847
14848 @noindent
14849 In this listing, the asterisk before the last task indicates it to be the
14850 task currently being inspected.
14851
14852 @table @asis
14853 @item ID
14854 Represents @value{GDBN}'s internal task number.
14855
14856 @item TID
14857 The Ada task ID.
14858
14859 @item P-ID
14860 The parent's task ID (@value{GDBN}'s internal task number).
14861
14862 @item Pri
14863 The base priority of the task.
14864
14865 @item State
14866 Current state of the task.
14867
14868 @table @code
14869 @item Unactivated
14870 The task has been created but has not been activated. It cannot be
14871 executing.
14872
14873 @item Runnable
14874 The task is not blocked for any reason known to Ada. (It may be waiting
14875 for a mutex, though.) It is conceptually "executing" in normal mode.
14876
14877 @item Terminated
14878 The task is terminated, in the sense of ARM 9.3 (5). Any dependents
14879 that were waiting on terminate alternatives have been awakened and have
14880 terminated themselves.
14881
14882 @item Child Activation Wait
14883 The task is waiting for created tasks to complete activation.
14884
14885 @item Accept Statement
14886 The task is waiting on an accept or selective wait statement.
14887
14888 @item Waiting on entry call
14889 The task is waiting on an entry call.
14890
14891 @item Async Select Wait
14892 The task is waiting to start the abortable part of an asynchronous
14893 select statement.
14894
14895 @item Delay Sleep
14896 The task is waiting on a select statement with only a delay
14897 alternative open.
14898
14899 @item Child Termination Wait
14900 The task is sleeping having completed a master within itself, and is
14901 waiting for the tasks dependent on that master to become terminated or
14902 waiting on a terminate Phase.
14903
14904 @item Wait Child in Term Alt
14905 The task is sleeping waiting for tasks on terminate alternatives to
14906 finish terminating.
14907
14908 @item Accepting RV with @var{taskno}
14909 The task is accepting a rendez-vous with the task @var{taskno}.
14910 @end table
14911
14912 @item Name
14913 Name of the task in the program.
14914
14915 @end table
14916
14917 @kindex info task @var{taskno}
14918 @item info task @var{taskno}
14919 This command shows detailled informations on the specified task, as in
14920 the following example:
14921 @smallexample
14922 @iftex
14923 @leftskip=0.5cm
14924 @end iftex
14925 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
14926 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
14927 1 8077880 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
14928 * 2 807c468 1 15 Runnable task_1
14929 (@value{GDBP}) info task 2
14930 Ada Task: 0x807c468
14931 Name: task_1
14932 Thread: 0x807f378
14933 Parent: 1 (main_task)
14934 Base Priority: 15
14935 State: Runnable
14936 @end smallexample
14937
14938 @item task
14939 @kindex task@r{ (Ada)}
14940 @cindex current Ada task ID
14941 This command prints the ID of the current task.
14942
14943 @smallexample
14944 @iftex
14945 @leftskip=0.5cm
14946 @end iftex
14947 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
14948 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
14949 1 8077870 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
14950 * 2 807c458 1 15 Runnable t
14951 (@value{GDBP}) task
14952 [Current task is 2]
14953 @end smallexample
14954
14955 @item task @var{taskno}
14956 @cindex Ada task switching
14957 This command is like the @code{thread @var{threadno}}
14958 command (@pxref{Threads}). It switches the context of debugging
14959 from the current task to the given task.
14960
14961 @smallexample
14962 @iftex
14963 @leftskip=0.5cm
14964 @end iftex
14965 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
14966 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
14967 1 8077870 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
14968 * 2 807c458 1 15 Runnable t
14969 (@value{GDBP}) task 1
14970 [Switching to task 1]
14971 #0 0x8067726 in pthread_cond_wait ()
14972 (@value{GDBP}) bt
14973 #0 0x8067726 in pthread_cond_wait ()
14974 #1 0x8056714 in system.os_interface.pthread_cond_wait ()
14975 #2 0x805cb63 in system.task_primitives.operations.sleep ()
14976 #3 0x806153e in system.tasking.stages.activate_tasks ()
14977 #4 0x804aacc in un () at un.adb:5
14978 @end smallexample
14979
14980 @item break @var{linespec} task @var{taskno}
14981 @itemx break @var{linespec} task @var{taskno} if @dots{}
14982 @cindex breakpoints and tasks, in Ada
14983 @cindex task breakpoints, in Ada
14984 @kindex break @dots{} task @var{taskno}@r{ (Ada)}
14985 These commands are like the @code{break @dots{} thread @dots{}}
14986 command (@pxref{Thread Stops}).
14987 @var{linespec} specifies source lines, as described
14988 in @ref{Specify Location}.
14989
14990 Use the qualifier @samp{task @var{taskno}} with a breakpoint command
14991 to specify that you only want @value{GDBN} to stop the program when a
14992 particular Ada task reaches this breakpoint. @var{taskno} is one of the
14993 numeric task identifiers assigned by @value{GDBN}, shown in the first
14994 column of the @samp{info tasks} display.
14995
14996 If you do not specify @samp{task @var{taskno}} when you set a
14997 breakpoint, the breakpoint applies to @emph{all} tasks of your
14998 program.
14999
15000 You can use the @code{task} qualifier on conditional breakpoints as
15001 well; in this case, place @samp{task @var{taskno}} before the
15002 breakpoint condition (before the @code{if}).
15003
15004 For example,
15005
15006 @smallexample
15007 @iftex
15008 @leftskip=0.5cm
15009 @end iftex
15010 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
15011 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
15012 1 140022020 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
15013 2 140045060 1 15 Accept/Select Wait t2
15014 3 140044840 1 15 Runnable t1
15015 * 4 140056040 1 15 Runnable t3
15016 (@value{GDBP}) b 15 task 2
15017 Breakpoint 5 at 0x120044cb0: file test_task_debug.adb, line 15.
15018 (@value{GDBP}) cont
15019 Continuing.
15020 task # 1 running
15021 task # 2 running
15022
15023 Breakpoint 5, test_task_debug () at test_task_debug.adb:15
15024 15 flush;
15025 (@value{GDBP}) info tasks
15026 ID TID P-ID Pri State Name
15027 1 140022020 0 15 Child Activation Wait main_task
15028 * 2 140045060 1 15 Runnable t2
15029 3 140044840 1 15 Runnable t1
15030 4 140056040 1 15 Delay Sleep t3
15031 @end smallexample
15032 @end table
15033
15034 @node Ada Tasks and Core Files
15035 @subsubsection Tasking Support when Debugging Core Files
15036 @cindex Ada tasking and core file debugging
15037
15038 When inspecting a core file, as opposed to debugging a live program,
15039 tasking support may be limited or even unavailable, depending on
15040 the platform being used.
15041 For instance, on x86-linux, the list of tasks is available, but task
15042 switching is not supported. On Tru64, however, task switching will work
15043 as usual.
15044
15045 On certain platforms, including Tru64, the debugger needs to perform some
15046 memory writes in order to provide Ada tasking support. When inspecting
15047 a core file, this means that the core file must be opened with read-write
15048 privileges, using the command @samp{"set write on"} (@pxref{Patching}).
15049 Under these circumstances, you should make a backup copy of the core
15050 file before inspecting it with @value{GDBN}.
15051
15052 @node Ravenscar Profile
15053 @subsubsection Tasking Support when using the Ravenscar Profile
15054 @cindex Ravenscar Profile
15055
15056 The @dfn{Ravenscar Profile} is a subset of the Ada tasking features,
15057 specifically designed for systems with safety-critical real-time
15058 requirements.
15059
15060 @table @code
15061 @kindex set ravenscar task-switching on
15062 @cindex task switching with program using Ravenscar Profile
15063 @item set ravenscar task-switching on
15064 Allows task switching when debugging a program that uses the Ravenscar
15065 Profile. This is the default.
15066
15067 @kindex set ravenscar task-switching off
15068 @item set ravenscar task-switching off
15069 Turn off task switching when debugging a program that uses the Ravenscar
15070 Profile. This is mostly intended to disable the code that adds support
15071 for the Ravenscar Profile, in case a bug in either @value{GDBN} or in
15072 the Ravenscar runtime is preventing @value{GDBN} from working properly.
15073 To be effective, this command should be run before the program is started.
15074
15075 @kindex show ravenscar task-switching
15076 @item show ravenscar task-switching
15077 Show whether it is possible to switch from task to task in a program
15078 using the Ravenscar Profile.
15079
15080 @end table
15081
15082 @node Ada Glitches
15083 @subsubsection Known Peculiarities of Ada Mode
15084 @cindex Ada, problems
15085
15086 Besides the omissions listed previously (@pxref{Omissions from Ada}),
15087 we know of several problems with and limitations of Ada mode in
15088 @value{GDBN},
15089 some of which will be fixed with planned future releases of the debugger
15090 and the GNU Ada compiler.
15091
15092 @itemize @bullet
15093 @item
15094 Static constants that the compiler chooses not to materialize as objects in
15095 storage are invisible to the debugger.
15096
15097 @item
15098 Named parameter associations in function argument lists are ignored (the
15099 argument lists are treated as positional).
15100
15101 @item
15102 Many useful library packages are currently invisible to the debugger.
15103
15104 @item
15105 Fixed-point arithmetic, conversions, input, and output is carried out using
15106 floating-point arithmetic, and may give results that only approximate those on
15107 the host machine.
15108
15109 @item
15110 The GNAT compiler never generates the prefix @code{Standard} for any of
15111 the standard symbols defined by the Ada language. @value{GDBN} knows about
15112 this: it will strip the prefix from names when you use it, and will never
15113 look for a name you have so qualified among local symbols, nor match against
15114 symbols in other packages or subprograms. If you have
15115 defined entities anywhere in your program other than parameters and
15116 local variables whose simple names match names in @code{Standard},
15117 GNAT's lack of qualification here can cause confusion. When this happens,
15118 you can usually resolve the confusion
15119 by qualifying the problematic names with package
15120 @code{Standard} explicitly.
15121 @end itemize
15122
15123 Older versions of the compiler sometimes generate erroneous debugging
15124 information, resulting in the debugger incorrectly printing the value
15125 of affected entities. In some cases, the debugger is able to work
15126 around an issue automatically. In other cases, the debugger is able
15127 to work around the issue, but the work-around has to be specifically
15128 enabled.
15129
15130 @kindex set ada trust-PAD-over-XVS
15131 @kindex show ada trust-PAD-over-XVS
15132 @table @code
15133
15134 @item set ada trust-PAD-over-XVS on
15135 Configure GDB to strictly follow the GNAT encoding when computing the
15136 value of Ada entities, particularly when @code{PAD} and @code{PAD___XVS}
15137 types are involved (see @code{ada/exp_dbug.ads} in the GCC sources for
15138 a complete description of the encoding used by the GNAT compiler).
15139 This is the default.
15140
15141 @item set ada trust-PAD-over-XVS off
15142 This is related to the encoding using by the GNAT compiler. If @value{GDBN}
15143 sometimes prints the wrong value for certain entities, changing @code{ada
15144 trust-PAD-over-XVS} to @code{off} activates a work-around which may fix
15145 the issue. It is always safe to set @code{ada trust-PAD-over-XVS} to
15146 @code{off}, but this incurs a slight performance penalty, so it is
15147 recommended to leave this setting to @code{on} unless necessary.
15148
15149 @end table
15150
15151 @node Unsupported Languages
15152 @section Unsupported Languages
15153
15154 @cindex unsupported languages
15155 @cindex minimal language
15156 In addition to the other fully-supported programming languages,
15157 @value{GDBN} also provides a pseudo-language, called @code{minimal}.
15158 It does not represent a real programming language, but provides a set
15159 of capabilities close to what the C or assembly languages provide.
15160 This should allow most simple operations to be performed while debugging
15161 an application that uses a language currently not supported by @value{GDBN}.
15162
15163 If the language is set to @code{auto}, @value{GDBN} will automatically
15164 select this language if the current frame corresponds to an unsupported
15165 language.
15166
15167 @node Symbols
15168 @chapter Examining the Symbol Table
15169
15170 The commands described in this chapter allow you to inquire about the
15171 symbols (names of variables, functions and types) defined in your
15172 program. This information is inherent in the text of your program and
15173 does not change as your program executes. @value{GDBN} finds it in your
15174 program's symbol table, in the file indicated when you started @value{GDBN}
15175 (@pxref{File Options, ,Choosing Files}), or by one of the
15176 file-management commands (@pxref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}).
15177
15178 @cindex symbol names
15179 @cindex names of symbols
15180 @cindex quoting names
15181 Occasionally, you may need to refer to symbols that contain unusual
15182 characters, which @value{GDBN} ordinarily treats as word delimiters. The
15183 most frequent case is in referring to static variables in other
15184 source files (@pxref{Variables,,Program Variables}). File names
15185 are recorded in object files as debugging symbols, but @value{GDBN} would
15186 ordinarily parse a typical file name, like @file{foo.c}, as the three words
15187 @samp{foo} @samp{.} @samp{c}. To allow @value{GDBN} to recognize
15188 @samp{foo.c} as a single symbol, enclose it in single quotes; for example,
15189
15190 @smallexample
15191 p 'foo.c'::x
15192 @end smallexample
15193
15194 @noindent
15195 looks up the value of @code{x} in the scope of the file @file{foo.c}.
15196
15197 @table @code
15198 @cindex case-insensitive symbol names
15199 @cindex case sensitivity in symbol names
15200 @kindex set case-sensitive
15201 @item set case-sensitive on
15202 @itemx set case-sensitive off
15203 @itemx set case-sensitive auto
15204 Normally, when @value{GDBN} looks up symbols, it matches their names
15205 with case sensitivity determined by the current source language.
15206 Occasionally, you may wish to control that. The command @code{set
15207 case-sensitive} lets you do that by specifying @code{on} for
15208 case-sensitive matches or @code{off} for case-insensitive ones. If
15209 you specify @code{auto}, case sensitivity is reset to the default
15210 suitable for the source language. The default is case-sensitive
15211 matches for all languages except for Fortran, for which the default is
15212 case-insensitive matches.
15213
15214 @kindex show case-sensitive
15215 @item show case-sensitive
15216 This command shows the current setting of case sensitivity for symbols
15217 lookups.
15218
15219 @kindex set print type methods
15220 @item set print type methods
15221 @itemx set print type methods on
15222 @itemx set print type methods off
15223 Normally, when @value{GDBN} prints a class, it displays any methods
15224 declared in that class. You can control this behavior either by
15225 passing the appropriate flag to @code{ptype}, or using @command{set
15226 print type methods}. Specifying @code{on} will cause @value{GDBN} to
15227 display the methods; this is the default. Specifying @code{off} will
15228 cause @value{GDBN} to omit the methods.
15229
15230 @kindex show print type methods
15231 @item show print type methods
15232 This command shows the current setting of method display when printing
15233 classes.
15234
15235 @kindex set print type typedefs
15236 @item set print type typedefs
15237 @itemx set print type typedefs on
15238 @itemx set print type typedefs off
15239
15240 Normally, when @value{GDBN} prints a class, it displays any typedefs
15241 defined in that class. You can control this behavior either by
15242 passing the appropriate flag to @code{ptype}, or using @command{set
15243 print type typedefs}. Specifying @code{on} will cause @value{GDBN} to
15244 display the typedef definitions; this is the default. Specifying
15245 @code{off} will cause @value{GDBN} to omit the typedef definitions.
15246 Note that this controls whether the typedef definition itself is
15247 printed, not whether typedef names are substituted when printing other
15248 types.
15249
15250 @kindex show print type typedefs
15251 @item show print type typedefs
15252 This command shows the current setting of typedef display when
15253 printing classes.
15254
15255 @kindex info address
15256 @cindex address of a symbol
15257 @item info address @var{symbol}
15258 Describe where the data for @var{symbol} is stored. For a register
15259 variable, this says which register it is kept in. For a non-register
15260 local variable, this prints the stack-frame offset at which the variable
15261 is always stored.
15262
15263 Note the contrast with @samp{print &@var{symbol}}, which does not work
15264 at all for a register variable, and for a stack local variable prints
15265 the exact address of the current instantiation of the variable.
15266
15267 @kindex info symbol
15268 @cindex symbol from address
15269 @cindex closest symbol and offset for an address
15270 @item info symbol @var{addr}
15271 Print the name of a symbol which is stored at the address @var{addr}.
15272 If no symbol is stored exactly at @var{addr}, @value{GDBN} prints the
15273 nearest symbol and an offset from it:
15274
15275 @smallexample
15276 (@value{GDBP}) info symbol 0x54320
15277 _initialize_vx + 396 in section .text
15278 @end smallexample
15279
15280 @noindent
15281 This is the opposite of the @code{info address} command. You can use
15282 it to find out the name of a variable or a function given its address.
15283
15284 For dynamically linked executables, the name of executable or shared
15285 library containing the symbol is also printed:
15286
15287 @smallexample
15288 (@value{GDBP}) info symbol 0x400225
15289 _start + 5 in section .text of /tmp/a.out
15290 (@value{GDBP}) info symbol 0x2aaaac2811cf
15291 __read_nocancel + 6 in section .text of /usr/lib64/libc.so.6
15292 @end smallexample
15293
15294 @kindex whatis
15295 @item whatis[/@var{flags}] [@var{arg}]
15296 Print the data type of @var{arg}, which can be either an expression
15297 or a name of a data type. With no argument, print the data type of
15298 @code{$}, the last value in the value history.
15299
15300 If @var{arg} is an expression (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}), it
15301 is not actually evaluated, and any side-effecting operations (such as
15302 assignments or function calls) inside it do not take place.
15303
15304 If @var{arg} is a variable or an expression, @code{whatis} prints its
15305 literal type as it is used in the source code. If the type was
15306 defined using a @code{typedef}, @code{whatis} will @emph{not} print
15307 the data type underlying the @code{typedef}. If the type of the
15308 variable or the expression is a compound data type, such as
15309 @code{struct} or @code{class}, @code{whatis} never prints their
15310 fields or methods. It just prints the @code{struct}/@code{class}
15311 name (a.k.a.@: its @dfn{tag}). If you want to see the members of
15312 such a compound data type, use @code{ptype}.
15313
15314 If @var{arg} is a type name that was defined using @code{typedef},
15315 @code{whatis} @dfn{unrolls} only one level of that @code{typedef}.
15316 Unrolling means that @code{whatis} will show the underlying type used
15317 in the @code{typedef} declaration of @var{arg}. However, if that
15318 underlying type is also a @code{typedef}, @code{whatis} will not
15319 unroll it.
15320
15321 For C code, the type names may also have the form @samp{class
15322 @var{class-name}}, @samp{struct @var{struct-tag}}, @samp{union
15323 @var{union-tag}} or @samp{enum @var{enum-tag}}.
15324
15325 @var{flags} can be used to modify how the type is displayed.
15326 Available flags are:
15327
15328 @table @code
15329 @item r
15330 Display in ``raw'' form. Normally, @value{GDBN} substitutes template
15331 parameters and typedefs defined in a class when printing the class'
15332 members. The @code{/r} flag disables this.
15333
15334 @item m
15335 Do not print methods defined in the class.
15336
15337 @item M
15338 Print methods defined in the class. This is the default, but the flag
15339 exists in case you change the default with @command{set print type methods}.
15340
15341 @item t
15342 Do not print typedefs defined in the class. Note that this controls
15343 whether the typedef definition itself is printed, not whether typedef
15344 names are substituted when printing other types.
15345
15346 @item T
15347 Print typedefs defined in the class. This is the default, but the flag
15348 exists in case you change the default with @command{set print type typedefs}.
15349 @end table
15350
15351 @kindex ptype
15352 @item ptype[/@var{flags}] [@var{arg}]
15353 @code{ptype} accepts the same arguments as @code{whatis}, but prints a
15354 detailed description of the type, instead of just the name of the type.
15355 @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}.
15356
15357 Contrary to @code{whatis}, @code{ptype} always unrolls any
15358 @code{typedef}s in its argument declaration, whether the argument is
15359 a variable, expression, or a data type. This means that @code{ptype}
15360 of a variable or an expression will not print literally its type as
15361 present in the source code---use @code{whatis} for that. @code{typedef}s at
15362 the pointer or reference targets are also unrolled. Only @code{typedef}s of
15363 fields, methods and inner @code{class typedef}s of @code{struct}s,
15364 @code{class}es and @code{union}s are not unrolled even with @code{ptype}.
15365
15366 For example, for this variable declaration:
15367
15368 @smallexample
15369 typedef double real_t;
15370 struct complex @{ real_t real; double imag; @};
15371 typedef struct complex complex_t;
15372 complex_t var;
15373 real_t *real_pointer_var;
15374 @end smallexample
15375
15376 @noindent
15377 the two commands give this output:
15378
15379 @smallexample
15380 @group
15381 (@value{GDBP}) whatis var
15382 type = complex_t
15383 (@value{GDBP}) ptype var
15384 type = struct complex @{
15385 real_t real;
15386 double imag;
15387 @}
15388 (@value{GDBP}) whatis complex_t
15389 type = struct complex
15390 (@value{GDBP}) whatis struct complex
15391 type = struct complex
15392 (@value{GDBP}) ptype struct complex
15393 type = struct complex @{
15394 real_t real;
15395 double imag;
15396 @}
15397 (@value{GDBP}) whatis real_pointer_var
15398 type = real_t *
15399 (@value{GDBP}) ptype real_pointer_var
15400 type = double *
15401 @end group
15402 @end smallexample
15403
15404 @noindent
15405 As with @code{whatis}, using @code{ptype} without an argument refers to
15406 the type of @code{$}, the last value in the value history.
15407
15408 @cindex incomplete type
15409 Sometimes, programs use opaque data types or incomplete specifications
15410 of complex data structure. If the debug information included in the
15411 program does not allow @value{GDBN} to display a full declaration of
15412 the data type, it will say @samp{<incomplete type>}. For example,
15413 given these declarations:
15414
15415 @smallexample
15416 struct foo;
15417 struct foo *fooptr;
15418 @end smallexample
15419
15420 @noindent
15421 but no definition for @code{struct foo} itself, @value{GDBN} will say:
15422
15423 @smallexample
15424 (@value{GDBP}) ptype foo
15425 $1 = <incomplete type>
15426 @end smallexample
15427
15428 @noindent
15429 ``Incomplete type'' is C terminology for data types that are not
15430 completely specified.
15431
15432 @kindex info types
15433 @item info types @var{regexp}
15434 @itemx info types
15435 Print a brief description of all types whose names match the regular
15436 expression @var{regexp} (or all types in your program, if you supply
15437 no argument). Each complete typename is matched as though it were a
15438 complete line; thus, @samp{i type value} gives information on all
15439 types in your program whose names include the string @code{value}, but
15440 @samp{i type ^value$} gives information only on types whose complete
15441 name is @code{value}.
15442
15443 This command differs from @code{ptype} in two ways: first, like
15444 @code{whatis}, it does not print a detailed description; second, it
15445 lists all source files where a type is defined.
15446
15447 @kindex info type-printers
15448 @item info type-printers
15449 Versions of @value{GDBN} that ship with Python scripting enabled may
15450 have ``type printers'' available. When using @command{ptype} or
15451 @command{whatis}, these printers are consulted when the name of a type
15452 is needed. @xref{Type Printing API}, for more information on writing
15453 type printers.
15454
15455 @code{info type-printers} displays all the available type printers.
15456
15457 @kindex enable type-printer
15458 @kindex disable type-printer
15459 @item enable type-printer @var{name}@dots{}
15460 @item disable type-printer @var{name}@dots{}
15461 These commands can be used to enable or disable type printers.
15462
15463 @kindex info scope
15464 @cindex local variables
15465 @item info scope @var{location}
15466 List all the variables local to a particular scope. This command
15467 accepts a @var{location} argument---a function name, a source line, or
15468 an address preceded by a @samp{*}, and prints all the variables local
15469 to the scope defined by that location. (@xref{Specify Location}, for
15470 details about supported forms of @var{location}.) For example:
15471
15472 @smallexample
15473 (@value{GDBP}) @b{info scope command_line_handler}
15474 Scope for command_line_handler:
15475 Symbol rl is an argument at stack/frame offset 8, length 4.
15476 Symbol linebuffer is in static storage at address 0x150a18, length 4.
15477 Symbol linelength is in static storage at address 0x150a1c, length 4.
15478 Symbol p is a local variable in register $esi, length 4.
15479 Symbol p1 is a local variable in register $ebx, length 4.
15480 Symbol nline is a local variable in register $edx, length 4.
15481 Symbol repeat is a local variable at frame offset -8, length 4.
15482 @end smallexample
15483
15484 @noindent
15485 This command is especially useful for determining what data to collect
15486 during a @dfn{trace experiment}, see @ref{Tracepoint Actions,
15487 collect}.
15488
15489 @kindex info source
15490 @item info source
15491 Show information about the current source file---that is, the source file for
15492 the function containing the current point of execution:
15493 @itemize @bullet
15494 @item
15495 the name of the source file, and the directory containing it,
15496 @item
15497 the directory it was compiled in,
15498 @item
15499 its length, in lines,
15500 @item
15501 which programming language it is written in,
15502 @item
15503 whether the executable includes debugging information for that file, and
15504 if so, what format the information is in (e.g., STABS, Dwarf 2, etc.), and
15505 @item
15506 whether the debugging information includes information about
15507 preprocessor macros.
15508 @end itemize
15509
15510
15511 @kindex info sources
15512 @item info sources
15513 Print the names of all source files in your program for which there is
15514 debugging information, organized into two lists: files whose symbols
15515 have already been read, and files whose symbols will be read when needed.
15516
15517 @kindex info functions
15518 @item info functions
15519 Print the names and data types of all defined functions.
15520
15521 @item info functions @var{regexp}
15522 Print the names and data types of all defined functions
15523 whose names contain a match for regular expression @var{regexp}.
15524 Thus, @samp{info fun step} finds all functions whose names
15525 include @code{step}; @samp{info fun ^step} finds those whose names
15526 start with @code{step}. If a function name contains characters
15527 that conflict with the regular expression language (e.g.@:
15528 @samp{operator*()}), they may be quoted with a backslash.
15529
15530 @kindex info variables
15531 @item info variables
15532 Print the names and data types of all variables that are defined
15533 outside of functions (i.e.@: excluding local variables).
15534
15535 @item info variables @var{regexp}
15536 Print the names and data types of all variables (except for local
15537 variables) whose names contain a match for regular expression
15538 @var{regexp}.
15539
15540 @kindex info classes
15541 @cindex Objective-C, classes and selectors
15542 @item info classes
15543 @itemx info classes @var{regexp}
15544 Display all Objective-C classes in your program, or
15545 (with the @var{regexp} argument) all those matching a particular regular
15546 expression.
15547
15548 @kindex info selectors
15549 @item info selectors
15550 @itemx info selectors @var{regexp}
15551 Display all Objective-C selectors in your program, or
15552 (with the @var{regexp} argument) all those matching a particular regular
15553 expression.
15554
15555 @ignore
15556 This was never implemented.
15557 @kindex info methods
15558 @item info methods
15559 @itemx info methods @var{regexp}
15560 The @code{info methods} command permits the user to examine all defined
15561 methods within C@t{++} program, or (with the @var{regexp} argument) a
15562 specific set of methods found in the various C@t{++} classes. Many
15563 C@t{++} classes provide a large number of methods. Thus, the output
15564 from the @code{ptype} command can be overwhelming and hard to use. The
15565 @code{info-methods} command filters the methods, printing only those
15566 which match the regular-expression @var{regexp}.
15567 @end ignore
15568
15569 @cindex opaque data types
15570 @kindex set opaque-type-resolution
15571 @item set opaque-type-resolution on
15572 Tell @value{GDBN} to resolve opaque types. An opaque type is a type
15573 declared as a pointer to a @code{struct}, @code{class}, or
15574 @code{union}---for example, @code{struct MyType *}---that is used in one
15575 source file although the full declaration of @code{struct MyType} is in
15576 another source file. The default is on.
15577
15578 A change in the setting of this subcommand will not take effect until
15579 the next time symbols for a file are loaded.
15580
15581 @item set opaque-type-resolution off
15582 Tell @value{GDBN} not to resolve opaque types. In this case, the type
15583 is printed as follows:
15584 @smallexample
15585 @{<no data fields>@}
15586 @end smallexample
15587
15588 @kindex show opaque-type-resolution
15589 @item show opaque-type-resolution
15590 Show whether opaque types are resolved or not.
15591
15592 @kindex maint print symbols
15593 @cindex symbol dump
15594 @kindex maint print psymbols
15595 @cindex partial symbol dump
15596 @item maint print symbols @var{filename}
15597 @itemx maint print psymbols @var{filename}
15598 @itemx maint print msymbols @var{filename}
15599 Write a dump of debugging symbol data into the file @var{filename}.
15600 These commands are used to debug the @value{GDBN} symbol-reading code. Only
15601 symbols with debugging data are included. If you use @samp{maint print
15602 symbols}, @value{GDBN} includes all the symbols for which it has already
15603 collected full details: that is, @var{filename} reflects symbols for
15604 only those files whose symbols @value{GDBN} has read. You can use the
15605 command @code{info sources} to find out which files these are. If you
15606 use @samp{maint print psymbols} instead, the dump shows information about
15607 symbols that @value{GDBN} only knows partially---that is, symbols defined in
15608 files that @value{GDBN} has skimmed, but not yet read completely. Finally,
15609 @samp{maint print msymbols} dumps just the minimal symbol information
15610 required for each object file from which @value{GDBN} has read some symbols.
15611 @xref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}, for a discussion of how
15612 @value{GDBN} reads symbols (in the description of @code{symbol-file}).
15613
15614 @kindex maint info symtabs
15615 @kindex maint info psymtabs
15616 @cindex listing @value{GDBN}'s internal symbol tables
15617 @cindex symbol tables, listing @value{GDBN}'s internal
15618 @cindex full symbol tables, listing @value{GDBN}'s internal
15619 @cindex partial symbol tables, listing @value{GDBN}'s internal
15620 @item maint info symtabs @r{[} @var{regexp} @r{]}
15621 @itemx maint info psymtabs @r{[} @var{regexp} @r{]}
15622
15623 List the @code{struct symtab} or @code{struct partial_symtab}
15624 structures whose names match @var{regexp}. If @var{regexp} is not
15625 given, list them all. The output includes expressions which you can
15626 copy into a @value{GDBN} debugging this one to examine a particular
15627 structure in more detail. For example:
15628
15629 @smallexample
15630 (@value{GDBP}) maint info psymtabs dwarf2read
15631 @{ objfile /home/gnu/build/gdb/gdb
15632 ((struct objfile *) 0x82e69d0)
15633 @{ psymtab /home/gnu/src/gdb/dwarf2read.c
15634 ((struct partial_symtab *) 0x8474b10)
15635 readin no
15636 fullname (null)
15637 text addresses 0x814d3c8 -- 0x8158074
15638 globals (* (struct partial_symbol **) 0x8507a08 @@ 9)
15639 statics (* (struct partial_symbol **) 0x40e95b78 @@ 2882)
15640 dependencies (none)
15641 @}
15642 @}
15643 (@value{GDBP}) maint info symtabs
15644 (@value{GDBP})
15645 @end smallexample
15646 @noindent
15647 We see that there is one partial symbol table whose filename contains
15648 the string @samp{dwarf2read}, belonging to the @samp{gdb} executable;
15649 and we see that @value{GDBN} has not read in any symtabs yet at all.
15650 If we set a breakpoint on a function, that will cause @value{GDBN} to
15651 read the symtab for the compilation unit containing that function:
15652
15653 @smallexample
15654 (@value{GDBP}) break dwarf2_psymtab_to_symtab
15655 Breakpoint 1 at 0x814e5da: file /home/gnu/src/gdb/dwarf2read.c,
15656 line 1574.
15657 (@value{GDBP}) maint info symtabs
15658 @{ objfile /home/gnu/build/gdb/gdb
15659 ((struct objfile *) 0x82e69d0)
15660 @{ symtab /home/gnu/src/gdb/dwarf2read.c
15661 ((struct symtab *) 0x86c1f38)
15662 dirname (null)
15663 fullname (null)
15664 blockvector ((struct blockvector *) 0x86c1bd0) (primary)
15665 linetable ((struct linetable *) 0x8370fa0)
15666 debugformat DWARF 2
15667 @}
15668 @}
15669 (@value{GDBP})
15670 @end smallexample
15671 @end table
15672
15673
15674 @node Altering
15675 @chapter Altering Execution
15676
15677 Once you think you have found an error in your program, you might want to
15678 find out for certain whether correcting the apparent error would lead to
15679 correct results in the rest of the run. You can find the answer by
15680 experiment, using the @value{GDBN} features for altering execution of the
15681 program.
15682
15683 For example, you can store new values into variables or memory
15684 locations, give your program a signal, restart it at a different
15685 address, or even return prematurely from a function.
15686
15687 @menu
15688 * Assignment:: Assignment to variables
15689 * Jumping:: Continuing at a different address
15690 * Signaling:: Giving your program a signal
15691 * Returning:: Returning from a function
15692 * Calling:: Calling your program's functions
15693 * Patching:: Patching your program
15694 @end menu
15695
15696 @node Assignment
15697 @section Assignment to Variables
15698
15699 @cindex assignment
15700 @cindex setting variables
15701 To alter the value of a variable, evaluate an assignment expression.
15702 @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}. For example,
15703
15704 @smallexample
15705 print x=4
15706 @end smallexample
15707
15708 @noindent
15709 stores the value 4 into the variable @code{x}, and then prints the
15710 value of the assignment expression (which is 4).
15711 @xref{Languages, ,Using @value{GDBN} with Different Languages}, for more
15712 information on operators in supported languages.
15713
15714 @kindex set variable
15715 @cindex variables, setting
15716 If you are not interested in seeing the value of the assignment, use the
15717 @code{set} command instead of the @code{print} command. @code{set} is
15718 really the same as @code{print} except that the expression's value is
15719 not printed and is not put in the value history (@pxref{Value History,
15720 ,Value History}). The expression is evaluated only for its effects.
15721
15722 If the beginning of the argument string of the @code{set} command
15723 appears identical to a @code{set} subcommand, use the @code{set
15724 variable} command instead of just @code{set}. This command is identical
15725 to @code{set} except for its lack of subcommands. For example, if your
15726 program has a variable @code{width}, you get an error if you try to set
15727 a new value with just @samp{set width=13}, because @value{GDBN} has the
15728 command @code{set width}:
15729
15730 @smallexample
15731 (@value{GDBP}) whatis width
15732 type = double
15733 (@value{GDBP}) p width
15734 $4 = 13
15735 (@value{GDBP}) set width=47
15736 Invalid syntax in expression.
15737 @end smallexample
15738
15739 @noindent
15740 The invalid expression, of course, is @samp{=47}. In
15741 order to actually set the program's variable @code{width}, use
15742
15743 @smallexample
15744 (@value{GDBP}) set var width=47
15745 @end smallexample
15746
15747 Because the @code{set} command has many subcommands that can conflict
15748 with the names of program variables, it is a good idea to use the
15749 @code{set variable} command instead of just @code{set}. For example, if
15750 your program has a variable @code{g}, you run into problems if you try
15751 to set a new value with just @samp{set g=4}, because @value{GDBN} has
15752 the command @code{set gnutarget}, abbreviated @code{set g}:
15753
15754 @smallexample
15755 @group
15756 (@value{GDBP}) whatis g
15757 type = double
15758 (@value{GDBP}) p g
15759 $1 = 1
15760 (@value{GDBP}) set g=4
15761 (@value{GDBP}) p g
15762 $2 = 1
15763 (@value{GDBP}) r
15764 The program being debugged has been started already.
15765 Start it from the beginning? (y or n) y
15766 Starting program: /home/smith/cc_progs/a.out
15767 "/home/smith/cc_progs/a.out": can't open to read symbols:
15768 Invalid bfd target.
15769 (@value{GDBP}) show g
15770 The current BFD target is "=4".
15771 @end group
15772 @end smallexample
15773
15774 @noindent
15775 The program variable @code{g} did not change, and you silently set the
15776 @code{gnutarget} to an invalid value. In order to set the variable
15777 @code{g}, use
15778
15779 @smallexample
15780 (@value{GDBP}) set var g=4
15781 @end smallexample
15782
15783 @value{GDBN} allows more implicit conversions in assignments than C; you can
15784 freely store an integer value into a pointer variable or vice versa,
15785 and you can convert any structure to any other structure that is the
15786 same length or shorter.
15787 @comment FIXME: how do structs align/pad in these conversions?
15788 @comment /doc@cygnus.com 18dec1990
15789
15790 To store values into arbitrary places in memory, use the @samp{@{@dots{}@}}
15791 construct to generate a value of specified type at a specified address
15792 (@pxref{Expressions, ,Expressions}). For example, @code{@{int@}0x83040} refers
15793 to memory location @code{0x83040} as an integer (which implies a certain size
15794 and representation in memory), and
15795
15796 @smallexample
15797 set @{int@}0x83040 = 4
15798 @end smallexample
15799
15800 @noindent
15801 stores the value 4 into that memory location.
15802
15803 @node Jumping
15804 @section Continuing at a Different Address
15805
15806 Ordinarily, when you continue your program, you do so at the place where
15807 it stopped, with the @code{continue} command. You can instead continue at
15808 an address of your own choosing, with the following commands:
15809
15810 @table @code
15811 @kindex jump
15812 @kindex j @r{(@code{jump})}
15813 @item jump @var{linespec}
15814 @itemx j @var{linespec}
15815 @itemx jump @var{location}
15816 @itemx j @var{location}
15817 Resume execution at line @var{linespec} or at address given by
15818 @var{location}. Execution stops again immediately if there is a
15819 breakpoint there. @xref{Specify Location}, for a description of the
15820 different forms of @var{linespec} and @var{location}. It is common
15821 practice to use the @code{tbreak} command in conjunction with
15822 @code{jump}. @xref{Set Breaks, ,Setting Breakpoints}.
15823
15824 The @code{jump} command does not change the current stack frame, or
15825 the stack pointer, or the contents of any memory location or any
15826 register other than the program counter. If line @var{linespec} is in
15827 a different function from the one currently executing, the results may
15828 be bizarre if the two functions expect different patterns of arguments or
15829 of local variables. For this reason, the @code{jump} command requests
15830 confirmation if the specified line is not in the function currently
15831 executing. However, even bizarre results are predictable if you are
15832 well acquainted with the machine-language code of your program.
15833 @end table
15834
15835 @c Doesn't work on HP-UX; have to set $pcoqh and $pcoqt.
15836 On many systems, you can get much the same effect as the @code{jump}
15837 command by storing a new value into the register @code{$pc}. The
15838 difference is that this does not start your program running; it only
15839 changes the address of where it @emph{will} run when you continue. For
15840 example,
15841
15842 @smallexample
15843 set $pc = 0x485
15844 @end smallexample
15845
15846 @noindent
15847 makes the next @code{continue} command or stepping command execute at
15848 address @code{0x485}, rather than at the address where your program stopped.
15849 @xref{Continuing and Stepping, ,Continuing and Stepping}.
15850
15851 The most common occasion to use the @code{jump} command is to back
15852 up---perhaps with more breakpoints set---over a portion of a program
15853 that has already executed, in order to examine its execution in more
15854 detail.
15855
15856 @c @group
15857 @node Signaling
15858 @section Giving your Program a Signal
15859 @cindex deliver a signal to a program
15860
15861 @table @code
15862 @kindex signal
15863 @item signal @var{signal}
15864 Resume execution where your program stopped, but immediately give it the
15865 signal @var{signal}. @var{signal} can be the name or the number of a
15866 signal. For example, on many systems @code{signal 2} and @code{signal
15867 SIGINT} are both ways of sending an interrupt signal.
15868
15869 Alternatively, if @var{signal} is zero, continue execution without
15870 giving a signal. This is useful when your program stopped on account of
15871 a signal and would ordinarily see the signal when resumed with the
15872 @code{continue} command; @samp{signal 0} causes it to resume without a
15873 signal.
15874
15875 @code{signal} does not repeat when you press @key{RET} a second time
15876 after executing the command.
15877 @end table
15878 @c @end group
15879
15880 Invoking the @code{signal} command is not the same as invoking the
15881 @code{kill} utility from the shell. Sending a signal with @code{kill}
15882 causes @value{GDBN} to decide what to do with the signal depending on
15883 the signal handling tables (@pxref{Signals}). The @code{signal} command
15884 passes the signal directly to your program.
15885
15886
15887 @node Returning
15888 @section Returning from a Function
15889
15890 @table @code
15891 @cindex returning from a function
15892 @kindex return
15893 @item return
15894 @itemx return @var{expression}
15895 You can cancel execution of a function call with the @code{return}
15896 command. If you give an
15897 @var{expression} argument, its value is used as the function's return
15898 value.
15899 @end table
15900
15901 When you use @code{return}, @value{GDBN} discards the selected stack frame
15902 (and all frames within it). You can think of this as making the
15903 discarded frame return prematurely. If you wish to specify a value to
15904 be returned, give that value as the argument to @code{return}.
15905
15906 This pops the selected stack frame (@pxref{Selection, ,Selecting a
15907 Frame}), and any other frames inside of it, leaving its caller as the
15908 innermost remaining frame. That frame becomes selected. The
15909 specified value is stored in the registers used for returning values
15910 of functions.
15911
15912 The @code{return} command does not resume execution; it leaves the
15913 program stopped in the state that would exist if the function had just
15914 returned. In contrast, the @code{finish} command (@pxref{Continuing
15915 and Stepping, ,Continuing and Stepping}) resumes execution until the
15916 selected stack frame returns naturally.
15917
15918 @value{GDBN} needs to know how the @var{expression} argument should be set for
15919 the inferior. The concrete registers assignment depends on the OS ABI and the
15920 type being returned by the selected stack frame. For example it is common for
15921 OS ABI to return floating point values in FPU registers while integer values in
15922 CPU registers. Still some ABIs return even floating point values in CPU
15923 registers. Larger integer widths (such as @code{long long int}) also have
15924 specific placement rules. @value{GDBN} already knows the OS ABI from its
15925 current target so it needs to find out also the type being returned to make the
15926 assignment into the right register(s).
15927
15928 Normally, the selected stack frame has debug info. @value{GDBN} will always
15929 use the debug info instead of the implicit type of @var{expression} when the
15930 debug info is available. For example, if you type @kbd{return -1}, and the
15931 function in the current stack frame is declared to return a @code{long long
15932 int}, @value{GDBN} transparently converts the implicit @code{int} value of -1
15933 into a @code{long long int}:
15934
15935 @smallexample
15936 Breakpoint 1, func () at gdb.base/return-nodebug.c:29
15937 29 return 31;
15938 (@value{GDBP}) return -1
15939 Make func return now? (y or n) y
15940 #0 0x004004f6 in main () at gdb.base/return-nodebug.c:43
15941 43 printf ("result=%lld\n", func ());
15942 (@value{GDBP})
15943 @end smallexample
15944
15945 However, if the selected stack frame does not have a debug info, e.g., if the
15946 function was compiled without debug info, @value{GDBN} has to find out the type
15947 to return from user. Specifying a different type by mistake may set the value
15948 in different inferior registers than the caller code expects. For example,
15949 typing @kbd{return -1} with its implicit type @code{int} would set only a part
15950 of a @code{long long int} result for a debug info less function (on 32-bit
15951 architectures). Therefore the user is required to specify the return type by
15952 an appropriate cast explicitly:
15953
15954 @smallexample
15955 Breakpoint 2, 0x0040050b in func ()
15956 (@value{GDBP}) return -1
15957 Return value type not available for selected stack frame.
15958 Please use an explicit cast of the value to return.
15959 (@value{GDBP}) return (long long int) -1
15960 Make selected stack frame return now? (y or n) y
15961 #0 0x00400526 in main ()
15962 (@value{GDBP})
15963 @end smallexample
15964
15965 @node Calling
15966 @section Calling Program Functions
15967
15968 @table @code
15969 @cindex calling functions
15970 @cindex inferior functions, calling
15971 @item print @var{expr}
15972 Evaluate the expression @var{expr} and display the resulting value.
15973 @var{expr} may include calls to functions in the program being
15974 debugged.
15975
15976 @kindex call
15977 @item call @var{expr}
15978 Evaluate the expression @var{expr} without displaying @code{void}
15979 returned values.
15980
15981 You can use this variant of the @code{print} command if you want to
15982 execute a function from your program that does not return anything
15983 (a.k.a.@: @dfn{a void function}), but without cluttering the output
15984 with @code{void} returned values that @value{GDBN} will otherwise
15985 print. If the result is not void, it is printed and saved in the
15986 value history.
15987 @end table
15988
15989 It is possible for the function you call via the @code{print} or
15990 @code{call} command to generate a signal (e.g., if there's a bug in
15991 the function, or if you passed it incorrect arguments). What happens
15992 in that case is controlled by the @code{set unwindonsignal} command.
15993
15994 Similarly, with a C@t{++} program it is possible for the function you
15995 call via the @code{print} or @code{call} command to generate an
15996 exception that is not handled due to the constraints of the dummy
15997 frame. In this case, any exception that is raised in the frame, but has
15998 an out-of-frame exception handler will not be found. GDB builds a
15999 dummy-frame for the inferior function call, and the unwinder cannot
16000 seek for exception handlers outside of this dummy-frame. What happens
16001 in that case is controlled by the
16002 @code{set unwind-on-terminating-exception} command.
16003
16004 @table @code
16005 @item set unwindonsignal
16006 @kindex set unwindonsignal
16007 @cindex unwind stack in called functions
16008 @cindex call dummy stack unwinding
16009 Set unwinding of the stack if a signal is received while in a function
16010 that @value{GDBN} called in the program being debugged. If set to on,
16011 @value{GDBN} unwinds the stack it created for the call and restores
16012 the context to what it was before the call. If set to off (the
16013 default), @value{GDBN} stops in the frame where the signal was
16014 received.
16015
16016 @item show unwindonsignal
16017 @kindex show unwindonsignal
16018 Show the current setting of stack unwinding in the functions called by
16019 @value{GDBN}.
16020
16021 @item set unwind-on-terminating-exception
16022 @kindex set unwind-on-terminating-exception
16023 @cindex unwind stack in called functions with unhandled exceptions
16024 @cindex call dummy stack unwinding on unhandled exception.
16025 Set unwinding of the stack if a C@t{++} exception is raised, but left
16026 unhandled while in a function that @value{GDBN} called in the program being
16027 debugged. If set to on (the default), @value{GDBN} unwinds the stack
16028 it created for the call and restores the context to what it was before
16029 the call. If set to off, @value{GDBN} the exception is delivered to
16030 the default C@t{++} exception handler and the inferior terminated.
16031
16032 @item show unwind-on-terminating-exception
16033 @kindex show unwind-on-terminating-exception
16034 Show the current setting of stack unwinding in the functions called by
16035 @value{GDBN}.
16036
16037 @end table
16038
16039 @cindex weak alias functions
16040 Sometimes, a function you wish to call is actually a @dfn{weak alias}
16041 for another function. In such case, @value{GDBN} might not pick up
16042 the type information, including the types of the function arguments,
16043 which causes @value{GDBN} to call the inferior function incorrectly.
16044 As a result, the called function will function erroneously and may
16045 even crash. A solution to that is to use the name of the aliased
16046 function instead.
16047
16048 @node Patching
16049 @section Patching Programs
16050
16051 @cindex patching binaries
16052 @cindex writing into executables
16053 @cindex writing into corefiles
16054
16055 By default, @value{GDBN} opens the file containing your program's
16056 executable code (or the corefile) read-only. This prevents accidental
16057 alterations to machine code; but it also prevents you from intentionally
16058 patching your program's binary.
16059
16060 If you'd like to be able to patch the binary, you can specify that
16061 explicitly with the @code{set write} command. For example, you might
16062 want to turn on internal debugging flags, or even to make emergency
16063 repairs.
16064
16065 @table @code
16066 @kindex set write
16067 @item set write on
16068 @itemx set write off
16069 If you specify @samp{set write on}, @value{GDBN} opens executable and
16070 core files for both reading and writing; if you specify @kbd{set write
16071 off} (the default), @value{GDBN} opens them read-only.
16072
16073 If you have already loaded a file, you must load it again (using the
16074 @code{exec-file} or @code{core-file} command) after changing @code{set
16075 write}, for your new setting to take effect.
16076
16077 @item show write
16078 @kindex show write
16079 Display whether executable files and core files are opened for writing
16080 as well as reading.
16081 @end table
16082
16083 @node GDB Files
16084 @chapter @value{GDBN} Files
16085
16086 @value{GDBN} needs to know the file name of the program to be debugged,
16087 both in order to read its symbol table and in order to start your
16088 program. To debug a core dump of a previous run, you must also tell
16089 @value{GDBN} the name of the core dump file.
16090
16091 @menu
16092 * Files:: Commands to specify files
16093 * Separate Debug Files:: Debugging information in separate files
16094 * MiniDebugInfo:: Debugging information in a special section
16095 * Index Files:: Index files speed up GDB
16096 * Symbol Errors:: Errors reading symbol files
16097 * Data Files:: GDB data files
16098 @end menu
16099
16100 @node Files
16101 @section Commands to Specify Files
16102
16103 @cindex symbol table
16104 @cindex core dump file
16105
16106 You may want to specify executable and core dump file names. The usual
16107 way to do this is at start-up time, using the arguments to
16108 @value{GDBN}'s start-up commands (@pxref{Invocation, , Getting In and
16109 Out of @value{GDBN}}).
16110
16111 Occasionally it is necessary to change to a different file during a
16112 @value{GDBN} session. Or you may run @value{GDBN} and forget to
16113 specify a file you want to use. Or you are debugging a remote target
16114 via @code{gdbserver} (@pxref{Server, file, Using the @code{gdbserver}
16115 Program}). In these situations the @value{GDBN} commands to specify
16116 new files are useful.
16117
16118 @table @code
16119 @cindex executable file
16120 @kindex file
16121 @item file @var{filename}
16122 Use @var{filename} as the program to be debugged. It is read for its
16123 symbols and for the contents of pure memory. It is also the program
16124 executed when you use the @code{run} command. If you do not specify a
16125 directory and the file is not found in the @value{GDBN} working directory,
16126 @value{GDBN} uses the environment variable @code{PATH} as a list of
16127 directories to search, just as the shell does when looking for a program
16128 to run. You can change the value of this variable, for both @value{GDBN}
16129 and your program, using the @code{path} command.
16130
16131 @cindex unlinked object files
16132 @cindex patching object files
16133 You can load unlinked object @file{.o} files into @value{GDBN} using
16134 the @code{file} command. You will not be able to ``run'' an object
16135 file, but you can disassemble functions and inspect variables. Also,
16136 if the underlying BFD functionality supports it, you could use
16137 @kbd{gdb -write} to patch object files using this technique. Note
16138 that @value{GDBN} can neither interpret nor modify relocations in this
16139 case, so branches and some initialized variables will appear to go to
16140 the wrong place. But this feature is still handy from time to time.
16141
16142 @item file
16143 @code{file} with no argument makes @value{GDBN} discard any information it
16144 has on both executable file and the symbol table.
16145
16146 @kindex exec-file
16147 @item exec-file @r{[} @var{filename} @r{]}
16148 Specify that the program to be run (but not the symbol table) is found
16149 in @var{filename}. @value{GDBN} searches the environment variable @code{PATH}
16150 if necessary to locate your program. Omitting @var{filename} means to
16151 discard information on the executable file.
16152
16153 @kindex symbol-file
16154 @item symbol-file @r{[} @var{filename} @r{]}
16155 Read symbol table information from file @var{filename}. @code{PATH} is
16156 searched when necessary. Use the @code{file} command to get both symbol
16157 table and program to run from the same file.
16158
16159 @code{symbol-file} with no argument clears out @value{GDBN} information on your
16160 program's symbol table.
16161
16162 The @code{symbol-file} command causes @value{GDBN} to forget the contents of
16163 some breakpoints and auto-display expressions. This is because they may
16164 contain pointers to the internal data recording symbols and data types,
16165 which are part of the old symbol table data being discarded inside
16166 @value{GDBN}.
16167
16168 @code{symbol-file} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} again after
16169 executing it once.
16170
16171 When @value{GDBN} is configured for a particular environment, it
16172 understands debugging information in whatever format is the standard
16173 generated for that environment; you may use either a @sc{gnu} compiler, or
16174 other compilers that adhere to the local conventions.
16175 Best results are usually obtained from @sc{gnu} compilers; for example,
16176 using @code{@value{NGCC}} you can generate debugging information for
16177 optimized code.
16178
16179 For most kinds of object files, with the exception of old SVR3 systems
16180 using COFF, the @code{symbol-file} command does not normally read the
16181 symbol table in full right away. Instead, it scans the symbol table
16182 quickly to find which source files and which symbols are present. The
16183 details are read later, one source file at a time, as they are needed.
16184
16185 The purpose of this two-stage reading strategy is to make @value{GDBN}
16186 start up faster. For the most part, it is invisible except for
16187 occasional pauses while the symbol table details for a particular source
16188 file are being read. (The @code{set verbose} command can turn these
16189 pauses into messages if desired. @xref{Messages/Warnings, ,Optional
16190 Warnings and Messages}.)
16191
16192 We have not implemented the two-stage strategy for COFF yet. When the
16193 symbol table is stored in COFF format, @code{symbol-file} reads the
16194 symbol table data in full right away. Note that ``stabs-in-COFF''
16195 still does the two-stage strategy, since the debug info is actually
16196 in stabs format.
16197
16198 @kindex readnow
16199 @cindex reading symbols immediately
16200 @cindex symbols, reading immediately
16201 @item symbol-file @r{[} -readnow @r{]} @var{filename}
16202 @itemx file @r{[} -readnow @r{]} @var{filename}
16203 You can override the @value{GDBN} two-stage strategy for reading symbol
16204 tables by using the @samp{-readnow} option with any of the commands that
16205 load symbol table information, if you want to be sure @value{GDBN} has the
16206 entire symbol table available.
16207
16208 @c FIXME: for now no mention of directories, since this seems to be in
16209 @c flux. 13mar1992 status is that in theory GDB would look either in
16210 @c current dir or in same dir as myprog; but issues like competing
16211 @c GDB's, or clutter in system dirs, mean that in practice right now
16212 @c only current dir is used. FFish says maybe a special GDB hierarchy
16213 @c (eg rooted in val of env var GDBSYMS) could exist for mappable symbol
16214 @c files.
16215
16216 @kindex core-file
16217 @item core-file @r{[}@var{filename}@r{]}
16218 @itemx core
16219 Specify the whereabouts of a core dump file to be used as the ``contents
16220 of memory''. Traditionally, core files contain only some parts of the
16221 address space of the process that generated them; @value{GDBN} can access the
16222 executable file itself for other parts.
16223
16224 @code{core-file} with no argument specifies that no core file is
16225 to be used.
16226
16227 Note that the core file is ignored when your program is actually running
16228 under @value{GDBN}. So, if you have been running your program and you
16229 wish to debug a core file instead, you must kill the subprocess in which
16230 the program is running. To do this, use the @code{kill} command
16231 (@pxref{Kill Process, ,Killing the Child Process}).
16232
16233 @kindex add-symbol-file
16234 @cindex dynamic linking
16235 @item add-symbol-file @var{filename} @var{address}
16236 @itemx add-symbol-file @var{filename} @var{address} @r{[} -readnow @r{]}
16237 @itemx add-symbol-file @var{filename} @var{address} -s @var{section} @var{address} @dots{}
16238 The @code{add-symbol-file} command reads additional symbol table
16239 information from the file @var{filename}. You would use this command
16240 when @var{filename} has been dynamically loaded (by some other means)
16241 into the program that is running. @var{address} should be the memory
16242 address at which the file has been loaded; @value{GDBN} cannot figure
16243 this out for itself. You can additionally specify an arbitrary number
16244 of @samp{-s @var{section} @var{address}} pairs, to give an explicit
16245 section name and base address for that section. You can specify any
16246 @var{address} as an expression.
16247
16248 The symbol table of the file @var{filename} is added to the symbol table
16249 originally read with the @code{symbol-file} command. You can use the
16250 @code{add-symbol-file} command any number of times; the new symbol data
16251 thus read keeps adding to the old. To discard all old symbol data
16252 instead, use the @code{symbol-file} command without any arguments.
16253
16254 @cindex relocatable object files, reading symbols from
16255 @cindex object files, relocatable, reading symbols from
16256 @cindex reading symbols from relocatable object files
16257 @cindex symbols, reading from relocatable object files
16258 @cindex @file{.o} files, reading symbols from
16259 Although @var{filename} is typically a shared library file, an
16260 executable file, or some other object file which has been fully
16261 relocated for loading into a process, you can also load symbolic
16262 information from relocatable @file{.o} files, as long as:
16263
16264 @itemize @bullet
16265 @item
16266 the file's symbolic information refers only to linker symbols defined in
16267 that file, not to symbols defined by other object files,
16268 @item
16269 every section the file's symbolic information refers to has actually
16270 been loaded into the inferior, as it appears in the file, and
16271 @item
16272 you can determine the address at which every section was loaded, and
16273 provide these to the @code{add-symbol-file} command.
16274 @end itemize
16275
16276 @noindent
16277 Some embedded operating systems, like Sun Chorus and VxWorks, can load
16278 relocatable files into an already running program; such systems
16279 typically make the requirements above easy to meet. However, it's
16280 important to recognize that many native systems use complex link
16281 procedures (@code{.linkonce} section factoring and C@t{++} constructor table
16282 assembly, for example) that make the requirements difficult to meet. In
16283 general, one cannot assume that using @code{add-symbol-file} to read a
16284 relocatable object file's symbolic information will have the same effect
16285 as linking the relocatable object file into the program in the normal
16286 way.
16287
16288 @code{add-symbol-file} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} after using it.
16289
16290 @kindex add-symbol-file-from-memory
16291 @cindex @code{syscall DSO}
16292 @cindex load symbols from memory
16293 @item add-symbol-file-from-memory @var{address}
16294 Load symbols from the given @var{address} in a dynamically loaded
16295 object file whose image is mapped directly into the inferior's memory.
16296 For example, the Linux kernel maps a @code{syscall DSO} into each
16297 process's address space; this DSO provides kernel-specific code for
16298 some system calls. The argument can be any expression whose
16299 evaluation yields the address of the file's shared object file header.
16300 For this command to work, you must have used @code{symbol-file} or
16301 @code{exec-file} commands in advance.
16302
16303 @kindex add-shared-symbol-files
16304 @kindex assf
16305 @item add-shared-symbol-files @var{library-file}
16306 @itemx assf @var{library-file}
16307 The @code{add-shared-symbol-files} command can currently be used only
16308 in the Cygwin build of @value{GDBN} on MS-Windows OS, where it is an
16309 alias for the @code{dll-symbols} command (@pxref{Cygwin Native}).
16310 @value{GDBN} automatically looks for shared libraries, however if
16311 @value{GDBN} does not find yours, you can invoke
16312 @code{add-shared-symbol-files}. It takes one argument: the shared
16313 library's file name. @code{assf} is a shorthand alias for
16314 @code{add-shared-symbol-files}.
16315
16316 @kindex section
16317 @item section @var{section} @var{addr}
16318 The @code{section} command changes the base address of the named
16319 @var{section} of the exec file to @var{addr}. This can be used if the
16320 exec file does not contain section addresses, (such as in the
16321 @code{a.out} format), or when the addresses specified in the file
16322 itself are wrong. Each section must be changed separately. The
16323 @code{info files} command, described below, lists all the sections and
16324 their addresses.
16325
16326 @kindex info files
16327 @kindex info target
16328 @item info files
16329 @itemx info target
16330 @code{info files} and @code{info target} are synonymous; both print the
16331 current target (@pxref{Targets, ,Specifying a Debugging Target}),
16332 including the names of the executable and core dump files currently in
16333 use by @value{GDBN}, and the files from which symbols were loaded. The
16334 command @code{help target} lists all possible targets rather than
16335 current ones.
16336
16337 @kindex maint info sections
16338 @item maint info sections
16339 Another command that can give you extra information about program sections
16340 is @code{maint info sections}. In addition to the section information
16341 displayed by @code{info files}, this command displays the flags and file
16342 offset of each section in the executable and core dump files. In addition,
16343 @code{maint info sections} provides the following command options (which
16344 may be arbitrarily combined):
16345
16346 @table @code
16347 @item ALLOBJ
16348 Display sections for all loaded object files, including shared libraries.
16349 @item @var{sections}
16350 Display info only for named @var{sections}.
16351 @item @var{section-flags}
16352 Display info only for sections for which @var{section-flags} are true.
16353 The section flags that @value{GDBN} currently knows about are:
16354 @table @code
16355 @item ALLOC
16356 Section will have space allocated in the process when loaded.
16357 Set for all sections except those containing debug information.
16358 @item LOAD
16359 Section will be loaded from the file into the child process memory.
16360 Set for pre-initialized code and data, clear for @code{.bss} sections.
16361 @item RELOC
16362 Section needs to be relocated before loading.
16363 @item READONLY
16364 Section cannot be modified by the child process.
16365 @item CODE
16366 Section contains executable code only.
16367 @item DATA
16368 Section contains data only (no executable code).
16369 @item ROM
16370 Section will reside in ROM.
16371 @item CONSTRUCTOR
16372 Section contains data for constructor/destructor lists.
16373 @item HAS_CONTENTS
16374 Section is not empty.
16375 @item NEVER_LOAD
16376 An instruction to the linker to not output the section.
16377 @item COFF_SHARED_LIBRARY
16378 A notification to the linker that the section contains
16379 COFF shared library information.
16380 @item IS_COMMON
16381 Section contains common symbols.
16382 @end table
16383 @end table
16384 @kindex set trust-readonly-sections
16385 @cindex read-only sections
16386 @item set trust-readonly-sections on
16387 Tell @value{GDBN} that readonly sections in your object file
16388 really are read-only (i.e.@: that their contents will not change).
16389 In that case, @value{GDBN} can fetch values from these sections
16390 out of the object file, rather than from the target program.
16391 For some targets (notably embedded ones), this can be a significant
16392 enhancement to debugging performance.
16393
16394 The default is off.
16395
16396 @item set trust-readonly-sections off
16397 Tell @value{GDBN} not to trust readonly sections. This means that
16398 the contents of the section might change while the program is running,
16399 and must therefore be fetched from the target when needed.
16400
16401 @item show trust-readonly-sections
16402 Show the current setting of trusting readonly sections.
16403 @end table
16404
16405 All file-specifying commands allow both absolute and relative file names
16406 as arguments. @value{GDBN} always converts the file name to an absolute file
16407 name and remembers it that way.
16408
16409 @cindex shared libraries
16410 @anchor{Shared Libraries}
16411 @value{GDBN} supports @sc{gnu}/Linux, MS-Windows, HP-UX, SunOS, SVr4, Irix,
16412 and IBM RS/6000 AIX shared libraries.
16413
16414 On MS-Windows @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support
16415 shared libraries. @xref{Expat}.
16416
16417 @value{GDBN} automatically loads symbol definitions from shared libraries
16418 when you use the @code{run} command, or when you examine a core file.
16419 (Before you issue the @code{run} command, @value{GDBN} does not understand
16420 references to a function in a shared library, however---unless you are
16421 debugging a core file).
16422
16423 On HP-UX, if the program loads a library explicitly, @value{GDBN}
16424 automatically loads the symbols at the time of the @code{shl_load} call.
16425
16426 @c FIXME: some @value{GDBN} release may permit some refs to undef
16427 @c FIXME...symbols---eg in a break cmd---assuming they are from a shared
16428 @c FIXME...lib; check this from time to time when updating manual
16429
16430 There are times, however, when you may wish to not automatically load
16431 symbol definitions from shared libraries, such as when they are
16432 particularly large or there are many of them.
16433
16434 To control the automatic loading of shared library symbols, use the
16435 commands:
16436
16437 @table @code
16438 @kindex set auto-solib-add
16439 @item set auto-solib-add @var{mode}
16440 If @var{mode} is @code{on}, symbols from all shared object libraries
16441 will be loaded automatically when the inferior begins execution, you
16442 attach to an independently started inferior, or when the dynamic linker
16443 informs @value{GDBN} that a new library has been loaded. If @var{mode}
16444 is @code{off}, symbols must be loaded manually, using the
16445 @code{sharedlibrary} command. The default value is @code{on}.
16446
16447 @cindex memory used for symbol tables
16448 If your program uses lots of shared libraries with debug info that
16449 takes large amounts of memory, you can decrease the @value{GDBN}
16450 memory footprint by preventing it from automatically loading the
16451 symbols from shared libraries. To that end, type @kbd{set
16452 auto-solib-add off} before running the inferior, then load each
16453 library whose debug symbols you do need with @kbd{sharedlibrary
16454 @var{regexp}}, where @var{regexp} is a regular expression that matches
16455 the libraries whose symbols you want to be loaded.
16456
16457 @kindex show auto-solib-add
16458 @item show auto-solib-add
16459 Display the current autoloading mode.
16460 @end table
16461
16462 @cindex load shared library
16463 To explicitly load shared library symbols, use the @code{sharedlibrary}
16464 command:
16465
16466 @table @code
16467 @kindex info sharedlibrary
16468 @kindex info share
16469 @item info share @var{regex}
16470 @itemx info sharedlibrary @var{regex}
16471 Print the names of the shared libraries which are currently loaded
16472 that match @var{regex}. If @var{regex} is omitted then print
16473 all shared libraries that are loaded.
16474
16475 @kindex sharedlibrary
16476 @kindex share
16477 @item sharedlibrary @var{regex}
16478 @itemx share @var{regex}
16479 Load shared object library symbols for files matching a
16480 Unix regular expression.
16481 As with files loaded automatically, it only loads shared libraries
16482 required by your program for a core file or after typing @code{run}. If
16483 @var{regex} is omitted all shared libraries required by your program are
16484 loaded.
16485
16486 @item nosharedlibrary
16487 @kindex nosharedlibrary
16488 @cindex unload symbols from shared libraries
16489 Unload all shared object library symbols. This discards all symbols
16490 that have been loaded from all shared libraries. Symbols from shared
16491 libraries that were loaded by explicit user requests are not
16492 discarded.
16493 @end table
16494
16495 Sometimes you may wish that @value{GDBN} stops and gives you control
16496 when any of shared library events happen. The best way to do this is
16497 to use @code{catch load} and @code{catch unload} (@pxref{Set
16498 Catchpoints}).
16499
16500 @value{GDBN} also supports the the @code{set stop-on-solib-events}
16501 command for this. This command exists for historical reasons. It is
16502 less useful than setting a catchpoint, because it does not allow for
16503 conditions or commands as a catchpoint does.
16504
16505 @table @code
16506 @item set stop-on-solib-events
16507 @kindex set stop-on-solib-events
16508 This command controls whether @value{GDBN} should give you control
16509 when the dynamic linker notifies it about some shared library event.
16510 The most common event of interest is loading or unloading of a new
16511 shared library.
16512
16513 @item show stop-on-solib-events
16514 @kindex show stop-on-solib-events
16515 Show whether @value{GDBN} stops and gives you control when shared
16516 library events happen.
16517 @end table
16518
16519 Shared libraries are also supported in many cross or remote debugging
16520 configurations. @value{GDBN} needs to have access to the target's libraries;
16521 this can be accomplished either by providing copies of the libraries
16522 on the host system, or by asking @value{GDBN} to automatically retrieve the
16523 libraries from the target. If copies of the target libraries are
16524 provided, they need to be the same as the target libraries, although the
16525 copies on the target can be stripped as long as the copies on the host are
16526 not.
16527
16528 @cindex where to look for shared libraries
16529 For remote debugging, you need to tell @value{GDBN} where the target
16530 libraries are, so that it can load the correct copies---otherwise, it
16531 may try to load the host's libraries. @value{GDBN} has two variables
16532 to specify the search directories for target libraries.
16533
16534 @table @code
16535 @cindex prefix for shared library file names
16536 @cindex system root, alternate
16537 @kindex set solib-absolute-prefix
16538 @kindex set sysroot
16539 @item set sysroot @var{path}
16540 Use @var{path} as the system root for the program being debugged. Any
16541 absolute shared library paths will be prefixed with @var{path}; many
16542 runtime loaders store the absolute paths to the shared library in the
16543 target program's memory. If you use @code{set sysroot} to find shared
16544 libraries, they need to be laid out in the same way that they are on
16545 the target, with e.g.@: a @file{/lib} and @file{/usr/lib} hierarchy
16546 under @var{path}.
16547
16548 If @var{path} starts with the sequence @file{remote:}, @value{GDBN} will
16549 retrieve the target libraries from the remote system. This is only
16550 supported when using a remote target that supports the @code{remote get}
16551 command (@pxref{File Transfer,,Sending files to a remote system}).
16552 The part of @var{path} following the initial @file{remote:}
16553 (if present) is used as system root prefix on the remote file system.
16554 @footnote{If you want to specify a local system root using a directory
16555 that happens to be named @file{remote:}, you need to use some equivalent
16556 variant of the name like @file{./remote:}.}
16557
16558 For targets with an MS-DOS based filesystem, such as MS-Windows and
16559 SymbianOS, @value{GDBN} tries prefixing a few variants of the target
16560 absolute file name with @var{path}. But first, on Unix hosts,
16561 @value{GDBN} converts all backslash directory separators into forward
16562 slashes, because the backslash is not a directory separator on Unix:
16563
16564 @smallexample
16565 c:\foo\bar.dll @result{} c:/foo/bar.dll
16566 @end smallexample
16567
16568 Then, @value{GDBN} attempts prefixing the target file name with
16569 @var{path}, and looks for the resulting file name in the host file
16570 system:
16571
16572 @smallexample
16573 c:/foo/bar.dll @result{} /path/to/sysroot/c:/foo/bar.dll
16574 @end smallexample
16575
16576 If that does not find the shared library, @value{GDBN} tries removing
16577 the @samp{:} character from the drive spec, both for convenience, and,
16578 for the case of the host file system not supporting file names with
16579 colons:
16580
16581 @smallexample
16582 c:/foo/bar.dll @result{} /path/to/sysroot/c/foo/bar.dll
16583 @end smallexample
16584
16585 This makes it possible to have a system root that mirrors a target
16586 with more than one drive. E.g., you may want to setup your local
16587 copies of the target system shared libraries like so (note @samp{c} vs
16588 @samp{z}):
16589
16590 @smallexample
16591 @file{/path/to/sysroot/c/sys/bin/foo.dll}
16592 @file{/path/to/sysroot/c/sys/bin/bar.dll}
16593 @file{/path/to/sysroot/z/sys/bin/bar.dll}
16594 @end smallexample
16595
16596 @noindent
16597 and point the system root at @file{/path/to/sysroot}, so that
16598 @value{GDBN} can find the correct copies of both
16599 @file{c:\sys\bin\foo.dll}, and @file{z:\sys\bin\bar.dll}.
16600
16601 If that still does not find the shared library, @value{GDBN} tries
16602 removing the whole drive spec from the target file name:
16603
16604 @smallexample
16605 c:/foo/bar.dll @result{} /path/to/sysroot/foo/bar.dll
16606 @end smallexample
16607
16608 This last lookup makes it possible to not care about the drive name,
16609 if you don't want or need to.
16610
16611 The @code{set solib-absolute-prefix} command is an alias for @code{set
16612 sysroot}.
16613
16614 @cindex default system root
16615 @cindex @samp{--with-sysroot}
16616 You can set the default system root by using the configure-time
16617 @samp{--with-sysroot} option. If the system root is inside
16618 @value{GDBN}'s configured binary prefix (set with @samp{--prefix} or
16619 @samp{--exec-prefix}), then the default system root will be updated
16620 automatically if the installed @value{GDBN} is moved to a new
16621 location.
16622
16623 @kindex show sysroot
16624 @item show sysroot
16625 Display the current shared library prefix.
16626
16627 @kindex set solib-search-path
16628 @item set solib-search-path @var{path}
16629 If this variable is set, @var{path} is a colon-separated list of
16630 directories to search for shared libraries. @samp{solib-search-path}
16631 is used after @samp{sysroot} fails to locate the library, or if the
16632 path to the library is relative instead of absolute. If you want to
16633 use @samp{solib-search-path} instead of @samp{sysroot}, be sure to set
16634 @samp{sysroot} to a nonexistent directory to prevent @value{GDBN} from
16635 finding your host's libraries. @samp{sysroot} is preferred; setting
16636 it to a nonexistent directory may interfere with automatic loading
16637 of shared library symbols.
16638
16639 @kindex show solib-search-path
16640 @item show solib-search-path
16641 Display the current shared library search path.
16642
16643 @cindex DOS file-name semantics of file names.
16644 @kindex set target-file-system-kind (unix|dos-based|auto)
16645 @kindex show target-file-system-kind
16646 @item set target-file-system-kind @var{kind}
16647 Set assumed file system kind for target reported file names.
16648
16649 Shared library file names as reported by the target system may not
16650 make sense as is on the system @value{GDBN} is running on. For
16651 example, when remote debugging a target that has MS-DOS based file
16652 system semantics, from a Unix host, the target may be reporting to
16653 @value{GDBN} a list of loaded shared libraries with file names such as
16654 @file{c:\Windows\kernel32.dll}. On Unix hosts, there's no concept of
16655 drive letters, so the @samp{c:\} prefix is not normally understood as
16656 indicating an absolute file name, and neither is the backslash
16657 normally considered a directory separator character. In that case,
16658 the native file system would interpret this whole absolute file name
16659 as a relative file name with no directory components. This would make
16660 it impossible to point @value{GDBN} at a copy of the remote target's
16661 shared libraries on the host using @code{set sysroot}, and impractical
16662 with @code{set solib-search-path}. Setting
16663 @code{target-file-system-kind} to @code{dos-based} tells @value{GDBN}
16664 to interpret such file names similarly to how the target would, and to
16665 map them to file names valid on @value{GDBN}'s native file system
16666 semantics. The value of @var{kind} can be @code{"auto"}, in addition
16667 to one of the supported file system kinds. In that case, @value{GDBN}
16668 tries to determine the appropriate file system variant based on the
16669 current target's operating system (@pxref{ABI, ,Configuring the
16670 Current ABI}). The supported file system settings are:
16671
16672 @table @code
16673 @item unix
16674 Instruct @value{GDBN} to assume the target file system is of Unix
16675 kind. Only file names starting the forward slash (@samp{/}) character
16676 are considered absolute, and the directory separator character is also
16677 the forward slash.
16678
16679 @item dos-based
16680 Instruct @value{GDBN} to assume the target file system is DOS based.
16681 File names starting with either a forward slash, or a drive letter
16682 followed by a colon (e.g., @samp{c:}), are considered absolute, and
16683 both the slash (@samp{/}) and the backslash (@samp{\\}) characters are
16684 considered directory separators.
16685
16686 @item auto
16687 Instruct @value{GDBN} to use the file system kind associated with the
16688 target operating system (@pxref{ABI, ,Configuring the Current ABI}).
16689 This is the default.
16690 @end table
16691 @end table
16692
16693 @cindex file name canonicalization
16694 @cindex base name differences
16695 When processing file names provided by the user, @value{GDBN}
16696 frequently needs to compare them to the file names recorded in the
16697 program's debug info. Normally, @value{GDBN} compares just the
16698 @dfn{base names} of the files as strings, which is reasonably fast
16699 even for very large programs. (The base name of a file is the last
16700 portion of its name, after stripping all the leading directories.)
16701 This shortcut in comparison is based upon the assumption that files
16702 cannot have more than one base name. This is usually true, but
16703 references to files that use symlinks or similar filesystem
16704 facilities violate that assumption. If your program records files
16705 using such facilities, or if you provide file names to @value{GDBN}
16706 using symlinks etc., you can set @code{basenames-may-differ} to
16707 @code{true} to instruct @value{GDBN} to completely canonicalize each
16708 pair of file names it needs to compare. This will make file-name
16709 comparisons accurate, but at a price of a significant slowdown.
16710
16711 @table @code
16712 @item set basenames-may-differ
16713 @kindex set basenames-may-differ
16714 Set whether a source file may have multiple base names.
16715
16716 @item show basenames-may-differ
16717 @kindex show basenames-may-differ
16718 Show whether a source file may have multiple base names.
16719 @end table
16720
16721 @node Separate Debug Files
16722 @section Debugging Information in Separate Files
16723 @cindex separate debugging information files
16724 @cindex debugging information in separate files
16725 @cindex @file{.debug} subdirectories
16726 @cindex debugging information directory, global
16727 @cindex global debugging information directories
16728 @cindex build ID, and separate debugging files
16729 @cindex @file{.build-id} directory
16730
16731 @value{GDBN} allows you to put a program's debugging information in a
16732 file separate from the executable itself, in a way that allows
16733 @value{GDBN} to find and load the debugging information automatically.
16734 Since debugging information can be very large---sometimes larger
16735 than the executable code itself---some systems distribute debugging
16736 information for their executables in separate files, which users can
16737 install only when they need to debug a problem.
16738
16739 @value{GDBN} supports two ways of specifying the separate debug info
16740 file:
16741
16742 @itemize @bullet
16743 @item
16744 The executable contains a @dfn{debug link} that specifies the name of
16745 the separate debug info file. The separate debug file's name is
16746 usually @file{@var{executable}.debug}, where @var{executable} is the
16747 name of the corresponding executable file without leading directories
16748 (e.g., @file{ls.debug} for @file{/usr/bin/ls}). In addition, the
16749 debug link specifies a 32-bit @dfn{Cyclic Redundancy Check} (CRC)
16750 checksum for the debug file, which @value{GDBN} uses to validate that
16751 the executable and the debug file came from the same build.
16752
16753 @item
16754 The executable contains a @dfn{build ID}, a unique bit string that is
16755 also present in the corresponding debug info file. (This is supported
16756 only on some operating systems, notably those which use the ELF format
16757 for binary files and the @sc{gnu} Binutils.) For more details about
16758 this feature, see the description of the @option{--build-id}
16759 command-line option in @ref{Options, , Command Line Options, ld.info,
16760 The GNU Linker}. The debug info file's name is not specified
16761 explicitly by the build ID, but can be computed from the build ID, see
16762 below.
16763 @end itemize
16764
16765 Depending on the way the debug info file is specified, @value{GDBN}
16766 uses two different methods of looking for the debug file:
16767
16768 @itemize @bullet
16769 @item
16770 For the ``debug link'' method, @value{GDBN} looks up the named file in
16771 the directory of the executable file, then in a subdirectory of that
16772 directory named @file{.debug}, and finally under each one of the global debug
16773 directories, in a subdirectory whose name is identical to the leading
16774 directories of the executable's absolute file name.
16775
16776 @item
16777 For the ``build ID'' method, @value{GDBN} looks in the
16778 @file{.build-id} subdirectory of each one of the global debug directories for
16779 a file named @file{@var{nn}/@var{nnnnnnnn}.debug}, where @var{nn} are the
16780 first 2 hex characters of the build ID bit string, and @var{nnnnnnnn}
16781 are the rest of the bit string. (Real build ID strings are 32 or more
16782 hex characters, not 10.)
16783 @end itemize
16784
16785 So, for example, suppose you ask @value{GDBN} to debug
16786 @file{/usr/bin/ls}, which has a debug link that specifies the
16787 file @file{ls.debug}, and a build ID whose value in hex is
16788 @code{abcdef1234}. If the list of the global debug directories includes
16789 @file{/usr/lib/debug}, then @value{GDBN} will look for the following
16790 debug information files, in the indicated order:
16791
16792 @itemize @minus
16793 @item
16794 @file{/usr/lib/debug/.build-id/ab/cdef1234.debug}
16795 @item
16796 @file{/usr/bin/ls.debug}
16797 @item
16798 @file{/usr/bin/.debug/ls.debug}
16799 @item
16800 @file{/usr/lib/debug/usr/bin/ls.debug}.
16801 @end itemize
16802
16803 @anchor{debug-file-directory}
16804 Global debugging info directories default to what is set by @value{GDBN}
16805 configure option @option{--with-separate-debug-dir}. During @value{GDBN} run
16806 you can also set the global debugging info directories, and view the list
16807 @value{GDBN} is currently using.
16808
16809 @table @code
16810
16811 @kindex set debug-file-directory
16812 @item set debug-file-directory @var{directories}
16813 Set the directories which @value{GDBN} searches for separate debugging
16814 information files to @var{directory}. Multiple path components can be set
16815 concatenating them by a path separator.
16816
16817 @kindex show debug-file-directory
16818 @item show debug-file-directory
16819 Show the directories @value{GDBN} searches for separate debugging
16820 information files.
16821
16822 @end table
16823
16824 @cindex @code{.gnu_debuglink} sections
16825 @cindex debug link sections
16826 A debug link is a special section of the executable file named
16827 @code{.gnu_debuglink}. The section must contain:
16828
16829 @itemize
16830 @item
16831 A filename, with any leading directory components removed, followed by
16832 a zero byte,
16833 @item
16834 zero to three bytes of padding, as needed to reach the next four-byte
16835 boundary within the section, and
16836 @item
16837 a four-byte CRC checksum, stored in the same endianness used for the
16838 executable file itself. The checksum is computed on the debugging
16839 information file's full contents by the function given below, passing
16840 zero as the @var{crc} argument.
16841 @end itemize
16842
16843 Any executable file format can carry a debug link, as long as it can
16844 contain a section named @code{.gnu_debuglink} with the contents
16845 described above.
16846
16847 @cindex @code{.note.gnu.build-id} sections
16848 @cindex build ID sections
16849 The build ID is a special section in the executable file (and in other
16850 ELF binary files that @value{GDBN} may consider). This section is
16851 often named @code{.note.gnu.build-id}, but that name is not mandatory.
16852 It contains unique identification for the built files---the ID remains
16853 the same across multiple builds of the same build tree. The default
16854 algorithm SHA1 produces 160 bits (40 hexadecimal characters) of the
16855 content for the build ID string. The same section with an identical
16856 value is present in the original built binary with symbols, in its
16857 stripped variant, and in the separate debugging information file.
16858
16859 The debugging information file itself should be an ordinary
16860 executable, containing a full set of linker symbols, sections, and
16861 debugging information. The sections of the debugging information file
16862 should have the same names, addresses, and sizes as the original file,
16863 but they need not contain any data---much like a @code{.bss} section
16864 in an ordinary executable.
16865
16866 The @sc{gnu} binary utilities (Binutils) package includes the
16867 @samp{objcopy} utility that can produce
16868 the separated executable / debugging information file pairs using the
16869 following commands:
16870
16871 @smallexample
16872 @kbd{objcopy --only-keep-debug foo foo.debug}
16873 @kbd{strip -g foo}
16874 @end smallexample
16875
16876 @noindent
16877 These commands remove the debugging
16878 information from the executable file @file{foo} and place it in the file
16879 @file{foo.debug}. You can use the first, second or both methods to link the
16880 two files:
16881
16882 @itemize @bullet
16883 @item
16884 The debug link method needs the following additional command to also leave
16885 behind a debug link in @file{foo}:
16886
16887 @smallexample
16888 @kbd{objcopy --add-gnu-debuglink=foo.debug foo}
16889 @end smallexample
16890
16891 Ulrich Drepper's @file{elfutils} package, starting with version 0.53, contains
16892 a version of the @code{strip} command such that the command @kbd{strip foo -f
16893 foo.debug} has the same functionality as the two @code{objcopy} commands and
16894 the @code{ln -s} command above, together.
16895
16896 @item
16897 Build ID gets embedded into the main executable using @code{ld --build-id} or
16898 the @value{NGCC} counterpart @code{gcc -Wl,--build-id}. Build ID support plus
16899 compatibility fixes for debug files separation are present in @sc{gnu} binary
16900 utilities (Binutils) package since version 2.18.
16901 @end itemize
16902
16903 @noindent
16904
16905 @cindex CRC algorithm definition
16906 The CRC used in @code{.gnu_debuglink} is the CRC-32 defined in
16907 IEEE 802.3 using the polynomial:
16908
16909 @c TexInfo requires naked braces for multi-digit exponents for Tex
16910 @c output, but this causes HTML output to barf. HTML has to be set using
16911 @c raw commands. So we end up having to specify this equation in 2
16912 @c different ways!
16913 @ifhtml
16914 @display
16915 @html
16916 <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>
16917 + <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
16918 @end html
16919 @end display
16920 @end ifhtml
16921 @ifnothtml
16922 @display
16923 @math{x^{32} + x^{26} + x^{23} + x^{22} + x^{16} + x^{12} + x^{11}}
16924 @math{+ x^{10} + x^8 + x^7 + x^5 + x^4 + x^2 + x + 1}
16925 @end display
16926 @end ifnothtml
16927
16928 The function is computed byte at a time, taking the least
16929 significant bit of each byte first. The initial pattern
16930 @code{0xffffffff} is used, to ensure leading zeros affect the CRC and
16931 the final result is inverted to ensure trailing zeros also affect the
16932 CRC.
16933
16934 @emph{Note:} This is the same CRC polynomial as used in handling the
16935 @dfn{Remote Serial Protocol} @code{qCRC} packet (@pxref{Remote Protocol,
16936 , @value{GDBN} Remote Serial Protocol}). However in the
16937 case of the Remote Serial Protocol, the CRC is computed @emph{most}
16938 significant bit first, and the result is not inverted, so trailing
16939 zeros have no effect on the CRC value.
16940
16941 To complete the description, we show below the code of the function
16942 which produces the CRC used in @code{.gnu_debuglink}. Inverting the
16943 initially supplied @code{crc} argument means that an initial call to
16944 this function passing in zero will start computing the CRC using
16945 @code{0xffffffff}.
16946
16947 @kindex gnu_debuglink_crc32
16948 @smallexample
16949 unsigned long
16950 gnu_debuglink_crc32 (unsigned long crc,
16951 unsigned char *buf, size_t len)
16952 @{
16953 static const unsigned long crc32_table[256] =
16954 @{
16955 0x00000000, 0x77073096, 0xee0e612c, 0x990951ba, 0x076dc419,
16956 0x706af48f, 0xe963a535, 0x9e6495a3, 0x0edb8832, 0x79dcb8a4,
16957 0xe0d5e91e, 0x97d2d988, 0x09b64c2b, 0x7eb17cbd, 0xe7b82d07,
16958 0x90bf1d91, 0x1db71064, 0x6ab020f2, 0xf3b97148, 0x84be41de,
16959 0x1adad47d, 0x6ddde4eb, 0xf4d4b551, 0x83d385c7, 0x136c9856,
16960 0x646ba8c0, 0xfd62f97a, 0x8a65c9ec, 0x14015c4f, 0x63066cd9,
16961 0xfa0f3d63, 0x8d080df5, 0x3b6e20c8, 0x4c69105e, 0xd56041e4,
16962 0xa2677172, 0x3c03e4d1, 0x4b04d447, 0xd20d85fd, 0xa50ab56b,
16963 0x35b5a8fa, 0x42b2986c, 0xdbbbc9d6, 0xacbcf940, 0x32d86ce3,
16964 0x45df5c75, 0xdcd60dcf, 0xabd13d59, 0x26d930ac, 0x51de003a,
16965 0xc8d75180, 0xbfd06116, 0x21b4f4b5, 0x56b3c423, 0xcfba9599,
16966 0xb8bda50f, 0x2802b89e, 0x5f058808, 0xc60cd9b2, 0xb10be924,
16967 0x2f6f7c87, 0x58684c11, 0xc1611dab, 0xb6662d3d, 0x76dc4190,
16968 0x01db7106, 0x98d220bc, 0xefd5102a, 0x71b18589, 0x06b6b51f,
16969 0x9fbfe4a5, 0xe8b8d433, 0x7807c9a2, 0x0f00f934, 0x9609a88e,
16970 0xe10e9818, 0x7f6a0dbb, 0x086d3d2d, 0x91646c97, 0xe6635c01,
16971 0x6b6b51f4, 0x1c6c6162, 0x856530d8, 0xf262004e, 0x6c0695ed,
16972 0x1b01a57b, 0x8208f4c1, 0xf50fc457, 0x65b0d9c6, 0x12b7e950,
16973 0x8bbeb8ea, 0xfcb9887c, 0x62dd1ddf, 0x15da2d49, 0x8cd37cf3,
16974 0xfbd44c65, 0x4db26158, 0x3ab551ce, 0xa3bc0074, 0xd4bb30e2,
16975 0x4adfa541, 0x3dd895d7, 0xa4d1c46d, 0xd3d6f4fb, 0x4369e96a,
16976 0x346ed9fc, 0xad678846, 0xda60b8d0, 0x44042d73, 0x33031de5,
16977 0xaa0a4c5f, 0xdd0d7cc9, 0x5005713c, 0x270241aa, 0xbe0b1010,
16978 0xc90c2086, 0x5768b525, 0x206f85b3, 0xb966d409, 0xce61e49f,
16979 0x5edef90e, 0x29d9c998, 0xb0d09822, 0xc7d7a8b4, 0x59b33d17,
16980 0x2eb40d81, 0xb7bd5c3b, 0xc0ba6cad, 0xedb88320, 0x9abfb3b6,
16981 0x03b6e20c, 0x74b1d29a, 0xead54739, 0x9dd277af, 0x04db2615,
16982 0x73dc1683, 0xe3630b12, 0x94643b84, 0x0d6d6a3e, 0x7a6a5aa8,
16983 0xe40ecf0b, 0x9309ff9d, 0x0a00ae27, 0x7d079eb1, 0xf00f9344,
16984 0x8708a3d2, 0x1e01f268, 0x6906c2fe, 0xf762575d, 0x806567cb,
16985 0x196c3671, 0x6e6b06e7, 0xfed41b76, 0x89d32be0, 0x10da7a5a,
16986 0x67dd4acc, 0xf9b9df6f, 0x8ebeeff9, 0x17b7be43, 0x60b08ed5,
16987 0xd6d6a3e8, 0xa1d1937e, 0x38d8c2c4, 0x4fdff252, 0xd1bb67f1,
16988 0xa6bc5767, 0x3fb506dd, 0x48b2364b, 0xd80d2bda, 0xaf0a1b4c,
16989 0x36034af6, 0x41047a60, 0xdf60efc3, 0xa867df55, 0x316e8eef,
16990 0x4669be79, 0xcb61b38c, 0xbc66831a, 0x256fd2a0, 0x5268e236,
16991 0xcc0c7795, 0xbb0b4703, 0x220216b9, 0x5505262f, 0xc5ba3bbe,
16992 0xb2bd0b28, 0x2bb45a92, 0x5cb36a04, 0xc2d7ffa7, 0xb5d0cf31,
16993 0x2cd99e8b, 0x5bdeae1d, 0x9b64c2b0, 0xec63f226, 0x756aa39c,
16994 0x026d930a, 0x9c0906a9, 0xeb0e363f, 0x72076785, 0x05005713,
16995 0x95bf4a82, 0xe2b87a14, 0x7bb12bae, 0x0cb61b38, 0x92d28e9b,
16996 0xe5d5be0d, 0x7cdcefb7, 0x0bdbdf21, 0x86d3d2d4, 0xf1d4e242,
16997 0x68ddb3f8, 0x1fda836e, 0x81be16cd, 0xf6b9265b, 0x6fb077e1,
16998 0x18b74777, 0x88085ae6, 0xff0f6a70, 0x66063bca, 0x11010b5c,
16999 0x8f659eff, 0xf862ae69, 0x616bffd3, 0x166ccf45, 0xa00ae278,
17000 0xd70dd2ee, 0x4e048354, 0x3903b3c2, 0xa7672661, 0xd06016f7,
17001 0x4969474d, 0x3e6e77db, 0xaed16a4a, 0xd9d65adc, 0x40df0b66,
17002 0x37d83bf0, 0xa9bcae53, 0xdebb9ec5, 0x47b2cf7f, 0x30b5ffe9,
17003 0xbdbdf21c, 0xcabac28a, 0x53b39330, 0x24b4a3a6, 0xbad03605,
17004 0xcdd70693, 0x54de5729, 0x23d967bf, 0xb3667a2e, 0xc4614ab8,
17005 0x5d681b02, 0x2a6f2b94, 0xb40bbe37, 0xc30c8ea1, 0x5a05df1b,
17006 0x2d02ef8d
17007 @};
17008 unsigned char *end;
17009
17010 crc = ~crc & 0xffffffff;
17011 for (end = buf + len; buf < end; ++buf)
17012 crc = crc32_table[(crc ^ *buf) & 0xff] ^ (crc >> 8);
17013 return ~crc & 0xffffffff;
17014 @}
17015 @end smallexample
17016
17017 @noindent
17018 This computation does not apply to the ``build ID'' method.
17019
17020 @node MiniDebugInfo
17021 @section Debugging information in a special section
17022 @cindex separate debug sections
17023 @cindex @samp{.gnu_debugdata} section
17024
17025 Some systems ship pre-built executables and libraries that have a
17026 special @samp{.gnu_debugdata} section. This feature is called
17027 @dfn{MiniDebugInfo}. This section holds an LZMA-compressed object and
17028 is used to supply extra symbols for backtraces.
17029
17030 The intent of this section is to provide extra minimal debugging
17031 information for use in simple backtraces. It is not intended to be a
17032 replacement for full separate debugging information (@pxref{Separate
17033 Debug Files}). The example below shows the intended use; however,
17034 @value{GDBN} does not currently put restrictions on what sort of
17035 debugging information might be included in the section.
17036
17037 @value{GDBN} has support for this extension. If the section exists,
17038 then it is used provided that no other source of debugging information
17039 can be found, and that @value{GDBN} was configured with LZMA support.
17040
17041 This section can be easily created using @command{objcopy} and other
17042 standard utilities:
17043
17044 @smallexample
17045 # Extract the dynamic symbols from the main binary, there is no need
17046 # to also have these in the normal symbol table
17047 nm -D @var{binary} --format=posix --defined-only \
17048 | awk '@{ print $1 @}' | sort > dynsyms
17049
17050 # Extract all the text (i.e. function) symbols from the debuginfo .
17051 nm @var{binary} --format=posix --defined-only \
17052 | awk '@{ if ($2 == "T" || $2 == "t") print $1 @}' \
17053 | sort > funcsyms
17054
17055 # Keep all the function symbols not already in the dynamic symbol
17056 # table.
17057 comm -13 dynsyms funcsyms > keep_symbols
17058
17059 # Copy the full debuginfo, keeping only a minimal set of symbols and
17060 # removing some unnecessary sections.
17061 objcopy -S --remove-section .gdb_index --remove-section .comment \
17062 --keep-symbols=keep_symbols @var{binary} mini_debuginfo
17063
17064 # Inject the compressed data into the .gnu_debugdata section of the
17065 # original binary.
17066 xz mini_debuginfo
17067 objcopy --add-section .gnu_debugdata=mini_debuginfo.xz @var{binary}
17068 @end smallexample
17069
17070 @node Index Files
17071 @section Index Files Speed Up @value{GDBN}
17072 @cindex index files
17073 @cindex @samp{.gdb_index} section
17074
17075 When @value{GDBN} finds a symbol file, it scans the symbols in the
17076 file in order to construct an internal symbol table. This lets most
17077 @value{GDBN} operations work quickly---at the cost of a delay early
17078 on. For large programs, this delay can be quite lengthy, so
17079 @value{GDBN} provides a way to build an index, which speeds up
17080 startup.
17081
17082 The index is stored as a section in the symbol file. @value{GDBN} can
17083 write the index to a file, then you can put it into the symbol file
17084 using @command{objcopy}.
17085
17086 To create an index file, use the @code{save gdb-index} command:
17087
17088 @table @code
17089 @item save gdb-index @var{directory}
17090 @kindex save gdb-index
17091 Create an index file for each symbol file currently known by
17092 @value{GDBN}. Each file is named after its corresponding symbol file,
17093 with @samp{.gdb-index} appended, and is written into the given
17094 @var{directory}.
17095 @end table
17096
17097 Once you have created an index file you can merge it into your symbol
17098 file, here named @file{symfile}, using @command{objcopy}:
17099
17100 @smallexample
17101 $ objcopy --add-section .gdb_index=symfile.gdb-index \
17102 --set-section-flags .gdb_index=readonly symfile symfile
17103 @end smallexample
17104
17105 @value{GDBN} will normally ignore older versions of @file{.gdb_index}
17106 sections that have been deprecated. Usually they are deprecated because
17107 they are missing a new feature or have performance issues.
17108 To tell @value{GDBN} to use a deprecated index section anyway
17109 specify @code{set use-deprecated-index-sections on}.
17110 The default is @code{off}.
17111 This can speed up startup, but may result in some functionality being lost.
17112 @xref{Index Section Format}.
17113
17114 @emph{Warning:} Setting @code{use-deprecated-index-sections} to @code{on}
17115 must be done before gdb reads the file. The following will not work:
17116
17117 @smallexample
17118 $ gdb -ex "set use-deprecated-index-sections on" <program>
17119 @end smallexample
17120
17121 Instead you must do, for example,
17122
17123 @smallexample
17124 $ gdb -iex "set use-deprecated-index-sections on" <program>
17125 @end smallexample
17126
17127 There are currently some limitation on indices. They only work when
17128 for DWARF debugging information, not stabs. And, they do not
17129 currently work for programs using Ada.
17130
17131 @node Symbol Errors
17132 @section Errors Reading Symbol Files
17133
17134 While reading a symbol file, @value{GDBN} occasionally encounters problems,
17135 such as symbol types it does not recognize, or known bugs in compiler
17136 output. By default, @value{GDBN} does not notify you of such problems, since
17137 they are relatively common and primarily of interest to people
17138 debugging compilers. If you are interested in seeing information
17139 about ill-constructed symbol tables, you can either ask @value{GDBN} to print
17140 only one message about each such type of problem, no matter how many
17141 times the problem occurs; or you can ask @value{GDBN} to print more messages,
17142 to see how many times the problems occur, with the @code{set
17143 complaints} command (@pxref{Messages/Warnings, ,Optional Warnings and
17144 Messages}).
17145
17146 The messages currently printed, and their meanings, include:
17147
17148 @table @code
17149 @item inner block not inside outer block in @var{symbol}
17150
17151 The symbol information shows where symbol scopes begin and end
17152 (such as at the start of a function or a block of statements). This
17153 error indicates that an inner scope block is not fully contained
17154 in its outer scope blocks.
17155
17156 @value{GDBN} circumvents the problem by treating the inner block as if it had
17157 the same scope as the outer block. In the error message, @var{symbol}
17158 may be shown as ``@code{(don't know)}'' if the outer block is not a
17159 function.
17160
17161 @item block at @var{address} out of order
17162
17163 The symbol information for symbol scope blocks should occur in
17164 order of increasing addresses. This error indicates that it does not
17165 do so.
17166
17167 @value{GDBN} does not circumvent this problem, and has trouble
17168 locating symbols in the source file whose symbols it is reading. (You
17169 can often determine what source file is affected by specifying
17170 @code{set verbose on}. @xref{Messages/Warnings, ,Optional Warnings and
17171 Messages}.)
17172
17173 @item bad block start address patched
17174
17175 The symbol information for a symbol scope block has a start address
17176 smaller than the address of the preceding source line. This is known
17177 to occur in the SunOS 4.1.1 (and earlier) C compiler.
17178
17179 @value{GDBN} circumvents the problem by treating the symbol scope block as
17180 starting on the previous source line.
17181
17182 @item bad string table offset in symbol @var{n}
17183
17184 @cindex foo
17185 Symbol number @var{n} contains a pointer into the string table which is
17186 larger than the size of the string table.
17187
17188 @value{GDBN} circumvents the problem by considering the symbol to have the
17189 name @code{foo}, which may cause other problems if many symbols end up
17190 with this name.
17191
17192 @item unknown symbol type @code{0x@var{nn}}
17193
17194 The symbol information contains new data types that @value{GDBN} does
17195 not yet know how to read. @code{0x@var{nn}} is the symbol type of the
17196 uncomprehended information, in hexadecimal.
17197
17198 @value{GDBN} circumvents the error by ignoring this symbol information.
17199 This usually allows you to debug your program, though certain symbols
17200 are not accessible. If you encounter such a problem and feel like
17201 debugging it, you can debug @code{@value{GDBP}} with itself, breakpoint
17202 on @code{complain}, then go up to the function @code{read_dbx_symtab}
17203 and examine @code{*bufp} to see the symbol.
17204
17205 @item stub type has NULL name
17206
17207 @value{GDBN} could not find the full definition for a struct or class.
17208
17209 @item const/volatile indicator missing (ok if using g++ v1.x), got@dots{}
17210 The symbol information for a C@t{++} member function is missing some
17211 information that recent versions of the compiler should have output for
17212 it.
17213
17214 @item info mismatch between compiler and debugger
17215
17216 @value{GDBN} could not parse a type specification output by the compiler.
17217
17218 @end table
17219
17220 @node Data Files
17221 @section GDB Data Files
17222
17223 @cindex prefix for data files
17224 @value{GDBN} will sometimes read an auxiliary data file. These files
17225 are kept in a directory known as the @dfn{data directory}.
17226
17227 You can set the data directory's name, and view the name @value{GDBN}
17228 is currently using.
17229
17230 @table @code
17231 @kindex set data-directory
17232 @item set data-directory @var{directory}
17233 Set the directory which @value{GDBN} searches for auxiliary data files
17234 to @var{directory}.
17235
17236 @kindex show data-directory
17237 @item show data-directory
17238 Show the directory @value{GDBN} searches for auxiliary data files.
17239 @end table
17240
17241 @cindex default data directory
17242 @cindex @samp{--with-gdb-datadir}
17243 You can set the default data directory by using the configure-time
17244 @samp{--with-gdb-datadir} option. If the data directory is inside
17245 @value{GDBN}'s configured binary prefix (set with @samp{--prefix} or
17246 @samp{--exec-prefix}), then the default data directory will be updated
17247 automatically if the installed @value{GDBN} is moved to a new
17248 location.
17249
17250 The data directory may also be specified with the
17251 @code{--data-directory} command line option.
17252 @xref{Mode Options}.
17253
17254 @node Targets
17255 @chapter Specifying a Debugging Target
17256
17257 @cindex debugging target
17258 A @dfn{target} is the execution environment occupied by your program.
17259
17260 Often, @value{GDBN} runs in the same host environment as your program;
17261 in that case, the debugging target is specified as a side effect when
17262 you use the @code{file} or @code{core} commands. When you need more
17263 flexibility---for example, running @value{GDBN} on a physically separate
17264 host, or controlling a standalone system over a serial port or a
17265 realtime system over a TCP/IP connection---you can use the @code{target}
17266 command to specify one of the target types configured for @value{GDBN}
17267 (@pxref{Target Commands, ,Commands for Managing Targets}).
17268
17269 @cindex target architecture
17270 It is possible to build @value{GDBN} for several different @dfn{target
17271 architectures}. When @value{GDBN} is built like that, you can choose
17272 one of the available architectures with the @kbd{set architecture}
17273 command.
17274
17275 @table @code
17276 @kindex set architecture
17277 @kindex show architecture
17278 @item set architecture @var{arch}
17279 This command sets the current target architecture to @var{arch}. The
17280 value of @var{arch} can be @code{"auto"}, in addition to one of the
17281 supported architectures.
17282
17283 @item show architecture
17284 Show the current target architecture.
17285
17286 @item set processor
17287 @itemx processor
17288 @kindex set processor
17289 @kindex show processor
17290 These are alias commands for, respectively, @code{set architecture}
17291 and @code{show architecture}.
17292 @end table
17293
17294 @menu
17295 * Active Targets:: Active targets
17296 * Target Commands:: Commands for managing targets
17297 * Byte Order:: Choosing target byte order
17298 @end menu
17299
17300 @node Active Targets
17301 @section Active Targets
17302
17303 @cindex stacking targets
17304 @cindex active targets
17305 @cindex multiple targets
17306
17307 There are multiple classes of targets such as: processes, executable files or
17308 recording sessions. Core files belong to the process class, making core file
17309 and process mutually exclusive. Otherwise, @value{GDBN} can work concurrently
17310 on multiple active targets, one in each class. This allows you to (for
17311 example) start a process and inspect its activity, while still having access to
17312 the executable file after the process finishes. Or if you start process
17313 recording (@pxref{Reverse Execution}) and @code{reverse-step} there, you are
17314 presented a virtual layer of the recording target, while the process target
17315 remains stopped at the chronologically last point of the process execution.
17316
17317 Use the @code{core-file} and @code{exec-file} commands to select a new core
17318 file or executable target (@pxref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}). To
17319 specify as a target a process that is already running, use the @code{attach}
17320 command (@pxref{Attach, ,Debugging an Already-running Process}).
17321
17322 @node Target Commands
17323 @section Commands for Managing Targets
17324
17325 @table @code
17326 @item target @var{type} @var{parameters}
17327 Connects the @value{GDBN} host environment to a target machine or
17328 process. A target is typically a protocol for talking to debugging
17329 facilities. You use the argument @var{type} to specify the type or
17330 protocol of the target machine.
17331
17332 Further @var{parameters} are interpreted by the target protocol, but
17333 typically include things like device names or host names to connect
17334 with, process numbers, and baud rates.
17335
17336 The @code{target} command does not repeat if you press @key{RET} again
17337 after executing the command.
17338
17339 @kindex help target
17340 @item help target
17341 Displays the names of all targets available. To display targets
17342 currently selected, use either @code{info target} or @code{info files}
17343 (@pxref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}).
17344
17345 @item help target @var{name}
17346 Describe a particular target, including any parameters necessary to
17347 select it.
17348
17349 @kindex set gnutarget
17350 @item set gnutarget @var{args}
17351 @value{GDBN} uses its own library BFD to read your files. @value{GDBN}
17352 knows whether it is reading an @dfn{executable},
17353 a @dfn{core}, or a @dfn{.o} file; however, you can specify the file format
17354 with the @code{set gnutarget} command. Unlike most @code{target} commands,
17355 with @code{gnutarget} the @code{target} refers to a program, not a machine.
17356
17357 @quotation
17358 @emph{Warning:} To specify a file format with @code{set gnutarget},
17359 you must know the actual BFD name.
17360 @end quotation
17361
17362 @noindent
17363 @xref{Files, , Commands to Specify Files}.
17364
17365 @kindex show gnutarget
17366 @item show gnutarget
17367 Use the @code{show gnutarget} command to display what file format
17368 @code{gnutarget} is set to read. If you have not set @code{gnutarget},
17369 @value{GDBN} will determine the file format for each file automatically,
17370 and @code{show gnutarget} displays @samp{The current BFD target is "auto"}.
17371 @end table
17372
17373 @cindex common targets
17374 Here are some common targets (available, or not, depending on the GDB
17375 configuration):
17376
17377 @table @code
17378 @kindex target
17379 @item target exec @var{program}
17380 @cindex executable file target
17381 An executable file. @samp{target exec @var{program}} is the same as
17382 @samp{exec-file @var{program}}.
17383
17384 @item target core @var{filename}
17385 @cindex core dump file target
17386 A core dump file. @samp{target core @var{filename}} is the same as
17387 @samp{core-file @var{filename}}.
17388
17389 @item target remote @var{medium}
17390 @cindex remote target
17391 A remote system connected to @value{GDBN} via a serial line or network
17392 connection. This command tells @value{GDBN} to use its own remote
17393 protocol over @var{medium} for debugging. @xref{Remote Debugging}.
17394
17395 For example, if you have a board connected to @file{/dev/ttya} on the
17396 machine running @value{GDBN}, you could say:
17397
17398 @smallexample
17399 target remote /dev/ttya
17400 @end smallexample
17401
17402 @code{target remote} supports the @code{load} command. This is only
17403 useful if you have some other way of getting the stub to the target
17404 system, and you can put it somewhere in memory where it won't get
17405 clobbered by the download.
17406
17407 @item target sim @r{[}@var{simargs}@r{]} @dots{}
17408 @cindex built-in simulator target
17409 Builtin CPU simulator. @value{GDBN} includes simulators for most architectures.
17410 In general,
17411 @smallexample
17412 target sim
17413 load
17414 run
17415 @end smallexample
17416 @noindent
17417 works; however, you cannot assume that a specific memory map, device
17418 drivers, or even basic I/O is available, although some simulators do
17419 provide these. For info about any processor-specific simulator details,
17420 see the appropriate section in @ref{Embedded Processors, ,Embedded
17421 Processors}.
17422
17423 @end table
17424
17425 Some configurations may include these targets as well:
17426
17427 @table @code
17428
17429 @item target nrom @var{dev}
17430 @cindex NetROM ROM emulator target
17431 NetROM ROM emulator. This target only supports downloading.
17432
17433 @end table
17434
17435 Different targets are available on different configurations of @value{GDBN};
17436 your configuration may have more or fewer targets.
17437
17438 Many remote targets require you to download the executable's code once
17439 you've successfully established a connection. You may wish to control
17440 various aspects of this process.
17441
17442 @table @code
17443
17444 @item set hash
17445 @kindex set hash@r{, for remote monitors}
17446 @cindex hash mark while downloading
17447 This command controls whether a hash mark @samp{#} is displayed while
17448 downloading a file to the remote monitor. If on, a hash mark is
17449 displayed after each S-record is successfully downloaded to the
17450 monitor.
17451
17452 @item show hash
17453 @kindex show hash@r{, for remote monitors}
17454 Show the current status of displaying the hash mark.
17455
17456 @item set debug monitor
17457 @kindex set debug monitor
17458 @cindex display remote monitor communications
17459 Enable or disable display of communications messages between
17460 @value{GDBN} and the remote monitor.
17461
17462 @item show debug monitor
17463 @kindex show debug monitor
17464 Show the current status of displaying communications between
17465 @value{GDBN} and the remote monitor.
17466 @end table
17467
17468 @table @code
17469
17470 @kindex load @var{filename}
17471 @item load @var{filename}
17472 @anchor{load}
17473 Depending on what remote debugging facilities are configured into
17474 @value{GDBN}, the @code{load} command may be available. Where it exists, it
17475 is meant to make @var{filename} (an executable) available for debugging
17476 on the remote system---by downloading, or dynamic linking, for example.
17477 @code{load} also records the @var{filename} symbol table in @value{GDBN}, like
17478 the @code{add-symbol-file} command.
17479
17480 If your @value{GDBN} does not have a @code{load} command, attempting to
17481 execute it gets the error message ``@code{You can't do that when your
17482 target is @dots{}}''
17483
17484 The file is loaded at whatever address is specified in the executable.
17485 For some object file formats, you can specify the load address when you
17486 link the program; for other formats, like a.out, the object file format
17487 specifies a fixed address.
17488 @c FIXME! This would be a good place for an xref to the GNU linker doc.
17489
17490 Depending on the remote side capabilities, @value{GDBN} may be able to
17491 load programs into flash memory.
17492
17493 @code{load} does not repeat if you press @key{RET} again after using it.
17494 @end table
17495
17496 @node Byte Order
17497 @section Choosing Target Byte Order
17498
17499 @cindex choosing target byte order
17500 @cindex target byte order
17501
17502 Some types of processors, such as the @acronym{MIPS}, PowerPC, and Renesas SH,
17503 offer the ability to run either big-endian or little-endian byte
17504 orders. Usually the executable or symbol will include a bit to
17505 designate the endian-ness, and you will not need to worry about
17506 which to use. However, you may still find it useful to adjust
17507 @value{GDBN}'s idea of processor endian-ness manually.
17508
17509 @table @code
17510 @kindex set endian
17511 @item set endian big
17512 Instruct @value{GDBN} to assume the target is big-endian.
17513
17514 @item set endian little
17515 Instruct @value{GDBN} to assume the target is little-endian.
17516
17517 @item set endian auto
17518 Instruct @value{GDBN} to use the byte order associated with the
17519 executable.
17520
17521 @item show endian
17522 Display @value{GDBN}'s current idea of the target byte order.
17523
17524 @end table
17525
17526 Note that these commands merely adjust interpretation of symbolic
17527 data on the host, and that they have absolutely no effect on the
17528 target system.
17529
17530
17531 @node Remote Debugging
17532 @chapter Debugging Remote Programs
17533 @cindex remote debugging
17534
17535 If you are trying to debug a program running on a machine that cannot run
17536 @value{GDBN} in the usual way, it is often useful to use remote debugging.
17537 For example, you might use remote debugging on an operating system kernel,
17538 or on a small system which does not have a general purpose operating system
17539 powerful enough to run a full-featured debugger.
17540
17541 Some configurations of @value{GDBN} have special serial or TCP/IP interfaces
17542 to make this work with particular debugging targets. In addition,
17543 @value{GDBN} comes with a generic serial protocol (specific to @value{GDBN},
17544 but not specific to any particular target system) which you can use if you
17545 write the remote stubs---the code that runs on the remote system to
17546 communicate with @value{GDBN}.
17547
17548 Other remote targets may be available in your
17549 configuration of @value{GDBN}; use @code{help target} to list them.
17550
17551 @menu
17552 * Connecting:: Connecting to a remote target
17553 * File Transfer:: Sending files to a remote system
17554 * Server:: Using the gdbserver program
17555 * Remote Configuration:: Remote configuration
17556 * Remote Stub:: Implementing a remote stub
17557 @end menu
17558
17559 @node Connecting
17560 @section Connecting to a Remote Target
17561
17562 On the @value{GDBN} host machine, you will need an unstripped copy of
17563 your program, since @value{GDBN} needs symbol and debugging information.
17564 Start up @value{GDBN} as usual, using the name of the local copy of your
17565 program as the first argument.
17566
17567 @cindex @code{target remote}
17568 @value{GDBN} can communicate with the target over a serial line, or
17569 over an @acronym{IP} network using @acronym{TCP} or @acronym{UDP}. In
17570 each case, @value{GDBN} uses the same protocol for debugging your
17571 program; only the medium carrying the debugging packets varies. The
17572 @code{target remote} command establishes a connection to the target.
17573 Its arguments indicate which medium to use:
17574
17575 @table @code
17576
17577 @item target remote @var{serial-device}
17578 @cindex serial line, @code{target remote}
17579 Use @var{serial-device} to communicate with the target. For example,
17580 to use a serial line connected to the device named @file{/dev/ttyb}:
17581
17582 @smallexample
17583 target remote /dev/ttyb
17584 @end smallexample
17585
17586 If you're using a serial line, you may want to give @value{GDBN} the
17587 @w{@samp{--baud}} option, or use the @code{set remotebaud} command
17588 (@pxref{Remote Configuration, set remotebaud}) before the
17589 @code{target} command.
17590
17591 @item target remote @code{@var{host}:@var{port}}
17592 @itemx target remote @code{tcp:@var{host}:@var{port}}
17593 @cindex @acronym{TCP} port, @code{target remote}
17594 Debug using a @acronym{TCP} connection to @var{port} on @var{host}.
17595 The @var{host} may be either a host name or a numeric @acronym{IP}
17596 address; @var{port} must be a decimal number. The @var{host} could be
17597 the target machine itself, if it is directly connected to the net, or
17598 it might be a terminal server which in turn has a serial line to the
17599 target.
17600
17601 For example, to connect to port 2828 on a terminal server named
17602 @code{manyfarms}:
17603
17604 @smallexample
17605 target remote manyfarms:2828
17606 @end smallexample
17607
17608 If your remote target is actually running on the same machine as your
17609 debugger session (e.g.@: a simulator for your target running on the
17610 same host), you can omit the hostname. For example, to connect to
17611 port 1234 on your local machine:
17612
17613 @smallexample
17614 target remote :1234
17615 @end smallexample
17616 @noindent
17617
17618 Note that the colon is still required here.
17619
17620 @item target remote @code{udp:@var{host}:@var{port}}
17621 @cindex @acronym{UDP} port, @code{target remote}
17622 Debug using @acronym{UDP} packets to @var{port} on @var{host}. For example, to
17623 connect to @acronym{UDP} port 2828 on a terminal server named @code{manyfarms}:
17624
17625 @smallexample
17626 target remote udp:manyfarms:2828
17627 @end smallexample
17628
17629 When using a @acronym{UDP} connection for remote debugging, you should
17630 keep in mind that the `U' stands for ``Unreliable''. @acronym{UDP}
17631 can silently drop packets on busy or unreliable networks, which will
17632 cause havoc with your debugging session.
17633
17634 @item target remote | @var{command}
17635 @cindex pipe, @code{target remote} to
17636 Run @var{command} in the background and communicate with it using a
17637 pipe. The @var{command} is a shell command, to be parsed and expanded
17638 by the system's command shell, @code{/bin/sh}; it should expect remote
17639 protocol packets on its standard input, and send replies on its
17640 standard output. You could use this to run a stand-alone simulator
17641 that speaks the remote debugging protocol, to make net connections
17642 using programs like @code{ssh}, or for other similar tricks.
17643
17644 If @var{command} closes its standard output (perhaps by exiting),
17645 @value{GDBN} will try to send it a @code{SIGTERM} signal. (If the
17646 program has already exited, this will have no effect.)
17647
17648 @end table
17649
17650 Once the connection has been established, you can use all the usual
17651 commands to examine and change data. The remote program is already
17652 running; you can use @kbd{step} and @kbd{continue}, and you do not
17653 need to use @kbd{run}.
17654
17655 @cindex interrupting remote programs
17656 @cindex remote programs, interrupting
17657 Whenever @value{GDBN} is waiting for the remote program, if you type the
17658 interrupt character (often @kbd{Ctrl-c}), @value{GDBN} attempts to stop the
17659 program. This may or may not succeed, depending in part on the hardware
17660 and the serial drivers the remote system uses. If you type the
17661 interrupt character once again, @value{GDBN} displays this prompt:
17662
17663 @smallexample
17664 Interrupted while waiting for the program.
17665 Give up (and stop debugging it)? (y or n)
17666 @end smallexample
17667
17668 If you type @kbd{y}, @value{GDBN} abandons the remote debugging session.
17669 (If you decide you want to try again later, you can use @samp{target
17670 remote} again to connect once more.) If you type @kbd{n}, @value{GDBN}
17671 goes back to waiting.
17672
17673 @table @code
17674 @kindex detach (remote)
17675 @item detach
17676 When you have finished debugging the remote program, you can use the
17677 @code{detach} command to release it from @value{GDBN} control.
17678 Detaching from the target normally resumes its execution, but the results
17679 will depend on your particular remote stub. After the @code{detach}
17680 command, @value{GDBN} is free to connect to another target.
17681
17682 @kindex disconnect
17683 @item disconnect
17684 The @code{disconnect} command behaves like @code{detach}, except that
17685 the target is generally not resumed. It will wait for @value{GDBN}
17686 (this instance or another one) to connect and continue debugging. After
17687 the @code{disconnect} command, @value{GDBN} is again free to connect to
17688 another target.
17689
17690 @cindex send command to remote monitor
17691 @cindex extend @value{GDBN} for remote targets
17692 @cindex add new commands for external monitor
17693 @kindex monitor
17694 @item monitor @var{cmd}
17695 This command allows you to send arbitrary commands directly to the
17696 remote monitor. Since @value{GDBN} doesn't care about the commands it
17697 sends like this, this command is the way to extend @value{GDBN}---you
17698 can add new commands that only the external monitor will understand
17699 and implement.
17700 @end table
17701
17702 @node File Transfer
17703 @section Sending files to a remote system
17704 @cindex remote target, file transfer
17705 @cindex file transfer
17706 @cindex sending files to remote systems
17707
17708 Some remote targets offer the ability to transfer files over the same
17709 connection used to communicate with @value{GDBN}. This is convenient
17710 for targets accessible through other means, e.g.@: @sc{gnu}/Linux systems
17711 running @code{gdbserver} over a network interface. For other targets,
17712 e.g.@: embedded devices with only a single serial port, this may be
17713 the only way to upload or download files.
17714
17715 Not all remote targets support these commands.
17716
17717 @table @code
17718 @kindex remote put
17719 @item remote put @var{hostfile} @var{targetfile}
17720 Copy file @var{hostfile} from the host system (the machine running
17721 @value{GDBN}) to @var{targetfile} on the target system.
17722
17723 @kindex remote get
17724 @item remote get @var{targetfile} @var{hostfile}
17725 Copy file @var{targetfile} from the target system to @var{hostfile}
17726 on the host system.
17727
17728 @kindex remote delete
17729 @item remote delete @var{targetfile}
17730 Delete @var{targetfile} from the target system.
17731
17732 @end table
17733
17734 @node Server
17735 @section Using the @code{gdbserver} Program
17736
17737 @kindex gdbserver
17738 @cindex remote connection without stubs
17739 @code{gdbserver} is a control program for Unix-like systems, which
17740 allows you to connect your program with a remote @value{GDBN} via
17741 @code{target remote}---but without linking in the usual debugging stub.
17742
17743 @code{gdbserver} is not a complete replacement for the debugging stubs,
17744 because it requires essentially the same operating-system facilities
17745 that @value{GDBN} itself does. In fact, a system that can run
17746 @code{gdbserver} to connect to a remote @value{GDBN} could also run
17747 @value{GDBN} locally! @code{gdbserver} is sometimes useful nevertheless,
17748 because it is a much smaller program than @value{GDBN} itself. It is
17749 also easier to port than all of @value{GDBN}, so you may be able to get
17750 started more quickly on a new system by using @code{gdbserver}.
17751 Finally, if you develop code for real-time systems, you may find that
17752 the tradeoffs involved in real-time operation make it more convenient to
17753 do as much development work as possible on another system, for example
17754 by cross-compiling. You can use @code{gdbserver} to make a similar
17755 choice for debugging.
17756
17757 @value{GDBN} and @code{gdbserver} communicate via either a serial line
17758 or a TCP connection, using the standard @value{GDBN} remote serial
17759 protocol.
17760
17761 @quotation
17762 @emph{Warning:} @code{gdbserver} does not have any built-in security.
17763 Do not run @code{gdbserver} connected to any public network; a
17764 @value{GDBN} connection to @code{gdbserver} provides access to the
17765 target system with the same privileges as the user running
17766 @code{gdbserver}.
17767 @end quotation
17768
17769 @subsection Running @code{gdbserver}
17770 @cindex arguments, to @code{gdbserver}
17771 @cindex @code{gdbserver}, command-line arguments
17772
17773 Run @code{gdbserver} on the target system. You need a copy of the
17774 program you want to debug, including any libraries it requires.
17775 @code{gdbserver} does not need your program's symbol table, so you can
17776 strip the program if necessary to save space. @value{GDBN} on the host
17777 system does all the symbol handling.
17778
17779 To use the server, you must tell it how to communicate with @value{GDBN};
17780 the name of your program; and the arguments for your program. The usual
17781 syntax is:
17782
17783 @smallexample
17784 target> gdbserver @var{comm} @var{program} [ @var{args} @dots{} ]
17785 @end smallexample
17786
17787 @var{comm} is either a device name (to use a serial line), or a TCP
17788 hostname and portnumber, or @code{-} or @code{stdio} to use
17789 stdin/stdout of @code{gdbserver}.
17790 For example, to debug Emacs with the argument
17791 @samp{foo.txt} and communicate with @value{GDBN} over the serial port
17792 @file{/dev/com1}:
17793
17794 @smallexample
17795 target> gdbserver /dev/com1 emacs foo.txt
17796 @end smallexample
17797
17798 @code{gdbserver} waits passively for the host @value{GDBN} to communicate
17799 with it.
17800
17801 To use a TCP connection instead of a serial line:
17802
17803 @smallexample
17804 target> gdbserver host:2345 emacs foo.txt
17805 @end smallexample
17806
17807 The only difference from the previous example is the first argument,
17808 specifying that you are communicating with the host @value{GDBN} via
17809 TCP. The @samp{host:2345} argument means that @code{gdbserver} is to
17810 expect a TCP connection from machine @samp{host} to local TCP port 2345.
17811 (Currently, the @samp{host} part is ignored.) You can choose any number
17812 you want for the port number as long as it does not conflict with any
17813 TCP ports already in use on the target system (for example, @code{23} is
17814 reserved for @code{telnet}).@footnote{If you choose a port number that
17815 conflicts with another service, @code{gdbserver} prints an error message
17816 and exits.} You must use the same port number with the host @value{GDBN}
17817 @code{target remote} command.
17818
17819 The @code{stdio} connection is useful when starting @code{gdbserver}
17820 with ssh:
17821
17822 @smallexample
17823 (gdb) target remote | ssh -T hostname gdbserver - hello
17824 @end smallexample
17825
17826 The @samp{-T} option to ssh is provided because we don't need a remote pty,
17827 and we don't want escape-character handling. Ssh does this by default when
17828 a command is provided, the flag is provided to make it explicit.
17829 You could elide it if you want to.
17830
17831 Programs started with stdio-connected gdbserver have @file{/dev/null} for
17832 @code{stdin}, and @code{stdout},@code{stderr} are sent back to gdb for
17833 display through a pipe connected to gdbserver.
17834 Both @code{stdout} and @code{stderr} use the same pipe.
17835
17836 @subsubsection Attaching to a Running Program
17837 @cindex attach to a program, @code{gdbserver}
17838 @cindex @option{--attach}, @code{gdbserver} option
17839
17840 On some targets, @code{gdbserver} can also attach to running programs.
17841 This is accomplished via the @code{--attach} argument. The syntax is:
17842
17843 @smallexample
17844 target> gdbserver --attach @var{comm} @var{pid}
17845 @end smallexample
17846
17847 @var{pid} is the process ID of a currently running process. It isn't necessary
17848 to point @code{gdbserver} at a binary for the running process.
17849
17850 @pindex pidof
17851 You can debug processes by name instead of process ID if your target has the
17852 @code{pidof} utility:
17853
17854 @smallexample
17855 target> gdbserver --attach @var{comm} `pidof @var{program}`
17856 @end smallexample
17857
17858 In case more than one copy of @var{program} is running, or @var{program}
17859 has multiple threads, most versions of @code{pidof} support the
17860 @code{-s} option to only return the first process ID.
17861
17862 @subsubsection Multi-Process Mode for @code{gdbserver}
17863 @cindex @code{gdbserver}, multiple processes
17864 @cindex multiple processes with @code{gdbserver}
17865
17866 When you connect to @code{gdbserver} using @code{target remote},
17867 @code{gdbserver} debugs the specified program only once. When the
17868 program exits, or you detach from it, @value{GDBN} closes the connection
17869 and @code{gdbserver} exits.
17870
17871 If you connect using @kbd{target extended-remote}, @code{gdbserver}
17872 enters multi-process mode. When the debugged program exits, or you
17873 detach from it, @value{GDBN} stays connected to @code{gdbserver} even
17874 though no program is running. The @code{run} and @code{attach}
17875 commands instruct @code{gdbserver} to run or attach to a new program.
17876 The @code{run} command uses @code{set remote exec-file} (@pxref{set
17877 remote exec-file}) to select the program to run. Command line
17878 arguments are supported, except for wildcard expansion and I/O
17879 redirection (@pxref{Arguments}).
17880
17881 @cindex @option{--multi}, @code{gdbserver} option
17882 To start @code{gdbserver} without supplying an initial command to run
17883 or process ID to attach, use the @option{--multi} command line option.
17884 Then you can connect using @kbd{target extended-remote} and start
17885 the program you want to debug.
17886
17887 In multi-process mode @code{gdbserver} does not automatically exit unless you
17888 use the option @option{--once}. You can terminate it by using
17889 @code{monitor exit} (@pxref{Monitor Commands for gdbserver}). Note that the
17890 conditions under which @code{gdbserver} terminates depend on how @value{GDBN}
17891 connects to it (@kbd{target remote} or @kbd{target extended-remote}). The
17892 @option{--multi} option to @code{gdbserver} has no influence on that.
17893
17894 @subsubsection TCP port allocation lifecycle of @code{gdbserver}
17895
17896 This section applies only when @code{gdbserver} is run to listen on a TCP port.
17897
17898 @code{gdbserver} normally terminates after all of its debugged processes have
17899 terminated in @kbd{target remote} mode. On the other hand, for @kbd{target
17900 extended-remote}, @code{gdbserver} stays running even with no processes left.
17901 @value{GDBN} normally terminates the spawned debugged process on its exit,
17902 which normally also terminates @code{gdbserver} in the @kbd{target remote}
17903 mode. Therefore, when the connection drops unexpectedly, and @value{GDBN}
17904 cannot ask @code{gdbserver} to kill its debugged processes, @code{gdbserver}
17905 stays running even in the @kbd{target remote} mode.
17906
17907 When @code{gdbserver} stays running, @value{GDBN} can connect to it again later.
17908 Such reconnecting is useful for features like @ref{disconnected tracing}. For
17909 completeness, at most one @value{GDBN} can be connected at a time.
17910
17911 @cindex @option{--once}, @code{gdbserver} option
17912 By default, @code{gdbserver} keeps the listening TCP port open, so that
17913 additional connections are possible. However, if you start @code{gdbserver}
17914 with the @option{--once} option, it will stop listening for any further
17915 connection attempts after connecting to the first @value{GDBN} session. This
17916 means no further connections to @code{gdbserver} will be possible after the
17917 first one. It also means @code{gdbserver} will terminate after the first
17918 connection with remote @value{GDBN} has closed, even for unexpectedly closed
17919 connections and even in the @kbd{target extended-remote} mode. The
17920 @option{--once} option allows reusing the same port number for connecting to
17921 multiple instances of @code{gdbserver} running on the same host, since each
17922 instance closes its port after the first connection.
17923
17924 @subsubsection Other Command-Line Arguments for @code{gdbserver}
17925
17926 @cindex @option{--debug}, @code{gdbserver} option
17927 The @option{--debug} option tells @code{gdbserver} to display extra
17928 status information about the debugging process.
17929 @cindex @option{--remote-debug}, @code{gdbserver} option
17930 The @option{--remote-debug} option tells @code{gdbserver} to display
17931 remote protocol debug output. These options are intended for
17932 @code{gdbserver} development and for bug reports to the developers.
17933
17934 @cindex @option{--wrapper}, @code{gdbserver} option
17935 The @option{--wrapper} option specifies a wrapper to launch programs
17936 for debugging. The option should be followed by the name of the
17937 wrapper, then any command-line arguments to pass to the wrapper, then
17938 @kbd{--} indicating the end of the wrapper arguments.
17939
17940 @code{gdbserver} runs the specified wrapper program with a combined
17941 command line including the wrapper arguments, then the name of the
17942 program to debug, then any arguments to the program. The wrapper
17943 runs until it executes your program, and then @value{GDBN} gains control.
17944
17945 You can use any program that eventually calls @code{execve} with
17946 its arguments as a wrapper. Several standard Unix utilities do
17947 this, e.g.@: @code{env} and @code{nohup}. Any Unix shell script ending
17948 with @code{exec "$@@"} will also work.
17949
17950 For example, you can use @code{env} to pass an environment variable to
17951 the debugged program, without setting the variable in @code{gdbserver}'s
17952 environment:
17953
17954 @smallexample
17955 $ gdbserver --wrapper env LD_PRELOAD=libtest.so -- :2222 ./testprog
17956 @end smallexample
17957
17958 @subsection Connecting to @code{gdbserver}
17959
17960 Run @value{GDBN} on the host system.
17961
17962 First make sure you have the necessary symbol files. Load symbols for
17963 your application using the @code{file} command before you connect. Use
17964 @code{set sysroot} to locate target libraries (unless your @value{GDBN}
17965 was compiled with the correct sysroot using @code{--with-sysroot}).
17966
17967 The symbol file and target libraries must exactly match the executable
17968 and libraries on the target, with one exception: the files on the host
17969 system should not be stripped, even if the files on the target system
17970 are. Mismatched or missing files will lead to confusing results
17971 during debugging. On @sc{gnu}/Linux targets, mismatched or missing
17972 files may also prevent @code{gdbserver} from debugging multi-threaded
17973 programs.
17974
17975 Connect to your target (@pxref{Connecting,,Connecting to a Remote Target}).
17976 For TCP connections, you must start up @code{gdbserver} prior to using
17977 the @code{target remote} command. Otherwise you may get an error whose
17978 text depends on the host system, but which usually looks something like
17979 @samp{Connection refused}. Don't use the @code{load}
17980 command in @value{GDBN} when using @code{gdbserver}, since the program is
17981 already on the target.
17982
17983 @subsection Monitor Commands for @code{gdbserver}
17984 @cindex monitor commands, for @code{gdbserver}
17985 @anchor{Monitor Commands for gdbserver}
17986
17987 During a @value{GDBN} session using @code{gdbserver}, you can use the
17988 @code{monitor} command to send special requests to @code{gdbserver}.
17989 Here are the available commands.
17990
17991 @table @code
17992 @item monitor help
17993 List the available monitor commands.
17994
17995 @item monitor set debug 0
17996 @itemx monitor set debug 1
17997 Disable or enable general debugging messages.
17998
17999 @item monitor set remote-debug 0
18000 @itemx monitor set remote-debug 1
18001 Disable or enable specific debugging messages associated with the remote
18002 protocol (@pxref{Remote Protocol}).
18003
18004 @item monitor set libthread-db-search-path [PATH]
18005 @cindex gdbserver, search path for @code{libthread_db}
18006 When this command is issued, @var{path} is a colon-separated list of
18007 directories to search for @code{libthread_db} (@pxref{Threads,,set
18008 libthread-db-search-path}). If you omit @var{path},
18009 @samp{libthread-db-search-path} will be reset to its default value.
18010
18011 The special entry @samp{$pdir} for @samp{libthread-db-search-path} is
18012 not supported in @code{gdbserver}.
18013
18014 @item monitor exit
18015 Tell gdbserver to exit immediately. This command should be followed by
18016 @code{disconnect} to close the debugging session. @code{gdbserver} will
18017 detach from any attached processes and kill any processes it created.
18018 Use @code{monitor exit} to terminate @code{gdbserver} at the end
18019 of a multi-process mode debug session.
18020
18021 @end table
18022
18023 @subsection Tracepoints support in @code{gdbserver}
18024 @cindex tracepoints support in @code{gdbserver}
18025
18026 On some targets, @code{gdbserver} supports tracepoints, fast
18027 tracepoints and static tracepoints.
18028
18029 For fast or static tracepoints to work, a special library called the
18030 @dfn{in-process agent} (IPA), must be loaded in the inferior process.
18031 This library is built and distributed as an integral part of
18032 @code{gdbserver}. In addition, support for static tracepoints
18033 requires building the in-process agent library with static tracepoints
18034 support. At present, the UST (LTTng Userspace Tracer,
18035 @url{http://lttng.org/ust}) tracing engine is supported. This support
18036 is automatically available if UST development headers are found in the
18037 standard include path when @code{gdbserver} is built, or if
18038 @code{gdbserver} was explicitly configured using @option{--with-ust}
18039 to point at such headers. You can explicitly disable the support
18040 using @option{--with-ust=no}.
18041
18042 There are several ways to load the in-process agent in your program:
18043
18044 @table @code
18045 @item Specifying it as dependency at link time
18046
18047 You can link your program dynamically with the in-process agent
18048 library. On most systems, this is accomplished by adding
18049 @code{-linproctrace} to the link command.
18050
18051 @item Using the system's preloading mechanisms
18052
18053 You can force loading the in-process agent at startup time by using
18054 your system's support for preloading shared libraries. Many Unixes
18055 support the concept of preloading user defined libraries. In most
18056 cases, you do that by specifying @code{LD_PRELOAD=libinproctrace.so}
18057 in the environment. See also the description of @code{gdbserver}'s
18058 @option{--wrapper} command line option.
18059
18060 @item Using @value{GDBN} to force loading the agent at run time
18061
18062 On some systems, you can force the inferior to load a shared library,
18063 by calling a dynamic loader function in the inferior that takes care
18064 of dynamically looking up and loading a shared library. On most Unix
18065 systems, the function is @code{dlopen}. You'll use the @code{call}
18066 command for that. For example:
18067
18068 @smallexample
18069 (@value{GDBP}) call dlopen ("libinproctrace.so", ...)
18070 @end smallexample
18071
18072 Note that on most Unix systems, for the @code{dlopen} function to be
18073 available, the program needs to be linked with @code{-ldl}.
18074 @end table
18075
18076 On systems that have a userspace dynamic loader, like most Unix
18077 systems, when you connect to @code{gdbserver} using @code{target
18078 remote}, you'll find that the program is stopped at the dynamic
18079 loader's entry point, and no shared library has been loaded in the
18080 program's address space yet, including the in-process agent. In that
18081 case, before being able to use any of the fast or static tracepoints
18082 features, you need to let the loader run and load the shared
18083 libraries. The simplest way to do that is to run the program to the
18084 main procedure. E.g., if debugging a C or C@t{++} program, start
18085 @code{gdbserver} like so:
18086
18087 @smallexample
18088 $ gdbserver :9999 myprogram
18089 @end smallexample
18090
18091 Start GDB and connect to @code{gdbserver} like so, and run to main:
18092
18093 @smallexample
18094 $ gdb myprogram
18095 (@value{GDBP}) target remote myhost:9999
18096 0x00007f215893ba60 in ?? () from /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2
18097 (@value{GDBP}) b main
18098 (@value{GDBP}) continue
18099 @end smallexample
18100
18101 The in-process tracing agent library should now be loaded into the
18102 process; you can confirm it with the @code{info sharedlibrary}
18103 command, which will list @file{libinproctrace.so} as loaded in the
18104 process. You are now ready to install fast tracepoints, list static
18105 tracepoint markers, probe static tracepoints markers, and start
18106 tracing.
18107
18108 @node Remote Configuration
18109 @section Remote Configuration
18110
18111 @kindex set remote
18112 @kindex show remote
18113 This section documents the configuration options available when
18114 debugging remote programs. For the options related to the File I/O
18115 extensions of the remote protocol, see @ref{system,
18116 system-call-allowed}.
18117
18118 @table @code
18119 @item set remoteaddresssize @var{bits}
18120 @cindex address size for remote targets
18121 @cindex bits in remote address
18122 Set the maximum size of address in a memory packet to the specified
18123 number of bits. @value{GDBN} will mask off the address bits above
18124 that number, when it passes addresses to the remote target. The
18125 default value is the number of bits in the target's address.
18126
18127 @item show remoteaddresssize
18128 Show the current value of remote address size in bits.
18129
18130 @item set remotebaud @var{n}
18131 @cindex baud rate for remote targets
18132 Set the baud rate for the remote serial I/O to @var{n} baud. The
18133 value is used to set the speed of the serial port used for debugging
18134 remote targets.
18135
18136 @item show remotebaud
18137 Show the current speed of the remote connection.
18138
18139 @item set remotebreak
18140 @cindex interrupt remote programs
18141 @cindex BREAK signal instead of Ctrl-C
18142 @anchor{set remotebreak}
18143 If set to on, @value{GDBN} sends a @code{BREAK} signal to the remote
18144 when you type @kbd{Ctrl-c} to interrupt the program running
18145 on the remote. If set to off, @value{GDBN} sends the @samp{Ctrl-C}
18146 character instead. The default is off, since most remote systems
18147 expect to see @samp{Ctrl-C} as the interrupt signal.
18148
18149 @item show remotebreak
18150 Show whether @value{GDBN} sends @code{BREAK} or @samp{Ctrl-C} to
18151 interrupt the remote program.
18152
18153 @item set remoteflow on
18154 @itemx set remoteflow off
18155 @kindex set remoteflow
18156 Enable or disable hardware flow control (@code{RTS}/@code{CTS})
18157 on the serial port used to communicate to the remote target.
18158
18159 @item show remoteflow
18160 @kindex show remoteflow
18161 Show the current setting of hardware flow control.
18162
18163 @item set remotelogbase @var{base}
18164 Set the base (a.k.a.@: radix) of logging serial protocol
18165 communications to @var{base}. Supported values of @var{base} are:
18166 @code{ascii}, @code{octal}, and @code{hex}. The default is
18167 @code{ascii}.
18168
18169 @item show remotelogbase
18170 Show the current setting of the radix for logging remote serial
18171 protocol.
18172
18173 @item set remotelogfile @var{file}
18174 @cindex record serial communications on file
18175 Record remote serial communications on the named @var{file}. The
18176 default is not to record at all.
18177
18178 @item show remotelogfile.
18179 Show the current setting of the file name on which to record the
18180 serial communications.
18181
18182 @item set remotetimeout @var{num}
18183 @cindex timeout for serial communications
18184 @cindex remote timeout
18185 Set the timeout limit to wait for the remote target to respond to
18186 @var{num} seconds. The default is 2 seconds.
18187
18188 @item show remotetimeout
18189 Show the current number of seconds to wait for the remote target
18190 responses.
18191
18192 @cindex limit hardware breakpoints and watchpoints
18193 @cindex remote target, limit break- and watchpoints
18194 @anchor{set remote hardware-watchpoint-limit}
18195 @anchor{set remote hardware-breakpoint-limit}
18196 @item set remote hardware-watchpoint-limit @var{limit}
18197 @itemx set remote hardware-breakpoint-limit @var{limit}
18198 Restrict @value{GDBN} to using @var{limit} remote hardware breakpoint or
18199 watchpoints. A limit of -1, the default, is treated as unlimited.
18200
18201 @cindex limit hardware watchpoints length
18202 @cindex remote target, limit watchpoints length
18203 @anchor{set remote hardware-watchpoint-length-limit}
18204 @item set remote hardware-watchpoint-length-limit @var{limit}
18205 Restrict @value{GDBN} to using @var{limit} bytes for the maximum length of
18206 a remote hardware watchpoint. A limit of -1, the default, is treated
18207 as unlimited.
18208
18209 @item show remote hardware-watchpoint-length-limit
18210 Show the current limit (in bytes) of the maximum length of
18211 a remote hardware watchpoint.
18212
18213 @item set remote exec-file @var{filename}
18214 @itemx show remote exec-file
18215 @anchor{set remote exec-file}
18216 @cindex executable file, for remote target
18217 Select the file used for @code{run} with @code{target
18218 extended-remote}. This should be set to a filename valid on the
18219 target system. If it is not set, the target will use a default
18220 filename (e.g.@: the last program run).
18221
18222 @item set remote interrupt-sequence
18223 @cindex interrupt remote programs
18224 @cindex select Ctrl-C, BREAK or BREAK-g
18225 Allow the user to select one of @samp{Ctrl-C}, a @code{BREAK} or
18226 @samp{BREAK-g} as the
18227 sequence to the remote target in order to interrupt the execution.
18228 @samp{Ctrl-C} is a default. Some system prefers @code{BREAK} which
18229 is high level of serial line for some certain time.
18230 Linux kernel prefers @samp{BREAK-g}, a.k.a Magic SysRq g.
18231 It is @code{BREAK} signal followed by character @code{g}.
18232
18233 @item show interrupt-sequence
18234 Show which of @samp{Ctrl-C}, @code{BREAK} or @code{BREAK-g}
18235 is sent by @value{GDBN} to interrupt the remote program.
18236 @code{BREAK-g} is BREAK signal followed by @code{g} and
18237 also known as Magic SysRq g.
18238
18239 @item set remote interrupt-on-connect
18240 @cindex send interrupt-sequence on start
18241 Specify whether interrupt-sequence is sent to remote target when
18242 @value{GDBN} connects to it. This is mostly needed when you debug
18243 Linux kernel. Linux kernel expects @code{BREAK} followed by @code{g}
18244 which is known as Magic SysRq g in order to connect @value{GDBN}.
18245
18246 @item show interrupt-on-connect
18247 Show whether interrupt-sequence is sent
18248 to remote target when @value{GDBN} connects to it.
18249
18250 @kindex set tcp
18251 @kindex show tcp
18252 @item set tcp auto-retry on
18253 @cindex auto-retry, for remote TCP target
18254 Enable auto-retry for remote TCP connections. This is useful if the remote
18255 debugging agent is launched in parallel with @value{GDBN}; there is a race
18256 condition because the agent may not become ready to accept the connection
18257 before @value{GDBN} attempts to connect. When auto-retry is
18258 enabled, if the initial attempt to connect fails, @value{GDBN} reattempts
18259 to establish the connection using the timeout specified by
18260 @code{set tcp connect-timeout}.
18261
18262 @item set tcp auto-retry off
18263 Do not auto-retry failed TCP connections.
18264
18265 @item show tcp auto-retry
18266 Show the current auto-retry setting.
18267
18268 @item set tcp connect-timeout @var{seconds}
18269 @cindex connection timeout, for remote TCP target
18270 @cindex timeout, for remote target connection
18271 Set the timeout for establishing a TCP connection to the remote target to
18272 @var{seconds}. The timeout affects both polling to retry failed connections
18273 (enabled by @code{set tcp auto-retry on}) and waiting for connections
18274 that are merely slow to complete, and represents an approximate cumulative
18275 value.
18276
18277 @item show tcp connect-timeout
18278 Show the current connection timeout setting.
18279 @end table
18280
18281 @cindex remote packets, enabling and disabling
18282 The @value{GDBN} remote protocol autodetects the packets supported by
18283 your debugging stub. If you need to override the autodetection, you
18284 can use these commands to enable or disable individual packets. Each
18285 packet can be set to @samp{on} (the remote target supports this
18286 packet), @samp{off} (the remote target does not support this packet),
18287 or @samp{auto} (detect remote target support for this packet). They
18288 all default to @samp{auto}. For more information about each packet,
18289 see @ref{Remote Protocol}.
18290
18291 During normal use, you should not have to use any of these commands.
18292 If you do, that may be a bug in your remote debugging stub, or a bug
18293 in @value{GDBN}. You may want to report the problem to the
18294 @value{GDBN} developers.
18295
18296 For each packet @var{name}, the command to enable or disable the
18297 packet is @code{set remote @var{name}-packet}. The available settings
18298 are:
18299
18300 @multitable @columnfractions 0.28 0.32 0.25
18301 @item Command Name
18302 @tab Remote Packet
18303 @tab Related Features
18304
18305 @item @code{fetch-register}
18306 @tab @code{p}
18307 @tab @code{info registers}
18308
18309 @item @code{set-register}
18310 @tab @code{P}
18311 @tab @code{set}
18312
18313 @item @code{binary-download}
18314 @tab @code{X}
18315 @tab @code{load}, @code{set}
18316
18317 @item @code{read-aux-vector}
18318 @tab @code{qXfer:auxv:read}
18319 @tab @code{info auxv}
18320
18321 @item @code{symbol-lookup}
18322 @tab @code{qSymbol}
18323 @tab Detecting multiple threads
18324
18325 @item @code{attach}
18326 @tab @code{vAttach}
18327 @tab @code{attach}
18328
18329 @item @code{verbose-resume}
18330 @tab @code{vCont}
18331 @tab Stepping or resuming multiple threads
18332
18333 @item @code{run}
18334 @tab @code{vRun}
18335 @tab @code{run}
18336
18337 @item @code{software-breakpoint}
18338 @tab @code{Z0}
18339 @tab @code{break}
18340
18341 @item @code{hardware-breakpoint}
18342 @tab @code{Z1}
18343 @tab @code{hbreak}
18344
18345 @item @code{write-watchpoint}
18346 @tab @code{Z2}
18347 @tab @code{watch}
18348
18349 @item @code{read-watchpoint}
18350 @tab @code{Z3}
18351 @tab @code{rwatch}
18352
18353 @item @code{access-watchpoint}
18354 @tab @code{Z4}
18355 @tab @code{awatch}
18356
18357 @item @code{target-features}
18358 @tab @code{qXfer:features:read}
18359 @tab @code{set architecture}
18360
18361 @item @code{library-info}
18362 @tab @code{qXfer:libraries:read}
18363 @tab @code{info sharedlibrary}
18364
18365 @item @code{memory-map}
18366 @tab @code{qXfer:memory-map:read}
18367 @tab @code{info mem}
18368
18369 @item @code{read-sdata-object}
18370 @tab @code{qXfer:sdata:read}
18371 @tab @code{print $_sdata}
18372
18373 @item @code{read-spu-object}
18374 @tab @code{qXfer:spu:read}
18375 @tab @code{info spu}
18376
18377 @item @code{write-spu-object}
18378 @tab @code{qXfer:spu:write}
18379 @tab @code{info spu}
18380
18381 @item @code{read-siginfo-object}
18382 @tab @code{qXfer:siginfo:read}
18383 @tab @code{print $_siginfo}
18384
18385 @item @code{write-siginfo-object}
18386 @tab @code{qXfer:siginfo:write}
18387 @tab @code{set $_siginfo}
18388
18389 @item @code{threads}
18390 @tab @code{qXfer:threads:read}
18391 @tab @code{info threads}
18392
18393 @item @code{get-thread-local-@*storage-address}
18394 @tab @code{qGetTLSAddr}
18395 @tab Displaying @code{__thread} variables
18396
18397 @item @code{get-thread-information-block-address}
18398 @tab @code{qGetTIBAddr}
18399 @tab Display MS-Windows Thread Information Block.
18400
18401 @item @code{search-memory}
18402 @tab @code{qSearch:memory}
18403 @tab @code{find}
18404
18405 @item @code{supported-packets}
18406 @tab @code{qSupported}
18407 @tab Remote communications parameters
18408
18409 @item @code{pass-signals}
18410 @tab @code{QPassSignals}
18411 @tab @code{handle @var{signal}}
18412
18413 @item @code{program-signals}
18414 @tab @code{QProgramSignals}
18415 @tab @code{handle @var{signal}}
18416
18417 @item @code{hostio-close-packet}
18418 @tab @code{vFile:close}
18419 @tab @code{remote get}, @code{remote put}
18420
18421 @item @code{hostio-open-packet}
18422 @tab @code{vFile:open}
18423 @tab @code{remote get}, @code{remote put}
18424
18425 @item @code{hostio-pread-packet}
18426 @tab @code{vFile:pread}
18427 @tab @code{remote get}, @code{remote put}
18428
18429 @item @code{hostio-pwrite-packet}
18430 @tab @code{vFile:pwrite}
18431 @tab @code{remote get}, @code{remote put}
18432
18433 @item @code{hostio-unlink-packet}
18434 @tab @code{vFile:unlink}
18435 @tab @code{remote delete}
18436
18437 @item @code{hostio-readlink-packet}
18438 @tab @code{vFile:readlink}
18439 @tab Host I/O
18440
18441 @item @code{noack-packet}
18442 @tab @code{QStartNoAckMode}
18443 @tab Packet acknowledgment
18444
18445 @item @code{osdata}
18446 @tab @code{qXfer:osdata:read}
18447 @tab @code{info os}
18448
18449 @item @code{query-attached}
18450 @tab @code{qAttached}
18451 @tab Querying remote process attach state.
18452
18453 @item @code{trace-buffer-size}
18454 @tab @code{QTBuffer:size}
18455 @tab @code{set trace-buffer-size}
18456
18457 @item @code{trace-status}
18458 @tab @code{qTStatus}
18459 @tab @code{tstatus}
18460
18461 @item @code{traceframe-info}
18462 @tab @code{qXfer:traceframe-info:read}
18463 @tab Traceframe info
18464
18465 @item @code{install-in-trace}
18466 @tab @code{InstallInTrace}
18467 @tab Install tracepoint in tracing
18468
18469 @item @code{disable-randomization}
18470 @tab @code{QDisableRandomization}
18471 @tab @code{set disable-randomization}
18472
18473 @item @code{conditional-breakpoints-packet}
18474 @tab @code{Z0 and Z1}
18475 @tab @code{Support for target-side breakpoint condition evaluation}
18476 @end multitable
18477
18478 @node Remote Stub
18479 @section Implementing a Remote Stub
18480
18481 @cindex debugging stub, example
18482 @cindex remote stub, example
18483 @cindex stub example, remote debugging
18484 The stub files provided with @value{GDBN} implement the target side of the
18485 communication protocol, and the @value{GDBN} side is implemented in the
18486 @value{GDBN} source file @file{remote.c}. Normally, you can simply allow
18487 these subroutines to communicate, and ignore the details. (If you're
18488 implementing your own stub file, you can still ignore the details: start
18489 with one of the existing stub files. @file{sparc-stub.c} is the best
18490 organized, and therefore the easiest to read.)
18491
18492 @cindex remote serial debugging, overview
18493 To debug a program running on another machine (the debugging
18494 @dfn{target} machine), you must first arrange for all the usual
18495 prerequisites for the program to run by itself. For example, for a C
18496 program, you need:
18497
18498 @enumerate
18499 @item
18500 A startup routine to set up the C runtime environment; these usually
18501 have a name like @file{crt0}. The startup routine may be supplied by
18502 your hardware supplier, or you may have to write your own.
18503
18504 @item
18505 A C subroutine library to support your program's
18506 subroutine calls, notably managing input and output.
18507
18508 @item
18509 A way of getting your program to the other machine---for example, a
18510 download program. These are often supplied by the hardware
18511 manufacturer, but you may have to write your own from hardware
18512 documentation.
18513 @end enumerate
18514
18515 The next step is to arrange for your program to use a serial port to
18516 communicate with the machine where @value{GDBN} is running (the @dfn{host}
18517 machine). In general terms, the scheme looks like this:
18518
18519 @table @emph
18520 @item On the host,
18521 @value{GDBN} already understands how to use this protocol; when everything
18522 else is set up, you can simply use the @samp{target remote} command
18523 (@pxref{Targets,,Specifying a Debugging Target}).
18524
18525 @item On the target,
18526 you must link with your program a few special-purpose subroutines that
18527 implement the @value{GDBN} remote serial protocol. The file containing these
18528 subroutines is called a @dfn{debugging stub}.
18529
18530 On certain remote targets, you can use an auxiliary program
18531 @code{gdbserver} instead of linking a stub into your program.
18532 @xref{Server,,Using the @code{gdbserver} Program}, for details.
18533 @end table
18534
18535 The debugging stub is specific to the architecture of the remote
18536 machine; for example, use @file{sparc-stub.c} to debug programs on
18537 @sc{sparc} boards.
18538
18539 @cindex remote serial stub list
18540 These working remote stubs are distributed with @value{GDBN}:
18541
18542 @table @code
18543
18544 @item i386-stub.c
18545 @cindex @file{i386-stub.c}
18546 @cindex Intel
18547 @cindex i386
18548 For Intel 386 and compatible architectures.
18549
18550 @item m68k-stub.c
18551 @cindex @file{m68k-stub.c}
18552 @cindex Motorola 680x0
18553 @cindex m680x0
18554 For Motorola 680x0 architectures.
18555
18556 @item sh-stub.c
18557 @cindex @file{sh-stub.c}
18558 @cindex Renesas
18559 @cindex SH
18560 For Renesas SH architectures.
18561
18562 @item sparc-stub.c
18563 @cindex @file{sparc-stub.c}
18564 @cindex Sparc
18565 For @sc{sparc} architectures.
18566
18567 @item sparcl-stub.c
18568 @cindex @file{sparcl-stub.c}
18569 @cindex Fujitsu
18570 @cindex SparcLite
18571 For Fujitsu @sc{sparclite} architectures.
18572
18573 @end table
18574
18575 The @file{README} file in the @value{GDBN} distribution may list other
18576 recently added stubs.
18577
18578 @menu
18579 * Stub Contents:: What the stub can do for you
18580 * Bootstrapping:: What you must do for the stub
18581 * Debug Session:: Putting it all together
18582 @end menu
18583
18584 @node Stub Contents
18585 @subsection What the Stub Can Do for You
18586
18587 @cindex remote serial stub
18588 The debugging stub for your architecture supplies these three
18589 subroutines:
18590
18591 @table @code
18592 @item set_debug_traps
18593 @findex set_debug_traps
18594 @cindex remote serial stub, initialization
18595 This routine arranges for @code{handle_exception} to run when your
18596 program stops. You must call this subroutine explicitly in your
18597 program's startup code.
18598
18599 @item handle_exception
18600 @findex handle_exception
18601 @cindex remote serial stub, main routine
18602 This is the central workhorse, but your program never calls it
18603 explicitly---the setup code arranges for @code{handle_exception} to
18604 run when a trap is triggered.
18605
18606 @code{handle_exception} takes control when your program stops during
18607 execution (for example, on a breakpoint), and mediates communications
18608 with @value{GDBN} on the host machine. This is where the communications
18609 protocol is implemented; @code{handle_exception} acts as the @value{GDBN}
18610 representative on the target machine. It begins by sending summary
18611 information on the state of your program, then continues to execute,
18612 retrieving and transmitting any information @value{GDBN} needs, until you
18613 execute a @value{GDBN} command that makes your program resume; at that point,
18614 @code{handle_exception} returns control to your own code on the target
18615 machine.
18616
18617 @item breakpoint
18618 @cindex @code{breakpoint} subroutine, remote
18619 Use this auxiliary subroutine to make your program contain a
18620 breakpoint. Depending on the particular situation, this may be the only
18621 way for @value{GDBN} to get control. For instance, if your target
18622 machine has some sort of interrupt button, you won't need to call this;
18623 pressing the interrupt button transfers control to
18624 @code{handle_exception}---in effect, to @value{GDBN}. On some machines,
18625 simply receiving characters on the serial port may also trigger a trap;
18626 again, in that situation, you don't need to call @code{breakpoint} from
18627 your own program---simply running @samp{target remote} from the host
18628 @value{GDBN} session gets control.
18629
18630 Call @code{breakpoint} if none of these is true, or if you simply want
18631 to make certain your program stops at a predetermined point for the
18632 start of your debugging session.
18633 @end table
18634
18635 @node Bootstrapping
18636 @subsection What You Must Do for the Stub
18637
18638 @cindex remote stub, support routines
18639 The debugging stubs that come with @value{GDBN} are set up for a particular
18640 chip architecture, but they have no information about the rest of your
18641 debugging target machine.
18642
18643 First of all you need to tell the stub how to communicate with the
18644 serial port.
18645
18646 @table @code
18647 @item int getDebugChar()
18648 @findex getDebugChar
18649 Write this subroutine to read a single character from the serial port.
18650 It may be identical to @code{getchar} for your target system; a
18651 different name is used to allow you to distinguish the two if you wish.
18652
18653 @item void putDebugChar(int)
18654 @findex putDebugChar
18655 Write this subroutine to write a single character to the serial port.
18656 It may be identical to @code{putchar} for your target system; a
18657 different name is used to allow you to distinguish the two if you wish.
18658 @end table
18659
18660 @cindex control C, and remote debugging
18661 @cindex interrupting remote targets
18662 If you want @value{GDBN} to be able to stop your program while it is
18663 running, you need to use an interrupt-driven serial driver, and arrange
18664 for it to stop when it receives a @code{^C} (@samp{\003}, the control-C
18665 character). That is the character which @value{GDBN} uses to tell the
18666 remote system to stop.
18667
18668 Getting the debugging target to return the proper status to @value{GDBN}
18669 probably requires changes to the standard stub; one quick and dirty way
18670 is to just execute a breakpoint instruction (the ``dirty'' part is that
18671 @value{GDBN} reports a @code{SIGTRAP} instead of a @code{SIGINT}).
18672
18673 Other routines you need to supply are:
18674
18675 @table @code
18676 @item void exceptionHandler (int @var{exception_number}, void *@var{exception_address})
18677 @findex exceptionHandler
18678 Write this function to install @var{exception_address} in the exception
18679 handling tables. You need to do this because the stub does not have any
18680 way of knowing what the exception handling tables on your target system
18681 are like (for example, the processor's table might be in @sc{rom},
18682 containing entries which point to a table in @sc{ram}).
18683 @var{exception_number} is the exception number which should be changed;
18684 its meaning is architecture-dependent (for example, different numbers
18685 might represent divide by zero, misaligned access, etc). When this
18686 exception occurs, control should be transferred directly to
18687 @var{exception_address}, and the processor state (stack, registers,
18688 and so on) should be just as it is when a processor exception occurs. So if
18689 you want to use a jump instruction to reach @var{exception_address}, it
18690 should be a simple jump, not a jump to subroutine.
18691
18692 For the 386, @var{exception_address} should be installed as an interrupt
18693 gate so that interrupts are masked while the handler runs. The gate
18694 should be at privilege level 0 (the most privileged level). The
18695 @sc{sparc} and 68k stubs are able to mask interrupts themselves without
18696 help from @code{exceptionHandler}.
18697
18698 @item void flush_i_cache()
18699 @findex flush_i_cache
18700 On @sc{sparc} and @sc{sparclite} only, write this subroutine to flush the
18701 instruction cache, if any, on your target machine. If there is no
18702 instruction cache, this subroutine may be a no-op.
18703
18704 On target machines that have instruction caches, @value{GDBN} requires this
18705 function to make certain that the state of your program is stable.
18706 @end table
18707
18708 @noindent
18709 You must also make sure this library routine is available:
18710
18711 @table @code
18712 @item void *memset(void *, int, int)
18713 @findex memset
18714 This is the standard library function @code{memset} that sets an area of
18715 memory to a known value. If you have one of the free versions of
18716 @code{libc.a}, @code{memset} can be found there; otherwise, you must
18717 either obtain it from your hardware manufacturer, or write your own.
18718 @end table
18719
18720 If you do not use the GNU C compiler, you may need other standard
18721 library subroutines as well; this varies from one stub to another,
18722 but in general the stubs are likely to use any of the common library
18723 subroutines which @code{@value{NGCC}} generates as inline code.
18724
18725
18726 @node Debug Session
18727 @subsection Putting it All Together
18728
18729 @cindex remote serial debugging summary
18730 In summary, when your program is ready to debug, you must follow these
18731 steps.
18732
18733 @enumerate
18734 @item
18735 Make sure you have defined the supporting low-level routines
18736 (@pxref{Bootstrapping,,What You Must Do for the Stub}):
18737 @display
18738 @code{getDebugChar}, @code{putDebugChar},
18739 @code{flush_i_cache}, @code{memset}, @code{exceptionHandler}.
18740 @end display
18741
18742 @item
18743 Insert these lines in your program's startup code, before the main
18744 procedure is called:
18745
18746 @smallexample
18747 set_debug_traps();
18748 breakpoint();
18749 @end smallexample
18750
18751 On some machines, when a breakpoint trap is raised, the hardware
18752 automatically makes the PC point to the instruction after the
18753 breakpoint. If your machine doesn't do that, you may need to adjust
18754 @code{handle_exception} to arrange for it to return to the instruction
18755 after the breakpoint on this first invocation, so that your program
18756 doesn't keep hitting the initial breakpoint instead of making
18757 progress.
18758
18759 @item
18760 For the 680x0 stub only, you need to provide a variable called
18761 @code{exceptionHook}. Normally you just use:
18762
18763 @smallexample
18764 void (*exceptionHook)() = 0;
18765 @end smallexample
18766
18767 @noindent
18768 but if before calling @code{set_debug_traps}, you set it to point to a
18769 function in your program, that function is called when
18770 @code{@value{GDBN}} continues after stopping on a trap (for example, bus
18771 error). The function indicated by @code{exceptionHook} is called with
18772 one parameter: an @code{int} which is the exception number.
18773
18774 @item
18775 Compile and link together: your program, the @value{GDBN} debugging stub for
18776 your target architecture, and the supporting subroutines.
18777
18778 @item
18779 Make sure you have a serial connection between your target machine and
18780 the @value{GDBN} host, and identify the serial port on the host.
18781
18782 @item
18783 @c The "remote" target now provides a `load' command, so we should
18784 @c document that. FIXME.
18785 Download your program to your target machine (or get it there by
18786 whatever means the manufacturer provides), and start it.
18787
18788 @item
18789 Start @value{GDBN} on the host, and connect to the target
18790 (@pxref{Connecting,,Connecting to a Remote Target}).
18791
18792 @end enumerate
18793
18794 @node Configurations
18795 @chapter Configuration-Specific Information
18796
18797 While nearly all @value{GDBN} commands are available for all native and
18798 cross versions of the debugger, there are some exceptions. This chapter
18799 describes things that are only available in certain configurations.
18800
18801 There are three major categories of configurations: native
18802 configurations, where the host and target are the same, embedded
18803 operating system configurations, which are usually the same for several
18804 different processor architectures, and bare embedded processors, which
18805 are quite different from each other.
18806
18807 @menu
18808 * Native::
18809 * Embedded OS::
18810 * Embedded Processors::
18811 * Architectures::
18812 @end menu
18813
18814 @node Native
18815 @section Native
18816
18817 This section describes details specific to particular native
18818 configurations.
18819
18820 @menu
18821 * HP-UX:: HP-UX
18822 * BSD libkvm Interface:: Debugging BSD kernel memory images
18823 * SVR4 Process Information:: SVR4 process information
18824 * DJGPP Native:: Features specific to the DJGPP port
18825 * Cygwin Native:: Features specific to the Cygwin port
18826 * Hurd Native:: Features specific to @sc{gnu} Hurd
18827 * Darwin:: Features specific to Darwin
18828 @end menu
18829
18830 @node HP-UX
18831 @subsection HP-UX
18832
18833 On HP-UX systems, if you refer to a function or variable name that
18834 begins with a dollar sign, @value{GDBN} searches for a user or system
18835 name first, before it searches for a convenience variable.
18836
18837
18838 @node BSD libkvm Interface
18839 @subsection BSD libkvm Interface
18840
18841 @cindex libkvm
18842 @cindex kernel memory image
18843 @cindex kernel crash dump
18844
18845 BSD-derived systems (FreeBSD/NetBSD/OpenBSD) have a kernel memory
18846 interface that provides a uniform interface for accessing kernel virtual
18847 memory images, including live systems and crash dumps. @value{GDBN}
18848 uses this interface to allow you to debug live kernels and kernel crash
18849 dumps on many native BSD configurations. This is implemented as a
18850 special @code{kvm} debugging target. For debugging a live system, load
18851 the currently running kernel into @value{GDBN} and connect to the
18852 @code{kvm} target:
18853
18854 @smallexample
18855 (@value{GDBP}) @b{target kvm}
18856 @end smallexample
18857
18858 For debugging crash dumps, provide the file name of the crash dump as an
18859 argument:
18860
18861 @smallexample
18862 (@value{GDBP}) @b{target kvm /var/crash/bsd.0}
18863 @end smallexample
18864
18865 Once connected to the @code{kvm} target, the following commands are
18866 available:
18867
18868 @table @code
18869 @kindex kvm
18870 @item kvm pcb
18871 Set current context from the @dfn{Process Control Block} (PCB) address.
18872
18873 @item kvm proc
18874 Set current context from proc address. This command isn't available on
18875 modern FreeBSD systems.
18876 @end table
18877
18878 @node SVR4 Process Information
18879 @subsection SVR4 Process Information
18880 @cindex /proc
18881 @cindex examine process image
18882 @cindex process info via @file{/proc}
18883
18884 Many versions of SVR4 and compatible systems provide a facility called
18885 @samp{/proc} that can be used to examine the image of a running
18886 process using file-system subroutines.
18887
18888 If @value{GDBN} is configured for an operating system with this
18889 facility, the command @code{info proc} is available to report
18890 information about the process running your program, or about any
18891 process running on your system. This includes, as of this writing,
18892 @sc{gnu}/Linux, OSF/1 (Digital Unix), Solaris, and Irix, but
18893 not HP-UX, for example.
18894
18895 This command may also work on core files that were created on a system
18896 that has the @samp{/proc} facility.
18897
18898 @table @code
18899 @kindex info proc
18900 @cindex process ID
18901 @item info proc
18902 @itemx info proc @var{process-id}
18903 Summarize available information about any running process. If a
18904 process ID is specified by @var{process-id}, display information about
18905 that process; otherwise display information about the program being
18906 debugged. The summary includes the debugged process ID, the command
18907 line used to invoke it, its current working directory, and its
18908 executable file's absolute file name.
18909
18910 On some systems, @var{process-id} can be of the form
18911 @samp{[@var{pid}]/@var{tid}} which specifies a certain thread ID
18912 within a process. If the optional @var{pid} part is missing, it means
18913 a thread from the process being debugged (the leading @samp{/} still
18914 needs to be present, or else @value{GDBN} will interpret the number as
18915 a process ID rather than a thread ID).
18916
18917 @item info proc cmdline
18918 @cindex info proc cmdline
18919 Show the original command line of the process. This command is
18920 specific to @sc{gnu}/Linux.
18921
18922 @item info proc cwd
18923 @cindex info proc cwd
18924 Show the current working directory of the process. This command is
18925 specific to @sc{gnu}/Linux.
18926
18927 @item info proc exe
18928 @cindex info proc exe
18929 Show the name of executable of the process. This command is specific
18930 to @sc{gnu}/Linux.
18931
18932 @item info proc mappings
18933 @cindex memory address space mappings
18934 Report the memory address space ranges accessible in the program, with
18935 information on whether the process has read, write, or execute access
18936 rights to each range. On @sc{gnu}/Linux systems, each memory range
18937 includes the object file which is mapped to that range, instead of the
18938 memory access rights to that range.
18939
18940 @item info proc stat
18941 @itemx info proc status
18942 @cindex process detailed status information
18943 These subcommands are specific to @sc{gnu}/Linux systems. They show
18944 the process-related information, including the user ID and group ID;
18945 how many threads are there in the process; its virtual memory usage;
18946 the signals that are pending, blocked, and ignored; its TTY; its
18947 consumption of system and user time; its stack size; its @samp{nice}
18948 value; etc. For more information, see the @samp{proc} man page
18949 (type @kbd{man 5 proc} from your shell prompt).
18950
18951 @item info proc all
18952 Show all the information about the process described under all of the
18953 above @code{info proc} subcommands.
18954
18955 @ignore
18956 @comment These sub-options of 'info proc' were not included when
18957 @comment procfs.c was re-written. Keep their descriptions around
18958 @comment against the day when someone finds the time to put them back in.
18959 @kindex info proc times
18960 @item info proc times
18961 Starting time, user CPU time, and system CPU time for your program and
18962 its children.
18963
18964 @kindex info proc id
18965 @item info proc id
18966 Report on the process IDs related to your program: its own process ID,
18967 the ID of its parent, the process group ID, and the session ID.
18968 @end ignore
18969
18970 @item set procfs-trace
18971 @kindex set procfs-trace
18972 @cindex @code{procfs} API calls
18973 This command enables and disables tracing of @code{procfs} API calls.
18974
18975 @item show procfs-trace
18976 @kindex show procfs-trace
18977 Show the current state of @code{procfs} API call tracing.
18978
18979 @item set procfs-file @var{file}
18980 @kindex set procfs-file
18981 Tell @value{GDBN} to write @code{procfs} API trace to the named
18982 @var{file}. @value{GDBN} appends the trace info to the previous
18983 contents of the file. The default is to display the trace on the
18984 standard output.
18985
18986 @item show procfs-file
18987 @kindex show procfs-file
18988 Show the file to which @code{procfs} API trace is written.
18989
18990 @item proc-trace-entry
18991 @itemx proc-trace-exit
18992 @itemx proc-untrace-entry
18993 @itemx proc-untrace-exit
18994 @kindex proc-trace-entry
18995 @kindex proc-trace-exit
18996 @kindex proc-untrace-entry
18997 @kindex proc-untrace-exit
18998 These commands enable and disable tracing of entries into and exits
18999 from the @code{syscall} interface.
19000
19001 @item info pidlist
19002 @kindex info pidlist
19003 @cindex process list, QNX Neutrino
19004 For QNX Neutrino only, this command displays the list of all the
19005 processes and all the threads within each process.
19006
19007 @item info meminfo
19008 @kindex info meminfo
19009 @cindex mapinfo list, QNX Neutrino
19010 For QNX Neutrino only, this command displays the list of all mapinfos.
19011 @end table
19012
19013 @node DJGPP Native
19014 @subsection Features for Debugging @sc{djgpp} Programs
19015 @cindex @sc{djgpp} debugging
19016 @cindex native @sc{djgpp} debugging
19017 @cindex MS-DOS-specific commands
19018
19019 @cindex DPMI
19020 @sc{djgpp} is a port of the @sc{gnu} development tools to MS-DOS and
19021 MS-Windows. @sc{djgpp} programs are 32-bit protected-mode programs
19022 that use the @dfn{DPMI} (DOS Protected-Mode Interface) API to run on
19023 top of real-mode DOS systems and their emulations.
19024
19025 @value{GDBN} supports native debugging of @sc{djgpp} programs, and
19026 defines a few commands specific to the @sc{djgpp} port. This
19027 subsection describes those commands.
19028
19029 @table @code
19030 @kindex info dos
19031 @item info dos
19032 This is a prefix of @sc{djgpp}-specific commands which print
19033 information about the target system and important OS structures.
19034
19035 @kindex sysinfo
19036 @cindex MS-DOS system info
19037 @cindex free memory information (MS-DOS)
19038 @item info dos sysinfo
19039 This command displays assorted information about the underlying
19040 platform: the CPU type and features, the OS version and flavor, the
19041 DPMI version, and the available conventional and DPMI memory.
19042
19043 @cindex GDT
19044 @cindex LDT
19045 @cindex IDT
19046 @cindex segment descriptor tables
19047 @cindex descriptor tables display
19048 @item info dos gdt
19049 @itemx info dos ldt
19050 @itemx info dos idt
19051 These 3 commands display entries from, respectively, Global, Local,
19052 and Interrupt Descriptor Tables (GDT, LDT, and IDT). The descriptor
19053 tables are data structures which store a descriptor for each segment
19054 that is currently in use. The segment's selector is an index into a
19055 descriptor table; the table entry for that index holds the
19056 descriptor's base address and limit, and its attributes and access
19057 rights.
19058
19059 A typical @sc{djgpp} program uses 3 segments: a code segment, a data
19060 segment (used for both data and the stack), and a DOS segment (which
19061 allows access to DOS/BIOS data structures and absolute addresses in
19062 conventional memory). However, the DPMI host will usually define
19063 additional segments in order to support the DPMI environment.
19064
19065 @cindex garbled pointers
19066 These commands allow to display entries from the descriptor tables.
19067 Without an argument, all entries from the specified table are
19068 displayed. An argument, which should be an integer expression, means
19069 display a single entry whose index is given by the argument. For
19070 example, here's a convenient way to display information about the
19071 debugged program's data segment:
19072
19073 @smallexample
19074 @exdent @code{(@value{GDBP}) info dos ldt $ds}
19075 @exdent @code{0x13f: base=0x11970000 limit=0x0009ffff 32-Bit Data (Read/Write, Exp-up)}
19076 @end smallexample
19077
19078 @noindent
19079 This comes in handy when you want to see whether a pointer is outside
19080 the data segment's limit (i.e.@: @dfn{garbled}).
19081
19082 @cindex page tables display (MS-DOS)
19083 @item info dos pde
19084 @itemx info dos pte
19085 These two commands display entries from, respectively, the Page
19086 Directory and the Page Tables. Page Directories and Page Tables are
19087 data structures which control how virtual memory addresses are mapped
19088 into physical addresses. A Page Table includes an entry for every
19089 page of memory that is mapped into the program's address space; there
19090 may be several Page Tables, each one holding up to 4096 entries. A
19091 Page Directory has up to 4096 entries, one each for every Page Table
19092 that is currently in use.
19093
19094 Without an argument, @kbd{info dos pde} displays the entire Page
19095 Directory, and @kbd{info dos pte} displays all the entries in all of
19096 the Page Tables. An argument, an integer expression, given to the
19097 @kbd{info dos pde} command means display only that entry from the Page
19098 Directory table. An argument given to the @kbd{info dos pte} command
19099 means display entries from a single Page Table, the one pointed to by
19100 the specified entry in the Page Directory.
19101
19102 @cindex direct memory access (DMA) on MS-DOS
19103 These commands are useful when your program uses @dfn{DMA} (Direct
19104 Memory Access), which needs physical addresses to program the DMA
19105 controller.
19106
19107 These commands are supported only with some DPMI servers.
19108
19109 @cindex physical address from linear address
19110 @item info dos address-pte @var{addr}
19111 This command displays the Page Table entry for a specified linear
19112 address. The argument @var{addr} is a linear address which should
19113 already have the appropriate segment's base address added to it,
19114 because this command accepts addresses which may belong to @emph{any}
19115 segment. For example, here's how to display the Page Table entry for
19116 the page where a variable @code{i} is stored:
19117
19118 @smallexample
19119 @exdent @code{(@value{GDBP}) info dos address-pte __djgpp_base_address + (char *)&i}
19120 @exdent @code{Page Table entry for address 0x11a00d30:}
19121 @exdent @code{Base=0x02698000 Dirty Acc. Not-Cached Write-Back Usr Read-Write +0xd30}
19122 @end smallexample
19123
19124 @noindent
19125 This says that @code{i} is stored at offset @code{0xd30} from the page
19126 whose physical base address is @code{0x02698000}, and shows all the
19127 attributes of that page.
19128
19129 Note that you must cast the addresses of variables to a @code{char *},
19130 since otherwise the value of @code{__djgpp_base_address}, the base
19131 address of all variables and functions in a @sc{djgpp} program, will
19132 be added using the rules of C pointer arithmetics: if @code{i} is
19133 declared an @code{int}, @value{GDBN} will add 4 times the value of
19134 @code{__djgpp_base_address} to the address of @code{i}.
19135
19136 Here's another example, it displays the Page Table entry for the
19137 transfer buffer:
19138
19139 @smallexample
19140 @exdent @code{(@value{GDBP}) info dos address-pte *((unsigned *)&_go32_info_block + 3)}
19141 @exdent @code{Page Table entry for address 0x29110:}
19142 @exdent @code{Base=0x00029000 Dirty Acc. Not-Cached Write-Back Usr Read-Write +0x110}
19143 @end smallexample
19144
19145 @noindent
19146 (The @code{+ 3} offset is because the transfer buffer's address is the
19147 3rd member of the @code{_go32_info_block} structure.) The output
19148 clearly shows that this DPMI server maps the addresses in conventional
19149 memory 1:1, i.e.@: the physical (@code{0x00029000} + @code{0x110}) and
19150 linear (@code{0x29110}) addresses are identical.
19151
19152 This command is supported only with some DPMI servers.
19153 @end table
19154
19155 @cindex DOS serial data link, remote debugging
19156 In addition to native debugging, the DJGPP port supports remote
19157 debugging via a serial data link. The following commands are specific
19158 to remote serial debugging in the DJGPP port of @value{GDBN}.
19159
19160 @table @code
19161 @kindex set com1base
19162 @kindex set com1irq
19163 @kindex set com2base
19164 @kindex set com2irq
19165 @kindex set com3base
19166 @kindex set com3irq
19167 @kindex set com4base
19168 @kindex set com4irq
19169 @item set com1base @var{addr}
19170 This command sets the base I/O port address of the @file{COM1} serial
19171 port.
19172
19173 @item set com1irq @var{irq}
19174 This command sets the @dfn{Interrupt Request} (@code{IRQ}) line to use
19175 for the @file{COM1} serial port.
19176
19177 There are similar commands @samp{set com2base}, @samp{set com3irq},
19178 etc.@: for setting the port address and the @code{IRQ} lines for the
19179 other 3 COM ports.
19180
19181 @kindex show com1base
19182 @kindex show com1irq
19183 @kindex show com2base
19184 @kindex show com2irq
19185 @kindex show com3base
19186 @kindex show com3irq
19187 @kindex show com4base
19188 @kindex show com4irq
19189 The related commands @samp{show com1base}, @samp{show com1irq} etc.@:
19190 display the current settings of the base address and the @code{IRQ}
19191 lines used by the COM ports.
19192
19193 @item info serial
19194 @kindex info serial
19195 @cindex DOS serial port status
19196 This command prints the status of the 4 DOS serial ports. For each
19197 port, it prints whether it's active or not, its I/O base address and
19198 IRQ number, whether it uses a 16550-style FIFO, its baudrate, and the
19199 counts of various errors encountered so far.
19200 @end table
19201
19202
19203 @node Cygwin Native
19204 @subsection Features for Debugging MS Windows PE Executables
19205 @cindex MS Windows debugging
19206 @cindex native Cygwin debugging
19207 @cindex Cygwin-specific commands
19208
19209 @value{GDBN} supports native debugging of MS Windows programs, including
19210 DLLs with and without symbolic debugging information.
19211
19212 @cindex Ctrl-BREAK, MS-Windows
19213 @cindex interrupt debuggee on MS-Windows
19214 MS-Windows programs that call @code{SetConsoleMode} to switch off the
19215 special meaning of the @samp{Ctrl-C} keystroke cannot be interrupted
19216 by typing @kbd{C-c}. For this reason, @value{GDBN} on MS-Windows
19217 supports @kbd{C-@key{BREAK}} as an alternative interrupt key
19218 sequence, which can be used to interrupt the debuggee even if it
19219 ignores @kbd{C-c}.
19220
19221 There are various additional Cygwin-specific commands, described in
19222 this section. Working with DLLs that have no debugging symbols is
19223 described in @ref{Non-debug DLL Symbols}.
19224
19225 @table @code
19226 @kindex info w32
19227 @item info w32
19228 This is a prefix of MS Windows-specific commands which print
19229 information about the target system and important OS structures.
19230
19231 @item info w32 selector
19232 This command displays information returned by
19233 the Win32 API @code{GetThreadSelectorEntry} function.
19234 It takes an optional argument that is evaluated to
19235 a long value to give the information about this given selector.
19236 Without argument, this command displays information
19237 about the six segment registers.
19238
19239 @item info w32 thread-information-block
19240 This command displays thread specific information stored in the
19241 Thread Information Block (readable on the X86 CPU family using @code{$fs}
19242 selector for 32-bit programs and @code{$gs} for 64-bit programs).
19243
19244 @kindex info dll
19245 @item info dll
19246 This is a Cygwin-specific alias of @code{info shared}.
19247
19248 @kindex dll-symbols
19249 @item dll-symbols
19250 This command loads symbols from a dll similarly to
19251 add-sym command but without the need to specify a base address.
19252
19253 @kindex set cygwin-exceptions
19254 @cindex debugging the Cygwin DLL
19255 @cindex Cygwin DLL, debugging
19256 @item set cygwin-exceptions @var{mode}
19257 If @var{mode} is @code{on}, @value{GDBN} will break on exceptions that
19258 happen inside the Cygwin DLL. If @var{mode} is @code{off},
19259 @value{GDBN} will delay recognition of exceptions, and may ignore some
19260 exceptions which seem to be caused by internal Cygwin DLL
19261 ``bookkeeping''. This option is meant primarily for debugging the
19262 Cygwin DLL itself; the default value is @code{off} to avoid annoying
19263 @value{GDBN} users with false @code{SIGSEGV} signals.
19264
19265 @kindex show cygwin-exceptions
19266 @item show cygwin-exceptions
19267 Displays whether @value{GDBN} will break on exceptions that happen
19268 inside the Cygwin DLL itself.
19269
19270 @kindex set new-console
19271 @item set new-console @var{mode}
19272 If @var{mode} is @code{on} the debuggee will
19273 be started in a new console on next start.
19274 If @var{mode} is @code{off}, the debuggee will
19275 be started in the same console as the debugger.
19276
19277 @kindex show new-console
19278 @item show new-console
19279 Displays whether a new console is used
19280 when the debuggee is started.
19281
19282 @kindex set new-group
19283 @item set new-group @var{mode}
19284 This boolean value controls whether the debuggee should
19285 start a new group or stay in the same group as the debugger.
19286 This affects the way the Windows OS handles
19287 @samp{Ctrl-C}.
19288
19289 @kindex show new-group
19290 @item show new-group
19291 Displays current value of new-group boolean.
19292
19293 @kindex set debugevents
19294 @item set debugevents
19295 This boolean value adds debug output concerning kernel events related
19296 to the debuggee seen by the debugger. This includes events that
19297 signal thread and process creation and exit, DLL loading and
19298 unloading, console interrupts, and debugging messages produced by the
19299 Windows @code{OutputDebugString} API call.
19300
19301 @kindex set debugexec
19302 @item set debugexec
19303 This boolean value adds debug output concerning execute events
19304 (such as resume thread) seen by the debugger.
19305
19306 @kindex set debugexceptions
19307 @item set debugexceptions
19308 This boolean value adds debug output concerning exceptions in the
19309 debuggee seen by the debugger.
19310
19311 @kindex set debugmemory
19312 @item set debugmemory
19313 This boolean value adds debug output concerning debuggee memory reads
19314 and writes by the debugger.
19315
19316 @kindex set shell
19317 @item set shell
19318 This boolean values specifies whether the debuggee is called
19319 via a shell or directly (default value is on).
19320
19321 @kindex show shell
19322 @item show shell
19323 Displays if the debuggee will be started with a shell.
19324
19325 @end table
19326
19327 @menu
19328 * Non-debug DLL Symbols:: Support for DLLs without debugging symbols
19329 @end menu
19330
19331 @node Non-debug DLL Symbols
19332 @subsubsection Support for DLLs without Debugging Symbols
19333 @cindex DLLs with no debugging symbols
19334 @cindex Minimal symbols and DLLs
19335
19336 Very often on windows, some of the DLLs that your program relies on do
19337 not include symbolic debugging information (for example,
19338 @file{kernel32.dll}). When @value{GDBN} doesn't recognize any debugging
19339 symbols in a DLL, it relies on the minimal amount of symbolic
19340 information contained in the DLL's export table. This section
19341 describes working with such symbols, known internally to @value{GDBN} as
19342 ``minimal symbols''.
19343
19344 Note that before the debugged program has started execution, no DLLs
19345 will have been loaded. The easiest way around this problem is simply to
19346 start the program --- either by setting a breakpoint or letting the
19347 program run once to completion. It is also possible to force
19348 @value{GDBN} to load a particular DLL before starting the executable ---
19349 see the shared library information in @ref{Files}, or the
19350 @code{dll-symbols} command in @ref{Cygwin Native}. Currently,
19351 explicitly loading symbols from a DLL with no debugging information will
19352 cause the symbol names to be duplicated in @value{GDBN}'s lookup table,
19353 which may adversely affect symbol lookup performance.
19354
19355 @subsubsection DLL Name Prefixes
19356
19357 In keeping with the naming conventions used by the Microsoft debugging
19358 tools, DLL export symbols are made available with a prefix based on the
19359 DLL name, for instance @code{KERNEL32!CreateFileA}. The plain name is
19360 also entered into the symbol table, so @code{CreateFileA} is often
19361 sufficient. In some cases there will be name clashes within a program
19362 (particularly if the executable itself includes full debugging symbols)
19363 necessitating the use of the fully qualified name when referring to the
19364 contents of the DLL. Use single-quotes around the name to avoid the
19365 exclamation mark (``!'') being interpreted as a language operator.
19366
19367 Note that the internal name of the DLL may be all upper-case, even
19368 though the file name of the DLL is lower-case, or vice-versa. Since
19369 symbols within @value{GDBN} are @emph{case-sensitive} this may cause
19370 some confusion. If in doubt, try the @code{info functions} and
19371 @code{info variables} commands or even @code{maint print msymbols}
19372 (@pxref{Symbols}). Here's an example:
19373
19374 @smallexample
19375 (@value{GDBP}) info function CreateFileA
19376 All functions matching regular expression "CreateFileA":
19377
19378 Non-debugging symbols:
19379 0x77e885f4 CreateFileA
19380 0x77e885f4 KERNEL32!CreateFileA
19381 @end smallexample
19382
19383 @smallexample
19384 (@value{GDBP}) info function !
19385 All functions matching regular expression "!":
19386
19387 Non-debugging symbols:
19388 0x6100114c cygwin1!__assert
19389 0x61004034 cygwin1!_dll_crt0@@0
19390 0x61004240 cygwin1!dll_crt0(per_process *)
19391 [etc...]
19392 @end smallexample
19393
19394 @subsubsection Working with Minimal Symbols
19395
19396 Symbols extracted from a DLL's export table do not contain very much
19397 type information. All that @value{GDBN} can do is guess whether a symbol
19398 refers to a function or variable depending on the linker section that
19399 contains the symbol. Also note that the actual contents of the memory
19400 contained in a DLL are not available unless the program is running. This
19401 means that you cannot examine the contents of a variable or disassemble
19402 a function within a DLL without a running program.
19403
19404 Variables are generally treated as pointers and dereferenced
19405 automatically. For this reason, it is often necessary to prefix a
19406 variable name with the address-of operator (``&'') and provide explicit
19407 type information in the command. Here's an example of the type of
19408 problem:
19409
19410 @smallexample
19411 (@value{GDBP}) print 'cygwin1!__argv'
19412 $1 = 268572168
19413 @end smallexample
19414
19415 @smallexample
19416 (@value{GDBP}) x 'cygwin1!__argv'
19417 0x10021610: "\230y\""
19418 @end smallexample
19419
19420 And two possible solutions:
19421
19422 @smallexample
19423 (@value{GDBP}) print ((char **)'cygwin1!__argv')[0]
19424 $2 = 0x22fd98 "/cygdrive/c/mydirectory/myprogram"
19425 @end smallexample
19426
19427 @smallexample
19428 (@value{GDBP}) x/2x &'cygwin1!__argv'
19429 0x610c0aa8 <cygwin1!__argv>: 0x10021608 0x00000000
19430 (@value{GDBP}) x/x 0x10021608
19431 0x10021608: 0x0022fd98
19432 (@value{GDBP}) x/s 0x0022fd98
19433 0x22fd98: "/cygdrive/c/mydirectory/myprogram"
19434 @end smallexample
19435
19436 Setting a break point within a DLL is possible even before the program
19437 starts execution. However, under these circumstances, @value{GDBN} can't
19438 examine the initial instructions of the function in order to skip the
19439 function's frame set-up code. You can work around this by using ``*&''
19440 to set the breakpoint at a raw memory address:
19441
19442 @smallexample
19443 (@value{GDBP}) break *&'python22!PyOS_Readline'
19444 Breakpoint 1 at 0x1e04eff0
19445 @end smallexample
19446
19447 The author of these extensions is not entirely convinced that setting a
19448 break point within a shared DLL like @file{kernel32.dll} is completely
19449 safe.
19450
19451 @node Hurd Native
19452 @subsection Commands Specific to @sc{gnu} Hurd Systems
19453 @cindex @sc{gnu} Hurd debugging
19454
19455 This subsection describes @value{GDBN} commands specific to the
19456 @sc{gnu} Hurd native debugging.
19457
19458 @table @code
19459 @item set signals
19460 @itemx set sigs
19461 @kindex set signals@r{, Hurd command}
19462 @kindex set sigs@r{, Hurd command}
19463 This command toggles the state of inferior signal interception by
19464 @value{GDBN}. Mach exceptions, such as breakpoint traps, are not
19465 affected by this command. @code{sigs} is a shorthand alias for
19466 @code{signals}.
19467
19468 @item show signals
19469 @itemx show sigs
19470 @kindex show signals@r{, Hurd command}
19471 @kindex show sigs@r{, Hurd command}
19472 Show the current state of intercepting inferior's signals.
19473
19474 @item set signal-thread
19475 @itemx set sigthread
19476 @kindex set signal-thread
19477 @kindex set sigthread
19478 This command tells @value{GDBN} which thread is the @code{libc} signal
19479 thread. That thread is run when a signal is delivered to a running
19480 process. @code{set sigthread} is the shorthand alias of @code{set
19481 signal-thread}.
19482
19483 @item show signal-thread
19484 @itemx show sigthread
19485 @kindex show signal-thread
19486 @kindex show sigthread
19487 These two commands show which thread will run when the inferior is
19488 delivered a signal.
19489
19490 @item set stopped
19491 @kindex set stopped@r{, Hurd command}
19492 This commands tells @value{GDBN} that the inferior process is stopped,
19493 as with the @code{SIGSTOP} signal. The stopped process can be
19494 continued by delivering a signal to it.
19495
19496 @item show stopped
19497 @kindex show stopped@r{, Hurd command}
19498 This command shows whether @value{GDBN} thinks the debuggee is
19499 stopped.
19500
19501 @item set exceptions
19502 @kindex set exceptions@r{, Hurd command}
19503 Use this command to turn off trapping of exceptions in the inferior.
19504 When exception trapping is off, neither breakpoints nor
19505 single-stepping will work. To restore the default, set exception
19506 trapping on.
19507
19508 @item show exceptions
19509 @kindex show exceptions@r{, Hurd command}
19510 Show the current state of trapping exceptions in the inferior.
19511
19512 @item set task pause
19513 @kindex set task@r{, Hurd commands}
19514 @cindex task attributes (@sc{gnu} Hurd)
19515 @cindex pause current task (@sc{gnu} Hurd)
19516 This command toggles task suspension when @value{GDBN} has control.
19517 Setting it to on takes effect immediately, and the task is suspended
19518 whenever @value{GDBN} gets control. Setting it to off will take
19519 effect the next time the inferior is continued. If this option is set
19520 to off, you can use @code{set thread default pause on} or @code{set
19521 thread pause on} (see below) to pause individual threads.
19522
19523 @item show task pause
19524 @kindex show task@r{, Hurd commands}
19525 Show the current state of task suspension.
19526
19527 @item set task detach-suspend-count
19528 @cindex task suspend count
19529 @cindex detach from task, @sc{gnu} Hurd
19530 This command sets the suspend count the task will be left with when
19531 @value{GDBN} detaches from it.
19532
19533 @item show task detach-suspend-count
19534 Show the suspend count the task will be left with when detaching.
19535
19536 @item set task exception-port
19537 @itemx set task excp
19538 @cindex task exception port, @sc{gnu} Hurd
19539 This command sets the task exception port to which @value{GDBN} will
19540 forward exceptions. The argument should be the value of the @dfn{send
19541 rights} of the task. @code{set task excp} is a shorthand alias.
19542
19543 @item set noninvasive
19544 @cindex noninvasive task options
19545 This command switches @value{GDBN} to a mode that is the least
19546 invasive as far as interfering with the inferior is concerned. This
19547 is the same as using @code{set task pause}, @code{set exceptions}, and
19548 @code{set signals} to values opposite to the defaults.
19549
19550 @item info send-rights
19551 @itemx info receive-rights
19552 @itemx info port-rights
19553 @itemx info port-sets
19554 @itemx info dead-names
19555 @itemx info ports
19556 @itemx info psets
19557 @cindex send rights, @sc{gnu} Hurd
19558 @cindex receive rights, @sc{gnu} Hurd
19559 @cindex port rights, @sc{gnu} Hurd
19560 @cindex port sets, @sc{gnu} Hurd
19561 @cindex dead names, @sc{gnu} Hurd
19562 These commands display information about, respectively, send rights,
19563 receive rights, port rights, port sets, and dead names of a task.
19564 There are also shorthand aliases: @code{info ports} for @code{info
19565 port-rights} and @code{info psets} for @code{info port-sets}.
19566
19567 @item set thread pause
19568 @kindex set thread@r{, Hurd command}
19569 @cindex thread properties, @sc{gnu} Hurd
19570 @cindex pause current thread (@sc{gnu} Hurd)
19571 This command toggles current thread suspension when @value{GDBN} has
19572 control. Setting it to on takes effect immediately, and the current
19573 thread is suspended whenever @value{GDBN} gets control. Setting it to
19574 off will take effect the next time the inferior is continued.
19575 Normally, this command has no effect, since when @value{GDBN} has
19576 control, the whole task is suspended. However, if you used @code{set
19577 task pause off} (see above), this command comes in handy to suspend
19578 only the current thread.
19579
19580 @item show thread pause
19581 @kindex show thread@r{, Hurd command}
19582 This command shows the state of current thread suspension.
19583
19584 @item set thread run
19585 This command sets whether the current thread is allowed to run.
19586
19587 @item show thread run
19588 Show whether the current thread is allowed to run.
19589
19590 @item set thread detach-suspend-count
19591 @cindex thread suspend count, @sc{gnu} Hurd
19592 @cindex detach from thread, @sc{gnu} Hurd
19593 This command sets the suspend count @value{GDBN} will leave on a
19594 thread when detaching. This number is relative to the suspend count
19595 found by @value{GDBN} when it notices the thread; use @code{set thread
19596 takeover-suspend-count} to force it to an absolute value.
19597
19598 @item show thread detach-suspend-count
19599 Show the suspend count @value{GDBN} will leave on the thread when
19600 detaching.
19601
19602 @item set thread exception-port
19603 @itemx set thread excp
19604 Set the thread exception port to which to forward exceptions. This
19605 overrides the port set by @code{set task exception-port} (see above).
19606 @code{set thread excp} is the shorthand alias.
19607
19608 @item set thread takeover-suspend-count
19609 Normally, @value{GDBN}'s thread suspend counts are relative to the
19610 value @value{GDBN} finds when it notices each thread. This command
19611 changes the suspend counts to be absolute instead.
19612
19613 @item set thread default
19614 @itemx show thread default
19615 @cindex thread default settings, @sc{gnu} Hurd
19616 Each of the above @code{set thread} commands has a @code{set thread
19617 default} counterpart (e.g., @code{set thread default pause}, @code{set
19618 thread default exception-port}, etc.). The @code{thread default}
19619 variety of commands sets the default thread properties for all
19620 threads; you can then change the properties of individual threads with
19621 the non-default commands.
19622 @end table
19623
19624 @node Darwin
19625 @subsection Darwin
19626 @cindex Darwin
19627
19628 @value{GDBN} provides the following commands specific to the Darwin target:
19629
19630 @table @code
19631 @item set debug darwin @var{num}
19632 @kindex set debug darwin
19633 When set to a non zero value, enables debugging messages specific to
19634 the Darwin support. Higher values produce more verbose output.
19635
19636 @item show debug darwin
19637 @kindex show debug darwin
19638 Show the current state of Darwin messages.
19639
19640 @item set debug mach-o @var{num}
19641 @kindex set debug mach-o
19642 When set to a non zero value, enables debugging messages while
19643 @value{GDBN} is reading Darwin object files. (@dfn{Mach-O} is the
19644 file format used on Darwin for object and executable files.) Higher
19645 values produce more verbose output. This is a command to diagnose
19646 problems internal to @value{GDBN} and should not be needed in normal
19647 usage.
19648
19649 @item show debug mach-o
19650 @kindex show debug mach-o
19651 Show the current state of Mach-O file messages.
19652
19653 @item set mach-exceptions on
19654 @itemx set mach-exceptions off
19655 @kindex set mach-exceptions
19656 On Darwin, faults are first reported as a Mach exception and are then
19657 mapped to a Posix signal. Use this command to turn on trapping of
19658 Mach exceptions in the inferior. This might be sometimes useful to
19659 better understand the cause of a fault. The default is off.
19660
19661 @item show mach-exceptions
19662 @kindex show mach-exceptions
19663 Show the current state of exceptions trapping.
19664 @end table
19665
19666
19667 @node Embedded OS
19668 @section Embedded Operating Systems
19669
19670 This section describes configurations involving the debugging of
19671 embedded operating systems that are available for several different
19672 architectures.
19673
19674 @menu
19675 * VxWorks:: Using @value{GDBN} with VxWorks
19676 @end menu
19677
19678 @value{GDBN} includes the ability to debug programs running on
19679 various real-time operating systems.
19680
19681 @node VxWorks
19682 @subsection Using @value{GDBN} with VxWorks
19683
19684 @cindex VxWorks
19685
19686 @table @code
19687
19688 @kindex target vxworks
19689 @item target vxworks @var{machinename}
19690 A VxWorks system, attached via TCP/IP. The argument @var{machinename}
19691 is the target system's machine name or IP address.
19692
19693 @end table
19694
19695 On VxWorks, @code{load} links @var{filename} dynamically on the
19696 current target system as well as adding its symbols in @value{GDBN}.
19697
19698 @value{GDBN} enables developers to spawn and debug tasks running on networked
19699 VxWorks targets from a Unix host. Already-running tasks spawned from
19700 the VxWorks shell can also be debugged. @value{GDBN} uses code that runs on
19701 both the Unix host and on the VxWorks target. The program
19702 @code{@value{GDBP}} is installed and executed on the Unix host. (It may be
19703 installed with the name @code{vxgdb}, to distinguish it from a
19704 @value{GDBN} for debugging programs on the host itself.)
19705
19706 @table @code
19707 @item VxWorks-timeout @var{args}
19708 @kindex vxworks-timeout
19709 All VxWorks-based targets now support the option @code{vxworks-timeout}.
19710 This option is set by the user, and @var{args} represents the number of
19711 seconds @value{GDBN} waits for responses to rpc's. You might use this if
19712 your VxWorks target is a slow software simulator or is on the far side
19713 of a thin network line.
19714 @end table
19715
19716 The following information on connecting to VxWorks was current when
19717 this manual was produced; newer releases of VxWorks may use revised
19718 procedures.
19719
19720 @findex INCLUDE_RDB
19721 To use @value{GDBN} with VxWorks, you must rebuild your VxWorks kernel
19722 to include the remote debugging interface routines in the VxWorks
19723 library @file{rdb.a}. To do this, define @code{INCLUDE_RDB} in the
19724 VxWorks configuration file @file{configAll.h} and rebuild your VxWorks
19725 kernel. The resulting kernel contains @file{rdb.a}, and spawns the
19726 source debugging task @code{tRdbTask} when VxWorks is booted. For more
19727 information on configuring and remaking VxWorks, see the manufacturer's
19728 manual.
19729 @c VxWorks, see the @cite{VxWorks Programmer's Guide}.
19730
19731 Once you have included @file{rdb.a} in your VxWorks system image and set
19732 your Unix execution search path to find @value{GDBN}, you are ready to
19733 run @value{GDBN}. From your Unix host, run @code{@value{GDBP}} (or
19734 @code{vxgdb}, depending on your installation).
19735
19736 @value{GDBN} comes up showing the prompt:
19737
19738 @smallexample
19739 (vxgdb)
19740 @end smallexample
19741
19742 @menu
19743 * VxWorks Connection:: Connecting to VxWorks
19744 * VxWorks Download:: VxWorks download
19745 * VxWorks Attach:: Running tasks
19746 @end menu
19747
19748 @node VxWorks Connection
19749 @subsubsection Connecting to VxWorks
19750
19751 The @value{GDBN} command @code{target} lets you connect to a VxWorks target on the
19752 network. To connect to a target whose host name is ``@code{tt}'', type:
19753
19754 @smallexample
19755 (vxgdb) target vxworks tt
19756 @end smallexample
19757
19758 @need 750
19759 @value{GDBN} displays messages like these:
19760
19761 @smallexample
19762 Attaching remote machine across net...
19763 Connected to tt.
19764 @end smallexample
19765
19766 @need 1000
19767 @value{GDBN} then attempts to read the symbol tables of any object modules
19768 loaded into the VxWorks target since it was last booted. @value{GDBN} locates
19769 these files by searching the directories listed in the command search
19770 path (@pxref{Environment, ,Your Program's Environment}); if it fails
19771 to find an object file, it displays a message such as:
19772
19773 @smallexample
19774 prog.o: No such file or directory.
19775 @end smallexample
19776
19777 When this happens, add the appropriate directory to the search path with
19778 the @value{GDBN} command @code{path}, and execute the @code{target}
19779 command again.
19780
19781 @node VxWorks Download
19782 @subsubsection VxWorks Download
19783
19784 @cindex download to VxWorks
19785 If you have connected to the VxWorks target and you want to debug an
19786 object that has not yet been loaded, you can use the @value{GDBN}
19787 @code{load} command to download a file from Unix to VxWorks
19788 incrementally. The object file given as an argument to the @code{load}
19789 command is actually opened twice: first by the VxWorks target in order
19790 to download the code, then by @value{GDBN} in order to read the symbol
19791 table. This can lead to problems if the current working directories on
19792 the two systems differ. If both systems have NFS mounted the same
19793 filesystems, you can avoid these problems by using absolute paths.
19794 Otherwise, it is simplest to set the working directory on both systems
19795 to the directory in which the object file resides, and then to reference
19796 the file by its name, without any path. For instance, a program
19797 @file{prog.o} may reside in @file{@var{vxpath}/vw/demo/rdb} in VxWorks
19798 and in @file{@var{hostpath}/vw/demo/rdb} on the host. To load this
19799 program, type this on VxWorks:
19800
19801 @smallexample
19802 -> cd "@var{vxpath}/vw/demo/rdb"
19803 @end smallexample
19804
19805 @noindent
19806 Then, in @value{GDBN}, type:
19807
19808 @smallexample
19809 (vxgdb) cd @var{hostpath}/vw/demo/rdb
19810 (vxgdb) load prog.o
19811 @end smallexample
19812
19813 @value{GDBN} displays a response similar to this:
19814
19815 @smallexample
19816 Reading symbol data from wherever/vw/demo/rdb/prog.o... done.
19817 @end smallexample
19818
19819 You can also use the @code{load} command to reload an object module
19820 after editing and recompiling the corresponding source file. Note that
19821 this makes @value{GDBN} delete all currently-defined breakpoints,
19822 auto-displays, and convenience variables, and to clear the value
19823 history. (This is necessary in order to preserve the integrity of
19824 debugger's data structures that reference the target system's symbol
19825 table.)
19826
19827 @node VxWorks Attach
19828 @subsubsection Running Tasks
19829
19830 @cindex running VxWorks tasks
19831 You can also attach to an existing task using the @code{attach} command as
19832 follows:
19833
19834 @smallexample
19835 (vxgdb) attach @var{task}
19836 @end smallexample
19837
19838 @noindent
19839 where @var{task} is the VxWorks hexadecimal task ID. The task can be running
19840 or suspended when you attach to it. Running tasks are suspended at
19841 the time of attachment.
19842
19843 @node Embedded Processors
19844 @section Embedded Processors
19845
19846 This section goes into details specific to particular embedded
19847 configurations.
19848
19849 @cindex send command to simulator
19850 Whenever a specific embedded processor has a simulator, @value{GDBN}
19851 allows to send an arbitrary command to the simulator.
19852
19853 @table @code
19854 @item sim @var{command}
19855 @kindex sim@r{, a command}
19856 Send an arbitrary @var{command} string to the simulator. Consult the
19857 documentation for the specific simulator in use for information about
19858 acceptable commands.
19859 @end table
19860
19861
19862 @menu
19863 * ARM:: ARM RDI
19864 * M32R/D:: Renesas M32R/D
19865 * M68K:: Motorola M68K
19866 * MicroBlaze:: Xilinx MicroBlaze
19867 * MIPS Embedded:: MIPS Embedded
19868 * PowerPC Embedded:: PowerPC Embedded
19869 * PA:: HP PA Embedded
19870 * Sparclet:: Tsqware Sparclet
19871 * Sparclite:: Fujitsu Sparclite
19872 * Z8000:: Zilog Z8000
19873 * AVR:: Atmel AVR
19874 * CRIS:: CRIS
19875 * Super-H:: Renesas Super-H
19876 @end menu
19877
19878 @node ARM
19879 @subsection ARM
19880 @cindex ARM RDI
19881
19882 @table @code
19883 @kindex target rdi
19884 @item target rdi @var{dev}
19885 ARM Angel monitor, via RDI library interface to ADP protocol. You may
19886 use this target to communicate with both boards running the Angel
19887 monitor, or with the EmbeddedICE JTAG debug device.
19888
19889 @kindex target rdp
19890 @item target rdp @var{dev}
19891 ARM Demon monitor.
19892
19893 @end table
19894
19895 @value{GDBN} provides the following ARM-specific commands:
19896
19897 @table @code
19898 @item set arm disassembler
19899 @kindex set arm
19900 This commands selects from a list of disassembly styles. The
19901 @code{"std"} style is the standard style.
19902
19903 @item show arm disassembler
19904 @kindex show arm
19905 Show the current disassembly style.
19906
19907 @item set arm apcs32
19908 @cindex ARM 32-bit mode
19909 This command toggles ARM operation mode between 32-bit and 26-bit.
19910
19911 @item show arm apcs32
19912 Display the current usage of the ARM 32-bit mode.
19913
19914 @item set arm fpu @var{fputype}
19915 This command sets the ARM floating-point unit (FPU) type. The
19916 argument @var{fputype} can be one of these:
19917
19918 @table @code
19919 @item auto
19920 Determine the FPU type by querying the OS ABI.
19921 @item softfpa
19922 Software FPU, with mixed-endian doubles on little-endian ARM
19923 processors.
19924 @item fpa
19925 GCC-compiled FPA co-processor.
19926 @item softvfp
19927 Software FPU with pure-endian doubles.
19928 @item vfp
19929 VFP co-processor.
19930 @end table
19931
19932 @item show arm fpu
19933 Show the current type of the FPU.
19934
19935 @item set arm abi
19936 This command forces @value{GDBN} to use the specified ABI.
19937
19938 @item show arm abi
19939 Show the currently used ABI.
19940
19941 @item set arm fallback-mode (arm|thumb|auto)
19942 @value{GDBN} uses the symbol table, when available, to determine
19943 whether instructions are ARM or Thumb. This command controls
19944 @value{GDBN}'s default behavior when the symbol table is not
19945 available. The default is @samp{auto}, which causes @value{GDBN} to
19946 use the current execution mode (from the @code{T} bit in the @code{CPSR}
19947 register).
19948
19949 @item show arm fallback-mode
19950 Show the current fallback instruction mode.
19951
19952 @item set arm force-mode (arm|thumb|auto)
19953 This command overrides use of the symbol table to determine whether
19954 instructions are ARM or Thumb. The default is @samp{auto}, which
19955 causes @value{GDBN} to use the symbol table and then the setting
19956 of @samp{set arm fallback-mode}.
19957
19958 @item show arm force-mode
19959 Show the current forced instruction mode.
19960
19961 @item set debug arm
19962 Toggle whether to display ARM-specific debugging messages from the ARM
19963 target support subsystem.
19964
19965 @item show debug arm
19966 Show whether ARM-specific debugging messages are enabled.
19967 @end table
19968
19969 The following commands are available when an ARM target is debugged
19970 using the RDI interface:
19971
19972 @table @code
19973 @item rdilogfile @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
19974 @kindex rdilogfile
19975 @cindex ADP (Angel Debugger Protocol) logging
19976 Set the filename for the ADP (Angel Debugger Protocol) packet log.
19977 With an argument, sets the log file to the specified @var{file}. With
19978 no argument, show the current log file name. The default log file is
19979 @file{rdi.log}.
19980
19981 @item rdilogenable @r{[}@var{arg}@r{]}
19982 @kindex rdilogenable
19983 Control logging of ADP packets. With an argument of 1 or @code{"yes"}
19984 enables logging, with an argument 0 or @code{"no"} disables it. With
19985 no arguments displays the current setting. When logging is enabled,
19986 ADP packets exchanged between @value{GDBN} and the RDI target device
19987 are logged to a file.
19988
19989 @item set rdiromatzero
19990 @kindex set rdiromatzero
19991 @cindex ROM at zero address, RDI
19992 Tell @value{GDBN} whether the target has ROM at address 0. If on,
19993 vector catching is disabled, so that zero address can be used. If off
19994 (the default), vector catching is enabled. For this command to take
19995 effect, it needs to be invoked prior to the @code{target rdi} command.
19996
19997 @item show rdiromatzero
19998 @kindex show rdiromatzero
19999 Show the current setting of ROM at zero address.
20000
20001 @item set rdiheartbeat
20002 @kindex set rdiheartbeat
20003 @cindex RDI heartbeat
20004 Enable or disable RDI heartbeat packets. It is not recommended to
20005 turn on this option, since it confuses ARM and EPI JTAG interface, as
20006 well as the Angel monitor.
20007
20008 @item show rdiheartbeat
20009 @kindex show rdiheartbeat
20010 Show the setting of RDI heartbeat packets.
20011 @end table
20012
20013 @table @code
20014 @item target sim @r{[}@var{simargs}@r{]} @dots{}
20015 The @value{GDBN} ARM simulator accepts the following optional arguments.
20016
20017 @table @code
20018 @item --swi-support=@var{type}
20019 Tell the simulator which SWI interfaces to support.
20020 @var{type} may be a comma separated list of the following values.
20021 The default value is @code{all}.
20022
20023 @table @code
20024 @item none
20025 @item demon
20026 @item angel
20027 @item redboot
20028 @item all
20029 @end table
20030 @end table
20031 @end table
20032
20033 @node M32R/D
20034 @subsection Renesas M32R/D and M32R/SDI
20035
20036 @table @code
20037 @kindex target m32r
20038 @item target m32r @var{dev}
20039 Renesas M32R/D ROM monitor.
20040
20041 @kindex target m32rsdi
20042 @item target m32rsdi @var{dev}
20043 Renesas M32R SDI server, connected via parallel port to the board.
20044 @end table
20045
20046 The following @value{GDBN} commands are specific to the M32R monitor:
20047
20048 @table @code
20049 @item set download-path @var{path}
20050 @kindex set download-path
20051 @cindex find downloadable @sc{srec} files (M32R)
20052 Set the default path for finding downloadable @sc{srec} files.
20053
20054 @item show download-path
20055 @kindex show download-path
20056 Show the default path for downloadable @sc{srec} files.
20057
20058 @item set board-address @var{addr}
20059 @kindex set board-address
20060 @cindex M32-EVA target board address
20061 Set the IP address for the M32R-EVA target board.
20062
20063 @item show board-address
20064 @kindex show board-address
20065 Show the current IP address of the target board.
20066
20067 @item set server-address @var{addr}
20068 @kindex set server-address
20069 @cindex download server address (M32R)
20070 Set the IP address for the download server, which is the @value{GDBN}'s
20071 host machine.
20072
20073 @item show server-address
20074 @kindex show server-address
20075 Display the IP address of the download server.
20076
20077 @item upload @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
20078 @kindex upload@r{, M32R}
20079 Upload the specified @sc{srec} @var{file} via the monitor's Ethernet
20080 upload capability. If no @var{file} argument is given, the current
20081 executable file is uploaded.
20082
20083 @item tload @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
20084 @kindex tload@r{, M32R}
20085 Test the @code{upload} command.
20086 @end table
20087
20088 The following commands are available for M32R/SDI:
20089
20090 @table @code
20091 @item sdireset
20092 @kindex sdireset
20093 @cindex reset SDI connection, M32R
20094 This command resets the SDI connection.
20095
20096 @item sdistatus
20097 @kindex sdistatus
20098 This command shows the SDI connection status.
20099
20100 @item debug_chaos
20101 @kindex debug_chaos
20102 @cindex M32R/Chaos debugging
20103 Instructs the remote that M32R/Chaos debugging is to be used.
20104
20105 @item use_debug_dma
20106 @kindex use_debug_dma
20107 Instructs the remote to use the DEBUG_DMA method of accessing memory.
20108
20109 @item use_mon_code
20110 @kindex use_mon_code
20111 Instructs the remote to use the MON_CODE method of accessing memory.
20112
20113 @item use_ib_break
20114 @kindex use_ib_break
20115 Instructs the remote to set breakpoints by IB break.
20116
20117 @item use_dbt_break
20118 @kindex use_dbt_break
20119 Instructs the remote to set breakpoints by DBT.
20120 @end table
20121
20122 @node M68K
20123 @subsection M68k
20124
20125 The Motorola m68k configuration includes ColdFire support, and a
20126 target command for the following ROM monitor.
20127
20128 @table @code
20129
20130 @kindex target dbug
20131 @item target dbug @var{dev}
20132 dBUG ROM monitor for Motorola ColdFire.
20133
20134 @end table
20135
20136 @node MicroBlaze
20137 @subsection MicroBlaze
20138 @cindex Xilinx MicroBlaze
20139 @cindex XMD, Xilinx Microprocessor Debugger
20140
20141 The MicroBlaze is a soft-core processor supported on various Xilinx
20142 FPGAs, such as Spartan or Virtex series. Boards with these processors
20143 usually have JTAG ports which connect to a host system running the Xilinx
20144 Embedded Development Kit (EDK) or Software Development Kit (SDK).
20145 This host system is used to download the configuration bitstream to
20146 the target FPGA. The Xilinx Microprocessor Debugger (XMD) program
20147 communicates with the target board using the JTAG interface and
20148 presents a @code{gdbserver} interface to the board. By default
20149 @code{xmd} uses port @code{1234}. (While it is possible to change
20150 this default port, it requires the use of undocumented @code{xmd}
20151 commands. Contact Xilinx support if you need to do this.)
20152
20153 Use these GDB commands to connect to the MicroBlaze target processor.
20154
20155 @table @code
20156 @item target remote :1234
20157 Use this command to connect to the target if you are running @value{GDBN}
20158 on the same system as @code{xmd}.
20159
20160 @item target remote @var{xmd-host}:1234
20161 Use this command to connect to the target if it is connected to @code{xmd}
20162 running on a different system named @var{xmd-host}.
20163
20164 @item load
20165 Use this command to download a program to the MicroBlaze target.
20166
20167 @item set debug microblaze @var{n}
20168 Enable MicroBlaze-specific debugging messages if non-zero.
20169
20170 @item show debug microblaze @var{n}
20171 Show MicroBlaze-specific debugging level.
20172 @end table
20173
20174 @node MIPS Embedded
20175 @subsection @acronym{MIPS} Embedded
20176
20177 @cindex @acronym{MIPS} boards
20178 @value{GDBN} can use the @acronym{MIPS} remote debugging protocol to talk to a
20179 @acronym{MIPS} board attached to a serial line. This is available when
20180 you configure @value{GDBN} with @samp{--target=mips-elf}.
20181
20182 @need 1000
20183 Use these @value{GDBN} commands to specify the connection to your target board:
20184
20185 @table @code
20186 @item target mips @var{port}
20187 @kindex target mips @var{port}
20188 To run a program on the board, start up @code{@value{GDBP}} with the
20189 name of your program as the argument. To connect to the board, use the
20190 command @samp{target mips @var{port}}, where @var{port} is the name of
20191 the serial port connected to the board. If the program has not already
20192 been downloaded to the board, you may use the @code{load} command to
20193 download it. You can then use all the usual @value{GDBN} commands.
20194
20195 For example, this sequence connects to the target board through a serial
20196 port, and loads and runs a program called @var{prog} through the
20197 debugger:
20198
20199 @smallexample
20200 host$ @value{GDBP} @var{prog}
20201 @value{GDBN} is free software and @dots{}
20202 (@value{GDBP}) target mips /dev/ttyb
20203 (@value{GDBP}) load @var{prog}
20204 (@value{GDBP}) run
20205 @end smallexample
20206
20207 @item target mips @var{hostname}:@var{portnumber}
20208 On some @value{GDBN} host configurations, you can specify a TCP
20209 connection (for instance, to a serial line managed by a terminal
20210 concentrator) instead of a serial port, using the syntax
20211 @samp{@var{hostname}:@var{portnumber}}.
20212
20213 @item target pmon @var{port}
20214 @kindex target pmon @var{port}
20215 PMON ROM monitor.
20216
20217 @item target ddb @var{port}
20218 @kindex target ddb @var{port}
20219 NEC's DDB variant of PMON for Vr4300.
20220
20221 @item target lsi @var{port}
20222 @kindex target lsi @var{port}
20223 LSI variant of PMON.
20224
20225 @kindex target r3900
20226 @item target r3900 @var{dev}
20227 Densan DVE-R3900 ROM monitor for Toshiba R3900 Mips.
20228
20229 @kindex target array
20230 @item target array @var{dev}
20231 Array Tech LSI33K RAID controller board.
20232
20233 @end table
20234
20235
20236 @noindent
20237 @value{GDBN} also supports these special commands for @acronym{MIPS} targets:
20238
20239 @table @code
20240 @item set mipsfpu double
20241 @itemx set mipsfpu single
20242 @itemx set mipsfpu none
20243 @itemx set mipsfpu auto
20244 @itemx show mipsfpu
20245 @kindex set mipsfpu
20246 @kindex show mipsfpu
20247 @cindex @acronym{MIPS} remote floating point
20248 @cindex floating point, @acronym{MIPS} remote
20249 If your target board does not support the @acronym{MIPS} floating point
20250 coprocessor, you should use the command @samp{set mipsfpu none} (if you
20251 need this, you may wish to put the command in your @value{GDBN} init
20252 file). This tells @value{GDBN} how to find the return value of
20253 functions which return floating point values. It also allows
20254 @value{GDBN} to avoid saving the floating point registers when calling
20255 functions on the board. If you are using a floating point coprocessor
20256 with only single precision floating point support, as on the @sc{r4650}
20257 processor, use the command @samp{set mipsfpu single}. The default
20258 double precision floating point coprocessor may be selected using
20259 @samp{set mipsfpu double}.
20260
20261 In previous versions the only choices were double precision or no
20262 floating point, so @samp{set mipsfpu on} will select double precision
20263 and @samp{set mipsfpu off} will select no floating point.
20264
20265 As usual, you can inquire about the @code{mipsfpu} variable with
20266 @samp{show mipsfpu}.
20267
20268 @item set timeout @var{seconds}
20269 @itemx set retransmit-timeout @var{seconds}
20270 @itemx show timeout
20271 @itemx show retransmit-timeout
20272 @cindex @code{timeout}, @acronym{MIPS} protocol
20273 @cindex @code{retransmit-timeout}, @acronym{MIPS} protocol
20274 @kindex set timeout
20275 @kindex show timeout
20276 @kindex set retransmit-timeout
20277 @kindex show retransmit-timeout
20278 You can control the timeout used while waiting for a packet, in the @acronym{MIPS}
20279 remote protocol, with the @code{set timeout @var{seconds}} command. The
20280 default is 5 seconds. Similarly, you can control the timeout used while
20281 waiting for an acknowledgment of a packet with the @code{set
20282 retransmit-timeout @var{seconds}} command. The default is 3 seconds.
20283 You can inspect both values with @code{show timeout} and @code{show
20284 retransmit-timeout}. (These commands are @emph{only} available when
20285 @value{GDBN} is configured for @samp{--target=mips-elf}.)
20286
20287 The timeout set by @code{set timeout} does not apply when @value{GDBN}
20288 is waiting for your program to stop. In that case, @value{GDBN} waits
20289 forever because it has no way of knowing how long the program is going
20290 to run before stopping.
20291
20292 @item set syn-garbage-limit @var{num}
20293 @kindex set syn-garbage-limit@r{, @acronym{MIPS} remote}
20294 @cindex synchronize with remote @acronym{MIPS} target
20295 Limit the maximum number of characters @value{GDBN} should ignore when
20296 it tries to synchronize with the remote target. The default is 10
20297 characters. Setting the limit to -1 means there's no limit.
20298
20299 @item show syn-garbage-limit
20300 @kindex show syn-garbage-limit@r{, @acronym{MIPS} remote}
20301 Show the current limit on the number of characters to ignore when
20302 trying to synchronize with the remote system.
20303
20304 @item set monitor-prompt @var{prompt}
20305 @kindex set monitor-prompt@r{, @acronym{MIPS} remote}
20306 @cindex remote monitor prompt
20307 Tell @value{GDBN} to expect the specified @var{prompt} string from the
20308 remote monitor. The default depends on the target:
20309 @table @asis
20310 @item pmon target
20311 @samp{PMON}
20312 @item ddb target
20313 @samp{NEC010}
20314 @item lsi target
20315 @samp{PMON>}
20316 @end table
20317
20318 @item show monitor-prompt
20319 @kindex show monitor-prompt@r{, @acronym{MIPS} remote}
20320 Show the current strings @value{GDBN} expects as the prompt from the
20321 remote monitor.
20322
20323 @item set monitor-warnings
20324 @kindex set monitor-warnings@r{, @acronym{MIPS} remote}
20325 Enable or disable monitor warnings about hardware breakpoints. This
20326 has effect only for the @code{lsi} target. When on, @value{GDBN} will
20327 display warning messages whose codes are returned by the @code{lsi}
20328 PMON monitor for breakpoint commands.
20329
20330 @item show monitor-warnings
20331 @kindex show monitor-warnings@r{, @acronym{MIPS} remote}
20332 Show the current setting of printing monitor warnings.
20333
20334 @item pmon @var{command}
20335 @kindex pmon@r{, @acronym{MIPS} remote}
20336 @cindex send PMON command
20337 This command allows sending an arbitrary @var{command} string to the
20338 monitor. The monitor must be in debug mode for this to work.
20339 @end table
20340
20341 @node PowerPC Embedded
20342 @subsection PowerPC Embedded
20343
20344 @cindex DVC register
20345 @value{GDBN} supports using the DVC (Data Value Compare) register to
20346 implement in hardware simple hardware watchpoint conditions of the form:
20347
20348 @smallexample
20349 (@value{GDBP}) watch @var{ADDRESS|VARIABLE} \
20350 if @var{ADDRESS|VARIABLE} == @var{CONSTANT EXPRESSION}
20351 @end smallexample
20352
20353 The DVC register will be automatically used when @value{GDBN} detects
20354 such pattern in a condition expression, and the created watchpoint uses one
20355 debug register (either the @code{exact-watchpoints} option is on and the
20356 variable is scalar, or the variable has a length of one byte). This feature
20357 is available in native @value{GDBN} running on a Linux kernel version 2.6.34
20358 or newer.
20359
20360 When running on PowerPC embedded processors, @value{GDBN} automatically uses
20361 ranged hardware watchpoints, unless the @code{exact-watchpoints} option is on,
20362 in which case watchpoints using only one debug register are created when
20363 watching variables of scalar types.
20364
20365 You can create an artificial array to watch an arbitrary memory
20366 region using one of the following commands (@pxref{Expressions}):
20367
20368 @smallexample
20369 (@value{GDBP}) watch *((char *) @var{address})@@@var{length}
20370 (@value{GDBP}) watch @{char[@var{length}]@} @var{address}
20371 @end smallexample
20372
20373 PowerPC embedded processors support masked watchpoints. See the discussion
20374 about the @code{mask} argument in @ref{Set Watchpoints}.
20375
20376 @cindex ranged breakpoint
20377 PowerPC embedded processors support hardware accelerated
20378 @dfn{ranged breakpoints}. A ranged breakpoint stops execution of
20379 the inferior whenever it executes an instruction at any address within
20380 the range it specifies. To set a ranged breakpoint in @value{GDBN},
20381 use the @code{break-range} command.
20382
20383 @value{GDBN} provides the following PowerPC-specific commands:
20384
20385 @table @code
20386 @kindex break-range
20387 @item break-range @var{start-location}, @var{end-location}
20388 Set a breakpoint for an address range.
20389 @var{start-location} and @var{end-location} can specify a function name,
20390 a line number, an offset of lines from the current line or from the start
20391 location, or an address of an instruction (see @ref{Specify Location},
20392 for a list of all the possible ways to specify a @var{location}.)
20393 The breakpoint will stop execution of the inferior whenever it
20394 executes an instruction at any address within the specified range,
20395 (including @var{start-location} and @var{end-location}.)
20396
20397 @kindex set powerpc
20398 @item set powerpc soft-float
20399 @itemx show powerpc soft-float
20400 Force @value{GDBN} to use (or not use) a software floating point calling
20401 convention. By default, @value{GDBN} selects the calling convention based
20402 on the selected architecture and the provided executable file.
20403
20404 @item set powerpc vector-abi
20405 @itemx show powerpc vector-abi
20406 Force @value{GDBN} to use the specified calling convention for vector
20407 arguments and return values. The valid options are @samp{auto};
20408 @samp{generic}, to avoid vector registers even if they are present;
20409 @samp{altivec}, to use AltiVec registers; and @samp{spe} to use SPE
20410 registers. By default, @value{GDBN} selects the calling convention
20411 based on the selected architecture and the provided executable file.
20412
20413 @item set powerpc exact-watchpoints
20414 @itemx show powerpc exact-watchpoints
20415 Allow @value{GDBN} to use only one debug register when watching a variable
20416 of scalar type, thus assuming that the variable is accessed through the
20417 address of its first byte.
20418
20419 @kindex target dink32
20420 @item target dink32 @var{dev}
20421 DINK32 ROM monitor.
20422
20423 @kindex target ppcbug
20424 @item target ppcbug @var{dev}
20425 @kindex target ppcbug1
20426 @item target ppcbug1 @var{dev}
20427 PPCBUG ROM monitor for PowerPC.
20428
20429 @kindex target sds
20430 @item target sds @var{dev}
20431 SDS monitor, running on a PowerPC board (such as Motorola's ADS).
20432 @end table
20433
20434 @cindex SDS protocol
20435 The following commands specific to the SDS protocol are supported
20436 by @value{GDBN}:
20437
20438 @table @code
20439 @item set sdstimeout @var{nsec}
20440 @kindex set sdstimeout
20441 Set the timeout for SDS protocol reads to be @var{nsec} seconds. The
20442 default is 2 seconds.
20443
20444 @item show sdstimeout
20445 @kindex show sdstimeout
20446 Show the current value of the SDS timeout.
20447
20448 @item sds @var{command}
20449 @kindex sds@r{, a command}
20450 Send the specified @var{command} string to the SDS monitor.
20451 @end table
20452
20453
20454 @node PA
20455 @subsection HP PA Embedded
20456
20457 @table @code
20458
20459 @kindex target op50n
20460 @item target op50n @var{dev}
20461 OP50N monitor, running on an OKI HPPA board.
20462
20463 @kindex target w89k
20464 @item target w89k @var{dev}
20465 W89K monitor, running on a Winbond HPPA board.
20466
20467 @end table
20468
20469 @node Sparclet
20470 @subsection Tsqware Sparclet
20471
20472 @cindex Sparclet
20473
20474 @value{GDBN} enables developers to debug tasks running on
20475 Sparclet targets from a Unix host.
20476 @value{GDBN} uses code that runs on
20477 both the Unix host and on the Sparclet target. The program
20478 @code{@value{GDBP}} is installed and executed on the Unix host.
20479
20480 @table @code
20481 @item remotetimeout @var{args}
20482 @kindex remotetimeout
20483 @value{GDBN} supports the option @code{remotetimeout}.
20484 This option is set by the user, and @var{args} represents the number of
20485 seconds @value{GDBN} waits for responses.
20486 @end table
20487
20488 @cindex compiling, on Sparclet
20489 When compiling for debugging, include the options @samp{-g} to get debug
20490 information and @samp{-Ttext} to relocate the program to where you wish to
20491 load it on the target. You may also want to add the options @samp{-n} or
20492 @samp{-N} in order to reduce the size of the sections. Example:
20493
20494 @smallexample
20495 sparclet-aout-gcc prog.c -Ttext 0x12010000 -g -o prog -N
20496 @end smallexample
20497
20498 You can use @code{objdump} to verify that the addresses are what you intended:
20499
20500 @smallexample
20501 sparclet-aout-objdump --headers --syms prog
20502 @end smallexample
20503
20504 @cindex running, on Sparclet
20505 Once you have set
20506 your Unix execution search path to find @value{GDBN}, you are ready to
20507 run @value{GDBN}. From your Unix host, run @code{@value{GDBP}}
20508 (or @code{sparclet-aout-gdb}, depending on your installation).
20509
20510 @value{GDBN} comes up showing the prompt:
20511
20512 @smallexample
20513 (gdbslet)
20514 @end smallexample
20515
20516 @menu
20517 * Sparclet File:: Setting the file to debug
20518 * Sparclet Connection:: Connecting to Sparclet
20519 * Sparclet Download:: Sparclet download
20520 * Sparclet Execution:: Running and debugging
20521 @end menu
20522
20523 @node Sparclet File
20524 @subsubsection Setting File to Debug
20525
20526 The @value{GDBN} command @code{file} lets you choose with program to debug.
20527
20528 @smallexample
20529 (gdbslet) file prog
20530 @end smallexample
20531
20532 @need 1000
20533 @value{GDBN} then attempts to read the symbol table of @file{prog}.
20534 @value{GDBN} locates
20535 the file by searching the directories listed in the command search
20536 path.
20537 If the file was compiled with debug information (option @samp{-g}), source
20538 files will be searched as well.
20539 @value{GDBN} locates
20540 the source files by searching the directories listed in the directory search
20541 path (@pxref{Environment, ,Your Program's Environment}).
20542 If it fails
20543 to find a file, it displays a message such as:
20544
20545 @smallexample
20546 prog: No such file or directory.
20547 @end smallexample
20548
20549 When this happens, add the appropriate directories to the search paths with
20550 the @value{GDBN} commands @code{path} and @code{dir}, and execute the
20551 @code{target} command again.
20552
20553 @node Sparclet Connection
20554 @subsubsection Connecting to Sparclet
20555
20556 The @value{GDBN} command @code{target} lets you connect to a Sparclet target.
20557 To connect to a target on serial port ``@code{ttya}'', type:
20558
20559 @smallexample
20560 (gdbslet) target sparclet /dev/ttya
20561 Remote target sparclet connected to /dev/ttya
20562 main () at ../prog.c:3
20563 @end smallexample
20564
20565 @need 750
20566 @value{GDBN} displays messages like these:
20567
20568 @smallexample
20569 Connected to ttya.
20570 @end smallexample
20571
20572 @node Sparclet Download
20573 @subsubsection Sparclet Download
20574
20575 @cindex download to Sparclet
20576 Once connected to the Sparclet target,
20577 you can use the @value{GDBN}
20578 @code{load} command to download the file from the host to the target.
20579 The file name and load offset should be given as arguments to the @code{load}
20580 command.
20581 Since the file format is aout, the program must be loaded to the starting
20582 address. You can use @code{objdump} to find out what this value is. The load
20583 offset is an offset which is added to the VMA (virtual memory address)
20584 of each of the file's sections.
20585 For instance, if the program
20586 @file{prog} was linked to text address 0x1201000, with data at 0x12010160
20587 and bss at 0x12010170, in @value{GDBN}, type:
20588
20589 @smallexample
20590 (gdbslet) load prog 0x12010000
20591 Loading section .text, size 0xdb0 vma 0x12010000
20592 @end smallexample
20593
20594 If the code is loaded at a different address then what the program was linked
20595 to, you may need to use the @code{section} and @code{add-symbol-file} commands
20596 to tell @value{GDBN} where to map the symbol table.
20597
20598 @node Sparclet Execution
20599 @subsubsection Running and Debugging
20600
20601 @cindex running and debugging Sparclet programs
20602 You can now begin debugging the task using @value{GDBN}'s execution control
20603 commands, @code{b}, @code{step}, @code{run}, etc. See the @value{GDBN}
20604 manual for the list of commands.
20605
20606 @smallexample
20607 (gdbslet) b main
20608 Breakpoint 1 at 0x12010000: file prog.c, line 3.
20609 (gdbslet) run
20610 Starting program: prog
20611 Breakpoint 1, main (argc=1, argv=0xeffff21c) at prog.c:3
20612 3 char *symarg = 0;
20613 (gdbslet) step
20614 4 char *execarg = "hello!";
20615 (gdbslet)
20616 @end smallexample
20617
20618 @node Sparclite
20619 @subsection Fujitsu Sparclite
20620
20621 @table @code
20622
20623 @kindex target sparclite
20624 @item target sparclite @var{dev}
20625 Fujitsu sparclite boards, used only for the purpose of loading.
20626 You must use an additional command to debug the program.
20627 For example: target remote @var{dev} using @value{GDBN} standard
20628 remote protocol.
20629
20630 @end table
20631
20632 @node Z8000
20633 @subsection Zilog Z8000
20634
20635 @cindex Z8000
20636 @cindex simulator, Z8000
20637 @cindex Zilog Z8000 simulator
20638
20639 When configured for debugging Zilog Z8000 targets, @value{GDBN} includes
20640 a Z8000 simulator.
20641
20642 For the Z8000 family, @samp{target sim} simulates either the Z8002 (the
20643 unsegmented variant of the Z8000 architecture) or the Z8001 (the
20644 segmented variant). The simulator recognizes which architecture is
20645 appropriate by inspecting the object code.
20646
20647 @table @code
20648 @item target sim @var{args}
20649 @kindex sim
20650 @kindex target sim@r{, with Z8000}
20651 Debug programs on a simulated CPU. If the simulator supports setup
20652 options, specify them via @var{args}.
20653 @end table
20654
20655 @noindent
20656 After specifying this target, you can debug programs for the simulated
20657 CPU in the same style as programs for your host computer; use the
20658 @code{file} command to load a new program image, the @code{run} command
20659 to run your program, and so on.
20660
20661 As well as making available all the usual machine registers
20662 (@pxref{Registers, ,Registers}), the Z8000 simulator provides three
20663 additional items of information as specially named registers:
20664
20665 @table @code
20666
20667 @item cycles
20668 Counts clock-ticks in the simulator.
20669
20670 @item insts
20671 Counts instructions run in the simulator.
20672
20673 @item time
20674 Execution time in 60ths of a second.
20675
20676 @end table
20677
20678 You can refer to these values in @value{GDBN} expressions with the usual
20679 conventions; for example, @w{@samp{b fputc if $cycles>5000}} sets a
20680 conditional breakpoint that suspends only after at least 5000
20681 simulated clock ticks.
20682
20683 @node AVR
20684 @subsection Atmel AVR
20685 @cindex AVR
20686
20687 When configured for debugging the Atmel AVR, @value{GDBN} supports the
20688 following AVR-specific commands:
20689
20690 @table @code
20691 @item info io_registers
20692 @kindex info io_registers@r{, AVR}
20693 @cindex I/O registers (Atmel AVR)
20694 This command displays information about the AVR I/O registers. For
20695 each register, @value{GDBN} prints its number and value.
20696 @end table
20697
20698 @node CRIS
20699 @subsection CRIS
20700 @cindex CRIS
20701
20702 When configured for debugging CRIS, @value{GDBN} provides the
20703 following CRIS-specific commands:
20704
20705 @table @code
20706 @item set cris-version @var{ver}
20707 @cindex CRIS version
20708 Set the current CRIS version to @var{ver}, either @samp{10} or @samp{32}.
20709 The CRIS version affects register names and sizes. This command is useful in
20710 case autodetection of the CRIS version fails.
20711
20712 @item show cris-version
20713 Show the current CRIS version.
20714
20715 @item set cris-dwarf2-cfi
20716 @cindex DWARF-2 CFI and CRIS
20717 Set the usage of DWARF-2 CFI for CRIS debugging. The default is @samp{on}.
20718 Change to @samp{off} when using @code{gcc-cris} whose version is below
20719 @code{R59}.
20720
20721 @item show cris-dwarf2-cfi
20722 Show the current state of using DWARF-2 CFI.
20723
20724 @item set cris-mode @var{mode}
20725 @cindex CRIS mode
20726 Set the current CRIS mode to @var{mode}. It should only be changed when
20727 debugging in guru mode, in which case it should be set to
20728 @samp{guru} (the default is @samp{normal}).
20729
20730 @item show cris-mode
20731 Show the current CRIS mode.
20732 @end table
20733
20734 @node Super-H
20735 @subsection Renesas Super-H
20736 @cindex Super-H
20737
20738 For the Renesas Super-H processor, @value{GDBN} provides these
20739 commands:
20740
20741 @table @code
20742 @item set sh calling-convention @var{convention}
20743 @kindex set sh calling-convention
20744 Set the calling-convention used when calling functions from @value{GDBN}.
20745 Allowed values are @samp{gcc}, which is the default setting, and @samp{renesas}.
20746 With the @samp{gcc} setting, functions are called using the @value{NGCC} calling
20747 convention. If the DWARF-2 information of the called function specifies
20748 that the function follows the Renesas calling convention, the function
20749 is called using the Renesas calling convention. If the calling convention
20750 is set to @samp{renesas}, the Renesas calling convention is always used,
20751 regardless of the DWARF-2 information. This can be used to override the
20752 default of @samp{gcc} if debug information is missing, or the compiler
20753 does not emit the DWARF-2 calling convention entry for a function.
20754
20755 @item show sh calling-convention
20756 @kindex show sh calling-convention
20757 Show the current calling convention setting.
20758
20759 @end table
20760
20761
20762 @node Architectures
20763 @section Architectures
20764
20765 This section describes characteristics of architectures that affect
20766 all uses of @value{GDBN} with the architecture, both native and cross.
20767
20768 @menu
20769 * AArch64::
20770 * i386::
20771 * Alpha::
20772 * MIPS::
20773 * HPPA:: HP PA architecture
20774 * SPU:: Cell Broadband Engine SPU architecture
20775 * PowerPC::
20776 @end menu
20777
20778 @node AArch64
20779 @subsection AArch64
20780 @cindex AArch64 support
20781
20782 When @value{GDBN} is debugging the AArch64 architecture, it provides the
20783 following special commands:
20784
20785 @table @code
20786 @item set debug aarch64
20787 @kindex set debug aarch64
20788 This command determines whether AArch64 architecture-specific debugging
20789 messages are to be displayed.
20790
20791 @item show debug aarch64
20792 Show whether AArch64 debugging messages are displayed.
20793
20794 @end table
20795
20796 @node i386
20797 @subsection x86 Architecture-specific Issues
20798
20799 @table @code
20800 @item set struct-convention @var{mode}
20801 @kindex set struct-convention
20802 @cindex struct return convention
20803 @cindex struct/union returned in registers
20804 Set the convention used by the inferior to return @code{struct}s and
20805 @code{union}s from functions to @var{mode}. Possible values of
20806 @var{mode} are @code{"pcc"}, @code{"reg"}, and @code{"default"} (the
20807 default). @code{"default"} or @code{"pcc"} means that @code{struct}s
20808 are returned on the stack, while @code{"reg"} means that a
20809 @code{struct} or a @code{union} whose size is 1, 2, 4, or 8 bytes will
20810 be returned in a register.
20811
20812 @item show struct-convention
20813 @kindex show struct-convention
20814 Show the current setting of the convention to return @code{struct}s
20815 from functions.
20816 @end table
20817
20818 @node Alpha
20819 @subsection Alpha
20820
20821 See the following section.
20822
20823 @node MIPS
20824 @subsection @acronym{MIPS}
20825
20826 @cindex stack on Alpha
20827 @cindex stack on @acronym{MIPS}
20828 @cindex Alpha stack
20829 @cindex @acronym{MIPS} stack
20830 Alpha- and @acronym{MIPS}-based computers use an unusual stack frame, which
20831 sometimes requires @value{GDBN} to search backward in the object code to
20832 find the beginning of a function.
20833
20834 @cindex response time, @acronym{MIPS} debugging
20835 To improve response time (especially for embedded applications, where
20836 @value{GDBN} may be restricted to a slow serial line for this search)
20837 you may want to limit the size of this search, using one of these
20838 commands:
20839
20840 @table @code
20841 @cindex @code{heuristic-fence-post} (Alpha, @acronym{MIPS})
20842 @item set heuristic-fence-post @var{limit}
20843 Restrict @value{GDBN} to examining at most @var{limit} bytes in its
20844 search for the beginning of a function. A value of @var{0} (the
20845 default) means there is no limit. However, except for @var{0}, the
20846 larger the limit the more bytes @code{heuristic-fence-post} must search
20847 and therefore the longer it takes to run. You should only need to use
20848 this command when debugging a stripped executable.
20849
20850 @item show heuristic-fence-post
20851 Display the current limit.
20852 @end table
20853
20854 @noindent
20855 These commands are available @emph{only} when @value{GDBN} is configured
20856 for debugging programs on Alpha or @acronym{MIPS} processors.
20857
20858 Several @acronym{MIPS}-specific commands are available when debugging @acronym{MIPS}
20859 programs:
20860
20861 @table @code
20862 @item set mips abi @var{arg}
20863 @kindex set mips abi
20864 @cindex set ABI for @acronym{MIPS}
20865 Tell @value{GDBN} which @acronym{MIPS} ABI is used by the inferior. Possible
20866 values of @var{arg} are:
20867
20868 @table @samp
20869 @item auto
20870 The default ABI associated with the current binary (this is the
20871 default).
20872 @item o32
20873 @item o64
20874 @item n32
20875 @item n64
20876 @item eabi32
20877 @item eabi64
20878 @end table
20879
20880 @item show mips abi
20881 @kindex show mips abi
20882 Show the @acronym{MIPS} ABI used by @value{GDBN} to debug the inferior.
20883
20884 @item set mips compression @var{arg}
20885 @kindex set mips compression
20886 @cindex code compression, @acronym{MIPS}
20887 Tell @value{GDBN} which @acronym{MIPS} compressed
20888 @acronym{ISA, Instruction Set Architecture} encoding is used by the
20889 inferior. @value{GDBN} uses this for code disassembly and other
20890 internal interpretation purposes. This setting is only referred to
20891 when no executable has been associated with the debugging session or
20892 the executable does not provide information about the encoding it uses.
20893 Otherwise this setting is automatically updated from information
20894 provided by the executable.
20895
20896 Possible values of @var{arg} are @samp{mips16} and @samp{micromips}.
20897 The default compressed @acronym{ISA} encoding is @samp{mips16}, as
20898 executables containing @acronym{MIPS16} code frequently are not
20899 identified as such.
20900
20901 This setting is ``sticky''; that is, it retains its value across
20902 debugging sessions until reset either explicitly with this command or
20903 implicitly from an executable.
20904
20905 The compiler and/or assembler typically add symbol table annotations to
20906 identify functions compiled for the @acronym{MIPS16} or
20907 @acronym{microMIPS} @acronym{ISA}s. If these function-scope annotations
20908 are present, @value{GDBN} uses them in preference to the global
20909 compressed @acronym{ISA} encoding setting.
20910
20911 @item show mips compression
20912 @kindex show mips compression
20913 Show the @acronym{MIPS} compressed @acronym{ISA} encoding used by
20914 @value{GDBN} to debug the inferior.
20915
20916 @item set mipsfpu
20917 @itemx show mipsfpu
20918 @xref{MIPS Embedded, set mipsfpu}.
20919
20920 @item set mips mask-address @var{arg}
20921 @kindex set mips mask-address
20922 @cindex @acronym{MIPS} addresses, masking
20923 This command determines whether the most-significant 32 bits of 64-bit
20924 @acronym{MIPS} addresses are masked off. The argument @var{arg} can be
20925 @samp{on}, @samp{off}, or @samp{auto}. The latter is the default
20926 setting, which lets @value{GDBN} determine the correct value.
20927
20928 @item show mips mask-address
20929 @kindex show mips mask-address
20930 Show whether the upper 32 bits of @acronym{MIPS} addresses are masked off or
20931 not.
20932
20933 @item set remote-mips64-transfers-32bit-regs
20934 @kindex set remote-mips64-transfers-32bit-regs
20935 This command controls compatibility with 64-bit @acronym{MIPS} targets that
20936 transfer data in 32-bit quantities. If you have an old @acronym{MIPS} 64 target
20937 that transfers 32 bits for some registers, like @sc{sr} and @sc{fsr},
20938 and 64 bits for other registers, set this option to @samp{on}.
20939
20940 @item show remote-mips64-transfers-32bit-regs
20941 @kindex show remote-mips64-transfers-32bit-regs
20942 Show the current setting of compatibility with older @acronym{MIPS} 64 targets.
20943
20944 @item set debug mips
20945 @kindex set debug mips
20946 This command turns on and off debugging messages for the @acronym{MIPS}-specific
20947 target code in @value{GDBN}.
20948
20949 @item show debug mips
20950 @kindex show debug mips
20951 Show the current setting of @acronym{MIPS} debugging messages.
20952 @end table
20953
20954
20955 @node HPPA
20956 @subsection HPPA
20957 @cindex HPPA support
20958
20959 When @value{GDBN} is debugging the HP PA architecture, it provides the
20960 following special commands:
20961
20962 @table @code
20963 @item set debug hppa
20964 @kindex set debug hppa
20965 This command determines whether HPPA architecture-specific debugging
20966 messages are to be displayed.
20967
20968 @item show debug hppa
20969 Show whether HPPA debugging messages are displayed.
20970
20971 @item maint print unwind @var{address}
20972 @kindex maint print unwind@r{, HPPA}
20973 This command displays the contents of the unwind table entry at the
20974 given @var{address}.
20975
20976 @end table
20977
20978
20979 @node SPU
20980 @subsection Cell Broadband Engine SPU architecture
20981 @cindex Cell Broadband Engine
20982 @cindex SPU
20983
20984 When @value{GDBN} is debugging the Cell Broadband Engine SPU architecture,
20985 it provides the following special commands:
20986
20987 @table @code
20988 @item info spu event
20989 @kindex info spu
20990 Display SPU event facility status. Shows current event mask
20991 and pending event status.
20992
20993 @item info spu signal
20994 Display SPU signal notification facility status. Shows pending
20995 signal-control word and signal notification mode of both signal
20996 notification channels.
20997
20998 @item info spu mailbox
20999 Display SPU mailbox facility status. Shows all pending entries,
21000 in order of processing, in each of the SPU Write Outbound,
21001 SPU Write Outbound Interrupt, and SPU Read Inbound mailboxes.
21002
21003 @item info spu dma
21004 Display MFC DMA status. Shows all pending commands in the MFC
21005 DMA queue. For each entry, opcode, tag, class IDs, effective
21006 and local store addresses and transfer size are shown.
21007
21008 @item info spu proxydma
21009 Display MFC Proxy-DMA status. Shows all pending commands in the MFC
21010 Proxy-DMA queue. For each entry, opcode, tag, class IDs, effective
21011 and local store addresses and transfer size are shown.
21012
21013 @end table
21014
21015 When @value{GDBN} is debugging a combined PowerPC/SPU application
21016 on the Cell Broadband Engine, it provides in addition the following
21017 special commands:
21018
21019 @table @code
21020 @item set spu stop-on-load @var{arg}
21021 @kindex set spu
21022 Set whether to stop for new SPE threads. When set to @code{on}, @value{GDBN}
21023 will give control to the user when a new SPE thread enters its @code{main}
21024 function. The default is @code{off}.
21025
21026 @item show spu stop-on-load
21027 @kindex show spu
21028 Show whether to stop for new SPE threads.
21029
21030 @item set spu auto-flush-cache @var{arg}
21031 Set whether to automatically flush the software-managed cache. When set to
21032 @code{on}, @value{GDBN} will automatically cause the SPE software-managed
21033 cache to be flushed whenever SPE execution stops. This provides a consistent
21034 view of PowerPC memory that is accessed via the cache. If an application
21035 does not use the software-managed cache, this option has no effect.
21036
21037 @item show spu auto-flush-cache
21038 Show whether to automatically flush the software-managed cache.
21039
21040 @end table
21041
21042 @node PowerPC
21043 @subsection PowerPC
21044 @cindex PowerPC architecture
21045
21046 When @value{GDBN} is debugging the PowerPC architecture, it provides a set of
21047 pseudo-registers to enable inspection of 128-bit wide Decimal Floating Point
21048 numbers stored in the floating point registers. These values must be stored
21049 in two consecutive registers, always starting at an even register like
21050 @code{f0} or @code{f2}.
21051
21052 The pseudo-registers go from @code{$dl0} through @code{$dl15}, and are formed
21053 by joining the even/odd register pairs @code{f0} and @code{f1} for @code{$dl0},
21054 @code{f2} and @code{f3} for @code{$dl1} and so on.
21055
21056 For POWER7 processors, @value{GDBN} provides a set of pseudo-registers, the 64-bit
21057 wide Extended Floating Point Registers (@samp{f32} through @samp{f63}).
21058
21059
21060 @node Controlling GDB
21061 @chapter Controlling @value{GDBN}
21062
21063 You can alter the way @value{GDBN} interacts with you by using the
21064 @code{set} command. For commands controlling how @value{GDBN} displays
21065 data, see @ref{Print Settings, ,Print Settings}. Other settings are
21066 described here.
21067
21068 @menu
21069 * Prompt:: Prompt
21070 * Editing:: Command editing
21071 * Command History:: Command history
21072 * Screen Size:: Screen size
21073 * Numbers:: Numbers
21074 * ABI:: Configuring the current ABI
21075 * Auto-loading:: Automatically loading associated files
21076 * Messages/Warnings:: Optional warnings and messages
21077 * Debugging Output:: Optional messages about internal happenings
21078 * Other Misc Settings:: Other Miscellaneous Settings
21079 @end menu
21080
21081 @node Prompt
21082 @section Prompt
21083
21084 @cindex prompt
21085
21086 @value{GDBN} indicates its readiness to read a command by printing a string
21087 called the @dfn{prompt}. This string is normally @samp{(@value{GDBP})}. You
21088 can change the prompt string with the @code{set prompt} command. For
21089 instance, when debugging @value{GDBN} with @value{GDBN}, it is useful to change
21090 the prompt in one of the @value{GDBN} sessions so that you can always tell
21091 which one you are talking to.
21092
21093 @emph{Note:} @code{set prompt} does not add a space for you after the
21094 prompt you set. This allows you to set a prompt which ends in a space
21095 or a prompt that does not.
21096
21097 @table @code
21098 @kindex set prompt
21099 @item set prompt @var{newprompt}
21100 Directs @value{GDBN} to use @var{newprompt} as its prompt string henceforth.
21101
21102 @kindex show prompt
21103 @item show prompt
21104 Prints a line of the form: @samp{Gdb's prompt is: @var{your-prompt}}
21105 @end table
21106
21107 Versions of @value{GDBN} that ship with Python scripting enabled have
21108 prompt extensions. The commands for interacting with these extensions
21109 are:
21110
21111 @table @code
21112 @kindex set extended-prompt
21113 @item set extended-prompt @var{prompt}
21114 Set an extended prompt that allows for substitutions.
21115 @xref{gdb.prompt}, for a list of escape sequences that can be used for
21116 substitution. Any escape sequences specified as part of the prompt
21117 string are replaced with the corresponding strings each time the prompt
21118 is displayed.
21119
21120 For example:
21121
21122 @smallexample
21123 set extended-prompt Current working directory: \w (gdb)
21124 @end smallexample
21125
21126 Note that when an extended-prompt is set, it takes control of the
21127 @var{prompt_hook} hook. @xref{prompt_hook}, for further information.
21128
21129 @kindex show extended-prompt
21130 @item show extended-prompt
21131 Prints the extended prompt. Any escape sequences specified as part of
21132 the prompt string with @code{set extended-prompt}, are replaced with the
21133 corresponding strings each time the prompt is displayed.
21134 @end table
21135
21136 @node Editing
21137 @section Command Editing
21138 @cindex readline
21139 @cindex command line editing
21140
21141 @value{GDBN} reads its input commands via the @dfn{Readline} interface. This
21142 @sc{gnu} library provides consistent behavior for programs which provide a
21143 command line interface to the user. Advantages are @sc{gnu} Emacs-style
21144 or @dfn{vi}-style inline editing of commands, @code{csh}-like history
21145 substitution, and a storage and recall of command history across
21146 debugging sessions.
21147
21148 You may control the behavior of command line editing in @value{GDBN} with the
21149 command @code{set}.
21150
21151 @table @code
21152 @kindex set editing
21153 @cindex editing
21154 @item set editing
21155 @itemx set editing on
21156 Enable command line editing (enabled by default).
21157
21158 @item set editing off
21159 Disable command line editing.
21160
21161 @kindex show editing
21162 @item show editing
21163 Show whether command line editing is enabled.
21164 @end table
21165
21166 @ifset SYSTEM_READLINE
21167 @xref{Command Line Editing, , , rluserman, GNU Readline Library},
21168 @end ifset
21169 @ifclear SYSTEM_READLINE
21170 @xref{Command Line Editing},
21171 @end ifclear
21172 for more details about the Readline
21173 interface. Users unfamiliar with @sc{gnu} Emacs or @code{vi} are
21174 encouraged to read that chapter.
21175
21176 @node Command History
21177 @section Command History
21178 @cindex command history
21179
21180 @value{GDBN} can keep track of the commands you type during your
21181 debugging sessions, so that you can be certain of precisely what
21182 happened. Use these commands to manage the @value{GDBN} command
21183 history facility.
21184
21185 @value{GDBN} uses the @sc{gnu} History library, a part of the Readline
21186 package, to provide the history facility.
21187 @ifset SYSTEM_READLINE
21188 @xref{Using History Interactively, , , history, GNU History Library},
21189 @end ifset
21190 @ifclear SYSTEM_READLINE
21191 @xref{Using History Interactively},
21192 @end ifclear
21193 for the detailed description of the History library.
21194
21195 To issue a command to @value{GDBN} without affecting certain aspects of
21196 the state which is seen by users, prefix it with @samp{server }
21197 (@pxref{Server Prefix}). This
21198 means that this command will not affect the command history, nor will it
21199 affect @value{GDBN}'s notion of which command to repeat if @key{RET} is
21200 pressed on a line by itself.
21201
21202 @cindex @code{server}, command prefix
21203 The server prefix does not affect the recording of values into the value
21204 history; to print a value without recording it into the value history,
21205 use the @code{output} command instead of the @code{print} command.
21206
21207 Here is the description of @value{GDBN} commands related to command
21208 history.
21209
21210 @table @code
21211 @cindex history substitution
21212 @cindex history file
21213 @kindex set history filename
21214 @cindex @env{GDBHISTFILE}, environment variable
21215 @item set history filename @var{fname}
21216 Set the name of the @value{GDBN} command history file to @var{fname}.
21217 This is the file where @value{GDBN} reads an initial command history
21218 list, and where it writes the command history from this session when it
21219 exits. You can access this list through history expansion or through
21220 the history command editing characters listed below. This file defaults
21221 to the value of the environment variable @code{GDBHISTFILE}, or to
21222 @file{./.gdb_history} (@file{./_gdb_history} on MS-DOS) if this variable
21223 is not set.
21224
21225 @cindex save command history
21226 @kindex set history save
21227 @item set history save
21228 @itemx set history save on
21229 Record command history in a file, whose name may be specified with the
21230 @code{set history filename} command. By default, this option is disabled.
21231
21232 @item set history save off
21233 Stop recording command history in a file.
21234
21235 @cindex history size
21236 @kindex set history size
21237 @cindex @env{HISTSIZE}, environment variable
21238 @item set history size @var{size}
21239 Set the number of commands which @value{GDBN} keeps in its history list.
21240 This defaults to the value of the environment variable
21241 @code{HISTSIZE}, or to 256 if this variable is not set.
21242 @end table
21243
21244 History expansion assigns special meaning to the character @kbd{!}.
21245 @ifset SYSTEM_READLINE
21246 @xref{Event Designators, , , history, GNU History Library},
21247 @end ifset
21248 @ifclear SYSTEM_READLINE
21249 @xref{Event Designators},
21250 @end ifclear
21251 for more details.
21252
21253 @cindex history expansion, turn on/off
21254 Since @kbd{!} is also the logical not operator in C, history expansion
21255 is off by default. If you decide to enable history expansion with the
21256 @code{set history expansion on} command, you may sometimes need to
21257 follow @kbd{!} (when it is used as logical not, in an expression) with
21258 a space or a tab to prevent it from being expanded. The readline
21259 history facilities do not attempt substitution on the strings
21260 @kbd{!=} and @kbd{!(}, even when history expansion is enabled.
21261
21262 The commands to control history expansion are:
21263
21264 @table @code
21265 @item set history expansion on
21266 @itemx set history expansion
21267 @kindex set history expansion
21268 Enable history expansion. History expansion is off by default.
21269
21270 @item set history expansion off
21271 Disable history expansion.
21272
21273 @c @group
21274 @kindex show history
21275 @item show history
21276 @itemx show history filename
21277 @itemx show history save
21278 @itemx show history size
21279 @itemx show history expansion
21280 These commands display the state of the @value{GDBN} history parameters.
21281 @code{show history} by itself displays all four states.
21282 @c @end group
21283 @end table
21284
21285 @table @code
21286 @kindex show commands
21287 @cindex show last commands
21288 @cindex display command history
21289 @item show commands
21290 Display the last ten commands in the command history.
21291
21292 @item show commands @var{n}
21293 Print ten commands centered on command number @var{n}.
21294
21295 @item show commands +
21296 Print ten commands just after the commands last printed.
21297 @end table
21298
21299 @node Screen Size
21300 @section Screen Size
21301 @cindex size of screen
21302 @cindex pauses in output
21303
21304 Certain commands to @value{GDBN} may produce large amounts of
21305 information output to the screen. To help you read all of it,
21306 @value{GDBN} pauses and asks you for input at the end of each page of
21307 output. Type @key{RET} when you want to continue the output, or @kbd{q}
21308 to discard the remaining output. Also, the screen width setting
21309 determines when to wrap lines of output. Depending on what is being
21310 printed, @value{GDBN} tries to break the line at a readable place,
21311 rather than simply letting it overflow onto the following line.
21312
21313 Normally @value{GDBN} knows the size of the screen from the terminal
21314 driver software. For example, on Unix @value{GDBN} uses the termcap data base
21315 together with the value of the @code{TERM} environment variable and the
21316 @code{stty rows} and @code{stty cols} settings. If this is not correct,
21317 you can override it with the @code{set height} and @code{set
21318 width} commands:
21319
21320 @table @code
21321 @kindex set height
21322 @kindex set width
21323 @kindex show width
21324 @kindex show height
21325 @item set height @var{lpp}
21326 @itemx show height
21327 @itemx set width @var{cpl}
21328 @itemx show width
21329 These @code{set} commands specify a screen height of @var{lpp} lines and
21330 a screen width of @var{cpl} characters. The associated @code{show}
21331 commands display the current settings.
21332
21333 If you specify a height of zero lines, @value{GDBN} does not pause during
21334 output no matter how long the output is. This is useful if output is to a
21335 file or to an editor buffer.
21336
21337 Likewise, you can specify @samp{set width 0} to prevent @value{GDBN}
21338 from wrapping its output.
21339
21340 @item set pagination on
21341 @itemx set pagination off
21342 @kindex set pagination
21343 Turn the output pagination on or off; the default is on. Turning
21344 pagination off is the alternative to @code{set height 0}. Note that
21345 running @value{GDBN} with the @option{--batch} option (@pxref{Mode
21346 Options, -batch}) also automatically disables pagination.
21347
21348 @item show pagination
21349 @kindex show pagination
21350 Show the current pagination mode.
21351 @end table
21352
21353 @node Numbers
21354 @section Numbers
21355 @cindex number representation
21356 @cindex entering numbers
21357
21358 You can always enter numbers in octal, decimal, or hexadecimal in
21359 @value{GDBN} by the usual conventions: octal numbers begin with
21360 @samp{0}, decimal numbers end with @samp{.}, and hexadecimal numbers
21361 begin with @samp{0x}. Numbers that neither begin with @samp{0} or
21362 @samp{0x}, nor end with a @samp{.} are, by default, entered in base
21363 10; likewise, the default display for numbers---when no particular
21364 format is specified---is base 10. You can change the default base for
21365 both input and output with the commands described below.
21366
21367 @table @code
21368 @kindex set input-radix
21369 @item set input-radix @var{base}
21370 Set the default base for numeric input. Supported choices
21371 for @var{base} are decimal 8, 10, or 16. @var{base} must itself be
21372 specified either unambiguously or using the current input radix; for
21373 example, any of
21374
21375 @smallexample
21376 set input-radix 012
21377 set input-radix 10.
21378 set input-radix 0xa
21379 @end smallexample
21380
21381 @noindent
21382 sets the input base to decimal. On the other hand, @samp{set input-radix 10}
21383 leaves the input radix unchanged, no matter what it was, since
21384 @samp{10}, being without any leading or trailing signs of its base, is
21385 interpreted in the current radix. Thus, if the current radix is 16,
21386 @samp{10} is interpreted in hex, i.e.@: as 16 decimal, which doesn't
21387 change the radix.
21388
21389 @kindex set output-radix
21390 @item set output-radix @var{base}
21391 Set the default base for numeric display. Supported choices
21392 for @var{base} are decimal 8, 10, or 16. @var{base} must itself be
21393 specified either unambiguously or using the current input radix.
21394
21395 @kindex show input-radix
21396 @item show input-radix
21397 Display the current default base for numeric input.
21398
21399 @kindex show output-radix
21400 @item show output-radix
21401 Display the current default base for numeric display.
21402
21403 @item set radix @r{[}@var{base}@r{]}
21404 @itemx show radix
21405 @kindex set radix
21406 @kindex show radix
21407 These commands set and show the default base for both input and output
21408 of numbers. @code{set radix} sets the radix of input and output to
21409 the same base; without an argument, it resets the radix back to its
21410 default value of 10.
21411
21412 @end table
21413
21414 @node ABI
21415 @section Configuring the Current ABI
21416
21417 @value{GDBN} can determine the @dfn{ABI} (Application Binary Interface) of your
21418 application automatically. However, sometimes you need to override its
21419 conclusions. Use these commands to manage @value{GDBN}'s view of the
21420 current ABI.
21421
21422 @cindex OS ABI
21423 @kindex set osabi
21424 @kindex show osabi
21425 @cindex Newlib OS ABI and its influence on the longjmp handling
21426
21427 One @value{GDBN} configuration can debug binaries for multiple operating
21428 system targets, either via remote debugging or native emulation.
21429 @value{GDBN} will autodetect the @dfn{OS ABI} (Operating System ABI) in use,
21430 but you can override its conclusion using the @code{set osabi} command.
21431 One example where this is useful is in debugging of binaries which use
21432 an alternate C library (e.g.@: @sc{uClibc} for @sc{gnu}/Linux) which does
21433 not have the same identifying marks that the standard C library for your
21434 platform provides.
21435
21436 When @value{GDBN} is debugging the AArch64 architecture, it provides a
21437 ``Newlib'' OS ABI. This is useful for handling @code{setjmp} and
21438 @code{longjmp} when debugging binaries that use the @sc{newlib} C library.
21439 The ``Newlib'' OS ABI can be selected by @code{set osabi Newlib}.
21440
21441 @table @code
21442 @item show osabi
21443 Show the OS ABI currently in use.
21444
21445 @item set osabi
21446 With no argument, show the list of registered available OS ABI's.
21447
21448 @item set osabi @var{abi}
21449 Set the current OS ABI to @var{abi}.
21450 @end table
21451
21452 @cindex float promotion
21453
21454 Generally, the way that an argument of type @code{float} is passed to a
21455 function depends on whether the function is prototyped. For a prototyped
21456 (i.e.@: ANSI/ISO style) function, @code{float} arguments are passed unchanged,
21457 according to the architecture's convention for @code{float}. For unprototyped
21458 (i.e.@: K&R style) functions, @code{float} arguments are first promoted to type
21459 @code{double} and then passed.
21460
21461 Unfortunately, some forms of debug information do not reliably indicate whether
21462 a function is prototyped. If @value{GDBN} calls a function that is not marked
21463 as prototyped, it consults @kbd{set coerce-float-to-double}.
21464
21465 @table @code
21466 @kindex set coerce-float-to-double
21467 @item set coerce-float-to-double
21468 @itemx set coerce-float-to-double on
21469 Arguments of type @code{float} will be promoted to @code{double} when passed
21470 to an unprototyped function. This is the default setting.
21471
21472 @item set coerce-float-to-double off
21473 Arguments of type @code{float} will be passed directly to unprototyped
21474 functions.
21475
21476 @kindex show coerce-float-to-double
21477 @item show coerce-float-to-double
21478 Show the current setting of promoting @code{float} to @code{double}.
21479 @end table
21480
21481 @kindex set cp-abi
21482 @kindex show cp-abi
21483 @value{GDBN} needs to know the ABI used for your program's C@t{++}
21484 objects. The correct C@t{++} ABI depends on which C@t{++} compiler was
21485 used to build your application. @value{GDBN} only fully supports
21486 programs with a single C@t{++} ABI; if your program contains code using
21487 multiple C@t{++} ABI's or if @value{GDBN} can not identify your
21488 program's ABI correctly, you can tell @value{GDBN} which ABI to use.
21489 Currently supported ABI's include ``gnu-v2'', for @code{g++} versions
21490 before 3.0, ``gnu-v3'', for @code{g++} versions 3.0 and later, and
21491 ``hpaCC'' for the HP ANSI C@t{++} compiler. Other C@t{++} compilers may
21492 use the ``gnu-v2'' or ``gnu-v3'' ABI's as well. The default setting is
21493 ``auto''.
21494
21495 @table @code
21496 @item show cp-abi
21497 Show the C@t{++} ABI currently in use.
21498
21499 @item set cp-abi
21500 With no argument, show the list of supported C@t{++} ABI's.
21501
21502 @item set cp-abi @var{abi}
21503 @itemx set cp-abi auto
21504 Set the current C@t{++} ABI to @var{abi}, or return to automatic detection.
21505 @end table
21506
21507 @node Auto-loading
21508 @section Automatically loading associated files
21509 @cindex auto-loading
21510
21511 @value{GDBN} sometimes reads files with commands and settings automatically,
21512 without being explicitly told so by the user. We call this feature
21513 @dfn{auto-loading}. While auto-loading is useful for automatically adapting
21514 @value{GDBN} to the needs of your project, it can sometimes produce unexpected
21515 results or introduce security risks (e.g., if the file comes from untrusted
21516 sources).
21517
21518 Note that loading of these associated files (including the local @file{.gdbinit}
21519 file) requires accordingly configured @code{auto-load safe-path}
21520 (@pxref{Auto-loading safe path}).
21521
21522 For these reasons, @value{GDBN} includes commands and options to let you
21523 control when to auto-load files and which files should be auto-loaded.
21524
21525 @table @code
21526 @anchor{set auto-load off}
21527 @kindex set auto-load off
21528 @item set auto-load off
21529 Globally disable loading of all auto-loaded files.
21530 You may want to use this command with the @samp{-iex} option
21531 (@pxref{Option -init-eval-command}) such as:
21532 @smallexample
21533 $ @kbd{gdb -iex "set auto-load off" untrusted-executable corefile}
21534 @end smallexample
21535
21536 Be aware that system init file (@pxref{System-wide configuration})
21537 and init files from your home directory (@pxref{Home Directory Init File})
21538 still get read (as they come from generally trusted directories).
21539 To prevent @value{GDBN} from auto-loading even those init files, use the
21540 @option{-nx} option (@pxref{Mode Options}), in addition to
21541 @code{set auto-load no}.
21542
21543 @anchor{show auto-load}
21544 @kindex show auto-load
21545 @item show auto-load
21546 Show whether auto-loading of each specific @samp{auto-load} file(s) is enabled
21547 or disabled.
21548
21549 @smallexample
21550 (gdb) show auto-load
21551 gdb-scripts: Auto-loading of canned sequences of commands scripts is on.
21552 libthread-db: Auto-loading of inferior specific libthread_db is on.
21553 local-gdbinit: Auto-loading of .gdbinit script from current directory
21554 is on.
21555 python-scripts: Auto-loading of Python scripts is on.
21556 safe-path: List of directories from which it is safe to auto-load files
21557 is $debugdir:$datadir/auto-load.
21558 scripts-directory: List of directories from which to load auto-loaded scripts
21559 is $debugdir:$datadir/auto-load.
21560 @end smallexample
21561
21562 @anchor{info auto-load}
21563 @kindex info auto-load
21564 @item info auto-load
21565 Print whether each specific @samp{auto-load} file(s) have been auto-loaded or
21566 not.
21567
21568 @smallexample
21569 (gdb) info auto-load
21570 gdb-scripts:
21571 Loaded Script
21572 Yes /home/user/gdb/gdb-gdb.gdb
21573 libthread-db: No auto-loaded libthread-db.
21574 local-gdbinit: Local .gdbinit file "/home/user/gdb/.gdbinit" has been
21575 loaded.
21576 python-scripts:
21577 Loaded Script
21578 Yes /home/user/gdb/gdb-gdb.py
21579 @end smallexample
21580 @end table
21581
21582 These are various kinds of files @value{GDBN} can automatically load:
21583
21584 @itemize @bullet
21585 @item
21586 @xref{objfile-gdb.py file}, controlled by @ref{set auto-load python-scripts}.
21587 @item
21588 @xref{objfile-gdb.gdb file}, controlled by @ref{set auto-load gdb-scripts}.
21589 @item
21590 @xref{dotdebug_gdb_scripts section},
21591 controlled by @ref{set auto-load python-scripts}.
21592 @item
21593 @xref{Init File in the Current Directory},
21594 controlled by @ref{set auto-load local-gdbinit}.
21595 @item
21596 @xref{libthread_db.so.1 file}, controlled by @ref{set auto-load libthread-db}.
21597 @end itemize
21598
21599 These are @value{GDBN} control commands for the auto-loading:
21600
21601 @multitable @columnfractions .5 .5
21602 @item @xref{set auto-load off}.
21603 @tab Disable auto-loading globally.
21604 @item @xref{show auto-load}.
21605 @tab Show setting of all kinds of files.
21606 @item @xref{info auto-load}.
21607 @tab Show state of all kinds of files.
21608 @item @xref{set auto-load gdb-scripts}.
21609 @tab Control for @value{GDBN} command scripts.
21610 @item @xref{show auto-load gdb-scripts}.
21611 @tab Show setting of @value{GDBN} command scripts.
21612 @item @xref{info auto-load gdb-scripts}.
21613 @tab Show state of @value{GDBN} command scripts.
21614 @item @xref{set auto-load python-scripts}.
21615 @tab Control for @value{GDBN} Python scripts.
21616 @item @xref{show auto-load python-scripts}.
21617 @tab Show setting of @value{GDBN} Python scripts.
21618 @item @xref{info auto-load python-scripts}.
21619 @tab Show state of @value{GDBN} Python scripts.
21620 @item @xref{set auto-load scripts-directory}.
21621 @tab Control for @value{GDBN} auto-loaded scripts location.
21622 @item @xref{show auto-load scripts-directory}.
21623 @tab Show @value{GDBN} auto-loaded scripts location.
21624 @item @xref{set auto-load local-gdbinit}.
21625 @tab Control for init file in the current directory.
21626 @item @xref{show auto-load local-gdbinit}.
21627 @tab Show setting of init file in the current directory.
21628 @item @xref{info auto-load local-gdbinit}.
21629 @tab Show state of init file in the current directory.
21630 @item @xref{set auto-load libthread-db}.
21631 @tab Control for thread debugging library.
21632 @item @xref{show auto-load libthread-db}.
21633 @tab Show setting of thread debugging library.
21634 @item @xref{info auto-load libthread-db}.
21635 @tab Show state of thread debugging library.
21636 @item @xref{set auto-load safe-path}.
21637 @tab Control directories trusted for automatic loading.
21638 @item @xref{show auto-load safe-path}.
21639 @tab Show directories trusted for automatic loading.
21640 @item @xref{add-auto-load-safe-path}.
21641 @tab Add directory trusted for automatic loading.
21642 @end multitable
21643
21644 @menu
21645 * Init File in the Current Directory:: @samp{set/show/info auto-load local-gdbinit}
21646 * libthread_db.so.1 file:: @samp{set/show/info auto-load libthread-db}
21647 * objfile-gdb.gdb file:: @samp{set/show/info auto-load gdb-script}
21648 * Auto-loading safe path:: @samp{set/show/info auto-load safe-path}
21649 * Auto-loading verbose mode:: @samp{set/show debug auto-load}
21650 @xref{Python Auto-loading}.
21651 @end menu
21652
21653 @node Init File in the Current Directory
21654 @subsection Automatically loading init file in the current directory
21655 @cindex auto-loading init file in the current directory
21656
21657 By default, @value{GDBN} reads and executes the canned sequences of commands
21658 from init file (if any) in the current working directory,
21659 see @ref{Init File in the Current Directory during Startup}.
21660
21661 Note that loading of this local @file{.gdbinit} file also requires accordingly
21662 configured @code{auto-load safe-path} (@pxref{Auto-loading safe path}).
21663
21664 @table @code
21665 @anchor{set auto-load local-gdbinit}
21666 @kindex set auto-load local-gdbinit
21667 @item set auto-load local-gdbinit [on|off]
21668 Enable or disable the auto-loading of canned sequences of commands
21669 (@pxref{Sequences}) found in init file in the current directory.
21670
21671 @anchor{show auto-load local-gdbinit}
21672 @kindex show auto-load local-gdbinit
21673 @item show auto-load local-gdbinit
21674 Show whether auto-loading of canned sequences of commands from init file in the
21675 current directory is enabled or disabled.
21676
21677 @anchor{info auto-load local-gdbinit}
21678 @kindex info auto-load local-gdbinit
21679 @item info auto-load local-gdbinit
21680 Print whether canned sequences of commands from init file in the
21681 current directory have been auto-loaded.
21682 @end table
21683
21684 @node libthread_db.so.1 file
21685 @subsection Automatically loading thread debugging library
21686 @cindex auto-loading libthread_db.so.1
21687
21688 This feature is currently present only on @sc{gnu}/Linux native hosts.
21689
21690 @value{GDBN} reads in some cases thread debugging library from places specific
21691 to the inferior (@pxref{set libthread-db-search-path}).
21692
21693 The special @samp{libthread-db-search-path} entry @samp{$sdir} is processed
21694 without checking this @samp{set auto-load libthread-db} switch as system
21695 libraries have to be trusted in general. In all other cases of
21696 @samp{libthread-db-search-path} entries @value{GDBN} checks first if @samp{set
21697 auto-load libthread-db} is enabled before trying to open such thread debugging
21698 library.
21699
21700 Note that loading of this debugging library also requires accordingly configured
21701 @code{auto-load safe-path} (@pxref{Auto-loading safe path}).
21702
21703 @table @code
21704 @anchor{set auto-load libthread-db}
21705 @kindex set auto-load libthread-db
21706 @item set auto-load libthread-db [on|off]
21707 Enable or disable the auto-loading of inferior specific thread debugging library.
21708
21709 @anchor{show auto-load libthread-db}
21710 @kindex show auto-load libthread-db
21711 @item show auto-load libthread-db
21712 Show whether auto-loading of inferior specific thread debugging library is
21713 enabled or disabled.
21714
21715 @anchor{info auto-load libthread-db}
21716 @kindex info auto-load libthread-db
21717 @item info auto-load libthread-db
21718 Print the list of all loaded inferior specific thread debugging libraries and
21719 for each such library print list of inferior @var{pid}s using it.
21720 @end table
21721
21722 @node objfile-gdb.gdb file
21723 @subsection The @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.gdb} file
21724 @cindex auto-loading @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.gdb}
21725
21726 @value{GDBN} tries to load an @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.gdb} file containing
21727 canned sequences of commands (@pxref{Sequences}), as long as @samp{set
21728 auto-load gdb-scripts} is set to @samp{on}.
21729
21730 Note that loading of this script file also requires accordingly configured
21731 @code{auto-load safe-path} (@pxref{Auto-loading safe path}).
21732
21733 For more background refer to the similar Python scripts auto-loading
21734 description (@pxref{objfile-gdb.py file}).
21735
21736 @table @code
21737 @anchor{set auto-load gdb-scripts}
21738 @kindex set auto-load gdb-scripts
21739 @item set auto-load gdb-scripts [on|off]
21740 Enable or disable the auto-loading of canned sequences of commands scripts.
21741
21742 @anchor{show auto-load gdb-scripts}
21743 @kindex show auto-load gdb-scripts
21744 @item show auto-load gdb-scripts
21745 Show whether auto-loading of canned sequences of commands scripts is enabled or
21746 disabled.
21747
21748 @anchor{info auto-load gdb-scripts}
21749 @kindex info auto-load gdb-scripts
21750 @cindex print list of auto-loaded canned sequences of commands scripts
21751 @item info auto-load gdb-scripts [@var{regexp}]
21752 Print the list of all canned sequences of commands scripts that @value{GDBN}
21753 auto-loaded.
21754 @end table
21755
21756 If @var{regexp} is supplied only canned sequences of commands scripts with
21757 matching names are printed.
21758
21759 @node Auto-loading safe path
21760 @subsection Security restriction for auto-loading
21761 @cindex auto-loading safe-path
21762
21763 As the files of inferior can come from untrusted source (such as submitted by
21764 an application user) @value{GDBN} does not always load any files automatically.
21765 @value{GDBN} provides the @samp{set auto-load safe-path} setting to list
21766 directories trusted for loading files not explicitly requested by user.
21767 Each directory can also be a shell wildcard pattern.
21768
21769 If the path is not set properly you will see a warning and the file will not
21770 get loaded:
21771
21772 @smallexample
21773 $ ./gdb -q ./gdb
21774 Reading symbols from /home/user/gdb/gdb...done.
21775 warning: File "/home/user/gdb/gdb-gdb.gdb" auto-loading has been
21776 declined by your `auto-load safe-path' set
21777 to "$debugdir:$datadir/auto-load".
21778 warning: File "/home/user/gdb/gdb-gdb.py" auto-loading has been
21779 declined by your `auto-load safe-path' set
21780 to "$debugdir:$datadir/auto-load".
21781 @end smallexample
21782
21783 The list of trusted directories is controlled by the following commands:
21784
21785 @table @code
21786 @anchor{set auto-load safe-path}
21787 @kindex set auto-load safe-path
21788 @item set auto-load safe-path @r{[}@var{directories}@r{]}
21789 Set the list of directories (and their subdirectories) trusted for automatic
21790 loading and execution of scripts. You can also enter a specific trusted file.
21791 Each directory can also be a shell wildcard pattern; wildcards do not match
21792 directory separator - see @code{FNM_PATHNAME} for system function @code{fnmatch}
21793 (@pxref{Wildcard Matching, fnmatch, , libc, GNU C Library Reference Manual}).
21794 If you omit @var{directories}, @samp{auto-load safe-path} will be reset to
21795 its default value as specified during @value{GDBN} compilation.
21796
21797 The list of directories uses path separator (@samp{:} on GNU and Unix
21798 systems, @samp{;} on MS-Windows and MS-DOS) to separate directories, similarly
21799 to the @env{PATH} environment variable.
21800
21801 @anchor{show auto-load safe-path}
21802 @kindex show auto-load safe-path
21803 @item show auto-load safe-path
21804 Show the list of directories trusted for automatic loading and execution of
21805 scripts.
21806
21807 @anchor{add-auto-load-safe-path}
21808 @kindex add-auto-load-safe-path
21809 @item add-auto-load-safe-path
21810 Add an entry (or list of entries) the list of directories trusted for automatic
21811 loading and execution of scripts. Multiple entries may be delimited by the
21812 host platform path separator in use.
21813 @end table
21814
21815 This variable defaults to what @code{--with-auto-load-dir} has been configured
21816 to (@pxref{with-auto-load-dir}). @file{$debugdir} and @file{$datadir}
21817 substitution applies the same as for @ref{set auto-load scripts-directory}.
21818 The default @code{set auto-load safe-path} value can be also overriden by
21819 @value{GDBN} configuration option @option{--with-auto-load-safe-path}.
21820
21821 Setting this variable to @file{/} disables this security protection,
21822 corresponding @value{GDBN} configuration option is
21823 @option{--without-auto-load-safe-path}.
21824 This variable is supposed to be set to the system directories writable by the
21825 system superuser only. Users can add their source directories in init files in
21826 their home directories (@pxref{Home Directory Init File}). See also deprecated
21827 init file in the current directory
21828 (@pxref{Init File in the Current Directory during Startup}).
21829
21830 To force @value{GDBN} to load the files it declined to load in the previous
21831 example, you could use one of the following ways:
21832
21833 @table @asis
21834 @item @file{~/.gdbinit}: @samp{add-auto-load-safe-path ~/src/gdb}
21835 Specify this trusted directory (or a file) as additional component of the list.
21836 You have to specify also any existing directories displayed by
21837 by @samp{show auto-load safe-path} (such as @samp{/usr:/bin} in this example).
21838
21839 @item @kbd{gdb -iex "set auto-load safe-path /usr:/bin:~/src/gdb" @dots{}}
21840 Specify this directory as in the previous case but just for a single
21841 @value{GDBN} session.
21842
21843 @item @kbd{gdb -iex "set auto-load safe-path /" @dots{}}
21844 Disable auto-loading safety for a single @value{GDBN} session.
21845 This assumes all the files you debug during this @value{GDBN} session will come
21846 from trusted sources.
21847
21848 @item @kbd{./configure --without-auto-load-safe-path}
21849 During compilation of @value{GDBN} you may disable any auto-loading safety.
21850 This assumes all the files you will ever debug with this @value{GDBN} come from
21851 trusted sources.
21852 @end table
21853
21854 On the other hand you can also explicitly forbid automatic files loading which
21855 also suppresses any such warning messages:
21856
21857 @table @asis
21858 @item @kbd{gdb -iex "set auto-load no" @dots{}}
21859 You can use @value{GDBN} command-line option for a single @value{GDBN} session.
21860
21861 @item @file{~/.gdbinit}: @samp{set auto-load no}
21862 Disable auto-loading globally for the user
21863 (@pxref{Home Directory Init File}). While it is improbable, you could also
21864 use system init file instead (@pxref{System-wide configuration}).
21865 @end table
21866
21867 This setting applies to the file names as entered by user. If no entry matches
21868 @value{GDBN} tries as a last resort to also resolve all the file names into
21869 their canonical form (typically resolving symbolic links) and compare the
21870 entries again. @value{GDBN} already canonicalizes most of the filenames on its
21871 own before starting the comparison so a canonical form of directories is
21872 recommended to be entered.
21873
21874 @node Auto-loading verbose mode
21875 @subsection Displaying files tried for auto-load
21876 @cindex auto-loading verbose mode
21877
21878 For better visibility of all the file locations where you can place scripts to
21879 be auto-loaded with inferior --- or to protect yourself against accidental
21880 execution of untrusted scripts --- @value{GDBN} provides a feature for printing
21881 all the files attempted to be loaded. Both existing and non-existing files may
21882 be printed.
21883
21884 For example the list of directories from which it is safe to auto-load files
21885 (@pxref{Auto-loading safe path}) applies also to canonicalized filenames which
21886 may not be too obvious while setting it up.
21887
21888 @smallexample
21889 (gdb) set debug auto-load on
21890 (gdb) file ~/src/t/true
21891 auto-load: Loading canned sequences of commands script "/tmp/true-gdb.gdb"
21892 for objfile "/tmp/true".
21893 auto-load: Updating directories of "/usr:/opt".
21894 auto-load: Using directory "/usr".
21895 auto-load: Using directory "/opt".
21896 warning: File "/tmp/true-gdb.gdb" auto-loading has been declined
21897 by your `auto-load safe-path' set to "/usr:/opt".
21898 @end smallexample
21899
21900 @table @code
21901 @anchor{set debug auto-load}
21902 @kindex set debug auto-load
21903 @item set debug auto-load [on|off]
21904 Set whether to print the filenames attempted to be auto-loaded.
21905
21906 @anchor{show debug auto-load}
21907 @kindex show debug auto-load
21908 @item show debug auto-load
21909 Show whether printing of the filenames attempted to be auto-loaded is turned
21910 on or off.
21911 @end table
21912
21913 @node Messages/Warnings
21914 @section Optional Warnings and Messages
21915
21916 @cindex verbose operation
21917 @cindex optional warnings
21918 By default, @value{GDBN} is silent about its inner workings. If you are
21919 running on a slow machine, you may want to use the @code{set verbose}
21920 command. This makes @value{GDBN} tell you when it does a lengthy
21921 internal operation, so you will not think it has crashed.
21922
21923 Currently, the messages controlled by @code{set verbose} are those
21924 which announce that the symbol table for a source file is being read;
21925 see @code{symbol-file} in @ref{Files, ,Commands to Specify Files}.
21926
21927 @table @code
21928 @kindex set verbose
21929 @item set verbose on
21930 Enables @value{GDBN} output of certain informational messages.
21931
21932 @item set verbose off
21933 Disables @value{GDBN} output of certain informational messages.
21934
21935 @kindex show verbose
21936 @item show verbose
21937 Displays whether @code{set verbose} is on or off.
21938 @end table
21939
21940 By default, if @value{GDBN} encounters bugs in the symbol table of an
21941 object file, it is silent; but if you are debugging a compiler, you may
21942 find this information useful (@pxref{Symbol Errors, ,Errors Reading
21943 Symbol Files}).
21944
21945 @table @code
21946
21947 @kindex set complaints
21948 @item set complaints @var{limit}
21949 Permits @value{GDBN} to output @var{limit} complaints about each type of
21950 unusual symbols before becoming silent about the problem. Set
21951 @var{limit} to zero to suppress all complaints; set it to a large number
21952 to prevent complaints from being suppressed.
21953
21954 @kindex show complaints
21955 @item show complaints
21956 Displays how many symbol complaints @value{GDBN} is permitted to produce.
21957
21958 @end table
21959
21960 @anchor{confirmation requests}
21961 By default, @value{GDBN} is cautious, and asks what sometimes seems to be a
21962 lot of stupid questions to confirm certain commands. For example, if
21963 you try to run a program which is already running:
21964
21965 @smallexample
21966 (@value{GDBP}) run
21967 The program being debugged has been started already.
21968 Start it from the beginning? (y or n)
21969 @end smallexample
21970
21971 If you are willing to unflinchingly face the consequences of your own
21972 commands, you can disable this ``feature'':
21973
21974 @table @code
21975
21976 @kindex set confirm
21977 @cindex flinching
21978 @cindex confirmation
21979 @cindex stupid questions
21980 @item set confirm off
21981 Disables confirmation requests. Note that running @value{GDBN} with
21982 the @option{--batch} option (@pxref{Mode Options, -batch}) also
21983 automatically disables confirmation requests.
21984
21985 @item set confirm on
21986 Enables confirmation requests (the default).
21987
21988 @kindex show confirm
21989 @item show confirm
21990 Displays state of confirmation requests.
21991
21992 @end table
21993
21994 @cindex command tracing
21995 If you need to debug user-defined commands or sourced files you may find it
21996 useful to enable @dfn{command tracing}. In this mode each command will be
21997 printed as it is executed, prefixed with one or more @samp{+} symbols, the
21998 quantity denoting the call depth of each command.
21999
22000 @table @code
22001 @kindex set trace-commands
22002 @cindex command scripts, debugging
22003 @item set trace-commands on
22004 Enable command tracing.
22005 @item set trace-commands off
22006 Disable command tracing.
22007 @item show trace-commands
22008 Display the current state of command tracing.
22009 @end table
22010
22011 @node Debugging Output
22012 @section Optional Messages about Internal Happenings
22013 @cindex optional debugging messages
22014
22015 @value{GDBN} has commands that enable optional debugging messages from
22016 various @value{GDBN} subsystems; normally these commands are of
22017 interest to @value{GDBN} maintainers, or when reporting a bug. This
22018 section documents those commands.
22019
22020 @table @code
22021 @kindex set exec-done-display
22022 @item set exec-done-display
22023 Turns on or off the notification of asynchronous commands'
22024 completion. When on, @value{GDBN} will print a message when an
22025 asynchronous command finishes its execution. The default is off.
22026 @kindex show exec-done-display
22027 @item show exec-done-display
22028 Displays the current setting of asynchronous command completion
22029 notification.
22030 @kindex set debug
22031 @cindex ARM AArch64
22032 @item set debug aarch64
22033 Turns on or off display of debugging messages related to ARM AArch64.
22034 The default is off.
22035 @kindex show debug
22036 @item show debug aarch64
22037 Displays the current state of displaying debugging messages related to
22038 ARM AArch64.
22039 @cindex gdbarch debugging info
22040 @cindex architecture debugging info
22041 @item set debug arch
22042 Turns on or off display of gdbarch debugging info. The default is off
22043 @item show debug arch
22044 Displays the current state of displaying gdbarch debugging info.
22045 @item set debug aix-thread
22046 @cindex AIX threads
22047 Display debugging messages about inner workings of the AIX thread
22048 module.
22049 @item show debug aix-thread
22050 Show the current state of AIX thread debugging info display.
22051 @item set debug check-physname
22052 @cindex physname
22053 Check the results of the ``physname'' computation. When reading DWARF
22054 debugging information for C@t{++}, @value{GDBN} attempts to compute
22055 each entity's name. @value{GDBN} can do this computation in two
22056 different ways, depending on exactly what information is present.
22057 When enabled, this setting causes @value{GDBN} to compute the names
22058 both ways and display any discrepancies.
22059 @item show debug check-physname
22060 Show the current state of ``physname'' checking.
22061 @item set debug coff-pe-read
22062 @cindex COFF/PE exported symbols
22063 Control display of debugging messages related to reading of COFF/PE
22064 exported symbols. The default is off.
22065 @item show debug coff-pe-read
22066 Displays the current state of displaying debugging messages related to
22067 reading of COFF/PE exported symbols.
22068 @item set debug dwarf2-die
22069 @cindex DWARF2 DIEs
22070 Dump DWARF2 DIEs after they are read in.
22071 The value is the number of nesting levels to print.
22072 A value of zero turns off the display.
22073 @item show debug dwarf2-die
22074 Show the current state of DWARF2 DIE debugging.
22075 @item set debug dwarf2-read
22076 @cindex DWARF2 Reading
22077 Turns on or off display of debugging messages related to reading
22078 DWARF debug info. The default is off.
22079 @item show debug dwarf2-read
22080 Show the current state of DWARF2 reader debugging.
22081 @item set debug displaced
22082 @cindex displaced stepping debugging info
22083 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} debugging info for the
22084 displaced stepping support. The default is off.
22085 @item show debug displaced
22086 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} debugging info
22087 related to displaced stepping.
22088 @item set debug event
22089 @cindex event debugging info
22090 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} event debugging info. The
22091 default is off.
22092 @item show debug event
22093 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} event debugging
22094 info.
22095 @item set debug expression
22096 @cindex expression debugging info
22097 Turns on or off display of debugging info about @value{GDBN}
22098 expression parsing. The default is off.
22099 @item show debug expression
22100 Displays the current state of displaying debugging info about
22101 @value{GDBN} expression parsing.
22102 @item set debug frame
22103 @cindex frame debugging info
22104 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} frame debugging info. The
22105 default is off.
22106 @item show debug frame
22107 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} frame debugging
22108 info.
22109 @item set debug gnu-nat
22110 @cindex @sc{gnu}/Hurd debug messages
22111 Turns on or off debugging messages from the @sc{gnu}/Hurd debug support.
22112 @item show debug gnu-nat
22113 Show the current state of @sc{gnu}/Hurd debugging messages.
22114 @item set debug infrun
22115 @cindex inferior debugging info
22116 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} debugging info for running the inferior.
22117 The default is off. @file{infrun.c} contains GDB's runtime state machine used
22118 for implementing operations such as single-stepping the inferior.
22119 @item show debug infrun
22120 Displays the current state of @value{GDBN} inferior debugging.
22121 @item set debug jit
22122 @cindex just-in-time compilation, debugging messages
22123 Turns on or off debugging messages from JIT debug support.
22124 @item show debug jit
22125 Displays the current state of @value{GDBN} JIT debugging.
22126 @item set debug lin-lwp
22127 @cindex @sc{gnu}/Linux LWP debug messages
22128 @cindex Linux lightweight processes
22129 Turns on or off debugging messages from the Linux LWP debug support.
22130 @item show debug lin-lwp
22131 Show the current state of Linux LWP debugging messages.
22132 @item set debug mach-o
22133 @cindex Mach-O symbols processing
22134 Control display of debugging messages related to Mach-O symbols
22135 processing. The default is off.
22136 @item show debug mach-o
22137 Displays the current state of displaying debugging messages related to
22138 reading of COFF/PE exported symbols.
22139 @item set debug notification
22140 @cindex remote async notification debugging info
22141 Turns on or off debugging messages about remote async notification.
22142 The default is off.
22143 @item show debug notification
22144 Displays the current state of remote async notification debugging messages.
22145 @item set debug observer
22146 @cindex observer debugging info
22147 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} observer debugging. This
22148 includes info such as the notification of observable events.
22149 @item show debug observer
22150 Displays the current state of observer debugging.
22151 @item set debug overload
22152 @cindex C@t{++} overload debugging info
22153 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} C@t{++} overload debugging
22154 info. This includes info such as ranking of functions, etc. The default
22155 is off.
22156 @item show debug overload
22157 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} C@t{++} overload
22158 debugging info.
22159 @cindex expression parser, debugging info
22160 @cindex debug expression parser
22161 @item set debug parser
22162 Turns on or off the display of expression parser debugging output.
22163 Internally, this sets the @code{yydebug} variable in the expression
22164 parser. @xref{Tracing, , Tracing Your Parser, bison, Bison}, for
22165 details. The default is off.
22166 @item show debug parser
22167 Show the current state of expression parser debugging.
22168 @cindex packets, reporting on stdout
22169 @cindex serial connections, debugging
22170 @cindex debug remote protocol
22171 @cindex remote protocol debugging
22172 @cindex display remote packets
22173 @item set debug remote
22174 Turns on or off display of reports on all packets sent back and forth across
22175 the serial line to the remote machine. The info is printed on the
22176 @value{GDBN} standard output stream. The default is off.
22177 @item show debug remote
22178 Displays the state of display of remote packets.
22179 @item set debug serial
22180 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} serial debugging info. The
22181 default is off.
22182 @item show debug serial
22183 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} serial debugging
22184 info.
22185 @item set debug solib-frv
22186 @cindex FR-V shared-library debugging
22187 Turns on or off debugging messages for FR-V shared-library code.
22188 @item show debug solib-frv
22189 Display the current state of FR-V shared-library code debugging
22190 messages.
22191 @item set debug symtab-create
22192 @cindex symbol table creation
22193 Turns on or off display of debugging messages related to symbol table creation.
22194 The default is off.
22195 @item show debug symtab-create
22196 Show the current state of symbol table creation debugging.
22197 @item set debug target
22198 @cindex target debugging info
22199 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} target debugging info. This info
22200 includes what is going on at the target level of GDB, as it happens. The
22201 default is 0. Set it to 1 to track events, and to 2 to also track the
22202 value of large memory transfers. Changes to this flag do not take effect
22203 until the next time you connect to a target or use the @code{run} command.
22204 @item show debug target
22205 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} target debugging
22206 info.
22207 @item set debug timestamp
22208 @cindex timestampping debugging info
22209 Turns on or off display of timestamps with @value{GDBN} debugging info.
22210 When enabled, seconds and microseconds are displayed before each debugging
22211 message.
22212 @item show debug timestamp
22213 Displays the current state of displaying timestamps with @value{GDBN}
22214 debugging info.
22215 @item set debugvarobj
22216 @cindex variable object debugging info
22217 Turns on or off display of @value{GDBN} variable object debugging
22218 info. The default is off.
22219 @item show debugvarobj
22220 Displays the current state of displaying @value{GDBN} variable object
22221 debugging info.
22222 @item set debug xml
22223 @cindex XML parser debugging
22224 Turns on or off debugging messages for built-in XML parsers.
22225 @item show debug xml
22226 Displays the current state of XML debugging messages.
22227 @end table
22228
22229 @node Other Misc Settings
22230 @section Other Miscellaneous Settings
22231 @cindex miscellaneous settings
22232
22233 @table @code
22234 @kindex set interactive-mode
22235 @item set interactive-mode
22236 If @code{on}, forces @value{GDBN} to assume that GDB was started
22237 in a terminal. In practice, this means that @value{GDBN} should wait
22238 for the user to answer queries generated by commands entered at
22239 the command prompt. If @code{off}, forces @value{GDBN} to operate
22240 in the opposite mode, and it uses the default answers to all queries.
22241 If @code{auto} (the default), @value{GDBN} tries to determine whether
22242 its standard input is a terminal, and works in interactive-mode if it
22243 is, non-interactively otherwise.
22244
22245 In the vast majority of cases, the debugger should be able to guess
22246 correctly which mode should be used. But this setting can be useful
22247 in certain specific cases, such as running a MinGW @value{GDBN}
22248 inside a cygwin window.
22249
22250 @kindex show interactive-mode
22251 @item show interactive-mode
22252 Displays whether the debugger is operating in interactive mode or not.
22253 @end table
22254
22255 @node Extending GDB
22256 @chapter Extending @value{GDBN}
22257 @cindex extending GDB
22258
22259 @value{GDBN} provides three mechanisms for extension. The first is based
22260 on composition of @value{GDBN} commands, the second is based on the
22261 Python scripting language, and the third is for defining new aliases of
22262 existing commands.
22263
22264 To facilitate the use of the first two extensions, @value{GDBN} is capable
22265 of evaluating the contents of a file. When doing so, @value{GDBN}
22266 can recognize which scripting language is being used by looking at
22267 the filename extension. Files with an unrecognized filename extension
22268 are always treated as a @value{GDBN} Command Files.
22269 @xref{Command Files,, Command files}.
22270
22271 You can control how @value{GDBN} evaluates these files with the following
22272 setting:
22273
22274 @table @code
22275 @kindex set script-extension
22276 @kindex show script-extension
22277 @item set script-extension off
22278 All scripts are always evaluated as @value{GDBN} Command Files.
22279
22280 @item set script-extension soft
22281 The debugger determines the scripting language based on filename
22282 extension. If this scripting language is supported, @value{GDBN}
22283 evaluates the script using that language. Otherwise, it evaluates
22284 the file as a @value{GDBN} Command File.
22285
22286 @item set script-extension strict
22287 The debugger determines the scripting language based on filename
22288 extension, and evaluates the script using that language. If the
22289 language is not supported, then the evaluation fails.
22290
22291 @item show script-extension
22292 Display the current value of the @code{script-extension} option.
22293
22294 @end table
22295
22296 @menu
22297 * Sequences:: Canned Sequences of Commands
22298 * Python:: Scripting @value{GDBN} using Python
22299 * Aliases:: Creating new spellings of existing commands
22300 @end menu
22301
22302 @node Sequences
22303 @section Canned Sequences of Commands
22304
22305 Aside from breakpoint commands (@pxref{Break Commands, ,Breakpoint
22306 Command Lists}), @value{GDBN} provides two ways to store sequences of
22307 commands for execution as a unit: user-defined commands and command
22308 files.
22309
22310 @menu
22311 * Define:: How to define your own commands
22312 * Hooks:: Hooks for user-defined commands
22313 * Command Files:: How to write scripts of commands to be stored in a file
22314 * Output:: Commands for controlled output
22315 @end menu
22316
22317 @node Define
22318 @subsection User-defined Commands
22319
22320 @cindex user-defined command
22321 @cindex arguments, to user-defined commands
22322 A @dfn{user-defined command} is a sequence of @value{GDBN} commands to
22323 which you assign a new name as a command. This is done with the
22324 @code{define} command. User commands may accept up to 10 arguments
22325 separated by whitespace. Arguments are accessed within the user command
22326 via @code{$arg0@dots{}$arg9}. A trivial example:
22327
22328 @smallexample
22329 define adder
22330 print $arg0 + $arg1 + $arg2
22331 end
22332 @end smallexample
22333
22334 @noindent
22335 To execute the command use:
22336
22337 @smallexample
22338 adder 1 2 3
22339 @end smallexample
22340
22341 @noindent
22342 This defines the command @code{adder}, which prints the sum of
22343 its three arguments. Note the arguments are text substitutions, so they may
22344 reference variables, use complex expressions, or even perform inferior
22345 functions calls.
22346
22347 @cindex argument count in user-defined commands
22348 @cindex how many arguments (user-defined commands)
22349 In addition, @code{$argc} may be used to find out how many arguments have
22350 been passed. This expands to a number in the range 0@dots{}10.
22351
22352 @smallexample
22353 define adder
22354 if $argc == 2
22355 print $arg0 + $arg1
22356 end
22357 if $argc == 3
22358 print $arg0 + $arg1 + $arg2
22359 end
22360 end
22361 @end smallexample
22362
22363 @table @code
22364
22365 @kindex define
22366 @item define @var{commandname}
22367 Define a command named @var{commandname}. If there is already a command
22368 by that name, you are asked to confirm that you want to redefine it.
22369 @var{commandname} may be a bare command name consisting of letters,
22370 numbers, dashes, and underscores. It may also start with any predefined
22371 prefix command. For example, @samp{define target my-target} creates
22372 a user-defined @samp{target my-target} command.
22373
22374 The definition of the command is made up of other @value{GDBN} command lines,
22375 which are given following the @code{define} command. The end of these
22376 commands is marked by a line containing @code{end}.
22377
22378 @kindex document
22379 @kindex end@r{ (user-defined commands)}
22380 @item document @var{commandname}
22381 Document the user-defined command @var{commandname}, so that it can be
22382 accessed by @code{help}. The command @var{commandname} must already be
22383 defined. This command reads lines of documentation just as @code{define}
22384 reads the lines of the command definition, ending with @code{end}.
22385 After the @code{document} command is finished, @code{help} on command
22386 @var{commandname} displays the documentation you have written.
22387
22388 You may use the @code{document} command again to change the
22389 documentation of a command. Redefining the command with @code{define}
22390 does not change the documentation.
22391
22392 @kindex dont-repeat
22393 @cindex don't repeat command
22394 @item dont-repeat
22395 Used inside a user-defined command, this tells @value{GDBN} that this
22396 command should not be repeated when the user hits @key{RET}
22397 (@pxref{Command Syntax, repeat last command}).
22398
22399 @kindex help user-defined
22400 @item help user-defined
22401 List all user-defined commands and all python commands defined in class
22402 COMAND_USER. The first line of the documentation or docstring is
22403 included (if any).
22404
22405 @kindex show user
22406 @item show user
22407 @itemx show user @var{commandname}
22408 Display the @value{GDBN} commands used to define @var{commandname} (but
22409 not its documentation). If no @var{commandname} is given, display the
22410 definitions for all user-defined commands.
22411 This does not work for user-defined python commands.
22412
22413 @cindex infinite recursion in user-defined commands
22414 @kindex show max-user-call-depth
22415 @kindex set max-user-call-depth
22416 @item show max-user-call-depth
22417 @itemx set max-user-call-depth
22418 The value of @code{max-user-call-depth} controls how many recursion
22419 levels are allowed in user-defined commands before @value{GDBN} suspects an
22420 infinite recursion and aborts the command.
22421 This does not apply to user-defined python commands.
22422 @end table
22423
22424 In addition to the above commands, user-defined commands frequently
22425 use control flow commands, described in @ref{Command Files}.
22426
22427 When user-defined commands are executed, the
22428 commands of the definition are not printed. An error in any command
22429 stops execution of the user-defined command.
22430
22431 If used interactively, commands that would ask for confirmation proceed
22432 without asking when used inside a user-defined command. Many @value{GDBN}
22433 commands that normally print messages to say what they are doing omit the
22434 messages when used in a user-defined command.
22435
22436 @node Hooks
22437 @subsection User-defined Command Hooks
22438 @cindex command hooks
22439 @cindex hooks, for commands
22440 @cindex hooks, pre-command
22441
22442 @kindex hook
22443 You may define @dfn{hooks}, which are a special kind of user-defined
22444 command. Whenever you run the command @samp{foo}, if the user-defined
22445 command @samp{hook-foo} exists, it is executed (with no arguments)
22446 before that command.
22447
22448 @cindex hooks, post-command
22449 @kindex hookpost
22450 A hook may also be defined which is run after the command you executed.
22451 Whenever you run the command @samp{foo}, if the user-defined command
22452 @samp{hookpost-foo} exists, it is executed (with no arguments) after
22453 that command. Post-execution hooks may exist simultaneously with
22454 pre-execution hooks, for the same command.
22455
22456 It is valid for a hook to call the command which it hooks. If this
22457 occurs, the hook is not re-executed, thereby avoiding infinite recursion.
22458
22459 @c It would be nice if hookpost could be passed a parameter indicating
22460 @c if the command it hooks executed properly or not. FIXME!
22461
22462 @kindex stop@r{, a pseudo-command}
22463 In addition, a pseudo-command, @samp{stop} exists. Defining
22464 (@samp{hook-stop}) makes the associated commands execute every time
22465 execution stops in your program: before breakpoint commands are run,
22466 displays are printed, or the stack frame is printed.
22467
22468 For example, to ignore @code{SIGALRM} signals while
22469 single-stepping, but treat them normally during normal execution,
22470 you could define:
22471
22472 @smallexample
22473 define hook-stop
22474 handle SIGALRM nopass
22475 end
22476
22477 define hook-run
22478 handle SIGALRM pass
22479 end
22480
22481 define hook-continue
22482 handle SIGALRM pass
22483 end
22484 @end smallexample
22485
22486 As a further example, to hook at the beginning and end of the @code{echo}
22487 command, and to add extra text to the beginning and end of the message,
22488 you could define:
22489
22490 @smallexample
22491 define hook-echo
22492 echo <<<---
22493 end
22494
22495 define hookpost-echo
22496 echo --->>>\n
22497 end
22498
22499 (@value{GDBP}) echo Hello World
22500 <<<---Hello World--->>>
22501 (@value{GDBP})
22502
22503 @end smallexample
22504
22505 You can define a hook for any single-word command in @value{GDBN}, but
22506 not for command aliases; you should define a hook for the basic command
22507 name, e.g.@: @code{backtrace} rather than @code{bt}.
22508 @c FIXME! So how does Joe User discover whether a command is an alias
22509 @c or not?
22510 You can hook a multi-word command by adding @code{hook-} or
22511 @code{hookpost-} to the last word of the command, e.g.@:
22512 @samp{define target hook-remote} to add a hook to @samp{target remote}.
22513
22514 If an error occurs during the execution of your hook, execution of
22515 @value{GDBN} commands stops and @value{GDBN} issues a prompt
22516 (before the command that you actually typed had a chance to run).
22517
22518 If you try to define a hook which does not match any known command, you
22519 get a warning from the @code{define} command.
22520
22521 @node Command Files
22522 @subsection Command Files
22523
22524 @cindex command files
22525 @cindex scripting commands
22526 A command file for @value{GDBN} is a text file made of lines that are
22527 @value{GDBN} commands. Comments (lines starting with @kbd{#}) may
22528 also be included. An empty line in a command file does nothing; it
22529 does not mean to repeat the last command, as it would from the
22530 terminal.
22531
22532 You can request the execution of a command file with the @code{source}
22533 command. Note that the @code{source} command is also used to evaluate
22534 scripts that are not Command Files. The exact behavior can be configured
22535 using the @code{script-extension} setting.
22536 @xref{Extending GDB,, Extending GDB}.
22537
22538 @table @code
22539 @kindex source
22540 @cindex execute commands from a file
22541 @item source [-s] [-v] @var{filename}
22542 Execute the command file @var{filename}.
22543 @end table
22544
22545 The lines in a command file are generally executed sequentially,
22546 unless the order of execution is changed by one of the
22547 @emph{flow-control commands} described below. The commands are not
22548 printed as they are executed. An error in any command terminates
22549 execution of the command file and control is returned to the console.
22550
22551 @value{GDBN} first searches for @var{filename} in the current directory.
22552 If the file is not found there, and @var{filename} does not specify a
22553 directory, then @value{GDBN} also looks for the file on the source search path
22554 (specified with the @samp{directory} command);
22555 except that @file{$cdir} is not searched because the compilation directory
22556 is not relevant to scripts.
22557
22558 If @code{-s} is specified, then @value{GDBN} searches for @var{filename}
22559 on the search path even if @var{filename} specifies a directory.
22560 The search is done by appending @var{filename} to each element of the
22561 search path. So, for example, if @var{filename} is @file{mylib/myscript}
22562 and the search path contains @file{/home/user} then @value{GDBN} will
22563 look for the script @file{/home/user/mylib/myscript}.
22564 The search is also done if @var{filename} is an absolute path.
22565 For example, if @var{filename} is @file{/tmp/myscript} and
22566 the search path contains @file{/home/user} then @value{GDBN} will
22567 look for the script @file{/home/user/tmp/myscript}.
22568 For DOS-like systems, if @var{filename} contains a drive specification,
22569 it is stripped before concatenation. For example, if @var{filename} is
22570 @file{d:myscript} and the search path contains @file{c:/tmp} then @value{GDBN}
22571 will look for the script @file{c:/tmp/myscript}.
22572
22573 If @code{-v}, for verbose mode, is given then @value{GDBN} displays
22574 each command as it is executed. The option must be given before
22575 @var{filename}, and is interpreted as part of the filename anywhere else.
22576
22577 Commands that would ask for confirmation if used interactively proceed
22578 without asking when used in a command file. Many @value{GDBN} commands that
22579 normally print messages to say what they are doing omit the messages
22580 when called from command files.
22581
22582 @value{GDBN} also accepts command input from standard input. In this
22583 mode, normal output goes to standard output and error output goes to
22584 standard error. Errors in a command file supplied on standard input do
22585 not terminate execution of the command file---execution continues with
22586 the next command.
22587
22588 @smallexample
22589 gdb < cmds > log 2>&1
22590 @end smallexample
22591
22592 (The syntax above will vary depending on the shell used.) This example
22593 will execute commands from the file @file{cmds}. All output and errors
22594 would be directed to @file{log}.
22595
22596 Since commands stored on command files tend to be more general than
22597 commands typed interactively, they frequently need to deal with
22598 complicated situations, such as different or unexpected values of
22599 variables and symbols, changes in how the program being debugged is
22600 built, etc. @value{GDBN} provides a set of flow-control commands to
22601 deal with these complexities. Using these commands, you can write
22602 complex scripts that loop over data structures, execute commands
22603 conditionally, etc.
22604
22605 @table @code
22606 @kindex if
22607 @kindex else
22608 @item if
22609 @itemx else
22610 This command allows to include in your script conditionally executed
22611 commands. The @code{if} command takes a single argument, which is an
22612 expression to evaluate. It is followed by a series of commands that
22613 are executed only if the expression is true (its value is nonzero).
22614 There can then optionally be an @code{else} line, followed by a series
22615 of commands that are only executed if the expression was false. The
22616 end of the list is marked by a line containing @code{end}.
22617
22618 @kindex while
22619 @item while
22620 This command allows to write loops. Its syntax is similar to
22621 @code{if}: the command takes a single argument, which is an expression
22622 to evaluate, and must be followed by the commands to execute, one per
22623 line, terminated by an @code{end}. These commands are called the
22624 @dfn{body} of the loop. The commands in the body of @code{while} are
22625 executed repeatedly as long as the expression evaluates to true.
22626
22627 @kindex loop_break
22628 @item loop_break
22629 This command exits the @code{while} loop in whose body it is included.
22630 Execution of the script continues after that @code{while}s @code{end}
22631 line.
22632
22633 @kindex loop_continue
22634 @item loop_continue
22635 This command skips the execution of the rest of the body of commands
22636 in the @code{while} loop in whose body it is included. Execution
22637 branches to the beginning of the @code{while} loop, where it evaluates
22638 the controlling expression.
22639
22640 @kindex end@r{ (if/else/while commands)}
22641 @item end
22642 Terminate the block of commands that are the body of @code{if},
22643 @code{else}, or @code{while} flow-control commands.
22644 @end table
22645
22646
22647 @node Output
22648 @subsection Commands for Controlled Output
22649
22650 During the execution of a command file or a user-defined command, normal
22651 @value{GDBN} output is suppressed; the only output that appears is what is
22652 explicitly printed by the commands in the definition. This section
22653 describes three commands useful for generating exactly the output you
22654 want.
22655
22656 @table @code
22657 @kindex echo
22658 @item echo @var{text}
22659 @c I do not consider backslash-space a standard C escape sequence
22660 @c because it is not in ANSI.
22661 Print @var{text}. Nonprinting characters can be included in
22662 @var{text} using C escape sequences, such as @samp{\n} to print a
22663 newline. @strong{No newline is printed unless you specify one.}
22664 In addition to the standard C escape sequences, a backslash followed
22665 by a space stands for a space. This is useful for displaying a
22666 string with spaces at the beginning or the end, since leading and
22667 trailing spaces are otherwise trimmed from all arguments.
22668 To print @samp{@w{ }and foo =@w{ }}, use the command
22669 @samp{echo \@w{ }and foo = \@w{ }}.
22670
22671 A backslash at the end of @var{text} can be used, as in C, to continue
22672 the command onto subsequent lines. For example,
22673
22674 @smallexample
22675 echo This is some text\n\
22676 which is continued\n\
22677 onto several lines.\n
22678 @end smallexample
22679
22680 produces the same output as
22681
22682 @smallexample
22683 echo This is some text\n
22684 echo which is continued\n
22685 echo onto several lines.\n
22686 @end smallexample
22687
22688 @kindex output
22689 @item output @var{expression}
22690 Print the value of @var{expression} and nothing but that value: no
22691 newlines, no @samp{$@var{nn} = }. The value is not entered in the
22692 value history either. @xref{Expressions, ,Expressions}, for more information
22693 on expressions.
22694
22695 @item output/@var{fmt} @var{expression}
22696 Print the value of @var{expression} in format @var{fmt}. You can use
22697 the same formats as for @code{print}. @xref{Output Formats,,Output
22698 Formats}, for more information.
22699
22700 @kindex printf
22701 @item printf @var{template}, @var{expressions}@dots{}
22702 Print the values of one or more @var{expressions} under the control of
22703 the string @var{template}. To print several values, make
22704 @var{expressions} be a comma-separated list of individual expressions,
22705 which may be either numbers or pointers. Their values are printed as
22706 specified by @var{template}, exactly as a C program would do by
22707 executing the code below:
22708
22709 @smallexample
22710 printf (@var{template}, @var{expressions}@dots{});
22711 @end smallexample
22712
22713 As in @code{C} @code{printf}, ordinary characters in @var{template}
22714 are printed verbatim, while @dfn{conversion specification} introduced
22715 by the @samp{%} character cause subsequent @var{expressions} to be
22716 evaluated, their values converted and formatted according to type and
22717 style information encoded in the conversion specifications, and then
22718 printed.
22719
22720 For example, you can print two values in hex like this:
22721
22722 @smallexample
22723 printf "foo, bar-foo = 0x%x, 0x%x\n", foo, bar-foo
22724 @end smallexample
22725
22726 @code{printf} supports all the standard @code{C} conversion
22727 specifications, including the flags and modifiers between the @samp{%}
22728 character and the conversion letter, with the following exceptions:
22729
22730 @itemize @bullet
22731 @item
22732 The argument-ordering modifiers, such as @samp{2$}, are not supported.
22733
22734 @item
22735 The modifier @samp{*} is not supported for specifying precision or
22736 width.
22737
22738 @item
22739 The @samp{'} flag (for separation of digits into groups according to
22740 @code{LC_NUMERIC'}) is not supported.
22741
22742 @item
22743 The type modifiers @samp{hh}, @samp{j}, @samp{t}, and @samp{z} are not
22744 supported.
22745
22746 @item
22747 The conversion letter @samp{n} (as in @samp{%n}) is not supported.
22748
22749 @item
22750 The conversion letters @samp{a} and @samp{A} are not supported.
22751 @end itemize
22752
22753 @noindent
22754 Note that the @samp{ll} type modifier is supported only if the
22755 underlying @code{C} implementation used to build @value{GDBN} supports
22756 the @code{long long int} type, and the @samp{L} type modifier is
22757 supported only if @code{long double} type is available.
22758
22759 As in @code{C}, @code{printf} supports simple backslash-escape
22760 sequences, such as @code{\n}, @samp{\t}, @samp{\\}, @samp{\"},
22761 @samp{\a}, and @samp{\f}, that consist of backslash followed by a
22762 single character. Octal and hexadecimal escape sequences are not
22763 supported.
22764
22765 Additionally, @code{printf} supports conversion specifications for DFP
22766 (@dfn{Decimal Floating Point}) types using the following length modifiers
22767 together with a floating point specifier.
22768 letters:
22769
22770 @itemize @bullet
22771 @item
22772 @samp{H} for printing @code{Decimal32} types.
22773
22774 @item
22775 @samp{D} for printing @code{Decimal64} types.
22776
22777 @item
22778 @samp{DD} for printing @code{Decimal128} types.
22779 @end itemize
22780
22781 If the underlying @code{C} implementation used to build @value{GDBN} has
22782 support for the three length modifiers for DFP types, other modifiers
22783 such as width and precision will also be available for @value{GDBN} to use.
22784
22785 In case there is no such @code{C} support, no additional modifiers will be
22786 available and the value will be printed in the standard way.
22787
22788 Here's an example of printing DFP types using the above conversion letters:
22789 @smallexample
22790 printf "D32: %Hf - D64: %Df - D128: %DDf\n",1.2345df,1.2E10dd,1.2E1dl
22791 @end smallexample
22792
22793 @kindex eval
22794 @item eval @var{template}, @var{expressions}@dots{}
22795 Convert the values of one or more @var{expressions} under the control of
22796 the string @var{template} to a command line, and call it.
22797
22798 @end table
22799
22800 @node Python
22801 @section Scripting @value{GDBN} using Python
22802 @cindex python scripting
22803 @cindex scripting with python
22804
22805 You can script @value{GDBN} using the @uref{http://www.python.org/,
22806 Python programming language}. This feature is available only if
22807 @value{GDBN} was configured using @option{--with-python}.
22808
22809 @cindex python directory
22810 Python scripts used by @value{GDBN} should be installed in
22811 @file{@var{data-directory}/python}, where @var{data-directory} is
22812 the data directory as determined at @value{GDBN} startup (@pxref{Data Files}).
22813 This directory, known as the @dfn{python directory},
22814 is automatically added to the Python Search Path in order to allow
22815 the Python interpreter to locate all scripts installed at this location.
22816
22817 Additionally, @value{GDBN} commands and convenience functions which
22818 are written in Python and are located in the
22819 @file{@var{data-directory}/python/gdb/command} or
22820 @file{@var{data-directory}/python/gdb/function} directories are
22821 automatically imported when @value{GDBN} starts.
22822
22823 @menu
22824 * Python Commands:: Accessing Python from @value{GDBN}.
22825 * Python API:: Accessing @value{GDBN} from Python.
22826 * Python Auto-loading:: Automatically loading Python code.
22827 * Python modules:: Python modules provided by @value{GDBN}.
22828 @end menu
22829
22830 @node Python Commands
22831 @subsection Python Commands
22832 @cindex python commands
22833 @cindex commands to access python
22834
22835 @value{GDBN} provides two commands for accessing the Python interpreter,
22836 and one related setting:
22837
22838 @table @code
22839 @kindex python-interactive
22840 @kindex pi
22841 @item python-interactive @r{[}@var{command}@r{]}
22842 @itemx pi @r{[}@var{command}@r{]}
22843 Without an argument, the @code{python-interactive} command can be used
22844 to start an interactive Python prompt. To return to @value{GDBN},
22845 type the @code{EOF} character (e.g., @kbd{Ctrl-D} on an empty prompt).
22846
22847 Alternatively, a single-line Python command can be given as an
22848 argument and evaluated. If the command is an expression, the result
22849 will be printed; otherwise, nothing will be printed. For example:
22850
22851 @smallexample
22852 (@value{GDBP}) python-interactive 2 + 3
22853 5
22854 @end smallexample
22855
22856 @kindex python
22857 @kindex py
22858 @item python @r{[}@var{command}@r{]}
22859 @itemx py @r{[}@var{command}@r{]}
22860 The @code{python} command can be used to evaluate Python code.
22861
22862 If given an argument, the @code{python} command will evaluate the
22863 argument as a Python command. For example:
22864
22865 @smallexample
22866 (@value{GDBP}) python print 23
22867 23
22868 @end smallexample
22869
22870 If you do not provide an argument to @code{python}, it will act as a
22871 multi-line command, like @code{define}. In this case, the Python
22872 script is made up of subsequent command lines, given after the
22873 @code{python} command. This command list is terminated using a line
22874 containing @code{end}. For example:
22875
22876 @smallexample
22877 (@value{GDBP}) python
22878 Type python script
22879 End with a line saying just "end".
22880 >print 23
22881 >end
22882 23
22883 @end smallexample
22884
22885 @kindex set python print-stack
22886 @item set python print-stack
22887 By default, @value{GDBN} will print only the message component of a
22888 Python exception when an error occurs in a Python script. This can be
22889 controlled using @code{set python print-stack}: if @code{full}, then
22890 full Python stack printing is enabled; if @code{none}, then Python stack
22891 and message printing is disabled; if @code{message}, the default, only
22892 the message component of the error is printed.
22893 @end table
22894
22895 It is also possible to execute a Python script from the @value{GDBN}
22896 interpreter:
22897
22898 @table @code
22899 @item source @file{script-name}
22900 The script name must end with @samp{.py} and @value{GDBN} must be configured
22901 to recognize the script language based on filename extension using
22902 the @code{script-extension} setting. @xref{Extending GDB, ,Extending GDB}.
22903
22904 @item python execfile ("script-name")
22905 This method is based on the @code{execfile} Python built-in function,
22906 and thus is always available.
22907 @end table
22908
22909 @node Python API
22910 @subsection Python API
22911 @cindex python api
22912 @cindex programming in python
22913
22914 @cindex python stdout
22915 @cindex python pagination
22916 At startup, @value{GDBN} overrides Python's @code{sys.stdout} and
22917 @code{sys.stderr} to print using @value{GDBN}'s output-paging streams.
22918 A Python program which outputs to one of these streams may have its
22919 output interrupted by the user (@pxref{Screen Size}). In this
22920 situation, a Python @code{KeyboardInterrupt} exception is thrown.
22921
22922 @menu
22923 * Basic Python:: Basic Python Functions.
22924 * Exception Handling:: How Python exceptions are translated.
22925 * Values From Inferior:: Python representation of values.
22926 * Types In Python:: Python representation of types.
22927 * Pretty Printing API:: Pretty-printing values.
22928 * Selecting Pretty-Printers:: How GDB chooses a pretty-printer.
22929 * Writing a Pretty-Printer:: Writing a Pretty-Printer.
22930 * Type Printing API:: Pretty-printing types.
22931 * Inferiors In Python:: Python representation of inferiors (processes)
22932 * Events In Python:: Listening for events from @value{GDBN}.
22933 * Threads In Python:: Accessing inferior threads from Python.
22934 * Commands In Python:: Implementing new commands in Python.
22935 * Parameters In Python:: Adding new @value{GDBN} parameters.
22936 * Functions In Python:: Writing new convenience functions.
22937 * Progspaces In Python:: Program spaces.
22938 * Objfiles In Python:: Object files.
22939 * Frames In Python:: Accessing inferior stack frames from Python.
22940 * Blocks In Python:: Accessing frame blocks from Python.
22941 * Symbols In Python:: Python representation of symbols.
22942 * Symbol Tables In Python:: Python representation of symbol tables.
22943 * Breakpoints In Python:: Manipulating breakpoints using Python.
22944 * Finish Breakpoints in Python:: Setting Breakpoints on function return
22945 using Python.
22946 * Lazy Strings In Python:: Python representation of lazy strings.
22947 * Architectures In Python:: Python representation of architectures.
22948 @end menu
22949
22950 @node Basic Python
22951 @subsubsection Basic Python
22952
22953 @cindex python functions
22954 @cindex python module
22955 @cindex gdb module
22956 @value{GDBN} introduces a new Python module, named @code{gdb}. All
22957 methods and classes added by @value{GDBN} are placed in this module.
22958 @value{GDBN} automatically @code{import}s the @code{gdb} module for
22959 use in all scripts evaluated by the @code{python} command.
22960
22961 @findex gdb.PYTHONDIR
22962 @defvar gdb.PYTHONDIR
22963 A string containing the python directory (@pxref{Python}).
22964 @end defvar
22965
22966 @findex gdb.execute
22967 @defun gdb.execute (command @r{[}, from_tty @r{[}, to_string@r{]]})
22968 Evaluate @var{command}, a string, as a @value{GDBN} CLI command.
22969 If a GDB exception happens while @var{command} runs, it is
22970 translated as described in @ref{Exception Handling,,Exception Handling}.
22971
22972 @var{from_tty} specifies whether @value{GDBN} ought to consider this
22973 command as having originated from the user invoking it interactively.
22974 It must be a boolean value. If omitted, it defaults to @code{False}.
22975
22976 By default, any output produced by @var{command} is sent to
22977 @value{GDBN}'s standard output. If the @var{to_string} parameter is
22978 @code{True}, then output will be collected by @code{gdb.execute} and
22979 returned as a string. The default is @code{False}, in which case the
22980 return value is @code{None}. If @var{to_string} is @code{True}, the
22981 @value{GDBN} virtual terminal will be temporarily set to unlimited width
22982 and height, and its pagination will be disabled; @pxref{Screen Size}.
22983 @end defun
22984
22985 @findex gdb.breakpoints
22986 @defun gdb.breakpoints ()
22987 Return a sequence holding all of @value{GDBN}'s breakpoints.
22988 @xref{Breakpoints In Python}, for more information.
22989 @end defun
22990
22991 @findex gdb.parameter
22992 @defun gdb.parameter (parameter)
22993 Return the value of a @value{GDBN} parameter. @var{parameter} is a
22994 string naming the parameter to look up; @var{parameter} may contain
22995 spaces if the parameter has a multi-part name. For example,
22996 @samp{print object} is a valid parameter name.
22997
22998 If the named parameter does not exist, this function throws a
22999 @code{gdb.error} (@pxref{Exception Handling}). Otherwise, the
23000 parameter's value is converted to a Python value of the appropriate
23001 type, and returned.
23002 @end defun
23003
23004 @findex gdb.history
23005 @defun gdb.history (number)
23006 Return a value from @value{GDBN}'s value history (@pxref{Value
23007 History}). @var{number} indicates which history element to return.
23008 If @var{number} is negative, then @value{GDBN} will take its absolute value
23009 and count backward from the last element (i.e., the most recent element) to
23010 find the value to return. If @var{number} is zero, then @value{GDBN} will
23011 return the most recent element. If the element specified by @var{number}
23012 doesn't exist in the value history, a @code{gdb.error} exception will be
23013 raised.
23014
23015 If no exception is raised, the return value is always an instance of
23016 @code{gdb.Value} (@pxref{Values From Inferior}).
23017 @end defun
23018
23019 @findex gdb.parse_and_eval
23020 @defun gdb.parse_and_eval (expression)
23021 Parse @var{expression} as an expression in the current language,
23022 evaluate it, and return the result as a @code{gdb.Value}.
23023 @var{expression} must be a string.
23024
23025 This function can be useful when implementing a new command
23026 (@pxref{Commands In Python}), as it provides a way to parse the
23027 command's argument as an expression. It is also useful simply to
23028 compute values, for example, it is the only way to get the value of a
23029 convenience variable (@pxref{Convenience Vars}) as a @code{gdb.Value}.
23030 @end defun
23031
23032 @findex gdb.find_pc_line
23033 @defun gdb.find_pc_line (pc)
23034 Return the @code{gdb.Symtab_and_line} object corresponding to the
23035 @var{pc} value. @xref{Symbol Tables In Python}. If an invalid
23036 value of @var{pc} is passed as an argument, then the @code{symtab} and
23037 @code{line} attributes of the returned @code{gdb.Symtab_and_line} object
23038 will be @code{None} and 0 respectively.
23039 @end defun
23040
23041 @findex gdb.post_event
23042 @defun gdb.post_event (event)
23043 Put @var{event}, a callable object taking no arguments, into
23044 @value{GDBN}'s internal event queue. This callable will be invoked at
23045 some later point, during @value{GDBN}'s event processing. Events
23046 posted using @code{post_event} will be run in the order in which they
23047 were posted; however, there is no way to know when they will be
23048 processed relative to other events inside @value{GDBN}.
23049
23050 @value{GDBN} is not thread-safe. If your Python program uses multiple
23051 threads, you must be careful to only call @value{GDBN}-specific
23052 functions in the main @value{GDBN} thread. @code{post_event} ensures
23053 this. For example:
23054
23055 @smallexample
23056 (@value{GDBP}) python
23057 >import threading
23058 >
23059 >class Writer():
23060 > def __init__(self, message):
23061 > self.message = message;
23062 > def __call__(self):
23063 > gdb.write(self.message)
23064 >
23065 >class MyThread1 (threading.Thread):
23066 > def run (self):
23067 > gdb.post_event(Writer("Hello "))
23068 >
23069 >class MyThread2 (threading.Thread):
23070 > def run (self):
23071 > gdb.post_event(Writer("World\n"))
23072 >
23073 >MyThread1().start()
23074 >MyThread2().start()
23075 >end
23076 (@value{GDBP}) Hello World
23077 @end smallexample
23078 @end defun
23079
23080 @findex gdb.write
23081 @defun gdb.write (string @r{[}, stream{]})
23082 Print a string to @value{GDBN}'s paginated output stream. The
23083 optional @var{stream} determines the stream to print to. The default
23084 stream is @value{GDBN}'s standard output stream. Possible stream
23085 values are:
23086
23087 @table @code
23088 @findex STDOUT
23089 @findex gdb.STDOUT
23090 @item gdb.STDOUT
23091 @value{GDBN}'s standard output stream.
23092
23093 @findex STDERR
23094 @findex gdb.STDERR
23095 @item gdb.STDERR
23096 @value{GDBN}'s standard error stream.
23097
23098 @findex STDLOG
23099 @findex gdb.STDLOG
23100 @item gdb.STDLOG
23101 @value{GDBN}'s log stream (@pxref{Logging Output}).
23102 @end table
23103
23104 Writing to @code{sys.stdout} or @code{sys.stderr} will automatically
23105 call this function and will automatically direct the output to the
23106 relevant stream.
23107 @end defun
23108
23109 @findex gdb.flush
23110 @defun gdb.flush ()
23111 Flush the buffer of a @value{GDBN} paginated stream so that the
23112 contents are displayed immediately. @value{GDBN} will flush the
23113 contents of a stream automatically when it encounters a newline in the
23114 buffer. The optional @var{stream} determines the stream to flush. The
23115 default stream is @value{GDBN}'s standard output stream. Possible
23116 stream values are:
23117
23118 @table @code
23119 @findex STDOUT
23120 @findex gdb.STDOUT
23121 @item gdb.STDOUT
23122 @value{GDBN}'s standard output stream.
23123
23124 @findex STDERR
23125 @findex gdb.STDERR
23126 @item gdb.STDERR
23127 @value{GDBN}'s standard error stream.
23128
23129 @findex STDLOG
23130 @findex gdb.STDLOG
23131 @item gdb.STDLOG
23132 @value{GDBN}'s log stream (@pxref{Logging Output}).
23133
23134 @end table
23135
23136 Flushing @code{sys.stdout} or @code{sys.stderr} will automatically
23137 call this function for the relevant stream.
23138 @end defun
23139
23140 @findex gdb.target_charset
23141 @defun gdb.target_charset ()
23142 Return the name of the current target character set (@pxref{Character
23143 Sets}). This differs from @code{gdb.parameter('target-charset')} in
23144 that @samp{auto} is never returned.
23145 @end defun
23146
23147 @findex gdb.target_wide_charset
23148 @defun gdb.target_wide_charset ()
23149 Return the name of the current target wide character set
23150 (@pxref{Character Sets}). This differs from
23151 @code{gdb.parameter('target-wide-charset')} in that @samp{auto} is
23152 never returned.
23153 @end defun
23154
23155 @findex gdb.solib_name
23156 @defun gdb.solib_name (address)
23157 Return the name of the shared library holding the given @var{address}
23158 as a string, or @code{None}.
23159 @end defun
23160
23161 @findex gdb.decode_line
23162 @defun gdb.decode_line @r{[}expression@r{]}
23163 Return locations of the line specified by @var{expression}, or of the
23164 current line if no argument was given. This function returns a Python
23165 tuple containing two elements. The first element contains a string
23166 holding any unparsed section of @var{expression} (or @code{None} if
23167 the expression has been fully parsed). The second element contains
23168 either @code{None} or another tuple that contains all the locations
23169 that match the expression represented as @code{gdb.Symtab_and_line}
23170 objects (@pxref{Symbol Tables In Python}). If @var{expression} is
23171 provided, it is decoded the way that @value{GDBN}'s inbuilt
23172 @code{break} or @code{edit} commands do (@pxref{Specify Location}).
23173 @end defun
23174
23175 @defun gdb.prompt_hook (current_prompt)
23176 @anchor{prompt_hook}
23177
23178 If @var{prompt_hook} is callable, @value{GDBN} will call the method
23179 assigned to this operation before a prompt is displayed by
23180 @value{GDBN}.
23181
23182 The parameter @code{current_prompt} contains the current @value{GDBN}
23183 prompt. This method must return a Python string, or @code{None}. If
23184 a string is returned, the @value{GDBN} prompt will be set to that
23185 string. If @code{None} is returned, @value{GDBN} will continue to use
23186 the current prompt.
23187
23188 Some prompts cannot be substituted in @value{GDBN}. Secondary prompts
23189 such as those used by readline for command input, and annotation
23190 related prompts are prohibited from being changed.
23191 @end defun
23192
23193 @node Exception Handling
23194 @subsubsection Exception Handling
23195 @cindex python exceptions
23196 @cindex exceptions, python
23197
23198 When executing the @code{python} command, Python exceptions
23199 uncaught within the Python code are translated to calls to
23200 @value{GDBN} error-reporting mechanism. If the command that called
23201 @code{python} does not handle the error, @value{GDBN} will
23202 terminate it and print an error message containing the Python
23203 exception name, the associated value, and the Python call stack
23204 backtrace at the point where the exception was raised. Example:
23205
23206 @smallexample
23207 (@value{GDBP}) python print foo
23208 Traceback (most recent call last):
23209 File "<string>", line 1, in <module>
23210 NameError: name 'foo' is not defined
23211 @end smallexample
23212
23213 @value{GDBN} errors that happen in @value{GDBN} commands invoked by
23214 Python code are converted to Python exceptions. The type of the
23215 Python exception depends on the error.
23216
23217 @ftable @code
23218 @item gdb.error
23219 This is the base class for most exceptions generated by @value{GDBN}.
23220 It is derived from @code{RuntimeError}, for compatibility with earlier
23221 versions of @value{GDBN}.
23222
23223 If an error occurring in @value{GDBN} does not fit into some more
23224 specific category, then the generated exception will have this type.
23225
23226 @item gdb.MemoryError
23227 This is a subclass of @code{gdb.error} which is thrown when an
23228 operation tried to access invalid memory in the inferior.
23229
23230 @item KeyboardInterrupt
23231 User interrupt (via @kbd{C-c} or by typing @kbd{q} at a pagination
23232 prompt) is translated to a Python @code{KeyboardInterrupt} exception.
23233 @end ftable
23234
23235 In all cases, your exception handler will see the @value{GDBN} error
23236 message as its value and the Python call stack backtrace at the Python
23237 statement closest to where the @value{GDBN} error occured as the
23238 traceback.
23239
23240 @findex gdb.GdbError
23241 When implementing @value{GDBN} commands in Python via @code{gdb.Command},
23242 it is useful to be able to throw an exception that doesn't cause a
23243 traceback to be printed. For example, the user may have invoked the
23244 command incorrectly. Use the @code{gdb.GdbError} exception
23245 to handle this case. Example:
23246
23247 @smallexample
23248 (gdb) python
23249 >class HelloWorld (gdb.Command):
23250 > """Greet the whole world."""
23251 > def __init__ (self):
23252 > super (HelloWorld, self).__init__ ("hello-world", gdb.COMMAND_USER)
23253 > def invoke (self, args, from_tty):
23254 > argv = gdb.string_to_argv (args)
23255 > if len (argv) != 0:
23256 > raise gdb.GdbError ("hello-world takes no arguments")
23257 > print "Hello, World!"
23258 >HelloWorld ()
23259 >end
23260 (gdb) hello-world 42
23261 hello-world takes no arguments
23262 @end smallexample
23263
23264 @node Values From Inferior
23265 @subsubsection Values From Inferior
23266 @cindex values from inferior, with Python
23267 @cindex python, working with values from inferior
23268
23269 @cindex @code{gdb.Value}
23270 @value{GDBN} provides values it obtains from the inferior program in
23271 an object of type @code{gdb.Value}. @value{GDBN} uses this object
23272 for its internal bookkeeping of the inferior's values, and for
23273 fetching values when necessary.
23274
23275 Inferior values that are simple scalars can be used directly in
23276 Python expressions that are valid for the value's data type. Here's
23277 an example for an integer or floating-point value @code{some_val}:
23278
23279 @smallexample
23280 bar = some_val + 2
23281 @end smallexample
23282
23283 @noindent
23284 As result of this, @code{bar} will also be a @code{gdb.Value} object
23285 whose values are of the same type as those of @code{some_val}.
23286
23287 Inferior values that are structures or instances of some class can
23288 be accessed using the Python @dfn{dictionary syntax}. For example, if
23289 @code{some_val} is a @code{gdb.Value} instance holding a structure, you
23290 can access its @code{foo} element with:
23291
23292 @smallexample
23293 bar = some_val['foo']
23294 @end smallexample
23295
23296 Again, @code{bar} will also be a @code{gdb.Value} object.
23297
23298 A @code{gdb.Value} that represents a function can be executed via
23299 inferior function call. Any arguments provided to the call must match
23300 the function's prototype, and must be provided in the order specified
23301 by that prototype.
23302
23303 For example, @code{some_val} is a @code{gdb.Value} instance
23304 representing a function that takes two integers as arguments. To
23305 execute this function, call it like so:
23306
23307 @smallexample
23308 result = some_val (10,20)
23309 @end smallexample
23310
23311 Any values returned from a function call will be stored as a
23312 @code{gdb.Value}.
23313
23314 The following attributes are provided:
23315
23316 @defvar Value.address
23317 If this object is addressable, this read-only attribute holds a
23318 @code{gdb.Value} object representing the address. Otherwise,
23319 this attribute holds @code{None}.
23320 @end defvar
23321
23322 @cindex optimized out value in Python
23323 @defvar Value.is_optimized_out
23324 This read-only boolean attribute is true if the compiler optimized out
23325 this value, thus it is not available for fetching from the inferior.
23326 @end defvar
23327
23328 @defvar Value.type
23329 The type of this @code{gdb.Value}. The value of this attribute is a
23330 @code{gdb.Type} object (@pxref{Types In Python}).
23331 @end defvar
23332
23333 @defvar Value.dynamic_type
23334 The dynamic type of this @code{gdb.Value}. This uses C@t{++} run-time
23335 type information (@acronym{RTTI}) to determine the dynamic type of the
23336 value. If this value is of class type, it will return the class in
23337 which the value is embedded, if any. If this value is of pointer or
23338 reference to a class type, it will compute the dynamic type of the
23339 referenced object, and return a pointer or reference to that type,
23340 respectively. In all other cases, it will return the value's static
23341 type.
23342
23343 Note that this feature will only work when debugging a C@t{++} program
23344 that includes @acronym{RTTI} for the object in question. Otherwise,
23345 it will just return the static type of the value as in @kbd{ptype foo}
23346 (@pxref{Symbols, ptype}).
23347 @end defvar
23348
23349 @defvar Value.is_lazy
23350 The value of this read-only boolean attribute is @code{True} if this
23351 @code{gdb.Value} has not yet been fetched from the inferior.
23352 @value{GDBN} does not fetch values until necessary, for efficiency.
23353 For example:
23354
23355 @smallexample
23356 myval = gdb.parse_and_eval ('somevar')
23357 @end smallexample
23358
23359 The value of @code{somevar} is not fetched at this time. It will be
23360 fetched when the value is needed, or when the @code{fetch_lazy}
23361 method is invoked.
23362 @end defvar
23363
23364 The following methods are provided:
23365
23366 @defun Value.__init__ (@var{val})
23367 Many Python values can be converted directly to a @code{gdb.Value} via
23368 this object initializer. Specifically:
23369
23370 @table @asis
23371 @item Python boolean
23372 A Python boolean is converted to the boolean type from the current
23373 language.
23374
23375 @item Python integer
23376 A Python integer is converted to the C @code{long} type for the
23377 current architecture.
23378
23379 @item Python long
23380 A Python long is converted to the C @code{long long} type for the
23381 current architecture.
23382
23383 @item Python float
23384 A Python float is converted to the C @code{double} type for the
23385 current architecture.
23386
23387 @item Python string
23388 A Python string is converted to a target string, using the current
23389 target encoding.
23390
23391 @item @code{gdb.Value}
23392 If @code{val} is a @code{gdb.Value}, then a copy of the value is made.
23393
23394 @item @code{gdb.LazyString}
23395 If @code{val} is a @code{gdb.LazyString} (@pxref{Lazy Strings In
23396 Python}), then the lazy string's @code{value} method is called, and
23397 its result is used.
23398 @end table
23399 @end defun
23400
23401 @defun Value.cast (type)
23402 Return a new instance of @code{gdb.Value} that is the result of
23403 casting this instance to the type described by @var{type}, which must
23404 be a @code{gdb.Type} object. If the cast cannot be performed for some
23405 reason, this method throws an exception.
23406 @end defun
23407
23408 @defun Value.dereference ()
23409 For pointer data types, this method returns a new @code{gdb.Value} object
23410 whose contents is the object pointed to by the pointer. For example, if
23411 @code{foo} is a C pointer to an @code{int}, declared in your C program as
23412
23413 @smallexample
23414 int *foo;
23415 @end smallexample
23416
23417 @noindent
23418 then you can use the corresponding @code{gdb.Value} to access what
23419 @code{foo} points to like this:
23420
23421 @smallexample
23422 bar = foo.dereference ()
23423 @end smallexample
23424
23425 The result @code{bar} will be a @code{gdb.Value} object holding the
23426 value pointed to by @code{foo}.
23427
23428 A similar function @code{Value.referenced_value} exists which also
23429 returns @code{gdb.Value} objects corresonding to the values pointed to
23430 by pointer values (and additionally, values referenced by reference
23431 values). However, the behavior of @code{Value.dereference}
23432 differs from @code{Value.referenced_value} by the fact that the
23433 behavior of @code{Value.dereference} is identical to applying the C
23434 unary operator @code{*} on a given value. For example, consider a
23435 reference to a pointer @code{ptrref}, declared in your C@t{++} program
23436 as
23437
23438 @smallexample
23439 typedef int *intptr;
23440 ...
23441 int val = 10;
23442 intptr ptr = &val;
23443 intptr &ptrref = ptr;
23444 @end smallexample
23445
23446 Though @code{ptrref} is a reference value, one can apply the method
23447 @code{Value.dereference} to the @code{gdb.Value} object corresponding
23448 to it and obtain a @code{gdb.Value} which is identical to that
23449 corresponding to @code{val}. However, if you apply the method
23450 @code{Value.referenced_value}, the result would be a @code{gdb.Value}
23451 object identical to that corresponding to @code{ptr}.
23452
23453 @smallexample
23454 py_ptrref = gdb.parse_and_eval ("ptrref")
23455 py_val = py_ptrref.dereference ()
23456 py_ptr = py_ptrref.referenced_value ()
23457 @end smallexample
23458
23459 The @code{gdb.Value} object @code{py_val} is identical to that
23460 corresponding to @code{val}, and @code{py_ptr} is identical to that
23461 corresponding to @code{ptr}. In general, @code{Value.dereference} can
23462 be applied whenever the C unary operator @code{*} can be applied
23463 to the corresponding C value. For those cases where applying both
23464 @code{Value.dereference} and @code{Value.referenced_value} is allowed,
23465 the results obtained need not be identical (as we have seen in the above
23466 example). The results are however identical when applied on
23467 @code{gdb.Value} objects corresponding to pointers (@code{gdb.Value}
23468 objects with type code @code{TYPE_CODE_PTR}) in a C/C@t{++} program.
23469 @end defun
23470
23471 @defun Value.referenced_value ()
23472 For pointer or reference data types, this method returns a new
23473 @code{gdb.Value} object corresponding to the value referenced by the
23474 pointer/reference value. For pointer data types,
23475 @code{Value.dereference} and @code{Value.referenced_value} produce
23476 identical results. The difference between these methods is that
23477 @code{Value.dereference} cannot get the values referenced by reference
23478 values. For example, consider a reference to an @code{int}, declared
23479 in your C@t{++} program as
23480
23481 @smallexample
23482 int val = 10;
23483 int &ref = val;
23484 @end smallexample
23485
23486 @noindent
23487 then applying @code{Value.dereference} to the @code{gdb.Value} object
23488 corresponding to @code{ref} will result in an error, while applying
23489 @code{Value.referenced_value} will result in a @code{gdb.Value} object
23490 identical to that corresponding to @code{val}.
23491
23492 @smallexample
23493 py_ref = gdb.parse_and_eval ("ref")
23494 er_ref = py_ref.dereference () # Results in error
23495 py_val = py_ref.referenced_value () # Returns the referenced value
23496 @end smallexample
23497
23498 The @code{gdb.Value} object @code{py_val} is identical to that
23499 corresponding to @code{val}.
23500 @end defun
23501
23502 @defun Value.dynamic_cast (type)
23503 Like @code{Value.cast}, but works as if the C@t{++} @code{dynamic_cast}
23504 operator were used. Consult a C@t{++} reference for details.
23505 @end defun
23506
23507 @defun Value.reinterpret_cast (type)
23508 Like @code{Value.cast}, but works as if the C@t{++} @code{reinterpret_cast}
23509 operator were used. Consult a C@t{++} reference for details.
23510 @end defun
23511
23512 @defun Value.string (@r{[}encoding@r{[}, errors@r{[}, length@r{]]]})
23513 If this @code{gdb.Value} represents a string, then this method
23514 converts the contents to a Python string. Otherwise, this method will
23515 throw an exception.
23516
23517 Strings are recognized in a language-specific way; whether a given
23518 @code{gdb.Value} represents a string is determined by the current
23519 language.
23520
23521 For C-like languages, a value is a string if it is a pointer to or an
23522 array of characters or ints. The string is assumed to be terminated
23523 by a zero of the appropriate width. However if the optional length
23524 argument is given, the string will be converted to that given length,
23525 ignoring any embedded zeros that the string may contain.
23526
23527 If the optional @var{encoding} argument is given, it must be a string
23528 naming the encoding of the string in the @code{gdb.Value}, such as
23529 @code{"ascii"}, @code{"iso-8859-6"} or @code{"utf-8"}. It accepts
23530 the same encodings as the corresponding argument to Python's
23531 @code{string.decode} method, and the Python codec machinery will be used
23532 to convert the string. If @var{encoding} is not given, or if
23533 @var{encoding} is the empty string, then either the @code{target-charset}
23534 (@pxref{Character Sets}) will be used, or a language-specific encoding
23535 will be used, if the current language is able to supply one.
23536
23537 The optional @var{errors} argument is the same as the corresponding
23538 argument to Python's @code{string.decode} method.
23539
23540 If the optional @var{length} argument is given, the string will be
23541 fetched and converted to the given length.
23542 @end defun
23543
23544 @defun Value.lazy_string (@r{[}encoding @r{[}, length@r{]]})
23545 If this @code{gdb.Value} represents a string, then this method
23546 converts the contents to a @code{gdb.LazyString} (@pxref{Lazy Strings
23547 In Python}). Otherwise, this method will throw an exception.
23548
23549 If the optional @var{encoding} argument is given, it must be a string
23550 naming the encoding of the @code{gdb.LazyString}. Some examples are:
23551 @samp{ascii}, @samp{iso-8859-6} or @samp{utf-8}. If the
23552 @var{encoding} argument is an encoding that @value{GDBN} does
23553 recognize, @value{GDBN} will raise an error.
23554
23555 When a lazy string is printed, the @value{GDBN} encoding machinery is
23556 used to convert the string during printing. If the optional
23557 @var{encoding} argument is not provided, or is an empty string,
23558 @value{GDBN} will automatically select the encoding most suitable for
23559 the string type. For further information on encoding in @value{GDBN}
23560 please see @ref{Character Sets}.
23561
23562 If the optional @var{length} argument is given, the string will be
23563 fetched and encoded to the length of characters specified. If
23564 the @var{length} argument is not provided, the string will be fetched
23565 and encoded until a null of appropriate width is found.
23566 @end defun
23567
23568 @defun Value.fetch_lazy ()
23569 If the @code{gdb.Value} object is currently a lazy value
23570 (@code{gdb.Value.is_lazy} is @code{True}), then the value is
23571 fetched from the inferior. Any errors that occur in the process
23572 will produce a Python exception.
23573
23574 If the @code{gdb.Value} object is not a lazy value, this method
23575 has no effect.
23576
23577 This method does not return a value.
23578 @end defun
23579
23580
23581 @node Types In Python
23582 @subsubsection Types In Python
23583 @cindex types in Python
23584 @cindex Python, working with types
23585
23586 @tindex gdb.Type
23587 @value{GDBN} represents types from the inferior using the class
23588 @code{gdb.Type}.
23589
23590 The following type-related functions are available in the @code{gdb}
23591 module:
23592
23593 @findex gdb.lookup_type
23594 @defun gdb.lookup_type (name @r{[}, block@r{]})
23595 This function looks up a type by name. @var{name} is the name of the
23596 type to look up. It must be a string.
23597
23598 If @var{block} is given, then @var{name} is looked up in that scope.
23599 Otherwise, it is searched for globally.
23600
23601 Ordinarily, this function will return an instance of @code{gdb.Type}.
23602 If the named type cannot be found, it will throw an exception.
23603 @end defun
23604
23605 If the type is a structure or class type, or an enum type, the fields
23606 of that type can be accessed using the Python @dfn{dictionary syntax}.
23607 For example, if @code{some_type} is a @code{gdb.Type} instance holding
23608 a structure type, you can access its @code{foo} field with:
23609
23610 @smallexample
23611 bar = some_type['foo']
23612 @end smallexample
23613
23614 @code{bar} will be a @code{gdb.Field} object; see below under the
23615 description of the @code{Type.fields} method for a description of the
23616 @code{gdb.Field} class.
23617
23618 An instance of @code{Type} has the following attributes:
23619
23620 @defvar Type.code
23621 The type code for this type. The type code will be one of the
23622 @code{TYPE_CODE_} constants defined below.
23623 @end defvar
23624
23625 @defvar Type.sizeof
23626 The size of this type, in target @code{char} units. Usually, a
23627 target's @code{char} type will be an 8-bit byte. However, on some
23628 unusual platforms, this type may have a different size.
23629 @end defvar
23630
23631 @defvar Type.tag
23632 The tag name for this type. The tag name is the name after
23633 @code{struct}, @code{union}, or @code{enum} in C and C@t{++}; not all
23634 languages have this concept. If this type has no tag name, then
23635 @code{None} is returned.
23636 @end defvar
23637
23638 The following methods are provided:
23639
23640 @defun Type.fields ()
23641 For structure and union types, this method returns the fields. Range
23642 types have two fields, the minimum and maximum values. Enum types
23643 have one field per enum constant. Function and method types have one
23644 field per parameter. The base types of C@t{++} classes are also
23645 represented as fields. If the type has no fields, or does not fit
23646 into one of these categories, an empty sequence will be returned.
23647
23648 Each field is a @code{gdb.Field} object, with some pre-defined attributes:
23649 @table @code
23650 @item bitpos
23651 This attribute is not available for @code{static} fields (as in
23652 C@t{++} or Java). For non-@code{static} fields, the value is the bit
23653 position of the field. For @code{enum} fields, the value is the
23654 enumeration member's integer representation.
23655
23656 @item name
23657 The name of the field, or @code{None} for anonymous fields.
23658
23659 @item artificial
23660 This is @code{True} if the field is artificial, usually meaning that
23661 it was provided by the compiler and not the user. This attribute is
23662 always provided, and is @code{False} if the field is not artificial.
23663
23664 @item is_base_class
23665 This is @code{True} if the field represents a base class of a C@t{++}
23666 structure. This attribute is always provided, and is @code{False}
23667 if the field is not a base class of the type that is the argument of
23668 @code{fields}, or if that type was not a C@t{++} class.
23669
23670 @item bitsize
23671 If the field is packed, or is a bitfield, then this will have a
23672 non-zero value, which is the size of the field in bits. Otherwise,
23673 this will be zero; in this case the field's size is given by its type.
23674
23675 @item type
23676 The type of the field. This is usually an instance of @code{Type},
23677 but it can be @code{None} in some situations.
23678 @end table
23679 @end defun
23680
23681 @defun Type.array (@var{n1} @r{[}, @var{n2}@r{]})
23682 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} object which represents an array of this
23683 type. If one argument is given, it is the inclusive upper bound of
23684 the array; in this case the lower bound is zero. If two arguments are
23685 given, the first argument is the lower bound of the array, and the
23686 second argument is the upper bound of the array. An array's length
23687 must not be negative, but the bounds can be.
23688 @end defun
23689
23690 @defun Type.vector (@var{n1} @r{[}, @var{n2}@r{]})
23691 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} object which represents a vector of this
23692 type. If one argument is given, it is the inclusive upper bound of
23693 the vector; in this case the lower bound is zero. If two arguments are
23694 given, the first argument is the lower bound of the vector, and the
23695 second argument is the upper bound of the vector. A vector's length
23696 must not be negative, but the bounds can be.
23697
23698 The difference between an @code{array} and a @code{vector} is that
23699 arrays behave like in C: when used in expressions they decay to a pointer
23700 to the first element whereas vectors are treated as first class values.
23701 @end defun
23702
23703 @defun Type.const ()
23704 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} object which represents a
23705 @code{const}-qualified variant of this type.
23706 @end defun
23707
23708 @defun Type.volatile ()
23709 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} object which represents a
23710 @code{volatile}-qualified variant of this type.
23711 @end defun
23712
23713 @defun Type.unqualified ()
23714 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} object which represents an unqualified
23715 variant of this type. That is, the result is neither @code{const} nor
23716 @code{volatile}.
23717 @end defun
23718
23719 @defun Type.range ()
23720 Return a Python @code{Tuple} object that contains two elements: the
23721 low bound of the argument type and the high bound of that type. If
23722 the type does not have a range, @value{GDBN} will raise a
23723 @code{gdb.error} exception (@pxref{Exception Handling}).
23724 @end defun
23725
23726 @defun Type.reference ()
23727 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} object which represents a reference to this
23728 type.
23729 @end defun
23730
23731 @defun Type.pointer ()
23732 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} object which represents a pointer to this
23733 type.
23734 @end defun
23735
23736 @defun Type.strip_typedefs ()
23737 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} that represents the real type,
23738 after removing all layers of typedefs.
23739 @end defun
23740
23741 @defun Type.target ()
23742 Return a new @code{gdb.Type} object which represents the target type
23743 of this type.
23744
23745 For a pointer type, the target type is the type of the pointed-to
23746 object. For an array type (meaning C-like arrays), the target type is
23747 the type of the elements of the array. For a function or method type,
23748 the target type is the type of the return value. For a complex type,
23749 the target type is the type of the elements. For a typedef, the
23750 target type is the aliased type.
23751
23752 If the type does not have a target, this method will throw an
23753 exception.
23754 @end defun
23755
23756 @defun Type.template_argument (n @r{[}, block@r{]})
23757 If this @code{gdb.Type} is an instantiation of a template, this will
23758 return a new @code{gdb.Type} which represents the type of the
23759 @var{n}th template argument.
23760
23761 If this @code{gdb.Type} is not a template type, this will throw an
23762 exception. Ordinarily, only C@t{++} code will have template types.
23763
23764 If @var{block} is given, then @var{name} is looked up in that scope.
23765 Otherwise, it is searched for globally.
23766 @end defun
23767
23768
23769 Each type has a code, which indicates what category this type falls
23770 into. The available type categories are represented by constants
23771 defined in the @code{gdb} module:
23772
23773 @table @code
23774 @findex TYPE_CODE_PTR
23775 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_PTR
23776 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_PTR
23777 The type is a pointer.
23778
23779 @findex TYPE_CODE_ARRAY
23780 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_ARRAY
23781 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_ARRAY
23782 The type is an array.
23783
23784 @findex TYPE_CODE_STRUCT
23785 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_STRUCT
23786 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_STRUCT
23787 The type is a structure.
23788
23789 @findex TYPE_CODE_UNION
23790 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_UNION
23791 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_UNION
23792 The type is a union.
23793
23794 @findex TYPE_CODE_ENUM
23795 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_ENUM
23796 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_ENUM
23797 The type is an enum.
23798
23799 @findex TYPE_CODE_FLAGS
23800 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_FLAGS
23801 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_FLAGS
23802 A bit flags type, used for things such as status registers.
23803
23804 @findex TYPE_CODE_FUNC
23805 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_FUNC
23806 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_FUNC
23807 The type is a function.
23808
23809 @findex TYPE_CODE_INT
23810 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_INT
23811 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_INT
23812 The type is an integer type.
23813
23814 @findex TYPE_CODE_FLT
23815 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_FLT
23816 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_FLT
23817 A floating point type.
23818
23819 @findex TYPE_CODE_VOID
23820 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_VOID
23821 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_VOID
23822 The special type @code{void}.
23823
23824 @findex TYPE_CODE_SET
23825 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_SET
23826 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_SET
23827 A Pascal set type.
23828
23829 @findex TYPE_CODE_RANGE
23830 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_RANGE
23831 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_RANGE
23832 A range type, that is, an integer type with bounds.
23833
23834 @findex TYPE_CODE_STRING
23835 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_STRING
23836 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_STRING
23837 A string type. Note that this is only used for certain languages with
23838 language-defined string types; C strings are not represented this way.
23839
23840 @findex TYPE_CODE_BITSTRING
23841 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_BITSTRING
23842 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_BITSTRING
23843 A string of bits. It is deprecated.
23844
23845 @findex TYPE_CODE_ERROR
23846 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_ERROR
23847 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_ERROR
23848 An unknown or erroneous type.
23849
23850 @findex TYPE_CODE_METHOD
23851 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_METHOD
23852 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_METHOD
23853 A method type, as found in C@t{++} or Java.
23854
23855 @findex TYPE_CODE_METHODPTR
23856 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_METHODPTR
23857 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_METHODPTR
23858 A pointer-to-member-function.
23859
23860 @findex TYPE_CODE_MEMBERPTR
23861 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_MEMBERPTR
23862 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_MEMBERPTR
23863 A pointer-to-member.
23864
23865 @findex TYPE_CODE_REF
23866 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_REF
23867 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_REF
23868 A reference type.
23869
23870 @findex TYPE_CODE_CHAR
23871 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_CHAR
23872 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_CHAR
23873 A character type.
23874
23875 @findex TYPE_CODE_BOOL
23876 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_BOOL
23877 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_BOOL
23878 A boolean type.
23879
23880 @findex TYPE_CODE_COMPLEX
23881 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_COMPLEX
23882 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_COMPLEX
23883 A complex float type.
23884
23885 @findex TYPE_CODE_TYPEDEF
23886 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_TYPEDEF
23887 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_TYPEDEF
23888 A typedef to some other type.
23889
23890 @findex TYPE_CODE_NAMESPACE
23891 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_NAMESPACE
23892 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_NAMESPACE
23893 A C@t{++} namespace.
23894
23895 @findex TYPE_CODE_DECFLOAT
23896 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_DECFLOAT
23897 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_DECFLOAT
23898 A decimal floating point type.
23899
23900 @findex TYPE_CODE_INTERNAL_FUNCTION
23901 @findex gdb.TYPE_CODE_INTERNAL_FUNCTION
23902 @item gdb.TYPE_CODE_INTERNAL_FUNCTION
23903 A function internal to @value{GDBN}. This is the type used to represent
23904 convenience functions.
23905 @end table
23906
23907 Further support for types is provided in the @code{gdb.types}
23908 Python module (@pxref{gdb.types}).
23909
23910 @node Pretty Printing API
23911 @subsubsection Pretty Printing API
23912
23913 An example output is provided (@pxref{Pretty Printing}).
23914
23915 A pretty-printer is just an object that holds a value and implements a
23916 specific interface, defined here.
23917
23918 @defun pretty_printer.children (self)
23919 @value{GDBN} will call this method on a pretty-printer to compute the
23920 children of the pretty-printer's value.
23921
23922 This method must return an object conforming to the Python iterator
23923 protocol. Each item returned by the iterator must be a tuple holding
23924 two elements. The first element is the ``name'' of the child; the
23925 second element is the child's value. The value can be any Python
23926 object which is convertible to a @value{GDBN} value.
23927
23928 This method is optional. If it does not exist, @value{GDBN} will act
23929 as though the value has no children.
23930 @end defun
23931
23932 @defun pretty_printer.display_hint (self)
23933 The CLI may call this method and use its result to change the
23934 formatting of a value. The result will also be supplied to an MI
23935 consumer as a @samp{displayhint} attribute of the variable being
23936 printed.
23937
23938 This method is optional. If it does exist, this method must return a
23939 string.
23940
23941 Some display hints are predefined by @value{GDBN}:
23942
23943 @table @samp
23944 @item array
23945 Indicate that the object being printed is ``array-like''. The CLI
23946 uses this to respect parameters such as @code{set print elements} and
23947 @code{set print array}.
23948
23949 @item map
23950 Indicate that the object being printed is ``map-like'', and that the
23951 children of this value can be assumed to alternate between keys and
23952 values.
23953
23954 @item string
23955 Indicate that the object being printed is ``string-like''. If the
23956 printer's @code{to_string} method returns a Python string of some
23957 kind, then @value{GDBN} will call its internal language-specific
23958 string-printing function to format the string. For the CLI this means
23959 adding quotation marks, possibly escaping some characters, respecting
23960 @code{set print elements}, and the like.
23961 @end table
23962 @end defun
23963
23964 @defun pretty_printer.to_string (self)
23965 @value{GDBN} will call this method to display the string
23966 representation of the value passed to the object's constructor.
23967
23968 When printing from the CLI, if the @code{to_string} method exists,
23969 then @value{GDBN} will prepend its result to the values returned by
23970 @code{children}. Exactly how this formatting is done is dependent on
23971 the display hint, and may change as more hints are added. Also,
23972 depending on the print settings (@pxref{Print Settings}), the CLI may
23973 print just the result of @code{to_string} in a stack trace, omitting
23974 the result of @code{children}.
23975
23976 If this method returns a string, it is printed verbatim.
23977
23978 Otherwise, if this method returns an instance of @code{gdb.Value},
23979 then @value{GDBN} prints this value. This may result in a call to
23980 another pretty-printer.
23981
23982 If instead the method returns a Python value which is convertible to a
23983 @code{gdb.Value}, then @value{GDBN} performs the conversion and prints
23984 the resulting value. Again, this may result in a call to another
23985 pretty-printer. Python scalars (integers, floats, and booleans) and
23986 strings are convertible to @code{gdb.Value}; other types are not.
23987
23988 Finally, if this method returns @code{None} then no further operations
23989 are peformed in this method and nothing is printed.
23990
23991 If the result is not one of these types, an exception is raised.
23992 @end defun
23993
23994 @value{GDBN} provides a function which can be used to look up the
23995 default pretty-printer for a @code{gdb.Value}:
23996
23997 @findex gdb.default_visualizer
23998 @defun gdb.default_visualizer (value)
23999 This function takes a @code{gdb.Value} object as an argument. If a
24000 pretty-printer for this value exists, then it is returned. If no such
24001 printer exists, then this returns @code{None}.
24002 @end defun
24003
24004 @node Selecting Pretty-Printers
24005 @subsubsection Selecting Pretty-Printers
24006
24007 The Python list @code{gdb.pretty_printers} contains an array of
24008 functions or callable objects that have been registered via addition
24009 as a pretty-printer. Printers in this list are called @code{global}
24010 printers, they're available when debugging all inferiors.
24011 Each @code{gdb.Progspace} contains a @code{pretty_printers} attribute.
24012 Each @code{gdb.Objfile} also contains a @code{pretty_printers}
24013 attribute.
24014
24015 Each function on these lists is passed a single @code{gdb.Value}
24016 argument and should return a pretty-printer object conforming to the
24017 interface definition above (@pxref{Pretty Printing API}). If a function
24018 cannot create a pretty-printer for the value, it should return
24019 @code{None}.
24020
24021 @value{GDBN} first checks the @code{pretty_printers} attribute of each
24022 @code{gdb.Objfile} in the current program space and iteratively calls
24023 each enabled lookup routine in the list for that @code{gdb.Objfile}
24024 until it receives a pretty-printer object.
24025 If no pretty-printer is found in the objfile lists, @value{GDBN} then
24026 searches the pretty-printer list of the current program space,
24027 calling each enabled function until an object is returned.
24028 After these lists have been exhausted, it tries the global
24029 @code{gdb.pretty_printers} list, again calling each enabled function until an
24030 object is returned.
24031
24032 The order in which the objfiles are searched is not specified. For a
24033 given list, functions are always invoked from the head of the list,
24034 and iterated over sequentially until the end of the list, or a printer
24035 object is returned.
24036
24037 For various reasons a pretty-printer may not work.
24038 For example, the underlying data structure may have changed and
24039 the pretty-printer is out of date.
24040
24041 The consequences of a broken pretty-printer are severe enough that
24042 @value{GDBN} provides support for enabling and disabling individual
24043 printers. For example, if @code{print frame-arguments} is on,
24044 a backtrace can become highly illegible if any argument is printed
24045 with a broken printer.
24046
24047 Pretty-printers are enabled and disabled by attaching an @code{enabled}
24048 attribute to the registered function or callable object. If this attribute
24049 is present and its value is @code{False}, the printer is disabled, otherwise
24050 the printer is enabled.
24051
24052 @node Writing a Pretty-Printer
24053 @subsubsection Writing a Pretty-Printer
24054 @cindex writing a pretty-printer
24055
24056 A pretty-printer consists of two parts: a lookup function to detect
24057 if the type is supported, and the printer itself.
24058
24059 Here is an example showing how a @code{std::string} printer might be
24060 written. @xref{Pretty Printing API}, for details on the API this class
24061 must provide.
24062
24063 @smallexample
24064 class StdStringPrinter(object):
24065 "Print a std::string"
24066
24067 def __init__(self, val):
24068 self.val = val
24069
24070 def to_string(self):
24071 return self.val['_M_dataplus']['_M_p']
24072
24073 def display_hint(self):
24074 return 'string'
24075 @end smallexample
24076
24077 And here is an example showing how a lookup function for the printer
24078 example above might be written.
24079
24080 @smallexample
24081 def str_lookup_function(val):
24082 lookup_tag = val.type.tag
24083 if lookup_tag == None:
24084 return None
24085 regex = re.compile("^std::basic_string<char,.*>$")
24086 if regex.match(lookup_tag):
24087 return StdStringPrinter(val)
24088 return None
24089 @end smallexample
24090
24091 The example lookup function extracts the value's type, and attempts to
24092 match it to a type that it can pretty-print. If it is a type the
24093 printer can pretty-print, it will return a printer object. If not, it
24094 returns @code{None}.
24095
24096 We recommend that you put your core pretty-printers into a Python
24097 package. If your pretty-printers are for use with a library, we
24098 further recommend embedding a version number into the package name.
24099 This practice will enable @value{GDBN} to load multiple versions of
24100 your pretty-printers at the same time, because they will have
24101 different names.
24102
24103 You should write auto-loaded code (@pxref{Python Auto-loading}) such that it
24104 can be evaluated multiple times without changing its meaning. An
24105 ideal auto-load file will consist solely of @code{import}s of your
24106 printer modules, followed by a call to a register pretty-printers with
24107 the current objfile.
24108
24109 Taken as a whole, this approach will scale nicely to multiple
24110 inferiors, each potentially using a different library version.
24111 Embedding a version number in the Python package name will ensure that
24112 @value{GDBN} is able to load both sets of printers simultaneously.
24113 Then, because the search for pretty-printers is done by objfile, and
24114 because your auto-loaded code took care to register your library's
24115 printers with a specific objfile, @value{GDBN} will find the correct
24116 printers for the specific version of the library used by each
24117 inferior.
24118
24119 To continue the @code{std::string} example (@pxref{Pretty Printing API}),
24120 this code might appear in @code{gdb.libstdcxx.v6}:
24121
24122 @smallexample
24123 def register_printers(objfile):
24124 objfile.pretty_printers.append(str_lookup_function)
24125 @end smallexample
24126
24127 @noindent
24128 And then the corresponding contents of the auto-load file would be:
24129
24130 @smallexample
24131 import gdb.libstdcxx.v6
24132 gdb.libstdcxx.v6.register_printers(gdb.current_objfile())
24133 @end smallexample
24134
24135 The previous example illustrates a basic pretty-printer.
24136 There are a few things that can be improved on.
24137 The printer doesn't have a name, making it hard to identify in a
24138 list of installed printers. The lookup function has a name, but
24139 lookup functions can have arbitrary, even identical, names.
24140
24141 Second, the printer only handles one type, whereas a library typically has
24142 several types. One could install a lookup function for each desired type
24143 in the library, but one could also have a single lookup function recognize
24144 several types. The latter is the conventional way this is handled.
24145 If a pretty-printer can handle multiple data types, then its
24146 @dfn{subprinters} are the printers for the individual data types.
24147
24148 The @code{gdb.printing} module provides a formal way of solving these
24149 problems (@pxref{gdb.printing}).
24150 Here is another example that handles multiple types.
24151
24152 These are the types we are going to pretty-print:
24153
24154 @smallexample
24155 struct foo @{ int a, b; @};
24156 struct bar @{ struct foo x, y; @};
24157 @end smallexample
24158
24159 Here are the printers:
24160
24161 @smallexample
24162 class fooPrinter:
24163 """Print a foo object."""
24164
24165 def __init__(self, val):
24166 self.val = val
24167
24168 def to_string(self):
24169 return ("a=<" + str(self.val["a"]) +
24170 "> b=<" + str(self.val["b"]) + ">")
24171
24172 class barPrinter:
24173 """Print a bar object."""
24174
24175 def __init__(self, val):
24176 self.val = val
24177
24178 def to_string(self):
24179 return ("x=<" + str(self.val["x"]) +
24180 "> y=<" + str(self.val["y"]) + ">")
24181 @end smallexample
24182
24183 This example doesn't need a lookup function, that is handled by the
24184 @code{gdb.printing} module. Instead a function is provided to build up
24185 the object that handles the lookup.
24186
24187 @smallexample
24188 import gdb.printing
24189
24190 def build_pretty_printer():
24191 pp = gdb.printing.RegexpCollectionPrettyPrinter(
24192 "my_library")
24193 pp.add_printer('foo', '^foo$', fooPrinter)
24194 pp.add_printer('bar', '^bar$', barPrinter)
24195 return pp
24196 @end smallexample
24197
24198 And here is the autoload support:
24199
24200 @smallexample
24201 import gdb.printing
24202 import my_library
24203 gdb.printing.register_pretty_printer(
24204 gdb.current_objfile(),
24205 my_library.build_pretty_printer())
24206 @end smallexample
24207
24208 Finally, when this printer is loaded into @value{GDBN}, here is the
24209 corresponding output of @samp{info pretty-printer}:
24210
24211 @smallexample
24212 (gdb) info pretty-printer
24213 my_library.so:
24214 my_library
24215 foo
24216 bar
24217 @end smallexample
24218
24219 @node Type Printing API
24220 @subsubsection Type Printing API
24221 @cindex type printing API for Python
24222
24223 @value{GDBN} provides a way for Python code to customize type display.
24224 This is mainly useful for substituting canonical typedef names for
24225 types.
24226
24227 @cindex type printer
24228 A @dfn{type printer} is just a Python object conforming to a certain
24229 protocol. A simple base class implementing the protocol is provided;
24230 see @ref{gdb.types}. A type printer must supply at least:
24231
24232 @defivar type_printer enabled
24233 A boolean which is True if the printer is enabled, and False
24234 otherwise. This is manipulated by the @code{enable type-printer}
24235 and @code{disable type-printer} commands.
24236 @end defivar
24237
24238 @defivar type_printer name
24239 The name of the type printer. This must be a string. This is used by
24240 the @code{enable type-printer} and @code{disable type-printer}
24241 commands.
24242 @end defivar
24243
24244 @defmethod type_printer instantiate (self)
24245 This is called by @value{GDBN} at the start of type-printing. It is
24246 only called if the type printer is enabled. This method must return a
24247 new object that supplies a @code{recognize} method, as described below.
24248 @end defmethod
24249
24250
24251 When displaying a type, say via the @code{ptype} command, @value{GDBN}
24252 will compute a list of type recognizers. This is done by iterating
24253 first over the per-objfile type printers (@pxref{Objfiles In Python}),
24254 followed by the per-progspace type printers (@pxref{Progspaces In
24255 Python}), and finally the global type printers.
24256
24257 @value{GDBN} will call the @code{instantiate} method of each enabled
24258 type printer. If this method returns @code{None}, then the result is
24259 ignored; otherwise, it is appended to the list of recognizers.
24260
24261 Then, when @value{GDBN} is going to display a type name, it iterates
24262 over the list of recognizers. For each one, it calls the recognition
24263 function, stopping if the function returns a non-@code{None} value.
24264 The recognition function is defined as:
24265
24266 @defmethod type_recognizer recognize (self, type)
24267 If @var{type} is not recognized, return @code{None}. Otherwise,
24268 return a string which is to be printed as the name of @var{type}.
24269 @var{type} will be an instance of @code{gdb.Type} (@pxref{Types In
24270 Python}).
24271 @end defmethod
24272
24273 @value{GDBN} uses this two-pass approach so that type printers can
24274 efficiently cache information without holding on to it too long. For
24275 example, it can be convenient to look up type information in a type
24276 printer and hold it for a recognizer's lifetime; if a single pass were
24277 done then type printers would have to make use of the event system in
24278 order to avoid holding information that could become stale as the
24279 inferior changed.
24280
24281 @node Inferiors In Python
24282 @subsubsection Inferiors In Python
24283 @cindex inferiors in Python
24284
24285 @findex gdb.Inferior
24286 Programs which are being run under @value{GDBN} are called inferiors
24287 (@pxref{Inferiors and Programs}). Python scripts can access
24288 information about and manipulate inferiors controlled by @value{GDBN}
24289 via objects of the @code{gdb.Inferior} class.
24290
24291 The following inferior-related functions are available in the @code{gdb}
24292 module:
24293
24294 @defun gdb.inferiors ()
24295 Return a tuple containing all inferior objects.
24296 @end defun
24297
24298 @defun gdb.selected_inferior ()
24299 Return an object representing the current inferior.
24300 @end defun
24301
24302 A @code{gdb.Inferior} object has the following attributes:
24303
24304 @defvar Inferior.num
24305 ID of inferior, as assigned by GDB.
24306 @end defvar
24307
24308 @defvar Inferior.pid
24309 Process ID of the inferior, as assigned by the underlying operating
24310 system.
24311 @end defvar
24312
24313 @defvar Inferior.was_attached
24314 Boolean signaling whether the inferior was created using `attach', or
24315 started by @value{GDBN} itself.
24316 @end defvar
24317
24318 A @code{gdb.Inferior} object has the following methods:
24319
24320 @defun Inferior.is_valid ()
24321 Returns @code{True} if the @code{gdb.Inferior} object is valid,
24322 @code{False} if not. A @code{gdb.Inferior} object will become invalid
24323 if the inferior no longer exists within @value{GDBN}. All other
24324 @code{gdb.Inferior} methods will throw an exception if it is invalid
24325 at the time the method is called.
24326 @end defun
24327
24328 @defun Inferior.threads ()
24329 This method returns a tuple holding all the threads which are valid
24330 when it is called. If there are no valid threads, the method will
24331 return an empty tuple.
24332 @end defun
24333
24334 @findex Inferior.read_memory
24335 @defun Inferior.read_memory (address, length)
24336 Read @var{length} bytes of memory from the inferior, starting at
24337 @var{address}. Returns a buffer object, which behaves much like an array
24338 or a string. It can be modified and given to the
24339 @code{Inferior.write_memory} function. In @code{Python} 3, the return
24340 value is a @code{memoryview} object.
24341 @end defun
24342
24343 @findex Inferior.write_memory
24344 @defun Inferior.write_memory (address, buffer @r{[}, length@r{]})
24345 Write the contents of @var{buffer} to the inferior, starting at
24346 @var{address}. The @var{buffer} parameter must be a Python object
24347 which supports the buffer protocol, i.e., a string, an array or the
24348 object returned from @code{Inferior.read_memory}. If given, @var{length}
24349 determines the number of bytes from @var{buffer} to be written.
24350 @end defun
24351
24352 @findex gdb.search_memory
24353 @defun Inferior.search_memory (address, length, pattern)
24354 Search a region of the inferior memory starting at @var{address} with
24355 the given @var{length} using the search pattern supplied in
24356 @var{pattern}. The @var{pattern} parameter must be a Python object
24357 which supports the buffer protocol, i.e., a string, an array or the
24358 object returned from @code{gdb.read_memory}. Returns a Python @code{Long}
24359 containing the address where the pattern was found, or @code{None} if
24360 the pattern could not be found.
24361 @end defun
24362
24363 @node Events In Python
24364 @subsubsection Events In Python
24365 @cindex inferior events in Python
24366
24367 @value{GDBN} provides a general event facility so that Python code can be
24368 notified of various state changes, particularly changes that occur in
24369 the inferior.
24370
24371 An @dfn{event} is just an object that describes some state change. The
24372 type of the object and its attributes will vary depending on the details
24373 of the change. All the existing events are described below.
24374
24375 In order to be notified of an event, you must register an event handler
24376 with an @dfn{event registry}. An event registry is an object in the
24377 @code{gdb.events} module which dispatches particular events. A registry
24378 provides methods to register and unregister event handlers:
24379
24380 @defun EventRegistry.connect (object)
24381 Add the given callable @var{object} to the registry. This object will be
24382 called when an event corresponding to this registry occurs.
24383 @end defun
24384
24385 @defun EventRegistry.disconnect (object)
24386 Remove the given @var{object} from the registry. Once removed, the object
24387 will no longer receive notifications of events.
24388 @end defun
24389
24390 Here is an example:
24391
24392 @smallexample
24393 def exit_handler (event):
24394 print "event type: exit"
24395 print "exit code: %d" % (event.exit_code)
24396
24397 gdb.events.exited.connect (exit_handler)
24398 @end smallexample
24399
24400 In the above example we connect our handler @code{exit_handler} to the
24401 registry @code{events.exited}. Once connected, @code{exit_handler} gets
24402 called when the inferior exits. The argument @dfn{event} in this example is
24403 of type @code{gdb.ExitedEvent}. As you can see in the example the
24404 @code{ExitedEvent} object has an attribute which indicates the exit code of
24405 the inferior.
24406
24407 The following is a listing of the event registries that are available and
24408 details of the events they emit:
24409
24410 @table @code
24411
24412 @item events.cont
24413 Emits @code{gdb.ThreadEvent}.
24414
24415 Some events can be thread specific when @value{GDBN} is running in non-stop
24416 mode. When represented in Python, these events all extend
24417 @code{gdb.ThreadEvent}. Note, this event is not emitted directly; instead,
24418 events which are emitted by this or other modules might extend this event.
24419 Examples of these events are @code{gdb.BreakpointEvent} and
24420 @code{gdb.ContinueEvent}.
24421
24422 @defvar ThreadEvent.inferior_thread
24423 In non-stop mode this attribute will be set to the specific thread which was
24424 involved in the emitted event. Otherwise, it will be set to @code{None}.
24425 @end defvar
24426
24427 Emits @code{gdb.ContinueEvent} which extends @code{gdb.ThreadEvent}.
24428
24429 This event indicates that the inferior has been continued after a stop. For
24430 inherited attribute refer to @code{gdb.ThreadEvent} above.
24431
24432 @item events.exited
24433 Emits @code{events.ExitedEvent} which indicates that the inferior has exited.
24434 @code{events.ExitedEvent} has two attributes:
24435 @defvar ExitedEvent.exit_code
24436 An integer representing the exit code, if available, which the inferior
24437 has returned. (The exit code could be unavailable if, for example,
24438 @value{GDBN} detaches from the inferior.) If the exit code is unavailable,
24439 the attribute does not exist.
24440 @end defvar
24441 @defvar ExitedEvent inferior
24442 A reference to the inferior which triggered the @code{exited} event.
24443 @end defvar
24444
24445 @item events.stop
24446 Emits @code{gdb.StopEvent} which extends @code{gdb.ThreadEvent}.
24447
24448 Indicates that the inferior has stopped. All events emitted by this registry
24449 extend StopEvent. As a child of @code{gdb.ThreadEvent}, @code{gdb.StopEvent}
24450 will indicate the stopped thread when @value{GDBN} is running in non-stop
24451 mode. Refer to @code{gdb.ThreadEvent} above for more details.
24452
24453 Emits @code{gdb.SignalEvent} which extends @code{gdb.StopEvent}.
24454
24455 This event indicates that the inferior or one of its threads has received as
24456 signal. @code{gdb.SignalEvent} has the following attributes:
24457
24458 @defvar SignalEvent.stop_signal
24459 A string representing the signal received by the inferior. A list of possible
24460 signal values can be obtained by running the command @code{info signals} in
24461 the @value{GDBN} command prompt.
24462 @end defvar
24463
24464 Also emits @code{gdb.BreakpointEvent} which extends @code{gdb.StopEvent}.
24465
24466 @code{gdb.BreakpointEvent} event indicates that one or more breakpoints have
24467 been hit, and has the following attributes:
24468
24469 @defvar BreakpointEvent.breakpoints
24470 A sequence containing references to all the breakpoints (type
24471 @code{gdb.Breakpoint}) that were hit.
24472 @xref{Breakpoints In Python}, for details of the @code{gdb.Breakpoint} object.
24473 @end defvar
24474 @defvar BreakpointEvent.breakpoint
24475 A reference to the first breakpoint that was hit.
24476 This function is maintained for backward compatibility and is now deprecated
24477 in favor of the @code{gdb.BreakpointEvent.breakpoints} attribute.
24478 @end defvar
24479
24480 @item events.new_objfile
24481 Emits @code{gdb.NewObjFileEvent} which indicates that a new object file has
24482 been loaded by @value{GDBN}. @code{gdb.NewObjFileEvent} has one attribute:
24483
24484 @defvar NewObjFileEvent.new_objfile
24485 A reference to the object file (@code{gdb.Objfile}) which has been loaded.
24486 @xref{Objfiles In Python}, for details of the @code{gdb.Objfile} object.
24487 @end defvar
24488
24489 @end table
24490
24491 @node Threads In Python
24492 @subsubsection Threads In Python
24493 @cindex threads in python
24494
24495 @findex gdb.InferiorThread
24496 Python scripts can access information about, and manipulate inferior threads
24497 controlled by @value{GDBN}, via objects of the @code{gdb.InferiorThread} class.
24498
24499 The following thread-related functions are available in the @code{gdb}
24500 module:
24501
24502 @findex gdb.selected_thread
24503 @defun gdb.selected_thread ()
24504 This function returns the thread object for the selected thread. If there
24505 is no selected thread, this will return @code{None}.
24506 @end defun
24507
24508 A @code{gdb.InferiorThread} object has the following attributes:
24509
24510 @defvar InferiorThread.name
24511 The name of the thread. If the user specified a name using
24512 @code{thread name}, then this returns that name. Otherwise, if an
24513 OS-supplied name is available, then it is returned. Otherwise, this
24514 returns @code{None}.
24515
24516 This attribute can be assigned to. The new value must be a string
24517 object, which sets the new name, or @code{None}, which removes any
24518 user-specified thread name.
24519 @end defvar
24520
24521 @defvar InferiorThread.num
24522 ID of the thread, as assigned by GDB.
24523 @end defvar
24524
24525 @defvar InferiorThread.ptid
24526 ID of the thread, as assigned by the operating system. This attribute is a
24527 tuple containing three integers. The first is the Process ID (PID); the second
24528 is the Lightweight Process ID (LWPID), and the third is the Thread ID (TID).
24529 Either the LWPID or TID may be 0, which indicates that the operating system
24530 does not use that identifier.
24531 @end defvar
24532
24533 A @code{gdb.InferiorThread} object has the following methods:
24534
24535 @defun InferiorThread.is_valid ()
24536 Returns @code{True} if the @code{gdb.InferiorThread} object is valid,
24537 @code{False} if not. A @code{gdb.InferiorThread} object will become
24538 invalid if the thread exits, or the inferior that the thread belongs
24539 is deleted. All other @code{gdb.InferiorThread} methods will throw an
24540 exception if it is invalid at the time the method is called.
24541 @end defun
24542
24543 @defun InferiorThread.switch ()
24544 This changes @value{GDBN}'s currently selected thread to the one represented
24545 by this object.
24546 @end defun
24547
24548 @defun InferiorThread.is_stopped ()
24549 Return a Boolean indicating whether the thread is stopped.
24550 @end defun
24551
24552 @defun InferiorThread.is_running ()
24553 Return a Boolean indicating whether the thread is running.
24554 @end defun
24555
24556 @defun InferiorThread.is_exited ()
24557 Return a Boolean indicating whether the thread is exited.
24558 @end defun
24559
24560 @node Commands In Python
24561 @subsubsection Commands In Python
24562
24563 @cindex commands in python
24564 @cindex python commands
24565 You can implement new @value{GDBN} CLI commands in Python. A CLI
24566 command is implemented using an instance of the @code{gdb.Command}
24567 class, most commonly using a subclass.
24568
24569 @defun Command.__init__ (name, @var{command_class} @r{[}, @var{completer_class} @r{[}, @var{prefix}@r{]]})
24570 The object initializer for @code{Command} registers the new command
24571 with @value{GDBN}. This initializer is normally invoked from the
24572 subclass' own @code{__init__} method.
24573
24574 @var{name} is the name of the command. If @var{name} consists of
24575 multiple words, then the initial words are looked for as prefix
24576 commands. In this case, if one of the prefix commands does not exist,
24577 an exception is raised.
24578
24579 There is no support for multi-line commands.
24580
24581 @var{command_class} should be one of the @samp{COMMAND_} constants
24582 defined below. This argument tells @value{GDBN} how to categorize the
24583 new command in the help system.
24584
24585 @var{completer_class} is an optional argument. If given, it should be
24586 one of the @samp{COMPLETE_} constants defined below. This argument
24587 tells @value{GDBN} how to perform completion for this command. If not
24588 given, @value{GDBN} will attempt to complete using the object's
24589 @code{complete} method (see below); if no such method is found, an
24590 error will occur when completion is attempted.
24591
24592 @var{prefix} is an optional argument. If @code{True}, then the new
24593 command is a prefix command; sub-commands of this command may be
24594 registered.
24595
24596 The help text for the new command is taken from the Python
24597 documentation string for the command's class, if there is one. If no
24598 documentation string is provided, the default value ``This command is
24599 not documented.'' is used.
24600 @end defun
24601
24602 @cindex don't repeat Python command
24603 @defun Command.dont_repeat ()
24604 By default, a @value{GDBN} command is repeated when the user enters a
24605 blank line at the command prompt. A command can suppress this
24606 behavior by invoking the @code{dont_repeat} method. This is similar
24607 to the user command @code{dont-repeat}, see @ref{Define, dont-repeat}.
24608 @end defun
24609
24610 @defun Command.invoke (argument, from_tty)
24611 This method is called by @value{GDBN} when this command is invoked.
24612
24613 @var{argument} is a string. It is the argument to the command, after
24614 leading and trailing whitespace has been stripped.
24615
24616 @var{from_tty} is a boolean argument. When true, this means that the
24617 command was entered by the user at the terminal; when false it means
24618 that the command came from elsewhere.
24619
24620 If this method throws an exception, it is turned into a @value{GDBN}
24621 @code{error} call. Otherwise, the return value is ignored.
24622
24623 @findex gdb.string_to_argv
24624 To break @var{argument} up into an argv-like string use
24625 @code{gdb.string_to_argv}. This function behaves identically to
24626 @value{GDBN}'s internal argument lexer @code{buildargv}.
24627 It is recommended to use this for consistency.
24628 Arguments are separated by spaces and may be quoted.
24629 Example:
24630
24631 @smallexample
24632 print gdb.string_to_argv ("1 2\ \\\"3 '4 \"5' \"6 '7\"")
24633 ['1', '2 "3', '4 "5', "6 '7"]
24634 @end smallexample
24635
24636 @end defun
24637
24638 @cindex completion of Python commands
24639 @defun Command.complete (text, word)
24640 This method is called by @value{GDBN} when the user attempts
24641 completion on this command. All forms of completion are handled by
24642 this method, that is, the @key{TAB} and @key{M-?} key bindings
24643 (@pxref{Completion}), and the @code{complete} command (@pxref{Help,
24644 complete}).
24645
24646 The arguments @var{text} and @var{word} are both strings. @var{text}
24647 holds the complete command line up to the cursor's location.
24648 @var{word} holds the last word of the command line; this is computed
24649 using a word-breaking heuristic.
24650
24651 The @code{complete} method can return several values:
24652 @itemize @bullet
24653 @item
24654 If the return value is a sequence, the contents of the sequence are
24655 used as the completions. It is up to @code{complete} to ensure that the
24656 contents actually do complete the word. A zero-length sequence is
24657 allowed, it means that there were no completions available. Only
24658 string elements of the sequence are used; other elements in the
24659 sequence are ignored.
24660
24661 @item
24662 If the return value is one of the @samp{COMPLETE_} constants defined
24663 below, then the corresponding @value{GDBN}-internal completion
24664 function is invoked, and its result is used.
24665
24666 @item
24667 All other results are treated as though there were no available
24668 completions.
24669 @end itemize
24670 @end defun
24671
24672 When a new command is registered, it must be declared as a member of
24673 some general class of commands. This is used to classify top-level
24674 commands in the on-line help system; note that prefix commands are not
24675 listed under their own category but rather that of their top-level
24676 command. The available classifications are represented by constants
24677 defined in the @code{gdb} module:
24678
24679 @table @code
24680 @findex COMMAND_NONE
24681 @findex gdb.COMMAND_NONE
24682 @item gdb.COMMAND_NONE
24683 The command does not belong to any particular class. A command in
24684 this category will not be displayed in any of the help categories.
24685
24686 @findex COMMAND_RUNNING
24687 @findex gdb.COMMAND_RUNNING
24688 @item gdb.COMMAND_RUNNING
24689 The command is related to running the inferior. For example,
24690 @code{start}, @code{step}, and @code{continue} are in this category.
24691 Type @kbd{help running} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of
24692 commands in this category.
24693
24694 @findex COMMAND_DATA
24695 @findex gdb.COMMAND_DATA
24696 @item gdb.COMMAND_DATA
24697 The command is related to data or variables. For example,
24698 @code{call}, @code{find}, and @code{print} are in this category. Type
24699 @kbd{help data} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of commands
24700 in this category.
24701
24702 @findex COMMAND_STACK
24703 @findex gdb.COMMAND_STACK
24704 @item gdb.COMMAND_STACK
24705 The command has to do with manipulation of the stack. For example,
24706 @code{backtrace}, @code{frame}, and @code{return} are in this
24707 category. Type @kbd{help stack} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a
24708 list of commands in this category.
24709
24710 @findex COMMAND_FILES
24711 @findex gdb.COMMAND_FILES
24712 @item gdb.COMMAND_FILES
24713 This class is used for file-related commands. For example,
24714 @code{file}, @code{list} and @code{section} are in this category.
24715 Type @kbd{help files} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of
24716 commands in this category.
24717
24718 @findex COMMAND_SUPPORT
24719 @findex gdb.COMMAND_SUPPORT
24720 @item gdb.COMMAND_SUPPORT
24721 This should be used for ``support facilities'', generally meaning
24722 things that are useful to the user when interacting with @value{GDBN},
24723 but not related to the state of the inferior. For example,
24724 @code{help}, @code{make}, and @code{shell} are in this category. Type
24725 @kbd{help support} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of
24726 commands in this category.
24727
24728 @findex COMMAND_STATUS
24729 @findex gdb.COMMAND_STATUS
24730 @item gdb.COMMAND_STATUS
24731 The command is an @samp{info}-related command, that is, related to the
24732 state of @value{GDBN} itself. For example, @code{info}, @code{macro},
24733 and @code{show} are in this category. Type @kbd{help status} at the
24734 @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of commands in this category.
24735
24736 @findex COMMAND_BREAKPOINTS
24737 @findex gdb.COMMAND_BREAKPOINTS
24738 @item gdb.COMMAND_BREAKPOINTS
24739 The command has to do with breakpoints. For example, @code{break},
24740 @code{clear}, and @code{delete} are in this category. Type @kbd{help
24741 breakpoints} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of commands in
24742 this category.
24743
24744 @findex COMMAND_TRACEPOINTS
24745 @findex gdb.COMMAND_TRACEPOINTS
24746 @item gdb.COMMAND_TRACEPOINTS
24747 The command has to do with tracepoints. For example, @code{trace},
24748 @code{actions}, and @code{tfind} are in this category. Type
24749 @kbd{help tracepoints} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of
24750 commands in this category.
24751
24752 @findex COMMAND_USER
24753 @findex gdb.COMMAND_USER
24754 @item gdb.COMMAND_USER
24755 The command is a general purpose command for the user, and typically
24756 does not fit in one of the other categories.
24757 Type @kbd{help user-defined} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see
24758 a list of commands in this category, as well as the list of gdb macros
24759 (@pxref{Sequences}).
24760
24761 @findex COMMAND_OBSCURE
24762 @findex gdb.COMMAND_OBSCURE
24763 @item gdb.COMMAND_OBSCURE
24764 The command is only used in unusual circumstances, or is not of
24765 general interest to users. For example, @code{checkpoint},
24766 @code{fork}, and @code{stop} are in this category. Type @kbd{help
24767 obscure} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of commands in this
24768 category.
24769
24770 @findex COMMAND_MAINTENANCE
24771 @findex gdb.COMMAND_MAINTENANCE
24772 @item gdb.COMMAND_MAINTENANCE
24773 The command is only useful to @value{GDBN} maintainers. The
24774 @code{maintenance} and @code{flushregs} commands are in this category.
24775 Type @kbd{help internals} at the @value{GDBN} prompt to see a list of
24776 commands in this category.
24777 @end table
24778
24779 A new command can use a predefined completion function, either by
24780 specifying it via an argument at initialization, or by returning it
24781 from the @code{complete} method. These predefined completion
24782 constants are all defined in the @code{gdb} module:
24783
24784 @table @code
24785 @findex COMPLETE_NONE
24786 @findex gdb.COMPLETE_NONE
24787 @item gdb.COMPLETE_NONE
24788 This constant means that no completion should be done.
24789
24790 @findex COMPLETE_FILENAME
24791 @findex gdb.COMPLETE_FILENAME
24792 @item gdb.COMPLETE_FILENAME
24793 This constant means that filename completion should be performed.
24794
24795 @findex COMPLETE_LOCATION
24796 @findex gdb.COMPLETE_LOCATION
24797 @item gdb.COMPLETE_LOCATION
24798 This constant means that location completion should be done.
24799 @xref{Specify Location}.
24800
24801 @findex COMPLETE_COMMAND
24802 @findex gdb.COMPLETE_COMMAND
24803 @item gdb.COMPLETE_COMMAND
24804 This constant means that completion should examine @value{GDBN}
24805 command names.
24806
24807 @findex COMPLETE_SYMBOL
24808 @findex gdb.COMPLETE_SYMBOL
24809 @item gdb.COMPLETE_SYMBOL
24810 This constant means that completion should be done using symbol names
24811 as the source.
24812 @end table
24813
24814 The following code snippet shows how a trivial CLI command can be
24815 implemented in Python:
24816
24817 @smallexample
24818 class HelloWorld (gdb.Command):
24819 """Greet the whole world."""
24820
24821 def __init__ (self):
24822 super (HelloWorld, self).__init__ ("hello-world", gdb.COMMAND_USER)
24823
24824 def invoke (self, arg, from_tty):
24825 print "Hello, World!"
24826
24827 HelloWorld ()
24828 @end smallexample
24829
24830 The last line instantiates the class, and is necessary to trigger the
24831 registration of the command with @value{GDBN}. Depending on how the
24832 Python code is read into @value{GDBN}, you may need to import the
24833 @code{gdb} module explicitly.
24834
24835 @node Parameters In Python
24836 @subsubsection Parameters In Python
24837
24838 @cindex parameters in python
24839 @cindex python parameters
24840 @tindex gdb.Parameter
24841 @tindex Parameter
24842 You can implement new @value{GDBN} parameters using Python. A new
24843 parameter is implemented as an instance of the @code{gdb.Parameter}
24844 class.
24845
24846 Parameters are exposed to the user via the @code{set} and
24847 @code{show} commands. @xref{Help}.
24848
24849 There are many parameters that already exist and can be set in
24850 @value{GDBN}. Two examples are: @code{set follow fork} and
24851 @code{set charset}. Setting these parameters influences certain
24852 behavior in @value{GDBN}. Similarly, you can define parameters that
24853 can be used to influence behavior in custom Python scripts and commands.
24854
24855 @defun Parameter.__init__ (name, @var{command-class}, @var{parameter-class} @r{[}, @var{enum-sequence}@r{]})
24856 The object initializer for @code{Parameter} registers the new
24857 parameter with @value{GDBN}. This initializer is normally invoked
24858 from the subclass' own @code{__init__} method.
24859
24860 @var{name} is the name of the new parameter. If @var{name} consists
24861 of multiple words, then the initial words are looked for as prefix
24862 parameters. An example of this can be illustrated with the
24863 @code{set print} set of parameters. If @var{name} is
24864 @code{print foo}, then @code{print} will be searched as the prefix
24865 parameter. In this case the parameter can subsequently be accessed in
24866 @value{GDBN} as @code{set print foo}.
24867
24868 If @var{name} consists of multiple words, and no prefix parameter group
24869 can be found, an exception is raised.
24870
24871 @var{command-class} should be one of the @samp{COMMAND_} constants
24872 (@pxref{Commands In Python}). This argument tells @value{GDBN} how to
24873 categorize the new parameter in the help system.
24874
24875 @var{parameter-class} should be one of the @samp{PARAM_} constants
24876 defined below. This argument tells @value{GDBN} the type of the new
24877 parameter; this information is used for input validation and
24878 completion.
24879
24880 If @var{parameter-class} is @code{PARAM_ENUM}, then
24881 @var{enum-sequence} must be a sequence of strings. These strings
24882 represent the possible values for the parameter.
24883
24884 If @var{parameter-class} is not @code{PARAM_ENUM}, then the presence
24885 of a fourth argument will cause an exception to be thrown.
24886
24887 The help text for the new parameter is taken from the Python
24888 documentation string for the parameter's class, if there is one. If
24889 there is no documentation string, a default value is used.
24890 @end defun
24891
24892 @defvar Parameter.set_doc
24893 If this attribute exists, and is a string, then its value is used as
24894 the help text for this parameter's @code{set} command. The value is
24895 examined when @code{Parameter.__init__} is invoked; subsequent changes
24896 have no effect.
24897 @end defvar
24898
24899 @defvar Parameter.show_doc
24900 If this attribute exists, and is a string, then its value is used as
24901 the help text for this parameter's @code{show} command. The value is
24902 examined when @code{Parameter.__init__} is invoked; subsequent changes
24903 have no effect.
24904 @end defvar
24905
24906 @defvar Parameter.value
24907 The @code{value} attribute holds the underlying value of the
24908 parameter. It can be read and assigned to just as any other
24909 attribute. @value{GDBN} does validation when assignments are made.
24910 @end defvar
24911
24912 There are two methods that should be implemented in any
24913 @code{Parameter} class. These are:
24914
24915 @defun Parameter.get_set_string (self)
24916 @value{GDBN} will call this method when a @var{parameter}'s value has
24917 been changed via the @code{set} API (for example, @kbd{set foo off}).
24918 The @code{value} attribute has already been populated with the new
24919 value and may be used in output. This method must return a string.
24920 @end defun
24921
24922 @defun Parameter.get_show_string (self, svalue)
24923 @value{GDBN} will call this method when a @var{parameter}'s
24924 @code{show} API has been invoked (for example, @kbd{show foo}). The
24925 argument @code{svalue} receives the string representation of the
24926 current value. This method must return a string.
24927 @end defun
24928
24929 When a new parameter is defined, its type must be specified. The
24930 available types are represented by constants defined in the @code{gdb}
24931 module:
24932
24933 @table @code
24934 @findex PARAM_BOOLEAN
24935 @findex gdb.PARAM_BOOLEAN
24936 @item gdb.PARAM_BOOLEAN
24937 The value is a plain boolean. The Python boolean values, @code{True}
24938 and @code{False} are the only valid values.
24939
24940 @findex PARAM_AUTO_BOOLEAN
24941 @findex gdb.PARAM_AUTO_BOOLEAN
24942 @item gdb.PARAM_AUTO_BOOLEAN
24943 The value has three possible states: true, false, and @samp{auto}. In
24944 Python, true and false are represented using boolean constants, and
24945 @samp{auto} is represented using @code{None}.
24946
24947 @findex PARAM_UINTEGER
24948 @findex gdb.PARAM_UINTEGER
24949 @item gdb.PARAM_UINTEGER
24950 The value is an unsigned integer. The value of 0 should be
24951 interpreted to mean ``unlimited''.
24952
24953 @findex PARAM_INTEGER
24954 @findex gdb.PARAM_INTEGER
24955 @item gdb.PARAM_INTEGER
24956 The value is a signed integer. The value of 0 should be interpreted
24957 to mean ``unlimited''.
24958
24959 @findex PARAM_STRING
24960 @findex gdb.PARAM_STRING
24961 @item gdb.PARAM_STRING
24962 The value is a string. When the user modifies the string, any escape
24963 sequences, such as @samp{\t}, @samp{\f}, and octal escapes, are
24964 translated into corresponding characters and encoded into the current
24965 host charset.
24966
24967 @findex PARAM_STRING_NOESCAPE
24968 @findex gdb.PARAM_STRING_NOESCAPE
24969 @item gdb.PARAM_STRING_NOESCAPE
24970 The value is a string. When the user modifies the string, escapes are
24971 passed through untranslated.
24972
24973 @findex PARAM_OPTIONAL_FILENAME
24974 @findex gdb.PARAM_OPTIONAL_FILENAME
24975 @item gdb.PARAM_OPTIONAL_FILENAME
24976 The value is a either a filename (a string), or @code{None}.
24977
24978 @findex PARAM_FILENAME
24979 @findex gdb.PARAM_FILENAME
24980 @item gdb.PARAM_FILENAME
24981 The value is a filename. This is just like
24982 @code{PARAM_STRING_NOESCAPE}, but uses file names for completion.
24983
24984 @findex PARAM_ZINTEGER
24985 @findex gdb.PARAM_ZINTEGER
24986 @item gdb.PARAM_ZINTEGER
24987 The value is an integer. This is like @code{PARAM_INTEGER}, except 0
24988 is interpreted as itself.
24989
24990 @findex PARAM_ENUM
24991 @findex gdb.PARAM_ENUM
24992 @item gdb.PARAM_ENUM
24993 The value is a string, which must be one of a collection string
24994 constants provided when the parameter is created.
24995 @end table
24996
24997 @node Functions In Python
24998 @subsubsection Writing new convenience functions
24999
25000 @cindex writing convenience functions
25001 @cindex convenience functions in python
25002 @cindex python convenience functions
25003 @tindex gdb.Function
25004 @tindex Function
25005 You can implement new convenience functions (@pxref{Convenience Vars})
25006 in Python. A convenience function is an instance of a subclass of the
25007 class @code{gdb.Function}.
25008
25009 @defun Function.__init__ (name)
25010 The initializer for @code{Function} registers the new function with
25011 @value{GDBN}. The argument @var{name} is the name of the function,
25012 a string. The function will be visible to the user as a convenience
25013 variable of type @code{internal function}, whose name is the same as
25014 the given @var{name}.
25015
25016 The documentation for the new function is taken from the documentation
25017 string for the new class.
25018 @end defun
25019
25020 @defun Function.invoke (@var{*args})
25021 When a convenience function is evaluated, its arguments are converted
25022 to instances of @code{gdb.Value}, and then the function's
25023 @code{invoke} method is called. Note that @value{GDBN} does not
25024 predetermine the arity of convenience functions. Instead, all
25025 available arguments are passed to @code{invoke}, following the
25026 standard Python calling convention. In particular, a convenience
25027 function can have default values for parameters without ill effect.
25028
25029 The return value of this method is used as its value in the enclosing
25030 expression. If an ordinary Python value is returned, it is converted
25031 to a @code{gdb.Value} following the usual rules.
25032 @end defun
25033
25034 The following code snippet shows how a trivial convenience function can
25035 be implemented in Python:
25036
25037 @smallexample
25038 class Greet (gdb.Function):
25039 """Return string to greet someone.
25040 Takes a name as argument."""
25041
25042 def __init__ (self):
25043 super (Greet, self).__init__ ("greet")
25044
25045 def invoke (self, name):
25046 return "Hello, %s!" % name.string ()
25047
25048 Greet ()
25049 @end smallexample
25050
25051 The last line instantiates the class, and is necessary to trigger the
25052 registration of the function with @value{GDBN}. Depending on how the
25053 Python code is read into @value{GDBN}, you may need to import the
25054 @code{gdb} module explicitly.
25055
25056 Now you can use the function in an expression:
25057
25058 @smallexample
25059 (gdb) print $greet("Bob")
25060 $1 = "Hello, Bob!"
25061 @end smallexample
25062
25063 @node Progspaces In Python
25064 @subsubsection Program Spaces In Python
25065
25066 @cindex progspaces in python
25067 @tindex gdb.Progspace
25068 @tindex Progspace
25069 A program space, or @dfn{progspace}, represents a symbolic view
25070 of an address space.
25071 It consists of all of the objfiles of the program.
25072 @xref{Objfiles In Python}.
25073 @xref{Inferiors and Programs, program spaces}, for more details
25074 about program spaces.
25075
25076 The following progspace-related functions are available in the
25077 @code{gdb} module:
25078
25079 @findex gdb.current_progspace
25080 @defun gdb.current_progspace ()
25081 This function returns the program space of the currently selected inferior.
25082 @xref{Inferiors and Programs}.
25083 @end defun
25084
25085 @findex gdb.progspaces
25086 @defun gdb.progspaces ()
25087 Return a sequence of all the progspaces currently known to @value{GDBN}.
25088 @end defun
25089
25090 Each progspace is represented by an instance of the @code{gdb.Progspace}
25091 class.
25092
25093 @defvar Progspace.filename
25094 The file name of the progspace as a string.
25095 @end defvar
25096
25097 @defvar Progspace.pretty_printers
25098 The @code{pretty_printers} attribute is a list of functions. It is
25099 used to look up pretty-printers. A @code{Value} is passed to each
25100 function in order; if the function returns @code{None}, then the
25101 search continues. Otherwise, the return value should be an object
25102 which is used to format the value. @xref{Pretty Printing API}, for more
25103 information.
25104 @end defvar
25105
25106 @defvar Progspace.type_printers
25107 The @code{type_printers} attribute is a list of type printer objects.
25108 @xref{Type Printing API}, for more information.
25109 @end defvar
25110
25111 @node Objfiles In Python
25112 @subsubsection Objfiles In Python
25113
25114 @cindex objfiles in python
25115 @tindex gdb.Objfile
25116 @tindex Objfile
25117 @value{GDBN} loads symbols for an inferior from various
25118 symbol-containing files (@pxref{Files}). These include the primary
25119 executable file, any shared libraries used by the inferior, and any
25120 separate debug info files (@pxref{Separate Debug Files}).
25121 @value{GDBN} calls these symbol-containing files @dfn{objfiles}.
25122
25123 The following objfile-related functions are available in the
25124 @code{gdb} module:
25125
25126 @findex gdb.current_objfile
25127 @defun gdb.current_objfile ()
25128 When auto-loading a Python script (@pxref{Python Auto-loading}), @value{GDBN}
25129 sets the ``current objfile'' to the corresponding objfile. This
25130 function returns the current objfile. If there is no current objfile,
25131 this function returns @code{None}.
25132 @end defun
25133
25134 @findex gdb.objfiles
25135 @defun gdb.objfiles ()
25136 Return a sequence of all the objfiles current known to @value{GDBN}.
25137 @xref{Objfiles In Python}.
25138 @end defun
25139
25140 Each objfile is represented by an instance of the @code{gdb.Objfile}
25141 class.
25142
25143 @defvar Objfile.filename
25144 The file name of the objfile as a string.
25145 @end defvar
25146
25147 @defvar Objfile.pretty_printers
25148 The @code{pretty_printers} attribute is a list of functions. It is
25149 used to look up pretty-printers. A @code{Value} is passed to each
25150 function in order; if the function returns @code{None}, then the
25151 search continues. Otherwise, the return value should be an object
25152 which is used to format the value. @xref{Pretty Printing API}, for more
25153 information.
25154 @end defvar
25155
25156 @defvar Objfile.type_printers
25157 The @code{type_printers} attribute is a list of type printer objects.
25158 @xref{Type Printing API}, for more information.
25159 @end defvar
25160
25161 A @code{gdb.Objfile} object has the following methods:
25162
25163 @defun Objfile.is_valid ()
25164 Returns @code{True} if the @code{gdb.Objfile} object is valid,
25165 @code{False} if not. A @code{gdb.Objfile} object can become invalid
25166 if the object file it refers to is not loaded in @value{GDBN} any
25167 longer. All other @code{gdb.Objfile} methods will throw an exception
25168 if it is invalid at the time the method is called.
25169 @end defun
25170
25171 @node Frames In Python
25172 @subsubsection Accessing inferior stack frames from Python.
25173
25174 @cindex frames in python
25175 When the debugged program stops, @value{GDBN} is able to analyze its call
25176 stack (@pxref{Frames,,Stack frames}). The @code{gdb.Frame} class
25177 represents a frame in the stack. A @code{gdb.Frame} object is only valid
25178 while its corresponding frame exists in the inferior's stack. If you try
25179 to use an invalid frame object, @value{GDBN} will throw a @code{gdb.error}
25180 exception (@pxref{Exception Handling}).
25181
25182 Two @code{gdb.Frame} objects can be compared for equality with the @code{==}
25183 operator, like:
25184
25185 @smallexample
25186 (@value{GDBP}) python print gdb.newest_frame() == gdb.selected_frame ()
25187 True
25188 @end smallexample
25189
25190 The following frame-related functions are available in the @code{gdb} module:
25191
25192 @findex gdb.selected_frame
25193 @defun gdb.selected_frame ()
25194 Return the selected frame object. (@pxref{Selection,,Selecting a Frame}).
25195 @end defun
25196
25197 @findex gdb.newest_frame
25198 @defun gdb.newest_frame ()
25199 Return the newest frame object for the selected thread.
25200 @end defun
25201
25202 @defun gdb.frame_stop_reason_string (reason)
25203 Return a string explaining the reason why @value{GDBN} stopped unwinding
25204 frames, as expressed by the given @var{reason} code (an integer, see the
25205 @code{unwind_stop_reason} method further down in this section).
25206 @end defun
25207
25208 A @code{gdb.Frame} object has the following methods:
25209
25210 @defun Frame.is_valid ()
25211 Returns true if the @code{gdb.Frame} object is valid, false if not.
25212 A frame object can become invalid if the frame it refers to doesn't
25213 exist anymore in the inferior. All @code{gdb.Frame} methods will throw
25214 an exception if it is invalid at the time the method is called.
25215 @end defun
25216
25217 @defun Frame.name ()
25218 Returns the function name of the frame, or @code{None} if it can't be
25219 obtained.
25220 @end defun
25221
25222 @defun Frame.architecture ()
25223 Returns the @code{gdb.Architecture} object corresponding to the frame's
25224 architecture. @xref{Architectures In Python}.
25225 @end defun
25226
25227 @defun Frame.type ()
25228 Returns the type of the frame. The value can be one of:
25229 @table @code
25230 @item gdb.NORMAL_FRAME
25231 An ordinary stack frame.
25232
25233 @item gdb.DUMMY_FRAME
25234 A fake stack frame that was created by @value{GDBN} when performing an
25235 inferior function call.
25236
25237 @item gdb.INLINE_FRAME
25238 A frame representing an inlined function. The function was inlined
25239 into a @code{gdb.NORMAL_FRAME} that is older than this one.
25240
25241 @item gdb.TAILCALL_FRAME
25242 A frame representing a tail call. @xref{Tail Call Frames}.
25243
25244 @item gdb.SIGTRAMP_FRAME
25245 A signal trampoline frame. This is the frame created by the OS when
25246 it calls into a signal handler.
25247
25248 @item gdb.ARCH_FRAME
25249 A fake stack frame representing a cross-architecture call.
25250
25251 @item gdb.SENTINEL_FRAME
25252 This is like @code{gdb.NORMAL_FRAME}, but it is only used for the
25253 newest frame.
25254 @end table
25255 @end defun
25256
25257 @defun Frame.unwind_stop_reason ()
25258 Return an integer representing the reason why it's not possible to find
25259 more frames toward the outermost frame. Use
25260 @code{gdb.frame_stop_reason_string} to convert the value returned by this
25261 function to a string. The value can be one of:
25262
25263 @table @code
25264 @item gdb.FRAME_UNWIND_NO_REASON
25265 No particular reason (older frames should be available).
25266
25267 @item gdb.FRAME_UNWIND_NULL_ID
25268 The previous frame's analyzer returns an invalid result.
25269
25270 @item gdb.FRAME_UNWIND_OUTERMOST
25271 This frame is the outermost.
25272
25273 @item gdb.FRAME_UNWIND_UNAVAILABLE
25274 Cannot unwind further, because that would require knowing the
25275 values of registers or memory that have not been collected.
25276
25277 @item gdb.FRAME_UNWIND_INNER_ID
25278 This frame ID looks like it ought to belong to a NEXT frame,
25279 but we got it for a PREV frame. Normally, this is a sign of
25280 unwinder failure. It could also indicate stack corruption.
25281
25282 @item gdb.FRAME_UNWIND_SAME_ID
25283 This frame has the same ID as the previous one. That means
25284 that unwinding further would almost certainly give us another
25285 frame with exactly the same ID, so break the chain. Normally,
25286 this is a sign of unwinder failure. It could also indicate
25287 stack corruption.
25288
25289 @item gdb.FRAME_UNWIND_NO_SAVED_PC
25290 The frame unwinder did not find any saved PC, but we needed
25291 one to unwind further.
25292
25293 @item gdb.FRAME_UNWIND_FIRST_ERROR
25294 Any stop reason greater or equal to this value indicates some kind
25295 of error. This special value facilitates writing code that tests
25296 for errors in unwinding in a way that will work correctly even if
25297 the list of the other values is modified in future @value{GDBN}
25298 versions. Using it, you could write:
25299 @smallexample
25300 reason = gdb.selected_frame().unwind_stop_reason ()
25301 reason_str = gdb.frame_stop_reason_string (reason)
25302 if reason >= gdb.FRAME_UNWIND_FIRST_ERROR:
25303 print "An error occured: %s" % reason_str
25304 @end smallexample
25305 @end table
25306
25307 @end defun
25308
25309 @defun Frame.pc ()
25310 Returns the frame's resume address.
25311 @end defun
25312
25313 @defun Frame.block ()
25314 Return the frame's code block. @xref{Blocks In Python}.
25315 @end defun
25316
25317 @defun Frame.function ()
25318 Return the symbol for the function corresponding to this frame.
25319 @xref{Symbols In Python}.
25320 @end defun
25321
25322 @defun Frame.older ()
25323 Return the frame that called this frame.
25324 @end defun
25325
25326 @defun Frame.newer ()
25327 Return the frame called by this frame.
25328 @end defun
25329
25330 @defun Frame.find_sal ()
25331 Return the frame's symtab and line object.
25332 @xref{Symbol Tables In Python}.
25333 @end defun
25334
25335 @defun Frame.read_var (variable @r{[}, block@r{]})
25336 Return the value of @var{variable} in this frame. If the optional
25337 argument @var{block} is provided, search for the variable from that
25338 block; otherwise start at the frame's current block (which is
25339 determined by the frame's current program counter). @var{variable}
25340 must be a string or a @code{gdb.Symbol} object. @var{block} must be a
25341 @code{gdb.Block} object.
25342 @end defun
25343
25344 @defun Frame.select ()
25345 Set this frame to be the selected frame. @xref{Stack, ,Examining the
25346 Stack}.
25347 @end defun
25348
25349 @node Blocks In Python
25350 @subsubsection Accessing frame blocks from Python.
25351
25352 @cindex blocks in python
25353 @tindex gdb.Block
25354
25355 Within each frame, @value{GDBN} maintains information on each block
25356 stored in that frame. These blocks are organized hierarchically, and
25357 are represented individually in Python as a @code{gdb.Block}.
25358 Please see @ref{Frames In Python}, for a more in-depth discussion on
25359 frames. Furthermore, see @ref{Stack, ,Examining the Stack}, for more
25360 detailed technical information on @value{GDBN}'s book-keeping of the
25361 stack.
25362
25363 A @code{gdb.Block} is iterable. The iterator returns the symbols
25364 (@pxref{Symbols In Python}) local to the block. Python programs
25365 should not assume that a specific block object will always contain a
25366 given symbol, since changes in @value{GDBN} features and
25367 infrastructure may cause symbols move across blocks in a symbol
25368 table.
25369
25370 The following block-related functions are available in the @code{gdb}
25371 module:
25372
25373 @findex gdb.block_for_pc
25374 @defun gdb.block_for_pc (pc)
25375 Return the @code{gdb.Block} containing the given @var{pc} value. If the
25376 block cannot be found for the @var{pc} value specified, the function
25377 will return @code{None}.
25378 @end defun
25379
25380 A @code{gdb.Block} object has the following methods:
25381
25382 @defun Block.is_valid ()
25383 Returns @code{True} if the @code{gdb.Block} object is valid,
25384 @code{False} if not. A block object can become invalid if the block it
25385 refers to doesn't exist anymore in the inferior. All other
25386 @code{gdb.Block} methods will throw an exception if it is invalid at
25387 the time the method is called. The block's validity is also checked
25388 during iteration over symbols of the block.
25389 @end defun
25390
25391 A @code{gdb.Block} object has the following attributes:
25392
25393 @defvar Block.start
25394 The start address of the block. This attribute is not writable.
25395 @end defvar
25396
25397 @defvar Block.end
25398 The end address of the block. This attribute is not writable.
25399 @end defvar
25400
25401 @defvar Block.function
25402 The name of the block represented as a @code{gdb.Symbol}. If the
25403 block is not named, then this attribute holds @code{None}. This
25404 attribute is not writable.
25405 @end defvar
25406
25407 @defvar Block.superblock
25408 The block containing this block. If this parent block does not exist,
25409 this attribute holds @code{None}. This attribute is not writable.
25410 @end defvar
25411
25412 @defvar Block.global_block
25413 The global block associated with this block. This attribute is not
25414 writable.
25415 @end defvar
25416
25417 @defvar Block.static_block
25418 The static block associated with this block. This attribute is not
25419 writable.
25420 @end defvar
25421
25422 @defvar Block.is_global
25423 @code{True} if the @code{gdb.Block} object is a global block,
25424 @code{False} if not. This attribute is not
25425 writable.
25426 @end defvar
25427
25428 @defvar Block.is_static
25429 @code{True} if the @code{gdb.Block} object is a static block,
25430 @code{False} if not. This attribute is not writable.
25431 @end defvar
25432
25433 @node Symbols In Python
25434 @subsubsection Python representation of Symbols.
25435
25436 @cindex symbols in python
25437 @tindex gdb.Symbol
25438
25439 @value{GDBN} represents every variable, function and type as an
25440 entry in a symbol table. @xref{Symbols, ,Examining the Symbol Table}.
25441 Similarly, Python represents these symbols in @value{GDBN} with the
25442 @code{gdb.Symbol} object.
25443
25444 The following symbol-related functions are available in the @code{gdb}
25445 module:
25446
25447 @findex gdb.lookup_symbol
25448 @defun gdb.lookup_symbol (name @r{[}, block @r{[}, domain@r{]]})
25449 This function searches for a symbol by name. The search scope can be
25450 restricted to the parameters defined in the optional domain and block
25451 arguments.
25452
25453 @var{name} is the name of the symbol. It must be a string. The
25454 optional @var{block} argument restricts the search to symbols visible
25455 in that @var{block}. The @var{block} argument must be a
25456 @code{gdb.Block} object. If omitted, the block for the current frame
25457 is used. The optional @var{domain} argument restricts
25458 the search to the domain type. The @var{domain} argument must be a
25459 domain constant defined in the @code{gdb} module and described later
25460 in this chapter.
25461
25462 The result is a tuple of two elements.
25463 The first element is a @code{gdb.Symbol} object or @code{None} if the symbol
25464 is not found.
25465 If the symbol is found, the second element is @code{True} if the symbol
25466 is a field of a method's object (e.g., @code{this} in C@t{++}),
25467 otherwise it is @code{False}.
25468 If the symbol is not found, the second element is @code{False}.
25469 @end defun
25470
25471 @findex gdb.lookup_global_symbol
25472 @defun gdb.lookup_global_symbol (name @r{[}, domain@r{]})
25473 This function searches for a global symbol by name.
25474 The search scope can be restricted to by the domain argument.
25475
25476 @var{name} is the name of the symbol. It must be a string.
25477 The optional @var{domain} argument restricts the search to the domain type.
25478 The @var{domain} argument must be a domain constant defined in the @code{gdb}
25479 module and described later in this chapter.
25480
25481 The result is a @code{gdb.Symbol} object or @code{None} if the symbol
25482 is not found.
25483 @end defun
25484
25485 A @code{gdb.Symbol} object has the following attributes:
25486
25487 @defvar Symbol.type
25488 The type of the symbol or @code{None} if no type is recorded.
25489 This attribute is represented as a @code{gdb.Type} object.
25490 @xref{Types In Python}. This attribute is not writable.
25491 @end defvar
25492
25493 @defvar Symbol.symtab
25494 The symbol table in which the symbol appears. This attribute is
25495 represented as a @code{gdb.Symtab} object. @xref{Symbol Tables In
25496 Python}. This attribute is not writable.
25497 @end defvar
25498
25499 @defvar Symbol.line
25500 The line number in the source code at which the symbol was defined.
25501 This is an integer.
25502 @end defvar
25503
25504 @defvar Symbol.name
25505 The name of the symbol as a string. This attribute is not writable.
25506 @end defvar
25507
25508 @defvar Symbol.linkage_name
25509 The name of the symbol, as used by the linker (i.e., may be mangled).
25510 This attribute is not writable.
25511 @end defvar
25512
25513 @defvar Symbol.print_name
25514 The name of the symbol in a form suitable for output. This is either
25515 @code{name} or @code{linkage_name}, depending on whether the user
25516 asked @value{GDBN} to display demangled or mangled names.
25517 @end defvar
25518
25519 @defvar Symbol.addr_class
25520 The address class of the symbol. This classifies how to find the value
25521 of a symbol. Each address class is a constant defined in the
25522 @code{gdb} module and described later in this chapter.
25523 @end defvar
25524
25525 @defvar Symbol.needs_frame
25526 This is @code{True} if evaluating this symbol's value requires a frame
25527 (@pxref{Frames In Python}) and @code{False} otherwise. Typically,
25528 local variables will require a frame, but other symbols will not.
25529 @end defvar
25530
25531 @defvar Symbol.is_argument
25532 @code{True} if the symbol is an argument of a function.
25533 @end defvar
25534
25535 @defvar Symbol.is_constant
25536 @code{True} if the symbol is a constant.
25537 @end defvar
25538
25539 @defvar Symbol.is_function
25540 @code{True} if the symbol is a function or a method.
25541 @end defvar
25542
25543 @defvar Symbol.is_variable
25544 @code{True} if the symbol is a variable.
25545 @end defvar
25546
25547 A @code{gdb.Symbol} object has the following methods:
25548
25549 @defun Symbol.is_valid ()
25550 Returns @code{True} if the @code{gdb.Symbol} object is valid,
25551 @code{False} if not. A @code{gdb.Symbol} object can become invalid if
25552 the symbol it refers to does not exist in @value{GDBN} any longer.
25553 All other @code{gdb.Symbol} methods will throw an exception if it is
25554 invalid at the time the method is called.
25555 @end defun
25556
25557 @defun Symbol.value (@r{[}frame@r{]})
25558 Compute the value of the symbol, as a @code{gdb.Value}. For
25559 functions, this computes the address of the function, cast to the
25560 appropriate type. If the symbol requires a frame in order to compute
25561 its value, then @var{frame} must be given. If @var{frame} is not
25562 given, or if @var{frame} is invalid, then this method will throw an
25563 exception.
25564 @end defun
25565
25566 The available domain categories in @code{gdb.Symbol} are represented
25567 as constants in the @code{gdb} module:
25568
25569 @table @code
25570 @findex SYMBOL_UNDEF_DOMAIN
25571 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_UNDEF_DOMAIN
25572 @item gdb.SYMBOL_UNDEF_DOMAIN
25573 This is used when a domain has not been discovered or none of the
25574 following domains apply. This usually indicates an error either
25575 in the symbol information or in @value{GDBN}'s handling of symbols.
25576 @findex SYMBOL_VAR_DOMAIN
25577 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_VAR_DOMAIN
25578 @item gdb.SYMBOL_VAR_DOMAIN
25579 This domain contains variables, function names, typedef names and enum
25580 type values.
25581 @findex SYMBOL_STRUCT_DOMAIN
25582 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_STRUCT_DOMAIN
25583 @item gdb.SYMBOL_STRUCT_DOMAIN
25584 This domain holds struct, union and enum type names.
25585 @findex SYMBOL_LABEL_DOMAIN
25586 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LABEL_DOMAIN
25587 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LABEL_DOMAIN
25588 This domain contains names of labels (for gotos).
25589 @findex SYMBOL_VARIABLES_DOMAIN
25590 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_VARIABLES_DOMAIN
25591 @item gdb.SYMBOL_VARIABLES_DOMAIN
25592 This domain holds a subset of the @code{SYMBOLS_VAR_DOMAIN}; it
25593 contains everything minus functions and types.
25594 @findex SYMBOL_FUNCTIONS_DOMAIN
25595 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_FUNCTIONS_DOMAIN
25596 @item gdb.SYMBOL_FUNCTION_DOMAIN
25597 This domain contains all functions.
25598 @findex SYMBOL_TYPES_DOMAIN
25599 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_TYPES_DOMAIN
25600 @item gdb.SYMBOL_TYPES_DOMAIN
25601 This domain contains all types.
25602 @end table
25603
25604 The available address class categories in @code{gdb.Symbol} are represented
25605 as constants in the @code{gdb} module:
25606
25607 @table @code
25608 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_UNDEF
25609 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_UNDEF
25610 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_UNDEF
25611 If this is returned by address class, it indicates an error either in
25612 the symbol information or in @value{GDBN}'s handling of symbols.
25613 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_CONST
25614 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_CONST
25615 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_CONST
25616 Value is constant int.
25617 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_STATIC
25618 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_STATIC
25619 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_STATIC
25620 Value is at a fixed address.
25621 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_REGISTER
25622 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_REGISTER
25623 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_REGISTER
25624 Value is in a register.
25625 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_ARG
25626 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_ARG
25627 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_ARG
25628 Value is an argument. This value is at the offset stored within the
25629 symbol inside the frame's argument list.
25630 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_REF_ARG
25631 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_REF_ARG
25632 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_REF_ARG
25633 Value address is stored in the frame's argument list. Just like
25634 @code{LOC_ARG} except that the value's address is stored at the
25635 offset, not the value itself.
25636 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_REGPARM_ADDR
25637 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_REGPARM_ADDR
25638 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_REGPARM_ADDR
25639 Value is a specified register. Just like @code{LOC_REGISTER} except
25640 the register holds the address of the argument instead of the argument
25641 itself.
25642 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_LOCAL
25643 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_LOCAL
25644 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_LOCAL
25645 Value is a local variable.
25646 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_TYPEDEF
25647 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_TYPEDEF
25648 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_TYPEDEF
25649 Value not used. Symbols in the domain @code{SYMBOL_STRUCT_DOMAIN} all
25650 have this class.
25651 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_BLOCK
25652 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_BLOCK
25653 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_BLOCK
25654 Value is a block.
25655 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_CONST_BYTES
25656 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_CONST_BYTES
25657 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_CONST_BYTES
25658 Value is a byte-sequence.
25659 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_UNRESOLVED
25660 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_UNRESOLVED
25661 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_UNRESOLVED
25662 Value is at a fixed address, but the address of the variable has to be
25663 determined from the minimal symbol table whenever the variable is
25664 referenced.
25665 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_OPTIMIZED_OUT
25666 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_OPTIMIZED_OUT
25667 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_OPTIMIZED_OUT
25668 The value does not actually exist in the program.
25669 @findex SYMBOL_LOC_COMPUTED
25670 @findex gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_COMPUTED
25671 @item gdb.SYMBOL_LOC_COMPUTED
25672 The value's address is a computed location.
25673 @end table
25674
25675 @node Symbol Tables In Python
25676 @subsubsection Symbol table representation in Python.
25677
25678 @cindex symbol tables in python
25679 @tindex gdb.Symtab
25680 @tindex gdb.Symtab_and_line
25681
25682 Access to symbol table data maintained by @value{GDBN} on the inferior
25683 is exposed to Python via two objects: @code{gdb.Symtab_and_line} and
25684 @code{gdb.Symtab}. Symbol table and line data for a frame is returned
25685 from the @code{find_sal} method in @code{gdb.Frame} object.
25686 @xref{Frames In Python}.
25687
25688 For more information on @value{GDBN}'s symbol table management, see
25689 @ref{Symbols, ,Examining the Symbol Table}, for more information.
25690
25691 A @code{gdb.Symtab_and_line} object has the following attributes:
25692
25693 @defvar Symtab_and_line.symtab
25694 The symbol table object (@code{gdb.Symtab}) for this frame.
25695 This attribute is not writable.
25696 @end defvar
25697
25698 @defvar Symtab_and_line.pc
25699 Indicates the start of the address range occupied by code for the
25700 current source line. This attribute is not writable.
25701 @end defvar
25702
25703 @defvar Symtab_and_line.last
25704 Indicates the end of the address range occupied by code for the current
25705 source line. This attribute is not writable.
25706 @end defvar
25707
25708 @defvar Symtab_and_line.line
25709 Indicates the current line number for this object. This
25710 attribute is not writable.
25711 @end defvar
25712
25713 A @code{gdb.Symtab_and_line} object has the following methods:
25714
25715 @defun Symtab_and_line.is_valid ()
25716 Returns @code{True} if the @code{gdb.Symtab_and_line} object is valid,
25717 @code{False} if not. A @code{gdb.Symtab_and_line} object can become
25718 invalid if the Symbol table and line object it refers to does not
25719 exist in @value{GDBN} any longer. All other
25720 @code{gdb.Symtab_and_line} methods will throw an exception if it is
25721 invalid at the time the method is called.
25722 @end defun
25723
25724 A @code{gdb.Symtab} object has the following attributes:
25725
25726 @defvar Symtab.filename
25727 The symbol table's source filename. This attribute is not writable.
25728 @end defvar
25729
25730 @defvar Symtab.objfile
25731 The symbol table's backing object file. @xref{Objfiles In Python}.
25732 This attribute is not writable.
25733 @end defvar
25734
25735 A @code{gdb.Symtab} object has the following methods:
25736
25737 @defun Symtab.is_valid ()
25738 Returns @code{True} if the @code{gdb.Symtab} object is valid,
25739 @code{False} if not. A @code{gdb.Symtab} object can become invalid if
25740 the symbol table it refers to does not exist in @value{GDBN} any
25741 longer. All other @code{gdb.Symtab} methods will throw an exception
25742 if it is invalid at the time the method is called.
25743 @end defun
25744
25745 @defun Symtab.fullname ()
25746 Return the symbol table's source absolute file name.
25747 @end defun
25748
25749 @defun Symtab.global_block ()
25750 Return the global block of the underlying symbol table.
25751 @xref{Blocks In Python}.
25752 @end defun
25753
25754 @defun Symtab.static_block ()
25755 Return the static block of the underlying symbol table.
25756 @xref{Blocks In Python}.
25757 @end defun
25758
25759 @node Breakpoints In Python
25760 @subsubsection Manipulating breakpoints using Python
25761
25762 @cindex breakpoints in python
25763 @tindex gdb.Breakpoint
25764
25765 Python code can manipulate breakpoints via the @code{gdb.Breakpoint}
25766 class.
25767
25768 @defun Breakpoint.__init__ (spec @r{[}, type @r{[}, wp_class @r{[},internal@r{]]]})
25769 Create a new breakpoint. @var{spec} is a string naming the
25770 location of the breakpoint, or an expression that defines a
25771 watchpoint. The contents can be any location recognized by the
25772 @code{break} command, or in the case of a watchpoint, by the @code{watch}
25773 command. The optional @var{type} denotes the breakpoint to create
25774 from the types defined later in this chapter. This argument can be
25775 either: @code{gdb.BP_BREAKPOINT} or @code{gdb.BP_WATCHPOINT}. @var{type}
25776 defaults to @code{gdb.BP_BREAKPOINT}. The optional @var{internal} argument
25777 allows the breakpoint to become invisible to the user. The breakpoint
25778 will neither be reported when created, nor will it be listed in the
25779 output from @code{info breakpoints} (but will be listed with the
25780 @code{maint info breakpoints} command). The optional @var{wp_class}
25781 argument defines the class of watchpoint to create, if @var{type} is
25782 @code{gdb.BP_WATCHPOINT}. If a watchpoint class is not provided, it is
25783 assumed to be a @code{gdb.WP_WRITE} class.
25784 @end defun
25785
25786 @defun Breakpoint.stop (self)
25787 The @code{gdb.Breakpoint} class can be sub-classed and, in
25788 particular, you may choose to implement the @code{stop} method.
25789 If this method is defined as a sub-class of @code{gdb.Breakpoint},
25790 it will be called when the inferior reaches any location of a
25791 breakpoint which instantiates that sub-class. If the method returns
25792 @code{True}, the inferior will be stopped at the location of the
25793 breakpoint, otherwise the inferior will continue.
25794
25795 If there are multiple breakpoints at the same location with a
25796 @code{stop} method, each one will be called regardless of the
25797 return status of the previous. This ensures that all @code{stop}
25798 methods have a chance to execute at that location. In this scenario
25799 if one of the methods returns @code{True} but the others return
25800 @code{False}, the inferior will still be stopped.
25801
25802 You should not alter the execution state of the inferior (i.e.@:, step,
25803 next, etc.), alter the current frame context (i.e.@:, change the current
25804 active frame), or alter, add or delete any breakpoint. As a general
25805 rule, you should not alter any data within @value{GDBN} or the inferior
25806 at this time.
25807
25808 Example @code{stop} implementation:
25809
25810 @smallexample
25811 class MyBreakpoint (gdb.Breakpoint):
25812 def stop (self):
25813 inf_val = gdb.parse_and_eval("foo")
25814 if inf_val == 3:
25815 return True
25816 return False
25817 @end smallexample
25818 @end defun
25819
25820 The available watchpoint types represented by constants are defined in the
25821 @code{gdb} module:
25822
25823 @table @code
25824 @findex WP_READ
25825 @findex gdb.WP_READ
25826 @item gdb.WP_READ
25827 Read only watchpoint.
25828
25829 @findex WP_WRITE
25830 @findex gdb.WP_WRITE
25831 @item gdb.WP_WRITE
25832 Write only watchpoint.
25833
25834 @findex WP_ACCESS
25835 @findex gdb.WP_ACCESS
25836 @item gdb.WP_ACCESS
25837 Read/Write watchpoint.
25838 @end table
25839
25840 @defun Breakpoint.is_valid ()
25841 Return @code{True} if this @code{Breakpoint} object is valid,
25842 @code{False} otherwise. A @code{Breakpoint} object can become invalid
25843 if the user deletes the breakpoint. In this case, the object still
25844 exists, but the underlying breakpoint does not. In the cases of
25845 watchpoint scope, the watchpoint remains valid even if execution of the
25846 inferior leaves the scope of that watchpoint.
25847 @end defun
25848
25849 @defun Breakpoint.delete
25850 Permanently deletes the @value{GDBN} breakpoint. This also
25851 invalidates the Python @code{Breakpoint} object. Any further access
25852 to this object's attributes or methods will raise an error.
25853 @end defun
25854
25855 @defvar Breakpoint.enabled
25856 This attribute is @code{True} if the breakpoint is enabled, and
25857 @code{False} otherwise. This attribute is writable.
25858 @end defvar
25859
25860 @defvar Breakpoint.silent
25861 This attribute is @code{True} if the breakpoint is silent, and
25862 @code{False} otherwise. This attribute is writable.
25863
25864 Note that a breakpoint can also be silent if it has commands and the
25865 first command is @code{silent}. This is not reported by the
25866 @code{silent} attribute.
25867 @end defvar
25868
25869 @defvar Breakpoint.thread
25870 If the breakpoint is thread-specific, this attribute holds the thread
25871 id. If the breakpoint is not thread-specific, this attribute is
25872 @code{None}. This attribute is writable.
25873 @end defvar
25874
25875 @defvar Breakpoint.task
25876 If the breakpoint is Ada task-specific, this attribute holds the Ada task
25877 id. If the breakpoint is not task-specific (or the underlying
25878 language is not Ada), this attribute is @code{None}. This attribute
25879 is writable.
25880 @end defvar
25881
25882 @defvar Breakpoint.ignore_count
25883 This attribute holds the ignore count for the breakpoint, an integer.
25884 This attribute is writable.
25885 @end defvar
25886
25887 @defvar Breakpoint.number
25888 This attribute holds the breakpoint's number --- the identifier used by
25889 the user to manipulate the breakpoint. This attribute is not writable.
25890 @end defvar
25891
25892 @defvar Breakpoint.type
25893 This attribute holds the breakpoint's type --- the identifier used to
25894 determine the actual breakpoint type or use-case. This attribute is not
25895 writable.
25896 @end defvar
25897
25898 @defvar Breakpoint.visible
25899 This attribute tells whether the breakpoint is visible to the user
25900 when set, or when the @samp{info breakpoints} command is run. This
25901 attribute is not writable.
25902 @end defvar
25903
25904 The available types are represented by constants defined in the @code{gdb}
25905 module:
25906
25907 @table @code
25908 @findex BP_BREAKPOINT
25909 @findex gdb.BP_BREAKPOINT
25910 @item gdb.BP_BREAKPOINT
25911 Normal code breakpoint.
25912
25913 @findex BP_WATCHPOINT
25914 @findex gdb.BP_WATCHPOINT
25915 @item gdb.BP_WATCHPOINT
25916 Watchpoint breakpoint.
25917
25918 @findex BP_HARDWARE_WATCHPOINT
25919 @findex gdb.BP_HARDWARE_WATCHPOINT
25920 @item gdb.BP_HARDWARE_WATCHPOINT
25921 Hardware assisted watchpoint.
25922
25923 @findex BP_READ_WATCHPOINT
25924 @findex gdb.BP_READ_WATCHPOINT
25925 @item gdb.BP_READ_WATCHPOINT
25926 Hardware assisted read watchpoint.
25927
25928 @findex BP_ACCESS_WATCHPOINT
25929 @findex gdb.BP_ACCESS_WATCHPOINT
25930 @item gdb.BP_ACCESS_WATCHPOINT
25931 Hardware assisted access watchpoint.
25932 @end table
25933
25934 @defvar Breakpoint.hit_count
25935 This attribute holds the hit count for the breakpoint, an integer.
25936 This attribute is writable, but currently it can only be set to zero.
25937 @end defvar
25938
25939 @defvar Breakpoint.location
25940 This attribute holds the location of the breakpoint, as specified by
25941 the user. It is a string. If the breakpoint does not have a location
25942 (that is, it is a watchpoint) the attribute's value is @code{None}. This
25943 attribute is not writable.
25944 @end defvar
25945
25946 @defvar Breakpoint.expression
25947 This attribute holds a breakpoint expression, as specified by
25948 the user. It is a string. If the breakpoint does not have an
25949 expression (the breakpoint is not a watchpoint) the attribute's value
25950 is @code{None}. This attribute is not writable.
25951 @end defvar
25952
25953 @defvar Breakpoint.condition
25954 This attribute holds the condition of the breakpoint, as specified by
25955 the user. It is a string. If there is no condition, this attribute's
25956 value is @code{None}. This attribute is writable.
25957 @end defvar
25958
25959 @defvar Breakpoint.commands
25960 This attribute holds the commands attached to the breakpoint. If
25961 there are commands, this attribute's value is a string holding all the
25962 commands, separated by newlines. If there are no commands, this
25963 attribute is @code{None}. This attribute is not writable.
25964 @end defvar
25965
25966 @node Finish Breakpoints in Python
25967 @subsubsection Finish Breakpoints
25968
25969 @cindex python finish breakpoints
25970 @tindex gdb.FinishBreakpoint
25971
25972 A finish breakpoint is a temporary breakpoint set at the return address of
25973 a frame, based on the @code{finish} command. @code{gdb.FinishBreakpoint}
25974 extends @code{gdb.Breakpoint}. The underlying breakpoint will be disabled
25975 and deleted when the execution will run out of the breakpoint scope (i.e.@:
25976 @code{Breakpoint.stop} or @code{FinishBreakpoint.out_of_scope} triggered).
25977 Finish breakpoints are thread specific and must be create with the right
25978 thread selected.
25979
25980 @defun FinishBreakpoint.__init__ (@r{[}frame@r{]} @r{[}, internal@r{]})
25981 Create a finish breakpoint at the return address of the @code{gdb.Frame}
25982 object @var{frame}. If @var{frame} is not provided, this defaults to the
25983 newest frame. The optional @var{internal} argument allows the breakpoint to
25984 become invisible to the user. @xref{Breakpoints In Python}, for further
25985 details about this argument.
25986 @end defun
25987
25988 @defun FinishBreakpoint.out_of_scope (self)
25989 In some circumstances (e.g.@: @code{longjmp}, C@t{++} exceptions, @value{GDBN}
25990 @code{return} command, @dots{}), a function may not properly terminate, and
25991 thus never hit the finish breakpoint. When @value{GDBN} notices such a
25992 situation, the @code{out_of_scope} callback will be triggered.
25993
25994 You may want to sub-class @code{gdb.FinishBreakpoint} and override this
25995 method:
25996
25997 @smallexample
25998 class MyFinishBreakpoint (gdb.FinishBreakpoint)
25999 def stop (self):
26000 print "normal finish"
26001 return True
26002
26003 def out_of_scope ():
26004 print "abnormal finish"
26005 @end smallexample
26006 @end defun
26007
26008 @defvar FinishBreakpoint.return_value
26009 When @value{GDBN} is stopped at a finish breakpoint and the frame
26010 used to build the @code{gdb.FinishBreakpoint} object had debug symbols, this
26011 attribute will contain a @code{gdb.Value} object corresponding to the return
26012 value of the function. The value will be @code{None} if the function return
26013 type is @code{void} or if the return value was not computable. This attribute
26014 is not writable.
26015 @end defvar
26016
26017 @node Lazy Strings In Python
26018 @subsubsection Python representation of lazy strings.
26019
26020 @cindex lazy strings in python
26021 @tindex gdb.LazyString
26022
26023 A @dfn{lazy string} is a string whose contents is not retrieved or
26024 encoded until it is needed.
26025
26026 A @code{gdb.LazyString} is represented in @value{GDBN} as an
26027 @code{address} that points to a region of memory, an @code{encoding}
26028 that will be used to encode that region of memory, and a @code{length}
26029 to delimit the region of memory that represents the string. The
26030 difference between a @code{gdb.LazyString} and a string wrapped within
26031 a @code{gdb.Value} is that a @code{gdb.LazyString} will be treated
26032 differently by @value{GDBN} when printing. A @code{gdb.LazyString} is
26033 retrieved and encoded during printing, while a @code{gdb.Value}
26034 wrapping a string is immediately retrieved and encoded on creation.
26035
26036 A @code{gdb.LazyString} object has the following functions:
26037
26038 @defun LazyString.value ()
26039 Convert the @code{gdb.LazyString} to a @code{gdb.Value}. This value
26040 will point to the string in memory, but will lose all the delayed
26041 retrieval, encoding and handling that @value{GDBN} applies to a
26042 @code{gdb.LazyString}.
26043 @end defun
26044
26045 @defvar LazyString.address
26046 This attribute holds the address of the string. This attribute is not
26047 writable.
26048 @end defvar
26049
26050 @defvar LazyString.length
26051 This attribute holds the length of the string in characters. If the
26052 length is -1, then the string will be fetched and encoded up to the
26053 first null of appropriate width. This attribute is not writable.
26054 @end defvar
26055
26056 @defvar LazyString.encoding
26057 This attribute holds the encoding that will be applied to the string
26058 when the string is printed by @value{GDBN}. If the encoding is not
26059 set, or contains an empty string, then @value{GDBN} will select the
26060 most appropriate encoding when the string is printed. This attribute
26061 is not writable.
26062 @end defvar
26063
26064 @defvar LazyString.type
26065 This attribute holds the type that is represented by the lazy string's
26066 type. For a lazy string this will always be a pointer type. To
26067 resolve this to the lazy string's character type, use the type's
26068 @code{target} method. @xref{Types In Python}. This attribute is not
26069 writable.
26070 @end defvar
26071
26072 @node Architectures In Python
26073 @subsubsection Python representation of architectures
26074 @cindex Python architectures
26075
26076 @value{GDBN} uses architecture specific parameters and artifacts in a
26077 number of its various computations. An architecture is represented
26078 by an instance of the @code{gdb.Architecture} class.
26079
26080 A @code{gdb.Architecture} class has the following methods:
26081
26082 @defun Architecture.name ()
26083 Return the name (string value) of the architecture.
26084 @end defun
26085
26086 @defun Architecture.disassemble (@var{start_pc} @r{[}, @var{end_pc} @r{[}, @var{count}@r{]]})
26087 Return a list of disassembled instructions starting from the memory
26088 address @var{start_pc}. The optional arguments @var{end_pc} and
26089 @var{count} determine the number of instructions in the returned list.
26090 If both the optional arguments @var{end_pc} and @var{count} are
26091 specified, then a list of at most @var{count} disassembled instructions
26092 whose start address falls in the closed memory address interval from
26093 @var{start_pc} to @var{end_pc} are returned. If @var{end_pc} is not
26094 specified, but @var{count} is specified, then @var{count} number of
26095 instructions starting from the address @var{start_pc} are returned. If
26096 @var{count} is not specified but @var{end_pc} is specified, then all
26097 instructions whose start address falls in the closed memory address
26098 interval from @var{start_pc} to @var{end_pc} are returned. If neither
26099 @var{end_pc} nor @var{count} are specified, then a single instruction at
26100 @var{start_pc} is returned. For all of these cases, each element of the
26101 returned list is a Python @code{dict} with the following string keys:
26102
26103 @table @code
26104
26105 @item addr
26106 The value corresponding to this key is a Python long integer capturing
26107 the memory address of the instruction.
26108
26109 @item asm
26110 The value corresponding to this key is a string value which represents
26111 the instruction with assembly language mnemonics. The assembly
26112 language flavor used is the same as that specified by the current CLI
26113 variable @code{disassembly-flavor}. @xref{Machine Code}.
26114
26115 @item length
26116 The value corresponding to this key is the length (integer value) of the
26117 instruction in bytes.
26118
26119 @end table
26120 @end defun
26121
26122 @node Python Auto-loading
26123 @subsection Python Auto-loading
26124 @cindex Python auto-loading
26125
26126 When a new object file is read (for example, due to the @code{file}
26127 command, or because the inferior has loaded a shared library),
26128 @value{GDBN} will look for Python support scripts in several ways:
26129 @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.py} (@pxref{objfile-gdb.py file})
26130 and @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} section
26131 (@pxref{dotdebug_gdb_scripts section}).
26132
26133 The auto-loading feature is useful for supplying application-specific
26134 debugging commands and scripts.
26135
26136 Auto-loading can be enabled or disabled,
26137 and the list of auto-loaded scripts can be printed.
26138
26139 @table @code
26140 @anchor{set auto-load python-scripts}
26141 @kindex set auto-load python-scripts
26142 @item set auto-load python-scripts [on|off]
26143 Enable or disable the auto-loading of Python scripts.
26144
26145 @anchor{show auto-load python-scripts}
26146 @kindex show auto-load python-scripts
26147 @item show auto-load python-scripts
26148 Show whether auto-loading of Python scripts is enabled or disabled.
26149
26150 @anchor{info auto-load python-scripts}
26151 @kindex info auto-load python-scripts
26152 @cindex print list of auto-loaded Python scripts
26153 @item info auto-load python-scripts [@var{regexp}]
26154 Print the list of all Python scripts that @value{GDBN} auto-loaded.
26155
26156 Also printed is the list of Python scripts that were mentioned in
26157 the @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} section and were not found
26158 (@pxref{dotdebug_gdb_scripts section}).
26159 This is useful because their names are not printed when @value{GDBN}
26160 tries to load them and fails. There may be many of them, and printing
26161 an error message for each one is problematic.
26162
26163 If @var{regexp} is supplied only Python scripts with matching names are printed.
26164
26165 Example:
26166
26167 @smallexample
26168 (gdb) info auto-load python-scripts
26169 Loaded Script
26170 Yes py-section-script.py
26171 full name: /tmp/py-section-script.py
26172 No my-foo-pretty-printers.py
26173 @end smallexample
26174 @end table
26175
26176 When reading an auto-loaded file, @value{GDBN} sets the
26177 @dfn{current objfile}. This is available via the @code{gdb.current_objfile}
26178 function (@pxref{Objfiles In Python}). This can be useful for
26179 registering objfile-specific pretty-printers.
26180
26181 @menu
26182 * objfile-gdb.py file:: The @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.py} file
26183 * dotdebug_gdb_scripts section:: The @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} section
26184 * Which flavor to choose?::
26185 @end menu
26186
26187 @node objfile-gdb.py file
26188 @subsubsection The @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.py} file
26189 @cindex @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.py}
26190
26191 When a new object file is read, @value{GDBN} looks for
26192 a file named @file{@var{objfile}-gdb.py} (we call it @var{script-name} below),
26193 where @var{objfile} is the object file's real name, formed by ensuring
26194 that the file name is absolute, following all symlinks, and resolving
26195 @code{.} and @code{..} components. If this file exists and is
26196 readable, @value{GDBN} will evaluate it as a Python script.
26197
26198 If this file does not exist, then @value{GDBN} will look for
26199 @var{script-name} file in all of the directories as specified below.
26200
26201 Note that loading of this script file also requires accordingly configured
26202 @code{auto-load safe-path} (@pxref{Auto-loading safe path}).
26203
26204 For object files using @file{.exe} suffix @value{GDBN} tries to load first the
26205 scripts normally according to its @file{.exe} filename. But if no scripts are
26206 found @value{GDBN} also tries script filenames matching the object file without
26207 its @file{.exe} suffix. This @file{.exe} stripping is case insensitive and it
26208 is attempted on any platform. This makes the script filenames compatible
26209 between Unix and MS-Windows hosts.
26210
26211 @table @code
26212 @anchor{set auto-load scripts-directory}
26213 @kindex set auto-load scripts-directory
26214 @item set auto-load scripts-directory @r{[}@var{directories}@r{]}
26215 Control @value{GDBN} auto-loaded scripts location. Multiple directory entries
26216 may be delimited by the host platform path separator in use
26217 (@samp{:} on Unix, @samp{;} on MS-Windows and MS-DOS).
26218
26219 Each entry here needs to be covered also by the security setting
26220 @code{set auto-load safe-path} (@pxref{set auto-load safe-path}).
26221
26222 @anchor{with-auto-load-dir}
26223 This variable defaults to @file{$debugdir:$datadir/auto-load}. The default
26224 @code{set auto-load safe-path} value can be also overriden by @value{GDBN}
26225 configuration option @option{--with-auto-load-dir}.
26226
26227 Any reference to @file{$debugdir} will get replaced by
26228 @var{debug-file-directory} value (@pxref{Separate Debug Files}) and any
26229 reference to @file{$datadir} will get replaced by @var{data-directory} which is
26230 determined at @value{GDBN} startup (@pxref{Data Files}). @file{$debugdir} and
26231 @file{$datadir} must be placed as a directory component --- either alone or
26232 delimited by @file{/} or @file{\} directory separators, depending on the host
26233 platform.
26234
26235 The list of directories uses path separator (@samp{:} on GNU and Unix
26236 systems, @samp{;} on MS-Windows and MS-DOS) to separate directories, similarly
26237 to the @env{PATH} environment variable.
26238
26239 @anchor{show auto-load scripts-directory}
26240 @kindex show auto-load scripts-directory
26241 @item show auto-load scripts-directory
26242 Show @value{GDBN} auto-loaded scripts location.
26243 @end table
26244
26245 @value{GDBN} does not track which files it has already auto-loaded this way.
26246 @value{GDBN} will load the associated script every time the corresponding
26247 @var{objfile} is opened.
26248 So your @file{-gdb.py} file should be careful to avoid errors if it
26249 is evaluated more than once.
26250
26251 @node dotdebug_gdb_scripts section
26252 @subsubsection The @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} section
26253 @cindex @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} section
26254
26255 For systems using file formats like ELF and COFF,
26256 when @value{GDBN} loads a new object file
26257 it will look for a special section named @samp{.debug_gdb_scripts}.
26258 If this section exists, its contents is a list of names of scripts to load.
26259
26260 @value{GDBN} will look for each specified script file first in the
26261 current directory and then along the source search path
26262 (@pxref{Source Path, ,Specifying Source Directories}),
26263 except that @file{$cdir} is not searched, since the compilation
26264 directory is not relevant to scripts.
26265
26266 Entries can be placed in section @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} with,
26267 for example, this GCC macro:
26268
26269 @example
26270 /* Note: The "MS" section flags are to remove duplicates. */
26271 #define DEFINE_GDB_SCRIPT(script_name) \
26272 asm("\
26273 .pushsection \".debug_gdb_scripts\", \"MS\",@@progbits,1\n\
26274 .byte 1\n\
26275 .asciz \"" script_name "\"\n\
26276 .popsection \n\
26277 ");
26278 @end example
26279
26280 @noindent
26281 Then one can reference the macro in a header or source file like this:
26282
26283 @example
26284 DEFINE_GDB_SCRIPT ("my-app-scripts.py")
26285 @end example
26286
26287 The script name may include directories if desired.
26288
26289 Note that loading of this script file also requires accordingly configured
26290 @code{auto-load safe-path} (@pxref{Auto-loading safe path}).
26291
26292 If the macro is put in a header, any application or library
26293 using this header will get a reference to the specified script.
26294
26295 @node Which flavor to choose?
26296 @subsubsection Which flavor to choose?
26297
26298 Given the multiple ways of auto-loading Python scripts, it might not always
26299 be clear which one to choose. This section provides some guidance.
26300
26301 Benefits of the @file{-gdb.py} way:
26302
26303 @itemize @bullet
26304 @item
26305 Can be used with file formats that don't support multiple sections.
26306
26307 @item
26308 Ease of finding scripts for public libraries.
26309
26310 Scripts specified in the @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} section are searched for
26311 in the source search path.
26312 For publicly installed libraries, e.g., @file{libstdc++}, there typically
26313 isn't a source directory in which to find the script.
26314
26315 @item
26316 Doesn't require source code additions.
26317 @end itemize
26318
26319 Benefits of the @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} way:
26320
26321 @itemize @bullet
26322 @item
26323 Works with static linking.
26324
26325 Scripts for libraries done the @file{-gdb.py} way require an objfile to
26326 trigger their loading. When an application is statically linked the only
26327 objfile available is the executable, and it is cumbersome to attach all the
26328 scripts from all the input libraries to the executable's @file{-gdb.py} script.
26329
26330 @item
26331 Works with classes that are entirely inlined.
26332
26333 Some classes can be entirely inlined, and thus there may not be an associated
26334 shared library to attach a @file{-gdb.py} script to.
26335
26336 @item
26337 Scripts needn't be copied out of the source tree.
26338
26339 In some circumstances, apps can be built out of large collections of internal
26340 libraries, and the build infrastructure necessary to install the
26341 @file{-gdb.py} scripts in a place where @value{GDBN} can find them is
26342 cumbersome. It may be easier to specify the scripts in the
26343 @code{.debug_gdb_scripts} section as relative paths, and add a path to the
26344 top of the source tree to the source search path.
26345 @end itemize
26346
26347 @node Python modules
26348 @subsection Python modules
26349 @cindex python modules
26350
26351 @value{GDBN} comes with several modules to assist writing Python code.
26352
26353 @menu
26354 * gdb.printing:: Building and registering pretty-printers.
26355 * gdb.types:: Utilities for working with types.
26356 * gdb.prompt:: Utilities for prompt value substitution.
26357 @end menu
26358
26359 @node gdb.printing
26360 @subsubsection gdb.printing
26361 @cindex gdb.printing
26362
26363 This module provides a collection of utilities for working with
26364 pretty-printers.
26365
26366 @table @code
26367 @item PrettyPrinter (@var{name}, @var{subprinters}=None)
26368 This class specifies the API that makes @samp{info pretty-printer},
26369 @samp{enable pretty-printer} and @samp{disable pretty-printer} work.
26370 Pretty-printers should generally inherit from this class.
26371
26372 @item SubPrettyPrinter (@var{name})
26373 For printers that handle multiple types, this class specifies the
26374 corresponding API for the subprinters.
26375
26376 @item RegexpCollectionPrettyPrinter (@var{name})
26377 Utility class for handling multiple printers, all recognized via
26378 regular expressions.
26379 @xref{Writing a Pretty-Printer}, for an example.
26380
26381 @item FlagEnumerationPrinter (@var{name})
26382 A pretty-printer which handles printing of @code{enum} values. Unlike
26383 @value{GDBN}'s built-in @code{enum} printing, this printer attempts to
26384 work properly when there is some overlap between the enumeration
26385 constants. @var{name} is the name of the printer and also the name of
26386 the @code{enum} type to look up.
26387
26388 @item register_pretty_printer (@var{obj}, @var{printer}, @var{replace}=False)
26389 Register @var{printer} with the pretty-printer list of @var{obj}.
26390 If @var{replace} is @code{True} then any existing copy of the printer
26391 is replaced. Otherwise a @code{RuntimeError} exception is raised
26392 if a printer with the same name already exists.
26393 @end table
26394
26395 @node gdb.types
26396 @subsubsection gdb.types
26397 @cindex gdb.types
26398
26399 This module provides a collection of utilities for working with
26400 @code{gdb.Type} objects.
26401
26402 @table @code
26403 @item get_basic_type (@var{type})
26404 Return @var{type} with const and volatile qualifiers stripped,
26405 and with typedefs and C@t{++} references converted to the underlying type.
26406
26407 C@t{++} example:
26408
26409 @smallexample
26410 typedef const int const_int;
26411 const_int foo (3);
26412 const_int& foo_ref (foo);
26413 int main () @{ return 0; @}
26414 @end smallexample
26415
26416 Then in gdb:
26417
26418 @smallexample
26419 (gdb) start
26420 (gdb) python import gdb.types
26421 (gdb) python foo_ref = gdb.parse_and_eval("foo_ref")
26422 (gdb) python print gdb.types.get_basic_type(foo_ref.type)
26423 int
26424 @end smallexample
26425
26426 @item has_field (@var{type}, @var{field})
26427 Return @code{True} if @var{type}, assumed to be a type with fields
26428 (e.g., a structure or union), has field @var{field}.
26429
26430 @item make_enum_dict (@var{enum_type})
26431 Return a Python @code{dictionary} type produced from @var{enum_type}.
26432
26433 @item deep_items (@var{type})
26434 Returns a Python iterator similar to the standard
26435 @code{gdb.Type.iteritems} method, except that the iterator returned
26436 by @code{deep_items} will recursively traverse anonymous struct or
26437 union fields. For example:
26438
26439 @smallexample
26440 struct A
26441 @{
26442 int a;
26443 union @{
26444 int b0;
26445 int b1;
26446 @};
26447 @};
26448 @end smallexample
26449
26450 @noindent
26451 Then in @value{GDBN}:
26452 @smallexample
26453 (@value{GDBP}) python import gdb.types
26454 (@value{GDBP}) python struct_a = gdb.lookup_type("struct A")
26455 (@value{GDBP}) python print struct_a.keys ()
26456 @{['a', '']@}
26457 (@value{GDBP}) python print [k for k,v in gdb.types.deep_items(struct_a)]
26458 @{['a', 'b0', 'b1']@}
26459 @end smallexample
26460
26461 @item get_type_recognizers ()
26462 Return a list of the enabled type recognizers for the current context.
26463 This is called by @value{GDBN} during the type-printing process
26464 (@pxref{Type Printing API}).
26465
26466 @item apply_type_recognizers (recognizers, type_obj)
26467 Apply the type recognizers, @var{recognizers}, to the type object
26468 @var{type_obj}. If any recognizer returns a string, return that
26469 string. Otherwise, return @code{None}. This is called by
26470 @value{GDBN} during the type-printing process (@pxref{Type Printing
26471 API}).
26472
26473 @item register_type_printer (locus, printer)
26474 This is a convenience function to register a type printer.
26475 @var{printer} is the type printer to register. It must implement the
26476 type printer protocol. @var{locus} is either a @code{gdb.Objfile}, in
26477 which case the printer is registered with that objfile; a
26478 @code{gdb.Progspace}, in which case the printer is registered with
26479 that progspace; or @code{None}, in which case the printer is
26480 registered globally.
26481
26482 @item TypePrinter
26483 This is a base class that implements the type printer protocol. Type
26484 printers are encouraged, but not required, to derive from this class.
26485 It defines a constructor:
26486
26487 @defmethod TypePrinter __init__ (self, name)
26488 Initialize the type printer with the given name. The new printer
26489 starts in the enabled state.
26490 @end defmethod
26491
26492 @end table
26493
26494 @node gdb.prompt
26495 @subsubsection gdb.prompt
26496 @cindex gdb.prompt
26497
26498 This module provides a method for prompt value-substitution.
26499
26500 @table @code
26501 @item substitute_prompt (@var{string})
26502 Return @var{string} with escape sequences substituted by values. Some
26503 escape sequences take arguments. You can specify arguments inside
26504 ``@{@}'' immediately following the escape sequence.
26505
26506 The escape sequences you can pass to this function are:
26507
26508 @table @code
26509 @item \\
26510 Substitute a backslash.
26511 @item \e
26512 Substitute an ESC character.
26513 @item \f
26514 Substitute the selected frame; an argument names a frame parameter.
26515 @item \n
26516 Substitute a newline.
26517 @item \p
26518 Substitute a parameter's value; the argument names the parameter.
26519 @item \r
26520 Substitute a carriage return.
26521 @item \t
26522 Substitute the selected thread; an argument names a thread parameter.
26523 @item \v
26524 Substitute the version of GDB.
26525 @item \w
26526 Substitute the current working directory.
26527 @item \[
26528 Begin a sequence of non-printing characters. These sequences are
26529 typically used with the ESC character, and are not counted in the string
26530 length. Example: ``\[\e[0;34m\](gdb)\[\e[0m\]'' will return a
26531 blue-colored ``(gdb)'' prompt where the length is five.
26532 @item \]
26533 End a sequence of non-printing characters.
26534 @end table
26535
26536 For example:
26537
26538 @smallexample
26539 substitute_prompt (``frame: \f,
26540 print arguments: \p@{print frame-arguments@}'')
26541 @end smallexample
26542
26543 @exdent will return the string:
26544
26545 @smallexample
26546 "frame: main, print arguments: scalars"
26547 @end smallexample
26548 @end table
26549
26550 @node Aliases
26551 @section Creating new spellings of existing commands
26552 @cindex aliases for commands
26553
26554 It is often useful to define alternate spellings of existing commands.
26555 For example, if a new @value{GDBN} command defined in Python has
26556 a long name to type, it is handy to have an abbreviated version of it
26557 that involves less typing.
26558
26559 @value{GDBN} itself uses aliases. For example @samp{s} is an alias
26560 of the @samp{step} command even though it is otherwise an ambiguous
26561 abbreviation of other commands like @samp{set} and @samp{show}.
26562
26563 Aliases are also used to provide shortened or more common versions
26564 of multi-word commands. For example, @value{GDBN} provides the
26565 @samp{tty} alias of the @samp{set inferior-tty} command.
26566
26567 You can define a new alias with the @samp{alias} command.
26568
26569 @table @code
26570
26571 @kindex alias
26572 @item alias [-a] [--] @var{ALIAS} = @var{COMMAND}
26573
26574 @end table
26575
26576 @var{ALIAS} specifies the name of the new alias.
26577 Each word of @var{ALIAS} must consist of letters, numbers, dashes and
26578 underscores.
26579
26580 @var{COMMAND} specifies the name of an existing command
26581 that is being aliased.
26582
26583 The @samp{-a} option specifies that the new alias is an abbreviation
26584 of the command. Abbreviations are not shown in command
26585 lists displayed by the @samp{help} command.
26586
26587 The @samp{--} option specifies the end of options,
26588 and is useful when @var{ALIAS} begins with a dash.
26589
26590 Here is a simple example showing how to make an abbreviation
26591 of a command so that there is less to type.
26592 Suppose you were tired of typing @samp{disas}, the current
26593 shortest unambiguous abbreviation of the @samp{disassemble} command
26594 and you wanted an even shorter version named @samp{di}.
26595 The following will accomplish this.
26596
26597 @smallexample
26598 (gdb) alias -a di = disas
26599 @end smallexample
26600
26601 Note that aliases are different from user-defined commands.
26602 With a user-defined command, you also need to write documentation
26603 for it with the @samp{document} command.
26604 An alias automatically picks up the documentation of the existing command.
26605
26606 Here is an example where we make @samp{elms} an abbreviation of
26607 @samp{elements} in the @samp{set print elements} command.
26608 This is to show that you can make an abbreviation of any part
26609 of a command.
26610
26611 @smallexample
26612 (gdb) alias -a set print elms = set print elements
26613 (gdb) alias -a show print elms = show print elements
26614 (gdb) set p elms 20
26615 (gdb) show p elms
26616 Limit on string chars or array elements to print is 200.
26617 @end smallexample
26618
26619 Note that if you are defining an alias of a @samp{set} command,
26620 and you want to have an alias for the corresponding @samp{show}
26621 command, then you need to define the latter separately.
26622
26623 Unambiguously abbreviated commands are allowed in @var{COMMAND} and
26624 @var{ALIAS}, just as they are normally.
26625
26626 @smallexample
26627 (gdb) alias -a set pr elms = set p ele
26628 @end smallexample
26629
26630 Finally, here is an example showing the creation of a one word
26631 alias for a more complex command.
26632 This creates alias @samp{spe} of the command @samp{set print elements}.
26633
26634 @smallexample
26635 (gdb) alias spe = set print elements
26636 (gdb) spe 20
26637 @end smallexample
26638
26639 @node Interpreters
26640 @chapter Command Interpreters
26641 @cindex command interpreters
26642
26643 @value{GDBN} supports multiple command interpreters, and some command
26644 infrastructure to allow users or user interface writers to switch
26645 between interpreters or run commands in other interpreters.
26646
26647 @value{GDBN} currently supports two command interpreters, the console
26648 interpreter (sometimes called the command-line interpreter or @sc{cli})
26649 and the machine interface interpreter (or @sc{gdb/mi}). This manual
26650 describes both of these interfaces in great detail.
26651
26652 By default, @value{GDBN} will start with the console interpreter.
26653 However, the user may choose to start @value{GDBN} with another
26654 interpreter by specifying the @option{-i} or @option{--interpreter}
26655 startup options. Defined interpreters include:
26656
26657 @table @code
26658 @item console
26659 @cindex console interpreter
26660 The traditional console or command-line interpreter. This is the most often
26661 used interpreter with @value{GDBN}. With no interpreter specified at runtime,
26662 @value{GDBN} will use this interpreter.
26663
26664 @item mi
26665 @cindex mi interpreter
26666 The newest @sc{gdb/mi} interface (currently @code{mi2}). Used primarily
26667 by programs wishing to use @value{GDBN} as a backend for a debugger GUI
26668 or an IDE. For more information, see @ref{GDB/MI, ,The @sc{gdb/mi}
26669 Interface}.
26670
26671 @item mi2
26672 @cindex mi2 interpreter
26673 The current @sc{gdb/mi} interface.
26674
26675 @item mi1
26676 @cindex mi1 interpreter
26677 The @sc{gdb/mi} interface included in @value{GDBN} 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3.
26678
26679 @end table
26680
26681 @cindex invoke another interpreter
26682 The interpreter being used by @value{GDBN} may not be dynamically
26683 switched at runtime. Although possible, this could lead to a very
26684 precarious situation. Consider an IDE using @sc{gdb/mi}. If a user
26685 enters the command "interpreter-set console" in a console view,
26686 @value{GDBN} would switch to using the console interpreter, rendering
26687 the IDE inoperable!
26688
26689 @kindex interpreter-exec
26690 Although you may only choose a single interpreter at startup, you may execute
26691 commands in any interpreter from the current interpreter using the appropriate
26692 command. If you are running the console interpreter, simply use the
26693 @code{interpreter-exec} command:
26694
26695 @smallexample
26696 interpreter-exec mi "-data-list-register-names"
26697 @end smallexample
26698
26699 @sc{gdb/mi} has a similar command, although it is only available in versions of
26700 @value{GDBN} which support @sc{gdb/mi} version 2 (or greater).
26701
26702 @node TUI
26703 @chapter @value{GDBN} Text User Interface
26704 @cindex TUI
26705 @cindex Text User Interface
26706
26707 @menu
26708 * TUI Overview:: TUI overview
26709 * TUI Keys:: TUI key bindings
26710 * TUI Single Key Mode:: TUI single key mode
26711 * TUI Commands:: TUI-specific commands
26712 * TUI Configuration:: TUI configuration variables
26713 @end menu
26714
26715 The @value{GDBN} Text User Interface (TUI) is a terminal
26716 interface which uses the @code{curses} library to show the source
26717 file, the assembly output, the program registers and @value{GDBN}
26718 commands in separate text windows. The TUI mode is supported only
26719 on platforms where a suitable version of the @code{curses} library
26720 is available.
26721
26722 The TUI mode is enabled by default when you invoke @value{GDBN} as
26723 @samp{@value{GDBP} -tui}.
26724 You can also switch in and out of TUI mode while @value{GDBN} runs by
26725 using various TUI commands and key bindings, such as @kbd{C-x C-a}.
26726 @xref{TUI Keys, ,TUI Key Bindings}.
26727
26728 @node TUI Overview
26729 @section TUI Overview
26730
26731 In TUI mode, @value{GDBN} can display several text windows:
26732
26733 @table @emph
26734 @item command
26735 This window is the @value{GDBN} command window with the @value{GDBN}
26736 prompt and the @value{GDBN} output. The @value{GDBN} input is still
26737 managed using readline.
26738
26739 @item source
26740 The source window shows the source file of the program. The current
26741 line and active breakpoints are displayed in this window.
26742
26743 @item assembly
26744 The assembly window shows the disassembly output of the program.
26745
26746 @item register
26747 This window shows the processor registers. Registers are highlighted
26748 when their values change.
26749 @end table
26750
26751 The source and assembly windows show the current program position
26752 by highlighting the current line and marking it with a @samp{>} marker.
26753 Breakpoints are indicated with two markers. The first marker
26754 indicates the breakpoint type:
26755
26756 @table @code
26757 @item B
26758 Breakpoint which was hit at least once.
26759
26760 @item b
26761 Breakpoint which was never hit.
26762
26763 @item H
26764 Hardware breakpoint which was hit at least once.
26765
26766 @item h
26767 Hardware breakpoint which was never hit.
26768 @end table
26769
26770 The second marker indicates whether the breakpoint is enabled or not:
26771
26772 @table @code
26773 @item +
26774 Breakpoint is enabled.
26775
26776 @item -
26777 Breakpoint is disabled.
26778 @end table
26779
26780 The source, assembly and register windows are updated when the current
26781 thread changes, when the frame changes, or when the program counter
26782 changes.
26783
26784 These windows are not all visible at the same time. The command
26785 window is always visible. The others can be arranged in several
26786 layouts:
26787
26788 @itemize @bullet
26789 @item
26790 source only,
26791
26792 @item
26793 assembly only,
26794
26795 @item
26796 source and assembly,
26797
26798 @item
26799 source and registers, or
26800
26801 @item
26802 assembly and registers.
26803 @end itemize
26804
26805 A status line above the command window shows the following information:
26806
26807 @table @emph
26808 @item target
26809 Indicates the current @value{GDBN} target.
26810 (@pxref{Targets, ,Specifying a Debugging Target}).
26811
26812 @item process
26813 Gives the current process or thread number.
26814 When no process is being debugged, this field is set to @code{No process}.
26815
26816 @item function
26817 Gives the current function name for the selected frame.
26818 The name is demangled if demangling is turned on (@pxref{Print Settings}).
26819 When there is no symbol corresponding to the current program counter,
26820 the string @code{??} is displayed.
26821
26822 @item line
26823 Indicates the current line number for the selected frame.
26824 When the current line number is not known, the string @code{??} is displayed.
26825
26826 @item pc
26827 Indicates the current program counter address.
26828 @end table
26829
26830 @node TUI Keys
26831 @section TUI Key Bindings
26832 @cindex TUI key bindings
26833
26834 The TUI installs several key bindings in the readline keymaps
26835 @ifset SYSTEM_READLINE
26836 (@pxref{Command Line Editing, , , rluserman, GNU Readline Library}).
26837 @end ifset
26838 @ifclear SYSTEM_READLINE
26839 (@pxref{Command Line Editing}).
26840 @end ifclear
26841 The following key bindings are installed for both TUI mode and the
26842 @value{GDBN} standard mode.
26843
26844 @table @kbd
26845 @kindex C-x C-a
26846 @item C-x C-a
26847 @kindex C-x a
26848 @itemx C-x a
26849 @kindex C-x A
26850 @itemx C-x A
26851 Enter or leave the TUI mode. When leaving the TUI mode,
26852 the curses window management stops and @value{GDBN} operates using
26853 its standard mode, writing on the terminal directly. When reentering
26854 the TUI mode, control is given back to the curses windows.
26855 The screen is then refreshed.
26856
26857 @kindex C-x 1
26858 @item C-x 1
26859 Use a TUI layout with only one window. The layout will
26860 either be @samp{source} or @samp{assembly}. When the TUI mode
26861 is not active, it will switch to the TUI mode.
26862
26863 Think of this key binding as the Emacs @kbd{C-x 1} binding.
26864
26865 @kindex C-x 2
26866 @item C-x 2
26867 Use a TUI layout with at least two windows. When the current
26868 layout already has two windows, the next layout with two windows is used.
26869 When a new layout is chosen, one window will always be common to the
26870 previous layout and the new one.
26871
26872 Think of it as the Emacs @kbd{C-x 2} binding.
26873
26874 @kindex C-x o
26875 @item C-x o
26876 Change the active window. The TUI associates several key bindings
26877 (like scrolling and arrow keys) with the active window. This command
26878 gives the focus to the next TUI window.
26879
26880 Think of it as the Emacs @kbd{C-x o} binding.
26881
26882 @kindex C-x s
26883 @item C-x s
26884 Switch in and out of the TUI SingleKey mode that binds single
26885 keys to @value{GDBN} commands (@pxref{TUI Single Key Mode}).
26886 @end table
26887
26888 The following key bindings only work in the TUI mode:
26889
26890 @table @asis
26891 @kindex PgUp
26892 @item @key{PgUp}
26893 Scroll the active window one page up.
26894
26895 @kindex PgDn
26896 @item @key{PgDn}
26897 Scroll the active window one page down.
26898
26899 @kindex Up
26900 @item @key{Up}
26901 Scroll the active window one line up.
26902
26903 @kindex Down
26904 @item @key{Down}
26905 Scroll the active window one line down.
26906
26907 @kindex Left
26908 @item @key{Left}
26909 Scroll the active window one column left.
26910
26911 @kindex Right
26912 @item @key{Right}
26913 Scroll the active window one column right.
26914
26915 @kindex C-L
26916 @item @kbd{C-L}
26917 Refresh the screen.
26918 @end table
26919
26920 Because the arrow keys scroll the active window in the TUI mode, they
26921 are not available for their normal use by readline unless the command
26922 window has the focus. When another window is active, you must use
26923 other readline key bindings such as @kbd{C-p}, @kbd{C-n}, @kbd{C-b}
26924 and @kbd{C-f} to control the command window.
26925
26926 @node TUI Single Key Mode
26927 @section TUI Single Key Mode
26928 @cindex TUI single key mode
26929
26930 The TUI also provides a @dfn{SingleKey} mode, which binds several
26931 frequently used @value{GDBN} commands to single keys. Type @kbd{C-x s} to
26932 switch into this mode, where the following key bindings are used:
26933
26934 @table @kbd
26935 @kindex c @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
26936 @item c
26937 continue
26938
26939 @kindex d @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
26940 @item d
26941 down
26942
26943 @kindex f @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
26944 @item f
26945 finish
26946
26947 @kindex n @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
26948 @item n
26949 next
26950
26951 @kindex q @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
26952 @item q
26953 exit the SingleKey mode.
26954
26955 @kindex r @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
26956 @item r
26957 run
26958
26959 @kindex s @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
26960 @item s
26961 step
26962
26963 @kindex u @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
26964 @item u
26965 up
26966
26967 @kindex v @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
26968 @item v
26969 info locals
26970
26971 @kindex w @r{(SingleKey TUI key)}
26972 @item w
26973 where
26974 @end table
26975
26976 Other keys temporarily switch to the @value{GDBN} command prompt.
26977 The key that was pressed is inserted in the editing buffer so that
26978 it is possible to type most @value{GDBN} commands without interaction
26979 with the TUI SingleKey mode. Once the command is entered the TUI
26980 SingleKey mode is restored. The only way to permanently leave
26981 this mode is by typing @kbd{q} or @kbd{C-x s}.
26982
26983
26984 @node TUI Commands
26985 @section TUI-specific Commands
26986 @cindex TUI commands
26987
26988 The TUI has specific commands to control the text windows.
26989 These commands are always available, even when @value{GDBN} is not in
26990 the TUI mode. When @value{GDBN} is in the standard mode, most
26991 of these commands will automatically switch to the TUI mode.
26992
26993 Note that if @value{GDBN}'s @code{stdout} is not connected to a
26994 terminal, or @value{GDBN} has been started with the machine interface
26995 interpreter (@pxref{GDB/MI, ,The @sc{gdb/mi} Interface}), most of
26996 these commands will fail with an error, because it would not be
26997 possible or desirable to enable curses window management.
26998
26999 @table @code
27000 @item info win
27001 @kindex info win
27002 List and give the size of all displayed windows.
27003
27004 @item layout next
27005 @kindex layout
27006 Display the next layout.
27007
27008 @item layout prev
27009 Display the previous layout.
27010
27011 @item layout src
27012 Display the source window only.
27013
27014 @item layout asm
27015 Display the assembly window only.
27016
27017 @item layout split
27018 Display the source and assembly window.
27019
27020 @item layout regs
27021 Display the register window together with the source or assembly window.
27022
27023 @item focus next
27024 @kindex focus
27025 Make the next window active for scrolling.
27026
27027 @item focus prev
27028 Make the previous window active for scrolling.
27029
27030 @item focus src
27031 Make the source window active for scrolling.
27032
27033 @item focus asm
27034 Make the assembly window active for scrolling.
27035
27036 @item focus regs
27037 Make the register window active for scrolling.
27038
27039 @item focus cmd
27040 Make the command window active for scrolling.
27041
27042 @item refresh
27043 @kindex refresh
27044 Refresh the screen. This is similar to typing @kbd{C-L}.
27045
27046 @item tui reg float
27047 @kindex tui reg
27048 Show the floating point registers in the register window.
27049
27050 @item tui reg general
27051 Show the general registers in the register window.
27052
27053 @item tui reg next
27054 Show the next register group. The list of register groups as well as
27055 their order is target specific. The predefined register groups are the
27056 following: @code{general}, @code{float}, @code{system}, @code{vector},
27057 @code{all}, @code{save}, @code{restore}.
27058
27059 @item tui reg system
27060 Show the system registers in the register window.
27061
27062 @item update
27063 @kindex update
27064 Update the source window and the current execution point.
27065
27066 @item winheight @var{name} +@var{count}
27067 @itemx winheight @var{name} -@var{count}
27068 @kindex winheight
27069 Change the height of the window @var{name} by @var{count}
27070 lines. Positive counts increase the height, while negative counts
27071 decrease it.
27072
27073 @item tabset @var{nchars}
27074 @kindex tabset
27075 Set the width of tab stops to be @var{nchars} characters.
27076 @end table
27077
27078 @node TUI Configuration
27079 @section TUI Configuration Variables
27080 @cindex TUI configuration variables
27081
27082 Several configuration variables control the appearance of TUI windows.
27083
27084 @table @code
27085 @item set tui border-kind @var{kind}
27086 @kindex set tui border-kind
27087 Select the border appearance for the source, assembly and register windows.
27088 The possible values are the following:
27089 @table @code
27090 @item space
27091 Use a space character to draw the border.
27092
27093 @item ascii
27094 Use @sc{ascii} characters @samp{+}, @samp{-} and @samp{|} to draw the border.
27095
27096 @item acs
27097 Use the Alternate Character Set to draw the border. The border is
27098 drawn using character line graphics if the terminal supports them.
27099 @end table
27100
27101 @item set tui border-mode @var{mode}
27102 @kindex set tui border-mode
27103 @itemx set tui active-border-mode @var{mode}
27104 @kindex set tui active-border-mode
27105 Select the display attributes for the borders of the inactive windows
27106 or the active window. The @var{mode} can be one of the following:
27107 @table @code
27108 @item normal
27109 Use normal attributes to display the border.
27110
27111 @item standout
27112 Use standout mode.
27113
27114 @item reverse
27115 Use reverse video mode.
27116
27117 @item half
27118 Use half bright mode.
27119
27120 @item half-standout
27121 Use half bright and standout mode.
27122
27123 @item bold
27124 Use extra bright or bold mode.
27125
27126 @item bold-standout
27127 Use extra bright or bold and standout mode.
27128 @end table
27129 @end table
27130
27131 @node Emacs
27132 @chapter Using @value{GDBN} under @sc{gnu} Emacs
27133
27134 @cindex Emacs
27135 @cindex @sc{gnu} Emacs
27136 A special interface allows you to use @sc{gnu} Emacs to view (and
27137 edit) the source files for the program you are debugging with
27138 @value{GDBN}.
27139
27140 To use this interface, use the command @kbd{M-x gdb} in Emacs. Give the
27141 executable file you want to debug as an argument. This command starts
27142 @value{GDBN} as a subprocess of Emacs, with input and output through a newly
27143 created Emacs buffer.
27144 @c (Do not use the @code{-tui} option to run @value{GDBN} from Emacs.)
27145
27146 Running @value{GDBN} under Emacs can be just like running @value{GDBN} normally except for two
27147 things:
27148
27149 @itemize @bullet
27150 @item
27151 All ``terminal'' input and output goes through an Emacs buffer, called
27152 the GUD buffer.
27153
27154 This applies both to @value{GDBN} commands and their output, and to the input
27155 and output done by the program you are debugging.
27156
27157 This is useful because it means that you can copy the text of previous
27158 commands and input them again; you can even use parts of the output
27159 in this way.
27160
27161 All the facilities of Emacs' Shell mode are available for interacting
27162 with your program. In particular, you can send signals the usual
27163 way---for example, @kbd{C-c C-c} for an interrupt, @kbd{C-c C-z} for a
27164 stop.
27165
27166 @item
27167 @value{GDBN} displays source code through Emacs.
27168
27169 Each time @value{GDBN} displays a stack frame, Emacs automatically finds the
27170 source file for that frame and puts an arrow (@samp{=>}) at the
27171 left margin of the current line. Emacs uses a separate buffer for
27172 source display, and splits the screen to show both your @value{GDBN} session
27173 and the source.
27174
27175 Explicit @value{GDBN} @code{list} or search commands still produce output as
27176 usual, but you probably have no reason to use them from Emacs.
27177 @end itemize
27178
27179 We call this @dfn{text command mode}. Emacs 22.1, and later, also uses
27180 a graphical mode, enabled by default, which provides further buffers
27181 that can control the execution and describe the state of your program.
27182 @xref{GDB Graphical Interface,,, Emacs, The @sc{gnu} Emacs Manual}.
27183
27184 If you specify an absolute file name when prompted for the @kbd{M-x
27185 gdb} argument, then Emacs sets your current working directory to where
27186 your program resides. If you only specify the file name, then Emacs
27187 sets your current working directory to the directory associated
27188 with the previous buffer. In this case, @value{GDBN} may find your
27189 program by searching your environment's @code{PATH} variable, but on
27190 some operating systems it might not find the source. So, although the
27191 @value{GDBN} input and output session proceeds normally, the auxiliary
27192 buffer does not display the current source and line of execution.
27193
27194 The initial working directory of @value{GDBN} is printed on the top
27195 line of the GUD buffer and this serves as a default for the commands
27196 that specify files for @value{GDBN} to operate on. @xref{Files,
27197 ,Commands to Specify Files}.
27198
27199 By default, @kbd{M-x gdb} calls the program called @file{gdb}. If you
27200 need to call @value{GDBN} by a different name (for example, if you
27201 keep several configurations around, with different names) you can
27202 customize the Emacs variable @code{gud-gdb-command-name} to run the
27203 one you want.
27204
27205 In the GUD buffer, you can use these special Emacs commands in
27206 addition to the standard Shell mode commands:
27207
27208 @table @kbd
27209 @item C-h m
27210 Describe the features of Emacs' GUD Mode.
27211
27212 @item C-c C-s
27213 Execute to another source line, like the @value{GDBN} @code{step} command; also
27214 update the display window to show the current file and location.
27215
27216 @item C-c C-n
27217 Execute to next source line in this function, skipping all function
27218 calls, like the @value{GDBN} @code{next} command. Then update the display window
27219 to show the current file and location.
27220
27221 @item C-c C-i
27222 Execute one instruction, like the @value{GDBN} @code{stepi} command; update
27223 display window accordingly.
27224
27225 @item C-c C-f
27226 Execute until exit from the selected stack frame, like the @value{GDBN}
27227 @code{finish} command.
27228
27229 @item C-c C-r
27230 Continue execution of your program, like the @value{GDBN} @code{continue}
27231 command.
27232
27233 @item C-c <
27234 Go up the number of frames indicated by the numeric argument
27235 (@pxref{Arguments, , Numeric Arguments, Emacs, The @sc{gnu} Emacs Manual}),
27236 like the @value{GDBN} @code{up} command.
27237
27238 @item C-c >
27239 Go down the number of frames indicated by the numeric argument, like the
27240 @value{GDBN} @code{down} command.
27241 @end table
27242
27243 In any source file, the Emacs command @kbd{C-x @key{SPC}} (@code{gud-break})
27244 tells @value{GDBN} to set a breakpoint on the source line point is on.
27245
27246 In text command mode, if you type @kbd{M-x speedbar}, Emacs displays a
27247 separate frame which shows a backtrace when the GUD buffer is current.
27248 Move point to any frame in the stack and type @key{RET} to make it
27249 become the current frame and display the associated source in the
27250 source buffer. Alternatively, click @kbd{Mouse-2} to make the
27251 selected frame become the current one. In graphical mode, the
27252 speedbar displays watch expressions.
27253
27254 If you accidentally delete the source-display buffer, an easy way to get
27255 it back is to type the command @code{f} in the @value{GDBN} buffer, to
27256 request a frame display; when you run under Emacs, this recreates
27257 the source buffer if necessary to show you the context of the current
27258 frame.
27259
27260 The source files displayed in Emacs are in ordinary Emacs buffers
27261 which are visiting the source files in the usual way. You can edit
27262 the files with these buffers if you wish; but keep in mind that @value{GDBN}
27263 communicates with Emacs in terms of line numbers. If you add or
27264 delete lines from the text, the line numbers that @value{GDBN} knows cease
27265 to correspond properly with the code.
27266
27267 A more detailed description of Emacs' interaction with @value{GDBN} is
27268 given in the Emacs manual (@pxref{Debuggers,,, Emacs, The @sc{gnu}
27269 Emacs Manual}).
27270
27271 @node GDB/MI
27272 @chapter The @sc{gdb/mi} Interface
27273
27274 @unnumberedsec Function and Purpose
27275
27276 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, its purpose
27277 @sc{gdb/mi} is a line based machine oriented text interface to
27278 @value{GDBN} and is activated by specifying using the
27279 @option{--interpreter} command line option (@pxref{Mode Options}). It
27280 is specifically intended to support the development of systems which
27281 use the debugger as just one small component of a larger system.
27282
27283 This chapter is a specification of the @sc{gdb/mi} interface. It is written
27284 in the form of a reference manual.
27285
27286 Note that @sc{gdb/mi} is still under construction, so some of the
27287 features described below are incomplete and subject to change
27288 (@pxref{GDB/MI Development and Front Ends, , @sc{gdb/mi} Development and Front Ends}).
27289
27290 @unnumberedsec Notation and Terminology
27291
27292 @cindex notational conventions, for @sc{gdb/mi}
27293 This chapter uses the following notation:
27294
27295 @itemize @bullet
27296 @item
27297 @code{|} separates two alternatives.
27298
27299 @item
27300 @code{[ @var{something} ]} indicates that @var{something} is optional:
27301 it may or may not be given.
27302
27303 @item
27304 @code{( @var{group} )*} means that @var{group} inside the parentheses
27305 may repeat zero or more times.
27306
27307 @item
27308 @code{( @var{group} )+} means that @var{group} inside the parentheses
27309 may repeat one or more times.
27310
27311 @item
27312 @code{"@var{string}"} means a literal @var{string}.
27313 @end itemize
27314
27315 @ignore
27316 @heading Dependencies
27317 @end ignore
27318
27319 @menu
27320 * GDB/MI General Design::
27321 * GDB/MI Command Syntax::
27322 * GDB/MI Compatibility with CLI::
27323 * GDB/MI Development and Front Ends::
27324 * GDB/MI Output Records::
27325 * GDB/MI Simple Examples::
27326 * GDB/MI Command Description Format::
27327 * GDB/MI Breakpoint Commands::
27328 * GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands::
27329 * GDB/MI Program Context::
27330 * GDB/MI Thread Commands::
27331 * GDB/MI Ada Tasking Commands::
27332 * GDB/MI Program Execution::
27333 * GDB/MI Stack Manipulation::
27334 * GDB/MI Variable Objects::
27335 * GDB/MI Data Manipulation::
27336 * GDB/MI Tracepoint Commands::
27337 * GDB/MI Symbol Query::
27338 * GDB/MI File Commands::
27339 @ignore
27340 * GDB/MI Kod Commands::
27341 * GDB/MI Memory Overlay Commands::
27342 * GDB/MI Signal Handling Commands::
27343 @end ignore
27344 * GDB/MI Target Manipulation::
27345 * GDB/MI File Transfer Commands::
27346 * GDB/MI Miscellaneous Commands::
27347 @end menu
27348
27349 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
27350 @node GDB/MI General Design
27351 @section @sc{gdb/mi} General Design
27352 @cindex GDB/MI General Design
27353
27354 Interaction of a @sc{GDB/MI} frontend with @value{GDBN} involves three
27355 parts---commands sent to @value{GDBN}, responses to those commands
27356 and notifications. Each command results in exactly one response,
27357 indicating either successful completion of the command, or an error.
27358 For the commands that do not resume the target, the response contains the
27359 requested information. For the commands that resume the target, the
27360 response only indicates whether the target was successfully resumed.
27361 Notifications is the mechanism for reporting changes in the state of the
27362 target, or in @value{GDBN} state, that cannot conveniently be associated with
27363 a command and reported as part of that command response.
27364
27365 The important examples of notifications are:
27366 @itemize @bullet
27367
27368 @item
27369 Exec notifications. These are used to report changes in
27370 target state---when a target is resumed, or stopped. It would not
27371 be feasible to include this information in response of resuming
27372 commands, because one resume commands can result in multiple events in
27373 different threads. Also, quite some time may pass before any event
27374 happens in the target, while a frontend needs to know whether the resuming
27375 command itself was successfully executed.
27376
27377 @item
27378 Console output, and status notifications. Console output
27379 notifications are used to report output of CLI commands, as well as
27380 diagnostics for other commands. Status notifications are used to
27381 report the progress of a long-running operation. Naturally, including
27382 this information in command response would mean no output is produced
27383 until the command is finished, which is undesirable.
27384
27385 @item
27386 General notifications. Commands may have various side effects on
27387 the @value{GDBN} or target state beyond their official purpose. For example,
27388 a command may change the selected thread. Although such changes can
27389 be included in command response, using notification allows for more
27390 orthogonal frontend design.
27391
27392 @end itemize
27393
27394 There's no guarantee that whenever an MI command reports an error,
27395 @value{GDBN} or the target are in any specific state, and especially,
27396 the state is not reverted to the state before the MI command was
27397 processed. Therefore, whenever an MI command results in an error,
27398 we recommend that the frontend refreshes all the information shown in
27399 the user interface.
27400
27401
27402 @menu
27403 * Context management::
27404 * Asynchronous and non-stop modes::
27405 * Thread groups::
27406 @end menu
27407
27408 @node Context management
27409 @subsection Context management
27410
27411 In most cases when @value{GDBN} accesses the target, this access is
27412 done in context of a specific thread and frame (@pxref{Frames}).
27413 Often, even when accessing global data, the target requires that a thread
27414 be specified. The CLI interface maintains the selected thread and frame,
27415 and supplies them to target on each command. This is convenient,
27416 because a command line user would not want to specify that information
27417 explicitly on each command, and because user interacts with
27418 @value{GDBN} via a single terminal, so no confusion is possible as
27419 to what thread and frame are the current ones.
27420
27421 In the case of MI, the concept of selected thread and frame is less
27422 useful. First, a frontend can easily remember this information
27423 itself. Second, a graphical frontend can have more than one window,
27424 each one used for debugging a different thread, and the frontend might
27425 want to access additional threads for internal purposes. This
27426 increases the risk that by relying on implicitly selected thread, the
27427 frontend may be operating on a wrong one. Therefore, each MI command
27428 should explicitly specify which thread and frame to operate on. To
27429 make it possible, each MI command accepts the @samp{--thread} and
27430 @samp{--frame} options, the value to each is @value{GDBN} identifier
27431 for thread and frame to operate on.
27432
27433 Usually, each top-level window in a frontend allows the user to select
27434 a thread and a frame, and remembers the user selection for further
27435 operations. However, in some cases @value{GDBN} may suggest that the
27436 current thread be changed. For example, when stopping on a breakpoint
27437 it is reasonable to switch to the thread where breakpoint is hit. For
27438 another example, if the user issues the CLI @samp{thread} command via
27439 the frontend, it is desirable to change the frontend's selected thread to the
27440 one specified by user. @value{GDBN} communicates the suggestion to
27441 change current thread using the @samp{=thread-selected} notification.
27442 No such notification is available for the selected frame at the moment.
27443
27444 Note that historically, MI shares the selected thread with CLI, so
27445 frontends used the @code{-thread-select} to execute commands in the
27446 right context. However, getting this to work right is cumbersome. The
27447 simplest way is for frontend to emit @code{-thread-select} command
27448 before every command. This doubles the number of commands that need
27449 to be sent. The alternative approach is to suppress @code{-thread-select}
27450 if the selected thread in @value{GDBN} is supposed to be identical to the
27451 thread the frontend wants to operate on. However, getting this
27452 optimization right can be tricky. In particular, if the frontend
27453 sends several commands to @value{GDBN}, and one of the commands changes the
27454 selected thread, then the behaviour of subsequent commands will
27455 change. So, a frontend should either wait for response from such
27456 problematic commands, or explicitly add @code{-thread-select} for
27457 all subsequent commands. No frontend is known to do this exactly
27458 right, so it is suggested to just always pass the @samp{--thread} and
27459 @samp{--frame} options.
27460
27461 @node Asynchronous and non-stop modes
27462 @subsection Asynchronous command execution and non-stop mode
27463
27464 On some targets, @value{GDBN} is capable of processing MI commands
27465 even while the target is running. This is called @dfn{asynchronous
27466 command execution} (@pxref{Background Execution}). The frontend may
27467 specify a preferrence for asynchronous execution using the
27468 @code{-gdb-set target-async 1} command, which should be emitted before
27469 either running the executable or attaching to the target. After the
27470 frontend has started the executable or attached to the target, it can
27471 find if asynchronous execution is enabled using the
27472 @code{-list-target-features} command.
27473
27474 Even if @value{GDBN} can accept a command while target is running,
27475 many commands that access the target do not work when the target is
27476 running. Therefore, asynchronous command execution is most useful
27477 when combined with non-stop mode (@pxref{Non-Stop Mode}). Then,
27478 it is possible to examine the state of one thread, while other threads
27479 are running.
27480
27481 When a given thread is running, MI commands that try to access the
27482 target in the context of that thread may not work, or may work only on
27483 some targets. In particular, commands that try to operate on thread's
27484 stack will not work, on any target. Commands that read memory, or
27485 modify breakpoints, may work or not work, depending on the target. Note
27486 that even commands that operate on global state, such as @code{print},
27487 @code{set}, and breakpoint commands, still access the target in the
27488 context of a specific thread, so frontend should try to find a
27489 stopped thread and perform the operation on that thread (using the
27490 @samp{--thread} option).
27491
27492 Which commands will work in the context of a running thread is
27493 highly target dependent. However, the two commands
27494 @code{-exec-interrupt}, to stop a thread, and @code{-thread-info},
27495 to find the state of a thread, will always work.
27496
27497 @node Thread groups
27498 @subsection Thread groups
27499 @value{GDBN} may be used to debug several processes at the same time.
27500 On some platfroms, @value{GDBN} may support debugging of several
27501 hardware systems, each one having several cores with several different
27502 processes running on each core. This section describes the MI
27503 mechanism to support such debugging scenarios.
27504
27505 The key observation is that regardless of the structure of the
27506 target, MI can have a global list of threads, because most commands that
27507 accept the @samp{--thread} option do not need to know what process that
27508 thread belongs to. Therefore, it is not necessary to introduce
27509 neither additional @samp{--process} option, nor an notion of the
27510 current process in the MI interface. The only strictly new feature
27511 that is required is the ability to find how the threads are grouped
27512 into processes.
27513
27514 To allow the user to discover such grouping, and to support arbitrary
27515 hierarchy of machines/cores/processes, MI introduces the concept of a
27516 @dfn{thread group}. Thread group is a collection of threads and other
27517 thread groups. A thread group always has a string identifier, a type,
27518 and may have additional attributes specific to the type. A new
27519 command, @code{-list-thread-groups}, returns the list of top-level
27520 thread groups, which correspond to processes that @value{GDBN} is
27521 debugging at the moment. By passing an identifier of a thread group
27522 to the @code{-list-thread-groups} command, it is possible to obtain
27523 the members of specific thread group.
27524
27525 To allow the user to easily discover processes, and other objects, he
27526 wishes to debug, a concept of @dfn{available thread group} is
27527 introduced. Available thread group is an thread group that
27528 @value{GDBN} is not debugging, but that can be attached to, using the
27529 @code{-target-attach} command. The list of available top-level thread
27530 groups can be obtained using @samp{-list-thread-groups --available}.
27531 In general, the content of a thread group may be only retrieved only
27532 after attaching to that thread group.
27533
27534 Thread groups are related to inferiors (@pxref{Inferiors and
27535 Programs}). Each inferior corresponds to a thread group of a special
27536 type @samp{process}, and some additional operations are permitted on
27537 such thread groups.
27538
27539 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
27540 @node GDB/MI Command Syntax
27541 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Command Syntax
27542
27543 @menu
27544 * GDB/MI Input Syntax::
27545 * GDB/MI Output Syntax::
27546 @end menu
27547
27548 @node GDB/MI Input Syntax
27549 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Input Syntax
27550
27551 @cindex input syntax for @sc{gdb/mi}
27552 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, input syntax
27553 @table @code
27554 @item @var{command} @expansion{}
27555 @code{@var{cli-command} | @var{mi-command}}
27556
27557 @item @var{cli-command} @expansion{}
27558 @code{[ @var{token} ] @var{cli-command} @var{nl}}, where
27559 @var{cli-command} is any existing @value{GDBN} CLI command.
27560
27561 @item @var{mi-command} @expansion{}
27562 @code{[ @var{token} ] "-" @var{operation} ( " " @var{option} )*
27563 @code{[} " --" @code{]} ( " " @var{parameter} )* @var{nl}}
27564
27565 @item @var{token} @expansion{}
27566 "any sequence of digits"
27567
27568 @item @var{option} @expansion{}
27569 @code{"-" @var{parameter} [ " " @var{parameter} ]}
27570
27571 @item @var{parameter} @expansion{}
27572 @code{@var{non-blank-sequence} | @var{c-string}}
27573
27574 @item @var{operation} @expansion{}
27575 @emph{any of the operations described in this chapter}
27576
27577 @item @var{non-blank-sequence} @expansion{}
27578 @emph{anything, provided it doesn't contain special characters such as
27579 "-", @var{nl}, """ and of course " "}
27580
27581 @item @var{c-string} @expansion{}
27582 @code{""" @var{seven-bit-iso-c-string-content} """}
27583
27584 @item @var{nl} @expansion{}
27585 @code{CR | CR-LF}
27586 @end table
27587
27588 @noindent
27589 Notes:
27590
27591 @itemize @bullet
27592 @item
27593 The CLI commands are still handled by the @sc{mi} interpreter; their
27594 output is described below.
27595
27596 @item
27597 The @code{@var{token}}, when present, is passed back when the command
27598 finishes.
27599
27600 @item
27601 Some @sc{mi} commands accept optional arguments as part of the parameter
27602 list. Each option is identified by a leading @samp{-} (dash) and may be
27603 followed by an optional argument parameter. Options occur first in the
27604 parameter list and can be delimited from normal parameters using
27605 @samp{--} (this is useful when some parameters begin with a dash).
27606 @end itemize
27607
27608 Pragmatics:
27609
27610 @itemize @bullet
27611 @item
27612 We want easy access to the existing CLI syntax (for debugging).
27613
27614 @item
27615 We want it to be easy to spot a @sc{mi} operation.
27616 @end itemize
27617
27618 @node GDB/MI Output Syntax
27619 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Output Syntax
27620
27621 @cindex output syntax of @sc{gdb/mi}
27622 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, output syntax
27623 The output from @sc{gdb/mi} consists of zero or more out-of-band records
27624 followed, optionally, by a single result record. This result record
27625 is for the most recent command. The sequence of output records is
27626 terminated by @samp{(gdb)}.
27627
27628 If an input command was prefixed with a @code{@var{token}} then the
27629 corresponding output for that command will also be prefixed by that same
27630 @var{token}.
27631
27632 @table @code
27633 @item @var{output} @expansion{}
27634 @code{( @var{out-of-band-record} )* [ @var{result-record} ] "(gdb)" @var{nl}}
27635
27636 @item @var{result-record} @expansion{}
27637 @code{ [ @var{token} ] "^" @var{result-class} ( "," @var{result} )* @var{nl}}
27638
27639 @item @var{out-of-band-record} @expansion{}
27640 @code{@var{async-record} | @var{stream-record}}
27641
27642 @item @var{async-record} @expansion{}
27643 @code{@var{exec-async-output} | @var{status-async-output} | @var{notify-async-output}}
27644
27645 @item @var{exec-async-output} @expansion{}
27646 @code{[ @var{token} ] "*" @var{async-output}}
27647
27648 @item @var{status-async-output} @expansion{}
27649 @code{[ @var{token} ] "+" @var{async-output}}
27650
27651 @item @var{notify-async-output} @expansion{}
27652 @code{[ @var{token} ] "=" @var{async-output}}
27653
27654 @item @var{async-output} @expansion{}
27655 @code{@var{async-class} ( "," @var{result} )* @var{nl}}
27656
27657 @item @var{result-class} @expansion{}
27658 @code{"done" | "running" | "connected" | "error" | "exit"}
27659
27660 @item @var{async-class} @expansion{}
27661 @code{"stopped" | @var{others}} (where @var{others} will be added
27662 depending on the needs---this is still in development).
27663
27664 @item @var{result} @expansion{}
27665 @code{ @var{variable} "=" @var{value}}
27666
27667 @item @var{variable} @expansion{}
27668 @code{ @var{string} }
27669
27670 @item @var{value} @expansion{}
27671 @code{ @var{const} | @var{tuple} | @var{list} }
27672
27673 @item @var{const} @expansion{}
27674 @code{@var{c-string}}
27675
27676 @item @var{tuple} @expansion{}
27677 @code{ "@{@}" | "@{" @var{result} ( "," @var{result} )* "@}" }
27678
27679 @item @var{list} @expansion{}
27680 @code{ "[]" | "[" @var{value} ( "," @var{value} )* "]" | "["
27681 @var{result} ( "," @var{result} )* "]" }
27682
27683 @item @var{stream-record} @expansion{}
27684 @code{@var{console-stream-output} | @var{target-stream-output} | @var{log-stream-output}}
27685
27686 @item @var{console-stream-output} @expansion{}
27687 @code{"~" @var{c-string}}
27688
27689 @item @var{target-stream-output} @expansion{}
27690 @code{"@@" @var{c-string}}
27691
27692 @item @var{log-stream-output} @expansion{}
27693 @code{"&" @var{c-string}}
27694
27695 @item @var{nl} @expansion{}
27696 @code{CR | CR-LF}
27697
27698 @item @var{token} @expansion{}
27699 @emph{any sequence of digits}.
27700 @end table
27701
27702 @noindent
27703 Notes:
27704
27705 @itemize @bullet
27706 @item
27707 All output sequences end in a single line containing a period.
27708
27709 @item
27710 The @code{@var{token}} is from the corresponding request. Note that
27711 for all async output, while the token is allowed by the grammar and
27712 may be output by future versions of @value{GDBN} for select async
27713 output messages, it is generally omitted. Frontends should treat
27714 all async output as reporting general changes in the state of the
27715 target and there should be no need to associate async output to any
27716 prior command.
27717
27718 @item
27719 @cindex status output in @sc{gdb/mi}
27720 @var{status-async-output} contains on-going status information about the
27721 progress of a slow operation. It can be discarded. All status output is
27722 prefixed by @samp{+}.
27723
27724 @item
27725 @cindex async output in @sc{gdb/mi}
27726 @var{exec-async-output} contains asynchronous state change on the target
27727 (stopped, started, disappeared). All async output is prefixed by
27728 @samp{*}.
27729
27730 @item
27731 @cindex notify output in @sc{gdb/mi}
27732 @var{notify-async-output} contains supplementary information that the
27733 client should handle (e.g., a new breakpoint information). All notify
27734 output is prefixed by @samp{=}.
27735
27736 @item
27737 @cindex console output in @sc{gdb/mi}
27738 @var{console-stream-output} is output that should be displayed as is in the
27739 console. It is the textual response to a CLI command. All the console
27740 output is prefixed by @samp{~}.
27741
27742 @item
27743 @cindex target output in @sc{gdb/mi}
27744 @var{target-stream-output} is the output produced by the target program.
27745 All the target output is prefixed by @samp{@@}.
27746
27747 @item
27748 @cindex log output in @sc{gdb/mi}
27749 @var{log-stream-output} is output text coming from @value{GDBN}'s internals, for
27750 instance messages that should be displayed as part of an error log. All
27751 the log output is prefixed by @samp{&}.
27752
27753 @item
27754 @cindex list output in @sc{gdb/mi}
27755 New @sc{gdb/mi} commands should only output @var{lists} containing
27756 @var{values}.
27757
27758
27759 @end itemize
27760
27761 @xref{GDB/MI Stream Records, , @sc{gdb/mi} Stream Records}, for more
27762 details about the various output records.
27763
27764 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
27765 @node GDB/MI Compatibility with CLI
27766 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Compatibility with CLI
27767
27768 @cindex compatibility, @sc{gdb/mi} and CLI
27769 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, compatibility with CLI
27770
27771 For the developers convenience CLI commands can be entered directly,
27772 but there may be some unexpected behaviour. For example, commands
27773 that query the user will behave as if the user replied yes, breakpoint
27774 command lists are not executed and some CLI commands, such as
27775 @code{if}, @code{when} and @code{define}, prompt for further input with
27776 @samp{>}, which is not valid MI output.
27777
27778 This feature may be removed at some stage in the future and it is
27779 recommended that front ends use the @code{-interpreter-exec} command
27780 (@pxref{-interpreter-exec}).
27781
27782 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
27783 @node GDB/MI Development and Front Ends
27784 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Development and Front Ends
27785 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi} development
27786
27787 The application which takes the MI output and presents the state of the
27788 program being debugged to the user is called a @dfn{front end}.
27789
27790 Although @sc{gdb/mi} is still incomplete, it is currently being used
27791 by a variety of front ends to @value{GDBN}. This makes it difficult
27792 to introduce new functionality without breaking existing usage. This
27793 section tries to minimize the problems by describing how the protocol
27794 might change.
27795
27796 Some changes in MI need not break a carefully designed front end, and
27797 for these the MI version will remain unchanged. The following is a
27798 list of changes that may occur within one level, so front ends should
27799 parse MI output in a way that can handle them:
27800
27801 @itemize @bullet
27802 @item
27803 New MI commands may be added.
27804
27805 @item
27806 New fields may be added to the output of any MI command.
27807
27808 @item
27809 The range of values for fields with specified values, e.g.,
27810 @code{in_scope} (@pxref{-var-update}) may be extended.
27811
27812 @c The format of field's content e.g type prefix, may change so parse it
27813 @c at your own risk. Yes, in general?
27814
27815 @c The order of fields may change? Shouldn't really matter but it might
27816 @c resolve inconsistencies.
27817 @end itemize
27818
27819 If the changes are likely to break front ends, the MI version level
27820 will be increased by one. This will allow the front end to parse the
27821 output according to the MI version. Apart from mi0, new versions of
27822 @value{GDBN} will not support old versions of MI and it will be the
27823 responsibility of the front end to work with the new one.
27824
27825 @c Starting with mi3, add a new command -mi-version that prints the MI
27826 @c version?
27827
27828 The best way to avoid unexpected changes in MI that might break your front
27829 end is to make your project known to @value{GDBN} developers and
27830 follow development on @email{gdb@@sourceware.org} and
27831 @email{gdb-patches@@sourceware.org}.
27832 @cindex mailing lists
27833
27834 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
27835 @node GDB/MI Output Records
27836 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Output Records
27837
27838 @menu
27839 * GDB/MI Result Records::
27840 * GDB/MI Stream Records::
27841 * GDB/MI Async Records::
27842 * GDB/MI Breakpoint Information::
27843 * GDB/MI Frame Information::
27844 * GDB/MI Thread Information::
27845 * GDB/MI Ada Exception Information::
27846 @end menu
27847
27848 @node GDB/MI Result Records
27849 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Result Records
27850
27851 @cindex result records in @sc{gdb/mi}
27852 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, result records
27853 In addition to a number of out-of-band notifications, the response to a
27854 @sc{gdb/mi} command includes one of the following result indications:
27855
27856 @table @code
27857 @findex ^done
27858 @item "^done" [ "," @var{results} ]
27859 The synchronous operation was successful, @code{@var{results}} are the return
27860 values.
27861
27862 @item "^running"
27863 @findex ^running
27864 This result record is equivalent to @samp{^done}. Historically, it
27865 was output instead of @samp{^done} if the command has resumed the
27866 target. This behaviour is maintained for backward compatibility, but
27867 all frontends should treat @samp{^done} and @samp{^running}
27868 identically and rely on the @samp{*running} output record to determine
27869 which threads are resumed.
27870
27871 @item "^connected"
27872 @findex ^connected
27873 @value{GDBN} has connected to a remote target.
27874
27875 @item "^error" "," @var{c-string}
27876 @findex ^error
27877 The operation failed. The @code{@var{c-string}} contains the corresponding
27878 error message.
27879
27880 @item "^exit"
27881 @findex ^exit
27882 @value{GDBN} has terminated.
27883
27884 @end table
27885
27886 @node GDB/MI Stream Records
27887 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Stream Records
27888
27889 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, stream records
27890 @cindex stream records in @sc{gdb/mi}
27891 @value{GDBN} internally maintains a number of output streams: the console, the
27892 target, and the log. The output intended for each of these streams is
27893 funneled through the @sc{gdb/mi} interface using @dfn{stream records}.
27894
27895 Each stream record begins with a unique @dfn{prefix character} which
27896 identifies its stream (@pxref{GDB/MI Output Syntax, , @sc{gdb/mi} Output
27897 Syntax}). In addition to the prefix, each stream record contains a
27898 @code{@var{string-output}}. This is either raw text (with an implicit new
27899 line) or a quoted C string (which does not contain an implicit newline).
27900
27901 @table @code
27902 @item "~" @var{string-output}
27903 The console output stream contains text that should be displayed in the
27904 CLI console window. It contains the textual responses to CLI commands.
27905
27906 @item "@@" @var{string-output}
27907 The target output stream contains any textual output from the running
27908 target. This is only present when GDB's event loop is truly
27909 asynchronous, which is currently only the case for remote targets.
27910
27911 @item "&" @var{string-output}
27912 The log stream contains debugging messages being produced by @value{GDBN}'s
27913 internals.
27914 @end table
27915
27916 @node GDB/MI Async Records
27917 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Async Records
27918
27919 @cindex async records in @sc{gdb/mi}
27920 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, async records
27921 @dfn{Async} records are used to notify the @sc{gdb/mi} client of
27922 additional changes that have occurred. Those changes can either be a
27923 consequence of @sc{gdb/mi} commands (e.g., a breakpoint modified) or a result of
27924 target activity (e.g., target stopped).
27925
27926 The following is the list of possible async records:
27927
27928 @table @code
27929
27930 @item *running,thread-id="@var{thread}"
27931 The target is now running. The @var{thread} field tells which
27932 specific thread is now running, and can be @samp{all} if all threads
27933 are running. The frontend should assume that no interaction with a
27934 running thread is possible after this notification is produced.
27935 The frontend should not assume that this notification is output
27936 only once for any command. @value{GDBN} may emit this notification
27937 several times, either for different threads, because it cannot resume
27938 all threads together, or even for a single thread, if the thread must
27939 be stepped though some code before letting it run freely.
27940
27941 @item *stopped,reason="@var{reason}",thread-id="@var{id}",stopped-threads="@var{stopped}",core="@var{core}"
27942 The target has stopped. The @var{reason} field can have one of the
27943 following values:
27944
27945 @table @code
27946 @item breakpoint-hit
27947 A breakpoint was reached.
27948 @item watchpoint-trigger
27949 A watchpoint was triggered.
27950 @item read-watchpoint-trigger
27951 A read watchpoint was triggered.
27952 @item access-watchpoint-trigger
27953 An access watchpoint was triggered.
27954 @item function-finished
27955 An -exec-finish or similar CLI command was accomplished.
27956 @item location-reached
27957 An -exec-until or similar CLI command was accomplished.
27958 @item watchpoint-scope
27959 A watchpoint has gone out of scope.
27960 @item end-stepping-range
27961 An -exec-next, -exec-next-instruction, -exec-step, -exec-step-instruction or
27962 similar CLI command was accomplished.
27963 @item exited-signalled
27964 The inferior exited because of a signal.
27965 @item exited
27966 The inferior exited.
27967 @item exited-normally
27968 The inferior exited normally.
27969 @item signal-received
27970 A signal was received by the inferior.
27971 @item solib-event
27972 The inferior has stopped due to a library being loaded or unloaded.
27973 This can happen when @code{stop-on-solib-events} (@pxref{Files}) is
27974 set or when a @code{catch load} or @code{catch unload} catchpoint is
27975 in use (@pxref{Set Catchpoints}).
27976 @item fork
27977 The inferior has forked. This is reported when @code{catch fork}
27978 (@pxref{Set Catchpoints}) has been used.
27979 @item vfork
27980 The inferior has vforked. This is reported in when @code{catch vfork}
27981 (@pxref{Set Catchpoints}) has been used.
27982 @item syscall-entry
27983 The inferior entered a system call. This is reported when @code{catch
27984 syscall} (@pxref{Set Catchpoints}) has been used.
27985 @item syscall-entry
27986 The inferior returned from a system call. This is reported when
27987 @code{catch syscall} (@pxref{Set Catchpoints}) has been used.
27988 @item exec
27989 The inferior called @code{exec}. This is reported when @code{catch exec}
27990 (@pxref{Set Catchpoints}) has been used.
27991 @end table
27992
27993 The @var{id} field identifies the thread that directly caused the stop
27994 -- for example by hitting a breakpoint. Depending on whether all-stop
27995 mode is in effect (@pxref{All-Stop Mode}), @value{GDBN} may either
27996 stop all threads, or only the thread that directly triggered the stop.
27997 If all threads are stopped, the @var{stopped} field will have the
27998 value of @code{"all"}. Otherwise, the value of the @var{stopped}
27999 field will be a list of thread identifiers. Presently, this list will
28000 always include a single thread, but frontend should be prepared to see
28001 several threads in the list. The @var{core} field reports the
28002 processor core on which the stop event has happened. This field may be absent
28003 if such information is not available.
28004
28005 @item =thread-group-added,id="@var{id}"
28006 @itemx =thread-group-removed,id="@var{id}"
28007 A thread group was either added or removed. The @var{id} field
28008 contains the @value{GDBN} identifier of the thread group. When a thread
28009 group is added, it generally might not be associated with a running
28010 process. When a thread group is removed, its id becomes invalid and
28011 cannot be used in any way.
28012
28013 @item =thread-group-started,id="@var{id}",pid="@var{pid}"
28014 A thread group became associated with a running program,
28015 either because the program was just started or the thread group
28016 was attached to a program. The @var{id} field contains the
28017 @value{GDBN} identifier of the thread group. The @var{pid} field
28018 contains process identifier, specific to the operating system.
28019
28020 @item =thread-group-exited,id="@var{id}"[,exit-code="@var{code}"]
28021 A thread group is no longer associated with a running program,
28022 either because the program has exited, or because it was detached
28023 from. The @var{id} field contains the @value{GDBN} identifier of the
28024 thread group. @var{code} is the exit code of the inferior; it exists
28025 only when the inferior exited with some code.
28026
28027 @item =thread-created,id="@var{id}",group-id="@var{gid}"
28028 @itemx =thread-exited,id="@var{id}",group-id="@var{gid}"
28029 A thread either was created, or has exited. The @var{id} field
28030 contains the @value{GDBN} identifier of the thread. The @var{gid}
28031 field identifies the thread group this thread belongs to.
28032
28033 @item =thread-selected,id="@var{id}"
28034 Informs that the selected thread was changed as result of the last
28035 command. This notification is not emitted as result of @code{-thread-select}
28036 command but is emitted whenever an MI command that is not documented
28037 to change the selected thread actually changes it. In particular,
28038 invoking, directly or indirectly (via user-defined command), the CLI
28039 @code{thread} command, will generate this notification.
28040
28041 We suggest that in response to this notification, front ends
28042 highlight the selected thread and cause subsequent commands to apply to
28043 that thread.
28044
28045 @item =library-loaded,...
28046 Reports that a new library file was loaded by the program. This
28047 notification has 4 fields---@var{id}, @var{target-name},
28048 @var{host-name}, and @var{symbols-loaded}. The @var{id} field is an
28049 opaque identifier of the library. For remote debugging case,
28050 @var{target-name} and @var{host-name} fields give the name of the
28051 library file on the target, and on the host respectively. For native
28052 debugging, both those fields have the same value. The
28053 @var{symbols-loaded} field is emitted only for backward compatibility
28054 and should not be relied on to convey any useful information. The
28055 @var{thread-group} field, if present, specifies the id of the thread
28056 group in whose context the library was loaded. If the field is
28057 absent, it means the library was loaded in the context of all present
28058 thread groups.
28059
28060 @item =library-unloaded,...
28061 Reports that a library was unloaded by the program. This notification
28062 has 3 fields---@var{id}, @var{target-name} and @var{host-name} with
28063 the same meaning as for the @code{=library-loaded} notification.
28064 The @var{thread-group} field, if present, specifies the id of the
28065 thread group in whose context the library was unloaded. If the field is
28066 absent, it means the library was unloaded in the context of all present
28067 thread groups.
28068
28069 @item =traceframe-changed,num=@var{tfnum},tracepoint=@var{tpnum}
28070 @itemx =traceframe-changed,end
28071 Reports that the trace frame was changed and its new number is
28072 @var{tfnum}. The number of the tracepoint associated with this trace
28073 frame is @var{tpnum}.
28074
28075 @item =tsv-created,name=@var{name},initial=@var{initial}
28076 Reports that the new trace state variable @var{name} is created with
28077 initial value @var{initial}.
28078
28079 @item =tsv-deleted,name=@var{name}
28080 @itemx =tsv-deleted
28081 Reports that the trace state variable @var{name} is deleted or all
28082 trace state variables are deleted.
28083
28084 @item =tsv-modified,name=@var{name},initial=@var{initial}[,current=@var{current}]
28085 Reports that the trace state variable @var{name} is modified with
28086 the initial value @var{initial}. The current value @var{current} of
28087 trace state variable is optional and is reported if the current
28088 value of trace state variable is known.
28089
28090 @item =breakpoint-created,bkpt=@{...@}
28091 @itemx =breakpoint-modified,bkpt=@{...@}
28092 @itemx =breakpoint-deleted,id=@var{number}
28093 Reports that a breakpoint was created, modified, or deleted,
28094 respectively. Only user-visible breakpoints are reported to the MI
28095 user.
28096
28097 The @var{bkpt} argument is of the same form as returned by the various
28098 breakpoint commands; @xref{GDB/MI Breakpoint Commands}. The
28099 @var{number} is the ordinal number of the breakpoint.
28100
28101 Note that if a breakpoint is emitted in the result record of a
28102 command, then it will not also be emitted in an async record.
28103
28104 @item =record-started,thread-group="@var{id}"
28105 @itemx =record-stopped,thread-group="@var{id}"
28106 Execution log recording was either started or stopped on an
28107 inferior. The @var{id} is the @value{GDBN} identifier of the thread
28108 group corresponding to the affected inferior.
28109
28110 @item =cmd-param-changed,param=@var{param},value=@var{value}
28111 Reports that a parameter of the command @code{set @var{param}} is
28112 changed to @var{value}. In the multi-word @code{set} command,
28113 the @var{param} is the whole parameter list to @code{set} command.
28114 For example, In command @code{set check type on}, @var{param}
28115 is @code{check type} and @var{value} is @code{on}.
28116
28117 @item =memory-changed,thread-group=@var{id},addr=@var{addr},len=@var{len}[,type="code"]
28118 Reports that bytes from @var{addr} to @var{data} + @var{len} were
28119 written in an inferior. The @var{id} is the identifier of the
28120 thread group corresponding to the affected inferior. The optional
28121 @code{type="code"} part is reported if the memory written to holds
28122 executable code.
28123 @end table
28124
28125 @node GDB/MI Breakpoint Information
28126 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Breakpoint Information
28127
28128 When @value{GDBN} reports information about a breakpoint, a
28129 tracepoint, a watchpoint, or a catchpoint, it uses a tuple with the
28130 following fields:
28131
28132 @table @code
28133 @item number
28134 The breakpoint number. For a breakpoint that represents one location
28135 of a multi-location breakpoint, this will be a dotted pair, like
28136 @samp{1.2}.
28137
28138 @item type
28139 The type of the breakpoint. For ordinary breakpoints this will be
28140 @samp{breakpoint}, but many values are possible.
28141
28142 @item catch-type
28143 If the type of the breakpoint is @samp{catchpoint}, then this
28144 indicates the exact type of catchpoint.
28145
28146 @item disp
28147 This is the breakpoint disposition---either @samp{del}, meaning that
28148 the breakpoint will be deleted at the next stop, or @samp{keep},
28149 meaning that the breakpoint will not be deleted.
28150
28151 @item enabled
28152 This indicates whether the breakpoint is enabled, in which case the
28153 value is @samp{y}, or disabled, in which case the value is @samp{n}.
28154 Note that this is not the same as the field @code{enable}.
28155
28156 @item addr
28157 The address of the breakpoint. This may be a hexidecimal number,
28158 giving the address; or the string @samp{<PENDING>}, for a pending
28159 breakpoint; or the string @samp{<MULTIPLE>}, for a breakpoint with
28160 multiple locations. This field will not be present if no address can
28161 be determined. For example, a watchpoint does not have an address.
28162
28163 @item func
28164 If known, the function in which the breakpoint appears.
28165 If not known, this field is not present.
28166
28167 @item filename
28168 The name of the source file which contains this function, if known.
28169 If not known, this field is not present.
28170
28171 @item fullname
28172 The full file name of the source file which contains this function, if
28173 known. If not known, this field is not present.
28174
28175 @item line
28176 The line number at which this breakpoint appears, if known.
28177 If not known, this field is not present.
28178
28179 @item at
28180 If the source file is not known, this field may be provided. If
28181 provided, this holds the address of the breakpoint, possibly followed
28182 by a symbol name.
28183
28184 @item pending
28185 If this breakpoint is pending, this field is present and holds the
28186 text used to set the breakpoint, as entered by the user.
28187
28188 @item evaluated-by
28189 Where this breakpoint's condition is evaluated, either @samp{host} or
28190 @samp{target}.
28191
28192 @item thread
28193 If this is a thread-specific breakpoint, then this identifies the
28194 thread in which the breakpoint can trigger.
28195
28196 @item task
28197 If this breakpoint is restricted to a particular Ada task, then this
28198 field will hold the task identifier.
28199
28200 @item cond
28201 If the breakpoint is conditional, this is the condition expression.
28202
28203 @item ignore
28204 The ignore count of the breakpoint.
28205
28206 @item enable
28207 The enable count of the breakpoint.
28208
28209 @item traceframe-usage
28210 FIXME.
28211
28212 @item static-tracepoint-marker-string-id
28213 For a static tracepoint, the name of the static tracepoint marker.
28214
28215 @item mask
28216 For a masked watchpoint, this is the mask.
28217
28218 @item pass
28219 A tracepoint's pass count.
28220
28221 @item original-location
28222 The location of the breakpoint as originally specified by the user.
28223 This field is optional.
28224
28225 @item times
28226 The number of times the breakpoint has been hit.
28227
28228 @item installed
28229 This field is only given for tracepoints. This is either @samp{y},
28230 meaning that the tracepoint is installed, or @samp{n}, meaning that it
28231 is not.
28232
28233 @item what
28234 Some extra data, the exact contents of which are type-dependent.
28235
28236 @end table
28237
28238 For example, here is what the output of @code{-break-insert}
28239 (@pxref{GDB/MI Breakpoint Commands}) might be:
28240
28241 @smallexample
28242 -> -break-insert main
28243 <- ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
28244 enabled="y",addr="0x08048564",func="main",file="myprog.c",
28245 fullname="/home/nickrob/myprog.c",line="68",thread-groups=["i1"],
28246 times="0"@}
28247 <- (gdb)
28248 @end smallexample
28249
28250 @node GDB/MI Frame Information
28251 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Frame Information
28252
28253 Response from many MI commands includes an information about stack
28254 frame. This information is a tuple that may have the following
28255 fields:
28256
28257 @table @code
28258 @item level
28259 The level of the stack frame. The innermost frame has the level of
28260 zero. This field is always present.
28261
28262 @item func
28263 The name of the function corresponding to the frame. This field may
28264 be absent if @value{GDBN} is unable to determine the function name.
28265
28266 @item addr
28267 The code address for the frame. This field is always present.
28268
28269 @item file
28270 The name of the source files that correspond to the frame's code
28271 address. This field may be absent.
28272
28273 @item line
28274 The source line corresponding to the frames' code address. This field
28275 may be absent.
28276
28277 @item from
28278 The name of the binary file (either executable or shared library) the
28279 corresponds to the frame's code address. This field may be absent.
28280
28281 @end table
28282
28283 @node GDB/MI Thread Information
28284 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Thread Information
28285
28286 Whenever @value{GDBN} has to report an information about a thread, it
28287 uses a tuple with the following fields:
28288
28289 @table @code
28290 @item id
28291 The numeric id assigned to the thread by @value{GDBN}. This field is
28292 always present.
28293
28294 @item target-id
28295 Target-specific string identifying the thread. This field is always present.
28296
28297 @item details
28298 Additional information about the thread provided by the target.
28299 It is supposed to be human-readable and not interpreted by the
28300 frontend. This field is optional.
28301
28302 @item state
28303 Either @samp{stopped} or @samp{running}, depending on whether the
28304 thread is presently running. This field is always present.
28305
28306 @item core
28307 The value of this field is an integer number of the processor core the
28308 thread was last seen on. This field is optional.
28309 @end table
28310
28311 @node GDB/MI Ada Exception Information
28312 @subsection @sc{gdb/mi} Ada Exception Information
28313
28314 Whenever a @code{*stopped} record is emitted because the program
28315 stopped after hitting an exception catchpoint (@pxref{Set Catchpoints}),
28316 @value{GDBN} provides the name of the exception that was raised via
28317 the @code{exception-name} field.
28318
28319 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
28320 @node GDB/MI Simple Examples
28321 @section Simple Examples of @sc{gdb/mi} Interaction
28322 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, simple examples
28323
28324 This subsection presents several simple examples of interaction using
28325 the @sc{gdb/mi} interface. In these examples, @samp{->} means that the
28326 following line is passed to @sc{gdb/mi} as input, while @samp{<-} means
28327 the output received from @sc{gdb/mi}.
28328
28329 Note the line breaks shown in the examples are here only for
28330 readability, they don't appear in the real output.
28331
28332 @subheading Setting a Breakpoint
28333
28334 Setting a breakpoint generates synchronous output which contains detailed
28335 information of the breakpoint.
28336
28337 @smallexample
28338 -> -break-insert main
28339 <- ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
28340 enabled="y",addr="0x08048564",func="main",file="myprog.c",
28341 fullname="/home/nickrob/myprog.c",line="68",thread-groups=["i1"],
28342 times="0"@}
28343 <- (gdb)
28344 @end smallexample
28345
28346 @subheading Program Execution
28347
28348 Program execution generates asynchronous records and MI gives the
28349 reason that execution stopped.
28350
28351 @smallexample
28352 -> -exec-run
28353 <- ^running
28354 <- (gdb)
28355 <- *stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",thread-id="0",
28356 frame=@{addr="0x08048564",func="main",
28357 args=[@{name="argc",value="1"@},@{name="argv",value="0xbfc4d4d4"@}],
28358 file="myprog.c",fullname="/home/nickrob/myprog.c",line="68"@}
28359 <- (gdb)
28360 -> -exec-continue
28361 <- ^running
28362 <- (gdb)
28363 <- *stopped,reason="exited-normally"
28364 <- (gdb)
28365 @end smallexample
28366
28367 @subheading Quitting @value{GDBN}
28368
28369 Quitting @value{GDBN} just prints the result class @samp{^exit}.
28370
28371 @smallexample
28372 -> (gdb)
28373 <- -gdb-exit
28374 <- ^exit
28375 @end smallexample
28376
28377 Please note that @samp{^exit} is printed immediately, but it might
28378 take some time for @value{GDBN} to actually exit. During that time, @value{GDBN}
28379 performs necessary cleanups, including killing programs being debugged
28380 or disconnecting from debug hardware, so the frontend should wait till
28381 @value{GDBN} exits and should only forcibly kill @value{GDBN} if it
28382 fails to exit in reasonable time.
28383
28384 @subheading A Bad Command
28385
28386 Here's what happens if you pass a non-existent command:
28387
28388 @smallexample
28389 -> -rubbish
28390 <- ^error,msg="Undefined MI command: rubbish"
28391 <- (gdb)
28392 @end smallexample
28393
28394
28395 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
28396 @node GDB/MI Command Description Format
28397 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Command Description Format
28398
28399 The remaining sections describe blocks of commands. Each block of
28400 commands is laid out in a fashion similar to this section.
28401
28402 @subheading Motivation
28403
28404 The motivation for this collection of commands.
28405
28406 @subheading Introduction
28407
28408 A brief introduction to this collection of commands as a whole.
28409
28410 @subheading Commands
28411
28412 For each command in the block, the following is described:
28413
28414 @subsubheading Synopsis
28415
28416 @smallexample
28417 -command @var{args}@dots{}
28418 @end smallexample
28419
28420 @subsubheading Result
28421
28422 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28423
28424 The corresponding @value{GDBN} CLI command(s), if any.
28425
28426 @subsubheading Example
28427
28428 Example(s) formatted for readability. Some of the described commands have
28429 not been implemented yet and these are labeled N.A.@: (not available).
28430
28431
28432 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
28433 @node GDB/MI Breakpoint Commands
28434 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Breakpoint Commands
28435
28436 @cindex breakpoint commands for @sc{gdb/mi}
28437 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, breakpoint commands
28438 This section documents @sc{gdb/mi} commands for manipulating
28439 breakpoints.
28440
28441 @subheading The @code{-break-after} Command
28442 @findex -break-after
28443
28444 @subsubheading Synopsis
28445
28446 @smallexample
28447 -break-after @var{number} @var{count}
28448 @end smallexample
28449
28450 The breakpoint number @var{number} is not in effect until it has been
28451 hit @var{count} times. To see how this is reflected in the output of
28452 the @samp{-break-list} command, see the description of the
28453 @samp{-break-list} command below.
28454
28455 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28456
28457 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{ignore}.
28458
28459 @subsubheading Example
28460
28461 @smallexample
28462 (gdb)
28463 -break-insert main
28464 ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
28465 enabled="y",addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",
28466 fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",line="5",thread-groups=["i1"],
28467 times="0"@}
28468 (gdb)
28469 -break-after 1 3
28470 ~
28471 ^done
28472 (gdb)
28473 -break-list
28474 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
28475 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
28476 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
28477 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
28478 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
28479 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
28480 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
28481 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
28482 addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
28483 line="5",thread-groups=["i1"],times="0",ignore="3"@}]@}
28484 (gdb)
28485 @end smallexample
28486
28487 @ignore
28488 @subheading The @code{-break-catch} Command
28489 @findex -break-catch
28490 @end ignore
28491
28492 @subheading The @code{-break-commands} Command
28493 @findex -break-commands
28494
28495 @subsubheading Synopsis
28496
28497 @smallexample
28498 -break-commands @var{number} [ @var{command1} ... @var{commandN} ]
28499 @end smallexample
28500
28501 Specifies the CLI commands that should be executed when breakpoint
28502 @var{number} is hit. The parameters @var{command1} to @var{commandN}
28503 are the commands. If no command is specified, any previously-set
28504 commands are cleared. @xref{Break Commands}. Typical use of this
28505 functionality is tracing a program, that is, printing of values of
28506 some variables whenever breakpoint is hit and then continuing.
28507
28508 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28509
28510 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{commands}.
28511
28512 @subsubheading Example
28513
28514 @smallexample
28515 (gdb)
28516 -break-insert main
28517 ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",
28518 enabled="y",addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",
28519 fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",line="5",thread-groups=["i1"],
28520 times="0"@}
28521 (gdb)
28522 -break-commands 1 "print v" "continue"
28523 ^done
28524 (gdb)
28525 @end smallexample
28526
28527 @subheading The @code{-break-condition} Command
28528 @findex -break-condition
28529
28530 @subsubheading Synopsis
28531
28532 @smallexample
28533 -break-condition @var{number} @var{expr}
28534 @end smallexample
28535
28536 Breakpoint @var{number} will stop the program only if the condition in
28537 @var{expr} is true. The condition becomes part of the
28538 @samp{-break-list} output (see the description of the @samp{-break-list}
28539 command below).
28540
28541 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28542
28543 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{condition}.
28544
28545 @subsubheading Example
28546
28547 @smallexample
28548 (gdb)
28549 -break-condition 1 1
28550 ^done
28551 (gdb)
28552 -break-list
28553 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
28554 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
28555 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
28556 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
28557 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
28558 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
28559 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
28560 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
28561 addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
28562 line="5",cond="1",thread-groups=["i1"],times="0",ignore="3"@}]@}
28563 (gdb)
28564 @end smallexample
28565
28566 @subheading The @code{-break-delete} Command
28567 @findex -break-delete
28568
28569 @subsubheading Synopsis
28570
28571 @smallexample
28572 -break-delete ( @var{breakpoint} )+
28573 @end smallexample
28574
28575 Delete the breakpoint(s) whose number(s) are specified in the argument
28576 list. This is obviously reflected in the breakpoint list.
28577
28578 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28579
28580 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{delete}.
28581
28582 @subsubheading Example
28583
28584 @smallexample
28585 (gdb)
28586 -break-delete 1
28587 ^done
28588 (gdb)
28589 -break-list
28590 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="0",nr_cols="6",
28591 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
28592 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
28593 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
28594 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
28595 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
28596 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
28597 body=[]@}
28598 (gdb)
28599 @end smallexample
28600
28601 @subheading The @code{-break-disable} Command
28602 @findex -break-disable
28603
28604 @subsubheading Synopsis
28605
28606 @smallexample
28607 -break-disable ( @var{breakpoint} )+
28608 @end smallexample
28609
28610 Disable the named @var{breakpoint}(s). The field @samp{enabled} in the
28611 break list is now set to @samp{n} for the named @var{breakpoint}(s).
28612
28613 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28614
28615 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{disable}.
28616
28617 @subsubheading Example
28618
28619 @smallexample
28620 (gdb)
28621 -break-disable 2
28622 ^done
28623 (gdb)
28624 -break-list
28625 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
28626 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
28627 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
28628 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
28629 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
28630 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
28631 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
28632 body=[bkpt=@{number="2",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="n",
28633 addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
28634 line="5",thread-groups=["i1"],times="0"@}]@}
28635 (gdb)
28636 @end smallexample
28637
28638 @subheading The @code{-break-enable} Command
28639 @findex -break-enable
28640
28641 @subsubheading Synopsis
28642
28643 @smallexample
28644 -break-enable ( @var{breakpoint} )+
28645 @end smallexample
28646
28647 Enable (previously disabled) @var{breakpoint}(s).
28648
28649 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28650
28651 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{enable}.
28652
28653 @subsubheading Example
28654
28655 @smallexample
28656 (gdb)
28657 -break-enable 2
28658 ^done
28659 (gdb)
28660 -break-list
28661 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
28662 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
28663 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
28664 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
28665 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
28666 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
28667 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
28668 body=[bkpt=@{number="2",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
28669 addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
28670 line="5",thread-groups=["i1"],times="0"@}]@}
28671 (gdb)
28672 @end smallexample
28673
28674 @subheading The @code{-break-info} Command
28675 @findex -break-info
28676
28677 @subsubheading Synopsis
28678
28679 @smallexample
28680 -break-info @var{breakpoint}
28681 @end smallexample
28682
28683 @c REDUNDANT???
28684 Get information about a single breakpoint.
28685
28686 The result is a table of breakpoints. @xref{GDB/MI Breakpoint
28687 Information}, for details on the format of each breakpoint in the
28688 table.
28689
28690 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28691
28692 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info break @var{breakpoint}}.
28693
28694 @subsubheading Example
28695 N.A.
28696
28697 @subheading The @code{-break-insert} Command
28698 @findex -break-insert
28699
28700 @subsubheading Synopsis
28701
28702 @smallexample
28703 -break-insert [ -t ] [ -h ] [ -f ] [ -d ] [ -a ]
28704 [ -c @var{condition} ] [ -i @var{ignore-count} ]
28705 [ -p @var{thread-id} ] [ @var{location} ]
28706 @end smallexample
28707
28708 @noindent
28709 If specified, @var{location}, can be one of:
28710
28711 @itemize @bullet
28712 @item function
28713 @c @item +offset
28714 @c @item -offset
28715 @c @item linenum
28716 @item filename:linenum
28717 @item filename:function
28718 @item *address
28719 @end itemize
28720
28721 The possible optional parameters of this command are:
28722
28723 @table @samp
28724 @item -t
28725 Insert a temporary breakpoint.
28726 @item -h
28727 Insert a hardware breakpoint.
28728 @item -f
28729 If @var{location} cannot be parsed (for example if it
28730 refers to unknown files or functions), create a pending
28731 breakpoint. Without this flag, @value{GDBN} will report
28732 an error, and won't create a breakpoint, if @var{location}
28733 cannot be parsed.
28734 @item -d
28735 Create a disabled breakpoint.
28736 @item -a
28737 Create a tracepoint. @xref{Tracepoints}. When this parameter
28738 is used together with @samp{-h}, a fast tracepoint is created.
28739 @item -c @var{condition}
28740 Make the breakpoint conditional on @var{condition}.
28741 @item -i @var{ignore-count}
28742 Initialize the @var{ignore-count}.
28743 @item -p @var{thread-id}
28744 Restrict the breakpoint to the specified @var{thread-id}.
28745 @end table
28746
28747 @subsubheading Result
28748
28749 @xref{GDB/MI Breakpoint Information}, for details on the format of the
28750 resulting breakpoint.
28751
28752 Note: this format is open to change.
28753 @c An out-of-band breakpoint instead of part of the result?
28754
28755 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28756
28757 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{break}, @samp{tbreak},
28758 @samp{hbreak}, and @samp{thbreak}. @c and @samp{rbreak}.
28759
28760 @subsubheading Example
28761
28762 @smallexample
28763 (gdb)
28764 -break-insert main
28765 ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",addr="0x0001072c",file="recursive2.c",
28766 fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c,line="4",thread-groups=["i1"],
28767 times="0"@}
28768 (gdb)
28769 -break-insert -t foo
28770 ^done,bkpt=@{number="2",addr="0x00010774",file="recursive2.c",
28771 fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c,line="11",thread-groups=["i1"],
28772 times="0"@}
28773 (gdb)
28774 -break-list
28775 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="2",nr_cols="6",
28776 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
28777 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
28778 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
28779 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
28780 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
28781 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
28782 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
28783 addr="0x0001072c", func="main",file="recursive2.c",
28784 fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c,"line="4",thread-groups=["i1"],
28785 times="0"@},
28786 bkpt=@{number="2",type="breakpoint",disp="del",enabled="y",
28787 addr="0x00010774",func="foo",file="recursive2.c",
28788 fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c",line="11",thread-groups=["i1"],
28789 times="0"@}]@}
28790 (gdb)
28791 @c -break-insert -r foo.*
28792 @c ~int foo(int, int);
28793 @c ^done,bkpt=@{number="3",addr="0x00010774",file="recursive2.c,
28794 @c "fullname="/home/foo/recursive2.c",line="11",thread-groups=["i1"],
28795 @c times="0"@}
28796 @c (gdb)
28797 @end smallexample
28798
28799 @subheading The @code{-break-list} Command
28800 @findex -break-list
28801
28802 @subsubheading Synopsis
28803
28804 @smallexample
28805 -break-list
28806 @end smallexample
28807
28808 Displays the list of inserted breakpoints, showing the following fields:
28809
28810 @table @samp
28811 @item Number
28812 number of the breakpoint
28813 @item Type
28814 type of the breakpoint: @samp{breakpoint} or @samp{watchpoint}
28815 @item Disposition
28816 should the breakpoint be deleted or disabled when it is hit: @samp{keep}
28817 or @samp{nokeep}
28818 @item Enabled
28819 is the breakpoint enabled or no: @samp{y} or @samp{n}
28820 @item Address
28821 memory location at which the breakpoint is set
28822 @item What
28823 logical location of the breakpoint, expressed by function name, file
28824 name, line number
28825 @item Thread-groups
28826 list of thread groups to which this breakpoint applies
28827 @item Times
28828 number of times the breakpoint has been hit
28829 @end table
28830
28831 If there are no breakpoints or watchpoints, the @code{BreakpointTable}
28832 @code{body} field is an empty list.
28833
28834 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28835
28836 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info break}.
28837
28838 @subsubheading Example
28839
28840 @smallexample
28841 (gdb)
28842 -break-list
28843 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="2",nr_cols="6",
28844 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
28845 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
28846 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
28847 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
28848 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
28849 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
28850 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
28851 addr="0x000100d0",func="main",file="hello.c",line="5",thread-groups=["i1"],
28852 times="0"@},
28853 bkpt=@{number="2",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
28854 addr="0x00010114",func="foo",file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/hello.c",
28855 line="13",thread-groups=["i1"],times="0"@}]@}
28856 (gdb)
28857 @end smallexample
28858
28859 Here's an example of the result when there are no breakpoints:
28860
28861 @smallexample
28862 (gdb)
28863 -break-list
28864 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="0",nr_cols="6",
28865 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
28866 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
28867 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
28868 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
28869 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
28870 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
28871 body=[]@}
28872 (gdb)
28873 @end smallexample
28874
28875 @subheading The @code{-break-passcount} Command
28876 @findex -break-passcount
28877
28878 @subsubheading Synopsis
28879
28880 @smallexample
28881 -break-passcount @var{tracepoint-number} @var{passcount}
28882 @end smallexample
28883
28884 Set the passcount for tracepoint @var{tracepoint-number} to
28885 @var{passcount}. If the breakpoint referred to by @var{tracepoint-number}
28886 is not a tracepoint, error is emitted. This corresponds to CLI
28887 command @samp{passcount}.
28888
28889 @subheading The @code{-break-watch} Command
28890 @findex -break-watch
28891
28892 @subsubheading Synopsis
28893
28894 @smallexample
28895 -break-watch [ -a | -r ]
28896 @end smallexample
28897
28898 Create a watchpoint. With the @samp{-a} option it will create an
28899 @dfn{access} watchpoint, i.e., a watchpoint that triggers either on a
28900 read from or on a write to the memory location. With the @samp{-r}
28901 option, the watchpoint created is a @dfn{read} watchpoint, i.e., it will
28902 trigger only when the memory location is accessed for reading. Without
28903 either of the options, the watchpoint created is a regular watchpoint,
28904 i.e., it will trigger when the memory location is accessed for writing.
28905 @xref{Set Watchpoints, , Setting Watchpoints}.
28906
28907 Note that @samp{-break-list} will report a single list of watchpoints and
28908 breakpoints inserted.
28909
28910 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
28911
28912 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{watch}, @samp{awatch}, and
28913 @samp{rwatch}.
28914
28915 @subsubheading Example
28916
28917 Setting a watchpoint on a variable in the @code{main} function:
28918
28919 @smallexample
28920 (gdb)
28921 -break-watch x
28922 ^done,wpt=@{number="2",exp="x"@}
28923 (gdb)
28924 -exec-continue
28925 ^running
28926 (gdb)
28927 *stopped,reason="watchpoint-trigger",wpt=@{number="2",exp="x"@},
28928 value=@{old="-268439212",new="55"@},
28929 frame=@{func="main",args=[],file="recursive2.c",
28930 fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="5"@}
28931 (gdb)
28932 @end smallexample
28933
28934 Setting a watchpoint on a variable local to a function. @value{GDBN} will stop
28935 the program execution twice: first for the variable changing value, then
28936 for the watchpoint going out of scope.
28937
28938 @smallexample
28939 (gdb)
28940 -break-watch C
28941 ^done,wpt=@{number="5",exp="C"@}
28942 (gdb)
28943 -exec-continue
28944 ^running
28945 (gdb)
28946 *stopped,reason="watchpoint-trigger",
28947 wpt=@{number="5",exp="C"@},value=@{old="-276895068",new="3"@},
28948 frame=@{func="callee4",args=[],
28949 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
28950 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="13"@}
28951 (gdb)
28952 -exec-continue
28953 ^running
28954 (gdb)
28955 *stopped,reason="watchpoint-scope",wpnum="5",
28956 frame=@{func="callee3",args=[@{name="strarg",
28957 value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}],
28958 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
28959 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="18"@}
28960 (gdb)
28961 @end smallexample
28962
28963 Listing breakpoints and watchpoints, at different points in the program
28964 execution. Note that once the watchpoint goes out of scope, it is
28965 deleted.
28966
28967 @smallexample
28968 (gdb)
28969 -break-watch C
28970 ^done,wpt=@{number="2",exp="C"@}
28971 (gdb)
28972 -break-list
28973 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="2",nr_cols="6",
28974 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
28975 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
28976 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
28977 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
28978 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
28979 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
28980 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
28981 addr="0x00010734",func="callee4",
28982 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
28983 fullname="/home/foo/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c"line="8",thread-groups=["i1"],
28984 times="1"@},
28985 bkpt=@{number="2",type="watchpoint",disp="keep",
28986 enabled="y",addr="",what="C",thread-groups=["i1"],times="0"@}]@}
28987 (gdb)
28988 -exec-continue
28989 ^running
28990 (gdb)
28991 *stopped,reason="watchpoint-trigger",wpt=@{number="2",exp="C"@},
28992 value=@{old="-276895068",new="3"@},
28993 frame=@{func="callee4",args=[],
28994 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
28995 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="13"@}
28996 (gdb)
28997 -break-list
28998 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="2",nr_cols="6",
28999 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
29000 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
29001 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
29002 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
29003 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
29004 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
29005 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
29006 addr="0x00010734",func="callee4",
29007 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
29008 fullname="/home/foo/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8",thread-groups=["i1"],
29009 times="1"@},
29010 bkpt=@{number="2",type="watchpoint",disp="keep",
29011 enabled="y",addr="",what="C",thread-groups=["i1"],times="-5"@}]@}
29012 (gdb)
29013 -exec-continue
29014 ^running
29015 ^done,reason="watchpoint-scope",wpnum="2",
29016 frame=@{func="callee3",args=[@{name="strarg",
29017 value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}],
29018 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
29019 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="18"@}
29020 (gdb)
29021 -break-list
29022 ^done,BreakpointTable=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="6",
29023 hdr=[@{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="number",colhdr="Num"@},
29024 @{width="14",alignment="-1",col_name="type",colhdr="Type"@},
29025 @{width="4",alignment="-1",col_name="disp",colhdr="Disp"@},
29026 @{width="3",alignment="-1",col_name="enabled",colhdr="Enb"@},
29027 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="addr",colhdr="Address"@},
29028 @{width="40",alignment="2",col_name="what",colhdr="What"@}],
29029 body=[bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
29030 addr="0x00010734",func="callee4",
29031 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
29032 fullname="/home/foo/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8",
29033 thread-groups=["i1"],times="1"@}]@}
29034 (gdb)
29035 @end smallexample
29036
29037
29038 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
29039 @node GDB/MI Catchpoint Commands
29040 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Catchpoint Commands
29041
29042 This section documents @sc{gdb/mi} commands for manipulating
29043 catchpoints.
29044
29045 @subheading The @code{-catch-load} Command
29046 @findex -catch-load
29047
29048 @subsubheading Synopsis
29049
29050 @smallexample
29051 -catch-load [ -t ] [ -d ] @var{regexp}
29052 @end smallexample
29053
29054 Add a catchpoint for library load events. If the @samp{-t} option is used,
29055 the catchpoint is a temporary one (@pxref{Set Breaks, ,Setting
29056 Breakpoints}). If the @samp{-d} option is used, the catchpoint is created
29057 in a disabled state. The @samp{regexp} argument is a regular
29058 expression used to match the name of the loaded library.
29059
29060
29061 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29062
29063 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{catch load}.
29064
29065 @subsubheading Example
29066
29067 @smallexample
29068 -catch-load -t foo.so
29069 ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",type="catchpoint",disp="del",enabled="y",
29070 what="load of library matching foo.so",catch-type="load",times="0"@}
29071 (gdb)
29072 @end smallexample
29073
29074
29075 @subheading The @code{-catch-unload} Command
29076 @findex -catch-unload
29077
29078 @subsubheading Synopsis
29079
29080 @smallexample
29081 -catch-unload [ -t ] [ -d ] @var{regexp}
29082 @end smallexample
29083
29084 Add a catchpoint for library unload events. If the @samp{-t} option is
29085 used, the catchpoint is a temporary one (@pxref{Set Breaks, ,Setting
29086 Breakpoints}). If the @samp{-d} option is used, the catchpoint is
29087 created in a disabled state. The @samp{regexp} argument is a regular
29088 expression used to match the name of the unloaded library.
29089
29090 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29091
29092 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{catch unload}.
29093
29094 @subsubheading Example
29095
29096 @smallexample
29097 -catch-unload -d bar.so
29098 ^done,bkpt=@{number="2",type="catchpoint",disp="keep",enabled="n",
29099 what="load of library matching bar.so",catch-type="unload",times="0"@}
29100 (gdb)
29101 @end smallexample
29102
29103
29104 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
29105 @node GDB/MI Program Context
29106 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Program Context
29107
29108 @subheading The @code{-exec-arguments} Command
29109 @findex -exec-arguments
29110
29111
29112 @subsubheading Synopsis
29113
29114 @smallexample
29115 -exec-arguments @var{args}
29116 @end smallexample
29117
29118 Set the inferior program arguments, to be used in the next
29119 @samp{-exec-run}.
29120
29121 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29122
29123 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{set args}.
29124
29125 @subsubheading Example
29126
29127 @smallexample
29128 (gdb)
29129 -exec-arguments -v word
29130 ^done
29131 (gdb)
29132 @end smallexample
29133
29134
29135 @ignore
29136 @subheading The @code{-exec-show-arguments} Command
29137 @findex -exec-show-arguments
29138
29139 @subsubheading Synopsis
29140
29141 @smallexample
29142 -exec-show-arguments
29143 @end smallexample
29144
29145 Print the arguments of the program.
29146
29147 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29148
29149 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{show args}.
29150
29151 @subsubheading Example
29152 N.A.
29153 @end ignore
29154
29155
29156 @subheading The @code{-environment-cd} Command
29157 @findex -environment-cd
29158
29159 @subsubheading Synopsis
29160
29161 @smallexample
29162 -environment-cd @var{pathdir}
29163 @end smallexample
29164
29165 Set @value{GDBN}'s working directory.
29166
29167 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29168
29169 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{cd}.
29170
29171 @subsubheading Example
29172
29173 @smallexample
29174 (gdb)
29175 -environment-cd /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb
29176 ^done
29177 (gdb)
29178 @end smallexample
29179
29180
29181 @subheading The @code{-environment-directory} Command
29182 @findex -environment-directory
29183
29184 @subsubheading Synopsis
29185
29186 @smallexample
29187 -environment-directory [ -r ] [ @var{pathdir} ]+
29188 @end smallexample
29189
29190 Add directories @var{pathdir} to beginning of search path for source files.
29191 If the @samp{-r} option is used, the search path is reset to the default
29192 search path. If directories @var{pathdir} are supplied in addition to the
29193 @samp{-r} option, the search path is first reset and then addition
29194 occurs as normal.
29195 Multiple directories may be specified, separated by blanks. Specifying
29196 multiple directories in a single command
29197 results in the directories added to the beginning of the
29198 search path in the same order they were presented in the command.
29199 If blanks are needed as
29200 part of a directory name, double-quotes should be used around
29201 the name. In the command output, the path will show up separated
29202 by the system directory-separator character. The directory-separator
29203 character must not be used
29204 in any directory name.
29205 If no directories are specified, the current search path is displayed.
29206
29207 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29208
29209 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{dir}.
29210
29211 @subsubheading Example
29212
29213 @smallexample
29214 (gdb)
29215 -environment-directory /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb
29216 ^done,source-path="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb:$cdir:$cwd"
29217 (gdb)
29218 -environment-directory ""
29219 ^done,source-path="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb:$cdir:$cwd"
29220 (gdb)
29221 -environment-directory -r /home/jjohnstn/src/gdb /usr/src
29222 ^done,source-path="/home/jjohnstn/src/gdb:/usr/src:$cdir:$cwd"
29223 (gdb)
29224 -environment-directory -r
29225 ^done,source-path="$cdir:$cwd"
29226 (gdb)
29227 @end smallexample
29228
29229
29230 @subheading The @code{-environment-path} Command
29231 @findex -environment-path
29232
29233 @subsubheading Synopsis
29234
29235 @smallexample
29236 -environment-path [ -r ] [ @var{pathdir} ]+
29237 @end smallexample
29238
29239 Add directories @var{pathdir} to beginning of search path for object files.
29240 If the @samp{-r} option is used, the search path is reset to the original
29241 search path that existed at gdb start-up. If directories @var{pathdir} are
29242 supplied in addition to the
29243 @samp{-r} option, the search path is first reset and then addition
29244 occurs as normal.
29245 Multiple directories may be specified, separated by blanks. Specifying
29246 multiple directories in a single command
29247 results in the directories added to the beginning of the
29248 search path in the same order they were presented in the command.
29249 If blanks are needed as
29250 part of a directory name, double-quotes should be used around
29251 the name. In the command output, the path will show up separated
29252 by the system directory-separator character. The directory-separator
29253 character must not be used
29254 in any directory name.
29255 If no directories are specified, the current path is displayed.
29256
29257
29258 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29259
29260 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{path}.
29261
29262 @subsubheading Example
29263
29264 @smallexample
29265 (gdb)
29266 -environment-path
29267 ^done,path="/usr/bin"
29268 (gdb)
29269 -environment-path /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/ppc-eabi/gdb /bin
29270 ^done,path="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/ppc-eabi/gdb:/bin:/usr/bin"
29271 (gdb)
29272 -environment-path -r /usr/local/bin
29273 ^done,path="/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin"
29274 (gdb)
29275 @end smallexample
29276
29277
29278 @subheading The @code{-environment-pwd} Command
29279 @findex -environment-pwd
29280
29281 @subsubheading Synopsis
29282
29283 @smallexample
29284 -environment-pwd
29285 @end smallexample
29286
29287 Show the current working directory.
29288
29289 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29290
29291 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{pwd}.
29292
29293 @subsubheading Example
29294
29295 @smallexample
29296 (gdb)
29297 -environment-pwd
29298 ^done,cwd="/kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/flathead-dev/devo/gdb"
29299 (gdb)
29300 @end smallexample
29301
29302 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
29303 @node GDB/MI Thread Commands
29304 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Thread Commands
29305
29306
29307 @subheading The @code{-thread-info} Command
29308 @findex -thread-info
29309
29310 @subsubheading Synopsis
29311
29312 @smallexample
29313 -thread-info [ @var{thread-id} ]
29314 @end smallexample
29315
29316 Reports information about either a specific thread, if
29317 the @var{thread-id} parameter is present, or about all
29318 threads. When printing information about all threads,
29319 also reports the current thread.
29320
29321 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29322
29323 The @samp{info thread} command prints the same information
29324 about all threads.
29325
29326 @subsubheading Result
29327
29328 The result is a list of threads. The following attributes are
29329 defined for a given thread:
29330
29331 @table @samp
29332 @item current
29333 This field exists only for the current thread. It has the value @samp{*}.
29334
29335 @item id
29336 The identifier that @value{GDBN} uses to refer to the thread.
29337
29338 @item target-id
29339 The identifier that the target uses to refer to the thread.
29340
29341 @item details
29342 Extra information about the thread, in a target-specific format. This
29343 field is optional.
29344
29345 @item name
29346 The name of the thread. If the user specified a name using the
29347 @code{thread name} command, then this name is given. Otherwise, if
29348 @value{GDBN} can extract the thread name from the target, then that
29349 name is given. If @value{GDBN} cannot find the thread name, then this
29350 field is omitted.
29351
29352 @item frame
29353 The stack frame currently executing in the thread.
29354
29355 @item state
29356 The thread's state. The @samp{state} field may have the following
29357 values:
29358
29359 @table @code
29360 @item stopped
29361 The thread is stopped. Frame information is available for stopped
29362 threads.
29363
29364 @item running
29365 The thread is running. There's no frame information for running
29366 threads.
29367
29368 @end table
29369
29370 @item core
29371 If @value{GDBN} can find the CPU core on which this thread is running,
29372 then this field is the core identifier. This field is optional.
29373
29374 @end table
29375
29376 @subsubheading Example
29377
29378 @smallexample
29379 -thread-info
29380 ^done,threads=[
29381 @{id="2",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90 (LWP 21257)",
29382 frame=@{level="0",addr="0xffffe410",func="__kernel_vsyscall",
29383 args=[]@},state="running"@},
29384 @{id="1",target-id="Thread 0xb7e156b0 (LWP 21254)",
29385 frame=@{level="0",addr="0x0804891f",func="foo",
29386 args=[@{name="i",value="10"@}],
29387 file="/tmp/a.c",fullname="/tmp/a.c",line="158"@},
29388 state="running"@}],
29389 current-thread-id="1"
29390 (gdb)
29391 @end smallexample
29392
29393 @subheading The @code{-thread-list-ids} Command
29394 @findex -thread-list-ids
29395
29396 @subsubheading Synopsis
29397
29398 @smallexample
29399 -thread-list-ids
29400 @end smallexample
29401
29402 Produces a list of the currently known @value{GDBN} thread ids. At the
29403 end of the list it also prints the total number of such threads.
29404
29405 This command is retained for historical reasons, the
29406 @code{-thread-info} command should be used instead.
29407
29408 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29409
29410 Part of @samp{info threads} supplies the same information.
29411
29412 @subsubheading Example
29413
29414 @smallexample
29415 (gdb)
29416 -thread-list-ids
29417 ^done,thread-ids=@{thread-id="3",thread-id="2",thread-id="1"@},
29418 current-thread-id="1",number-of-threads="3"
29419 (gdb)
29420 @end smallexample
29421
29422
29423 @subheading The @code{-thread-select} Command
29424 @findex -thread-select
29425
29426 @subsubheading Synopsis
29427
29428 @smallexample
29429 -thread-select @var{threadnum}
29430 @end smallexample
29431
29432 Make @var{threadnum} the current thread. It prints the number of the new
29433 current thread, and the topmost frame for that thread.
29434
29435 This command is deprecated in favor of explicitly using the
29436 @samp{--thread} option to each command.
29437
29438 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29439
29440 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{thread}.
29441
29442 @subsubheading Example
29443
29444 @smallexample
29445 (gdb)
29446 -exec-next
29447 ^running
29448 (gdb)
29449 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",thread-id="2",line="187",
29450 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.threads/linux-dp.c"
29451 (gdb)
29452 -thread-list-ids
29453 ^done,
29454 thread-ids=@{thread-id="3",thread-id="2",thread-id="1"@},
29455 number-of-threads="3"
29456 (gdb)
29457 -thread-select 3
29458 ^done,new-thread-id="3",
29459 frame=@{level="0",func="vprintf",
29460 args=[@{name="format",value="0x8048e9c \"%*s%c %d %c\\n\""@},
29461 @{name="arg",value="0x2"@}],file="vprintf.c",line="31"@}
29462 (gdb)
29463 @end smallexample
29464
29465 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
29466 @node GDB/MI Ada Tasking Commands
29467 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Ada Tasking Commands
29468
29469 @subheading The @code{-ada-task-info} Command
29470 @findex -ada-task-info
29471
29472 @subsubheading Synopsis
29473
29474 @smallexample
29475 -ada-task-info [ @var{task-id} ]
29476 @end smallexample
29477
29478 Reports information about either a specific Ada task, if the
29479 @var{task-id} parameter is present, or about all Ada tasks.
29480
29481 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29482
29483 The @samp{info tasks} command prints the same information
29484 about all Ada tasks (@pxref{Ada Tasks}).
29485
29486 @subsubheading Result
29487
29488 The result is a table of Ada tasks. The following columns are
29489 defined for each Ada task:
29490
29491 @table @samp
29492 @item current
29493 This field exists only for the current thread. It has the value @samp{*}.
29494
29495 @item id
29496 The identifier that @value{GDBN} uses to refer to the Ada task.
29497
29498 @item task-id
29499 The identifier that the target uses to refer to the Ada task.
29500
29501 @item thread-id
29502 The identifier of the thread corresponding to the Ada task.
29503
29504 This field should always exist, as Ada tasks are always implemented
29505 on top of a thread. But if @value{GDBN} cannot find this corresponding
29506 thread for any reason, the field is omitted.
29507
29508 @item parent-id
29509 This field exists only when the task was created by another task.
29510 In this case, it provides the ID of the parent task.
29511
29512 @item priority
29513 The base priority of the task.
29514
29515 @item state
29516 The current state of the task. For a detailed description of the
29517 possible states, see @ref{Ada Tasks}.
29518
29519 @item name
29520 The name of the task.
29521
29522 @end table
29523
29524 @subsubheading Example
29525
29526 @smallexample
29527 -ada-task-info
29528 ^done,tasks=@{nr_rows="3",nr_cols="8",
29529 hdr=[@{width="1",alignment="-1",col_name="current",colhdr=""@},
29530 @{width="3",alignment="1",col_name="id",colhdr="ID"@},
29531 @{width="9",alignment="1",col_name="task-id",colhdr="TID"@},
29532 @{width="4",alignment="1",col_name="thread-id",colhdr=""@},
29533 @{width="4",alignment="1",col_name="parent-id",colhdr="P-ID"@},
29534 @{width="3",alignment="1",col_name="priority",colhdr="Pri"@},
29535 @{width="22",alignment="-1",col_name="state",colhdr="State"@},
29536 @{width="1",alignment="2",col_name="name",colhdr="Name"@}],
29537 body=[@{current="*",id="1",task-id=" 644010",thread-id="1",priority="48",
29538 state="Child Termination Wait",name="main_task"@}]@}
29539 (gdb)
29540 @end smallexample
29541
29542 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
29543 @node GDB/MI Program Execution
29544 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Program Execution
29545
29546 These are the asynchronous commands which generate the out-of-band
29547 record @samp{*stopped}. Currently @value{GDBN} only really executes
29548 asynchronously with remote targets and this interaction is mimicked in
29549 other cases.
29550
29551 @subheading The @code{-exec-continue} Command
29552 @findex -exec-continue
29553
29554 @subsubheading Synopsis
29555
29556 @smallexample
29557 -exec-continue [--reverse] [--all|--thread-group N]
29558 @end smallexample
29559
29560 Resumes the execution of the inferior program, which will continue
29561 to execute until it reaches a debugger stop event. If the
29562 @samp{--reverse} option is specified, execution resumes in reverse until
29563 it reaches a stop event. Stop events may include
29564 @itemize @bullet
29565 @item
29566 breakpoints or watchpoints
29567 @item
29568 signals or exceptions
29569 @item
29570 the end of the process (or its beginning under @samp{--reverse})
29571 @item
29572 the end or beginning of a replay log if one is being used.
29573 @end itemize
29574 In all-stop mode (@pxref{All-Stop
29575 Mode}), may resume only one thread, or all threads, depending on the
29576 value of the @samp{scheduler-locking} variable. If @samp{--all} is
29577 specified, all threads (in all inferiors) will be resumed. The @samp{--all} option is
29578 ignored in all-stop mode. If the @samp{--thread-group} options is
29579 specified, then all threads in that thread group are resumed.
29580
29581 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29582
29583 The corresponding @value{GDBN} corresponding is @samp{continue}.
29584
29585 @subsubheading Example
29586
29587 @smallexample
29588 -exec-continue
29589 ^running
29590 (gdb)
29591 @@Hello world
29592 *stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="2",frame=@{
29593 func="foo",args=[],file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/hello.c",
29594 line="13"@}
29595 (gdb)
29596 @end smallexample
29597
29598
29599 @subheading The @code{-exec-finish} Command
29600 @findex -exec-finish
29601
29602 @subsubheading Synopsis
29603
29604 @smallexample
29605 -exec-finish [--reverse]
29606 @end smallexample
29607
29608 Resumes the execution of the inferior program until the current
29609 function is exited. Displays the results returned by the function.
29610 If the @samp{--reverse} option is specified, resumes the reverse
29611 execution of the inferior program until the point where current
29612 function was called.
29613
29614 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29615
29616 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{finish}.
29617
29618 @subsubheading Example
29619
29620 Function returning @code{void}.
29621
29622 @smallexample
29623 -exec-finish
29624 ^running
29625 (gdb)
29626 @@hello from foo
29627 *stopped,reason="function-finished",frame=@{func="main",args=[],
29628 file="hello.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/hello.c",line="7"@}
29629 (gdb)
29630 @end smallexample
29631
29632 Function returning other than @code{void}. The name of the internal
29633 @value{GDBN} variable storing the result is printed, together with the
29634 value itself.
29635
29636 @smallexample
29637 -exec-finish
29638 ^running
29639 (gdb)
29640 *stopped,reason="function-finished",frame=@{addr="0x000107b0",func="foo",
29641 args=[@{name="a",value="1"],@{name="b",value="9"@}@},
29642 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
29643 gdb-result-var="$1",return-value="0"
29644 (gdb)
29645 @end smallexample
29646
29647
29648 @subheading The @code{-exec-interrupt} Command
29649 @findex -exec-interrupt
29650
29651 @subsubheading Synopsis
29652
29653 @smallexample
29654 -exec-interrupt [--all|--thread-group N]
29655 @end smallexample
29656
29657 Interrupts the background execution of the target. Note how the token
29658 associated with the stop message is the one for the execution command
29659 that has been interrupted. The token for the interrupt itself only
29660 appears in the @samp{^done} output. If the user is trying to
29661 interrupt a non-running program, an error message will be printed.
29662
29663 Note that when asynchronous execution is enabled, this command is
29664 asynchronous just like other execution commands. That is, first the
29665 @samp{^done} response will be printed, and the target stop will be
29666 reported after that using the @samp{*stopped} notification.
29667
29668 In non-stop mode, only the context thread is interrupted by default.
29669 All threads (in all inferiors) will be interrupted if the
29670 @samp{--all} option is specified. If the @samp{--thread-group}
29671 option is specified, all threads in that group will be interrupted.
29672
29673 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29674
29675 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{interrupt}.
29676
29677 @subsubheading Example
29678
29679 @smallexample
29680 (gdb)
29681 111-exec-continue
29682 111^running
29683
29684 (gdb)
29685 222-exec-interrupt
29686 222^done
29687 (gdb)
29688 111*stopped,signal-name="SIGINT",signal-meaning="Interrupt",
29689 frame=@{addr="0x00010140",func="foo",args=[],file="try.c",
29690 fullname="/home/foo/bar/try.c",line="13"@}
29691 (gdb)
29692
29693 (gdb)
29694 -exec-interrupt
29695 ^error,msg="mi_cmd_exec_interrupt: Inferior not executing."
29696 (gdb)
29697 @end smallexample
29698
29699 @subheading The @code{-exec-jump} Command
29700 @findex -exec-jump
29701
29702 @subsubheading Synopsis
29703
29704 @smallexample
29705 -exec-jump @var{location}
29706 @end smallexample
29707
29708 Resumes execution of the inferior program at the location specified by
29709 parameter. @xref{Specify Location}, for a description of the
29710 different forms of @var{location}.
29711
29712 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29713
29714 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{jump}.
29715
29716 @subsubheading Example
29717
29718 @smallexample
29719 -exec-jump foo.c:10
29720 *running,thread-id="all"
29721 ^running
29722 @end smallexample
29723
29724
29725 @subheading The @code{-exec-next} Command
29726 @findex -exec-next
29727
29728 @subsubheading Synopsis
29729
29730 @smallexample
29731 -exec-next [--reverse]
29732 @end smallexample
29733
29734 Resumes execution of the inferior program, stopping when the beginning
29735 of the next source line is reached.
29736
29737 If the @samp{--reverse} option is specified, resumes reverse execution
29738 of the inferior program, stopping at the beginning of the previous
29739 source line. If you issue this command on the first line of a
29740 function, it will take you back to the caller of that function, to the
29741 source line where the function was called.
29742
29743
29744 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29745
29746 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{next}.
29747
29748 @subsubheading Example
29749
29750 @smallexample
29751 -exec-next
29752 ^running
29753 (gdb)
29754 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",line="8",file="hello.c"
29755 (gdb)
29756 @end smallexample
29757
29758
29759 @subheading The @code{-exec-next-instruction} Command
29760 @findex -exec-next-instruction
29761
29762 @subsubheading Synopsis
29763
29764 @smallexample
29765 -exec-next-instruction [--reverse]
29766 @end smallexample
29767
29768 Executes one machine instruction. If the instruction is a function
29769 call, continues until the function returns. If the program stops at an
29770 instruction in the middle of a source line, the address will be
29771 printed as well.
29772
29773 If the @samp{--reverse} option is specified, resumes reverse execution
29774 of the inferior program, stopping at the previous instruction. If the
29775 previously executed instruction was a return from another function,
29776 it will continue to execute in reverse until the call to that function
29777 (from the current stack frame) is reached.
29778
29779 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29780
29781 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{nexti}.
29782
29783 @subsubheading Example
29784
29785 @smallexample
29786 (gdb)
29787 -exec-next-instruction
29788 ^running
29789
29790 (gdb)
29791 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",
29792 addr="0x000100d4",line="5",file="hello.c"
29793 (gdb)
29794 @end smallexample
29795
29796
29797 @subheading The @code{-exec-return} Command
29798 @findex -exec-return
29799
29800 @subsubheading Synopsis
29801
29802 @smallexample
29803 -exec-return
29804 @end smallexample
29805
29806 Makes current function return immediately. Doesn't execute the inferior.
29807 Displays the new current frame.
29808
29809 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29810
29811 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{return}.
29812
29813 @subsubheading Example
29814
29815 @smallexample
29816 (gdb)
29817 200-break-insert callee4
29818 200^done,bkpt=@{number="1",addr="0x00010734",
29819 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8"@}
29820 (gdb)
29821 000-exec-run
29822 000^running
29823 (gdb)
29824 000*stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",
29825 frame=@{func="callee4",args=[],
29826 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
29827 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8"@}
29828 (gdb)
29829 205-break-delete
29830 205^done
29831 (gdb)
29832 111-exec-return
29833 111^done,frame=@{level="0",func="callee3",
29834 args=[@{name="strarg",
29835 value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}],
29836 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
29837 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="18"@}
29838 (gdb)
29839 @end smallexample
29840
29841
29842 @subheading The @code{-exec-run} Command
29843 @findex -exec-run
29844
29845 @subsubheading Synopsis
29846
29847 @smallexample
29848 -exec-run [--all | --thread-group N]
29849 @end smallexample
29850
29851 Starts execution of the inferior from the beginning. The inferior
29852 executes until either a breakpoint is encountered or the program
29853 exits. In the latter case the output will include an exit code, if
29854 the program has exited exceptionally.
29855
29856 When no option is specified, the current inferior is started. If the
29857 @samp{--thread-group} option is specified, it should refer to a thread
29858 group of type @samp{process}, and that thread group will be started.
29859 If the @samp{--all} option is specified, then all inferiors will be started.
29860
29861 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29862
29863 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{run}.
29864
29865 @subsubheading Examples
29866
29867 @smallexample
29868 (gdb)
29869 -break-insert main
29870 ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",addr="0x0001072c",file="recursive2.c",line="4"@}
29871 (gdb)
29872 -exec-run
29873 ^running
29874 (gdb)
29875 *stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",
29876 frame=@{func="main",args=[],file="recursive2.c",
29877 fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="4"@}
29878 (gdb)
29879 @end smallexample
29880
29881 @noindent
29882 Program exited normally:
29883
29884 @smallexample
29885 (gdb)
29886 -exec-run
29887 ^running
29888 (gdb)
29889 x = 55
29890 *stopped,reason="exited-normally"
29891 (gdb)
29892 @end smallexample
29893
29894 @noindent
29895 Program exited exceptionally:
29896
29897 @smallexample
29898 (gdb)
29899 -exec-run
29900 ^running
29901 (gdb)
29902 x = 55
29903 *stopped,reason="exited",exit-code="01"
29904 (gdb)
29905 @end smallexample
29906
29907 Another way the program can terminate is if it receives a signal such as
29908 @code{SIGINT}. In this case, @sc{gdb/mi} displays this:
29909
29910 @smallexample
29911 (gdb)
29912 *stopped,reason="exited-signalled",signal-name="SIGINT",
29913 signal-meaning="Interrupt"
29914 @end smallexample
29915
29916
29917 @c @subheading -exec-signal
29918
29919
29920 @subheading The @code{-exec-step} Command
29921 @findex -exec-step
29922
29923 @subsubheading Synopsis
29924
29925 @smallexample
29926 -exec-step [--reverse]
29927 @end smallexample
29928
29929 Resumes execution of the inferior program, stopping when the beginning
29930 of the next source line is reached, if the next source line is not a
29931 function call. If it is, stop at the first instruction of the called
29932 function. If the @samp{--reverse} option is specified, resumes reverse
29933 execution of the inferior program, stopping at the beginning of the
29934 previously executed source line.
29935
29936 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29937
29938 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{step}.
29939
29940 @subsubheading Example
29941
29942 Stepping into a function:
29943
29944 @smallexample
29945 -exec-step
29946 ^running
29947 (gdb)
29948 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",
29949 frame=@{func="foo",args=[@{name="a",value="10"@},
29950 @{name="b",value="0"@}],file="recursive2.c",
29951 fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="11"@}
29952 (gdb)
29953 @end smallexample
29954
29955 Regular stepping:
29956
29957 @smallexample
29958 -exec-step
29959 ^running
29960 (gdb)
29961 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",line="14",file="recursive2.c"
29962 (gdb)
29963 @end smallexample
29964
29965
29966 @subheading The @code{-exec-step-instruction} Command
29967 @findex -exec-step-instruction
29968
29969 @subsubheading Synopsis
29970
29971 @smallexample
29972 -exec-step-instruction [--reverse]
29973 @end smallexample
29974
29975 Resumes the inferior which executes one machine instruction. If the
29976 @samp{--reverse} option is specified, resumes reverse execution of the
29977 inferior program, stopping at the previously executed instruction.
29978 The output, once @value{GDBN} has stopped, will vary depending on
29979 whether we have stopped in the middle of a source line or not. In the
29980 former case, the address at which the program stopped will be printed
29981 as well.
29982
29983 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
29984
29985 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{stepi}.
29986
29987 @subsubheading Example
29988
29989 @smallexample
29990 (gdb)
29991 -exec-step-instruction
29992 ^running
29993
29994 (gdb)
29995 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",
29996 frame=@{func="foo",args=[],file="try.c",
29997 fullname="/home/foo/bar/try.c",line="10"@}
29998 (gdb)
29999 -exec-step-instruction
30000 ^running
30001
30002 (gdb)
30003 *stopped,reason="end-stepping-range",
30004 frame=@{addr="0x000100f4",func="foo",args=[],file="try.c",
30005 fullname="/home/foo/bar/try.c",line="10"@}
30006 (gdb)
30007 @end smallexample
30008
30009
30010 @subheading The @code{-exec-until} Command
30011 @findex -exec-until
30012
30013 @subsubheading Synopsis
30014
30015 @smallexample
30016 -exec-until [ @var{location} ]
30017 @end smallexample
30018
30019 Executes the inferior until the @var{location} specified in the
30020 argument is reached. If there is no argument, the inferior executes
30021 until a source line greater than the current one is reached. The
30022 reason for stopping in this case will be @samp{location-reached}.
30023
30024 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30025
30026 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{until}.
30027
30028 @subsubheading Example
30029
30030 @smallexample
30031 (gdb)
30032 -exec-until recursive2.c:6
30033 ^running
30034 (gdb)
30035 x = 55
30036 *stopped,reason="location-reached",frame=@{func="main",args=[],
30037 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="6"@}
30038 (gdb)
30039 @end smallexample
30040
30041 @ignore
30042 @subheading -file-clear
30043 Is this going away????
30044 @end ignore
30045
30046 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
30047 @node GDB/MI Stack Manipulation
30048 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Stack Manipulation Commands
30049
30050
30051 @subheading The @code{-stack-info-frame} Command
30052 @findex -stack-info-frame
30053
30054 @subsubheading Synopsis
30055
30056 @smallexample
30057 -stack-info-frame
30058 @end smallexample
30059
30060 Get info on the selected frame.
30061
30062 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30063
30064 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info frame} or @samp{frame}
30065 (without arguments).
30066
30067 @subsubheading Example
30068
30069 @smallexample
30070 (gdb)
30071 -stack-info-frame
30072 ^done,frame=@{level="1",addr="0x0001076c",func="callee3",
30073 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
30074 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="17"@}
30075 (gdb)
30076 @end smallexample
30077
30078 @subheading The @code{-stack-info-depth} Command
30079 @findex -stack-info-depth
30080
30081 @subsubheading Synopsis
30082
30083 @smallexample
30084 -stack-info-depth [ @var{max-depth} ]
30085 @end smallexample
30086
30087 Return the depth of the stack. If the integer argument @var{max-depth}
30088 is specified, do not count beyond @var{max-depth} frames.
30089
30090 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30091
30092 There's no equivalent @value{GDBN} command.
30093
30094 @subsubheading Example
30095
30096 For a stack with frame levels 0 through 11:
30097
30098 @smallexample
30099 (gdb)
30100 -stack-info-depth
30101 ^done,depth="12"
30102 (gdb)
30103 -stack-info-depth 4
30104 ^done,depth="4"
30105 (gdb)
30106 -stack-info-depth 12
30107 ^done,depth="12"
30108 (gdb)
30109 -stack-info-depth 11
30110 ^done,depth="11"
30111 (gdb)
30112 -stack-info-depth 13
30113 ^done,depth="12"
30114 (gdb)
30115 @end smallexample
30116
30117 @subheading The @code{-stack-list-arguments} Command
30118 @findex -stack-list-arguments
30119
30120 @subsubheading Synopsis
30121
30122 @smallexample
30123 -stack-list-arguments @var{print-values}
30124 [ @var{low-frame} @var{high-frame} ]
30125 @end smallexample
30126
30127 Display a list of the arguments for the frames between @var{low-frame}
30128 and @var{high-frame} (inclusive). If @var{low-frame} and
30129 @var{high-frame} are not provided, list the arguments for the whole
30130 call stack. If the two arguments are equal, show the single frame
30131 at the corresponding level. It is an error if @var{low-frame} is
30132 larger than the actual number of frames. On the other hand,
30133 @var{high-frame} may be larger than the actual number of frames, in
30134 which case only existing frames will be returned.
30135
30136 If @var{print-values} is 0 or @code{--no-values}, print only the names of
30137 the variables; if it is 1 or @code{--all-values}, print also their
30138 values; and if it is 2 or @code{--simple-values}, print the name,
30139 type and value for simple data types, and the name and type for arrays,
30140 structures and unions.
30141
30142 Use of this command to obtain arguments in a single frame is
30143 deprecated in favor of the @samp{-stack-list-variables} command.
30144
30145 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30146
30147 @value{GDBN} does not have an equivalent command. @code{gdbtk} has a
30148 @samp{gdb_get_args} command which partially overlaps with the
30149 functionality of @samp{-stack-list-arguments}.
30150
30151 @subsubheading Example
30152
30153 @smallexample
30154 (gdb)
30155 -stack-list-frames
30156 ^done,
30157 stack=[
30158 frame=@{level="0",addr="0x00010734",func="callee4",
30159 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
30160 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="8"@},
30161 frame=@{level="1",addr="0x0001076c",func="callee3",
30162 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
30163 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="17"@},
30164 frame=@{level="2",addr="0x0001078c",func="callee2",
30165 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
30166 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="22"@},
30167 frame=@{level="3",addr="0x000107b4",func="callee1",
30168 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
30169 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="27"@},
30170 frame=@{level="4",addr="0x000107e0",func="main",
30171 file="../../../devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
30172 fullname="/home/foo/bar/devo/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",line="32"@}]
30173 (gdb)
30174 -stack-list-arguments 0
30175 ^done,
30176 stack-args=[
30177 frame=@{level="0",args=[]@},
30178 frame=@{level="1",args=[name="strarg"]@},
30179 frame=@{level="2",args=[name="intarg",name="strarg"]@},
30180 frame=@{level="3",args=[name="intarg",name="strarg",name="fltarg"]@},
30181 frame=@{level="4",args=[]@}]
30182 (gdb)
30183 -stack-list-arguments 1
30184 ^done,
30185 stack-args=[
30186 frame=@{level="0",args=[]@},
30187 frame=@{level="1",
30188 args=[@{name="strarg",value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}]@},
30189 frame=@{level="2",args=[
30190 @{name="intarg",value="2"@},
30191 @{name="strarg",value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}]@},
30192 @{frame=@{level="3",args=[
30193 @{name="intarg",value="2"@},
30194 @{name="strarg",value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@},
30195 @{name="fltarg",value="3.5"@}]@},
30196 frame=@{level="4",args=[]@}]
30197 (gdb)
30198 -stack-list-arguments 0 2 2
30199 ^done,stack-args=[frame=@{level="2",args=[name="intarg",name="strarg"]@}]
30200 (gdb)
30201 -stack-list-arguments 1 2 2
30202 ^done,stack-args=[frame=@{level="2",
30203 args=[@{name="intarg",value="2"@},
30204 @{name="strarg",value="0x11940 \"A string argument.\""@}]@}]
30205 (gdb)
30206 @end smallexample
30207
30208 @c @subheading -stack-list-exception-handlers
30209
30210
30211 @subheading The @code{-stack-list-frames} Command
30212 @findex -stack-list-frames
30213
30214 @subsubheading Synopsis
30215
30216 @smallexample
30217 -stack-list-frames [ @var{low-frame} @var{high-frame} ]
30218 @end smallexample
30219
30220 List the frames currently on the stack. For each frame it displays the
30221 following info:
30222
30223 @table @samp
30224 @item @var{level}
30225 The frame number, 0 being the topmost frame, i.e., the innermost function.
30226 @item @var{addr}
30227 The @code{$pc} value for that frame.
30228 @item @var{func}
30229 Function name.
30230 @item @var{file}
30231 File name of the source file where the function lives.
30232 @item @var{fullname}
30233 The full file name of the source file where the function lives.
30234 @item @var{line}
30235 Line number corresponding to the @code{$pc}.
30236 @item @var{from}
30237 The shared library where this function is defined. This is only given
30238 if the frame's function is not known.
30239 @end table
30240
30241 If invoked without arguments, this command prints a backtrace for the
30242 whole stack. If given two integer arguments, it shows the frames whose
30243 levels are between the two arguments (inclusive). If the two arguments
30244 are equal, it shows the single frame at the corresponding level. It is
30245 an error if @var{low-frame} is larger than the actual number of
30246 frames. On the other hand, @var{high-frame} may be larger than the
30247 actual number of frames, in which case only existing frames will be returned.
30248
30249 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30250
30251 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{backtrace} and @samp{where}.
30252
30253 @subsubheading Example
30254
30255 Full stack backtrace:
30256
30257 @smallexample
30258 (gdb)
30259 -stack-list-frames
30260 ^done,stack=
30261 [frame=@{level="0",addr="0x0001076c",func="foo",
30262 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="11"@},
30263 frame=@{level="1",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
30264 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
30265 frame=@{level="2",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
30266 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
30267 frame=@{level="3",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
30268 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
30269 frame=@{level="4",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
30270 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
30271 frame=@{level="5",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
30272 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
30273 frame=@{level="6",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
30274 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
30275 frame=@{level="7",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
30276 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
30277 frame=@{level="8",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
30278 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
30279 frame=@{level="9",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
30280 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
30281 frame=@{level="10",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
30282 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
30283 frame=@{level="11",addr="0x00010738",func="main",
30284 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="4"@}]
30285 (gdb)
30286 @end smallexample
30287
30288 Show frames between @var{low_frame} and @var{high_frame}:
30289
30290 @smallexample
30291 (gdb)
30292 -stack-list-frames 3 5
30293 ^done,stack=
30294 [frame=@{level="3",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
30295 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
30296 frame=@{level="4",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
30297 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@},
30298 frame=@{level="5",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
30299 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@}]
30300 (gdb)
30301 @end smallexample
30302
30303 Show a single frame:
30304
30305 @smallexample
30306 (gdb)
30307 -stack-list-frames 3 3
30308 ^done,stack=
30309 [frame=@{level="3",addr="0x000107a4",func="foo",
30310 file="recursive2.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/recursive2.c",line="14"@}]
30311 (gdb)
30312 @end smallexample
30313
30314
30315 @subheading The @code{-stack-list-locals} Command
30316 @findex -stack-list-locals
30317
30318 @subsubheading Synopsis
30319
30320 @smallexample
30321 -stack-list-locals @var{print-values}
30322 @end smallexample
30323
30324 Display the local variable names for the selected frame. If
30325 @var{print-values} is 0 or @code{--no-values}, print only the names of
30326 the variables; if it is 1 or @code{--all-values}, print also their
30327 values; and if it is 2 or @code{--simple-values}, print the name,
30328 type and value for simple data types, and the name and type for arrays,
30329 structures and unions. In this last case, a frontend can immediately
30330 display the value of simple data types and create variable objects for
30331 other data types when the user wishes to explore their values in
30332 more detail.
30333
30334 This command is deprecated in favor of the
30335 @samp{-stack-list-variables} command.
30336
30337 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30338
30339 @samp{info locals} in @value{GDBN}, @samp{gdb_get_locals} in @code{gdbtk}.
30340
30341 @subsubheading Example
30342
30343 @smallexample
30344 (gdb)
30345 -stack-list-locals 0
30346 ^done,locals=[name="A",name="B",name="C"]
30347 (gdb)
30348 -stack-list-locals --all-values
30349 ^done,locals=[@{name="A",value="1"@},@{name="B",value="2"@},
30350 @{name="C",value="@{1, 2, 3@}"@}]
30351 -stack-list-locals --simple-values
30352 ^done,locals=[@{name="A",type="int",value="1"@},
30353 @{name="B",type="int",value="2"@},@{name="C",type="int [3]"@}]
30354 (gdb)
30355 @end smallexample
30356
30357 @subheading The @code{-stack-list-variables} Command
30358 @findex -stack-list-variables
30359
30360 @subsubheading Synopsis
30361
30362 @smallexample
30363 -stack-list-variables @var{print-values}
30364 @end smallexample
30365
30366 Display the names of local variables and function arguments for the selected frame. If
30367 @var{print-values} is 0 or @code{--no-values}, print only the names of
30368 the variables; if it is 1 or @code{--all-values}, print also their
30369 values; and if it is 2 or @code{--simple-values}, print the name,
30370 type and value for simple data types, and the name and type for arrays,
30371 structures and unions.
30372
30373 @subsubheading Example
30374
30375 @smallexample
30376 (gdb)
30377 -stack-list-variables --thread 1 --frame 0 --all-values
30378 ^done,variables=[@{name="x",value="11"@},@{name="s",value="@{a = 1, b = 2@}"@}]
30379 (gdb)
30380 @end smallexample
30381
30382
30383 @subheading The @code{-stack-select-frame} Command
30384 @findex -stack-select-frame
30385
30386 @subsubheading Synopsis
30387
30388 @smallexample
30389 -stack-select-frame @var{framenum}
30390 @end smallexample
30391
30392 Change the selected frame. Select a different frame @var{framenum} on
30393 the stack.
30394
30395 This command in deprecated in favor of passing the @samp{--frame}
30396 option to every command.
30397
30398 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
30399
30400 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{frame}, @samp{up},
30401 @samp{down}, @samp{select-frame}, @samp{up-silent}, and @samp{down-silent}.
30402
30403 @subsubheading Example
30404
30405 @smallexample
30406 (gdb)
30407 -stack-select-frame 2
30408 ^done
30409 (gdb)
30410 @end smallexample
30411
30412 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
30413 @node GDB/MI Variable Objects
30414 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Variable Objects
30415
30416 @ignore
30417
30418 @subheading Motivation for Variable Objects in @sc{gdb/mi}
30419
30420 For the implementation of a variable debugger window (locals, watched
30421 expressions, etc.), we are proposing the adaptation of the existing code
30422 used by @code{Insight}.
30423
30424 The two main reasons for that are:
30425
30426 @enumerate 1
30427 @item
30428 It has been proven in practice (it is already on its second generation).
30429
30430 @item
30431 It will shorten development time (needless to say how important it is
30432 now).
30433 @end enumerate
30434
30435 The original interface was designed to be used by Tcl code, so it was
30436 slightly changed so it could be used through @sc{gdb/mi}. This section
30437 describes the @sc{gdb/mi} operations that will be available and gives some
30438 hints about their use.
30439
30440 @emph{Note}: In addition to the set of operations described here, we
30441 expect the @sc{gui} implementation of a variable window to require, at
30442 least, the following operations:
30443
30444 @itemize @bullet
30445 @item @code{-gdb-show} @code{output-radix}
30446 @item @code{-stack-list-arguments}
30447 @item @code{-stack-list-locals}
30448 @item @code{-stack-select-frame}
30449 @end itemize
30450
30451 @end ignore
30452
30453 @subheading Introduction to Variable Objects
30454
30455 @cindex variable objects in @sc{gdb/mi}
30456
30457 Variable objects are "object-oriented" MI interface for examining and
30458 changing values of expressions. Unlike some other MI interfaces that
30459 work with expressions, variable objects are specifically designed for
30460 simple and efficient presentation in the frontend. A variable object
30461 is identified by string name. When a variable object is created, the
30462 frontend specifies the expression for that variable object. The
30463 expression can be a simple variable, or it can be an arbitrary complex
30464 expression, and can even involve CPU registers. After creating a
30465 variable object, the frontend can invoke other variable object
30466 operations---for example to obtain or change the value of a variable
30467 object, or to change display format.
30468
30469 Variable objects have hierarchical tree structure. Any variable object
30470 that corresponds to a composite type, such as structure in C, has
30471 a number of child variable objects, for example corresponding to each
30472 element of a structure. A child variable object can itself have
30473 children, recursively. Recursion ends when we reach
30474 leaf variable objects, which always have built-in types. Child variable
30475 objects are created only by explicit request, so if a frontend
30476 is not interested in the children of a particular variable object, no
30477 child will be created.
30478
30479 For a leaf variable object it is possible to obtain its value as a
30480 string, or set the value from a string. String value can be also
30481 obtained for a non-leaf variable object, but it's generally a string
30482 that only indicates the type of the object, and does not list its
30483 contents. Assignment to a non-leaf variable object is not allowed.
30484
30485 A frontend does not need to read the values of all variable objects each time
30486 the program stops. Instead, MI provides an update command that lists all
30487 variable objects whose values has changed since the last update
30488 operation. This considerably reduces the amount of data that must
30489 be transferred to the frontend. As noted above, children variable
30490 objects are created on demand, and only leaf variable objects have a
30491 real value. As result, gdb will read target memory only for leaf
30492 variables that frontend has created.
30493
30494 The automatic update is not always desirable. For example, a frontend
30495 might want to keep a value of some expression for future reference,
30496 and never update it. For another example, fetching memory is
30497 relatively slow for embedded targets, so a frontend might want
30498 to disable automatic update for the variables that are either not
30499 visible on the screen, or ``closed''. This is possible using so
30500 called ``frozen variable objects''. Such variable objects are never
30501 implicitly updated.
30502
30503 Variable objects can be either @dfn{fixed} or @dfn{floating}. For the
30504 fixed variable object, the expression is parsed when the variable
30505 object is created, including associating identifiers to specific
30506 variables. The meaning of expression never changes. For a floating
30507 variable object the values of variables whose names appear in the
30508 expressions are re-evaluated every time in the context of the current
30509 frame. Consider this example:
30510
30511 @smallexample
30512 void do_work(...)
30513 @{
30514 struct work_state state;
30515
30516 if (...)
30517 do_work(...);
30518 @}
30519 @end smallexample
30520
30521 If a fixed variable object for the @code{state} variable is created in
30522 this function, and we enter the recursive call, the variable
30523 object will report the value of @code{state} in the top-level
30524 @code{do_work} invocation. On the other hand, a floating variable
30525 object will report the value of @code{state} in the current frame.
30526
30527 If an expression specified when creating a fixed variable object
30528 refers to a local variable, the variable object becomes bound to the
30529 thread and frame in which the variable object is created. When such
30530 variable object is updated, @value{GDBN} makes sure that the
30531 thread/frame combination the variable object is bound to still exists,
30532 and re-evaluates the variable object in context of that thread/frame.
30533
30534 The following is the complete set of @sc{gdb/mi} operations defined to
30535 access this functionality:
30536
30537 @multitable @columnfractions .4 .6
30538 @item @strong{Operation}
30539 @tab @strong{Description}
30540
30541 @item @code{-enable-pretty-printing}
30542 @tab enable Python-based pretty-printing
30543 @item @code{-var-create}
30544 @tab create a variable object
30545 @item @code{-var-delete}
30546 @tab delete the variable object and/or its children
30547 @item @code{-var-set-format}
30548 @tab set the display format of this variable
30549 @item @code{-var-show-format}
30550 @tab show the display format of this variable
30551 @item @code{-var-info-num-children}
30552 @tab tells how many children this object has
30553 @item @code{-var-list-children}
30554 @tab return a list of the object's children
30555 @item @code{-var-info-type}
30556 @tab show the type of this variable object
30557 @item @code{-var-info-expression}
30558 @tab print parent-relative expression that this variable object represents
30559 @item @code{-var-info-path-expression}
30560 @tab print full expression that this variable object represents
30561 @item @code{-var-show-attributes}
30562 @tab is this variable editable? does it exist here?
30563 @item @code{-var-evaluate-expression}
30564 @tab get the value of this variable
30565 @item @code{-var-assign}
30566 @tab set the value of this variable
30567 @item @code{-var-update}
30568 @tab update the variable and its children
30569 @item @code{-var-set-frozen}
30570 @tab set frozeness attribute
30571 @item @code{-var-set-update-range}
30572 @tab set range of children to display on update
30573 @end multitable
30574
30575 In the next subsection we describe each operation in detail and suggest
30576 how it can be used.
30577
30578 @subheading Description And Use of Operations on Variable Objects
30579
30580 @subheading The @code{-enable-pretty-printing} Command
30581 @findex -enable-pretty-printing
30582
30583 @smallexample
30584 -enable-pretty-printing
30585 @end smallexample
30586
30587 @value{GDBN} allows Python-based visualizers to affect the output of the
30588 MI variable object commands. However, because there was no way to
30589 implement this in a fully backward-compatible way, a front end must
30590 request that this functionality be enabled.
30591
30592 Once enabled, this feature cannot be disabled.
30593
30594 Note that if Python support has not been compiled into @value{GDBN},
30595 this command will still succeed (and do nothing).
30596
30597 This feature is currently (as of @value{GDBN} 7.0) experimental, and
30598 may work differently in future versions of @value{GDBN}.
30599
30600 @subheading The @code{-var-create} Command
30601 @findex -var-create
30602
30603 @subsubheading Synopsis
30604
30605 @smallexample
30606 -var-create @{@var{name} | "-"@}
30607 @{@var{frame-addr} | "*" | "@@"@} @var{expression}
30608 @end smallexample
30609
30610 This operation creates a variable object, which allows the monitoring of
30611 a variable, the result of an expression, a memory cell or a CPU
30612 register.
30613
30614 The @var{name} parameter is the string by which the object can be
30615 referenced. It must be unique. If @samp{-} is specified, the varobj
30616 system will generate a string ``varNNNNNN'' automatically. It will be
30617 unique provided that one does not specify @var{name} of that format.
30618 The command fails if a duplicate name is found.
30619
30620 The frame under which the expression should be evaluated can be
30621 specified by @var{frame-addr}. A @samp{*} indicates that the current
30622 frame should be used. A @samp{@@} indicates that a floating variable
30623 object must be created.
30624
30625 @var{expression} is any expression valid on the current language set (must not
30626 begin with a @samp{*}), or one of the following:
30627
30628 @itemize @bullet
30629 @item
30630 @samp{*@var{addr}}, where @var{addr} is the address of a memory cell
30631
30632 @item
30633 @samp{*@var{addr}-@var{addr}} --- a memory address range (TBD)
30634
30635 @item
30636 @samp{$@var{regname}} --- a CPU register name
30637 @end itemize
30638
30639 @cindex dynamic varobj
30640 A varobj's contents may be provided by a Python-based pretty-printer. In this
30641 case the varobj is known as a @dfn{dynamic varobj}. Dynamic varobjs
30642 have slightly different semantics in some cases. If the
30643 @code{-enable-pretty-printing} command is not sent, then @value{GDBN}
30644 will never create a dynamic varobj. This ensures backward
30645 compatibility for existing clients.
30646
30647 @subsubheading Result
30648
30649 This operation returns attributes of the newly-created varobj. These
30650 are:
30651
30652 @table @samp
30653 @item name
30654 The name of the varobj.
30655
30656 @item numchild
30657 The number of children of the varobj. This number is not necessarily
30658 reliable for a dynamic varobj. Instead, you must examine the
30659 @samp{has_more} attribute.
30660
30661 @item value
30662 The varobj's scalar value. For a varobj whose type is some sort of
30663 aggregate (e.g., a @code{struct}), or for a dynamic varobj, this value
30664 will not be interesting.
30665
30666 @item type
30667 The varobj's type. This is a string representation of the type, as
30668 would be printed by the @value{GDBN} CLI. If @samp{print object}
30669 (@pxref{Print Settings, set print object}) is set to @code{on}, the
30670 @emph{actual} (derived) type of the object is shown rather than the
30671 @emph{declared} one.
30672
30673 @item thread-id
30674 If a variable object is bound to a specific thread, then this is the
30675 thread's identifier.
30676
30677 @item has_more
30678 For a dynamic varobj, this indicates whether there appear to be any
30679 children available. For a non-dynamic varobj, this will be 0.
30680
30681 @item dynamic
30682 This attribute will be present and have the value @samp{1} if the
30683 varobj is a dynamic varobj. If the varobj is not a dynamic varobj,
30684 then this attribute will not be present.
30685
30686 @item displayhint
30687 A dynamic varobj can supply a display hint to the front end. The
30688 value comes directly from the Python pretty-printer object's
30689 @code{display_hint} method. @xref{Pretty Printing API}.
30690 @end table
30691
30692 Typical output will look like this:
30693
30694 @smallexample
30695 name="@var{name}",numchild="@var{N}",type="@var{type}",thread-id="@var{M}",
30696 has_more="@var{has_more}"
30697 @end smallexample
30698
30699
30700 @subheading The @code{-var-delete} Command
30701 @findex -var-delete
30702
30703 @subsubheading Synopsis
30704
30705 @smallexample
30706 -var-delete [ -c ] @var{name}
30707 @end smallexample
30708
30709 Deletes a previously created variable object and all of its children.
30710 With the @samp{-c} option, just deletes the children.
30711
30712 Returns an error if the object @var{name} is not found.
30713
30714
30715 @subheading The @code{-var-set-format} Command
30716 @findex -var-set-format
30717
30718 @subsubheading Synopsis
30719
30720 @smallexample
30721 -var-set-format @var{name} @var{format-spec}
30722 @end smallexample
30723
30724 Sets the output format for the value of the object @var{name} to be
30725 @var{format-spec}.
30726
30727 @anchor{-var-set-format}
30728 The syntax for the @var{format-spec} is as follows:
30729
30730 @smallexample
30731 @var{format-spec} @expansion{}
30732 @{binary | decimal | hexadecimal | octal | natural@}
30733 @end smallexample
30734
30735 The natural format is the default format choosen automatically
30736 based on the variable type (like decimal for an @code{int}, hex
30737 for pointers, etc.).
30738
30739 For a variable with children, the format is set only on the
30740 variable itself, and the children are not affected.
30741
30742 @subheading The @code{-var-show-format} Command
30743 @findex -var-show-format
30744
30745 @subsubheading Synopsis
30746
30747 @smallexample
30748 -var-show-format @var{name}
30749 @end smallexample
30750
30751 Returns the format used to display the value of the object @var{name}.
30752
30753 @smallexample
30754 @var{format} @expansion{}
30755 @var{format-spec}
30756 @end smallexample
30757
30758
30759 @subheading The @code{-var-info-num-children} Command
30760 @findex -var-info-num-children
30761
30762 @subsubheading Synopsis
30763
30764 @smallexample
30765 -var-info-num-children @var{name}
30766 @end smallexample
30767
30768 Returns the number of children of a variable object @var{name}:
30769
30770 @smallexample
30771 numchild=@var{n}
30772 @end smallexample
30773
30774 Note that this number is not completely reliable for a dynamic varobj.
30775 It will return the current number of children, but more children may
30776 be available.
30777
30778
30779 @subheading The @code{-var-list-children} Command
30780 @findex -var-list-children
30781
30782 @subsubheading Synopsis
30783
30784 @smallexample
30785 -var-list-children [@var{print-values}] @var{name} [@var{from} @var{to}]
30786 @end smallexample
30787 @anchor{-var-list-children}
30788
30789 Return a list of the children of the specified variable object and
30790 create variable objects for them, if they do not already exist. With
30791 a single argument or if @var{print-values} has a value of 0 or
30792 @code{--no-values}, print only the names of the variables; if
30793 @var{print-values} is 1 or @code{--all-values}, also print their
30794 values; and if it is 2 or @code{--simple-values} print the name and
30795 value for simple data types and just the name for arrays, structures
30796 and unions.
30797
30798 @var{from} and @var{to}, if specified, indicate the range of children
30799 to report. If @var{from} or @var{to} is less than zero, the range is
30800 reset and all children will be reported. Otherwise, children starting
30801 at @var{from} (zero-based) and up to and excluding @var{to} will be
30802 reported.
30803
30804 If a child range is requested, it will only affect the current call to
30805 @code{-var-list-children}, but not future calls to @code{-var-update}.
30806 For this, you must instead use @code{-var-set-update-range}. The
30807 intent of this approach is to enable a front end to implement any
30808 update approach it likes; for example, scrolling a view may cause the
30809 front end to request more children with @code{-var-list-children}, and
30810 then the front end could call @code{-var-set-update-range} with a
30811 different range to ensure that future updates are restricted to just
30812 the visible items.
30813
30814 For each child the following results are returned:
30815
30816 @table @var
30817
30818 @item name
30819 Name of the variable object created for this child.
30820
30821 @item exp
30822 The expression to be shown to the user by the front end to designate this child.
30823 For example this may be the name of a structure member.
30824
30825 For a dynamic varobj, this value cannot be used to form an
30826 expression. There is no way to do this at all with a dynamic varobj.
30827
30828 For C/C@t{++} structures there are several pseudo children returned to
30829 designate access qualifiers. For these pseudo children @var{exp} is
30830 @samp{public}, @samp{private}, or @samp{protected}. In this case the
30831 type and value are not present.
30832
30833 A dynamic varobj will not report the access qualifying
30834 pseudo-children, regardless of the language. This information is not
30835 available at all with a dynamic varobj.
30836
30837 @item numchild
30838 Number of children this child has. For a dynamic varobj, this will be
30839 0.
30840
30841 @item type
30842 The type of the child. If @samp{print object}
30843 (@pxref{Print Settings, set print object}) is set to @code{on}, the
30844 @emph{actual} (derived) type of the object is shown rather than the
30845 @emph{declared} one.
30846
30847 @item value
30848 If values were requested, this is the value.
30849
30850 @item thread-id
30851 If this variable object is associated with a thread, this is the thread id.
30852 Otherwise this result is not present.
30853
30854 @item frozen
30855 If the variable object is frozen, this variable will be present with a value of 1.
30856 @end table
30857
30858 The result may have its own attributes:
30859
30860 @table @samp
30861 @item displayhint
30862 A dynamic varobj can supply a display hint to the front end. The
30863 value comes directly from the Python pretty-printer object's
30864 @code{display_hint} method. @xref{Pretty Printing API}.
30865
30866 @item has_more
30867 This is an integer attribute which is nonzero if there are children
30868 remaining after the end of the selected range.
30869 @end table
30870
30871 @subsubheading Example
30872
30873 @smallexample
30874 (gdb)
30875 -var-list-children n
30876 ^done,numchild=@var{n},children=[child=@{name=@var{name},exp=@var{exp},
30877 numchild=@var{n},type=@var{type}@},@r{(repeats N times)}]
30878 (gdb)
30879 -var-list-children --all-values n
30880 ^done,numchild=@var{n},children=[child=@{name=@var{name},exp=@var{exp},
30881 numchild=@var{n},value=@var{value},type=@var{type}@},@r{(repeats N times)}]
30882 @end smallexample
30883
30884
30885 @subheading The @code{-var-info-type} Command
30886 @findex -var-info-type
30887
30888 @subsubheading Synopsis
30889
30890 @smallexample
30891 -var-info-type @var{name}
30892 @end smallexample
30893
30894 Returns the type of the specified variable @var{name}. The type is
30895 returned as a string in the same format as it is output by the
30896 @value{GDBN} CLI:
30897
30898 @smallexample
30899 type=@var{typename}
30900 @end smallexample
30901
30902
30903 @subheading The @code{-var-info-expression} Command
30904 @findex -var-info-expression
30905
30906 @subsubheading Synopsis
30907
30908 @smallexample
30909 -var-info-expression @var{name}
30910 @end smallexample
30911
30912 Returns a string that is suitable for presenting this
30913 variable object in user interface. The string is generally
30914 not valid expression in the current language, and cannot be evaluated.
30915
30916 For example, if @code{a} is an array, and variable object
30917 @code{A} was created for @code{a}, then we'll get this output:
30918
30919 @smallexample
30920 (gdb) -var-info-expression A.1
30921 ^done,lang="C",exp="1"
30922 @end smallexample
30923
30924 @noindent
30925 Here, the values of @code{lang} can be @code{@{"C" | "C++" | "Java"@}}.
30926
30927 Note that the output of the @code{-var-list-children} command also
30928 includes those expressions, so the @code{-var-info-expression} command
30929 is of limited use.
30930
30931 @subheading The @code{-var-info-path-expression} Command
30932 @findex -var-info-path-expression
30933
30934 @subsubheading Synopsis
30935
30936 @smallexample
30937 -var-info-path-expression @var{name}
30938 @end smallexample
30939
30940 Returns an expression that can be evaluated in the current
30941 context and will yield the same value that a variable object has.
30942 Compare this with the @code{-var-info-expression} command, which
30943 result can be used only for UI presentation. Typical use of
30944 the @code{-var-info-path-expression} command is creating a
30945 watchpoint from a variable object.
30946
30947 This command is currently not valid for children of a dynamic varobj,
30948 and will give an error when invoked on one.
30949
30950 For example, suppose @code{C} is a C@t{++} class, derived from class
30951 @code{Base}, and that the @code{Base} class has a member called
30952 @code{m_size}. Assume a variable @code{c} is has the type of
30953 @code{C} and a variable object @code{C} was created for variable
30954 @code{c}. Then, we'll get this output:
30955 @smallexample
30956 (gdb) -var-info-path-expression C.Base.public.m_size
30957 ^done,path_expr=((Base)c).m_size)
30958 @end smallexample
30959
30960 @subheading The @code{-var-show-attributes} Command
30961 @findex -var-show-attributes
30962
30963 @subsubheading Synopsis
30964
30965 @smallexample
30966 -var-show-attributes @var{name}
30967 @end smallexample
30968
30969 List attributes of the specified variable object @var{name}:
30970
30971 @smallexample
30972 status=@var{attr} [ ( ,@var{attr} )* ]
30973 @end smallexample
30974
30975 @noindent
30976 where @var{attr} is @code{@{ @{ editable | noneditable @} | TBD @}}.
30977
30978 @subheading The @code{-var-evaluate-expression} Command
30979 @findex -var-evaluate-expression
30980
30981 @subsubheading Synopsis
30982
30983 @smallexample
30984 -var-evaluate-expression [-f @var{format-spec}] @var{name}
30985 @end smallexample
30986
30987 Evaluates the expression that is represented by the specified variable
30988 object and returns its value as a string. The format of the string
30989 can be specified with the @samp{-f} option. The possible values of
30990 this option are the same as for @code{-var-set-format}
30991 (@pxref{-var-set-format}). If the @samp{-f} option is not specified,
30992 the current display format will be used. The current display format
30993 can be changed using the @code{-var-set-format} command.
30994
30995 @smallexample
30996 value=@var{value}
30997 @end smallexample
30998
30999 Note that one must invoke @code{-var-list-children} for a variable
31000 before the value of a child variable can be evaluated.
31001
31002 @subheading The @code{-var-assign} Command
31003 @findex -var-assign
31004
31005 @subsubheading Synopsis
31006
31007 @smallexample
31008 -var-assign @var{name} @var{expression}
31009 @end smallexample
31010
31011 Assigns the value of @var{expression} to the variable object specified
31012 by @var{name}. The object must be @samp{editable}. If the variable's
31013 value is altered by the assign, the variable will show up in any
31014 subsequent @code{-var-update} list.
31015
31016 @subsubheading Example
31017
31018 @smallexample
31019 (gdb)
31020 -var-assign var1 3
31021 ^done,value="3"
31022 (gdb)
31023 -var-update *
31024 ^done,changelist=[@{name="var1",in_scope="true",type_changed="false"@}]
31025 (gdb)
31026 @end smallexample
31027
31028 @subheading The @code{-var-update} Command
31029 @findex -var-update
31030
31031 @subsubheading Synopsis
31032
31033 @smallexample
31034 -var-update [@var{print-values}] @{@var{name} | "*"@}
31035 @end smallexample
31036
31037 Reevaluate the expressions corresponding to the variable object
31038 @var{name} and all its direct and indirect children, and return the
31039 list of variable objects whose values have changed; @var{name} must
31040 be a root variable object. Here, ``changed'' means that the result of
31041 @code{-var-evaluate-expression} before and after the
31042 @code{-var-update} is different. If @samp{*} is used as the variable
31043 object names, all existing variable objects are updated, except
31044 for frozen ones (@pxref{-var-set-frozen}). The option
31045 @var{print-values} determines whether both names and values, or just
31046 names are printed. The possible values of this option are the same
31047 as for @code{-var-list-children} (@pxref{-var-list-children}). It is
31048 recommended to use the @samp{--all-values} option, to reduce the
31049 number of MI commands needed on each program stop.
31050
31051 With the @samp{*} parameter, if a variable object is bound to a
31052 currently running thread, it will not be updated, without any
31053 diagnostic.
31054
31055 If @code{-var-set-update-range} was previously used on a varobj, then
31056 only the selected range of children will be reported.
31057
31058 @code{-var-update} reports all the changed varobjs in a tuple named
31059 @samp{changelist}.
31060
31061 Each item in the change list is itself a tuple holding:
31062
31063 @table @samp
31064 @item name
31065 The name of the varobj.
31066
31067 @item value
31068 If values were requested for this update, then this field will be
31069 present and will hold the value of the varobj.
31070
31071 @item in_scope
31072 @anchor{-var-update}
31073 This field is a string which may take one of three values:
31074
31075 @table @code
31076 @item "true"
31077 The variable object's current value is valid.
31078
31079 @item "false"
31080 The variable object does not currently hold a valid value but it may
31081 hold one in the future if its associated expression comes back into
31082 scope.
31083
31084 @item "invalid"
31085 The variable object no longer holds a valid value.
31086 This can occur when the executable file being debugged has changed,
31087 either through recompilation or by using the @value{GDBN} @code{file}
31088 command. The front end should normally choose to delete these variable
31089 objects.
31090 @end table
31091
31092 In the future new values may be added to this list so the front should
31093 be prepared for this possibility. @xref{GDB/MI Development and Front Ends, ,@sc{GDB/MI} Development and Front Ends}.
31094
31095 @item type_changed
31096 This is only present if the varobj is still valid. If the type
31097 changed, then this will be the string @samp{true}; otherwise it will
31098 be @samp{false}.
31099
31100 When a varobj's type changes, its children are also likely to have
31101 become incorrect. Therefore, the varobj's children are automatically
31102 deleted when this attribute is @samp{true}. Also, the varobj's update
31103 range, when set using the @code{-var-set-update-range} command, is
31104 unset.
31105
31106 @item new_type
31107 If the varobj's type changed, then this field will be present and will
31108 hold the new type.
31109
31110 @item new_num_children
31111 For a dynamic varobj, if the number of children changed, or if the
31112 type changed, this will be the new number of children.
31113
31114 The @samp{numchild} field in other varobj responses is generally not
31115 valid for a dynamic varobj -- it will show the number of children that
31116 @value{GDBN} knows about, but because dynamic varobjs lazily
31117 instantiate their children, this will not reflect the number of
31118 children which may be available.
31119
31120 The @samp{new_num_children} attribute only reports changes to the
31121 number of children known by @value{GDBN}. This is the only way to
31122 detect whether an update has removed children (which necessarily can
31123 only happen at the end of the update range).
31124
31125 @item displayhint
31126 The display hint, if any.
31127
31128 @item has_more
31129 This is an integer value, which will be 1 if there are more children
31130 available outside the varobj's update range.
31131
31132 @item dynamic
31133 This attribute will be present and have the value @samp{1} if the
31134 varobj is a dynamic varobj. If the varobj is not a dynamic varobj,
31135 then this attribute will not be present.
31136
31137 @item new_children
31138 If new children were added to a dynamic varobj within the selected
31139 update range (as set by @code{-var-set-update-range}), then they will
31140 be listed in this attribute.
31141 @end table
31142
31143 @subsubheading Example
31144
31145 @smallexample
31146 (gdb)
31147 -var-assign var1 3
31148 ^done,value="3"
31149 (gdb)
31150 -var-update --all-values var1
31151 ^done,changelist=[@{name="var1",value="3",in_scope="true",
31152 type_changed="false"@}]
31153 (gdb)
31154 @end smallexample
31155
31156 @subheading The @code{-var-set-frozen} Command
31157 @findex -var-set-frozen
31158 @anchor{-var-set-frozen}
31159
31160 @subsubheading Synopsis
31161
31162 @smallexample
31163 -var-set-frozen @var{name} @var{flag}
31164 @end smallexample
31165
31166 Set the frozenness flag on the variable object @var{name}. The
31167 @var{flag} parameter should be either @samp{1} to make the variable
31168 frozen or @samp{0} to make it unfrozen. If a variable object is
31169 frozen, then neither itself, nor any of its children, are
31170 implicitly updated by @code{-var-update} of
31171 a parent variable or by @code{-var-update *}. Only
31172 @code{-var-update} of the variable itself will update its value and
31173 values of its children. After a variable object is unfrozen, it is
31174 implicitly updated by all subsequent @code{-var-update} operations.
31175 Unfreezing a variable does not update it, only subsequent
31176 @code{-var-update} does.
31177
31178 @subsubheading Example
31179
31180 @smallexample
31181 (gdb)
31182 -var-set-frozen V 1
31183 ^done
31184 (gdb)
31185 @end smallexample
31186
31187 @subheading The @code{-var-set-update-range} command
31188 @findex -var-set-update-range
31189 @anchor{-var-set-update-range}
31190
31191 @subsubheading Synopsis
31192
31193 @smallexample
31194 -var-set-update-range @var{name} @var{from} @var{to}
31195 @end smallexample
31196
31197 Set the range of children to be returned by future invocations of
31198 @code{-var-update}.
31199
31200 @var{from} and @var{to} indicate the range of children to report. If
31201 @var{from} or @var{to} is less than zero, the range is reset and all
31202 children will be reported. Otherwise, children starting at @var{from}
31203 (zero-based) and up to and excluding @var{to} will be reported.
31204
31205 @subsubheading Example
31206
31207 @smallexample
31208 (gdb)
31209 -var-set-update-range V 1 2
31210 ^done
31211 @end smallexample
31212
31213 @subheading The @code{-var-set-visualizer} command
31214 @findex -var-set-visualizer
31215 @anchor{-var-set-visualizer}
31216
31217 @subsubheading Synopsis
31218
31219 @smallexample
31220 -var-set-visualizer @var{name} @var{visualizer}
31221 @end smallexample
31222
31223 Set a visualizer for the variable object @var{name}.
31224
31225 @var{visualizer} is the visualizer to use. The special value
31226 @samp{None} means to disable any visualizer in use.
31227
31228 If not @samp{None}, @var{visualizer} must be a Python expression.
31229 This expression must evaluate to a callable object which accepts a
31230 single argument. @value{GDBN} will call this object with the value of
31231 the varobj @var{name} as an argument (this is done so that the same
31232 Python pretty-printing code can be used for both the CLI and MI).
31233 When called, this object must return an object which conforms to the
31234 pretty-printing interface (@pxref{Pretty Printing API}).
31235
31236 The pre-defined function @code{gdb.default_visualizer} may be used to
31237 select a visualizer by following the built-in process
31238 (@pxref{Selecting Pretty-Printers}). This is done automatically when
31239 a varobj is created, and so ordinarily is not needed.
31240
31241 This feature is only available if Python support is enabled. The MI
31242 command @code{-list-features} (@pxref{GDB/MI Miscellaneous Commands})
31243 can be used to check this.
31244
31245 @subsubheading Example
31246
31247 Resetting the visualizer:
31248
31249 @smallexample
31250 (gdb)
31251 -var-set-visualizer V None
31252 ^done
31253 @end smallexample
31254
31255 Reselecting the default (type-based) visualizer:
31256
31257 @smallexample
31258 (gdb)
31259 -var-set-visualizer V gdb.default_visualizer
31260 ^done
31261 @end smallexample
31262
31263 Suppose @code{SomeClass} is a visualizer class. A lambda expression
31264 can be used to instantiate this class for a varobj:
31265
31266 @smallexample
31267 (gdb)
31268 -var-set-visualizer V "lambda val: SomeClass()"
31269 ^done
31270 @end smallexample
31271
31272 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
31273 @node GDB/MI Data Manipulation
31274 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Data Manipulation
31275
31276 @cindex data manipulation, in @sc{gdb/mi}
31277 @cindex @sc{gdb/mi}, data manipulation
31278 This section describes the @sc{gdb/mi} commands that manipulate data:
31279 examine memory and registers, evaluate expressions, etc.
31280
31281 @c REMOVED FROM THE INTERFACE.
31282 @c @subheading -data-assign
31283 @c Change the value of a program variable. Plenty of side effects.
31284 @c @subsubheading GDB Command
31285 @c set variable
31286 @c @subsubheading Example
31287 @c N.A.
31288
31289 @subheading The @code{-data-disassemble} Command
31290 @findex -data-disassemble
31291
31292 @subsubheading Synopsis
31293
31294 @smallexample
31295 -data-disassemble
31296 [ -s @var{start-addr} -e @var{end-addr} ]
31297 | [ -f @var{filename} -l @var{linenum} [ -n @var{lines} ] ]
31298 -- @var{mode}
31299 @end smallexample
31300
31301 @noindent
31302 Where:
31303
31304 @table @samp
31305 @item @var{start-addr}
31306 is the beginning address (or @code{$pc})
31307 @item @var{end-addr}
31308 is the end address
31309 @item @var{filename}
31310 is the name of the file to disassemble
31311 @item @var{linenum}
31312 is the line number to disassemble around
31313 @item @var{lines}
31314 is the number of disassembly lines to be produced. If it is -1,
31315 the whole function will be disassembled, in case no @var{end-addr} is
31316 specified. If @var{end-addr} is specified as a non-zero value, and
31317 @var{lines} is lower than the number of disassembly lines between
31318 @var{start-addr} and @var{end-addr}, only @var{lines} lines are
31319 displayed; if @var{lines} is higher than the number of lines between
31320 @var{start-addr} and @var{end-addr}, only the lines up to @var{end-addr}
31321 are displayed.
31322 @item @var{mode}
31323 is either 0 (meaning only disassembly), 1 (meaning mixed source and
31324 disassembly), 2 (meaning disassembly with raw opcodes), or 3 (meaning
31325 mixed source and disassembly with raw opcodes).
31326 @end table
31327
31328 @subsubheading Result
31329
31330 The result of the @code{-data-disassemble} command will be a list named
31331 @samp{asm_insns}, the contents of this list depend on the @var{mode}
31332 used with the @code{-data-disassemble} command.
31333
31334 For modes 0 and 2 the @samp{asm_insns} list contains tuples with the
31335 following fields:
31336
31337 @table @code
31338 @item address
31339 The address at which this instruction was disassembled.
31340
31341 @item func-name
31342 The name of the function this instruction is within.
31343
31344 @item offset
31345 The decimal offset in bytes from the start of @samp{func-name}.
31346
31347 @item inst
31348 The text disassembly for this @samp{address}.
31349
31350 @item opcodes
31351 This field is only present for mode 2. This contains the raw opcode
31352 bytes for the @samp{inst} field.
31353
31354 @end table
31355
31356 For modes 1 and 3 the @samp{asm_insns} list contains tuples named
31357 @samp{src_and_asm_line}, each of which has the following fields:
31358
31359 @table @code
31360 @item line
31361 The line number within @samp{file}.
31362
31363 @item file
31364 The file name from the compilation unit. This might be an absolute
31365 file name or a relative file name depending on the compile command
31366 used.
31367
31368 @item fullname
31369 Absolute file name of @samp{file}. It is converted to a canonical form
31370 using the source file search path
31371 (@pxref{Source Path, ,Specifying Source Directories})
31372 and after resolving all the symbolic links.
31373
31374 If the source file is not found this field will contain the path as
31375 present in the debug information.
31376
31377 @item line_asm_insn
31378 This is a list of tuples containing the disassembly for @samp{line} in
31379 @samp{file}. The fields of each tuple are the same as for
31380 @code{-data-disassemble} in @var{mode} 0 and 2, so @samp{address},
31381 @samp{func-name}, @samp{offset}, @samp{inst}, and optionally
31382 @samp{opcodes}.
31383
31384 @end table
31385
31386 Note that whatever included in the @samp{inst} field, is not
31387 manipulated directly by @sc{gdb/mi}, i.e., it is not possible to
31388 adjust its format.
31389
31390 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31391
31392 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{disassemble}.
31393
31394 @subsubheading Example
31395
31396 Disassemble from the current value of @code{$pc} to @code{$pc + 20}:
31397
31398 @smallexample
31399 (gdb)
31400 -data-disassemble -s $pc -e "$pc + 20" -- 0
31401 ^done,
31402 asm_insns=[
31403 @{address="0x000107c0",func-name="main",offset="4",
31404 inst="mov 2, %o0"@},
31405 @{address="0x000107c4",func-name="main",offset="8",
31406 inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"@},
31407 @{address="0x000107c8",func-name="main",offset="12",
31408 inst="or %o2, 0x140, %o1\t! 0x11940 <_lib_version+8>"@},
31409 @{address="0x000107cc",func-name="main",offset="16",
31410 inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"@},
31411 @{address="0x000107d0",func-name="main",offset="20",
31412 inst="or %o2, 0x168, %o4\t! 0x11968 <_lib_version+48>"@}]
31413 (gdb)
31414 @end smallexample
31415
31416 Disassemble the whole @code{main} function. Line 32 is part of
31417 @code{main}.
31418
31419 @smallexample
31420 -data-disassemble -f basics.c -l 32 -- 0
31421 ^done,asm_insns=[
31422 @{address="0x000107bc",func-name="main",offset="0",
31423 inst="save %sp, -112, %sp"@},
31424 @{address="0x000107c0",func-name="main",offset="4",
31425 inst="mov 2, %o0"@},
31426 @{address="0x000107c4",func-name="main",offset="8",
31427 inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"@},
31428 [@dots{}]
31429 @{address="0x0001081c",func-name="main",offset="96",inst="ret "@},
31430 @{address="0x00010820",func-name="main",offset="100",inst="restore "@}]
31431 (gdb)
31432 @end smallexample
31433
31434 Disassemble 3 instructions from the start of @code{main}:
31435
31436 @smallexample
31437 (gdb)
31438 -data-disassemble -f basics.c -l 32 -n 3 -- 0
31439 ^done,asm_insns=[
31440 @{address="0x000107bc",func-name="main",offset="0",
31441 inst="save %sp, -112, %sp"@},
31442 @{address="0x000107c0",func-name="main",offset="4",
31443 inst="mov 2, %o0"@},
31444 @{address="0x000107c4",func-name="main",offset="8",
31445 inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"@}]
31446 (gdb)
31447 @end smallexample
31448
31449 Disassemble 3 instructions from the start of @code{main} in mixed mode:
31450
31451 @smallexample
31452 (gdb)
31453 -data-disassemble -f basics.c -l 32 -n 3 -- 1
31454 ^done,asm_insns=[
31455 src_and_asm_line=@{line="31",
31456 file="../../../src/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
31457 fullname="/absolute/path/to/src/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
31458 line_asm_insn=[@{address="0x000107bc",
31459 func-name="main",offset="0",inst="save %sp, -112, %sp"@}]@},
31460 src_and_asm_line=@{line="32",
31461 file="../../../src/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
31462 fullname="/absolute/path/to/src/gdb/testsuite/gdb.mi/basics.c",
31463 line_asm_insn=[@{address="0x000107c0",
31464 func-name="main",offset="4",inst="mov 2, %o0"@},
31465 @{address="0x000107c4",func-name="main",offset="8",
31466 inst="sethi %hi(0x11800), %o2"@}]@}]
31467 (gdb)
31468 @end smallexample
31469
31470
31471 @subheading The @code{-data-evaluate-expression} Command
31472 @findex -data-evaluate-expression
31473
31474 @subsubheading Synopsis
31475
31476 @smallexample
31477 -data-evaluate-expression @var{expr}
31478 @end smallexample
31479
31480 Evaluate @var{expr} as an expression. The expression could contain an
31481 inferior function call. The function call will execute synchronously.
31482 If the expression contains spaces, it must be enclosed in double quotes.
31483
31484 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31485
31486 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{print}, @samp{output}, and
31487 @samp{call}. In @code{gdbtk} only, there's a corresponding
31488 @samp{gdb_eval} command.
31489
31490 @subsubheading Example
31491
31492 In the following example, the numbers that precede the commands are the
31493 @dfn{tokens} described in @ref{GDB/MI Command Syntax, ,@sc{gdb/mi}
31494 Command Syntax}. Notice how @sc{gdb/mi} returns the same tokens in its
31495 output.
31496
31497 @smallexample
31498 211-data-evaluate-expression A
31499 211^done,value="1"
31500 (gdb)
31501 311-data-evaluate-expression &A
31502 311^done,value="0xefffeb7c"
31503 (gdb)
31504 411-data-evaluate-expression A+3
31505 411^done,value="4"
31506 (gdb)
31507 511-data-evaluate-expression "A + 3"
31508 511^done,value="4"
31509 (gdb)
31510 @end smallexample
31511
31512
31513 @subheading The @code{-data-list-changed-registers} Command
31514 @findex -data-list-changed-registers
31515
31516 @subsubheading Synopsis
31517
31518 @smallexample
31519 -data-list-changed-registers
31520 @end smallexample
31521
31522 Display a list of the registers that have changed.
31523
31524 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31525
31526 @value{GDBN} doesn't have a direct analog for this command; @code{gdbtk}
31527 has the corresponding command @samp{gdb_changed_register_list}.
31528
31529 @subsubheading Example
31530
31531 On a PPC MBX board:
31532
31533 @smallexample
31534 (gdb)
31535 -exec-continue
31536 ^running
31537
31538 (gdb)
31539 *stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",frame=@{
31540 func="main",args=[],file="try.c",fullname="/home/foo/bar/try.c",
31541 line="5"@}
31542 (gdb)
31543 -data-list-changed-registers
31544 ^done,changed-registers=["0","1","2","4","5","6","7","8","9",
31545 "10","11","13","14","15","16","17","18","19","20","21","22","23",
31546 "24","25","26","27","28","30","31","64","65","66","67","69"]
31547 (gdb)
31548 @end smallexample
31549
31550
31551 @subheading The @code{-data-list-register-names} Command
31552 @findex -data-list-register-names
31553
31554 @subsubheading Synopsis
31555
31556 @smallexample
31557 -data-list-register-names [ ( @var{regno} )+ ]
31558 @end smallexample
31559
31560 Show a list of register names for the current target. If no arguments
31561 are given, it shows a list of the names of all the registers. If
31562 integer numbers are given as arguments, it will print a list of the
31563 names of the registers corresponding to the arguments. To ensure
31564 consistency between a register name and its number, the output list may
31565 include empty register names.
31566
31567 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31568
31569 @value{GDBN} does not have a command which corresponds to
31570 @samp{-data-list-register-names}. In @code{gdbtk} there is a
31571 corresponding command @samp{gdb_regnames}.
31572
31573 @subsubheading Example
31574
31575 For the PPC MBX board:
31576 @smallexample
31577 (gdb)
31578 -data-list-register-names
31579 ^done,register-names=["r0","r1","r2","r3","r4","r5","r6","r7",
31580 "r8","r9","r10","r11","r12","r13","r14","r15","r16","r17","r18",
31581 "r19","r20","r21","r22","r23","r24","r25","r26","r27","r28","r29",
31582 "r30","r31","f0","f1","f2","f3","f4","f5","f6","f7","f8","f9",
31583 "f10","f11","f12","f13","f14","f15","f16","f17","f18","f19","f20",
31584 "f21","f22","f23","f24","f25","f26","f27","f28","f29","f30","f31",
31585 "", "pc","ps","cr","lr","ctr","xer"]
31586 (gdb)
31587 -data-list-register-names 1 2 3
31588 ^done,register-names=["r1","r2","r3"]
31589 (gdb)
31590 @end smallexample
31591
31592 @subheading The @code{-data-list-register-values} Command
31593 @findex -data-list-register-values
31594
31595 @subsubheading Synopsis
31596
31597 @smallexample
31598 -data-list-register-values @var{fmt} [ ( @var{regno} )*]
31599 @end smallexample
31600
31601 Display the registers' contents. @var{fmt} is the format according to
31602 which the registers' contents are to be returned, followed by an optional
31603 list of numbers specifying the registers to display. A missing list of
31604 numbers indicates that the contents of all the registers must be returned.
31605
31606 Allowed formats for @var{fmt} are:
31607
31608 @table @code
31609 @item x
31610 Hexadecimal
31611 @item o
31612 Octal
31613 @item t
31614 Binary
31615 @item d
31616 Decimal
31617 @item r
31618 Raw
31619 @item N
31620 Natural
31621 @end table
31622
31623 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31624
31625 The corresponding @value{GDBN} commands are @samp{info reg}, @samp{info
31626 all-reg}, and (in @code{gdbtk}) @samp{gdb_fetch_registers}.
31627
31628 @subsubheading Example
31629
31630 For a PPC MBX board (note: line breaks are for readability only, they
31631 don't appear in the actual output):
31632
31633 @smallexample
31634 (gdb)
31635 -data-list-register-values r 64 65
31636 ^done,register-values=[@{number="64",value="0xfe00a300"@},
31637 @{number="65",value="0x00029002"@}]
31638 (gdb)
31639 -data-list-register-values x
31640 ^done,register-values=[@{number="0",value="0xfe0043c8"@},
31641 @{number="1",value="0x3fff88"@},@{number="2",value="0xfffffffe"@},
31642 @{number="3",value="0x0"@},@{number="4",value="0xa"@},
31643 @{number="5",value="0x3fff68"@},@{number="6",value="0x3fff58"@},
31644 @{number="7",value="0xfe011e98"@},@{number="8",value="0x2"@},
31645 @{number="9",value="0xfa202820"@},@{number="10",value="0xfa202808"@},
31646 @{number="11",value="0x1"@},@{number="12",value="0x0"@},
31647 @{number="13",value="0x4544"@},@{number="14",value="0xffdfffff"@},
31648 @{number="15",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="16",value="0xfffffeff"@},
31649 @{number="17",value="0xefffffed"@},@{number="18",value="0xfffffffe"@},
31650 @{number="19",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="20",value="0xffffffff"@},
31651 @{number="21",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="22",value="0xfffffff7"@},
31652 @{number="23",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="24",value="0xffffffff"@},
31653 @{number="25",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="26",value="0xfffffffb"@},
31654 @{number="27",value="0xffffffff"@},@{number="28",value="0xf7bfffff"@},
31655 @{number="29",value="0x0"@},@{number="30",value="0xfe010000"@},
31656 @{number="31",value="0x0"@},@{number="32",value="0x0"@},
31657 @{number="33",value="0x0"@},@{number="34",value="0x0"@},
31658 @{number="35",value="0x0"@},@{number="36",value="0x0"@},
31659 @{number="37",value="0x0"@},@{number="38",value="0x0"@},
31660 @{number="39",value="0x0"@},@{number="40",value="0x0"@},
31661 @{number="41",value="0x0"@},@{number="42",value="0x0"@},
31662 @{number="43",value="0x0"@},@{number="44",value="0x0"@},
31663 @{number="45",value="0x0"@},@{number="46",value="0x0"@},
31664 @{number="47",value="0x0"@},@{number="48",value="0x0"@},
31665 @{number="49",value="0x0"@},@{number="50",value="0x0"@},
31666 @{number="51",value="0x0"@},@{number="52",value="0x0"@},
31667 @{number="53",value="0x0"@},@{number="54",value="0x0"@},
31668 @{number="55",value="0x0"@},@{number="56",value="0x0"@},
31669 @{number="57",value="0x0"@},@{number="58",value="0x0"@},
31670 @{number="59",value="0x0"@},@{number="60",value="0x0"@},
31671 @{number="61",value="0x0"@},@{number="62",value="0x0"@},
31672 @{number="63",value="0x0"@},@{number="64",value="0xfe00a300"@},
31673 @{number="65",value="0x29002"@},@{number="66",value="0x202f04b5"@},
31674 @{number="67",value="0xfe0043b0"@},@{number="68",value="0xfe00b3e4"@},
31675 @{number="69",value="0x20002b03"@}]
31676 (gdb)
31677 @end smallexample
31678
31679
31680 @subheading The @code{-data-read-memory} Command
31681 @findex -data-read-memory
31682
31683 This command is deprecated, use @code{-data-read-memory-bytes} instead.
31684
31685 @subsubheading Synopsis
31686
31687 @smallexample
31688 -data-read-memory [ -o @var{byte-offset} ]
31689 @var{address} @var{word-format} @var{word-size}
31690 @var{nr-rows} @var{nr-cols} [ @var{aschar} ]
31691 @end smallexample
31692
31693 @noindent
31694 where:
31695
31696 @table @samp
31697 @item @var{address}
31698 An expression specifying the address of the first memory word to be
31699 read. Complex expressions containing embedded white space should be
31700 quoted using the C convention.
31701
31702 @item @var{word-format}
31703 The format to be used to print the memory words. The notation is the
31704 same as for @value{GDBN}'s @code{print} command (@pxref{Output Formats,
31705 ,Output Formats}).
31706
31707 @item @var{word-size}
31708 The size of each memory word in bytes.
31709
31710 @item @var{nr-rows}
31711 The number of rows in the output table.
31712
31713 @item @var{nr-cols}
31714 The number of columns in the output table.
31715
31716 @item @var{aschar}
31717 If present, indicates that each row should include an @sc{ascii} dump. The
31718 value of @var{aschar} is used as a padding character when a byte is not a
31719 member of the printable @sc{ascii} character set (printable @sc{ascii}
31720 characters are those whose code is between 32 and 126, inclusively).
31721
31722 @item @var{byte-offset}
31723 An offset to add to the @var{address} before fetching memory.
31724 @end table
31725
31726 This command displays memory contents as a table of @var{nr-rows} by
31727 @var{nr-cols} words, each word being @var{word-size} bytes. In total,
31728 @code{@var{nr-rows} * @var{nr-cols} * @var{word-size}} bytes are read
31729 (returned as @samp{total-bytes}). Should less than the requested number
31730 of bytes be returned by the target, the missing words are identified
31731 using @samp{N/A}. The number of bytes read from the target is returned
31732 in @samp{nr-bytes} and the starting address used to read memory in
31733 @samp{addr}.
31734
31735 The address of the next/previous row or page is available in
31736 @samp{next-row} and @samp{prev-row}, @samp{next-page} and
31737 @samp{prev-page}.
31738
31739 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31740
31741 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{x}. @code{gdbtk} has
31742 @samp{gdb_get_mem} memory read command.
31743
31744 @subsubheading Example
31745
31746 Read six bytes of memory starting at @code{bytes+6} but then offset by
31747 @code{-6} bytes. Format as three rows of two columns. One byte per
31748 word. Display each word in hex.
31749
31750 @smallexample
31751 (gdb)
31752 9-data-read-memory -o -6 -- bytes+6 x 1 3 2
31753 9^done,addr="0x00001390",nr-bytes="6",total-bytes="6",
31754 next-row="0x00001396",prev-row="0x0000138e",next-page="0x00001396",
31755 prev-page="0x0000138a",memory=[
31756 @{addr="0x00001390",data=["0x00","0x01"]@},
31757 @{addr="0x00001392",data=["0x02","0x03"]@},
31758 @{addr="0x00001394",data=["0x04","0x05"]@}]
31759 (gdb)
31760 @end smallexample
31761
31762 Read two bytes of memory starting at address @code{shorts + 64} and
31763 display as a single word formatted in decimal.
31764
31765 @smallexample
31766 (gdb)
31767 5-data-read-memory shorts+64 d 2 1 1
31768 5^done,addr="0x00001510",nr-bytes="2",total-bytes="2",
31769 next-row="0x00001512",prev-row="0x0000150e",
31770 next-page="0x00001512",prev-page="0x0000150e",memory=[
31771 @{addr="0x00001510",data=["128"]@}]
31772 (gdb)
31773 @end smallexample
31774
31775 Read thirty two bytes of memory starting at @code{bytes+16} and format
31776 as eight rows of four columns. Include a string encoding with @samp{x}
31777 used as the non-printable character.
31778
31779 @smallexample
31780 (gdb)
31781 4-data-read-memory bytes+16 x 1 8 4 x
31782 4^done,addr="0x000013a0",nr-bytes="32",total-bytes="32",
31783 next-row="0x000013c0",prev-row="0x0000139c",
31784 next-page="0x000013c0",prev-page="0x00001380",memory=[
31785 @{addr="0x000013a0",data=["0x10","0x11","0x12","0x13"],ascii="xxxx"@},
31786 @{addr="0x000013a4",data=["0x14","0x15","0x16","0x17"],ascii="xxxx"@},
31787 @{addr="0x000013a8",data=["0x18","0x19","0x1a","0x1b"],ascii="xxxx"@},
31788 @{addr="0x000013ac",data=["0x1c","0x1d","0x1e","0x1f"],ascii="xxxx"@},
31789 @{addr="0x000013b0",data=["0x20","0x21","0x22","0x23"],ascii=" !\"#"@},
31790 @{addr="0x000013b4",data=["0x24","0x25","0x26","0x27"],ascii="$%&'"@},
31791 @{addr="0x000013b8",data=["0x28","0x29","0x2a","0x2b"],ascii="()*+"@},
31792 @{addr="0x000013bc",data=["0x2c","0x2d","0x2e","0x2f"],ascii=",-./"@}]
31793 (gdb)
31794 @end smallexample
31795
31796 @subheading The @code{-data-read-memory-bytes} Command
31797 @findex -data-read-memory-bytes
31798
31799 @subsubheading Synopsis
31800
31801 @smallexample
31802 -data-read-memory-bytes [ -o @var{byte-offset} ]
31803 @var{address} @var{count}
31804 @end smallexample
31805
31806 @noindent
31807 where:
31808
31809 @table @samp
31810 @item @var{address}
31811 An expression specifying the address of the first memory word to be
31812 read. Complex expressions containing embedded white space should be
31813 quoted using the C convention.
31814
31815 @item @var{count}
31816 The number of bytes to read. This should be an integer literal.
31817
31818 @item @var{byte-offset}
31819 The offsets in bytes relative to @var{address} at which to start
31820 reading. This should be an integer literal. This option is provided
31821 so that a frontend is not required to first evaluate address and then
31822 perform address arithmetics itself.
31823
31824 @end table
31825
31826 This command attempts to read all accessible memory regions in the
31827 specified range. First, all regions marked as unreadable in the memory
31828 map (if one is defined) will be skipped. @xref{Memory Region
31829 Attributes}. Second, @value{GDBN} will attempt to read the remaining
31830 regions. For each one, if reading full region results in an errors,
31831 @value{GDBN} will try to read a subset of the region.
31832
31833 In general, every single byte in the region may be readable or not,
31834 and the only way to read every readable byte is to try a read at
31835 every address, which is not practical. Therefore, @value{GDBN} will
31836 attempt to read all accessible bytes at either beginning or the end
31837 of the region, using a binary division scheme. This heuristic works
31838 well for reading accross a memory map boundary. Note that if a region
31839 has a readable range that is neither at the beginning or the end,
31840 @value{GDBN} will not read it.
31841
31842 The result record (@pxref{GDB/MI Result Records}) that is output of
31843 the command includes a field named @samp{memory} whose content is a
31844 list of tuples. Each tuple represent a successfully read memory block
31845 and has the following fields:
31846
31847 @table @code
31848 @item begin
31849 The start address of the memory block, as hexadecimal literal.
31850
31851 @item end
31852 The end address of the memory block, as hexadecimal literal.
31853
31854 @item offset
31855 The offset of the memory block, as hexadecimal literal, relative to
31856 the start address passed to @code{-data-read-memory-bytes}.
31857
31858 @item contents
31859 The contents of the memory block, in hex.
31860
31861 @end table
31862
31863
31864
31865 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31866
31867 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{x}.
31868
31869 @subsubheading Example
31870
31871 @smallexample
31872 (gdb)
31873 -data-read-memory-bytes &a 10
31874 ^done,memory=[@{begin="0xbffff154",offset="0x00000000",
31875 end="0xbffff15e",
31876 contents="01000000020000000300"@}]
31877 (gdb)
31878 @end smallexample
31879
31880
31881 @subheading The @code{-data-write-memory-bytes} Command
31882 @findex -data-write-memory-bytes
31883
31884 @subsubheading Synopsis
31885
31886 @smallexample
31887 -data-write-memory-bytes @var{address} @var{contents}
31888 -data-write-memory-bytes @var{address} @var{contents} @r{[}@var{count}@r{]}
31889 @end smallexample
31890
31891 @noindent
31892 where:
31893
31894 @table @samp
31895 @item @var{address}
31896 An expression specifying the address of the first memory word to be
31897 read. Complex expressions containing embedded white space should be
31898 quoted using the C convention.
31899
31900 @item @var{contents}
31901 The hex-encoded bytes to write.
31902
31903 @item @var{count}
31904 Optional argument indicating the number of bytes to be written. If @var{count}
31905 is greater than @var{contents}' length, @value{GDBN} will repeatedly
31906 write @var{contents} until it fills @var{count} bytes.
31907
31908 @end table
31909
31910 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
31911
31912 There's no corresponding @value{GDBN} command.
31913
31914 @subsubheading Example
31915
31916 @smallexample
31917 (gdb)
31918 -data-write-memory-bytes &a "aabbccdd"
31919 ^done
31920 (gdb)
31921 @end smallexample
31922
31923 @smallexample
31924 (gdb)
31925 -data-write-memory-bytes &a "aabbccdd" 16e
31926 ^done
31927 (gdb)
31928 @end smallexample
31929
31930 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
31931 @node GDB/MI Tracepoint Commands
31932 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Tracepoint Commands
31933
31934 The commands defined in this section implement MI support for
31935 tracepoints. For detailed introduction, see @ref{Tracepoints}.
31936
31937 @subheading The @code{-trace-find} Command
31938 @findex -trace-find
31939
31940 @subsubheading Synopsis
31941
31942 @smallexample
31943 -trace-find @var{mode} [@var{parameters}@dots{}]
31944 @end smallexample
31945
31946 Find a trace frame using criteria defined by @var{mode} and
31947 @var{parameters}. The following table lists permissible
31948 modes and their parameters. For details of operation, see @ref{tfind}.
31949
31950 @table @samp
31951
31952 @item none
31953 No parameters are required. Stops examining trace frames.
31954
31955 @item frame-number
31956 An integer is required as parameter. Selects tracepoint frame with
31957 that index.
31958
31959 @item tracepoint-number
31960 An integer is required as parameter. Finds next
31961 trace frame that corresponds to tracepoint with the specified number.
31962
31963 @item pc
31964 An address is required as parameter. Finds
31965 next trace frame that corresponds to any tracepoint at the specified
31966 address.
31967
31968 @item pc-inside-range
31969 Two addresses are required as parameters. Finds next trace
31970 frame that corresponds to a tracepoint at an address inside the
31971 specified range. Both bounds are considered to be inside the range.
31972
31973 @item pc-outside-range
31974 Two addresses are required as parameters. Finds
31975 next trace frame that corresponds to a tracepoint at an address outside
31976 the specified range. Both bounds are considered to be inside the range.
31977
31978 @item line
31979 Line specification is required as parameter. @xref{Specify Location}.
31980 Finds next trace frame that corresponds to a tracepoint at
31981 the specified location.
31982
31983 @end table
31984
31985 If @samp{none} was passed as @var{mode}, the response does not
31986 have fields. Otherwise, the response may have the following fields:
31987
31988 @table @samp
31989 @item found
31990 This field has either @samp{0} or @samp{1} as the value, depending
31991 on whether a matching tracepoint was found.
31992
31993 @item traceframe
31994 The index of the found traceframe. This field is present iff
31995 the @samp{found} field has value of @samp{1}.
31996
31997 @item tracepoint
31998 The index of the found tracepoint. This field is present iff
31999 the @samp{found} field has value of @samp{1}.
32000
32001 @item frame
32002 The information about the frame corresponding to the found trace
32003 frame. This field is present only if a trace frame was found.
32004 @xref{GDB/MI Frame Information}, for description of this field.
32005
32006 @end table
32007
32008 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32009
32010 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tfind}.
32011
32012 @subheading -trace-define-variable
32013 @findex -trace-define-variable
32014
32015 @subsubheading Synopsis
32016
32017 @smallexample
32018 -trace-define-variable @var{name} [ @var{value} ]
32019 @end smallexample
32020
32021 Create trace variable @var{name} if it does not exist. If
32022 @var{value} is specified, sets the initial value of the specified
32023 trace variable to that value. Note that the @var{name} should start
32024 with the @samp{$} character.
32025
32026 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32027
32028 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tvariable}.
32029
32030 @subheading -trace-list-variables
32031 @findex -trace-list-variables
32032
32033 @subsubheading Synopsis
32034
32035 @smallexample
32036 -trace-list-variables
32037 @end smallexample
32038
32039 Return a table of all defined trace variables. Each element of the
32040 table has the following fields:
32041
32042 @table @samp
32043 @item name
32044 The name of the trace variable. This field is always present.
32045
32046 @item initial
32047 The initial value. This is a 64-bit signed integer. This
32048 field is always present.
32049
32050 @item current
32051 The value the trace variable has at the moment. This is a 64-bit
32052 signed integer. This field is absent iff current value is
32053 not defined, for example if the trace was never run, or is
32054 presently running.
32055
32056 @end table
32057
32058 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32059
32060 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tvariables}.
32061
32062 @subsubheading Example
32063
32064 @smallexample
32065 (gdb)
32066 -trace-list-variables
32067 ^done,trace-variables=@{nr_rows="1",nr_cols="3",
32068 hdr=[@{width="15",alignment="-1",col_name="name",colhdr="Name"@},
32069 @{width="11",alignment="-1",col_name="initial",colhdr="Initial"@},
32070 @{width="11",alignment="-1",col_name="current",colhdr="Current"@}],
32071 body=[variable=@{name="$trace_timestamp",initial="0"@}
32072 variable=@{name="$foo",initial="10",current="15"@}]@}
32073 (gdb)
32074 @end smallexample
32075
32076 @subheading -trace-save
32077 @findex -trace-save
32078
32079 @subsubheading Synopsis
32080
32081 @smallexample
32082 -trace-save [-r ] @var{filename}
32083 @end smallexample
32084
32085 Saves the collected trace data to @var{filename}. Without the
32086 @samp{-r} option, the data is downloaded from the target and saved
32087 in a local file. With the @samp{-r} option the target is asked
32088 to perform the save.
32089
32090 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32091
32092 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tsave}.
32093
32094
32095 @subheading -trace-start
32096 @findex -trace-start
32097
32098 @subsubheading Synopsis
32099
32100 @smallexample
32101 -trace-start
32102 @end smallexample
32103
32104 Starts a tracing experiments. The result of this command does not
32105 have any fields.
32106
32107 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32108
32109 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tstart}.
32110
32111 @subheading -trace-status
32112 @findex -trace-status
32113
32114 @subsubheading Synopsis
32115
32116 @smallexample
32117 -trace-status
32118 @end smallexample
32119
32120 Obtains the status of a tracing experiment. The result may include
32121 the following fields:
32122
32123 @table @samp
32124
32125 @item supported
32126 May have a value of either @samp{0}, when no tracing operations are
32127 supported, @samp{1}, when all tracing operations are supported, or
32128 @samp{file} when examining trace file. In the latter case, examining
32129 of trace frame is possible but new tracing experiement cannot be
32130 started. This field is always present.
32131
32132 @item running
32133 May have a value of either @samp{0} or @samp{1} depending on whether
32134 tracing experiement is in progress on target. This field is present
32135 if @samp{supported} field is not @samp{0}.
32136
32137 @item stop-reason
32138 Report the reason why the tracing was stopped last time. This field
32139 may be absent iff tracing was never stopped on target yet. The
32140 value of @samp{request} means the tracing was stopped as result of
32141 the @code{-trace-stop} command. The value of @samp{overflow} means
32142 the tracing buffer is full. The value of @samp{disconnection} means
32143 tracing was automatically stopped when @value{GDBN} has disconnected.
32144 The value of @samp{passcount} means tracing was stopped when a
32145 tracepoint was passed a maximal number of times for that tracepoint.
32146 This field is present if @samp{supported} field is not @samp{0}.
32147
32148 @item stopping-tracepoint
32149 The number of tracepoint whose passcount as exceeded. This field is
32150 present iff the @samp{stop-reason} field has the value of
32151 @samp{passcount}.
32152
32153 @item frames
32154 @itemx frames-created
32155 The @samp{frames} field is a count of the total number of trace frames
32156 in the trace buffer, while @samp{frames-created} is the total created
32157 during the run, including ones that were discarded, such as when a
32158 circular trace buffer filled up. Both fields are optional.
32159
32160 @item buffer-size
32161 @itemx buffer-free
32162 These fields tell the current size of the tracing buffer and the
32163 remaining space. These fields are optional.
32164
32165 @item circular
32166 The value of the circular trace buffer flag. @code{1} means that the
32167 trace buffer is circular and old trace frames will be discarded if
32168 necessary to make room, @code{0} means that the trace buffer is linear
32169 and may fill up.
32170
32171 @item disconnected
32172 The value of the disconnected tracing flag. @code{1} means that
32173 tracing will continue after @value{GDBN} disconnects, @code{0} means
32174 that the trace run will stop.
32175
32176 @item trace-file
32177 The filename of the trace file being examined. This field is
32178 optional, and only present when examining a trace file.
32179
32180 @end table
32181
32182 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32183
32184 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tstatus}.
32185
32186 @subheading -trace-stop
32187 @findex -trace-stop
32188
32189 @subsubheading Synopsis
32190
32191 @smallexample
32192 -trace-stop
32193 @end smallexample
32194
32195 Stops a tracing experiment. The result of this command has the same
32196 fields as @code{-trace-status}, except that the @samp{supported} and
32197 @samp{running} fields are not output.
32198
32199 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32200
32201 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{tstop}.
32202
32203
32204 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
32205 @node GDB/MI Symbol Query
32206 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Symbol Query Commands
32207
32208
32209 @ignore
32210 @subheading The @code{-symbol-info-address} Command
32211 @findex -symbol-info-address
32212
32213 @subsubheading Synopsis
32214
32215 @smallexample
32216 -symbol-info-address @var{symbol}
32217 @end smallexample
32218
32219 Describe where @var{symbol} is stored.
32220
32221 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32222
32223 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info address}.
32224
32225 @subsubheading Example
32226 N.A.
32227
32228
32229 @subheading The @code{-symbol-info-file} Command
32230 @findex -symbol-info-file
32231
32232 @subsubheading Synopsis
32233
32234 @smallexample
32235 -symbol-info-file
32236 @end smallexample
32237
32238 Show the file for the symbol.
32239
32240 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32241
32242 There's no equivalent @value{GDBN} command. @code{gdbtk} has
32243 @samp{gdb_find_file}.
32244
32245 @subsubheading Example
32246 N.A.
32247
32248
32249 @subheading The @code{-symbol-info-function} Command
32250 @findex -symbol-info-function
32251
32252 @subsubheading Synopsis
32253
32254 @smallexample
32255 -symbol-info-function
32256 @end smallexample
32257
32258 Show which function the symbol lives in.
32259
32260 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32261
32262 @samp{gdb_get_function} in @code{gdbtk}.
32263
32264 @subsubheading Example
32265 N.A.
32266
32267
32268 @subheading The @code{-symbol-info-line} Command
32269 @findex -symbol-info-line
32270
32271 @subsubheading Synopsis
32272
32273 @smallexample
32274 -symbol-info-line
32275 @end smallexample
32276
32277 Show the core addresses of the code for a source line.
32278
32279 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32280
32281 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info line}.
32282 @code{gdbtk} has the @samp{gdb_get_line} and @samp{gdb_get_file} commands.
32283
32284 @subsubheading Example
32285 N.A.
32286
32287
32288 @subheading The @code{-symbol-info-symbol} Command
32289 @findex -symbol-info-symbol
32290
32291 @subsubheading Synopsis
32292
32293 @smallexample
32294 -symbol-info-symbol @var{addr}
32295 @end smallexample
32296
32297 Describe what symbol is at location @var{addr}.
32298
32299 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32300
32301 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info symbol}.
32302
32303 @subsubheading Example
32304 N.A.
32305
32306
32307 @subheading The @code{-symbol-list-functions} Command
32308 @findex -symbol-list-functions
32309
32310 @subsubheading Synopsis
32311
32312 @smallexample
32313 -symbol-list-functions
32314 @end smallexample
32315
32316 List the functions in the executable.
32317
32318 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32319
32320 @samp{info functions} in @value{GDBN}, @samp{gdb_listfunc} and
32321 @samp{gdb_search} in @code{gdbtk}.
32322
32323 @subsubheading Example
32324 N.A.
32325 @end ignore
32326
32327
32328 @subheading The @code{-symbol-list-lines} Command
32329 @findex -symbol-list-lines
32330
32331 @subsubheading Synopsis
32332
32333 @smallexample
32334 -symbol-list-lines @var{filename}
32335 @end smallexample
32336
32337 Print the list of lines that contain code and their associated program
32338 addresses for the given source filename. The entries are sorted in
32339 ascending PC order.
32340
32341 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32342
32343 There is no corresponding @value{GDBN} command.
32344
32345 @subsubheading Example
32346 @smallexample
32347 (gdb)
32348 -symbol-list-lines basics.c
32349 ^done,lines=[@{pc="0x08048554",line="7"@},@{pc="0x0804855a",line="8"@}]
32350 (gdb)
32351 @end smallexample
32352
32353
32354 @ignore
32355 @subheading The @code{-symbol-list-types} Command
32356 @findex -symbol-list-types
32357
32358 @subsubheading Synopsis
32359
32360 @smallexample
32361 -symbol-list-types
32362 @end smallexample
32363
32364 List all the type names.
32365
32366 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32367
32368 The corresponding commands are @samp{info types} in @value{GDBN},
32369 @samp{gdb_search} in @code{gdbtk}.
32370
32371 @subsubheading Example
32372 N.A.
32373
32374
32375 @subheading The @code{-symbol-list-variables} Command
32376 @findex -symbol-list-variables
32377
32378 @subsubheading Synopsis
32379
32380 @smallexample
32381 -symbol-list-variables
32382 @end smallexample
32383
32384 List all the global and static variable names.
32385
32386 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32387
32388 @samp{info variables} in @value{GDBN}, @samp{gdb_search} in @code{gdbtk}.
32389
32390 @subsubheading Example
32391 N.A.
32392
32393
32394 @subheading The @code{-symbol-locate} Command
32395 @findex -symbol-locate
32396
32397 @subsubheading Synopsis
32398
32399 @smallexample
32400 -symbol-locate
32401 @end smallexample
32402
32403 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32404
32405 @samp{gdb_loc} in @code{gdbtk}.
32406
32407 @subsubheading Example
32408 N.A.
32409
32410
32411 @subheading The @code{-symbol-type} Command
32412 @findex -symbol-type
32413
32414 @subsubheading Synopsis
32415
32416 @smallexample
32417 -symbol-type @var{variable}
32418 @end smallexample
32419
32420 Show type of @var{variable}.
32421
32422 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32423
32424 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{ptype}, @code{gdbtk} has
32425 @samp{gdb_obj_variable}.
32426
32427 @subsubheading Example
32428 N.A.
32429 @end ignore
32430
32431
32432 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
32433 @node GDB/MI File Commands
32434 @section @sc{gdb/mi} File Commands
32435
32436 This section describes the GDB/MI commands to specify executable file names
32437 and to read in and obtain symbol table information.
32438
32439 @subheading The @code{-file-exec-and-symbols} Command
32440 @findex -file-exec-and-symbols
32441
32442 @subsubheading Synopsis
32443
32444 @smallexample
32445 -file-exec-and-symbols @var{file}
32446 @end smallexample
32447
32448 Specify the executable file to be debugged. This file is the one from
32449 which the symbol table is also read. If no file is specified, the
32450 command clears the executable and symbol information. If breakpoints
32451 are set when using this command with no arguments, @value{GDBN} will produce
32452 error messages. Otherwise, no output is produced, except a completion
32453 notification.
32454
32455 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32456
32457 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{file}.
32458
32459 @subsubheading Example
32460
32461 @smallexample
32462 (gdb)
32463 -file-exec-and-symbols /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/TRUNK/mbx/hello.mbx
32464 ^done
32465 (gdb)
32466 @end smallexample
32467
32468
32469 @subheading The @code{-file-exec-file} Command
32470 @findex -file-exec-file
32471
32472 @subsubheading Synopsis
32473
32474 @smallexample
32475 -file-exec-file @var{file}
32476 @end smallexample
32477
32478 Specify the executable file to be debugged. Unlike
32479 @samp{-file-exec-and-symbols}, the symbol table is @emph{not} read
32480 from this file. If used without argument, @value{GDBN} clears the information
32481 about the executable file. No output is produced, except a completion
32482 notification.
32483
32484 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32485
32486 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{exec-file}.
32487
32488 @subsubheading Example
32489
32490 @smallexample
32491 (gdb)
32492 -file-exec-file /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/TRUNK/mbx/hello.mbx
32493 ^done
32494 (gdb)
32495 @end smallexample
32496
32497
32498 @ignore
32499 @subheading The @code{-file-list-exec-sections} Command
32500 @findex -file-list-exec-sections
32501
32502 @subsubheading Synopsis
32503
32504 @smallexample
32505 -file-list-exec-sections
32506 @end smallexample
32507
32508 List the sections of the current executable file.
32509
32510 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32511
32512 The @value{GDBN} command @samp{info file} shows, among the rest, the same
32513 information as this command. @code{gdbtk} has a corresponding command
32514 @samp{gdb_load_info}.
32515
32516 @subsubheading Example
32517 N.A.
32518 @end ignore
32519
32520
32521 @subheading The @code{-file-list-exec-source-file} Command
32522 @findex -file-list-exec-source-file
32523
32524 @subsubheading Synopsis
32525
32526 @smallexample
32527 -file-list-exec-source-file
32528 @end smallexample
32529
32530 List the line number, the current source file, and the absolute path
32531 to the current source file for the current executable. The macro
32532 information field has a value of @samp{1} or @samp{0} depending on
32533 whether or not the file includes preprocessor macro information.
32534
32535 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32536
32537 The @value{GDBN} equivalent is @samp{info source}
32538
32539 @subsubheading Example
32540
32541 @smallexample
32542 (gdb)
32543 123-file-list-exec-source-file
32544 123^done,line="1",file="foo.c",fullname="/home/bar/foo.c,macro-info="1"
32545 (gdb)
32546 @end smallexample
32547
32548
32549 @subheading The @code{-file-list-exec-source-files} Command
32550 @findex -file-list-exec-source-files
32551
32552 @subsubheading Synopsis
32553
32554 @smallexample
32555 -file-list-exec-source-files
32556 @end smallexample
32557
32558 List the source files for the current executable.
32559
32560 It will always output both the filename and fullname (absolute file
32561 name) of a source file.
32562
32563 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32564
32565 The @value{GDBN} equivalent is @samp{info sources}.
32566 @code{gdbtk} has an analogous command @samp{gdb_listfiles}.
32567
32568 @subsubheading Example
32569 @smallexample
32570 (gdb)
32571 -file-list-exec-source-files
32572 ^done,files=[
32573 @{file=foo.c,fullname=/home/foo.c@},
32574 @{file=/home/bar.c,fullname=/home/bar.c@},
32575 @{file=gdb_could_not_find_fullpath.c@}]
32576 (gdb)
32577 @end smallexample
32578
32579 @ignore
32580 @subheading The @code{-file-list-shared-libraries} Command
32581 @findex -file-list-shared-libraries
32582
32583 @subsubheading Synopsis
32584
32585 @smallexample
32586 -file-list-shared-libraries
32587 @end smallexample
32588
32589 List the shared libraries in the program.
32590
32591 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32592
32593 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info shared}.
32594
32595 @subsubheading Example
32596 N.A.
32597
32598
32599 @subheading The @code{-file-list-symbol-files} Command
32600 @findex -file-list-symbol-files
32601
32602 @subsubheading Synopsis
32603
32604 @smallexample
32605 -file-list-symbol-files
32606 @end smallexample
32607
32608 List symbol files.
32609
32610 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32611
32612 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info file} (part of it).
32613
32614 @subsubheading Example
32615 N.A.
32616 @end ignore
32617
32618
32619 @subheading The @code{-file-symbol-file} Command
32620 @findex -file-symbol-file
32621
32622 @subsubheading Synopsis
32623
32624 @smallexample
32625 -file-symbol-file @var{file}
32626 @end smallexample
32627
32628 Read symbol table info from the specified @var{file} argument. When
32629 used without arguments, clears @value{GDBN}'s symbol table info. No output is
32630 produced, except for a completion notification.
32631
32632 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32633
32634 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{symbol-file}.
32635
32636 @subsubheading Example
32637
32638 @smallexample
32639 (gdb)
32640 -file-symbol-file /kwikemart/marge/ezannoni/TRUNK/mbx/hello.mbx
32641 ^done
32642 (gdb)
32643 @end smallexample
32644
32645 @ignore
32646 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
32647 @node GDB/MI Memory Overlay Commands
32648 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Memory Overlay Commands
32649
32650 The memory overlay commands are not implemented.
32651
32652 @c @subheading -overlay-auto
32653
32654 @c @subheading -overlay-list-mapping-state
32655
32656 @c @subheading -overlay-list-overlays
32657
32658 @c @subheading -overlay-map
32659
32660 @c @subheading -overlay-off
32661
32662 @c @subheading -overlay-on
32663
32664 @c @subheading -overlay-unmap
32665
32666 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
32667 @node GDB/MI Signal Handling Commands
32668 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Signal Handling Commands
32669
32670 Signal handling commands are not implemented.
32671
32672 @c @subheading -signal-handle
32673
32674 @c @subheading -signal-list-handle-actions
32675
32676 @c @subheading -signal-list-signal-types
32677 @end ignore
32678
32679
32680 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
32681 @node GDB/MI Target Manipulation
32682 @section @sc{gdb/mi} Target Manipulation Commands
32683
32684
32685 @subheading The @code{-target-attach} Command
32686 @findex -target-attach
32687
32688 @subsubheading Synopsis
32689
32690 @smallexample
32691 -target-attach @var{pid} | @var{gid} | @var{file}
32692 @end smallexample
32693
32694 Attach to a process @var{pid} or a file @var{file} outside of
32695 @value{GDBN}, or a thread group @var{gid}. If attaching to a thread
32696 group, the id previously returned by
32697 @samp{-list-thread-groups --available} must be used.
32698
32699 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32700
32701 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{attach}.
32702
32703 @subsubheading Example
32704 @smallexample
32705 (gdb)
32706 -target-attach 34
32707 =thread-created,id="1"
32708 *stopped,thread-id="1",frame=@{addr="0xb7f7e410",func="bar",args=[]@}
32709 ^done
32710 (gdb)
32711 @end smallexample
32712
32713 @ignore
32714 @subheading The @code{-target-compare-sections} Command
32715 @findex -target-compare-sections
32716
32717 @subsubheading Synopsis
32718
32719 @smallexample
32720 -target-compare-sections [ @var{section} ]
32721 @end smallexample
32722
32723 Compare data of section @var{section} on target to the exec file.
32724 Without the argument, all sections are compared.
32725
32726 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32727
32728 The @value{GDBN} equivalent is @samp{compare-sections}.
32729
32730 @subsubheading Example
32731 N.A.
32732 @end ignore
32733
32734
32735 @subheading The @code{-target-detach} Command
32736 @findex -target-detach
32737
32738 @subsubheading Synopsis
32739
32740 @smallexample
32741 -target-detach [ @var{pid} | @var{gid} ]
32742 @end smallexample
32743
32744 Detach from the remote target which normally resumes its execution.
32745 If either @var{pid} or @var{gid} is specified, detaches from either
32746 the specified process, or specified thread group. There's no output.
32747
32748 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32749
32750 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{detach}.
32751
32752 @subsubheading Example
32753
32754 @smallexample
32755 (gdb)
32756 -target-detach
32757 ^done
32758 (gdb)
32759 @end smallexample
32760
32761
32762 @subheading The @code{-target-disconnect} Command
32763 @findex -target-disconnect
32764
32765 @subsubheading Synopsis
32766
32767 @smallexample
32768 -target-disconnect
32769 @end smallexample
32770
32771 Disconnect from the remote target. There's no output and the target is
32772 generally not resumed.
32773
32774 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32775
32776 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{disconnect}.
32777
32778 @subsubheading Example
32779
32780 @smallexample
32781 (gdb)
32782 -target-disconnect
32783 ^done
32784 (gdb)
32785 @end smallexample
32786
32787
32788 @subheading The @code{-target-download} Command
32789 @findex -target-download
32790
32791 @subsubheading Synopsis
32792
32793 @smallexample
32794 -target-download
32795 @end smallexample
32796
32797 Loads the executable onto the remote target.
32798 It prints out an update message every half second, which includes the fields:
32799
32800 @table @samp
32801 @item section
32802 The name of the section.
32803 @item section-sent
32804 The size of what has been sent so far for that section.
32805 @item section-size
32806 The size of the section.
32807 @item total-sent
32808 The total size of what was sent so far (the current and the previous sections).
32809 @item total-size
32810 The size of the overall executable to download.
32811 @end table
32812
32813 @noindent
32814 Each message is sent as status record (@pxref{GDB/MI Output Syntax, ,
32815 @sc{gdb/mi} Output Syntax}).
32816
32817 In addition, it prints the name and size of the sections, as they are
32818 downloaded. These messages include the following fields:
32819
32820 @table @samp
32821 @item section
32822 The name of the section.
32823 @item section-size
32824 The size of the section.
32825 @item total-size
32826 The size of the overall executable to download.
32827 @end table
32828
32829 @noindent
32830 At the end, a summary is printed.
32831
32832 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32833
32834 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{load}.
32835
32836 @subsubheading Example
32837
32838 Note: each status message appears on a single line. Here the messages
32839 have been broken down so that they can fit onto a page.
32840
32841 @smallexample
32842 (gdb)
32843 -target-download
32844 +download,@{section=".text",section-size="6668",total-size="9880"@}
32845 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="512",section-size="6668",
32846 total-sent="512",total-size="9880"@}
32847 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="1024",section-size="6668",
32848 total-sent="1024",total-size="9880"@}
32849 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="1536",section-size="6668",
32850 total-sent="1536",total-size="9880"@}
32851 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="2048",section-size="6668",
32852 total-sent="2048",total-size="9880"@}
32853 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="2560",section-size="6668",
32854 total-sent="2560",total-size="9880"@}
32855 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="3072",section-size="6668",
32856 total-sent="3072",total-size="9880"@}
32857 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="3584",section-size="6668",
32858 total-sent="3584",total-size="9880"@}
32859 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="4096",section-size="6668",
32860 total-sent="4096",total-size="9880"@}
32861 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="4608",section-size="6668",
32862 total-sent="4608",total-size="9880"@}
32863 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="5120",section-size="6668",
32864 total-sent="5120",total-size="9880"@}
32865 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="5632",section-size="6668",
32866 total-sent="5632",total-size="9880"@}
32867 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="6144",section-size="6668",
32868 total-sent="6144",total-size="9880"@}
32869 +download,@{section=".text",section-sent="6656",section-size="6668",
32870 total-sent="6656",total-size="9880"@}
32871 +download,@{section=".init",section-size="28",total-size="9880"@}
32872 +download,@{section=".fini",section-size="28",total-size="9880"@}
32873 +download,@{section=".data",section-size="3156",total-size="9880"@}
32874 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="512",section-size="3156",
32875 total-sent="7236",total-size="9880"@}
32876 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="1024",section-size="3156",
32877 total-sent="7748",total-size="9880"@}
32878 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="1536",section-size="3156",
32879 total-sent="8260",total-size="9880"@}
32880 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="2048",section-size="3156",
32881 total-sent="8772",total-size="9880"@}
32882 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="2560",section-size="3156",
32883 total-sent="9284",total-size="9880"@}
32884 +download,@{section=".data",section-sent="3072",section-size="3156",
32885 total-sent="9796",total-size="9880"@}
32886 ^done,address="0x10004",load-size="9880",transfer-rate="6586",
32887 write-rate="429"
32888 (gdb)
32889 @end smallexample
32890
32891
32892 @ignore
32893 @subheading The @code{-target-exec-status} Command
32894 @findex -target-exec-status
32895
32896 @subsubheading Synopsis
32897
32898 @smallexample
32899 -target-exec-status
32900 @end smallexample
32901
32902 Provide information on the state of the target (whether it is running or
32903 not, for instance).
32904
32905 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32906
32907 There's no equivalent @value{GDBN} command.
32908
32909 @subsubheading Example
32910 N.A.
32911
32912
32913 @subheading The @code{-target-list-available-targets} Command
32914 @findex -target-list-available-targets
32915
32916 @subsubheading Synopsis
32917
32918 @smallexample
32919 -target-list-available-targets
32920 @end smallexample
32921
32922 List the possible targets to connect to.
32923
32924 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32925
32926 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{help target}.
32927
32928 @subsubheading Example
32929 N.A.
32930
32931
32932 @subheading The @code{-target-list-current-targets} Command
32933 @findex -target-list-current-targets
32934
32935 @subsubheading Synopsis
32936
32937 @smallexample
32938 -target-list-current-targets
32939 @end smallexample
32940
32941 Describe the current target.
32942
32943 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32944
32945 The corresponding information is printed by @samp{info file} (among
32946 other things).
32947
32948 @subsubheading Example
32949 N.A.
32950
32951
32952 @subheading The @code{-target-list-parameters} Command
32953 @findex -target-list-parameters
32954
32955 @subsubheading Synopsis
32956
32957 @smallexample
32958 -target-list-parameters
32959 @end smallexample
32960
32961 @c ????
32962 @end ignore
32963
32964 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
32965
32966 No equivalent.
32967
32968 @subsubheading Example
32969 N.A.
32970
32971
32972 @subheading The @code{-target-select} Command
32973 @findex -target-select
32974
32975 @subsubheading Synopsis
32976
32977 @smallexample
32978 -target-select @var{type} @var{parameters @dots{}}
32979 @end smallexample
32980
32981 Connect @value{GDBN} to the remote target. This command takes two args:
32982
32983 @table @samp
32984 @item @var{type}
32985 The type of target, for instance @samp{remote}, etc.
32986 @item @var{parameters}
32987 Device names, host names and the like. @xref{Target Commands, ,
32988 Commands for Managing Targets}, for more details.
32989 @end table
32990
32991 The output is a connection notification, followed by the address at
32992 which the target program is, in the following form:
32993
32994 @smallexample
32995 ^connected,addr="@var{address}",func="@var{function name}",
32996 args=[@var{arg list}]
32997 @end smallexample
32998
32999 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
33000
33001 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{target}.
33002
33003 @subsubheading Example
33004
33005 @smallexample
33006 (gdb)
33007 -target-select remote /dev/ttya
33008 ^connected,addr="0xfe00a300",func="??",args=[]
33009 (gdb)
33010 @end smallexample
33011
33012 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
33013 @node GDB/MI File Transfer Commands
33014 @section @sc{gdb/mi} File Transfer Commands
33015
33016
33017 @subheading The @code{-target-file-put} Command
33018 @findex -target-file-put
33019
33020 @subsubheading Synopsis
33021
33022 @smallexample
33023 -target-file-put @var{hostfile} @var{targetfile}
33024 @end smallexample
33025
33026 Copy file @var{hostfile} from the host system (the machine running
33027 @value{GDBN}) to @var{targetfile} on the target system.
33028
33029 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
33030
33031 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{remote put}.
33032
33033 @subsubheading Example
33034
33035 @smallexample
33036 (gdb)
33037 -target-file-put localfile remotefile
33038 ^done
33039 (gdb)
33040 @end smallexample
33041
33042
33043 @subheading The @code{-target-file-get} Command
33044 @findex -target-file-get
33045
33046 @subsubheading Synopsis
33047
33048 @smallexample
33049 -target-file-get @var{targetfile} @var{hostfile}
33050 @end smallexample
33051
33052 Copy file @var{targetfile} from the target system to @var{hostfile}
33053 on the host system.
33054
33055 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
33056
33057 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{remote get}.
33058
33059 @subsubheading Example
33060
33061 @smallexample
33062 (gdb)
33063 -target-file-get remotefile localfile
33064 ^done
33065 (gdb)
33066 @end smallexample
33067
33068
33069 @subheading The @code{-target-file-delete} Command
33070 @findex -target-file-delete
33071
33072 @subsubheading Synopsis
33073
33074 @smallexample
33075 -target-file-delete @var{targetfile}
33076 @end smallexample
33077
33078 Delete @var{targetfile} from the target system.
33079
33080 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
33081
33082 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{remote delete}.
33083
33084 @subsubheading Example
33085
33086 @smallexample
33087 (gdb)
33088 -target-file-delete remotefile
33089 ^done
33090 (gdb)
33091 @end smallexample
33092
33093
33094 @c %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SECTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
33095 @node GDB/MI Miscellaneous Commands
33096 @section Miscellaneous @sc{gdb/mi} Commands
33097
33098 @c @subheading -gdb-complete
33099
33100 @subheading The @code{-gdb-exit} Command
33101 @findex -gdb-exit
33102
33103 @subsubheading Synopsis
33104
33105 @smallexample
33106 -gdb-exit
33107 @end smallexample
33108
33109 Exit @value{GDBN} immediately.
33110
33111 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
33112
33113 Approximately corresponds to @samp{quit}.
33114
33115 @subsubheading Example
33116
33117 @smallexample
33118 (gdb)
33119 -gdb-exit
33120 ^exit
33121 @end smallexample
33122
33123
33124 @ignore
33125 @subheading The @code{-exec-abort} Command
33126 @findex -exec-abort
33127
33128 @subsubheading Synopsis
33129
33130 @smallexample
33131 -exec-abort
33132 @end smallexample
33133
33134 Kill the inferior running program.
33135
33136 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
33137
33138 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{kill}.
33139
33140 @subsubheading Example
33141 N.A.
33142 @end ignore
33143
33144
33145 @subheading The @code{-gdb-set} Command
33146 @findex -gdb-set
33147
33148 @subsubheading Synopsis
33149
33150 @smallexample
33151 -gdb-set
33152 @end smallexample
33153
33154 Set an internal @value{GDBN} variable.
33155 @c IS THIS A DOLLAR VARIABLE? OR SOMETHING LIKE ANNOTATE ?????
33156
33157 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
33158
33159 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{set}.
33160
33161 @subsubheading Example
33162
33163 @smallexample
33164 (gdb)
33165 -gdb-set $foo=3
33166 ^done
33167 (gdb)
33168 @end smallexample
33169
33170
33171 @subheading The @code{-gdb-show} Command
33172 @findex -gdb-show
33173
33174 @subsubheading Synopsis
33175
33176 @smallexample
33177 -gdb-show
33178 @end smallexample
33179
33180 Show the current value of a @value{GDBN} variable.
33181
33182 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
33183
33184 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{show}.
33185
33186 @subsubheading Example
33187
33188 @smallexample
33189 (gdb)
33190 -gdb-show annotate
33191 ^done,value="0"
33192 (gdb)
33193 @end smallexample
33194
33195 @c @subheading -gdb-source
33196
33197
33198 @subheading The @code{-gdb-version} Command
33199 @findex -gdb-version
33200
33201 @subsubheading Synopsis
33202
33203 @smallexample
33204 -gdb-version
33205 @end smallexample
33206
33207 Show version information for @value{GDBN}. Used mostly in testing.
33208
33209 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
33210
33211 The @value{GDBN} equivalent is @samp{show version}. @value{GDBN} by
33212 default shows this information when you start an interactive session.
33213
33214 @subsubheading Example
33215
33216 @c This example modifies the actual output from GDB to avoid overfull
33217 @c box in TeX.
33218 @smallexample
33219 (gdb)
33220 -gdb-version
33221 ~GNU gdb 5.2.1
33222 ~Copyright 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
33223 ~GDB is free software, covered by the GNU General Public License, and
33224 ~you are welcome to change it and/or distribute copies of it under
33225 ~ certain conditions.
33226 ~Type "show copying" to see the conditions.
33227 ~There is absolutely no warranty for GDB. Type "show warranty" for
33228 ~ details.
33229 ~This GDB was configured as
33230 "--host=sparc-sun-solaris2.5.1 --target=ppc-eabi".
33231 ^done
33232 (gdb)
33233 @end smallexample
33234
33235 @subheading The @code{-list-features} Command
33236 @findex -list-features
33237
33238 Returns a list of particular features of the MI protocol that
33239 this version of gdb implements. A feature can be a command,
33240 or a new field in an output of some command, or even an
33241 important bugfix. While a frontend can sometimes detect presence
33242 of a feature at runtime, it is easier to perform detection at debugger
33243 startup.
33244
33245 The command returns a list of strings, with each string naming an
33246 available feature. Each returned string is just a name, it does not
33247 have any internal structure. The list of possible feature names
33248 is given below.
33249
33250 Example output:
33251
33252 @smallexample
33253 (gdb) -list-features
33254 ^done,result=["feature1","feature2"]
33255 @end smallexample
33256
33257 The current list of features is:
33258
33259 @table @samp
33260 @item frozen-varobjs
33261 Indicates support for the @code{-var-set-frozen} command, as well
33262 as possible presense of the @code{frozen} field in the output
33263 of @code{-varobj-create}.
33264 @item pending-breakpoints
33265 Indicates support for the @option{-f} option to the @code{-break-insert}
33266 command.
33267 @item python
33268 Indicates Python scripting support, Python-based
33269 pretty-printing commands, and possible presence of the
33270 @samp{display_hint} field in the output of @code{-var-list-children}
33271 @item thread-info
33272 Indicates support for the @code{-thread-info} command.
33273 @item data-read-memory-bytes
33274 Indicates support for the @code{-data-read-memory-bytes} and the
33275 @code{-data-write-memory-bytes} commands.
33276 @item breakpoint-notifications
33277 Indicates that changes to breakpoints and breakpoints created via the
33278 CLI will be announced via async records.
33279 @item ada-task-info
33280 Indicates support for the @code{-ada-task-info} command.
33281 @end table
33282
33283 @subheading The @code{-list-target-features} Command
33284 @findex -list-target-features
33285
33286 Returns a list of particular features that are supported by the
33287 target. Those features affect the permitted MI commands, but
33288 unlike the features reported by the @code{-list-features} command, the
33289 features depend on which target GDB is using at the moment. Whenever
33290 a target can change, due to commands such as @code{-target-select},
33291 @code{-target-attach} or @code{-exec-run}, the list of target features
33292 may change, and the frontend should obtain it again.
33293 Example output:
33294
33295 @smallexample
33296 (gdb) -list-features
33297 ^done,result=["async"]
33298 @end smallexample
33299
33300 The current list of features is:
33301
33302 @table @samp
33303 @item async
33304 Indicates that the target is capable of asynchronous command
33305 execution, which means that @value{GDBN} will accept further commands
33306 while the target is running.
33307
33308 @item reverse
33309 Indicates that the target is capable of reverse execution.
33310 @xref{Reverse Execution}, for more information.
33311
33312 @end table
33313
33314 @subheading The @code{-list-thread-groups} Command
33315 @findex -list-thread-groups
33316
33317 @subheading Synopsis
33318
33319 @smallexample
33320 -list-thread-groups [ --available ] [ --recurse 1 ] [ @var{group} ... ]
33321 @end smallexample
33322
33323 Lists thread groups (@pxref{Thread groups}). When a single thread
33324 group is passed as the argument, lists the children of that group.
33325 When several thread group are passed, lists information about those
33326 thread groups. Without any parameters, lists information about all
33327 top-level thread groups.
33328
33329 Normally, thread groups that are being debugged are reported.
33330 With the @samp{--available} option, @value{GDBN} reports thread groups
33331 available on the target.
33332
33333 The output of this command may have either a @samp{threads} result or
33334 a @samp{groups} result. The @samp{thread} result has a list of tuples
33335 as value, with each tuple describing a thread (@pxref{GDB/MI Thread
33336 Information}). The @samp{groups} result has a list of tuples as value,
33337 each tuple describing a thread group. If top-level groups are
33338 requested (that is, no parameter is passed), or when several groups
33339 are passed, the output always has a @samp{groups} result. The format
33340 of the @samp{group} result is described below.
33341
33342 To reduce the number of roundtrips it's possible to list thread groups
33343 together with their children, by passing the @samp{--recurse} option
33344 and the recursion depth. Presently, only recursion depth of 1 is
33345 permitted. If this option is present, then every reported thread group
33346 will also include its children, either as @samp{group} or
33347 @samp{threads} field.
33348
33349 In general, any combination of option and parameters is permitted, with
33350 the following caveats:
33351
33352 @itemize @bullet
33353 @item
33354 When a single thread group is passed, the output will typically
33355 be the @samp{threads} result. Because threads may not contain
33356 anything, the @samp{recurse} option will be ignored.
33357
33358 @item
33359 When the @samp{--available} option is passed, limited information may
33360 be available. In particular, the list of threads of a process might
33361 be inaccessible. Further, specifying specific thread groups might
33362 not give any performance advantage over listing all thread groups.
33363 The frontend should assume that @samp{-list-thread-groups --available}
33364 is always an expensive operation and cache the results.
33365
33366 @end itemize
33367
33368 The @samp{groups} result is a list of tuples, where each tuple may
33369 have the following fields:
33370
33371 @table @code
33372 @item id
33373 Identifier of the thread group. This field is always present.
33374 The identifier is an opaque string; frontends should not try to
33375 convert it to an integer, even though it might look like one.
33376
33377 @item type
33378 The type of the thread group. At present, only @samp{process} is a
33379 valid type.
33380
33381 @item pid
33382 The target-specific process identifier. This field is only present
33383 for thread groups of type @samp{process} and only if the process exists.
33384
33385 @item num_children
33386 The number of children this thread group has. This field may be
33387 absent for an available thread group.
33388
33389 @item threads
33390 This field has a list of tuples as value, each tuple describing a
33391 thread. It may be present if the @samp{--recurse} option is
33392 specified, and it's actually possible to obtain the threads.
33393
33394 @item cores
33395 This field is a list of integers, each identifying a core that one
33396 thread of the group is running on. This field may be absent if
33397 such information is not available.
33398
33399 @item executable
33400 The name of the executable file that corresponds to this thread group.
33401 The field is only present for thread groups of type @samp{process},
33402 and only if there is a corresponding executable file.
33403
33404 @end table
33405
33406 @subheading Example
33407
33408 @smallexample
33409 @value{GDBP}
33410 -list-thread-groups
33411 ^done,groups=[@{id="17",type="process",pid="yyy",num_children="2"@}]
33412 -list-thread-groups 17
33413 ^done,threads=[@{id="2",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90 (LWP 21257)",
33414 frame=@{level="0",addr="0xffffe410",func="__kernel_vsyscall",args=[]@},state="running"@},
33415 @{id="1",target-id="Thread 0xb7e156b0 (LWP 21254)",
33416 frame=@{level="0",addr="0x0804891f",func="foo",args=[@{name="i",value="10"@}],
33417 file="/tmp/a.c",fullname="/tmp/a.c",line="158"@},state="running"@}]]
33418 -list-thread-groups --available
33419 ^done,groups=[@{id="17",type="process",pid="yyy",num_children="2",cores=[1,2]@}]
33420 -list-thread-groups --available --recurse 1
33421 ^done,groups=[@{id="17", types="process",pid="yyy",num_children="2",cores=[1,2],
33422 threads=[@{id="1",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90",cores=[1]@},
33423 @{id="2",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90",cores=[2]@}]@},..]
33424 -list-thread-groups --available --recurse 1 17 18
33425 ^done,groups=[@{id="17", types="process",pid="yyy",num_children="2",cores=[1,2],
33426 threads=[@{id="1",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90",cores=[1]@},
33427 @{id="2",target-id="Thread 0xb7e14b90",cores=[2]@}]@},...]
33428 @end smallexample
33429
33430 @subheading The @code{-info-os} Command
33431 @findex -info-os
33432
33433 @subsubheading Synopsis
33434
33435 @smallexample
33436 -info-os [ @var{type} ]
33437 @end smallexample
33438
33439 If no argument is supplied, the command returns a table of available
33440 operating-system-specific information types. If one of these types is
33441 supplied as an argument @var{type}, then the command returns a table
33442 of data of that type.
33443
33444 The types of information available depend on the target operating
33445 system.
33446
33447 @subsubheading @value{GDBN} Command
33448
33449 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{info os}.
33450
33451 @subsubheading Example
33452
33453 When run on a @sc{gnu}/Linux system, the output will look something
33454 like this:
33455
33456 @smallexample
33457 @value{GDBP}
33458 -info-os
33459 ^done,OSDataTable=@{nr_rows="9",nr_cols="3",
33460 hdr=[@{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="col0",colhdr="Type"@},
33461 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="col1",colhdr="Description"@},
33462 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="col2",colhdr="Title"@}],
33463 body=[item=@{col0="processes",col1="Listing of all processes",
33464 col2="Processes"@},
33465 item=@{col0="procgroups",col1="Listing of all process groups",
33466 col2="Process groups"@},
33467 item=@{col0="threads",col1="Listing of all threads",
33468 col2="Threads"@},
33469 item=@{col0="files",col1="Listing of all file descriptors",
33470 col2="File descriptors"@},
33471 item=@{col0="sockets",col1="Listing of all internet-domain sockets",
33472 col2="Sockets"@},
33473 item=@{col0="shm",col1="Listing of all shared-memory regions",
33474 col2="Shared-memory regions"@},
33475 item=@{col0="semaphores",col1="Listing of all semaphores",
33476 col2="Semaphores"@},
33477 item=@{col0="msg",col1="Listing of all message queues",
33478 col2="Message queues"@},
33479 item=@{col0="modules",col1="Listing of all loaded kernel modules",
33480 col2="Kernel modules"@}]@}
33481 @value{GDBP}
33482 -info-os processes
33483 ^done,OSDataTable=@{nr_rows="190",nr_cols="4",
33484 hdr=[@{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="col0",colhdr="pid"@},
33485 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="col1",colhdr="user"@},
33486 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="col2",colhdr="command"@},
33487 @{width="10",alignment="-1",col_name="col3",colhdr="cores"@}],
33488 body=[item=@{col0="1",col1="root",col2="/sbin/init",col3="0"@},
33489 item=@{col0="2",col1="root",col2="[kthreadd]",col3="1"@},
33490 item=@{col0="3",col1="root",col2="[ksoftirqd/0]",col3="0"@},
33491 ...
33492 item=@{col0="26446",col1="stan",col2="bash",col3="0"@},
33493 item=@{col0="28152",col1="stan",col2="bash",col3="1"@}]@}
33494 (gdb)
33495 @end smallexample
33496
33497 (Note that the MI output here includes a @code{"Title"} column that
33498 does not appear in command-line @code{info os}; this column is useful
33499 for MI clients that want to enumerate the types of data, such as in a
33500 popup menu, but is needless clutter on the command line, and
33501 @code{info os} omits it.)
33502
33503 @subheading The @code{-add-inferior} Command
33504 @findex -add-inferior
33505
33506 @subheading Synopsis
33507
33508 @smallexample
33509 -add-inferior
33510 @end smallexample
33511
33512 Creates a new inferior (@pxref{Inferiors and Programs}). The created
33513 inferior is not associated with any executable. Such association may
33514 be established with the @samp{-file-exec-and-symbols} command
33515 (@pxref{GDB/MI File Commands}). The command response has a single
33516 field, @samp{thread-group}, whose value is the identifier of the
33517 thread group corresponding to the new inferior.
33518
33519 @subheading Example
33520
33521 @smallexample
33522 @value{GDBP}
33523 -add-inferior
33524 ^done,thread-group="i3"
33525 @end smallexample
33526
33527 @subheading The @code{-interpreter-exec} Command
33528 @findex -interpreter-exec
33529
33530 @subheading Synopsis
33531
33532 @smallexample
33533 -interpreter-exec @var{interpreter} @var{command}
33534 @end smallexample
33535 @anchor{-interpreter-exec}
33536
33537 Execute the specified @var{command} in the given @var{interpreter}.
33538
33539 @subheading @value{GDBN} Command
33540
33541 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{interpreter-exec}.
33542
33543 @subheading Example
33544
33545 @smallexample
33546 (gdb)
33547 -interpreter-exec console "break main"
33548 &"During symbol reading, couldn't parse type; debugger out of date?.\n"
33549 &"During symbol reading, bad structure-type format.\n"
33550 ~"Breakpoint 1 at 0x8074fc6: file ../../src/gdb/main.c, line 743.\n"
33551 ^done
33552 (gdb)
33553 @end smallexample
33554
33555 @subheading The @code{-inferior-tty-set} Command
33556 @findex -inferior-tty-set
33557
33558 @subheading Synopsis
33559
33560 @smallexample
33561 -inferior-tty-set /dev/pts/1
33562 @end smallexample
33563
33564 Set terminal for future runs of the program being debugged.
33565
33566 @subheading @value{GDBN} Command
33567
33568 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{set inferior-tty} /dev/pts/1.
33569
33570 @subheading Example
33571
33572 @smallexample
33573 (gdb)
33574 -inferior-tty-set /dev/pts/1
33575 ^done
33576 (gdb)
33577 @end smallexample
33578
33579 @subheading The @code{-inferior-tty-show} Command
33580 @findex -inferior-tty-show
33581
33582 @subheading Synopsis
33583
33584 @smallexample
33585 -inferior-tty-show
33586 @end smallexample
33587
33588 Show terminal for future runs of program being debugged.
33589
33590 @subheading @value{GDBN} Command
33591
33592 The corresponding @value{GDBN} command is @samp{show inferior-tty}.
33593
33594 @subheading Example
33595
33596 @smallexample
33597 (gdb)
33598 -inferior-tty-set /dev/pts/1
33599 ^done
33600 (gdb)
33601 -inferior-tty-show
33602 ^done,inferior_tty_terminal="/dev/pts/1"
33603 (gdb)
33604 @end smallexample
33605
33606 @subheading The @code{-enable-timings} Command
33607 @findex -enable-timings
33608
33609 @subheading Synopsis
33610
33611 @smallexample
33612 -enable-timings [yes | no]
33613 @end smallexample
33614
33615 Toggle the printing of the wallclock, user and system times for an MI
33616 command as a field in its output. This command is to help frontend
33617 developers optimize the performance of their code. No argument is
33618 equivalent to @samp{yes}.
33619
33620 @subheading @value{GDBN} Command
33621
33622 No equivalent.
33623
33624 @subheading Example
33625
33626 @smallexample
33627 (gdb)
33628 -enable-timings
33629 ^done
33630 (gdb)
33631 -break-insert main
33632 ^done,bkpt=@{number="1",type="breakpoint",disp="keep",enabled="y",
33633 addr="0x080484ed",func="main",file="myprog.c",
33634 fullname="/home/nickrob/myprog.c",line="73",thread-groups=["i1"],
33635 times="0"@},
33636 time=@{wallclock="0.05185",user="0.00800",system="0.00000"@}
33637 (gdb)
33638 -enable-timings no
33639 ^done
33640 (gdb)
33641 -exec-run
33642 ^running
33643 (gdb)
33644 *stopped,reason="breakpoint-hit",disp="keep",bkptno="1",thread-id="0",
33645 frame=@{addr="0x080484ed",func="main",args=[@{name="argc",value="1"@},
33646 @{name="argv",value="0xbfb60364"@}],file="myprog.c",
33647 fullname="/home/nickrob/myprog.c",line="73"@}
33648 (gdb)
33649 @end smallexample
33650
33651 @node Annotations
33652 @chapter @value{GDBN} Annotations
33653
33654 This chapter describes annotations in @value{GDBN}. Annotations were
33655 designed to interface @value{GDBN} to graphical user interfaces or other
33656 similar programs which want to interact with @value{GDBN} at a
33657 relatively high level.
33658
33659 The annotation mechanism has largely been superseded by @sc{gdb/mi}
33660 (@pxref{GDB/MI}).
33661
33662 @ignore
33663 This is Edition @value{EDITION}, @value{DATE}.
33664 @end ignore
33665
33666 @menu
33667 * Annotations Overview:: What annotations are; the general syntax.
33668 * Server Prefix:: Issuing a command without affecting user state.
33669 * Prompting:: Annotations marking @value{GDBN}'s need for input.
33670 * Errors:: Annotations for error messages.
33671 * Invalidation:: Some annotations describe things now invalid.
33672 * Annotations for Running::
33673 Whether the program is running, how it stopped, etc.
33674 * Source Annotations:: Annotations describing source code.
33675 @end menu
33676
33677 @node Annotations Overview
33678 @section What is an Annotation?
33679 @cindex annotations
33680
33681 Annotations start with a newline character, two @samp{control-z}
33682 characters, and the name of the annotation. If there is no additional
33683 information associated with this annotation, the name of the annotation
33684 is followed immediately by a newline. If there is additional
33685 information, the name of the annotation is followed by a space, the
33686 additional information, and a newline. The additional information
33687 cannot contain newline characters.
33688
33689 Any output not beginning with a newline and two @samp{control-z}
33690 characters denotes literal output from @value{GDBN}. Currently there is
33691 no need for @value{GDBN} to output a newline followed by two
33692 @samp{control-z} characters, but if there was such a need, the
33693 annotations could be extended with an @samp{escape} annotation which
33694 means those three characters as output.
33695
33696 The annotation @var{level}, which is specified using the
33697 @option{--annotate} command line option (@pxref{Mode Options}), controls
33698 how much information @value{GDBN} prints together with its prompt,
33699 values of expressions, source lines, and other types of output. Level 0
33700 is for no annotations, level 1 is for use when @value{GDBN} is run as a
33701 subprocess of @sc{gnu} Emacs, level 3 is the maximum annotation suitable
33702 for programs that control @value{GDBN}, and level 2 annotations have
33703 been made obsolete (@pxref{Limitations, , Limitations of the Annotation
33704 Interface, annotate, GDB's Obsolete Annotations}).
33705
33706 @table @code
33707 @kindex set annotate
33708 @item set annotate @var{level}
33709 The @value{GDBN} command @code{set annotate} sets the level of
33710 annotations to the specified @var{level}.
33711
33712 @item show annotate
33713 @kindex show annotate
33714 Show the current annotation level.
33715 @end table
33716
33717 This chapter describes level 3 annotations.
33718
33719 A simple example of starting up @value{GDBN} with annotations is:
33720
33721 @smallexample
33722 $ @kbd{gdb --annotate=3}
33723 GNU gdb 6.0
33724 Copyright 2003 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
33725 GDB is free software, covered by the GNU General Public License,
33726 and you are welcome to change it and/or distribute copies of it
33727 under certain conditions.
33728 Type "show copying" to see the conditions.
33729 There is absolutely no warranty for GDB. Type "show warranty"
33730 for details.
33731 This GDB was configured as "i386-pc-linux-gnu"
33732
33733 ^Z^Zpre-prompt
33734 (@value{GDBP})
33735 ^Z^Zprompt
33736 @kbd{quit}
33737
33738 ^Z^Zpost-prompt
33739 $
33740 @end smallexample
33741
33742 Here @samp{quit} is input to @value{GDBN}; the rest is output from
33743 @value{GDBN}. The three lines beginning @samp{^Z^Z} (where @samp{^Z}
33744 denotes a @samp{control-z} character) are annotations; the rest is
33745 output from @value{GDBN}.
33746
33747 @node Server Prefix
33748 @section The Server Prefix
33749 @cindex server prefix
33750
33751 If you prefix a command with @samp{server } then it will not affect
33752 the command history, nor will it affect @value{GDBN}'s notion of which
33753 command to repeat if @key{RET} is pressed on a line by itself. This
33754 means that commands can be run behind a user's back by a front-end in
33755 a transparent manner.
33756
33757 The @code{server } prefix does not affect the recording of values into
33758 the value history; to print a value without recording it into the
33759 value history, use the @code{output} command instead of the
33760 @code{print} command.
33761
33762 Using this prefix also disables confirmation requests
33763 (@pxref{confirmation requests}).
33764
33765 @node Prompting
33766 @section Annotation for @value{GDBN} Input
33767
33768 @cindex annotations for prompts
33769 When @value{GDBN} prompts for input, it annotates this fact so it is possible
33770 to know when to send output, when the output from a given command is
33771 over, etc.
33772
33773 Different kinds of input each have a different @dfn{input type}. Each
33774 input type has three annotations: a @code{pre-} annotation, which
33775 denotes the beginning of any prompt which is being output, a plain
33776 annotation, which denotes the end of the prompt, and then a @code{post-}
33777 annotation which denotes the end of any echo which may (or may not) be
33778 associated with the input. For example, the @code{prompt} input type
33779 features the following annotations:
33780
33781 @smallexample
33782 ^Z^Zpre-prompt
33783 ^Z^Zprompt
33784 ^Z^Zpost-prompt
33785 @end smallexample
33786
33787 The input types are
33788
33789 @table @code
33790 @findex pre-prompt annotation
33791 @findex prompt annotation
33792 @findex post-prompt annotation
33793 @item prompt
33794 When @value{GDBN} is prompting for a command (the main @value{GDBN} prompt).
33795
33796 @findex pre-commands annotation
33797 @findex commands annotation
33798 @findex post-commands annotation
33799 @item commands
33800 When @value{GDBN} prompts for a set of commands, like in the @code{commands}
33801 command. The annotations are repeated for each command which is input.
33802
33803 @findex pre-overload-choice annotation
33804 @findex overload-choice annotation
33805 @findex post-overload-choice annotation
33806 @item overload-choice
33807 When @value{GDBN} wants the user to select between various overloaded functions.
33808
33809 @findex pre-query annotation
33810 @findex query annotation
33811 @findex post-query annotation
33812 @item query
33813 When @value{GDBN} wants the user to confirm a potentially dangerous operation.
33814
33815 @findex pre-prompt-for-continue annotation
33816 @findex prompt-for-continue annotation
33817 @findex post-prompt-for-continue annotation
33818 @item prompt-for-continue
33819 When @value{GDBN} is asking the user to press return to continue. Note: Don't
33820 expect this to work well; instead use @code{set height 0} to disable
33821 prompting. This is because the counting of lines is buggy in the
33822 presence of annotations.
33823 @end table
33824
33825 @node Errors
33826 @section Errors
33827 @cindex annotations for errors, warnings and interrupts
33828
33829 @findex quit annotation
33830 @smallexample
33831 ^Z^Zquit
33832 @end smallexample
33833
33834 This annotation occurs right before @value{GDBN} responds to an interrupt.
33835
33836 @findex error annotation
33837 @smallexample
33838 ^Z^Zerror
33839 @end smallexample
33840
33841 This annotation occurs right before @value{GDBN} responds to an error.
33842
33843 Quit and error annotations indicate that any annotations which @value{GDBN} was
33844 in the middle of may end abruptly. For example, if a
33845 @code{value-history-begin} annotation is followed by a @code{error}, one
33846 cannot expect to receive the matching @code{value-history-end}. One
33847 cannot expect not to receive it either, however; an error annotation
33848 does not necessarily mean that @value{GDBN} is immediately returning all the way
33849 to the top level.
33850
33851 @findex error-begin annotation
33852 A quit or error annotation may be preceded by
33853
33854 @smallexample
33855 ^Z^Zerror-begin
33856 @end smallexample
33857
33858 Any output between that and the quit or error annotation is the error
33859 message.
33860
33861 Warning messages are not yet annotated.
33862 @c If we want to change that, need to fix warning(), type_error(),
33863 @c range_error(), and possibly other places.
33864
33865 @node Invalidation
33866 @section Invalidation Notices
33867
33868 @cindex annotations for invalidation messages
33869 The following annotations say that certain pieces of state may have
33870 changed.
33871
33872 @table @code
33873 @findex frames-invalid annotation
33874 @item ^Z^Zframes-invalid
33875
33876 The frames (for example, output from the @code{backtrace} command) may
33877 have changed.
33878
33879 @findex breakpoints-invalid annotation
33880 @item ^Z^Zbreakpoints-invalid
33881
33882 The breakpoints may have changed. For example, the user just added or
33883 deleted a breakpoint.
33884 @end table
33885
33886 @node Annotations for Running
33887 @section Running the Program
33888 @cindex annotations for running programs
33889
33890 @findex starting annotation
33891 @findex stopping annotation
33892 When the program starts executing due to a @value{GDBN} command such as
33893 @code{step} or @code{continue},
33894
33895 @smallexample
33896 ^Z^Zstarting
33897 @end smallexample
33898
33899 is output. When the program stops,
33900
33901 @smallexample
33902 ^Z^Zstopped
33903 @end smallexample
33904
33905 is output. Before the @code{stopped} annotation, a variety of
33906 annotations describe how the program stopped.
33907
33908 @table @code
33909 @findex exited annotation
33910 @item ^Z^Zexited @var{exit-status}
33911 The program exited, and @var{exit-status} is the exit status (zero for
33912 successful exit, otherwise nonzero).
33913
33914 @findex signalled annotation
33915 @findex signal-name annotation
33916 @findex signal-name-end annotation
33917 @findex signal-string annotation
33918 @findex signal-string-end annotation
33919 @item ^Z^Zsignalled
33920 The program exited with a signal. After the @code{^Z^Zsignalled}, the
33921 annotation continues:
33922
33923 @smallexample
33924 @var{intro-text}
33925 ^Z^Zsignal-name
33926 @var{name}
33927 ^Z^Zsignal-name-end
33928 @var{middle-text}
33929 ^Z^Zsignal-string
33930 @var{string}
33931 ^Z^Zsignal-string-end
33932 @var{end-text}
33933 @end smallexample
33934
33935 @noindent
33936 where @var{name} is the name of the signal, such as @code{SIGILL} or
33937 @code{SIGSEGV}, and @var{string} is the explanation of the signal, such
33938 as @code{Illegal Instruction} or @code{Segmentation fault}.
33939 @var{intro-text}, @var{middle-text}, and @var{end-text} are for the
33940 user's benefit and have no particular format.
33941
33942 @findex signal annotation
33943 @item ^Z^Zsignal
33944 The syntax of this annotation is just like @code{signalled}, but @value{GDBN} is
33945 just saying that the program received the signal, not that it was
33946 terminated with it.
33947
33948 @findex breakpoint annotation
33949 @item ^Z^Zbreakpoint @var{number}
33950 The program hit breakpoint number @var{number}.
33951
33952 @findex watchpoint annotation
33953 @item ^Z^Zwatchpoint @var{number}
33954 The program hit watchpoint number @var{number}.
33955 @end table
33956
33957 @node Source Annotations
33958 @section Displaying Source
33959 @cindex annotations for source display
33960
33961 @findex source annotation
33962 The following annotation is used instead of displaying source code:
33963
33964 @smallexample
33965 ^Z^Zsource @var{filename}:@var{line}:@var{character}:@var{middle}:@var{addr}
33966 @end smallexample
33967
33968 where @var{filename} is an absolute file name indicating which source
33969 file, @var{line} is the line number within that file (where 1 is the
33970 first line in the file), @var{character} is the character position
33971 within the file (where 0 is the first character in the file) (for most
33972 debug formats this will necessarily point to the beginning of a line),
33973 @var{middle} is @samp{middle} if @var{addr} is in the middle of the
33974 line, or @samp{beg} if @var{addr} is at the beginning of the line, and
33975 @var{addr} is the address in the target program associated with the
33976 source which is being displayed. @var{addr} is in the form @samp{0x}
33977 followed by one or more lowercase hex digits (note that this does not
33978 depend on the language).
33979
33980 @node JIT Interface
33981 @chapter JIT Compilation Interface
33982 @cindex just-in-time compilation
33983 @cindex JIT compilation interface
33984
33985 This chapter documents @value{GDBN}'s @dfn{just-in-time} (JIT) compilation
33986 interface. A JIT compiler is a program or library that generates native
33987 executable code at runtime and executes it, usually in order to achieve good
33988 performance while maintaining platform independence.
33989
33990 Programs that use JIT compilation are normally difficult to debug because
33991 portions of their code are generated at runtime, instead of being loaded from
33992 object files, which is where @value{GDBN} normally finds the program's symbols
33993 and debug information. In order to debug programs that use JIT compilation,
33994 @value{GDBN} has an interface that allows the program to register in-memory
33995 symbol files with @value{GDBN} at runtime.
33996
33997 If you are using @value{GDBN} to debug a program that uses this interface, then
33998 it should work transparently so long as you have not stripped the binary. If
33999 you are developing a JIT compiler, then the interface is documented in the rest
34000 of this chapter. At this time, the only known client of this interface is the
34001 LLVM JIT.
34002
34003 Broadly speaking, the JIT interface mirrors the dynamic loader interface. The
34004 JIT compiler communicates with @value{GDBN} by writing data into a global
34005 variable and calling a fuction at a well-known symbol. When @value{GDBN}
34006 attaches, it reads a linked list of symbol files from the global variable to
34007 find existing code, and puts a breakpoint in the function so that it can find
34008 out about additional code.
34009
34010 @menu
34011 * Declarations:: Relevant C struct declarations
34012 * Registering Code:: Steps to register code
34013 * Unregistering Code:: Steps to unregister code
34014 * Custom Debug Info:: Emit debug information in a custom format
34015 @end menu
34016
34017 @node Declarations
34018 @section JIT Declarations
34019
34020 These are the relevant struct declarations that a C program should include to
34021 implement the interface:
34022
34023 @smallexample
34024 typedef enum
34025 @{
34026 JIT_NOACTION = 0,
34027 JIT_REGISTER_FN,
34028 JIT_UNREGISTER_FN
34029 @} jit_actions_t;
34030
34031 struct jit_code_entry
34032 @{
34033 struct jit_code_entry *next_entry;
34034 struct jit_code_entry *prev_entry;
34035 const char *symfile_addr;
34036 uint64_t symfile_size;
34037 @};
34038
34039 struct jit_descriptor
34040 @{
34041 uint32_t version;
34042 /* This type should be jit_actions_t, but we use uint32_t
34043 to be explicit about the bitwidth. */
34044 uint32_t action_flag;
34045 struct jit_code_entry *relevant_entry;
34046 struct jit_code_entry *first_entry;
34047 @};
34048
34049 /* GDB puts a breakpoint in this function. */
34050 void __attribute__((noinline)) __jit_debug_register_code() @{ @};
34051
34052 /* Make sure to specify the version statically, because the
34053 debugger may check the version before we can set it. */
34054 struct jit_descriptor __jit_debug_descriptor = @{ 1, 0, 0, 0 @};
34055 @end smallexample
34056
34057 If the JIT is multi-threaded, then it is important that the JIT synchronize any
34058 modifications to this global data properly, which can easily be done by putting
34059 a global mutex around modifications to these structures.
34060
34061 @node Registering Code
34062 @section Registering Code
34063
34064 To register code with @value{GDBN}, the JIT should follow this protocol:
34065
34066 @itemize @bullet
34067 @item
34068 Generate an object file in memory with symbols and other desired debug
34069 information. The file must include the virtual addresses of the sections.
34070
34071 @item
34072 Create a code entry for the file, which gives the start and size of the symbol
34073 file.
34074
34075 @item
34076 Add it to the linked list in the JIT descriptor.
34077
34078 @item
34079 Point the relevant_entry field of the descriptor at the entry.
34080
34081 @item
34082 Set @code{action_flag} to @code{JIT_REGISTER} and call
34083 @code{__jit_debug_register_code}.
34084 @end itemize
34085
34086 When @value{GDBN} is attached and the breakpoint fires, @value{GDBN} uses the
34087 @code{relevant_entry} pointer so it doesn't have to walk the list looking for
34088 new code. However, the linked list must still be maintained in order to allow
34089 @value{GDBN} to attach to a running process and still find the symbol files.
34090
34091 @node Unregistering Code
34092 @section Unregistering Code
34093
34094 If code is freed, then the JIT should use the following protocol:
34095
34096 @itemize @bullet
34097 @item
34098 Remove the code entry corresponding to the code from the linked list.
34099
34100 @item
34101 Point the @code{relevant_entry} field of the descriptor at the code entry.
34102
34103 @item
34104 Set @code{action_flag} to @code{JIT_UNREGISTER} and call
34105 @code{__jit_debug_register_code}.
34106 @end itemize
34107
34108 If the JIT frees or recompiles code without unregistering it, then @value{GDBN}
34109 and the JIT will leak the memory used for the associated symbol files.
34110
34111 @node Custom Debug Info
34112 @section Custom Debug Info
34113 @cindex custom JIT debug info
34114 @cindex JIT debug info reader
34115
34116 Generating debug information in platform-native file formats (like ELF
34117 or COFF) may be an overkill for JIT compilers; especially if all the
34118 debug info is used for is displaying a meaningful backtrace. The
34119 issue can be resolved by having the JIT writers decide on a debug info
34120 format and also provide a reader that parses the debug info generated
34121 by the JIT compiler. This section gives a brief overview on writing
34122 such a parser. More specific details can be found in the source file
34123 @file{gdb/jit-reader.in}, which is also installed as a header at
34124 @file{@var{includedir}/gdb/jit-reader.h} for easy inclusion.
34125
34126 The reader is implemented as a shared object (so this functionality is
34127 not available on platforms which don't allow loading shared objects at
34128 runtime). Two @value{GDBN} commands, @code{jit-reader-load} and
34129 @code{jit-reader-unload} are provided, to be used to load and unload
34130 the readers from a preconfigured directory. Once loaded, the shared
34131 object is used the parse the debug information emitted by the JIT
34132 compiler.
34133
34134 @menu
34135 * Using JIT Debug Info Readers:: How to use supplied readers correctly
34136 * Writing JIT Debug Info Readers:: Creating a debug-info reader
34137 @end menu
34138
34139 @node Using JIT Debug Info Readers
34140 @subsection Using JIT Debug Info Readers
34141 @kindex jit-reader-load
34142 @kindex jit-reader-unload
34143
34144 Readers can be loaded and unloaded using the @code{jit-reader-load}
34145 and @code{jit-reader-unload} commands.
34146
34147 @table @code
34148 @item jit-reader-load @var{reader}
34149 Load the JIT reader named @var{reader}. @var{reader} is a shared
34150 object specified as either an absolute or a relative file name. In
34151 the latter case, @value{GDBN} will try to load the reader from a
34152 pre-configured directory, usually @file{@var{libdir}/gdb/} on a UNIX
34153 system (here @var{libdir} is the system library directory, often
34154 @file{/usr/local/lib}).
34155
34156 Only one reader can be active at a time; trying to load a second
34157 reader when one is already loaded will result in @value{GDBN}
34158 reporting an error. A new JIT reader can be loaded by first unloading
34159 the current one using @code{jit-reader-unload} and then invoking
34160 @code{jit-reader-load}.
34161
34162 @item jit-reader-unload
34163 Unload the currently loaded JIT reader.
34164
34165 @end table
34166
34167 @node Writing JIT Debug Info Readers
34168 @subsection Writing JIT Debug Info Readers
34169 @cindex writing JIT debug info readers
34170
34171 As mentioned, a reader is essentially a shared object conforming to a
34172 certain ABI. This ABI is described in @file{jit-reader.h}.
34173
34174 @file{jit-reader.h} defines the structures, macros and functions
34175 required to write a reader. It is installed (along with
34176 @value{GDBN}), in @file{@var{includedir}/gdb} where @var{includedir} is
34177 the system include directory.
34178
34179 Readers need to be released under a GPL compatible license. A reader
34180 can be declared as released under such a license by placing the macro
34181 @code{GDB_DECLARE_GPL_COMPATIBLE_READER} in a source file.
34182
34183 The entry point for readers is the symbol @code{gdb_init_reader},
34184 which is expected to be a function with the prototype
34185
34186 @findex gdb_init_reader
34187 @smallexample
34188 extern struct gdb_reader_funcs *gdb_init_reader (void);
34189 @end smallexample
34190
34191 @cindex @code{struct gdb_reader_funcs}
34192
34193 @code{struct gdb_reader_funcs} contains a set of pointers to callback
34194 functions. These functions are executed to read the debug info
34195 generated by the JIT compiler (@code{read}), to unwind stack frames
34196 (@code{unwind}) and to create canonical frame IDs
34197 (@code{get_Frame_id}). It also has a callback that is called when the
34198 reader is being unloaded (@code{destroy}). The struct looks like this
34199
34200 @smallexample
34201 struct gdb_reader_funcs
34202 @{
34203 /* Must be set to GDB_READER_INTERFACE_VERSION. */
34204 int reader_version;
34205
34206 /* For use by the reader. */
34207 void *priv_data;
34208
34209 gdb_read_debug_info *read;
34210 gdb_unwind_frame *unwind;
34211 gdb_get_frame_id *get_frame_id;
34212 gdb_destroy_reader *destroy;
34213 @};
34214 @end smallexample
34215
34216 @cindex @code{struct gdb_symbol_callbacks}
34217 @cindex @code{struct gdb_unwind_callbacks}
34218
34219 The callbacks are provided with another set of callbacks by
34220 @value{GDBN} to do their job. For @code{read}, these callbacks are
34221 passed in a @code{struct gdb_symbol_callbacks} and for @code{unwind}
34222 and @code{get_frame_id}, in a @code{struct gdb_unwind_callbacks}.
34223 @code{struct gdb_symbol_callbacks} has callbacks to create new object
34224 files and new symbol tables inside those object files. @code{struct
34225 gdb_unwind_callbacks} has callbacks to read registers off the current
34226 frame and to write out the values of the registers in the previous
34227 frame. Both have a callback (@code{target_read}) to read bytes off the
34228 target's address space.
34229
34230 @node In-Process Agent
34231 @chapter In-Process Agent
34232 @cindex debugging agent
34233 The traditional debugging model is conceptually low-speed, but works fine,
34234 because most bugs can be reproduced in debugging-mode execution. However,
34235 as multi-core or many-core processors are becoming mainstream, and
34236 multi-threaded programs become more and more popular, there should be more
34237 and more bugs that only manifest themselves at normal-mode execution, for
34238 example, thread races, because debugger's interference with the program's
34239 timing may conceal the bugs. On the other hand, in some applications,
34240 it is not feasible for the debugger to interrupt the program's execution
34241 long enough for the developer to learn anything helpful about its behavior.
34242 If the program's correctness depends on its real-time behavior, delays
34243 introduced by a debugger might cause the program to fail, even when the
34244 code itself is correct. It is useful to be able to observe the program's
34245 behavior without interrupting it.
34246
34247 Therefore, traditional debugging model is too intrusive to reproduce
34248 some bugs. In order to reduce the interference with the program, we can
34249 reduce the number of operations performed by debugger. The
34250 @dfn{In-Process Agent}, a shared library, is running within the same
34251 process with inferior, and is able to perform some debugging operations
34252 itself. As a result, debugger is only involved when necessary, and
34253 performance of debugging can be improved accordingly. Note that
34254 interference with program can be reduced but can't be removed completely,
34255 because the in-process agent will still stop or slow down the program.
34256
34257 The in-process agent can interpret and execute Agent Expressions
34258 (@pxref{Agent Expressions}) during performing debugging operations. The
34259 agent expressions can be used for different purposes, such as collecting
34260 data in tracepoints, and condition evaluation in breakpoints.
34261
34262 @anchor{Control Agent}
34263 You can control whether the in-process agent is used as an aid for
34264 debugging with the following commands:
34265
34266 @table @code
34267 @kindex set agent on
34268 @item set agent on
34269 Causes the in-process agent to perform some operations on behalf of the
34270 debugger. Just which operations requested by the user will be done
34271 by the in-process agent depends on the its capabilities. For example,
34272 if you request to evaluate breakpoint conditions in the in-process agent,
34273 and the in-process agent has such capability as well, then breakpoint
34274 conditions will be evaluated in the in-process agent.
34275
34276 @kindex set agent off
34277 @item set agent off
34278 Disables execution of debugging operations by the in-process agent. All
34279 of the operations will be performed by @value{GDBN}.
34280
34281 @kindex show agent
34282 @item show agent
34283 Display the current setting of execution of debugging operations by
34284 the in-process agent.
34285 @end table
34286
34287 @menu
34288 * In-Process Agent Protocol::
34289 @end menu
34290
34291 @node In-Process Agent Protocol
34292 @section In-Process Agent Protocol
34293 @cindex in-process agent protocol
34294
34295 The in-process agent is able to communicate with both @value{GDBN} and
34296 GDBserver (@pxref{In-Process Agent}). This section documents the protocol
34297 used for communications between @value{GDBN} or GDBserver and the IPA.
34298 In general, @value{GDBN} or GDBserver sends commands
34299 (@pxref{IPA Protocol Commands}) and data to in-process agent, and then
34300 in-process agent replies back with the return result of the command, or
34301 some other information. The data sent to in-process agent is composed
34302 of primitive data types, such as 4-byte or 8-byte type, and composite
34303 types, which are called objects (@pxref{IPA Protocol Objects}).
34304
34305 @menu
34306 * IPA Protocol Objects::
34307 * IPA Protocol Commands::
34308 @end menu
34309
34310 @node IPA Protocol Objects
34311 @subsection IPA Protocol Objects
34312 @cindex ipa protocol objects
34313
34314 The commands sent to and results received from agent may contain some
34315 complex data types called @dfn{objects}.
34316
34317 The in-process agent is running on the same machine with @value{GDBN}
34318 or GDBserver, so it doesn't have to handle as much differences between
34319 two ends as remote protocol (@pxref{Remote Protocol}) tries to handle.
34320 However, there are still some differences of two ends in two processes:
34321
34322 @enumerate
34323 @item
34324 word size. On some 64-bit machines, @value{GDBN} or GDBserver can be
34325 compiled as a 64-bit executable, while in-process agent is a 32-bit one.
34326 @item
34327 ABI. Some machines may have multiple types of ABI, @value{GDBN} or
34328 GDBserver is compiled with one, and in-process agent is compiled with
34329 the other one.
34330 @end enumerate
34331
34332 Here are the IPA Protocol Objects:
34333
34334 @enumerate
34335 @item
34336 agent expression object. It represents an agent expression
34337 (@pxref{Agent Expressions}).
34338 @anchor{agent expression object}
34339 @item
34340 tracepoint action object. It represents a tracepoint action
34341 (@pxref{Tracepoint Actions,,Tracepoint Action Lists}) to collect registers,
34342 memory, static trace data and to evaluate expression.
34343 @anchor{tracepoint action object}
34344 @item
34345 tracepoint object. It represents a tracepoint (@pxref{Tracepoints}).
34346 @anchor{tracepoint object}
34347
34348 @end enumerate
34349
34350 The following table describes important attributes of each IPA protocol
34351 object:
34352
34353 @multitable @columnfractions .30 .20 .50
34354 @headitem Name @tab Size @tab Description
34355 @item @emph{agent expression object} @tab @tab
34356 @item length @tab 4 @tab length of bytes code
34357 @item byte code @tab @var{length} @tab contents of byte code
34358 @item @emph{tracepoint action for collecting memory} @tab @tab
34359 @item 'M' @tab 1 @tab type of tracepoint action
34360 @item addr @tab 8 @tab if @var{basereg} is @samp{-1}, @var{addr} is the
34361 address of the lowest byte to collect, otherwise @var{addr} is the offset
34362 of @var{basereg} for memory collecting.
34363 @item len @tab 8 @tab length of memory for collecting
34364 @item basereg @tab 4 @tab the register number containing the starting
34365 memory address for collecting.
34366 @item @emph{tracepoint action for collecting registers} @tab @tab
34367 @item 'R' @tab 1 @tab type of tracepoint action
34368 @item @emph{tracepoint action for collecting static trace data} @tab @tab
34369 @item 'L' @tab 1 @tab type of tracepoint action
34370 @item @emph{tracepoint action for expression evaluation} @tab @tab
34371 @item 'X' @tab 1 @tab type of tracepoint action
34372 @item agent expression @tab length of @tab @ref{agent expression object}
34373 @item @emph{tracepoint object} @tab @tab
34374 @item number @tab 4 @tab number of tracepoint
34375 @item address @tab 8 @tab address of tracepoint inserted on
34376 @item type @tab 4 @tab type of tracepoint
34377 @item enabled @tab 1 @tab enable or disable of tracepoint
34378 @item step_count @tab 8 @tab step
34379 @item pass_count @tab 8 @tab pass
34380 @item numactions @tab 4 @tab number of tracepoint actions
34381 @item hit count @tab 8 @tab hit count
34382 @item trace frame usage @tab 8 @tab trace frame usage
34383 @item compiled_cond @tab 8 @tab compiled condition
34384 @item orig_size @tab 8 @tab orig size
34385 @item condition @tab 4 if condition is NULL otherwise length of
34386 @ref{agent expression object}
34387 @tab zero if condition is NULL, otherwise is
34388 @ref{agent expression object}
34389 @item actions @tab variable
34390 @tab numactions number of @ref{tracepoint action object}
34391 @end multitable
34392
34393 @node IPA Protocol Commands
34394 @subsection IPA Protocol Commands
34395 @cindex ipa protocol commands
34396
34397 The spaces in each command are delimiters to ease reading this commands
34398 specification. They don't exist in real commands.
34399
34400 @table @samp
34401
34402 @item FastTrace:@var{tracepoint_object} @var{gdb_jump_pad_head}
34403 Installs a new fast tracepoint described by @var{tracepoint_object}
34404 (@pxref{tracepoint object}). @var{gdb_jump_pad_head}, 8-byte long, is the
34405 head of @dfn{jumppad}, which is used to jump to data collection routine
34406 in IPA finally.
34407
34408 Replies:
34409 @table @samp
34410 @item OK @var{target_address} @var{gdb_jump_pad_head} @var{fjump_size} @var{fjump}
34411 @var{target_address} is address of tracepoint in the inferior.
34412 @var{gdb_jump_pad_head} is updated head of jumppad. Both of
34413 @var{target_address} and @var{gdb_jump_pad_head} are 8-byte long.
34414 @var{fjump} contains a sequence of instructions jump to jumppad entry.
34415 @var{fjump_size}, 4-byte long, is the size of @var{fjump}.
34416 @item E @var{NN}
34417 for an error
34418
34419 @end table
34420
34421 @item close
34422 Closes the in-process agent. This command is sent when @value{GDBN} or GDBserver
34423 is about to kill inferiors.
34424
34425 @item qTfSTM
34426 @xref{qTfSTM}.
34427 @item qTsSTM
34428 @xref{qTsSTM}.
34429 @item qTSTMat
34430 @xref{qTSTMat}.
34431 @item probe_marker_at:@var{address}
34432 Asks in-process agent to probe the marker at @var{address}.
34433
34434 Replies:
34435 @table @samp
34436 @item E @var{NN}
34437 for an error
34438 @end table
34439 @item unprobe_marker_at:@var{address}
34440 Asks in-process agent to unprobe the marker at @var{address}.
34441 @end table
34442
34443 @node GDB Bugs
34444 @chapter Reporting Bugs in @value{GDBN}
34445 @cindex bugs in @value{GDBN}
34446 @cindex reporting bugs in @value{GDBN}
34447
34448 Your bug reports play an essential role in making @value{GDBN} reliable.
34449
34450 Reporting a bug may help you by bringing a solution to your problem, or it
34451 may not. But in any case the principal function of a bug report is to help
34452 the entire community by making the next version of @value{GDBN} work better. Bug
34453 reports are your contribution to the maintenance of @value{GDBN}.
34454
34455 In order for a bug report to serve its purpose, you must include the
34456 information that enables us to fix the bug.
34457
34458 @menu
34459 * Bug Criteria:: Have you found a bug?
34460 * Bug Reporting:: How to report bugs
34461 @end menu
34462
34463 @node Bug Criteria
34464 @section Have You Found a Bug?
34465 @cindex bug criteria
34466
34467 If you are not sure whether you have found a bug, here are some guidelines:
34468
34469 @itemize @bullet
34470 @cindex fatal signal
34471 @cindex debugger crash
34472 @cindex crash of debugger
34473 @item
34474 If the debugger gets a fatal signal, for any input whatever, that is a
34475 @value{GDBN} bug. Reliable debuggers never crash.
34476
34477 @cindex error on valid input
34478 @item
34479 If @value{GDBN} produces an error message for valid input, that is a
34480 bug. (Note that if you're cross debugging, the problem may also be
34481 somewhere in the connection to the target.)
34482
34483 @cindex invalid input
34484 @item
34485 If @value{GDBN} does not produce an error message for invalid input,
34486 that is a bug. However, you should note that your idea of
34487 ``invalid input'' might be our idea of ``an extension'' or ``support
34488 for traditional practice''.
34489
34490 @item
34491 If you are an experienced user of debugging tools, your suggestions
34492 for improvement of @value{GDBN} are welcome in any case.
34493 @end itemize
34494
34495 @node Bug Reporting
34496 @section How to Report Bugs
34497 @cindex bug reports
34498 @cindex @value{GDBN} bugs, reporting
34499
34500 A number of companies and individuals offer support for @sc{gnu} products.
34501 If you obtained @value{GDBN} from a support organization, we recommend you
34502 contact that organization first.
34503
34504 You can find contact information for many support companies and
34505 individuals in the file @file{etc/SERVICE} in the @sc{gnu} Emacs
34506 distribution.
34507 @c should add a web page ref...
34508
34509 @ifset BUGURL
34510 @ifset BUGURL_DEFAULT
34511 In any event, we also recommend that you submit bug reports for
34512 @value{GDBN}. The preferred method is to submit them directly using
34513 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/bugs/, @value{GDBN}'s Bugs web
34514 page}. Alternatively, the @email{bug-gdb@@gnu.org, e-mail gateway} can
34515 be used.
34516
34517 @strong{Do not send bug reports to @samp{info-gdb}, or to
34518 @samp{help-gdb}, or to any newsgroups.} Most users of @value{GDBN} do
34519 not want to receive bug reports. Those that do have arranged to receive
34520 @samp{bug-gdb}.
34521
34522 The mailing list @samp{bug-gdb} has a newsgroup @samp{gnu.gdb.bug} which
34523 serves as a repeater. The mailing list and the newsgroup carry exactly
34524 the same messages. Often people think of posting bug reports to the
34525 newsgroup instead of mailing them. This appears to work, but it has one
34526 problem which can be crucial: a newsgroup posting often lacks a mail
34527 path back to the sender. Thus, if we need to ask for more information,
34528 we may be unable to reach you. For this reason, it is better to send
34529 bug reports to the mailing list.
34530 @end ifset
34531 @ifclear BUGURL_DEFAULT
34532 In any event, we also recommend that you submit bug reports for
34533 @value{GDBN} to @value{BUGURL}.
34534 @end ifclear
34535 @end ifset
34536
34537 The fundamental principle of reporting bugs usefully is this:
34538 @strong{report all the facts}. If you are not sure whether to state a
34539 fact or leave it out, state it!
34540
34541 Often people omit facts because they think they know what causes the
34542 problem and assume that some details do not matter. Thus, you might
34543 assume that the name of the variable you use in an example does not matter.
34544 Well, probably it does not, but one cannot be sure. Perhaps the bug is a
34545 stray memory reference which happens to fetch from the location where that
34546 name is stored in memory; perhaps, if the name were different, the contents
34547 of that location would fool the debugger into doing the right thing despite
34548 the bug. Play it safe and give a specific, complete example. That is the
34549 easiest thing for you to do, and the most helpful.
34550
34551 Keep in mind that the purpose of a bug report is to enable us to fix the
34552 bug. It may be that the bug has been reported previously, but neither
34553 you nor we can know that unless your bug report is complete and
34554 self-contained.
34555
34556 Sometimes people give a few sketchy facts and ask, ``Does this ring a
34557 bell?'' Those bug reports are useless, and we urge everyone to
34558 @emph{refuse to respond to them} except to chide the sender to report
34559 bugs properly.
34560
34561 To enable us to fix the bug, you should include all these things:
34562
34563 @itemize @bullet
34564 @item
34565 The version of @value{GDBN}. @value{GDBN} announces it if you start
34566 with no arguments; you can also print it at any time using @code{show
34567 version}.
34568
34569 Without this, we will not know whether there is any point in looking for
34570 the bug in the current version of @value{GDBN}.
34571
34572 @item
34573 The type of machine you are using, and the operating system name and
34574 version number.
34575
34576 @item
34577 What compiler (and its version) was used to compile @value{GDBN}---e.g.@:
34578 ``@value{GCC}--2.8.1''.
34579
34580 @item
34581 What compiler (and its version) was used to compile the program you are
34582 debugging---e.g.@: ``@value{GCC}--2.8.1'', or ``HP92453-01 A.10.32.03 HP
34583 C Compiler''. For @value{NGCC}, you can say @kbd{@value{GCC} --version}
34584 to get this information; for other compilers, see the documentation for
34585 those compilers.
34586
34587 @item
34588 The command arguments you gave the compiler to compile your example and
34589 observe the bug. For example, did you use @samp{-O}? To guarantee
34590 you will not omit something important, list them all. A copy of the
34591 Makefile (or the output from make) is sufficient.
34592
34593 If we were to try to guess the arguments, we would probably guess wrong
34594 and then we might not encounter the bug.
34595
34596 @item
34597 A complete input script, and all necessary source files, that will
34598 reproduce the bug.
34599
34600 @item
34601 A description of what behavior you observe that you believe is
34602 incorrect. For example, ``It gets a fatal signal.''
34603
34604 Of course, if the bug is that @value{GDBN} gets a fatal signal, then we
34605 will certainly notice it. But if the bug is incorrect output, we might
34606 not notice unless it is glaringly wrong. You might as well not give us
34607 a chance to make a mistake.
34608
34609 Even if the problem you experience is a fatal signal, you should still
34610 say so explicitly. Suppose something strange is going on, such as, your
34611 copy of @value{GDBN} is out of synch, or you have encountered a bug in
34612 the C library on your system. (This has happened!) Your copy might
34613 crash and ours would not. If you told us to expect a crash, then when
34614 ours fails to crash, we would know that the bug was not happening for
34615 us. If you had not told us to expect a crash, then we would not be able
34616 to draw any conclusion from our observations.
34617
34618 @pindex script
34619 @cindex recording a session script
34620 To collect all this information, you can use a session recording program
34621 such as @command{script}, which is available on many Unix systems.
34622 Just run your @value{GDBN} session inside @command{script} and then
34623 include the @file{typescript} file with your bug report.
34624
34625 Another way to record a @value{GDBN} session is to run @value{GDBN}
34626 inside Emacs and then save the entire buffer to a file.
34627
34628 @item
34629 If you wish to suggest changes to the @value{GDBN} source, send us context
34630 diffs. If you even discuss something in the @value{GDBN} source, refer to
34631 it by context, not by line number.
34632
34633 The line numbers in our development sources will not match those in your
34634 sources. Your line numbers would convey no useful information to us.
34635
34636 @end itemize
34637
34638 Here are some things that are not necessary:
34639
34640 @itemize @bullet
34641 @item
34642 A description of the envelope of the bug.
34643
34644 Often people who encounter a bug spend a lot of time investigating
34645 which changes to the input file will make the bug go away and which
34646 changes will not affect it.
34647
34648 This is often time consuming and not very useful, because the way we
34649 will find the bug is by running a single example under the debugger
34650 with breakpoints, not by pure deduction from a series of examples.
34651 We recommend that you save your time for something else.
34652
34653 Of course, if you can find a simpler example to report @emph{instead}
34654 of the original one, that is a convenience for us. Errors in the
34655 output will be easier to spot, running under the debugger will take
34656 less time, and so on.
34657
34658 However, simplification is not vital; if you do not want to do this,
34659 report the bug anyway and send us the entire test case you used.
34660
34661 @item
34662 A patch for the bug.
34663
34664 A patch for the bug does help us if it is a good one. But do not omit
34665 the necessary information, such as the test case, on the assumption that
34666 a patch is all we need. We might see problems with your patch and decide
34667 to fix the problem another way, or we might not understand it at all.
34668
34669 Sometimes with a program as complicated as @value{GDBN} it is very hard to
34670 construct an example that will make the program follow a certain path
34671 through the code. If you do not send us the example, we will not be able
34672 to construct one, so we will not be able to verify that the bug is fixed.
34673
34674 And if we cannot understand what bug you are trying to fix, or why your
34675 patch should be an improvement, we will not install it. A test case will
34676 help us to understand.
34677
34678 @item
34679 A guess about what the bug is or what it depends on.
34680
34681 Such guesses are usually wrong. Even we cannot guess right about such
34682 things without first using the debugger to find the facts.
34683 @end itemize
34684
34685 @c The readline documentation is distributed with the readline code
34686 @c and consists of the two following files:
34687 @c rluser.texi
34688 @c hsuser.texi
34689 @c Use -I with makeinfo to point to the appropriate directory,
34690 @c environment var TEXINPUTS with TeX.
34691 @ifclear SYSTEM_READLINE
34692 @include rluser.texi
34693 @include hsuser.texi
34694 @end ifclear
34695
34696 @node In Memoriam
34697 @appendix In Memoriam
34698
34699 The @value{GDBN} project mourns the loss of the following long-time
34700 contributors:
34701
34702 @table @code
34703 @item Fred Fish
34704 Fred was a long-standing contributor to @value{GDBN} (1991-2006), and
34705 to Free Software in general. Outside of @value{GDBN}, he was known in
34706 the Amiga world for his series of Fish Disks, and the GeekGadget project.
34707
34708 @item Michael Snyder
34709 Michael was one of the Global Maintainers of the @value{GDBN} project,
34710 with contributions recorded as early as 1996, until 2011. In addition
34711 to his day to day participation, he was a large driving force behind
34712 adding Reverse Debugging to @value{GDBN}.
34713 @end table
34714
34715 Beyond their technical contributions to the project, they were also
34716 enjoyable members of the Free Software Community. We will miss them.
34717
34718 @node Formatting Documentation
34719 @appendix Formatting Documentation
34720
34721 @cindex @value{GDBN} reference card
34722 @cindex reference card
34723 The @value{GDBN} 4 release includes an already-formatted reference card, ready
34724 for printing with PostScript or Ghostscript, in the @file{gdb}
34725 subdirectory of the main source directory@footnote{In
34726 @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}/gdb/refcard.ps} of the version @value{GDBVN}
34727 release.}. If you can use PostScript or Ghostscript with your printer,
34728 you can print the reference card immediately with @file{refcard.ps}.
34729
34730 The release also includes the source for the reference card. You
34731 can format it, using @TeX{}, by typing:
34732
34733 @smallexample
34734 make refcard.dvi
34735 @end smallexample
34736
34737 The @value{GDBN} reference card is designed to print in @dfn{landscape}
34738 mode on US ``letter'' size paper;
34739 that is, on a sheet 11 inches wide by 8.5 inches
34740 high. You will need to specify this form of printing as an option to
34741 your @sc{dvi} output program.
34742
34743 @cindex documentation
34744
34745 All the documentation for @value{GDBN} comes as part of the machine-readable
34746 distribution. The documentation is written in Texinfo format, which is
34747 a documentation system that uses a single source file to produce both
34748 on-line information and a printed manual. You can use one of the Info
34749 formatting commands to create the on-line version of the documentation
34750 and @TeX{} (or @code{texi2roff}) to typeset the printed version.
34751
34752 @value{GDBN} includes an already formatted copy of the on-line Info
34753 version of this manual in the @file{gdb} subdirectory. The main Info
34754 file is @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}/gdb/gdb.info}, and it refers to
34755 subordinate files matching @samp{gdb.info*} in the same directory. If
34756 necessary, you can print out these files, or read them with any editor;
34757 but they are easier to read using the @code{info} subsystem in @sc{gnu}
34758 Emacs or the standalone @code{info} program, available as part of the
34759 @sc{gnu} Texinfo distribution.
34760
34761 If you want to format these Info files yourself, you need one of the
34762 Info formatting programs, such as @code{texinfo-format-buffer} or
34763 @code{makeinfo}.
34764
34765 If you have @code{makeinfo} installed, and are in the top level
34766 @value{GDBN} source directory (@file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}}, in the case of
34767 version @value{GDBVN}), you can make the Info file by typing:
34768
34769 @smallexample
34770 cd gdb
34771 make gdb.info
34772 @end smallexample
34773
34774 If you want to typeset and print copies of this manual, you need @TeX{},
34775 a program to print its @sc{dvi} output files, and @file{texinfo.tex}, the
34776 Texinfo definitions file.
34777
34778 @TeX{} is a typesetting program; it does not print files directly, but
34779 produces output files called @sc{dvi} files. To print a typeset
34780 document, you need a program to print @sc{dvi} files. If your system
34781 has @TeX{} installed, chances are it has such a program. The precise
34782 command to use depends on your system; @kbd{lpr -d} is common; another
34783 (for PostScript devices) is @kbd{dvips}. The @sc{dvi} print command may
34784 require a file name without any extension or a @samp{.dvi} extension.
34785
34786 @TeX{} also requires a macro definitions file called
34787 @file{texinfo.tex}. This file tells @TeX{} how to typeset a document
34788 written in Texinfo format. On its own, @TeX{} cannot either read or
34789 typeset a Texinfo file. @file{texinfo.tex} is distributed with GDB
34790 and is located in the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}/texinfo}
34791 directory.
34792
34793 If you have @TeX{} and a @sc{dvi} printer program installed, you can
34794 typeset and print this manual. First switch to the @file{gdb}
34795 subdirectory of the main source directory (for example, to
34796 @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}/gdb}) and type:
34797
34798 @smallexample
34799 make gdb.dvi
34800 @end smallexample
34801
34802 Then give @file{gdb.dvi} to your @sc{dvi} printing program.
34803
34804 @node Installing GDB
34805 @appendix Installing @value{GDBN}
34806 @cindex installation
34807
34808 @menu
34809 * Requirements:: Requirements for building @value{GDBN}
34810 * Running Configure:: Invoking the @value{GDBN} @file{configure} script
34811 * Separate Objdir:: Compiling @value{GDBN} in another directory
34812 * Config Names:: Specifying names for hosts and targets
34813 * Configure Options:: Summary of options for configure
34814 * System-wide configuration:: Having a system-wide init file
34815 @end menu
34816
34817 @node Requirements
34818 @section Requirements for Building @value{GDBN}
34819 @cindex building @value{GDBN}, requirements for
34820
34821 Building @value{GDBN} requires various tools and packages to be available.
34822 Other packages will be used only if they are found.
34823
34824 @heading Tools/Packages Necessary for Building @value{GDBN}
34825 @table @asis
34826 @item ISO C90 compiler
34827 @value{GDBN} is written in ISO C90. It should be buildable with any
34828 working C90 compiler, e.g.@: GCC.
34829
34830 @end table
34831
34832 @heading Tools/Packages Optional for Building @value{GDBN}
34833 @table @asis
34834 @item Expat
34835 @anchor{Expat}
34836 @value{GDBN} can use the Expat XML parsing library. This library may be
34837 included with your operating system distribution; if it is not, you
34838 can get the latest version from @url{http://expat.sourceforge.net}.
34839 The @file{configure} script will search for this library in several
34840 standard locations; if it is installed in an unusual path, you can
34841 use the @option{--with-libexpat-prefix} option to specify its location.
34842
34843 Expat is used for:
34844
34845 @itemize @bullet
34846 @item
34847 Remote protocol memory maps (@pxref{Memory Map Format})
34848 @item
34849 Target descriptions (@pxref{Target Descriptions})
34850 @item
34851 Remote shared library lists (@xref{Library List Format},
34852 or alternatively @pxref{Library List Format for SVR4 Targets})
34853 @item
34854 MS-Windows shared libraries (@pxref{Shared Libraries})
34855 @item
34856 Traceframe info (@pxref{Traceframe Info Format})
34857 @item
34858 Branch trace (@pxref{Branch Trace Format})
34859 @end itemize
34860
34861 @item zlib
34862 @cindex compressed debug sections
34863 @value{GDBN} will use the @samp{zlib} library, if available, to read
34864 compressed debug sections. Some linkers, such as GNU gold, are capable
34865 of producing binaries with compressed debug sections. If @value{GDBN}
34866 is compiled with @samp{zlib}, it will be able to read the debug
34867 information in such binaries.
34868
34869 The @samp{zlib} library is likely included with your operating system
34870 distribution; if it is not, you can get the latest version from
34871 @url{http://zlib.net}.
34872
34873 @item iconv
34874 @value{GDBN}'s features related to character sets (@pxref{Character
34875 Sets}) require a functioning @code{iconv} implementation. If you are
34876 on a GNU system, then this is provided by the GNU C Library. Some
34877 other systems also provide a working @code{iconv}.
34878
34879 If @value{GDBN} is using the @code{iconv} program which is installed
34880 in a non-standard place, you will need to tell @value{GDBN} where to find it.
34881 This is done with @option{--with-iconv-bin} which specifies the
34882 directory that contains the @code{iconv} program.
34883
34884 On systems without @code{iconv}, you can install GNU Libiconv. If you
34885 have previously installed Libiconv, you can use the
34886 @option{--with-libiconv-prefix} option to configure.
34887
34888 @value{GDBN}'s top-level @file{configure} and @file{Makefile} will
34889 arrange to build Libiconv if a directory named @file{libiconv} appears
34890 in the top-most source directory. If Libiconv is built this way, and
34891 if the operating system does not provide a suitable @code{iconv}
34892 implementation, then the just-built library will automatically be used
34893 by @value{GDBN}. One easy way to set this up is to download GNU
34894 Libiconv, unpack it, and then rename the directory holding the
34895 Libiconv source code to @samp{libiconv}.
34896 @end table
34897
34898 @node Running Configure
34899 @section Invoking the @value{GDBN} @file{configure} Script
34900 @cindex configuring @value{GDBN}
34901 @value{GDBN} comes with a @file{configure} script that automates the process
34902 of preparing @value{GDBN} for installation; you can then use @code{make} to
34903 build the @code{gdb} program.
34904 @iftex
34905 @c irrelevant in info file; it's as current as the code it lives with.
34906 @footnote{If you have a more recent version of @value{GDBN} than @value{GDBVN},
34907 look at the @file{README} file in the sources; we may have improved the
34908 installation procedures since publishing this manual.}
34909 @end iftex
34910
34911 The @value{GDBN} distribution includes all the source code you need for
34912 @value{GDBN} in a single directory, whose name is usually composed by
34913 appending the version number to @samp{gdb}.
34914
34915 For example, the @value{GDBN} version @value{GDBVN} distribution is in the
34916 @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}} directory. That directory contains:
34917
34918 @table @code
34919 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/configure @r{(and supporting files)}
34920 script for configuring @value{GDBN} and all its supporting libraries
34921
34922 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/gdb
34923 the source specific to @value{GDBN} itself
34924
34925 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/bfd
34926 source for the Binary File Descriptor library
34927
34928 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/include
34929 @sc{gnu} include files
34930
34931 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/libiberty
34932 source for the @samp{-liberty} free software library
34933
34934 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/opcodes
34935 source for the library of opcode tables and disassemblers
34936
34937 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/readline
34938 source for the @sc{gnu} command-line interface
34939
34940 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/glob
34941 source for the @sc{gnu} filename pattern-matching subroutine
34942
34943 @item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/mmalloc
34944 source for the @sc{gnu} memory-mapped malloc package
34945 @end table
34946
34947 The simplest way to configure and build @value{GDBN} is to run @file{configure}
34948 from the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}} source directory, which in
34949 this example is the @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}} directory.
34950
34951 First switch to the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}} source directory
34952 if you are not already in it; then run @file{configure}. Pass the
34953 identifier for the platform on which @value{GDBN} will run as an
34954 argument.
34955
34956 For example:
34957
34958 @smallexample
34959 cd gdb-@value{GDBVN}
34960 ./configure @var{host}
34961 make
34962 @end smallexample
34963
34964 @noindent
34965 where @var{host} is an identifier such as @samp{sun4} or
34966 @samp{decstation}, that identifies the platform where @value{GDBN} will run.
34967 (You can often leave off @var{host}; @file{configure} tries to guess the
34968 correct value by examining your system.)
34969
34970 Running @samp{configure @var{host}} and then running @code{make} builds the
34971 @file{bfd}, @file{readline}, @file{mmalloc}, and @file{libiberty}
34972 libraries, then @code{gdb} itself. The configured source files, and the
34973 binaries, are left in the corresponding source directories.
34974
34975 @need 750
34976 @file{configure} is a Bourne-shell (@code{/bin/sh}) script; if your
34977 system does not recognize this automatically when you run a different
34978 shell, you may need to run @code{sh} on it explicitly:
34979
34980 @smallexample
34981 sh configure @var{host}
34982 @end smallexample
34983
34984 If you run @file{configure} from a directory that contains source
34985 directories for multiple libraries or programs, such as the
34986 @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}} source directory for version @value{GDBVN},
34987 @file{configure}
34988 creates configuration files for every directory level underneath (unless
34989 you tell it not to, with the @samp{--norecursion} option).
34990
34991 You should run the @file{configure} script from the top directory in the
34992 source tree, the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}} directory. If you run
34993 @file{configure} from one of the subdirectories, you will configure only
34994 that subdirectory. That is usually not what you want. In particular,
34995 if you run the first @file{configure} from the @file{gdb} subdirectory
34996 of the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}} directory, you will omit the
34997 configuration of @file{bfd}, @file{readline}, and other sibling
34998 directories of the @file{gdb} subdirectory. This leads to build errors
34999 about missing include files such as @file{bfd/bfd.h}.
35000
35001 You can install @code{@value{GDBP}} anywhere; it has no hardwired paths.
35002 However, you should make sure that the shell on your path (named by
35003 the @samp{SHELL} environment variable) is publicly readable. Remember
35004 that @value{GDBN} uses the shell to start your program---some systems refuse to
35005 let @value{GDBN} debug child processes whose programs are not readable.
35006
35007 @node Separate Objdir
35008 @section Compiling @value{GDBN} in Another Directory
35009
35010 If you want to run @value{GDBN} versions for several host or target machines,
35011 you need a different @code{gdb} compiled for each combination of
35012 host and target. @file{configure} is designed to make this easy by
35013 allowing you to generate each configuration in a separate subdirectory,
35014 rather than in the source directory. If your @code{make} program
35015 handles the @samp{VPATH} feature (@sc{gnu} @code{make} does), running
35016 @code{make} in each of these directories builds the @code{gdb}
35017 program specified there.
35018
35019 To build @code{gdb} in a separate directory, run @file{configure}
35020 with the @samp{--srcdir} option to specify where to find the source.
35021 (You also need to specify a path to find @file{configure}
35022 itself from your working directory. If the path to @file{configure}
35023 would be the same as the argument to @samp{--srcdir}, you can leave out
35024 the @samp{--srcdir} option; it is assumed.)
35025
35026 For example, with version @value{GDBVN}, you can build @value{GDBN} in a
35027 separate directory for a Sun 4 like this:
35028
35029 @smallexample
35030 @group
35031 cd gdb-@value{GDBVN}
35032 mkdir ../gdb-sun4
35033 cd ../gdb-sun4
35034 ../gdb-@value{GDBVN}/configure sun4
35035 make
35036 @end group
35037 @end smallexample
35038
35039 When @file{configure} builds a configuration using a remote source
35040 directory, it creates a tree for the binaries with the same structure
35041 (and using the same names) as the tree under the source directory. In
35042 the example, you'd find the Sun 4 library @file{libiberty.a} in the
35043 directory @file{gdb-sun4/libiberty}, and @value{GDBN} itself in
35044 @file{gdb-sun4/gdb}.
35045
35046 Make sure that your path to the @file{configure} script has just one
35047 instance of @file{gdb} in it. If your path to @file{configure} looks
35048 like @file{../gdb-@value{GDBVN}/gdb/configure}, you are configuring only
35049 one subdirectory of @value{GDBN}, not the whole package. This leads to
35050 build errors about missing include files such as @file{bfd/bfd.h}.
35051
35052 One popular reason to build several @value{GDBN} configurations in separate
35053 directories is to configure @value{GDBN} for cross-compiling (where
35054 @value{GDBN} runs on one machine---the @dfn{host}---while debugging
35055 programs that run on another machine---the @dfn{target}).
35056 You specify a cross-debugging target by
35057 giving the @samp{--target=@var{target}} option to @file{configure}.
35058
35059 When you run @code{make} to build a program or library, you must run
35060 it in a configured directory---whatever directory you were in when you
35061 called @file{configure} (or one of its subdirectories).
35062
35063 The @code{Makefile} that @file{configure} generates in each source
35064 directory also runs recursively. If you type @code{make} in a source
35065 directory such as @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}} (or in a separate configured
35066 directory configured with @samp{--srcdir=@var{dirname}/gdb-@value{GDBVN}}), you
35067 will build all the required libraries, and then build GDB.
35068
35069 When you have multiple hosts or targets configured in separate
35070 directories, you can run @code{make} on them in parallel (for example,
35071 if they are NFS-mounted on each of the hosts); they will not interfere
35072 with each other.
35073
35074 @node Config Names
35075 @section Specifying Names for Hosts and Targets
35076
35077 The specifications used for hosts and targets in the @file{configure}
35078 script are based on a three-part naming scheme, but some short predefined
35079 aliases are also supported. The full naming scheme encodes three pieces
35080 of information in the following pattern:
35081
35082 @smallexample
35083 @var{architecture}-@var{vendor}-@var{os}
35084 @end smallexample
35085
35086 For example, you can use the alias @code{sun4} as a @var{host} argument,
35087 or as the value for @var{target} in a @code{--target=@var{target}}
35088 option. The equivalent full name is @samp{sparc-sun-sunos4}.
35089
35090 The @file{configure} script accompanying @value{GDBN} does not provide
35091 any query facility to list all supported host and target names or
35092 aliases. @file{configure} calls the Bourne shell script
35093 @code{config.sub} to map abbreviations to full names; you can read the
35094 script, if you wish, or you can use it to test your guesses on
35095 abbreviations---for example:
35096
35097 @smallexample
35098 % sh config.sub i386-linux
35099 i386-pc-linux-gnu
35100 % sh config.sub alpha-linux
35101 alpha-unknown-linux-gnu
35102 % sh config.sub hp9k700
35103 hppa1.1-hp-hpux
35104 % sh config.sub sun4
35105 sparc-sun-sunos4.1.1
35106 % sh config.sub sun3
35107 m68k-sun-sunos4.1.1
35108 % sh config.sub i986v
35109 Invalid configuration `i986v': machine `i986v' not recognized
35110 @end smallexample
35111
35112 @noindent
35113 @code{config.sub} is also distributed in the @value{GDBN} source
35114 directory (@file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}}, for version @value{GDBVN}).
35115
35116 @node Configure Options
35117 @section @file{configure} Options
35118
35119 Here is a summary of the @file{configure} options and arguments that
35120 are most often useful for building @value{GDBN}. @file{configure} also has
35121 several other options not listed here. @inforef{What Configure
35122 Does,,configure.info}, for a full explanation of @file{configure}.
35123
35124 @smallexample
35125 configure @r{[}--help@r{]}
35126 @r{[}--prefix=@var{dir}@r{]}
35127 @r{[}--exec-prefix=@var{dir}@r{]}
35128 @r{[}--srcdir=@var{dirname}@r{]}
35129 @r{[}--norecursion@r{]} @r{[}--rm@r{]}
35130 @r{[}--target=@var{target}@r{]}
35131 @var{host}
35132 @end smallexample
35133
35134 @noindent
35135 You may introduce options with a single @samp{-} rather than
35136 @samp{--} if you prefer; but you may abbreviate option names if you use
35137 @samp{--}.
35138
35139 @table @code
35140 @item --help
35141 Display a quick summary of how to invoke @file{configure}.
35142
35143 @item --prefix=@var{dir}
35144 Configure the source to install programs and files under directory
35145 @file{@var{dir}}.
35146
35147 @item --exec-prefix=@var{dir}
35148 Configure the source to install programs under directory
35149 @file{@var{dir}}.
35150
35151 @c avoid splitting the warning from the explanation:
35152 @need 2000
35153 @item --srcdir=@var{dirname}
35154 @strong{Warning: using this option requires @sc{gnu} @code{make}, or another
35155 @code{make} that implements the @code{VPATH} feature.}@*
35156 Use this option to make configurations in directories separate from the
35157 @value{GDBN} source directories. Among other things, you can use this to
35158 build (or maintain) several configurations simultaneously, in separate
35159 directories. @file{configure} writes configuration-specific files in
35160 the current directory, but arranges for them to use the source in the
35161 directory @var{dirname}. @file{configure} creates directories under
35162 the working directory in parallel to the source directories below
35163 @var{dirname}.
35164
35165 @item --norecursion
35166 Configure only the directory level where @file{configure} is executed; do not
35167 propagate configuration to subdirectories.
35168
35169 @item --target=@var{target}
35170 Configure @value{GDBN} for cross-debugging programs running on the specified
35171 @var{target}. Without this option, @value{GDBN} is configured to debug
35172 programs that run on the same machine (@var{host}) as @value{GDBN} itself.
35173
35174 There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available targets.
35175
35176 @item @var{host} @dots{}
35177 Configure @value{GDBN} to run on the specified @var{host}.
35178
35179 There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available hosts.
35180 @end table
35181
35182 There are many other options available as well, but they are generally
35183 needed for special purposes only.
35184
35185 @node System-wide configuration
35186 @section System-wide configuration and settings
35187 @cindex system-wide init file
35188
35189 @value{GDBN} can be configured to have a system-wide init file;
35190 this file will be read and executed at startup (@pxref{Startup, , What
35191 @value{GDBN} does during startup}).
35192
35193 Here is the corresponding configure option:
35194
35195 @table @code
35196 @item --with-system-gdbinit=@var{file}
35197 Specify that the default location of the system-wide init file is
35198 @var{file}.
35199 @end table
35200
35201 If @value{GDBN} has been configured with the option @option{--prefix=$prefix},
35202 it may be subject to relocation. Two possible cases:
35203
35204 @itemize @bullet
35205 @item
35206 If the default location of this init file contains @file{$prefix},
35207 it will be subject to relocation. Suppose that the configure options
35208 are @option{--prefix=$prefix --with-system-gdbinit=$prefix/etc/gdbinit};
35209 if @value{GDBN} is moved from @file{$prefix} to @file{$install}, the system
35210 init file is looked for as @file{$install/etc/gdbinit} instead of
35211 @file{$prefix/etc/gdbinit}.
35212
35213 @item
35214 By contrast, if the default location does not contain the prefix,
35215 it will not be relocated. E.g.@: if @value{GDBN} has been configured with
35216 @option{--prefix=/usr/local --with-system-gdbinit=/usr/share/gdb/gdbinit},
35217 then @value{GDBN} will always look for @file{/usr/share/gdb/gdbinit},
35218 wherever @value{GDBN} is installed.
35219 @end itemize
35220
35221 If the configured location of the system-wide init file (as given by the
35222 @option{--with-system-gdbinit} option at configure time) is in the
35223 data-directory (as specified by @option{--with-gdb-datadir} at configure
35224 time) or in one of its subdirectories, then @value{GDBN} will look for the
35225 system-wide init file in the directory specified by the
35226 @option{--data-directory} command-line option.
35227 Note that the system-wide init file is only read once, during @value{GDBN}
35228 initialization. If the data-directory is changed after @value{GDBN} has
35229 started with the @code{set data-directory} command, the file will not be
35230 reread.
35231
35232 @node Maintenance Commands
35233 @appendix Maintenance Commands
35234 @cindex maintenance commands
35235 @cindex internal commands
35236
35237 In addition to commands intended for @value{GDBN} users, @value{GDBN}
35238 includes a number of commands intended for @value{GDBN} developers,
35239 that are not documented elsewhere in this manual. These commands are
35240 provided here for reference. (For commands that turn on debugging
35241 messages, see @ref{Debugging Output}.)
35242
35243 @table @code
35244 @kindex maint agent
35245 @kindex maint agent-eval
35246 @item maint agent @r{[}-at @var{location}@r{,}@r{]} @var{expression}
35247 @itemx maint agent-eval @r{[}-at @var{location}@r{,}@r{]} @var{expression}
35248 Translate the given @var{expression} into remote agent bytecodes.
35249 This command is useful for debugging the Agent Expression mechanism
35250 (@pxref{Agent Expressions}). The @samp{agent} version produces an
35251 expression useful for data collection, such as by tracepoints, while
35252 @samp{maint agent-eval} produces an expression that evaluates directly
35253 to a result. For instance, a collection expression for @code{globa +
35254 globb} will include bytecodes to record four bytes of memory at each
35255 of the addresses of @code{globa} and @code{globb}, while discarding
35256 the result of the addition, while an evaluation expression will do the
35257 addition and return the sum.
35258 If @code{-at} is given, generate remote agent bytecode for @var{location}.
35259 If not, generate remote agent bytecode for current frame PC address.
35260
35261 @kindex maint agent-printf
35262 @item maint agent-printf @var{format},@var{expr},...
35263 Translate the given format string and list of argument expressions
35264 into remote agent bytecodes and display them as a disassembled list.
35265 This command is useful for debugging the agent version of dynamic
35266 printf (@pxref{Dynamic Printf}).
35267
35268 @kindex maint info breakpoints
35269 @item @anchor{maint info breakpoints}maint info breakpoints
35270 Using the same format as @samp{info breakpoints}, display both the
35271 breakpoints you've set explicitly, and those @value{GDBN} is using for
35272 internal purposes. Internal breakpoints are shown with negative
35273 breakpoint numbers. The type column identifies what kind of breakpoint
35274 is shown:
35275
35276 @table @code
35277 @item breakpoint
35278 Normal, explicitly set breakpoint.
35279
35280 @item watchpoint
35281 Normal, explicitly set watchpoint.
35282
35283 @item longjmp
35284 Internal breakpoint, used to handle correctly stepping through
35285 @code{longjmp} calls.
35286
35287 @item longjmp resume
35288 Internal breakpoint at the target of a @code{longjmp}.
35289
35290 @item until
35291 Temporary internal breakpoint used by the @value{GDBN} @code{until} command.
35292
35293 @item finish
35294 Temporary internal breakpoint used by the @value{GDBN} @code{finish} command.
35295
35296 @item shlib events
35297 Shared library events.
35298
35299 @end table
35300
35301 @kindex maint info bfds
35302 @item maint info bfds
35303 This prints information about each @code{bfd} object that is known to
35304 @value{GDBN}. @xref{Top, , BFD, bfd, The Binary File Descriptor Library}.
35305
35306 @kindex set displaced-stepping
35307 @kindex show displaced-stepping
35308 @cindex displaced stepping support
35309 @cindex out-of-line single-stepping
35310 @item set displaced-stepping
35311 @itemx show displaced-stepping
35312 Control whether or not @value{GDBN} will do @dfn{displaced stepping}
35313 if the target supports it. Displaced stepping is a way to single-step
35314 over breakpoints without removing them from the inferior, by executing
35315 an out-of-line copy of the instruction that was originally at the
35316 breakpoint location. It is also known as out-of-line single-stepping.
35317
35318 @table @code
35319 @item set displaced-stepping on
35320 If the target architecture supports it, @value{GDBN} will use
35321 displaced stepping to step over breakpoints.
35322
35323 @item set displaced-stepping off
35324 @value{GDBN} will not use displaced stepping to step over breakpoints,
35325 even if such is supported by the target architecture.
35326
35327 @cindex non-stop mode, and @samp{set displaced-stepping}
35328 @item set displaced-stepping auto
35329 This is the default mode. @value{GDBN} will use displaced stepping
35330 only if non-stop mode is active (@pxref{Non-Stop Mode}) and the target
35331 architecture supports displaced stepping.
35332 @end table
35333
35334 @kindex maint check-symtabs
35335 @item maint check-symtabs
35336 Check the consistency of psymtabs and symtabs.
35337
35338 @kindex maint cplus first_component
35339 @item maint cplus first_component @var{name}
35340 Print the first C@t{++} class/namespace component of @var{name}.
35341
35342 @kindex maint cplus namespace
35343 @item maint cplus namespace
35344 Print the list of possible C@t{++} namespaces.
35345
35346 @kindex maint demangle
35347 @item maint demangle @var{name}
35348 Demangle a C@t{++} or Objective-C mangled @var{name}.
35349
35350 @kindex maint deprecate
35351 @kindex maint undeprecate
35352 @cindex deprecated commands
35353 @item maint deprecate @var{command} @r{[}@var{replacement}@r{]}
35354 @itemx maint undeprecate @var{command}
35355 Deprecate or undeprecate the named @var{command}. Deprecated commands
35356 cause @value{GDBN} to issue a warning when you use them. The optional
35357 argument @var{replacement} says which newer command should be used in
35358 favor of the deprecated one; if it is given, @value{GDBN} will mention
35359 the replacement as part of the warning.
35360
35361 @kindex maint dump-me
35362 @item maint dump-me
35363 @cindex @code{SIGQUIT} signal, dump core of @value{GDBN}
35364 Cause a fatal signal in the debugger and force it to dump its core.
35365 This is supported only on systems which support aborting a program
35366 with the @code{SIGQUIT} signal.
35367
35368 @kindex maint internal-error
35369 @kindex maint internal-warning
35370 @item maint internal-error @r{[}@var{message-text}@r{]}
35371 @itemx maint internal-warning @r{[}@var{message-text}@r{]}
35372 Cause @value{GDBN} to call the internal function @code{internal_error}
35373 or @code{internal_warning} and hence behave as though an internal error
35374 or internal warning has been detected. In addition to reporting the
35375 internal problem, these functions give the user the opportunity to
35376 either quit @value{GDBN} or create a core file of the current
35377 @value{GDBN} session.
35378
35379 These commands take an optional parameter @var{message-text} that is
35380 used as the text of the error or warning message.
35381
35382 Here's an example of using @code{internal-error}:
35383
35384 @smallexample
35385 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{maint internal-error testing, 1, 2}
35386 @dots{}/maint.c:121: internal-error: testing, 1, 2
35387 A problem internal to GDB has been detected. Further
35388 debugging may prove unreliable.
35389 Quit this debugging session? (y or n) @kbd{n}
35390 Create a core file? (y or n) @kbd{n}
35391 (@value{GDBP})
35392 @end smallexample
35393
35394 @cindex @value{GDBN} internal error
35395 @cindex internal errors, control of @value{GDBN} behavior
35396
35397 @kindex maint set internal-error
35398 @kindex maint show internal-error
35399 @kindex maint set internal-warning
35400 @kindex maint show internal-warning
35401 @item maint set internal-error @var{action} [ask|yes|no]
35402 @itemx maint show internal-error @var{action}
35403 @itemx maint set internal-warning @var{action} [ask|yes|no]
35404 @itemx maint show internal-warning @var{action}
35405 When @value{GDBN} reports an internal problem (error or warning) it
35406 gives the user the opportunity to both quit @value{GDBN} and create a
35407 core file of the current @value{GDBN} session. These commands let you
35408 override the default behaviour for each particular @var{action},
35409 described in the table below.
35410
35411 @table @samp
35412 @item quit
35413 You can specify that @value{GDBN} should always (yes) or never (no)
35414 quit. The default is to ask the user what to do.
35415
35416 @item corefile
35417 You can specify that @value{GDBN} should always (yes) or never (no)
35418 create a core file. The default is to ask the user what to do.
35419 @end table
35420
35421 @kindex maint packet
35422 @item maint packet @var{text}
35423 If @value{GDBN} is talking to an inferior via the serial protocol,
35424 then this command sends the string @var{text} to the inferior, and
35425 displays the response packet. @value{GDBN} supplies the initial
35426 @samp{$} character, the terminating @samp{#} character, and the
35427 checksum.
35428
35429 @kindex maint print architecture
35430 @item maint print architecture @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
35431 Print the entire architecture configuration. The optional argument
35432 @var{file} names the file where the output goes.
35433
35434 @kindex maint print c-tdesc
35435 @item maint print c-tdesc
35436 Print the current target description (@pxref{Target Descriptions}) as
35437 a C source file. The created source file can be used in @value{GDBN}
35438 when an XML parser is not available to parse the description.
35439
35440 @kindex maint print dummy-frames
35441 @item maint print dummy-frames
35442 Prints the contents of @value{GDBN}'s internal dummy-frame stack.
35443
35444 @smallexample
35445 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{b add}
35446 @dots{}
35447 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{print add(2,3)}
35448 Breakpoint 2, add (a=2, b=3) at @dots{}
35449 58 return (a + b);
35450 The program being debugged stopped while in a function called from GDB.
35451 @dots{}
35452 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{maint print dummy-frames}
35453 0x1a57c80: pc=0x01014068 fp=0x0200bddc sp=0x0200bdd6
35454 top=0x0200bdd4 id=@{stack=0x200bddc,code=0x101405c@}
35455 call_lo=0x01014000 call_hi=0x01014001
35456 (@value{GDBP})
35457 @end smallexample
35458
35459 Takes an optional file parameter.
35460
35461 @kindex maint print registers
35462 @kindex maint print raw-registers
35463 @kindex maint print cooked-registers
35464 @kindex maint print register-groups
35465 @kindex maint print remote-registers
35466 @item maint print registers @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
35467 @itemx maint print raw-registers @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
35468 @itemx maint print cooked-registers @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
35469 @itemx maint print register-groups @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
35470 @itemx maint print remote-registers @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
35471 Print @value{GDBN}'s internal register data structures.
35472
35473 The command @code{maint print raw-registers} includes the contents of
35474 the raw register cache; the command @code{maint print
35475 cooked-registers} includes the (cooked) value of all registers,
35476 including registers which aren't available on the target nor visible
35477 to user; the command @code{maint print register-groups} includes the
35478 groups that each register is a member of; and the command @code{maint
35479 print remote-registers} includes the remote target's register numbers
35480 and offsets in the `G' packets. @xref{Registers,, Registers, gdbint,
35481 @value{GDBN} Internals}.
35482
35483 These commands take an optional parameter, a file name to which to
35484 write the information.
35485
35486 @kindex maint print reggroups
35487 @item maint print reggroups @r{[}@var{file}@r{]}
35488 Print @value{GDBN}'s internal register group data structures. The
35489 optional argument @var{file} tells to what file to write the
35490 information.
35491
35492 The register groups info looks like this:
35493
35494 @smallexample
35495 (@value{GDBP}) @kbd{maint print reggroups}
35496 Group Type
35497 general user
35498 float user
35499 all user
35500 vector user
35501 system user
35502 save internal
35503 restore internal
35504 @end smallexample
35505
35506 @kindex flushregs
35507 @item flushregs
35508 This command forces @value{GDBN} to flush its internal register cache.
35509
35510 @kindex maint print objfiles
35511 @cindex info for known object files
35512 @item maint print objfiles
35513 Print a dump of all known object files. For each object file, this
35514 command prints its name, address in memory, and all of its psymtabs
35515 and symtabs.
35516
35517 @kindex maint print section-scripts
35518 @cindex info for known .debug_gdb_scripts-loaded scripts
35519 @item maint print section-scripts [@var{regexp}]
35520 Print a dump of scripts specified in the @code{.debug_gdb_section} section.
35521 If @var{regexp} is specified, only print scripts loaded by object files
35522 matching @var{regexp}.
35523 For each script, this command prints its name as specified in the objfile,
35524 and the full path if known.
35525 @xref{dotdebug_gdb_scripts section}.
35526
35527 @kindex maint print statistics
35528 @cindex bcache statistics
35529 @item maint print statistics
35530 This command prints, for each object file in the program, various data
35531 about that object file followed by the byte cache (@dfn{bcache})
35532 statistics for the object file. The objfile data includes the number
35533 of minimal, partial, full, and stabs symbols, the number of types
35534 defined by the objfile, the number of as yet unexpanded psym tables,
35535 the number of line tables and string tables, and the amount of memory
35536 used by the various tables. The bcache statistics include the counts,
35537 sizes, and counts of duplicates of all and unique objects, max,
35538 average, and median entry size, total memory used and its overhead and
35539 savings, and various measures of the hash table size and chain
35540 lengths.
35541
35542 @kindex maint print target-stack
35543 @cindex target stack description
35544 @item maint print target-stack
35545 A @dfn{target} is an interface between the debugger and a particular
35546 kind of file or process. Targets can be stacked in @dfn{strata},
35547 so that more than one target can potentially respond to a request.
35548 In particular, memory accesses will walk down the stack of targets
35549 until they find a target that is interested in handling that particular
35550 address.
35551
35552 This command prints a short description of each layer that was pushed on
35553 the @dfn{target stack}, starting from the top layer down to the bottom one.
35554
35555 @kindex maint print type
35556 @cindex type chain of a data type
35557 @item maint print type @var{expr}
35558 Print the type chain for a type specified by @var{expr}. The argument
35559 can be either a type name or a symbol. If it is a symbol, the type of
35560 that symbol is described. The type chain produced by this command is
35561 a recursive definition of the data type as stored in @value{GDBN}'s
35562 data structures, including its flags and contained types.
35563
35564 @kindex maint set dwarf2 always-disassemble
35565 @kindex maint show dwarf2 always-disassemble
35566 @item maint set dwarf2 always-disassemble
35567 @item maint show dwarf2 always-disassemble
35568 Control the behavior of @code{info address} when using DWARF debugging
35569 information.
35570
35571 The default is @code{off}, which means that @value{GDBN} should try to
35572 describe a variable's location in an easily readable format. When
35573 @code{on}, @value{GDBN} will instead display the DWARF location
35574 expression in an assembly-like format. Note that some locations are
35575 too complex for @value{GDBN} to describe simply; in this case you will
35576 always see the disassembly form.
35577
35578 Here is an example of the resulting disassembly:
35579
35580 @smallexample
35581 (gdb) info addr argc
35582 Symbol "argc" is a complex DWARF expression:
35583 1: DW_OP_fbreg 0
35584 @end smallexample
35585
35586 For more information on these expressions, see
35587 @uref{http://www.dwarfstd.org/, the DWARF standard}.
35588
35589 @kindex maint set dwarf2 max-cache-age
35590 @kindex maint show dwarf2 max-cache-age
35591 @item maint set dwarf2 max-cache-age
35592 @itemx maint show dwarf2 max-cache-age
35593 Control the DWARF 2 compilation unit cache.
35594
35595 @cindex DWARF 2 compilation units cache
35596 In object files with inter-compilation-unit references, such as those
35597 produced by the GCC option @samp{-feliminate-dwarf2-dups}, the DWARF 2
35598 reader needs to frequently refer to previously read compilation units.
35599 This setting controls how long a compilation unit will remain in the
35600 cache if it is not referenced. A higher limit means that cached
35601 compilation units will be stored in memory longer, and more total
35602 memory will be used. Setting it to zero disables caching, which will
35603 slow down @value{GDBN} startup, but reduce memory consumption.
35604
35605 @kindex maint set profile
35606 @kindex maint show profile
35607 @cindex profiling GDB
35608 @item maint set profile
35609 @itemx maint show profile
35610 Control profiling of @value{GDBN}.
35611
35612 Profiling will be disabled until you use the @samp{maint set profile}
35613 command to enable it. When you enable profiling, the system will begin
35614 collecting timing and execution count data; when you disable profiling or
35615 exit @value{GDBN}, the results will be written to a log file. Remember that
35616 if you use profiling, @value{GDBN} will overwrite the profiling log file
35617 (often called @file{gmon.out}). If you have a record of important profiling
35618 data in a @file{gmon.out} file, be sure to move it to a safe location.
35619
35620 Configuring with @samp{--enable-profiling} arranges for @value{GDBN} to be
35621 compiled with the @samp{-pg} compiler option.
35622
35623 @kindex maint set show-debug-regs
35624 @kindex maint show show-debug-regs
35625 @cindex hardware debug registers
35626 @item maint set show-debug-regs
35627 @itemx maint show show-debug-regs
35628 Control whether to show variables that mirror the hardware debug
35629 registers. Use @code{ON} to enable, @code{OFF} to disable. If
35630 enabled, the debug registers values are shown when @value{GDBN} inserts or
35631 removes a hardware breakpoint or watchpoint, and when the inferior
35632 triggers a hardware-assisted breakpoint or watchpoint.
35633
35634 @kindex maint set show-all-tib
35635 @kindex maint show show-all-tib
35636 @item maint set show-all-tib
35637 @itemx maint show show-all-tib
35638 Control whether to show all non zero areas within a 1k block starting
35639 at thread local base, when using the @samp{info w32 thread-information-block}
35640 command.
35641
35642 @kindex maint set per-command
35643 @kindex maint show per-command
35644 @item maint set per-command
35645 @itemx maint show per-command
35646 @cindex resources used by commands
35647
35648 @value{GDBN} can display the resources used by each command.
35649 This is useful in debugging performance problems.
35650
35651 @table @code
35652 @item maint set per-command space [on|off]
35653 @itemx maint show per-command space
35654 Enable or disable the printing of the memory used by GDB for each command.
35655 If enabled, @value{GDBN} will display how much memory each command
35656 took, following the command's own output.
35657 This can also be requested by invoking @value{GDBN} with the
35658 @option{--statistics} command-line switch (@pxref{Mode Options}).
35659
35660 @item maint set per-command time [on|off]
35661 @itemx maint show per-command time
35662 Enable or disable the printing of the execution time of @value{GDBN}
35663 for each command.
35664 If enabled, @value{GDBN} will display how much time it
35665 took to execute each command, following the command's own output.
35666 Both CPU time and wallclock time are printed.
35667 Printing both is useful when trying to determine whether the cost is
35668 CPU or, e.g., disk/network latency.
35669 Note that the CPU time printed is for @value{GDBN} only, it does not include
35670 the execution time of the inferior because there's no mechanism currently
35671 to compute how much time was spent by @value{GDBN} and how much time was
35672 spent by the program been debugged.
35673 This can also be requested by invoking @value{GDBN} with the
35674 @option{--statistics} command-line switch (@pxref{Mode Options}).
35675
35676 @item maint set per-command symtab [on|off]
35677 @itemx maint show per-command symtab
35678 Enable or disable the printing of basic symbol table statistics
35679 for each command.
35680 If enabled, @value{GDBN} will display the following information:
35681
35682 @enumerate a
35683 @item
35684 number of symbol tables
35685 @item
35686 number of primary symbol tables
35687 @item
35688 number of blocks in the blockvector
35689 @end enumerate
35690 @end table
35691
35692 @kindex maint space
35693 @cindex memory used by commands
35694 @item maint space @var{value}
35695 An alias for @code{maint set per-command space}.
35696 A non-zero value enables it, zero disables it.
35697
35698 @kindex maint time
35699 @cindex time of command execution
35700 @item maint time @var{value}
35701 An alias for @code{maint set per-command time}.
35702 A non-zero value enables it, zero disables it.
35703
35704 @kindex maint translate-address
35705 @item maint translate-address @r{[}@var{section}@r{]} @var{addr}
35706 Find the symbol stored at the location specified by the address
35707 @var{addr} and an optional section name @var{section}. If found,
35708 @value{GDBN} prints the name of the closest symbol and an offset from
35709 the symbol's location to the specified address. This is similar to
35710 the @code{info address} command (@pxref{Symbols}), except that this
35711 command also allows to find symbols in other sections.
35712
35713 If section was not specified, the section in which the symbol was found
35714 is also printed. For dynamically linked executables, the name of
35715 executable or shared library containing the symbol is printed as well.
35716
35717 @end table
35718
35719 The following command is useful for non-interactive invocations of
35720 @value{GDBN}, such as in the test suite.
35721
35722 @table @code
35723 @item set watchdog @var{nsec}
35724 @kindex set watchdog
35725 @cindex watchdog timer
35726 @cindex timeout for commands
35727 Set the maximum number of seconds @value{GDBN} will wait for the
35728 target operation to finish. If this time expires, @value{GDBN}
35729 reports and error and the command is aborted.
35730
35731 @item show watchdog
35732 Show the current setting of the target wait timeout.
35733 @end table
35734
35735 @node Remote Protocol
35736 @appendix @value{GDBN} Remote Serial Protocol
35737
35738 @menu
35739 * Overview::
35740 * Packets::
35741 * Stop Reply Packets::
35742 * General Query Packets::
35743 * Architecture-Specific Protocol Details::
35744 * Tracepoint Packets::
35745 * Host I/O Packets::
35746 * Interrupts::
35747 * Notification Packets::
35748 * Remote Non-Stop::
35749 * Packet Acknowledgment::
35750 * Examples::
35751 * File-I/O Remote Protocol Extension::
35752 * Library List Format::
35753 * Library List Format for SVR4 Targets::
35754 * Memory Map Format::
35755 * Thread List Format::
35756 * Traceframe Info Format::
35757 * Branch Trace Format::
35758 @end menu
35759
35760 @node Overview
35761 @section Overview
35762
35763 There may be occasions when you need to know something about the
35764 protocol---for example, if there is only one serial port to your target
35765 machine, you might want your program to do something special if it
35766 recognizes a packet meant for @value{GDBN}.
35767
35768 In the examples below, @samp{->} and @samp{<-} are used to indicate
35769 transmitted and received data, respectively.
35770
35771 @cindex protocol, @value{GDBN} remote serial
35772 @cindex serial protocol, @value{GDBN} remote
35773 @cindex remote serial protocol
35774 All @value{GDBN} commands and responses (other than acknowledgments
35775 and notifications, see @ref{Notification Packets}) are sent as a
35776 @var{packet}. A @var{packet} is introduced with the character
35777 @samp{$}, the actual @var{packet-data}, and the terminating character
35778 @samp{#} followed by a two-digit @var{checksum}:
35779
35780 @smallexample
35781 @code{$}@var{packet-data}@code{#}@var{checksum}
35782 @end smallexample
35783 @noindent
35784
35785 @cindex checksum, for @value{GDBN} remote
35786 @noindent
35787 The two-digit @var{checksum} is computed as the modulo 256 sum of all
35788 characters between the leading @samp{$} and the trailing @samp{#} (an
35789 eight bit unsigned checksum).
35790
35791 Implementors should note that prior to @value{GDBN} 5.0 the protocol
35792 specification also included an optional two-digit @var{sequence-id}:
35793
35794 @smallexample
35795 @code{$}@var{sequence-id}@code{:}@var{packet-data}@code{#}@var{checksum}
35796 @end smallexample
35797
35798 @cindex sequence-id, for @value{GDBN} remote
35799 @noindent
35800 That @var{sequence-id} was appended to the acknowledgment. @value{GDBN}
35801 has never output @var{sequence-id}s. Stubs that handle packets added
35802 since @value{GDBN} 5.0 must not accept @var{sequence-id}.
35803
35804 When either the host or the target machine receives a packet, the first
35805 response expected is an acknowledgment: either @samp{+} (to indicate
35806 the package was received correctly) or @samp{-} (to request
35807 retransmission):
35808
35809 @smallexample
35810 -> @code{$}@var{packet-data}@code{#}@var{checksum}
35811 <- @code{+}
35812 @end smallexample
35813 @noindent
35814
35815 The @samp{+}/@samp{-} acknowledgments can be disabled
35816 once a connection is established.
35817 @xref{Packet Acknowledgment}, for details.
35818
35819 The host (@value{GDBN}) sends @var{command}s, and the target (the
35820 debugging stub incorporated in your program) sends a @var{response}. In
35821 the case of step and continue @var{command}s, the response is only sent
35822 when the operation has completed, and the target has again stopped all
35823 threads in all attached processes. This is the default all-stop mode
35824 behavior, but the remote protocol also supports @value{GDBN}'s non-stop
35825 execution mode; see @ref{Remote Non-Stop}, for details.
35826
35827 @var{packet-data} consists of a sequence of characters with the
35828 exception of @samp{#} and @samp{$} (see @samp{X} packet for additional
35829 exceptions).
35830
35831 @cindex remote protocol, field separator
35832 Fields within the packet should be separated using @samp{,} @samp{;} or
35833 @samp{:}. Except where otherwise noted all numbers are represented in
35834 @sc{hex} with leading zeros suppressed.
35835
35836 Implementors should note that prior to @value{GDBN} 5.0, the character
35837 @samp{:} could not appear as the third character in a packet (as it
35838 would potentially conflict with the @var{sequence-id}).
35839
35840 @cindex remote protocol, binary data
35841 @anchor{Binary Data}
35842 Binary data in most packets is encoded either as two hexadecimal
35843 digits per byte of binary data. This allowed the traditional remote
35844 protocol to work over connections which were only seven-bit clean.
35845 Some packets designed more recently assume an eight-bit clean
35846 connection, and use a more efficient encoding to send and receive
35847 binary data.
35848
35849 The binary data representation uses @code{7d} (@sc{ascii} @samp{@}})
35850 as an escape character. Any escaped byte is transmitted as the escape
35851 character followed by the original character XORed with @code{0x20}.
35852 For example, the byte @code{0x7d} would be transmitted as the two
35853 bytes @code{0x7d 0x5d}. The bytes @code{0x23} (@sc{ascii} @samp{#}),
35854 @code{0x24} (@sc{ascii} @samp{$}), and @code{0x7d} (@sc{ascii}
35855 @samp{@}}) must always be escaped. Responses sent by the stub
35856 must also escape @code{0x2a} (@sc{ascii} @samp{*}), so that it
35857 is not interpreted as the start of a run-length encoded sequence
35858 (described next).
35859
35860 Response @var{data} can be run-length encoded to save space.
35861 Run-length encoding replaces runs of identical characters with one
35862 instance of the repeated character, followed by a @samp{*} and a
35863 repeat count. The repeat count is itself sent encoded, to avoid
35864 binary characters in @var{data}: a value of @var{n} is sent as
35865 @code{@var{n}+29}. For a repeat count greater or equal to 3, this
35866 produces a printable @sc{ascii} character, e.g.@: a space (@sc{ascii}
35867 code 32) for a repeat count of 3. (This is because run-length
35868 encoding starts to win for counts 3 or more.) Thus, for example,
35869 @samp{0* } is a run-length encoding of ``0000'': the space character
35870 after @samp{*} means repeat the leading @code{0} @w{@code{32 - 29 =
35871 3}} more times.
35872
35873 The printable characters @samp{#} and @samp{$} or with a numeric value
35874 greater than 126 must not be used. Runs of six repeats (@samp{#}) or
35875 seven repeats (@samp{$}) can be expanded using a repeat count of only
35876 five (@samp{"}). For example, @samp{00000000} can be encoded as
35877 @samp{0*"00}.
35878
35879 The error response returned for some packets includes a two character
35880 error number. That number is not well defined.
35881
35882 @cindex empty response, for unsupported packets
35883 For any @var{command} not supported by the stub, an empty response
35884 (@samp{$#00}) should be returned. That way it is possible to extend the
35885 protocol. A newer @value{GDBN} can tell if a packet is supported based
35886 on that response.
35887
35888 At a minimum, a stub is required to support the @samp{g} and @samp{G}
35889 commands for register access, and the @samp{m} and @samp{M} commands
35890 for memory access. Stubs that only control single-threaded targets
35891 can implement run control with the @samp{c} (continue), and @samp{s}
35892 (step) commands. Stubs that support multi-threading targets should
35893 support the @samp{vCont} command. All other commands are optional.
35894
35895 @node Packets
35896 @section Packets
35897
35898 The following table provides a complete list of all currently defined
35899 @var{command}s and their corresponding response @var{data}.
35900 @xref{File-I/O Remote Protocol Extension}, for details about the File
35901 I/O extension of the remote protocol.
35902
35903 Each packet's description has a template showing the packet's overall
35904 syntax, followed by an explanation of the packet's meaning. We
35905 include spaces in some of the templates for clarity; these are not
35906 part of the packet's syntax. No @value{GDBN} packet uses spaces to
35907 separate its components. For example, a template like @samp{foo
35908 @var{bar} @var{baz}} describes a packet beginning with the three ASCII
35909 bytes @samp{foo}, followed by a @var{bar}, followed directly by a
35910 @var{baz}. @value{GDBN} does not transmit a space character between the
35911 @samp{foo} and the @var{bar}, or between the @var{bar} and the
35912 @var{baz}.
35913
35914 @cindex @var{thread-id}, in remote protocol
35915 @anchor{thread-id syntax}
35916 Several packets and replies include a @var{thread-id} field to identify
35917 a thread. Normally these are positive numbers with a target-specific
35918 interpretation, formatted as big-endian hex strings. A @var{thread-id}
35919 can also be a literal @samp{-1} to indicate all threads, or @samp{0} to
35920 pick any thread.
35921
35922 In addition, the remote protocol supports a multiprocess feature in
35923 which the @var{thread-id} syntax is extended to optionally include both
35924 process and thread ID fields, as @samp{p@var{pid}.@var{tid}}.
35925 The @var{pid} (process) and @var{tid} (thread) components each have the
35926 format described above: a positive number with target-specific
35927 interpretation formatted as a big-endian hex string, literal @samp{-1}
35928 to indicate all processes or threads (respectively), or @samp{0} to
35929 indicate an arbitrary process or thread. Specifying just a process, as
35930 @samp{p@var{pid}}, is equivalent to @samp{p@var{pid}.-1}. It is an
35931 error to specify all processes but a specific thread, such as
35932 @samp{p-1.@var{tid}}. Note that the @samp{p} prefix is @emph{not} used
35933 for those packets and replies explicitly documented to include a process
35934 ID, rather than a @var{thread-id}.
35935
35936 The multiprocess @var{thread-id} syntax extensions are only used if both
35937 @value{GDBN} and the stub report support for the @samp{multiprocess}
35938 feature using @samp{qSupported}. @xref{multiprocess extensions}, for
35939 more information.
35940
35941 Note that all packet forms beginning with an upper- or lower-case
35942 letter, other than those described here, are reserved for future use.
35943
35944 Here are the packet descriptions.
35945
35946 @table @samp
35947
35948 @item !
35949 @cindex @samp{!} packet
35950 @anchor{extended mode}
35951 Enable extended mode. In extended mode, the remote server is made
35952 persistent. The @samp{R} packet is used to restart the program being
35953 debugged.
35954
35955 Reply:
35956 @table @samp
35957 @item OK
35958 The remote target both supports and has enabled extended mode.
35959 @end table
35960
35961 @item ?
35962 @cindex @samp{?} packet
35963 Indicate the reason the target halted. The reply is the same as for
35964 step and continue. This packet has a special interpretation when the
35965 target is in non-stop mode; see @ref{Remote Non-Stop}.
35966
35967 Reply:
35968 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
35969
35970 @item A @var{arglen},@var{argnum},@var{arg},@dots{}
35971 @cindex @samp{A} packet
35972 Initialized @code{argv[]} array passed into program. @var{arglen}
35973 specifies the number of bytes in the hex encoded byte stream
35974 @var{arg}. See @code{gdbserver} for more details.
35975
35976 Reply:
35977 @table @samp
35978 @item OK
35979 The arguments were set.
35980 @item E @var{NN}
35981 An error occurred.
35982 @end table
35983
35984 @item b @var{baud}
35985 @cindex @samp{b} packet
35986 (Don't use this packet; its behavior is not well-defined.)
35987 Change the serial line speed to @var{baud}.
35988
35989 JTC: @emph{When does the transport layer state change? When it's
35990 received, or after the ACK is transmitted. In either case, there are
35991 problems if the command or the acknowledgment packet is dropped.}
35992
35993 Stan: @emph{If people really wanted to add something like this, and get
35994 it working for the first time, they ought to modify ser-unix.c to send
35995 some kind of out-of-band message to a specially-setup stub and have the
35996 switch happen "in between" packets, so that from remote protocol's point
35997 of view, nothing actually happened.}
35998
35999 @item B @var{addr},@var{mode}
36000 @cindex @samp{B} packet
36001 Set (@var{mode} is @samp{S}) or clear (@var{mode} is @samp{C}) a
36002 breakpoint at @var{addr}.
36003
36004 Don't use this packet. Use the @samp{Z} and @samp{z} packets instead
36005 (@pxref{insert breakpoint or watchpoint packet}).
36006
36007 @cindex @samp{bc} packet
36008 @anchor{bc}
36009 @item bc
36010 Backward continue. Execute the target system in reverse. No parameter.
36011 @xref{Reverse Execution}, for more information.
36012
36013 Reply:
36014 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
36015
36016 @cindex @samp{bs} packet
36017 @anchor{bs}
36018 @item bs
36019 Backward single step. Execute one instruction in reverse. No parameter.
36020 @xref{Reverse Execution}, for more information.
36021
36022 Reply:
36023 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
36024
36025 @item c @r{[}@var{addr}@r{]}
36026 @cindex @samp{c} packet
36027 Continue. @var{addr} is address to resume. If @var{addr} is omitted,
36028 resume at current address.
36029
36030 This packet is deprecated for multi-threading support. @xref{vCont
36031 packet}.
36032
36033 Reply:
36034 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
36035
36036 @item C @var{sig}@r{[};@var{addr}@r{]}
36037 @cindex @samp{C} packet
36038 Continue with signal @var{sig} (hex signal number). If
36039 @samp{;@var{addr}} is omitted, resume at same address.
36040
36041 This packet is deprecated for multi-threading support. @xref{vCont
36042 packet}.
36043
36044 Reply:
36045 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
36046
36047 @item d
36048 @cindex @samp{d} packet
36049 Toggle debug flag.
36050
36051 Don't use this packet; instead, define a general set packet
36052 (@pxref{General Query Packets}).
36053
36054 @item D
36055 @itemx D;@var{pid}
36056 @cindex @samp{D} packet
36057 The first form of the packet is used to detach @value{GDBN} from the
36058 remote system. It is sent to the remote target
36059 before @value{GDBN} disconnects via the @code{detach} command.
36060
36061 The second form, including a process ID, is used when multiprocess
36062 protocol extensions are enabled (@pxref{multiprocess extensions}), to
36063 detach only a specific process. The @var{pid} is specified as a
36064 big-endian hex string.
36065
36066 Reply:
36067 @table @samp
36068 @item OK
36069 for success
36070 @item E @var{NN}
36071 for an error
36072 @end table
36073
36074 @item F @var{RC},@var{EE},@var{CF};@var{XX}
36075 @cindex @samp{F} packet
36076 A reply from @value{GDBN} to an @samp{F} packet sent by the target.
36077 This is part of the File-I/O protocol extension. @xref{File-I/O
36078 Remote Protocol Extension}, for the specification.
36079
36080 @item g
36081 @anchor{read registers packet}
36082 @cindex @samp{g} packet
36083 Read general registers.
36084
36085 Reply:
36086 @table @samp
36087 @item @var{XX@dots{}}
36088 Each byte of register data is described by two hex digits. The bytes
36089 with the register are transmitted in target byte order. The size of
36090 each register and their position within the @samp{g} packet are
36091 determined by the @value{GDBN} internal gdbarch functions
36092 @code{DEPRECATED_REGISTER_RAW_SIZE} and @code{gdbarch_register_name}. The
36093 specification of several standard @samp{g} packets is specified below.
36094
36095 When reading registers from a trace frame (@pxref{Analyze Collected
36096 Data,,Using the Collected Data}), the stub may also return a string of
36097 literal @samp{x}'s in place of the register data digits, to indicate
36098 that the corresponding register has not been collected, thus its value
36099 is unavailable. For example, for an architecture with 4 registers of
36100 4 bytes each, the following reply indicates to @value{GDBN} that
36101 registers 0 and 2 have not been collected, while registers 1 and 3
36102 have been collected, and both have zero value:
36103
36104 @smallexample
36105 -> @code{g}
36106 <- @code{xxxxxxxx00000000xxxxxxxx00000000}
36107 @end smallexample
36108
36109 @item E @var{NN}
36110 for an error.
36111 @end table
36112
36113 @item G @var{XX@dots{}}
36114 @cindex @samp{G} packet
36115 Write general registers. @xref{read registers packet}, for a
36116 description of the @var{XX@dots{}} data.
36117
36118 Reply:
36119 @table @samp
36120 @item OK
36121 for success
36122 @item E @var{NN}
36123 for an error
36124 @end table
36125
36126 @item H @var{op} @var{thread-id}
36127 @cindex @samp{H} packet
36128 Set thread for subsequent operations (@samp{m}, @samp{M}, @samp{g},
36129 @samp{G}, et.al.). @var{op} depends on the operation to be performed:
36130 it should be @samp{c} for step and continue operations (note that this
36131 is deprecated, supporting the @samp{vCont} command is a better
36132 option), @samp{g} for other operations. The thread designator
36133 @var{thread-id} has the format and interpretation described in
36134 @ref{thread-id syntax}.
36135
36136 Reply:
36137 @table @samp
36138 @item OK
36139 for success
36140 @item E @var{NN}
36141 for an error
36142 @end table
36143
36144 @c FIXME: JTC:
36145 @c 'H': How restrictive (or permissive) is the thread model. If a
36146 @c thread is selected and stopped, are other threads allowed
36147 @c to continue to execute? As I mentioned above, I think the
36148 @c semantics of each command when a thread is selected must be
36149 @c described. For example:
36150 @c
36151 @c 'g': If the stub supports threads and a specific thread is
36152 @c selected, returns the register block from that thread;
36153 @c otherwise returns current registers.
36154 @c
36155 @c 'G' If the stub supports threads and a specific thread is
36156 @c selected, sets the registers of the register block of
36157 @c that thread; otherwise sets current registers.
36158
36159 @item i @r{[}@var{addr}@r{[},@var{nnn}@r{]]}
36160 @anchor{cycle step packet}
36161 @cindex @samp{i} packet
36162 Step the remote target by a single clock cycle. If @samp{,@var{nnn}} is
36163 present, cycle step @var{nnn} cycles. If @var{addr} is present, cycle
36164 step starting at that address.
36165
36166 @item I
36167 @cindex @samp{I} packet
36168 Signal, then cycle step. @xref{step with signal packet}. @xref{cycle
36169 step packet}.
36170
36171 @item k
36172 @cindex @samp{k} packet
36173 Kill request.
36174
36175 FIXME: @emph{There is no description of how to operate when a specific
36176 thread context has been selected (i.e.@: does 'k' kill only that
36177 thread?)}.
36178
36179 @item m @var{addr},@var{length}
36180 @cindex @samp{m} packet
36181 Read @var{length} bytes of memory starting at address @var{addr}.
36182 Note that @var{addr} may not be aligned to any particular boundary.
36183
36184 The stub need not use any particular size or alignment when gathering
36185 data from memory for the response; even if @var{addr} is word-aligned
36186 and @var{length} is a multiple of the word size, the stub is free to
36187 use byte accesses, or not. For this reason, this packet may not be
36188 suitable for accessing memory-mapped I/O devices.
36189 @cindex alignment of remote memory accesses
36190 @cindex size of remote memory accesses
36191 @cindex memory, alignment and size of remote accesses
36192
36193 Reply:
36194 @table @samp
36195 @item @var{XX@dots{}}
36196 Memory contents; each byte is transmitted as a two-digit hexadecimal
36197 number. The reply may contain fewer bytes than requested if the
36198 server was able to read only part of the region of memory.
36199 @item E @var{NN}
36200 @var{NN} is errno
36201 @end table
36202
36203 @item M @var{addr},@var{length}:@var{XX@dots{}}
36204 @cindex @samp{M} packet
36205 Write @var{length} bytes of memory starting at address @var{addr}.
36206 @var{XX@dots{}} is the data; each byte is transmitted as a two-digit
36207 hexadecimal number.
36208
36209 Reply:
36210 @table @samp
36211 @item OK
36212 for success
36213 @item E @var{NN}
36214 for an error (this includes the case where only part of the data was
36215 written).
36216 @end table
36217
36218 @item p @var{n}
36219 @cindex @samp{p} packet
36220 Read the value of register @var{n}; @var{n} is in hex.
36221 @xref{read registers packet}, for a description of how the returned
36222 register value is encoded.
36223
36224 Reply:
36225 @table @samp
36226 @item @var{XX@dots{}}
36227 the register's value
36228 @item E @var{NN}
36229 for an error
36230 @item @w{}
36231 Indicating an unrecognized @var{query}.
36232 @end table
36233
36234 @item P @var{n@dots{}}=@var{r@dots{}}
36235 @anchor{write register packet}
36236 @cindex @samp{P} packet
36237 Write register @var{n@dots{}} with value @var{r@dots{}}. The register
36238 number @var{n} is in hexadecimal, and @var{r@dots{}} contains two hex
36239 digits for each byte in the register (target byte order).
36240
36241 Reply:
36242 @table @samp
36243 @item OK
36244 for success
36245 @item E @var{NN}
36246 for an error
36247 @end table
36248
36249 @item q @var{name} @var{params}@dots{}
36250 @itemx Q @var{name} @var{params}@dots{}
36251 @cindex @samp{q} packet
36252 @cindex @samp{Q} packet
36253 General query (@samp{q}) and set (@samp{Q}). These packets are
36254 described fully in @ref{General Query Packets}.
36255
36256 @item r
36257 @cindex @samp{r} packet
36258 Reset the entire system.
36259
36260 Don't use this packet; use the @samp{R} packet instead.
36261
36262 @item R @var{XX}
36263 @cindex @samp{R} packet
36264 Restart the program being debugged. @var{XX}, while needed, is ignored.
36265 This packet is only available in extended mode (@pxref{extended mode}).
36266
36267 The @samp{R} packet has no reply.
36268
36269 @item s @r{[}@var{addr}@r{]}
36270 @cindex @samp{s} packet
36271 Single step. @var{addr} is the address at which to resume. If
36272 @var{addr} is omitted, resume at same address.
36273
36274 This packet is deprecated for multi-threading support. @xref{vCont
36275 packet}.
36276
36277 Reply:
36278 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
36279
36280 @item S @var{sig}@r{[};@var{addr}@r{]}
36281 @anchor{step with signal packet}
36282 @cindex @samp{S} packet
36283 Step with signal. This is analogous to the @samp{C} packet, but
36284 requests a single-step, rather than a normal resumption of execution.
36285
36286 This packet is deprecated for multi-threading support. @xref{vCont
36287 packet}.
36288
36289 Reply:
36290 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
36291
36292 @item t @var{addr}:@var{PP},@var{MM}
36293 @cindex @samp{t} packet
36294 Search backwards starting at address @var{addr} for a match with pattern
36295 @var{PP} and mask @var{MM}. @var{PP} and @var{MM} are 4 bytes.
36296 @var{addr} must be at least 3 digits.
36297
36298 @item T @var{thread-id}
36299 @cindex @samp{T} packet
36300 Find out if the thread @var{thread-id} is alive. @xref{thread-id syntax}.
36301
36302 Reply:
36303 @table @samp
36304 @item OK
36305 thread is still alive
36306 @item E @var{NN}
36307 thread is dead
36308 @end table
36309
36310 @item v
36311 Packets starting with @samp{v} are identified by a multi-letter name,
36312 up to the first @samp{;} or @samp{?} (or the end of the packet).
36313
36314 @item vAttach;@var{pid}
36315 @cindex @samp{vAttach} packet
36316 Attach to a new process with the specified process ID @var{pid}.
36317 The process ID is a
36318 hexadecimal integer identifying the process. In all-stop mode, all
36319 threads in the attached process are stopped; in non-stop mode, it may be
36320 attached without being stopped if that is supported by the target.
36321
36322 @c In non-stop mode, on a successful vAttach, the stub should set the
36323 @c current thread to a thread of the newly-attached process. After
36324 @c attaching, GDB queries for the attached process's thread ID with qC.
36325 @c Also note that, from a user perspective, whether or not the
36326 @c target is stopped on attach in non-stop mode depends on whether you
36327 @c use the foreground or background version of the attach command, not
36328 @c on what vAttach does; GDB does the right thing with respect to either
36329 @c stopping or restarting threads.
36330
36331 This packet is only available in extended mode (@pxref{extended mode}).
36332
36333 Reply:
36334 @table @samp
36335 @item E @var{nn}
36336 for an error
36337 @item @r{Any stop packet}
36338 for success in all-stop mode (@pxref{Stop Reply Packets})
36339 @item OK
36340 for success in non-stop mode (@pxref{Remote Non-Stop})
36341 @end table
36342
36343 @item vCont@r{[};@var{action}@r{[}:@var{thread-id}@r{]]}@dots{}
36344 @cindex @samp{vCont} packet
36345 @anchor{vCont packet}
36346 Resume the inferior, specifying different actions for each thread.
36347 If an action is specified with no @var{thread-id}, then it is applied to any
36348 threads that don't have a specific action specified; if no default action is
36349 specified then other threads should remain stopped in all-stop mode and
36350 in their current state in non-stop mode.
36351 Specifying multiple
36352 default actions is an error; specifying no actions is also an error.
36353 Thread IDs are specified using the syntax described in @ref{thread-id syntax}.
36354
36355 Currently supported actions are:
36356
36357 @table @samp
36358 @item c
36359 Continue.
36360 @item C @var{sig}
36361 Continue with signal @var{sig}. The signal @var{sig} should be two hex digits.
36362 @item s
36363 Step.
36364 @item S @var{sig}
36365 Step with signal @var{sig}. The signal @var{sig} should be two hex digits.
36366 @item t
36367 Stop.
36368 @end table
36369
36370 The optional argument @var{addr} normally associated with the
36371 @samp{c}, @samp{C}, @samp{s}, and @samp{S} packets is
36372 not supported in @samp{vCont}.
36373
36374 The @samp{t} action is only relevant in non-stop mode
36375 (@pxref{Remote Non-Stop}) and may be ignored by the stub otherwise.
36376 A stop reply should be generated for any affected thread not already stopped.
36377 When a thread is stopped by means of a @samp{t} action,
36378 the corresponding stop reply should indicate that the thread has stopped with
36379 signal @samp{0}, regardless of whether the target uses some other signal
36380 as an implementation detail.
36381
36382 The stub must support @samp{vCont} if it reports support for
36383 multiprocess extensions (@pxref{multiprocess extensions}). Note that in
36384 this case @samp{vCont} actions can be specified to apply to all threads
36385 in a process by using the @samp{p@var{pid}.-1} form of the
36386 @var{thread-id}.
36387
36388 Reply:
36389 @xref{Stop Reply Packets}, for the reply specifications.
36390
36391 @item vCont?
36392 @cindex @samp{vCont?} packet
36393 Request a list of actions supported by the @samp{vCont} packet.
36394
36395 Reply:
36396 @table @samp
36397 @item vCont@r{[};@var{action}@dots{}@r{]}
36398 The @samp{vCont} packet is supported. Each @var{action} is a supported
36399 command in the @samp{vCont} packet.
36400 @item @w{}
36401 The @samp{vCont} packet is not supported.
36402 @end table
36403
36404 @item vFile:@var{operation}:@var{parameter}@dots{}
36405 @cindex @samp{vFile} packet
36406 Perform a file operation on the target system. For details,
36407 see @ref{Host I/O Packets}.
36408
36409 @item vFlashErase:@var{addr},@var{length}
36410 @cindex @samp{vFlashErase} packet
36411 Direct the stub to erase @var{length} bytes of flash starting at
36412 @var{addr}. The region may enclose any number of flash blocks, but
36413 its start and end must fall on block boundaries, as indicated by the
36414 flash block size appearing in the memory map (@pxref{Memory Map
36415 Format}). @value{GDBN} groups flash memory programming operations
36416 together, and sends a @samp{vFlashDone} request after each group; the
36417 stub is allowed to delay erase operation until the @samp{vFlashDone}
36418 packet is received.
36419
36420 Reply:
36421 @table @samp
36422 @item OK
36423 for success
36424 @item E @var{NN}
36425 for an error
36426 @end table
36427
36428 @item vFlashWrite:@var{addr}:@var{XX@dots{}}
36429 @cindex @samp{vFlashWrite} packet
36430 Direct the stub to write data to flash address @var{addr}. The data
36431 is passed in binary form using the same encoding as for the @samp{X}
36432 packet (@pxref{Binary Data}). The memory ranges specified by
36433 @samp{vFlashWrite} packets preceding a @samp{vFlashDone} packet must
36434 not overlap, and must appear in order of increasing addresses
36435 (although @samp{vFlashErase} packets for higher addresses may already
36436 have been received; the ordering is guaranteed only between
36437 @samp{vFlashWrite} packets). If a packet writes to an address that was
36438 neither erased by a preceding @samp{vFlashErase} packet nor by some other
36439 target-specific method, the results are unpredictable.
36440
36441
36442 Reply:
36443 @table @samp
36444 @item OK
36445 for success
36446 @item E.memtype
36447 for vFlashWrite addressing non-flash memory
36448 @item E @var{NN}
36449 for an error
36450 @end table
36451
36452 @item vFlashDone
36453 @cindex @samp{vFlashDone} packet
36454 Indicate to the stub that flash programming operation is finished.
36455 The stub is permitted to delay or batch the effects of a group of
36456 @samp{vFlashErase} and @samp{vFlashWrite} packets until a
36457 @samp{vFlashDone} packet is received. The contents of the affected
36458 regions of flash memory are unpredictable until the @samp{vFlashDone}
36459 request is completed.
36460
36461 @item vKill;@var{pid}
36462 @cindex @samp{vKill} packet
36463 Kill the process with the specified process ID. @var{pid} is a
36464 hexadecimal integer identifying the process. This packet is used in
36465 preference to @samp{k} when multiprocess protocol extensions are
36466 supported; see @ref{multiprocess extensions}.
36467
36468 Reply:
36469 @table @samp
36470 @item E @var{nn}
36471 for an error
36472 @item OK
36473 for success
36474 @end table
36475
36476 @item vRun;@var{filename}@r{[};@var{argument}@r{]}@dots{}
36477 @cindex @samp{vRun} packet
36478 Run the program @var{filename}, passing it each @var{argument} on its
36479 command line. The file and arguments are hex-encoded strings. If
36480 @var{filename} is an empty string, the stub may use a default program
36481 (e.g.@: the last program run). The program is created in the stopped
36482 state.
36483
36484 @c FIXME: What about non-stop mode?
36485
36486 This packet is only available in extended mode (@pxref{extended mode}).
36487
36488 Reply:
36489 @table @samp
36490 @item E @var{nn}
36491 for an error
36492 @item @r{Any stop packet}
36493 for success (@pxref{Stop Reply Packets})
36494 @end table
36495
36496 @item vStopped
36497 @cindex @samp{vStopped} packet
36498 @xref{Notification Packets}.
36499
36500 @item X @var{addr},@var{length}:@var{XX@dots{}}
36501 @anchor{X packet}
36502 @cindex @samp{X} packet
36503 Write data to memory, where the data is transmitted in binary.
36504 @var{addr} is address, @var{length} is number of bytes,
36505 @samp{@var{XX}@dots{}} is binary data (@pxref{Binary Data}).
36506
36507 Reply:
36508 @table @samp
36509 @item OK
36510 for success
36511 @item E @var{NN}
36512 for an error
36513 @end table
36514
36515 @item z @var{type},@var{addr},@var{kind}
36516 @itemx Z @var{type},@var{addr},@var{kind}
36517 @anchor{insert breakpoint or watchpoint packet}
36518 @cindex @samp{z} packet
36519 @cindex @samp{Z} packets
36520 Insert (@samp{Z}) or remove (@samp{z}) a @var{type} breakpoint or
36521 watchpoint starting at address @var{address} of kind @var{kind}.
36522
36523 Each breakpoint and watchpoint packet @var{type} is documented
36524 separately.
36525
36526 @emph{Implementation notes: A remote target shall return an empty string
36527 for an unrecognized breakpoint or watchpoint packet @var{type}. A
36528 remote target shall support either both or neither of a given
36529 @samp{Z@var{type}@dots{}} and @samp{z@var{type}@dots{}} packet pair. To
36530 avoid potential problems with duplicate packets, the operations should
36531 be implemented in an idempotent way.}
36532
36533 @item z0,@var{addr},@var{kind}
36534 @itemx Z0,@var{addr},@var{kind}@r{[};@var{cond_list}@dots{}@r{]}@r{[};cmds:@var{persist},@var{cmd_list}@dots{}@r{]}
36535 @cindex @samp{z0} packet
36536 @cindex @samp{Z0} packet
36537 Insert (@samp{Z0}) or remove (@samp{z0}) a memory breakpoint at address
36538 @var{addr} of type @var{kind}.
36539
36540 A memory breakpoint is implemented by replacing the instruction at
36541 @var{addr} with a software breakpoint or trap instruction. The
36542 @var{kind} is target-specific and typically indicates the size of
36543 the breakpoint in bytes that should be inserted. E.g., the @sc{arm}
36544 and @sc{mips} can insert either a 2 or 4 byte breakpoint. Some
36545 architectures have additional meanings for @var{kind};
36546 @var{cond_list} is an optional list of conditional expressions in bytecode
36547 form that should be evaluated on the target's side. These are the
36548 conditions that should be taken into consideration when deciding if
36549 the breakpoint trigger should be reported back to @var{GDBN}.
36550
36551 The @var{cond_list} parameter is comprised of a series of expressions,
36552 concatenated without separators. Each expression has the following form:
36553
36554 @table @samp
36555
36556 @item X @var{len},@var{expr}
36557 @var{len} is the length of the bytecode expression and @var{expr} is the
36558 actual conditional expression in bytecode form.
36559
36560 @end table
36561
36562 The optional @var{cmd_list} parameter introduces commands that may be
36563 run on the target, rather than being reported back to @value{GDBN}.
36564 The parameter starts with a numeric flag @var{persist}; if the flag is
36565 nonzero, then the breakpoint may remain active and the commands
36566 continue to be run even when @value{GDBN} disconnects from the target.
36567 Following this flag is a series of expressions concatenated with no
36568 separators. Each expression has the following form:
36569
36570 @table @samp
36571
36572 @item X @var{len},@var{expr}
36573 @var{len} is the length of the bytecode expression and @var{expr} is the
36574 actual conditional expression in bytecode form.
36575
36576 @end table
36577
36578 see @ref{Architecture-Specific Protocol Details}.
36579
36580 @emph{Implementation note: It is possible for a target to copy or move
36581 code that contains memory breakpoints (e.g., when implementing
36582 overlays). The behavior of this packet, in the presence of such a
36583 target, is not defined.}
36584
36585 Reply:
36586 @table @samp
36587 @item OK
36588 success
36589 @item @w{}
36590 not supported
36591 @item E @var{NN}
36592 for an error
36593 @end table
36594
36595 @item z1,@var{addr},@var{kind}
36596 @itemx Z1,@var{addr},@var{kind}@r{[};@var{cond_list}@dots{}@r{]}
36597 @cindex @samp{z1} packet
36598 @cindex @samp{Z1} packet
36599 Insert (@samp{Z1}) or remove (@samp{z1}) a hardware breakpoint at
36600 address @var{addr}.
36601
36602 A hardware breakpoint is implemented using a mechanism that is not
36603 dependant on being able to modify the target's memory. @var{kind}
36604 and @var{cond_list} have the same meaning as in @samp{Z0} packets.
36605
36606 @emph{Implementation note: A hardware breakpoint is not affected by code
36607 movement.}
36608
36609 Reply:
36610 @table @samp
36611 @item OK
36612 success
36613 @item @w{}
36614 not supported
36615 @item E @var{NN}
36616 for an error
36617 @end table
36618
36619 @item z2,@var{addr},@var{kind}
36620 @itemx Z2,@var{addr},@var{kind}
36621 @cindex @samp{z2} packet
36622 @cindex @samp{Z2} packet
36623 Insert (@samp{Z2}) or remove (@samp{z2}) a write watchpoint at @var{addr}.
36624 @var{kind} is interpreted as the number of bytes to watch.
36625
36626 Reply:
36627 @table @samp
36628 @item OK
36629 success
36630 @item @w{}
36631 not supported
36632 @item E @var{NN}
36633 for an error
36634 @end table
36635
36636 @item z3,@var{addr},@var{kind}
36637 @itemx Z3,@var{addr},@var{kind}
36638 @cindex @samp{z3} packet
36639 @cindex @samp{Z3} packet
36640 Insert (@samp{Z3}) or remove (@samp{z3}) a read watchpoint at @var{addr}.
36641 @var{kind} is interpreted as the number of bytes to watch.
36642
36643 Reply:
36644 @table @samp
36645 @item OK
36646 success
36647 @item @w{}
36648 not supported
36649 @item E @var{NN}
36650 for an error
36651 @end table
36652
36653 @item z4,@var{addr},@var{kind}
36654 @itemx Z4,@var{addr},@var{kind}
36655 @cindex @samp{z4} packet
36656 @cindex @samp{Z4} packet
36657 Insert (@samp{Z4}) or remove (@samp{z4}) an access watchpoint at @var{addr}.
36658 @var{kind} is interpreted as the number of bytes to watch.
36659
36660 Reply:
36661 @table @samp
36662 @item OK
36663 success
36664 @item @w{}
36665 not supported
36666 @item E @var{NN}
36667 for an error
36668 @end table
36669
36670 @end table
36671
36672 @node Stop Reply Packets
36673 @section Stop Reply Packets
36674 @cindex stop reply packets
36675
36676 The @samp{C}, @samp{c}, @samp{S}, @samp{s}, @samp{vCont},
36677 @samp{vAttach}, @samp{vRun}, @samp{vStopped}, and @samp{?} packets can
36678 receive any of the below as a reply. Except for @samp{?}
36679 and @samp{vStopped}, that reply is only returned
36680 when the target halts. In the below the exact meaning of @dfn{signal
36681 number} is defined by the header @file{include/gdb/signals.h} in the
36682 @value{GDBN} source code.
36683
36684 As in the description of request packets, we include spaces in the
36685 reply templates for clarity; these are not part of the reply packet's
36686 syntax. No @value{GDBN} stop reply packet uses spaces to separate its
36687 components.
36688
36689 @table @samp
36690
36691 @item S @var{AA}
36692 The program received signal number @var{AA} (a two-digit hexadecimal
36693 number). This is equivalent to a @samp{T} response with no
36694 @var{n}:@var{r} pairs.
36695
36696 @item T @var{AA} @var{n1}:@var{r1};@var{n2}:@var{r2};@dots{}
36697 @cindex @samp{T} packet reply
36698 The program received signal number @var{AA} (a two-digit hexadecimal
36699 number). This is equivalent to an @samp{S} response, except that the
36700 @samp{@var{n}:@var{r}} pairs can carry values of important registers
36701 and other information directly in the stop reply packet, reducing
36702 round-trip latency. Single-step and breakpoint traps are reported
36703 this way. Each @samp{@var{n}:@var{r}} pair is interpreted as follows:
36704
36705 @itemize @bullet
36706 @item
36707 If @var{n} is a hexadecimal number, it is a register number, and the
36708 corresponding @var{r} gives that register's value. @var{r} is a
36709 series of bytes in target byte order, with each byte given by a
36710 two-digit hex number.
36711
36712 @item
36713 If @var{n} is @samp{thread}, then @var{r} is the @var{thread-id} of
36714 the stopped thread, as specified in @ref{thread-id syntax}.
36715
36716 @item
36717 If @var{n} is @samp{core}, then @var{r} is the hexadecimal number of
36718 the core on which the stop event was detected.
36719
36720 @item
36721 If @var{n} is a recognized @dfn{stop reason}, it describes a more
36722 specific event that stopped the target. The currently defined stop
36723 reasons are listed below. @var{aa} should be @samp{05}, the trap
36724 signal. At most one stop reason should be present.
36725
36726 @item
36727 Otherwise, @value{GDBN} should ignore this @samp{@var{n}:@var{r}} pair
36728 and go on to the next; this allows us to extend the protocol in the
36729 future.
36730 @end itemize
36731
36732 The currently defined stop reasons are:
36733
36734 @table @samp
36735 @item watch
36736 @itemx rwatch
36737 @itemx awatch
36738 The packet indicates a watchpoint hit, and @var{r} is the data address, in
36739 hex.
36740
36741 @cindex shared library events, remote reply
36742 @item library
36743 The packet indicates that the loaded libraries have changed.
36744 @value{GDBN} should use @samp{qXfer:libraries:read} to fetch a new
36745 list of loaded libraries. @var{r} is ignored.
36746
36747 @cindex replay log events, remote reply
36748 @item replaylog
36749 The packet indicates that the target cannot continue replaying
36750 logged execution events, because it has reached the end (or the
36751 beginning when executing backward) of the log. The value of @var{r}
36752 will be either @samp{begin} or @samp{end}. @xref{Reverse Execution},
36753 for more information.
36754 @end table
36755
36756 @item W @var{AA}
36757 @itemx W @var{AA} ; process:@var{pid}
36758 The process exited, and @var{AA} is the exit status. This is only
36759 applicable to certain targets.
36760
36761 The second form of the response, including the process ID of the exited
36762 process, can be used only when @value{GDBN} has reported support for
36763 multiprocess protocol extensions; see @ref{multiprocess extensions}.
36764 The @var{pid} is formatted as a big-endian hex string.
36765
36766 @item X @var{AA}
36767 @itemx X @var{AA} ; process:@var{pid}
36768 The process terminated with signal @var{AA}.
36769
36770 The second form of the response, including the process ID of the
36771 terminated process, can be used only when @value{GDBN} has reported
36772 support for multiprocess protocol extensions; see @ref{multiprocess
36773 extensions}. The @var{pid} is formatted as a big-endian hex string.
36774
36775 @item O @var{XX}@dots{}
36776 @samp{@var{XX}@dots{}} is hex encoding of @sc{ascii} data, to be
36777 written as the program's console output. This can happen at any time
36778 while the program is running and the debugger should continue to wait
36779 for @samp{W}, @samp{T}, etc. This reply is not permitted in non-stop mode.
36780
36781 @item F @var{call-id},@var{parameter}@dots{}
36782 @var{call-id} is the identifier which says which host system call should
36783 be called. This is just the name of the function. Translation into the
36784 correct system call is only applicable as it's defined in @value{GDBN}.
36785 @xref{File-I/O Remote Protocol Extension}, for a list of implemented
36786 system calls.
36787
36788 @samp{@var{parameter}@dots{}} is a list of parameters as defined for
36789 this very system call.
36790
36791 The target replies with this packet when it expects @value{GDBN} to
36792 call a host system call on behalf of the target. @value{GDBN} replies
36793 with an appropriate @samp{F} packet and keeps up waiting for the next
36794 reply packet from the target. The latest @samp{C}, @samp{c}, @samp{S}
36795 or @samp{s} action is expected to be continued. @xref{File-I/O Remote
36796 Protocol Extension}, for more details.
36797
36798 @end table
36799
36800 @node General Query Packets
36801 @section General Query Packets
36802 @cindex remote query requests
36803
36804 Packets starting with @samp{q} are @dfn{general query packets};
36805 packets starting with @samp{Q} are @dfn{general set packets}. General
36806 query and set packets are a semi-unified form for retrieving and
36807 sending information to and from the stub.
36808
36809 The initial letter of a query or set packet is followed by a name
36810 indicating what sort of thing the packet applies to. For example,
36811 @value{GDBN} may use a @samp{qSymbol} packet to exchange symbol
36812 definitions with the stub. These packet names follow some
36813 conventions:
36814
36815 @itemize @bullet
36816 @item
36817 The name must not contain commas, colons or semicolons.
36818 @item
36819 Most @value{GDBN} query and set packets have a leading upper case
36820 letter.
36821 @item
36822 The names of custom vendor packets should use a company prefix, in
36823 lower case, followed by a period. For example, packets designed at
36824 the Acme Corporation might begin with @samp{qacme.foo} (for querying
36825 foos) or @samp{Qacme.bar} (for setting bars).
36826 @end itemize
36827
36828 The name of a query or set packet should be separated from any
36829 parameters by a @samp{:}; the parameters themselves should be
36830 separated by @samp{,} or @samp{;}. Stubs must be careful to match the
36831 full packet name, and check for a separator or the end of the packet,
36832 in case two packet names share a common prefix. New packets should not begin
36833 with @samp{qC}, @samp{qP}, or @samp{qL}@footnote{The @samp{qP} and @samp{qL}
36834 packets predate these conventions, and have arguments without any terminator
36835 for the packet name; we suspect they are in widespread use in places that
36836 are difficult to upgrade. The @samp{qC} packet has no arguments, but some
36837 existing stubs (e.g.@: RedBoot) are known to not check for the end of the
36838 packet.}.
36839
36840 Like the descriptions of the other packets, each description here
36841 has a template showing the packet's overall syntax, followed by an
36842 explanation of the packet's meaning. We include spaces in some of the
36843 templates for clarity; these are not part of the packet's syntax. No
36844 @value{GDBN} packet uses spaces to separate its components.
36845
36846 Here are the currently defined query and set packets:
36847
36848 @table @samp
36849
36850 @item QAgent:1
36851 @itemx QAgent:0
36852 Turn on or off the agent as a helper to perform some debugging operations
36853 delegated from @value{GDBN} (@pxref{Control Agent}).
36854
36855 @item QAllow:@var{op}:@var{val}@dots{}
36856 @cindex @samp{QAllow} packet
36857 Specify which operations @value{GDBN} expects to request of the
36858 target, as a semicolon-separated list of operation name and value
36859 pairs. Possible values for @var{op} include @samp{WriteReg},
36860 @samp{WriteMem}, @samp{InsertBreak}, @samp{InsertTrace},
36861 @samp{InsertFastTrace}, and @samp{Stop}. @var{val} is either 0,
36862 indicating that @value{GDBN} will not request the operation, or 1,
36863 indicating that it may. (The target can then use this to set up its
36864 own internals optimally, for instance if the debugger never expects to
36865 insert breakpoints, it may not need to install its own trap handler.)
36866
36867 @item qC
36868 @cindex current thread, remote request
36869 @cindex @samp{qC} packet
36870 Return the current thread ID.
36871
36872 Reply:
36873 @table @samp
36874 @item QC @var{thread-id}
36875 Where @var{thread-id} is a thread ID as documented in
36876 @ref{thread-id syntax}.
36877 @item @r{(anything else)}
36878 Any other reply implies the old thread ID.
36879 @end table
36880
36881 @item qCRC:@var{addr},@var{length}
36882 @cindex CRC of memory block, remote request
36883 @cindex @samp{qCRC} packet
36884 Compute the CRC checksum of a block of memory using CRC-32 defined in
36885 IEEE 802.3. The CRC is computed byte at a time, taking the most
36886 significant bit of each byte first. The initial pattern code
36887 @code{0xffffffff} is used to ensure leading zeros affect the CRC.
36888
36889 @emph{Note:} This is the same CRC used in validating separate debug
36890 files (@pxref{Separate Debug Files, , Debugging Information in Separate
36891 Files}). However the algorithm is slightly different. When validating
36892 separate debug files, the CRC is computed taking the @emph{least}
36893 significant bit of each byte first, and the final result is inverted to
36894 detect trailing zeros.
36895
36896 Reply:
36897 @table @samp
36898 @item E @var{NN}
36899 An error (such as memory fault)
36900 @item C @var{crc32}
36901 The specified memory region's checksum is @var{crc32}.
36902 @end table
36903
36904 @item QDisableRandomization:@var{value}
36905 @cindex disable address space randomization, remote request
36906 @cindex @samp{QDisableRandomization} packet
36907 Some target operating systems will randomize the virtual address space
36908 of the inferior process as a security feature, but provide a feature
36909 to disable such randomization, e.g.@: to allow for a more deterministic
36910 debugging experience. On such systems, this packet with a @var{value}
36911 of 1 directs the target to disable address space randomization for
36912 processes subsequently started via @samp{vRun} packets, while a packet
36913 with a @var{value} of 0 tells the target to enable address space
36914 randomization.
36915
36916 This packet is only available in extended mode (@pxref{extended mode}).
36917
36918 Reply:
36919 @table @samp
36920 @item OK
36921 The request succeeded.
36922
36923 @item E @var{nn}
36924 An error occurred. @var{nn} are hex digits.
36925
36926 @item @w{}
36927 An empty reply indicates that @samp{QDisableRandomization} is not supported
36928 by the stub.
36929 @end table
36930
36931 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
36932 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
36933 This should only be done on targets that actually support disabling
36934 address space randomization.
36935
36936 @item qfThreadInfo
36937 @itemx qsThreadInfo
36938 @cindex list active threads, remote request
36939 @cindex @samp{qfThreadInfo} packet
36940 @cindex @samp{qsThreadInfo} packet
36941 Obtain a list of all active thread IDs from the target (OS). Since there
36942 may be too many active threads to fit into one reply packet, this query
36943 works iteratively: it may require more than one query/reply sequence to
36944 obtain the entire list of threads. The first query of the sequence will
36945 be the @samp{qfThreadInfo} query; subsequent queries in the
36946 sequence will be the @samp{qsThreadInfo} query.
36947
36948 NOTE: This packet replaces the @samp{qL} query (see below).
36949
36950 Reply:
36951 @table @samp
36952 @item m @var{thread-id}
36953 A single thread ID
36954 @item m @var{thread-id},@var{thread-id}@dots{}
36955 a comma-separated list of thread IDs
36956 @item l
36957 (lower case letter @samp{L}) denotes end of list.
36958 @end table
36959
36960 In response to each query, the target will reply with a list of one or
36961 more thread IDs, separated by commas.
36962 @value{GDBN} will respond to each reply with a request for more thread
36963 ids (using the @samp{qs} form of the query), until the target responds
36964 with @samp{l} (lower-case ell, for @dfn{last}).
36965 Refer to @ref{thread-id syntax}, for the format of the @var{thread-id}
36966 fields.
36967
36968 @item qGetTLSAddr:@var{thread-id},@var{offset},@var{lm}
36969 @cindex get thread-local storage address, remote request
36970 @cindex @samp{qGetTLSAddr} packet
36971 Fetch the address associated with thread local storage specified
36972 by @var{thread-id}, @var{offset}, and @var{lm}.
36973
36974 @var{thread-id} is the thread ID associated with the
36975 thread for which to fetch the TLS address. @xref{thread-id syntax}.
36976
36977 @var{offset} is the (big endian, hex encoded) offset associated with the
36978 thread local variable. (This offset is obtained from the debug
36979 information associated with the variable.)
36980
36981 @var{lm} is the (big endian, hex encoded) OS/ABI-specific encoding of the
36982 load module associated with the thread local storage. For example,
36983 a @sc{gnu}/Linux system will pass the link map address of the shared
36984 object associated with the thread local storage under consideration.
36985 Other operating environments may choose to represent the load module
36986 differently, so the precise meaning of this parameter will vary.
36987
36988 Reply:
36989 @table @samp
36990 @item @var{XX}@dots{}
36991 Hex encoded (big endian) bytes representing the address of the thread
36992 local storage requested.
36993
36994 @item E @var{nn}
36995 An error occurred. @var{nn} are hex digits.
36996
36997 @item @w{}
36998 An empty reply indicates that @samp{qGetTLSAddr} is not supported by the stub.
36999 @end table
37000
37001 @item qGetTIBAddr:@var{thread-id}
37002 @cindex get thread information block address
37003 @cindex @samp{qGetTIBAddr} packet
37004 Fetch address of the Windows OS specific Thread Information Block.
37005
37006 @var{thread-id} is the thread ID associated with the thread.
37007
37008 Reply:
37009 @table @samp
37010 @item @var{XX}@dots{}
37011 Hex encoded (big endian) bytes representing the linear address of the
37012 thread information block.
37013
37014 @item E @var{nn}
37015 An error occured. This means that either the thread was not found, or the
37016 address could not be retrieved.
37017
37018 @item @w{}
37019 An empty reply indicates that @samp{qGetTIBAddr} is not supported by the stub.
37020 @end table
37021
37022 @item qL @var{startflag} @var{threadcount} @var{nextthread}
37023 Obtain thread information from RTOS. Where: @var{startflag} (one hex
37024 digit) is one to indicate the first query and zero to indicate a
37025 subsequent query; @var{threadcount} (two hex digits) is the maximum
37026 number of threads the response packet can contain; and @var{nextthread}
37027 (eight hex digits), for subsequent queries (@var{startflag} is zero), is
37028 returned in the response as @var{argthread}.
37029
37030 Don't use this packet; use the @samp{qfThreadInfo} query instead (see above).
37031
37032 Reply:
37033 @table @samp
37034 @item qM @var{count} @var{done} @var{argthread} @var{thread}@dots{}
37035 Where: @var{count} (two hex digits) is the number of threads being
37036 returned; @var{done} (one hex digit) is zero to indicate more threads
37037 and one indicates no further threads; @var{argthreadid} (eight hex
37038 digits) is @var{nextthread} from the request packet; @var{thread}@dots{}
37039 is a sequence of thread IDs from the target. @var{threadid} (eight hex
37040 digits). See @code{remote.c:parse_threadlist_response()}.
37041 @end table
37042
37043 @item qOffsets
37044 @cindex section offsets, remote request
37045 @cindex @samp{qOffsets} packet
37046 Get section offsets that the target used when relocating the downloaded
37047 image.
37048
37049 Reply:
37050 @table @samp
37051 @item Text=@var{xxx};Data=@var{yyy}@r{[};Bss=@var{zzz}@r{]}
37052 Relocate the @code{Text} section by @var{xxx} from its original address.
37053 Relocate the @code{Data} section by @var{yyy} from its original address.
37054 If the object file format provides segment information (e.g.@: @sc{elf}
37055 @samp{PT_LOAD} program headers), @value{GDBN} will relocate entire
37056 segments by the supplied offsets.
37057
37058 @emph{Note: while a @code{Bss} offset may be included in the response,
37059 @value{GDBN} ignores this and instead applies the @code{Data} offset
37060 to the @code{Bss} section.}
37061
37062 @item TextSeg=@var{xxx}@r{[};DataSeg=@var{yyy}@r{]}
37063 Relocate the first segment of the object file, which conventionally
37064 contains program code, to a starting address of @var{xxx}. If
37065 @samp{DataSeg} is specified, relocate the second segment, which
37066 conventionally contains modifiable data, to a starting address of
37067 @var{yyy}. @value{GDBN} will report an error if the object file
37068 does not contain segment information, or does not contain at least
37069 as many segments as mentioned in the reply. Extra segments are
37070 kept at fixed offsets relative to the last relocated segment.
37071 @end table
37072
37073 @item qP @var{mode} @var{thread-id}
37074 @cindex thread information, remote request
37075 @cindex @samp{qP} packet
37076 Returns information on @var{thread-id}. Where: @var{mode} is a hex
37077 encoded 32 bit mode; @var{thread-id} is a thread ID
37078 (@pxref{thread-id syntax}).
37079
37080 Don't use this packet; use the @samp{qThreadExtraInfo} query instead
37081 (see below).
37082
37083 Reply: see @code{remote.c:remote_unpack_thread_info_response()}.
37084
37085 @item QNonStop:1
37086 @itemx QNonStop:0
37087 @cindex non-stop mode, remote request
37088 @cindex @samp{QNonStop} packet
37089 @anchor{QNonStop}
37090 Enter non-stop (@samp{QNonStop:1}) or all-stop (@samp{QNonStop:0}) mode.
37091 @xref{Remote Non-Stop}, for more information.
37092
37093 Reply:
37094 @table @samp
37095 @item OK
37096 The request succeeded.
37097
37098 @item E @var{nn}
37099 An error occurred. @var{nn} are hex digits.
37100
37101 @item @w{}
37102 An empty reply indicates that @samp{QNonStop} is not supported by
37103 the stub.
37104 @end table
37105
37106 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37107 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37108 Use of this packet is controlled by the @code{set non-stop} command;
37109 @pxref{Non-Stop Mode}.
37110
37111 @item QPassSignals: @var{signal} @r{[};@var{signal}@r{]}@dots{}
37112 @cindex pass signals to inferior, remote request
37113 @cindex @samp{QPassSignals} packet
37114 @anchor{QPassSignals}
37115 Each listed @var{signal} should be passed directly to the inferior process.
37116 Signals are numbered identically to continue packets and stop replies
37117 (@pxref{Stop Reply Packets}). Each @var{signal} list item should be
37118 strictly greater than the previous item. These signals do not need to stop
37119 the inferior, or be reported to @value{GDBN}. All other signals should be
37120 reported to @value{GDBN}. Multiple @samp{QPassSignals} packets do not
37121 combine; any earlier @samp{QPassSignals} list is completely replaced by the
37122 new list. This packet improves performance when using @samp{handle
37123 @var{signal} nostop noprint pass}.
37124
37125 Reply:
37126 @table @samp
37127 @item OK
37128 The request succeeded.
37129
37130 @item E @var{nn}
37131 An error occurred. @var{nn} are hex digits.
37132
37133 @item @w{}
37134 An empty reply indicates that @samp{QPassSignals} is not supported by
37135 the stub.
37136 @end table
37137
37138 Use of this packet is controlled by the @code{set remote pass-signals}
37139 command (@pxref{Remote Configuration, set remote pass-signals}).
37140 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37141 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37142
37143 @item QProgramSignals: @var{signal} @r{[};@var{signal}@r{]}@dots{}
37144 @cindex signals the inferior may see, remote request
37145 @cindex @samp{QProgramSignals} packet
37146 @anchor{QProgramSignals}
37147 Each listed @var{signal} may be delivered to the inferior process.
37148 Others should be silently discarded.
37149
37150 In some cases, the remote stub may need to decide whether to deliver a
37151 signal to the program or not without @value{GDBN} involvement. One
37152 example of that is while detaching --- the program's threads may have
37153 stopped for signals that haven't yet had a chance of being reported to
37154 @value{GDBN}, and so the remote stub can use the signal list specified
37155 by this packet to know whether to deliver or ignore those pending
37156 signals.
37157
37158 This does not influence whether to deliver a signal as requested by a
37159 resumption packet (@pxref{vCont packet}).
37160
37161 Signals are numbered identically to continue packets and stop replies
37162 (@pxref{Stop Reply Packets}). Each @var{signal} list item should be
37163 strictly greater than the previous item. Multiple
37164 @samp{QProgramSignals} packets do not combine; any earlier
37165 @samp{QProgramSignals} list is completely replaced by the new list.
37166
37167 Reply:
37168 @table @samp
37169 @item OK
37170 The request succeeded.
37171
37172 @item E @var{nn}
37173 An error occurred. @var{nn} are hex digits.
37174
37175 @item @w{}
37176 An empty reply indicates that @samp{QProgramSignals} is not supported
37177 by the stub.
37178 @end table
37179
37180 Use of this packet is controlled by the @code{set remote program-signals}
37181 command (@pxref{Remote Configuration, set remote program-signals}).
37182 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37183 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37184
37185 @item qRcmd,@var{command}
37186 @cindex execute remote command, remote request
37187 @cindex @samp{qRcmd} packet
37188 @var{command} (hex encoded) is passed to the local interpreter for
37189 execution. Invalid commands should be reported using the output
37190 string. Before the final result packet, the target may also respond
37191 with a number of intermediate @samp{O@var{output}} console output
37192 packets. @emph{Implementors should note that providing access to a
37193 stubs's interpreter may have security implications}.
37194
37195 Reply:
37196 @table @samp
37197 @item OK
37198 A command response with no output.
37199 @item @var{OUTPUT}
37200 A command response with the hex encoded output string @var{OUTPUT}.
37201 @item E @var{NN}
37202 Indicate a badly formed request.
37203 @item @w{}
37204 An empty reply indicates that @samp{qRcmd} is not recognized.
37205 @end table
37206
37207 (Note that the @code{qRcmd} packet's name is separated from the
37208 command by a @samp{,}, not a @samp{:}, contrary to the naming
37209 conventions above. Please don't use this packet as a model for new
37210 packets.)
37211
37212 @item qSearch:memory:@var{address};@var{length};@var{search-pattern}
37213 @cindex searching memory, in remote debugging
37214 @ifnotinfo
37215 @cindex @samp{qSearch:memory} packet
37216 @end ifnotinfo
37217 @cindex @samp{qSearch memory} packet
37218 @anchor{qSearch memory}
37219 Search @var{length} bytes at @var{address} for @var{search-pattern}.
37220 @var{address} and @var{length} are encoded in hex.
37221 @var{search-pattern} is a sequence of bytes, hex encoded.
37222
37223 Reply:
37224 @table @samp
37225 @item 0
37226 The pattern was not found.
37227 @item 1,address
37228 The pattern was found at @var{address}.
37229 @item E @var{NN}
37230 A badly formed request or an error was encountered while searching memory.
37231 @item @w{}
37232 An empty reply indicates that @samp{qSearch:memory} is not recognized.
37233 @end table
37234
37235 @item QStartNoAckMode
37236 @cindex @samp{QStartNoAckMode} packet
37237 @anchor{QStartNoAckMode}
37238 Request that the remote stub disable the normal @samp{+}/@samp{-}
37239 protocol acknowledgments (@pxref{Packet Acknowledgment}).
37240
37241 Reply:
37242 @table @samp
37243 @item OK
37244 The stub has switched to no-acknowledgment mode.
37245 @value{GDBN} acknowledges this reponse,
37246 but neither the stub nor @value{GDBN} shall send or expect further
37247 @samp{+}/@samp{-} acknowledgments in the current connection.
37248 @item @w{}
37249 An empty reply indicates that the stub does not support no-acknowledgment mode.
37250 @end table
37251
37252 @item qSupported @r{[}:@var{gdbfeature} @r{[};@var{gdbfeature}@r{]}@dots{} @r{]}
37253 @cindex supported packets, remote query
37254 @cindex features of the remote protocol
37255 @cindex @samp{qSupported} packet
37256 @anchor{qSupported}
37257 Tell the remote stub about features supported by @value{GDBN}, and
37258 query the stub for features it supports. This packet allows
37259 @value{GDBN} and the remote stub to take advantage of each others'
37260 features. @samp{qSupported} also consolidates multiple feature probes
37261 at startup, to improve @value{GDBN} performance---a single larger
37262 packet performs better than multiple smaller probe packets on
37263 high-latency links. Some features may enable behavior which must not
37264 be on by default, e.g.@: because it would confuse older clients or
37265 stubs. Other features may describe packets which could be
37266 automatically probed for, but are not. These features must be
37267 reported before @value{GDBN} will use them. This ``default
37268 unsupported'' behavior is not appropriate for all packets, but it
37269 helps to keep the initial connection time under control with new
37270 versions of @value{GDBN} which support increasing numbers of packets.
37271
37272 Reply:
37273 @table @samp
37274 @item @var{stubfeature} @r{[};@var{stubfeature}@r{]}@dots{}
37275 The stub supports or does not support each returned @var{stubfeature},
37276 depending on the form of each @var{stubfeature} (see below for the
37277 possible forms).
37278 @item @w{}
37279 An empty reply indicates that @samp{qSupported} is not recognized,
37280 or that no features needed to be reported to @value{GDBN}.
37281 @end table
37282
37283 The allowed forms for each feature (either a @var{gdbfeature} in the
37284 @samp{qSupported} packet, or a @var{stubfeature} in the response)
37285 are:
37286
37287 @table @samp
37288 @item @var{name}=@var{value}
37289 The remote protocol feature @var{name} is supported, and associated
37290 with the specified @var{value}. The format of @var{value} depends
37291 on the feature, but it must not include a semicolon.
37292 @item @var{name}+
37293 The remote protocol feature @var{name} is supported, and does not
37294 need an associated value.
37295 @item @var{name}-
37296 The remote protocol feature @var{name} is not supported.
37297 @item @var{name}?
37298 The remote protocol feature @var{name} may be supported, and
37299 @value{GDBN} should auto-detect support in some other way when it is
37300 needed. This form will not be used for @var{gdbfeature} notifications,
37301 but may be used for @var{stubfeature} responses.
37302 @end table
37303
37304 Whenever the stub receives a @samp{qSupported} request, the
37305 supplied set of @value{GDBN} features should override any previous
37306 request. This allows @value{GDBN} to put the stub in a known
37307 state, even if the stub had previously been communicating with
37308 a different version of @value{GDBN}.
37309
37310 The following values of @var{gdbfeature} (for the packet sent by @value{GDBN})
37311 are defined:
37312
37313 @table @samp
37314 @item multiprocess
37315 This feature indicates whether @value{GDBN} supports multiprocess
37316 extensions to the remote protocol. @value{GDBN} does not use such
37317 extensions unless the stub also reports that it supports them by
37318 including @samp{multiprocess+} in its @samp{qSupported} reply.
37319 @xref{multiprocess extensions}, for details.
37320
37321 @item xmlRegisters
37322 This feature indicates that @value{GDBN} supports the XML target
37323 description. If the stub sees @samp{xmlRegisters=} with target
37324 specific strings separated by a comma, it will report register
37325 description.
37326
37327 @item qRelocInsn
37328 This feature indicates whether @value{GDBN} supports the
37329 @samp{qRelocInsn} packet (@pxref{Tracepoint Packets,,Relocate
37330 instruction reply packet}).
37331 @end table
37332
37333 Stubs should ignore any unknown values for
37334 @var{gdbfeature}. Any @value{GDBN} which sends a @samp{qSupported}
37335 packet supports receiving packets of unlimited length (earlier
37336 versions of @value{GDBN} may reject overly long responses). Additional values
37337 for @var{gdbfeature} may be defined in the future to let the stub take
37338 advantage of new features in @value{GDBN}, e.g.@: incompatible
37339 improvements in the remote protocol---the @samp{multiprocess} feature is
37340 an example of such a feature. The stub's reply should be independent
37341 of the @var{gdbfeature} entries sent by @value{GDBN}; first @value{GDBN}
37342 describes all the features it supports, and then the stub replies with
37343 all the features it supports.
37344
37345 Similarly, @value{GDBN} will silently ignore unrecognized stub feature
37346 responses, as long as each response uses one of the standard forms.
37347
37348 Some features are flags. A stub which supports a flag feature
37349 should respond with a @samp{+} form response. Other features
37350 require values, and the stub should respond with an @samp{=}
37351 form response.
37352
37353 Each feature has a default value, which @value{GDBN} will use if
37354 @samp{qSupported} is not available or if the feature is not mentioned
37355 in the @samp{qSupported} response. The default values are fixed; a
37356 stub is free to omit any feature responses that match the defaults.
37357
37358 Not all features can be probed, but for those which can, the probing
37359 mechanism is useful: in some cases, a stub's internal
37360 architecture may not allow the protocol layer to know some information
37361 about the underlying target in advance. This is especially common in
37362 stubs which may be configured for multiple targets.
37363
37364 These are the currently defined stub features and their properties:
37365
37366 @multitable @columnfractions 0.35 0.2 0.12 0.2
37367 @c NOTE: The first row should be @headitem, but we do not yet require
37368 @c a new enough version of Texinfo (4.7) to use @headitem.
37369 @item Feature Name
37370 @tab Value Required
37371 @tab Default
37372 @tab Probe Allowed
37373
37374 @item @samp{PacketSize}
37375 @tab Yes
37376 @tab @samp{-}
37377 @tab No
37378
37379 @item @samp{qXfer:auxv:read}
37380 @tab No
37381 @tab @samp{-}
37382 @tab Yes
37383
37384 @item @samp{qXfer:btrace:read}
37385 @tab No
37386 @tab @samp{-}
37387 @tab Yes
37388
37389 @item @samp{qXfer:features:read}
37390 @tab No
37391 @tab @samp{-}
37392 @tab Yes
37393
37394 @item @samp{qXfer:libraries:read}
37395 @tab No
37396 @tab @samp{-}
37397 @tab Yes
37398
37399 @item @samp{qXfer:memory-map:read}
37400 @tab No
37401 @tab @samp{-}
37402 @tab Yes
37403
37404 @item @samp{qXfer:sdata:read}
37405 @tab No
37406 @tab @samp{-}
37407 @tab Yes
37408
37409 @item @samp{qXfer:spu:read}
37410 @tab No
37411 @tab @samp{-}
37412 @tab Yes
37413
37414 @item @samp{qXfer:spu:write}
37415 @tab No
37416 @tab @samp{-}
37417 @tab Yes
37418
37419 @item @samp{qXfer:siginfo:read}
37420 @tab No
37421 @tab @samp{-}
37422 @tab Yes
37423
37424 @item @samp{qXfer:siginfo:write}
37425 @tab No
37426 @tab @samp{-}
37427 @tab Yes
37428
37429 @item @samp{qXfer:threads:read}
37430 @tab No
37431 @tab @samp{-}
37432 @tab Yes
37433
37434 @item @samp{qXfer:traceframe-info:read}
37435 @tab No
37436 @tab @samp{-}
37437 @tab Yes
37438
37439 @item @samp{qXfer:uib:read}
37440 @tab No
37441 @tab @samp{-}
37442 @tab Yes
37443
37444 @item @samp{qXfer:fdpic:read}
37445 @tab No
37446 @tab @samp{-}
37447 @tab Yes
37448
37449 @item @samp{Qbtrace:off}
37450 @tab Yes
37451 @tab @samp{-}
37452 @tab Yes
37453
37454 @item @samp{Qbtrace:bts}
37455 @tab Yes
37456 @tab @samp{-}
37457 @tab Yes
37458
37459 @item @samp{QNonStop}
37460 @tab No
37461 @tab @samp{-}
37462 @tab Yes
37463
37464 @item @samp{QPassSignals}
37465 @tab No
37466 @tab @samp{-}
37467 @tab Yes
37468
37469 @item @samp{QStartNoAckMode}
37470 @tab No
37471 @tab @samp{-}
37472 @tab Yes
37473
37474 @item @samp{multiprocess}
37475 @tab No
37476 @tab @samp{-}
37477 @tab No
37478
37479 @item @samp{ConditionalBreakpoints}
37480 @tab No
37481 @tab @samp{-}
37482 @tab No
37483
37484 @item @samp{ConditionalTracepoints}
37485 @tab No
37486 @tab @samp{-}
37487 @tab No
37488
37489 @item @samp{ReverseContinue}
37490 @tab No
37491 @tab @samp{-}
37492 @tab No
37493
37494 @item @samp{ReverseStep}
37495 @tab No
37496 @tab @samp{-}
37497 @tab No
37498
37499 @item @samp{TracepointSource}
37500 @tab No
37501 @tab @samp{-}
37502 @tab No
37503
37504 @item @samp{QAgent}
37505 @tab No
37506 @tab @samp{-}
37507 @tab No
37508
37509 @item @samp{QAllow}
37510 @tab No
37511 @tab @samp{-}
37512 @tab No
37513
37514 @item @samp{QDisableRandomization}
37515 @tab No
37516 @tab @samp{-}
37517 @tab No
37518
37519 @item @samp{EnableDisableTracepoints}
37520 @tab No
37521 @tab @samp{-}
37522 @tab No
37523
37524 @item @samp{QTBuffer:size}
37525 @tab No
37526 @tab @samp{-}
37527 @tab No
37528
37529 @item @samp{tracenz}
37530 @tab No
37531 @tab @samp{-}
37532 @tab No
37533
37534 @item @samp{BreakpointCommands}
37535 @tab No
37536 @tab @samp{-}
37537 @tab No
37538
37539 @end multitable
37540
37541 These are the currently defined stub features, in more detail:
37542
37543 @table @samp
37544 @cindex packet size, remote protocol
37545 @item PacketSize=@var{bytes}
37546 The remote stub can accept packets up to at least @var{bytes} in
37547 length. @value{GDBN} will send packets up to this size for bulk
37548 transfers, and will never send larger packets. This is a limit on the
37549 data characters in the packet, including the frame and checksum.
37550 There is no trailing NUL byte in a remote protocol packet; if the stub
37551 stores packets in a NUL-terminated format, it should allow an extra
37552 byte in its buffer for the NUL. If this stub feature is not supported,
37553 @value{GDBN} guesses based on the size of the @samp{g} packet response.
37554
37555 @item qXfer:auxv:read
37556 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:auxv:read} packet
37557 (@pxref{qXfer auxiliary vector read}).
37558
37559 @item qXfer:btrace:read
37560 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:btrace:read}
37561 packet (@pxref{qXfer btrace read}).
37562
37563 @item qXfer:features:read
37564 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:features:read} packet
37565 (@pxref{qXfer target description read}).
37566
37567 @item qXfer:libraries:read
37568 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:libraries:read} packet
37569 (@pxref{qXfer library list read}).
37570
37571 @item qXfer:libraries-svr4:read
37572 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:libraries-svr4:read} packet
37573 (@pxref{qXfer svr4 library list read}).
37574
37575 @item qXfer:memory-map:read
37576 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:memory-map:read} packet
37577 (@pxref{qXfer memory map read}).
37578
37579 @item qXfer:sdata:read
37580 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:sdata:read} packet
37581 (@pxref{qXfer sdata read}).
37582
37583 @item qXfer:spu:read
37584 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:spu:read} packet
37585 (@pxref{qXfer spu read}).
37586
37587 @item qXfer:spu:write
37588 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:spu:write} packet
37589 (@pxref{qXfer spu write}).
37590
37591 @item qXfer:siginfo:read
37592 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:siginfo:read} packet
37593 (@pxref{qXfer siginfo read}).
37594
37595 @item qXfer:siginfo:write
37596 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:siginfo:write} packet
37597 (@pxref{qXfer siginfo write}).
37598
37599 @item qXfer:threads:read
37600 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:threads:read} packet
37601 (@pxref{qXfer threads read}).
37602
37603 @item qXfer:traceframe-info:read
37604 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:traceframe-info:read}
37605 packet (@pxref{qXfer traceframe info read}).
37606
37607 @item qXfer:uib:read
37608 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:uib:read}
37609 packet (@pxref{qXfer unwind info block}).
37610
37611 @item qXfer:fdpic:read
37612 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:fdpic:read}
37613 packet (@pxref{qXfer fdpic loadmap read}).
37614
37615 @item QNonStop
37616 The remote stub understands the @samp{QNonStop} packet
37617 (@pxref{QNonStop}).
37618
37619 @item QPassSignals
37620 The remote stub understands the @samp{QPassSignals} packet
37621 (@pxref{QPassSignals}).
37622
37623 @item QStartNoAckMode
37624 The remote stub understands the @samp{QStartNoAckMode} packet and
37625 prefers to operate in no-acknowledgment mode. @xref{Packet Acknowledgment}.
37626
37627 @item multiprocess
37628 @anchor{multiprocess extensions}
37629 @cindex multiprocess extensions, in remote protocol
37630 The remote stub understands the multiprocess extensions to the remote
37631 protocol syntax. The multiprocess extensions affect the syntax of
37632 thread IDs in both packets and replies (@pxref{thread-id syntax}), and
37633 add process IDs to the @samp{D} packet and @samp{W} and @samp{X}
37634 replies. Note that reporting this feature indicates support for the
37635 syntactic extensions only, not that the stub necessarily supports
37636 debugging of more than one process at a time. The stub must not use
37637 multiprocess extensions in packet replies unless @value{GDBN} has also
37638 indicated it supports them in its @samp{qSupported} request.
37639
37640 @item qXfer:osdata:read
37641 The remote stub understands the @samp{qXfer:osdata:read} packet
37642 ((@pxref{qXfer osdata read}).
37643
37644 @item ConditionalBreakpoints
37645 The target accepts and implements evaluation of conditional expressions
37646 defined for breakpoints. The target will only report breakpoint triggers
37647 when such conditions are true (@pxref{Conditions, ,Break Conditions}).
37648
37649 @item ConditionalTracepoints
37650 The remote stub accepts and implements conditional expressions defined
37651 for tracepoints (@pxref{Tracepoint Conditions}).
37652
37653 @item ReverseContinue
37654 The remote stub accepts and implements the reverse continue packet
37655 (@pxref{bc}).
37656
37657 @item ReverseStep
37658 The remote stub accepts and implements the reverse step packet
37659 (@pxref{bs}).
37660
37661 @item TracepointSource
37662 The remote stub understands the @samp{QTDPsrc} packet that supplies
37663 the source form of tracepoint definitions.
37664
37665 @item QAgent
37666 The remote stub understands the @samp{QAgent} packet.
37667
37668 @item QAllow
37669 The remote stub understands the @samp{QAllow} packet.
37670
37671 @item QDisableRandomization
37672 The remote stub understands the @samp{QDisableRandomization} packet.
37673
37674 @item StaticTracepoint
37675 @cindex static tracepoints, in remote protocol
37676 The remote stub supports static tracepoints.
37677
37678 @item InstallInTrace
37679 @anchor{install tracepoint in tracing}
37680 The remote stub supports installing tracepoint in tracing.
37681
37682 @item EnableDisableTracepoints
37683 The remote stub supports the @samp{QTEnable} (@pxref{QTEnable}) and
37684 @samp{QTDisable} (@pxref{QTDisable}) packets that allow tracepoints
37685 to be enabled and disabled while a trace experiment is running.
37686
37687 @item QTBuffer:size
37688 The remote stub supports the @samp{QTBuffer:size} (@pxref{QTBuffer-size})
37689 packet that allows to change the size of the trace buffer.
37690
37691 @item tracenz
37692 @cindex string tracing, in remote protocol
37693 The remote stub supports the @samp{tracenz} bytecode for collecting strings.
37694 See @ref{Bytecode Descriptions} for details about the bytecode.
37695
37696 @item BreakpointCommands
37697 @cindex breakpoint commands, in remote protocol
37698 The remote stub supports running a breakpoint's command list itself,
37699 rather than reporting the hit to @value{GDBN}.
37700
37701 @item Qbtrace:off
37702 The remote stub understands the @samp{Qbtrace:off} packet.
37703
37704 @item Qbtrace:bts
37705 The remote stub understands the @samp{Qbtrace:bts} packet.
37706
37707 @end table
37708
37709 @item qSymbol::
37710 @cindex symbol lookup, remote request
37711 @cindex @samp{qSymbol} packet
37712 Notify the target that @value{GDBN} is prepared to serve symbol lookup
37713 requests. Accept requests from the target for the values of symbols.
37714
37715 Reply:
37716 @table @samp
37717 @item OK
37718 The target does not need to look up any (more) symbols.
37719 @item qSymbol:@var{sym_name}
37720 The target requests the value of symbol @var{sym_name} (hex encoded).
37721 @value{GDBN} may provide the value by using the
37722 @samp{qSymbol:@var{sym_value}:@var{sym_name}} message, described
37723 below.
37724 @end table
37725
37726 @item qSymbol:@var{sym_value}:@var{sym_name}
37727 Set the value of @var{sym_name} to @var{sym_value}.
37728
37729 @var{sym_name} (hex encoded) is the name of a symbol whose value the
37730 target has previously requested.
37731
37732 @var{sym_value} (hex) is the value for symbol @var{sym_name}. If
37733 @value{GDBN} cannot supply a value for @var{sym_name}, then this field
37734 will be empty.
37735
37736 Reply:
37737 @table @samp
37738 @item OK
37739 The target does not need to look up any (more) symbols.
37740 @item qSymbol:@var{sym_name}
37741 The target requests the value of a new symbol @var{sym_name} (hex
37742 encoded). @value{GDBN} will continue to supply the values of symbols
37743 (if available), until the target ceases to request them.
37744 @end table
37745
37746 @item qTBuffer
37747 @itemx QTBuffer
37748 @itemx QTDisconnected
37749 @itemx QTDP
37750 @itemx QTDPsrc
37751 @itemx QTDV
37752 @itemx qTfP
37753 @itemx qTfV
37754 @itemx QTFrame
37755 @itemx qTMinFTPILen
37756
37757 @xref{Tracepoint Packets}.
37758
37759 @item qThreadExtraInfo,@var{thread-id}
37760 @cindex thread attributes info, remote request
37761 @cindex @samp{qThreadExtraInfo} packet
37762 Obtain a printable string description of a thread's attributes from
37763 the target OS. @var{thread-id} is a thread ID;
37764 see @ref{thread-id syntax}. This
37765 string may contain anything that the target OS thinks is interesting
37766 for @value{GDBN} to tell the user about the thread. The string is
37767 displayed in @value{GDBN}'s @code{info threads} display. Some
37768 examples of possible thread extra info strings are @samp{Runnable}, or
37769 @samp{Blocked on Mutex}.
37770
37771 Reply:
37772 @table @samp
37773 @item @var{XX}@dots{}
37774 Where @samp{@var{XX}@dots{}} is a hex encoding of @sc{ascii} data,
37775 comprising the printable string containing the extra information about
37776 the thread's attributes.
37777 @end table
37778
37779 (Note that the @code{qThreadExtraInfo} packet's name is separated from
37780 the command by a @samp{,}, not a @samp{:}, contrary to the naming
37781 conventions above. Please don't use this packet as a model for new
37782 packets.)
37783
37784 @item QTNotes
37785 @itemx qTP
37786 @itemx QTSave
37787 @itemx qTsP
37788 @itemx qTsV
37789 @itemx QTStart
37790 @itemx QTStop
37791 @itemx QTEnable
37792 @itemx QTDisable
37793 @itemx QTinit
37794 @itemx QTro
37795 @itemx qTStatus
37796 @itemx qTV
37797 @itemx qTfSTM
37798 @itemx qTsSTM
37799 @itemx qTSTMat
37800 @xref{Tracepoint Packets}.
37801
37802 @item qXfer:@var{object}:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
37803 @cindex read special object, remote request
37804 @cindex @samp{qXfer} packet
37805 @anchor{qXfer read}
37806 Read uninterpreted bytes from the target's special data area
37807 identified by the keyword @var{object}. Request @var{length} bytes
37808 starting at @var{offset} bytes into the data. The content and
37809 encoding of @var{annex} is specific to @var{object}; it can supply
37810 additional details about what data to access.
37811
37812 Here are the specific requests of this form defined so far. All
37813 @samp{qXfer:@var{object}:read:@dots{}} requests use the same reply
37814 formats, listed below.
37815
37816 @table @samp
37817 @item qXfer:auxv:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
37818 @anchor{qXfer auxiliary vector read}
37819 Access the target's @dfn{auxiliary vector}. @xref{OS Information,
37820 auxiliary vector}. Note @var{annex} must be empty.
37821
37822 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37823 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37824
37825 @item qXfer:btrace:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
37826 @anchor{qXfer btrace read}
37827
37828 Return a description of the current branch trace.
37829 @xref{Branch Trace Format}. The annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer}
37830 packet may have one of the following values:
37831
37832 @table @code
37833 @item all
37834 Returns all available branch trace.
37835
37836 @item new
37837 Returns all available branch trace if the branch trace changed since
37838 the last read request.
37839 @end table
37840
37841 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it
37842 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37843
37844 @item qXfer:features:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
37845 @anchor{qXfer target description read}
37846 Access the @dfn{target description}. @xref{Target Descriptions}. The
37847 annex specifies which XML document to access. The main description is
37848 always loaded from the @samp{target.xml} annex.
37849
37850 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37851 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37852
37853 @item qXfer:libraries:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
37854 @anchor{qXfer library list read}
37855 Access the target's list of loaded libraries. @xref{Library List Format}.
37856 The annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must be empty
37857 (@pxref{qXfer read}).
37858
37859 Targets which maintain a list of libraries in the program's memory do
37860 not need to implement this packet; it is designed for platforms where
37861 the operating system manages the list of loaded libraries.
37862
37863 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37864 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37865
37866 @item qXfer:libraries-svr4:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
37867 @anchor{qXfer svr4 library list read}
37868 Access the target's list of loaded libraries when the target is an SVR4
37869 platform. @xref{Library List Format for SVR4 Targets}. The annex part
37870 of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must be empty (@pxref{qXfer read}).
37871
37872 This packet is optional for better performance on SVR4 targets.
37873 @value{GDBN} uses memory read packets to read the SVR4 library list otherwise.
37874
37875 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37876 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37877
37878 @item qXfer:memory-map:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
37879 @anchor{qXfer memory map read}
37880 Access the target's @dfn{memory-map}. @xref{Memory Map Format}. The
37881 annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must be empty
37882 (@pxref{qXfer read}).
37883
37884 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37885 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37886
37887 @item qXfer:sdata:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
37888 @anchor{qXfer sdata read}
37889
37890 Read contents of the extra collected static tracepoint marker
37891 information. The annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must
37892 be empty (@pxref{qXfer read}). @xref{Tracepoint Actions,,Tracepoint
37893 Action Lists}.
37894
37895 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37896 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response
37897 (@pxref{qSupported}).
37898
37899 @item qXfer:siginfo:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
37900 @anchor{qXfer siginfo read}
37901 Read contents of the extra signal information on the target
37902 system. The annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must be
37903 empty (@pxref{qXfer read}).
37904
37905 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37906 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response
37907 (@pxref{qSupported}).
37908
37909 @item qXfer:spu:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
37910 @anchor{qXfer spu read}
37911 Read contents of an @code{spufs} file on the target system. The
37912 annex specifies which file to read; it must be of the form
37913 @file{@var{id}/@var{name}}, where @var{id} specifies an SPU context ID
37914 in the target process, and @var{name} identifes the @code{spufs} file
37915 in that context to be accessed.
37916
37917 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37918 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response
37919 (@pxref{qSupported}).
37920
37921 @item qXfer:threads:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
37922 @anchor{qXfer threads read}
37923 Access the list of threads on target. @xref{Thread List Format}. The
37924 annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must be empty
37925 (@pxref{qXfer read}).
37926
37927 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37928 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37929
37930 @item qXfer:traceframe-info:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
37931 @anchor{qXfer traceframe info read}
37932
37933 Return a description of the current traceframe's contents.
37934 @xref{Traceframe Info Format}. The annex part of the generic
37935 @samp{qXfer} packet must be empty (@pxref{qXfer read}).
37936
37937 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37938 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37939
37940 @item qXfer:uib:read:@var{pc}:@var{offset},@var{length}
37941 @anchor{qXfer unwind info block}
37942
37943 Return the unwind information block for @var{pc}. This packet is used
37944 on OpenVMS/ia64 to ask the kernel unwind information.
37945
37946 This packet is not probed by default.
37947
37948 @item qXfer:fdpic:read:@var{annex}:@var{offset},@var{length}
37949 @anchor{qXfer fdpic loadmap read}
37950 Read contents of @code{loadmap}s on the target system. The
37951 annex, either @samp{exec} or @samp{interp}, specifies which @code{loadmap},
37952 executable @code{loadmap} or interpreter @code{loadmap} to read.
37953
37954 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
37955 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
37956
37957 @item qXfer:osdata:read::@var{offset},@var{length}
37958 @anchor{qXfer osdata read}
37959 Access the target's @dfn{operating system information}.
37960 @xref{Operating System Information}.
37961
37962 @end table
37963
37964 Reply:
37965 @table @samp
37966 @item m @var{data}
37967 Data @var{data} (@pxref{Binary Data}) has been read from the
37968 target. There may be more data at a higher address (although
37969 it is permitted to return @samp{m} even for the last valid
37970 block of data, as long as at least one byte of data was read).
37971 @var{data} may have fewer bytes than the @var{length} in the
37972 request.
37973
37974 @item l @var{data}
37975 Data @var{data} (@pxref{Binary Data}) has been read from the target.
37976 There is no more data to be read. @var{data} may have fewer bytes
37977 than the @var{length} in the request.
37978
37979 @item l
37980 The @var{offset} in the request is at the end of the data.
37981 There is no more data to be read.
37982
37983 @item E00
37984 The request was malformed, or @var{annex} was invalid.
37985
37986 @item E @var{nn}
37987 The offset was invalid, or there was an error encountered reading the data.
37988 @var{nn} is a hex-encoded @code{errno} value.
37989
37990 @item @w{}
37991 An empty reply indicates the @var{object} string was not recognized by
37992 the stub, or that the object does not support reading.
37993 @end table
37994
37995 @item qXfer:@var{object}:write:@var{annex}:@var{offset}:@var{data}@dots{}
37996 @cindex write data into object, remote request
37997 @anchor{qXfer write}
37998 Write uninterpreted bytes into the target's special data area
37999 identified by the keyword @var{object}, starting at @var{offset} bytes
38000 into the data. @var{data}@dots{} is the binary-encoded data
38001 (@pxref{Binary Data}) to be written. The content and encoding of @var{annex}
38002 is specific to @var{object}; it can supply additional details about what data
38003 to access.
38004
38005 Here are the specific requests of this form defined so far. All
38006 @samp{qXfer:@var{object}:write:@dots{}} requests use the same reply
38007 formats, listed below.
38008
38009 @table @samp
38010 @item qXfer:siginfo:write::@var{offset}:@var{data}@dots{}
38011 @anchor{qXfer siginfo write}
38012 Write @var{data} to the extra signal information on the target system.
38013 The annex part of the generic @samp{qXfer} packet must be
38014 empty (@pxref{qXfer write}).
38015
38016 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
38017 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response
38018 (@pxref{qSupported}).
38019
38020 @item qXfer:spu:write:@var{annex}:@var{offset}:@var{data}@dots{}
38021 @anchor{qXfer spu write}
38022 Write @var{data} to an @code{spufs} file on the target system. The
38023 annex specifies which file to write; it must be of the form
38024 @file{@var{id}/@var{name}}, where @var{id} specifies an SPU context ID
38025 in the target process, and @var{name} identifes the @code{spufs} file
38026 in that context to be accessed.
38027
38028 This packet is not probed by default; the remote stub must request it,
38029 by supplying an appropriate @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
38030 @end table
38031
38032 Reply:
38033 @table @samp
38034 @item @var{nn}
38035 @var{nn} (hex encoded) is the number of bytes written.
38036 This may be fewer bytes than supplied in the request.
38037
38038 @item E00
38039 The request was malformed, or @var{annex} was invalid.
38040
38041 @item E @var{nn}
38042 The offset was invalid, or there was an error encountered writing the data.
38043 @var{nn} is a hex-encoded @code{errno} value.
38044
38045 @item @w{}
38046 An empty reply indicates the @var{object} string was not
38047 recognized by the stub, or that the object does not support writing.
38048 @end table
38049
38050 @item qXfer:@var{object}:@var{operation}:@dots{}
38051 Requests of this form may be added in the future. When a stub does
38052 not recognize the @var{object} keyword, or its support for
38053 @var{object} does not recognize the @var{operation} keyword, the stub
38054 must respond with an empty packet.
38055
38056 @item qAttached:@var{pid}
38057 @cindex query attached, remote request
38058 @cindex @samp{qAttached} packet
38059 Return an indication of whether the remote server attached to an
38060 existing process or created a new process. When the multiprocess
38061 protocol extensions are supported (@pxref{multiprocess extensions}),
38062 @var{pid} is an integer in hexadecimal format identifying the target
38063 process. Otherwise, @value{GDBN} will omit the @var{pid} field and
38064 the query packet will be simplified as @samp{qAttached}.
38065
38066 This query is used, for example, to know whether the remote process
38067 should be detached or killed when a @value{GDBN} session is ended with
38068 the @code{quit} command.
38069
38070 Reply:
38071 @table @samp
38072 @item 1
38073 The remote server attached to an existing process.
38074 @item 0
38075 The remote server created a new process.
38076 @item E @var{NN}
38077 A badly formed request or an error was encountered.
38078 @end table
38079
38080 @item Qbtrace:bts
38081 Enable branch tracing for the current thread using bts tracing.
38082
38083 Reply:
38084 @table @samp
38085 @item OK
38086 Branch tracing has been enabled.
38087 @item E.errtext
38088 A badly formed request or an error was encountered.
38089 @end table
38090
38091 @item Qbtrace:off
38092 Disable branch tracing for the current thread.
38093
38094 Reply:
38095 @table @samp
38096 @item OK
38097 Branch tracing has been disabled.
38098 @item E.errtext
38099 A badly formed request or an error was encountered.
38100 @end table
38101
38102 @end table
38103
38104 @node Architecture-Specific Protocol Details
38105 @section Architecture-Specific Protocol Details
38106
38107 This section describes how the remote protocol is applied to specific
38108 target architectures. Also see @ref{Standard Target Features}, for
38109 details of XML target descriptions for each architecture.
38110
38111 @menu
38112 * ARM-Specific Protocol Details::
38113 * MIPS-Specific Protocol Details::
38114 @end menu
38115
38116 @node ARM-Specific Protocol Details
38117 @subsection @acronym{ARM}-specific Protocol Details
38118
38119 @menu
38120 * ARM Breakpoint Kinds::
38121 @end menu
38122
38123 @node ARM Breakpoint Kinds
38124 @subsubsection @acronym{ARM} Breakpoint Kinds
38125 @cindex breakpoint kinds, @acronym{ARM}
38126
38127 These breakpoint kinds are defined for the @samp{Z0} and @samp{Z1} packets.
38128
38129 @table @r
38130
38131 @item 2
38132 16-bit Thumb mode breakpoint.
38133
38134 @item 3
38135 32-bit Thumb mode (Thumb-2) breakpoint.
38136
38137 @item 4
38138 32-bit @acronym{ARM} mode breakpoint.
38139
38140 @end table
38141
38142 @node MIPS-Specific Protocol Details
38143 @subsection @acronym{MIPS}-specific Protocol Details
38144
38145 @menu
38146 * MIPS Register packet Format::
38147 * MIPS Breakpoint Kinds::
38148 @end menu
38149
38150 @node MIPS Register packet Format
38151 @subsubsection @acronym{MIPS} Register Packet Format
38152 @cindex register packet format, @acronym{MIPS}
38153
38154 The following @code{g}/@code{G} packets have previously been defined.
38155 In the below, some thirty-two bit registers are transferred as
38156 sixty-four bits. Those registers should be zero/sign extended (which?)
38157 to fill the space allocated. Register bytes are transferred in target
38158 byte order. The two nibbles within a register byte are transferred
38159 most-significant -- least-significant.
38160
38161 @table @r
38162
38163 @item MIPS32
38164 All registers are transferred as thirty-two bit quantities in the order:
38165 32 general-purpose; sr; lo; hi; bad; cause; pc; 32 floating-point
38166 registers; fsr; fir; fp.
38167
38168 @item MIPS64
38169 All registers are transferred as sixty-four bit quantities (including
38170 thirty-two bit registers such as @code{sr}). The ordering is the same
38171 as @code{MIPS32}.
38172
38173 @end table
38174
38175 @node MIPS Breakpoint Kinds
38176 @subsubsection @acronym{MIPS} Breakpoint Kinds
38177 @cindex breakpoint kinds, @acronym{MIPS}
38178
38179 These breakpoint kinds are defined for the @samp{Z0} and @samp{Z1} packets.
38180
38181 @table @r
38182
38183 @item 2
38184 16-bit @acronym{MIPS16} mode breakpoint.
38185
38186 @item 3
38187 16-bit @acronym{microMIPS} mode breakpoint.
38188
38189 @item 4
38190 32-bit standard @acronym{MIPS} mode breakpoint.
38191
38192 @item 5
38193 32-bit @acronym{microMIPS} mode breakpoint.
38194
38195 @end table
38196
38197 @node Tracepoint Packets
38198 @section Tracepoint Packets
38199 @cindex tracepoint packets
38200 @cindex packets, tracepoint
38201
38202 Here we describe the packets @value{GDBN} uses to implement
38203 tracepoints (@pxref{Tracepoints}).
38204
38205 @table @samp
38206
38207 @item QTDP:@var{n}:@var{addr}:@var{ena}:@var{step}:@var{pass}[:F@var{flen}][:X@var{len},@var{bytes}]@r{[}-@r{]}
38208 @cindex @samp{QTDP} packet
38209 Create a new tracepoint, number @var{n}, at @var{addr}. If @var{ena}
38210 is @samp{E}, then the tracepoint is enabled; if it is @samp{D}, then
38211 the tracepoint is disabled. @var{step} is the tracepoint's step
38212 count, and @var{pass} is its pass count. If an @samp{F} is present,
38213 then the tracepoint is to be a fast tracepoint, and the @var{flen} is
38214 the number of bytes that the target should copy elsewhere to make room
38215 for the tracepoint. If an @samp{X} is present, it introduces a
38216 tracepoint condition, which consists of a hexadecimal length, followed
38217 by a comma and hex-encoded bytes, in a manner similar to action
38218 encodings as described below. If the trailing @samp{-} is present,
38219 further @samp{QTDP} packets will follow to specify this tracepoint's
38220 actions.
38221
38222 Replies:
38223 @table @samp
38224 @item OK
38225 The packet was understood and carried out.
38226 @item qRelocInsn
38227 @xref{Tracepoint Packets,,Relocate instruction reply packet}.
38228 @item @w{}
38229 The packet was not recognized.
38230 @end table
38231
38232 @item QTDP:-@var{n}:@var{addr}:@r{[}S@r{]}@var{action}@dots{}@r{[}-@r{]}
38233 Define actions to be taken when a tracepoint is hit. @var{n} and
38234 @var{addr} must be the same as in the initial @samp{QTDP} packet for
38235 this tracepoint. This packet may only be sent immediately after
38236 another @samp{QTDP} packet that ended with a @samp{-}. If the
38237 trailing @samp{-} is present, further @samp{QTDP} packets will follow,
38238 specifying more actions for this tracepoint.
38239
38240 In the series of action packets for a given tracepoint, at most one
38241 can have an @samp{S} before its first @var{action}. If such a packet
38242 is sent, it and the following packets define ``while-stepping''
38243 actions. Any prior packets define ordinary actions --- that is, those
38244 taken when the tracepoint is first hit. If no action packet has an
38245 @samp{S}, then all the packets in the series specify ordinary
38246 tracepoint actions.
38247
38248 The @samp{@var{action}@dots{}} portion of the packet is a series of
38249 actions, concatenated without separators. Each action has one of the
38250 following forms:
38251
38252 @table @samp
38253
38254 @item R @var{mask}
38255 Collect the registers whose bits are set in @var{mask}. @var{mask} is
38256 a hexadecimal number whose @var{i}'th bit is set if register number
38257 @var{i} should be collected. (The least significant bit is numbered
38258 zero.) Note that @var{mask} may be any number of digits long; it may
38259 not fit in a 32-bit word.
38260
38261 @item M @var{basereg},@var{offset},@var{len}
38262 Collect @var{len} bytes of memory starting at the address in register
38263 number @var{basereg}, plus @var{offset}. If @var{basereg} is
38264 @samp{-1}, then the range has a fixed address: @var{offset} is the
38265 address of the lowest byte to collect. The @var{basereg},
38266 @var{offset}, and @var{len} parameters are all unsigned hexadecimal
38267 values (the @samp{-1} value for @var{basereg} is a special case).
38268
38269 @item X @var{len},@var{expr}
38270 Evaluate @var{expr}, whose length is @var{len}, and collect memory as
38271 it directs. @var{expr} is an agent expression, as described in
38272 @ref{Agent Expressions}. Each byte of the expression is encoded as a
38273 two-digit hex number in the packet; @var{len} is the number of bytes
38274 in the expression (and thus one-half the number of hex digits in the
38275 packet).
38276
38277 @end table
38278
38279 Any number of actions may be packed together in a single @samp{QTDP}
38280 packet, as long as the packet does not exceed the maximum packet
38281 length (400 bytes, for many stubs). There may be only one @samp{R}
38282 action per tracepoint, and it must precede any @samp{M} or @samp{X}
38283 actions. Any registers referred to by @samp{M} and @samp{X} actions
38284 must be collected by a preceding @samp{R} action. (The
38285 ``while-stepping'' actions are treated as if they were attached to a
38286 separate tracepoint, as far as these restrictions are concerned.)
38287
38288 Replies:
38289 @table @samp
38290 @item OK
38291 The packet was understood and carried out.
38292 @item qRelocInsn
38293 @xref{Tracepoint Packets,,Relocate instruction reply packet}.
38294 @item @w{}
38295 The packet was not recognized.
38296 @end table
38297
38298 @item QTDPsrc:@var{n}:@var{addr}:@var{type}:@var{start}:@var{slen}:@var{bytes}
38299 @cindex @samp{QTDPsrc} packet
38300 Specify a source string of tracepoint @var{n} at address @var{addr}.
38301 This is useful to get accurate reproduction of the tracepoints
38302 originally downloaded at the beginning of the trace run. @var{type}
38303 is the name of the tracepoint part, such as @samp{cond} for the
38304 tracepoint's conditional expression (see below for a list of types), while
38305 @var{bytes} is the string, encoded in hexadecimal.
38306
38307 @var{start} is the offset of the @var{bytes} within the overall source
38308 string, while @var{slen} is the total length of the source string.
38309 This is intended for handling source strings that are longer than will
38310 fit in a single packet.
38311 @c Add detailed example when this info is moved into a dedicated
38312 @c tracepoint descriptions section.
38313
38314 The available string types are @samp{at} for the location,
38315 @samp{cond} for the conditional, and @samp{cmd} for an action command.
38316 @value{GDBN} sends a separate packet for each command in the action
38317 list, in the same order in which the commands are stored in the list.
38318
38319 The target does not need to do anything with source strings except
38320 report them back as part of the replies to the @samp{qTfP}/@samp{qTsP}
38321 query packets.
38322
38323 Although this packet is optional, and @value{GDBN} will only send it
38324 if the target replies with @samp{TracepointSource} @xref{General
38325 Query Packets}, it makes both disconnected tracing and trace files
38326 much easier to use. Otherwise the user must be careful that the
38327 tracepoints in effect while looking at trace frames are identical to
38328 the ones in effect during the trace run; even a small discrepancy
38329 could cause @samp{tdump} not to work, or a particular trace frame not
38330 be found.
38331
38332 @item QTDV:@var{n}:@var{value}
38333 @cindex define trace state variable, remote request
38334 @cindex @samp{QTDV} packet
38335 Create a new trace state variable, number @var{n}, with an initial
38336 value of @var{value}, which is a 64-bit signed integer. Both @var{n}
38337 and @var{value} are encoded as hexadecimal values. @value{GDBN} has
38338 the option of not using this packet for initial values of zero; the
38339 target should simply create the trace state variables as they are
38340 mentioned in expressions.
38341
38342 @item QTFrame:@var{n}
38343 @cindex @samp{QTFrame} packet
38344 Select the @var{n}'th tracepoint frame from the buffer, and use the
38345 register and memory contents recorded there to answer subsequent
38346 request packets from @value{GDBN}.
38347
38348 A successful reply from the stub indicates that the stub has found the
38349 requested frame. The response is a series of parts, concatenated
38350 without separators, describing the frame we selected. Each part has
38351 one of the following forms:
38352
38353 @table @samp
38354 @item F @var{f}
38355 The selected frame is number @var{n} in the trace frame buffer;
38356 @var{f} is a hexadecimal number. If @var{f} is @samp{-1}, then there
38357 was no frame matching the criteria in the request packet.
38358
38359 @item T @var{t}
38360 The selected trace frame records a hit of tracepoint number @var{t};
38361 @var{t} is a hexadecimal number.
38362
38363 @end table
38364
38365 @item QTFrame:pc:@var{addr}
38366 Like @samp{QTFrame:@var{n}}, but select the first tracepoint frame after the
38367 currently selected frame whose PC is @var{addr};
38368 @var{addr} is a hexadecimal number.
38369
38370 @item QTFrame:tdp:@var{t}
38371 Like @samp{QTFrame:@var{n}}, but select the first tracepoint frame after the
38372 currently selected frame that is a hit of tracepoint @var{t}; @var{t}
38373 is a hexadecimal number.
38374
38375 @item QTFrame:range:@var{start}:@var{end}
38376 Like @samp{QTFrame:@var{n}}, but select the first tracepoint frame after the
38377 currently selected frame whose PC is between @var{start} (inclusive)
38378 and @var{end} (inclusive); @var{start} and @var{end} are hexadecimal
38379 numbers.
38380
38381 @item QTFrame:outside:@var{start}:@var{end}
38382 Like @samp{QTFrame:range:@var{start}:@var{end}}, but select the first
38383 frame @emph{outside} the given range of addresses (exclusive).
38384
38385 @item qTMinFTPILen
38386 @cindex @samp{qTMinFTPILen} packet
38387 This packet requests the minimum length of instruction at which a fast
38388 tracepoint (@pxref{Set Tracepoints}) may be placed. For instance, on
38389 the 32-bit x86 architecture, it is possible to use a 4-byte jump, but
38390 it depends on the target system being able to create trampolines in
38391 the first 64K of memory, which might or might not be possible for that
38392 system. So the reply to this packet will be 4 if it is able to
38393 arrange for that.
38394
38395 Replies:
38396
38397 @table @samp
38398 @item 0
38399 The minimum instruction length is currently unknown.
38400 @item @var{length}
38401 The minimum instruction length is @var{length}, where @var{length} is greater
38402 or equal to 1. @var{length} is a hexadecimal number. A reply of 1 means
38403 that a fast tracepoint may be placed on any instruction regardless of size.
38404 @item E
38405 An error has occurred.
38406 @item @w{}
38407 An empty reply indicates that the request is not supported by the stub.
38408 @end table
38409
38410 @item QTStart
38411 @cindex @samp{QTStart} packet
38412 Begin the tracepoint experiment. Begin collecting data from
38413 tracepoint hits in the trace frame buffer. This packet supports the
38414 @samp{qRelocInsn} reply (@pxref{Tracepoint Packets,,Relocate
38415 instruction reply packet}).
38416
38417 @item QTStop
38418 @cindex @samp{QTStop} packet
38419 End the tracepoint experiment. Stop collecting trace frames.
38420
38421 @item QTEnable:@var{n}:@var{addr}
38422 @anchor{QTEnable}
38423 @cindex @samp{QTEnable} packet
38424 Enable tracepoint @var{n} at address @var{addr} in a started tracepoint
38425 experiment. If the tracepoint was previously disabled, then collection
38426 of data from it will resume.
38427
38428 @item QTDisable:@var{n}:@var{addr}
38429 @anchor{QTDisable}
38430 @cindex @samp{QTDisable} packet
38431 Disable tracepoint @var{n} at address @var{addr} in a started tracepoint
38432 experiment. No more data will be collected from the tracepoint unless
38433 @samp{QTEnable:@var{n}:@var{addr}} is subsequently issued.
38434
38435 @item QTinit
38436 @cindex @samp{QTinit} packet
38437 Clear the table of tracepoints, and empty the trace frame buffer.
38438
38439 @item QTro:@var{start1},@var{end1}:@var{start2},@var{end2}:@dots{}
38440 @cindex @samp{QTro} packet
38441 Establish the given ranges of memory as ``transparent''. The stub
38442 will answer requests for these ranges from memory's current contents,
38443 if they were not collected as part of the tracepoint hit.
38444
38445 @value{GDBN} uses this to mark read-only regions of memory, like those
38446 containing program code. Since these areas never change, they should
38447 still have the same contents they did when the tracepoint was hit, so
38448 there's no reason for the stub to refuse to provide their contents.
38449
38450 @item QTDisconnected:@var{value}
38451 @cindex @samp{QTDisconnected} packet
38452 Set the choice to what to do with the tracing run when @value{GDBN}
38453 disconnects from the target. A @var{value} of 1 directs the target to
38454 continue the tracing run, while 0 tells the target to stop tracing if
38455 @value{GDBN} is no longer in the picture.
38456
38457 @item qTStatus
38458 @cindex @samp{qTStatus} packet
38459 Ask the stub if there is a trace experiment running right now.
38460
38461 The reply has the form:
38462
38463 @table @samp
38464
38465 @item T@var{running}@r{[};@var{field}@r{]}@dots{}
38466 @var{running} is a single digit @code{1} if the trace is presently
38467 running, or @code{0} if not. It is followed by semicolon-separated
38468 optional fields that an agent may use to report additional status.
38469
38470 @end table
38471
38472 If the trace is not running, the agent may report any of several
38473 explanations as one of the optional fields:
38474
38475 @table @samp
38476
38477 @item tnotrun:0
38478 No trace has been run yet.
38479
38480 @item tstop[:@var{text}]:0
38481 The trace was stopped by a user-originated stop command. The optional
38482 @var{text} field is a user-supplied string supplied as part of the
38483 stop command (for instance, an explanation of why the trace was
38484 stopped manually). It is hex-encoded.
38485
38486 @item tfull:0
38487 The trace stopped because the trace buffer filled up.
38488
38489 @item tdisconnected:0
38490 The trace stopped because @value{GDBN} disconnected from the target.
38491
38492 @item tpasscount:@var{tpnum}
38493 The trace stopped because tracepoint @var{tpnum} exceeded its pass count.
38494
38495 @item terror:@var{text}:@var{tpnum}
38496 The trace stopped because tracepoint @var{tpnum} had an error. The
38497 string @var{text} is available to describe the nature of the error
38498 (for instance, a divide by zero in the condition expression).
38499 @var{text} is hex encoded.
38500
38501 @item tunknown:0
38502 The trace stopped for some other reason.
38503
38504 @end table
38505
38506 Additional optional fields supply statistical and other information.
38507 Although not required, they are extremely useful for users monitoring
38508 the progress of a trace run. If a trace has stopped, and these
38509 numbers are reported, they must reflect the state of the just-stopped
38510 trace.
38511
38512 @table @samp
38513
38514 @item tframes:@var{n}
38515 The number of trace frames in the buffer.
38516
38517 @item tcreated:@var{n}
38518 The total number of trace frames created during the run. This may
38519 be larger than the trace frame count, if the buffer is circular.
38520
38521 @item tsize:@var{n}
38522 The total size of the trace buffer, in bytes.
38523
38524 @item tfree:@var{n}
38525 The number of bytes still unused in the buffer.
38526
38527 @item circular:@var{n}
38528 The value of the circular trace buffer flag. @code{1} means that the
38529 trace buffer is circular and old trace frames will be discarded if
38530 necessary to make room, @code{0} means that the trace buffer is linear
38531 and may fill up.
38532
38533 @item disconn:@var{n}
38534 The value of the disconnected tracing flag. @code{1} means that
38535 tracing will continue after @value{GDBN} disconnects, @code{0} means
38536 that the trace run will stop.
38537
38538 @end table
38539
38540 @item qTP:@var{tp}:@var{addr}
38541 @cindex tracepoint status, remote request
38542 @cindex @samp{qTP} packet
38543 Ask the stub for the current state of tracepoint number @var{tp} at
38544 address @var{addr}.
38545
38546 Replies:
38547 @table @samp
38548 @item V@var{hits}:@var{usage}
38549 The tracepoint has been hit @var{hits} times so far during the trace
38550 run, and accounts for @var{usage} in the trace buffer. Note that
38551 @code{while-stepping} steps are not counted as separate hits, but the
38552 steps' space consumption is added into the usage number.
38553
38554 @end table
38555
38556 @item qTV:@var{var}
38557 @cindex trace state variable value, remote request
38558 @cindex @samp{qTV} packet
38559 Ask the stub for the value of the trace state variable number @var{var}.
38560
38561 Replies:
38562 @table @samp
38563 @item V@var{value}
38564 The value of the variable is @var{value}. This will be the current
38565 value of the variable if the user is examining a running target, or a
38566 saved value if the variable was collected in the trace frame that the
38567 user is looking at. Note that multiple requests may result in
38568 different reply values, such as when requesting values while the
38569 program is running.
38570
38571 @item U
38572 The value of the variable is unknown. This would occur, for example,
38573 if the user is examining a trace frame in which the requested variable
38574 was not collected.
38575 @end table
38576
38577 @item qTfP
38578 @cindex @samp{qTfP} packet
38579 @itemx qTsP
38580 @cindex @samp{qTsP} packet
38581 These packets request data about tracepoints that are being used by
38582 the target. @value{GDBN} sends @code{qTfP} to get the first piece
38583 of data, and multiple @code{qTsP} to get additional pieces. Replies
38584 to these packets generally take the form of the @code{QTDP} packets
38585 that define tracepoints. (FIXME add detailed syntax)
38586
38587 @item qTfV
38588 @cindex @samp{qTfV} packet
38589 @itemx qTsV
38590 @cindex @samp{qTsV} packet
38591 These packets request data about trace state variables that are on the
38592 target. @value{GDBN} sends @code{qTfV} to get the first vari of data,
38593 and multiple @code{qTsV} to get additional variables. Replies to
38594 these packets follow the syntax of the @code{QTDV} packets that define
38595 trace state variables.
38596
38597 @item qTfSTM
38598 @itemx qTsSTM
38599 @anchor{qTfSTM}
38600 @anchor{qTsSTM}
38601 @cindex @samp{qTfSTM} packet
38602 @cindex @samp{qTsSTM} packet
38603 These packets request data about static tracepoint markers that exist
38604 in the target program. @value{GDBN} sends @code{qTfSTM} to get the
38605 first piece of data, and multiple @code{qTsSTM} to get additional
38606 pieces. Replies to these packets take the following form:
38607
38608 Reply:
38609 @table @samp
38610 @item m @var{address}:@var{id}:@var{extra}
38611 A single marker
38612 @item m @var{address}:@var{id}:@var{extra},@var{address}:@var{id}:@var{extra}@dots{}
38613 a comma-separated list of markers
38614 @item l
38615 (lower case letter @samp{L}) denotes end of list.
38616 @item E @var{nn}
38617 An error occurred. @var{nn} are hex digits.
38618 @item @w{}
38619 An empty reply indicates that the request is not supported by the
38620 stub.
38621 @end table
38622
38623 @var{address} is encoded in hex.
38624 @var{id} and @var{extra} are strings encoded in hex.
38625
38626 In response to each query, the target will reply with a list of one or
38627 more markers, separated by commas. @value{GDBN} will respond to each
38628 reply with a request for more markers (using the @samp{qs} form of the
38629 query), until the target responds with @samp{l} (lower-case ell, for
38630 @dfn{last}).
38631
38632 @item qTSTMat:@var{address}
38633 @anchor{qTSTMat}
38634 @cindex @samp{qTSTMat} packet
38635 This packets requests data about static tracepoint markers in the
38636 target program at @var{address}. Replies to this packet follow the
38637 syntax of the @samp{qTfSTM} and @code{qTsSTM} packets that list static
38638 tracepoint markers.
38639
38640 @item QTSave:@var{filename}
38641 @cindex @samp{QTSave} packet
38642 This packet directs the target to save trace data to the file name
38643 @var{filename} in the target's filesystem. @var{filename} is encoded
38644 as a hex string; the interpretation of the file name (relative vs
38645 absolute, wild cards, etc) is up to the target.
38646
38647 @item qTBuffer:@var{offset},@var{len}
38648 @cindex @samp{qTBuffer} packet
38649 Return up to @var{len} bytes of the current contents of trace buffer,
38650 starting at @var{offset}. The trace buffer is treated as if it were
38651 a contiguous collection of traceframes, as per the trace file format.
38652 The reply consists as many hex-encoded bytes as the target can deliver
38653 in a packet; it is not an error to return fewer than were asked for.
38654 A reply consisting of just @code{l} indicates that no bytes are
38655 available.
38656
38657 @item QTBuffer:circular:@var{value}
38658 This packet directs the target to use a circular trace buffer if
38659 @var{value} is 1, or a linear buffer if the value is 0.
38660
38661 @item QTBuffer:size:@var{size}
38662 @anchor{QTBuffer-size}
38663 @cindex @samp{QTBuffer size} packet
38664 This packet directs the target to make the trace buffer be of size
38665 @var{size} if possible. A value of @code{-1} tells the target to
38666 use whatever size it prefers.
38667
38668 @item QTNotes:@r{[}@var{type}:@var{text}@r{]}@r{[};@var{type}:@var{text}@r{]}@dots{}
38669 @cindex @samp{QTNotes} packet
38670 This packet adds optional textual notes to the trace run. Allowable
38671 types include @code{user}, @code{notes}, and @code{tstop}, the
38672 @var{text} fields are arbitrary strings, hex-encoded.
38673
38674 @end table
38675
38676 @subsection Relocate instruction reply packet
38677 When installing fast tracepoints in memory, the target may need to
38678 relocate the instruction currently at the tracepoint address to a
38679 different address in memory. For most instructions, a simple copy is
38680 enough, but, for example, call instructions that implicitly push the
38681 return address on the stack, and relative branches or other
38682 PC-relative instructions require offset adjustment, so that the effect
38683 of executing the instruction at a different address is the same as if
38684 it had executed in the original location.
38685
38686 In response to several of the tracepoint packets, the target may also
38687 respond with a number of intermediate @samp{qRelocInsn} request
38688 packets before the final result packet, to have @value{GDBN} handle
38689 this relocation operation. If a packet supports this mechanism, its
38690 documentation will explicitly say so. See for example the above
38691 descriptions for the @samp{QTStart} and @samp{QTDP} packets. The
38692 format of the request is:
38693
38694 @table @samp
38695 @item qRelocInsn:@var{from};@var{to}
38696
38697 This requests @value{GDBN} to copy instruction at address @var{from}
38698 to address @var{to}, possibly adjusted so that executing the
38699 instruction at @var{to} has the same effect as executing it at
38700 @var{from}. @value{GDBN} writes the adjusted instruction to target
38701 memory starting at @var{to}.
38702 @end table
38703
38704 Replies:
38705 @table @samp
38706 @item qRelocInsn:@var{adjusted_size}
38707 Informs the stub the relocation is complete. @var{adjusted_size} is
38708 the length in bytes of resulting relocated instruction sequence.
38709 @item E @var{NN}
38710 A badly formed request was detected, or an error was encountered while
38711 relocating the instruction.
38712 @end table
38713
38714 @node Host I/O Packets
38715 @section Host I/O Packets
38716 @cindex Host I/O, remote protocol
38717 @cindex file transfer, remote protocol
38718
38719 The @dfn{Host I/O} packets allow @value{GDBN} to perform I/O
38720 operations on the far side of a remote link. For example, Host I/O is
38721 used to upload and download files to a remote target with its own
38722 filesystem. Host I/O uses the same constant values and data structure
38723 layout as the target-initiated File-I/O protocol. However, the
38724 Host I/O packets are structured differently. The target-initiated
38725 protocol relies on target memory to store parameters and buffers.
38726 Host I/O requests are initiated by @value{GDBN}, and the
38727 target's memory is not involved. @xref{File-I/O Remote Protocol
38728 Extension}, for more details on the target-initiated protocol.
38729
38730 The Host I/O request packets all encode a single operation along with
38731 its arguments. They have this format:
38732
38733 @table @samp
38734
38735 @item vFile:@var{operation}: @var{parameter}@dots{}
38736 @var{operation} is the name of the particular request; the target
38737 should compare the entire packet name up to the second colon when checking
38738 for a supported operation. The format of @var{parameter} depends on
38739 the operation. Numbers are always passed in hexadecimal. Negative
38740 numbers have an explicit minus sign (i.e.@: two's complement is not
38741 used). Strings (e.g.@: filenames) are encoded as a series of
38742 hexadecimal bytes. The last argument to a system call may be a
38743 buffer of escaped binary data (@pxref{Binary Data}).
38744
38745 @end table
38746
38747 The valid responses to Host I/O packets are:
38748
38749 @table @samp
38750
38751 @item F @var{result} [, @var{errno}] [; @var{attachment}]
38752 @var{result} is the integer value returned by this operation, usually
38753 non-negative for success and -1 for errors. If an error has occured,
38754 @var{errno} will be included in the result. @var{errno} will have a
38755 value defined by the File-I/O protocol (@pxref{Errno Values}). For
38756 operations which return data, @var{attachment} supplies the data as a
38757 binary buffer. Binary buffers in response packets are escaped in the
38758 normal way (@pxref{Binary Data}). See the individual packet
38759 documentation for the interpretation of @var{result} and
38760 @var{attachment}.
38761
38762 @item @w{}
38763 An empty response indicates that this operation is not recognized.
38764
38765 @end table
38766
38767 These are the supported Host I/O operations:
38768
38769 @table @samp
38770 @item vFile:open: @var{pathname}, @var{flags}, @var{mode}
38771 Open a file at @var{pathname} and return a file descriptor for it, or
38772 return -1 if an error occurs. @var{pathname} is a string,
38773 @var{flags} is an integer indicating a mask of open flags
38774 (@pxref{Open Flags}), and @var{mode} is an integer indicating a mask
38775 of mode bits to use if the file is created (@pxref{mode_t Values}).
38776 @xref{open}, for details of the open flags and mode values.
38777
38778 @item vFile:close: @var{fd}
38779 Close the open file corresponding to @var{fd} and return 0, or
38780 -1 if an error occurs.
38781
38782 @item vFile:pread: @var{fd}, @var{count}, @var{offset}
38783 Read data from the open file corresponding to @var{fd}. Up to
38784 @var{count} bytes will be read from the file, starting at @var{offset}
38785 relative to the start of the file. The target may read fewer bytes;
38786 common reasons include packet size limits and an end-of-file
38787 condition. The number of bytes read is returned. Zero should only be
38788 returned for a successful read at the end of the file, or if
38789 @var{count} was zero.
38790
38791 The data read should be returned as a binary attachment on success.
38792 If zero bytes were read, the response should include an empty binary
38793 attachment (i.e.@: a trailing semicolon). The return value is the
38794 number of target bytes read; the binary attachment may be longer if
38795 some characters were escaped.
38796
38797 @item vFile:pwrite: @var{fd}, @var{offset}, @var{data}
38798 Write @var{data} (a binary buffer) to the open file corresponding
38799 to @var{fd}. Start the write at @var{offset} from the start of the
38800 file. Unlike many @code{write} system calls, there is no
38801 separate @var{count} argument; the length of @var{data} in the
38802 packet is used. @samp{vFile:write} returns the number of bytes written,
38803 which may be shorter than the length of @var{data}, or -1 if an
38804 error occurred.
38805
38806 @item vFile:unlink: @var{pathname}
38807 Delete the file at @var{pathname} on the target. Return 0,
38808 or -1 if an error occurs. @var{pathname} is a string.
38809
38810 @item vFile:readlink: @var{filename}
38811 Read value of symbolic link @var{filename} on the target. Return
38812 the number of bytes read, or -1 if an error occurs.
38813
38814 The data read should be returned as a binary attachment on success.
38815 If zero bytes were read, the response should include an empty binary
38816 attachment (i.e.@: a trailing semicolon). The return value is the
38817 number of target bytes read; the binary attachment may be longer if
38818 some characters were escaped.
38819
38820 @end table
38821
38822 @node Interrupts
38823 @section Interrupts
38824 @cindex interrupts (remote protocol)
38825
38826 When a program on the remote target is running, @value{GDBN} may
38827 attempt to interrupt it by sending a @samp{Ctrl-C}, @code{BREAK} or
38828 a @code{BREAK} followed by @code{g},
38829 control of which is specified via @value{GDBN}'s @samp{interrupt-sequence}.
38830
38831 The precise meaning of @code{BREAK} is defined by the transport
38832 mechanism and may, in fact, be undefined. @value{GDBN} does not
38833 currently define a @code{BREAK} mechanism for any of the network
38834 interfaces except for TCP, in which case @value{GDBN} sends the
38835 @code{telnet} BREAK sequence.
38836
38837 @samp{Ctrl-C}, on the other hand, is defined and implemented for all
38838 transport mechanisms. It is represented by sending the single byte
38839 @code{0x03} without any of the usual packet overhead described in
38840 the Overview section (@pxref{Overview}). When a @code{0x03} byte is
38841 transmitted as part of a packet, it is considered to be packet data
38842 and does @emph{not} represent an interrupt. E.g., an @samp{X} packet
38843 (@pxref{X packet}), used for binary downloads, may include an unescaped
38844 @code{0x03} as part of its packet.
38845
38846 @code{BREAK} followed by @code{g} is also known as Magic SysRq g.
38847 When Linux kernel receives this sequence from serial port,
38848 it stops execution and connects to gdb.
38849
38850 Stubs are not required to recognize these interrupt mechanisms and the
38851 precise meaning associated with receipt of the interrupt is
38852 implementation defined. If the target supports debugging of multiple
38853 threads and/or processes, it should attempt to interrupt all
38854 currently-executing threads and processes.
38855 If the stub is successful at interrupting the
38856 running program, it should send one of the stop
38857 reply packets (@pxref{Stop Reply Packets}) to @value{GDBN} as a result
38858 of successfully stopping the program in all-stop mode, and a stop reply
38859 for each stopped thread in non-stop mode.
38860 Interrupts received while the
38861 program is stopped are discarded.
38862
38863 @node Notification Packets
38864 @section Notification Packets
38865 @cindex notification packets
38866 @cindex packets, notification
38867
38868 The @value{GDBN} remote serial protocol includes @dfn{notifications},
38869 packets that require no acknowledgment. Both the GDB and the stub
38870 may send notifications (although the only notifications defined at
38871 present are sent by the stub). Notifications carry information
38872 without incurring the round-trip latency of an acknowledgment, and so
38873 are useful for low-impact communications where occasional packet loss
38874 is not a problem.
38875
38876 A notification packet has the form @samp{% @var{data} #
38877 @var{checksum}}, where @var{data} is the content of the notification,
38878 and @var{checksum} is a checksum of @var{data}, computed and formatted
38879 as for ordinary @value{GDBN} packets. A notification's @var{data}
38880 never contains @samp{$}, @samp{%} or @samp{#} characters. Upon
38881 receiving a notification, the recipient sends no @samp{+} or @samp{-}
38882 to acknowledge the notification's receipt or to report its corruption.
38883
38884 Every notification's @var{data} begins with a name, which contains no
38885 colon characters, followed by a colon character.
38886
38887 Recipients should silently ignore corrupted notifications and
38888 notifications they do not understand. Recipients should restart
38889 timeout periods on receipt of a well-formed notification, whether or
38890 not they understand it.
38891
38892 Senders should only send the notifications described here when this
38893 protocol description specifies that they are permitted. In the
38894 future, we may extend the protocol to permit existing notifications in
38895 new contexts; this rule helps older senders avoid confusing newer
38896 recipients.
38897
38898 (Older versions of @value{GDBN} ignore bytes received until they see
38899 the @samp{$} byte that begins an ordinary packet, so new stubs may
38900 transmit notifications without fear of confusing older clients. There
38901 are no notifications defined for @value{GDBN} to send at the moment, but we
38902 assume that most older stubs would ignore them, as well.)
38903
38904 Each notification is comprised of three parts:
38905 @table @samp
38906 @item @var{name}:@var{event}
38907 The notification packet is sent by the side that initiates the
38908 exchange (currently, only the stub does that), with @var{event}
38909 carrying the specific information about the notification.
38910 @var{name} is the name of the notification.
38911 @item @var{ack}
38912 The acknowledge sent by the other side, usually @value{GDBN}, to
38913 acknowledge the exchange and request the event.
38914 @end table
38915
38916 The purpose of an asynchronous notification mechanism is to report to
38917 @value{GDBN} that something interesting happened in the remote stub.
38918
38919 The remote stub may send notification @var{name}:@var{event}
38920 at any time, but @value{GDBN} acknowledges the notification when
38921 appropriate. The notification event is pending before @value{GDBN}
38922 acknowledges. Only one notification at a time may be pending; if
38923 additional events occur before @value{GDBN} has acknowledged the
38924 previous notification, they must be queued by the stub for later
38925 synchronous transmission in response to @var{ack} packets from
38926 @value{GDBN}. Because the notification mechanism is unreliable,
38927 the stub is permitted to resend a notification if it believes
38928 @value{GDBN} may not have received it.
38929
38930 Specifically, notifications may appear when @value{GDBN} is not
38931 otherwise reading input from the stub, or when @value{GDBN} is
38932 expecting to read a normal synchronous response or a
38933 @samp{+}/@samp{-} acknowledgment to a packet it has sent.
38934 Notification packets are distinct from any other communication from
38935 the stub so there is no ambiguity.
38936
38937 After receiving a notification, @value{GDBN} shall acknowledge it by
38938 sending a @var{ack} packet as a regular, synchronous request to the
38939 stub. Such acknowledgment is not required to happen immediately, as
38940 @value{GDBN} is permitted to send other, unrelated packets to the
38941 stub first, which the stub should process normally.
38942
38943 Upon receiving a @var{ack} packet, if the stub has other queued
38944 events to report to @value{GDBN}, it shall respond by sending a
38945 normal @var{event}. @value{GDBN} shall then send another @var{ack}
38946 packet to solicit further responses; again, it is permitted to send
38947 other, unrelated packets as well which the stub should process
38948 normally.
38949
38950 If the stub receives a @var{ack} packet and there are no additional
38951 @var{event} to report, the stub shall return an @samp{OK} response.
38952 At this point, @value{GDBN} has finished processing a notification
38953 and the stub has completed sending any queued events. @value{GDBN}
38954 won't accept any new notifications until the final @samp{OK} is
38955 received . If further notification events occur, the stub shall send
38956 a new notification, @value{GDBN} shall accept the notification, and
38957 the process shall be repeated.
38958
38959 The process of asynchronous notification can be illustrated by the
38960 following example:
38961 @smallexample
38962 <- @code{%%Stop:T0505:98e7ffbf;04:4ce6ffbf;08:b1b6e54c;thread:p7526.7526;core:0;}
38963 @code{...}
38964 -> @code{vStopped}
38965 <- @code{T0505:68f37db7;04:40f37db7;08:63850408;thread:p7526.7528;core:0;}
38966 -> @code{vStopped}
38967 <- @code{T0505:68e3fdb6;04:40e3fdb6;08:63850408;thread:p7526.7529;core:0;}
38968 -> @code{vStopped}
38969 <- @code{OK}
38970 @end smallexample
38971
38972 The following notifications are defined:
38973 @multitable @columnfractions 0.12 0.12 0.38 0.38
38974
38975 @item Notification
38976 @tab Ack
38977 @tab Event
38978 @tab Description
38979
38980 @item Stop
38981 @tab vStopped
38982 @tab @var{reply}. The @var{reply} has the form of a stop reply, as
38983 described in @ref{Stop Reply Packets}. Refer to @ref{Remote Non-Stop},
38984 for information on how these notifications are acknowledged by
38985 @value{GDBN}.
38986 @tab Report an asynchronous stop event in non-stop mode.
38987
38988 @end multitable
38989
38990 @node Remote Non-Stop
38991 @section Remote Protocol Support for Non-Stop Mode
38992
38993 @value{GDBN}'s remote protocol supports non-stop debugging of
38994 multi-threaded programs, as described in @ref{Non-Stop Mode}. If the stub
38995 supports non-stop mode, it should report that to @value{GDBN} by including
38996 @samp{QNonStop+} in its @samp{qSupported} response (@pxref{qSupported}).
38997
38998 @value{GDBN} typically sends a @samp{QNonStop} packet only when
38999 establishing a new connection with the stub. Entering non-stop mode
39000 does not alter the state of any currently-running threads, but targets
39001 must stop all threads in any already-attached processes when entering
39002 all-stop mode. @value{GDBN} uses the @samp{?} packet as necessary to
39003 probe the target state after a mode change.
39004
39005 In non-stop mode, when an attached process encounters an event that
39006 would otherwise be reported with a stop reply, it uses the
39007 asynchronous notification mechanism (@pxref{Notification Packets}) to
39008 inform @value{GDBN}. In contrast to all-stop mode, where all threads
39009 in all processes are stopped when a stop reply is sent, in non-stop
39010 mode only the thread reporting the stop event is stopped. That is,
39011 when reporting a @samp{S} or @samp{T} response to indicate completion
39012 of a step operation, hitting a breakpoint, or a fault, only the
39013 affected thread is stopped; any other still-running threads continue
39014 to run. When reporting a @samp{W} or @samp{X} response, all running
39015 threads belonging to other attached processes continue to run.
39016
39017 In non-stop mode, the target shall respond to the @samp{?} packet as
39018 follows. First, any incomplete stop reply notification/@samp{vStopped}
39019 sequence in progress is abandoned. The target must begin a new
39020 sequence reporting stop events for all stopped threads, whether or not
39021 it has previously reported those events to @value{GDBN}. The first
39022 stop reply is sent as a synchronous reply to the @samp{?} packet, and
39023 subsequent stop replies are sent as responses to @samp{vStopped} packets
39024 using the mechanism described above. The target must not send
39025 asynchronous stop reply notifications until the sequence is complete.
39026 If all threads are running when the target receives the @samp{?} packet,
39027 or if the target is not attached to any process, it shall respond
39028 @samp{OK}.
39029
39030 @node Packet Acknowledgment
39031 @section Packet Acknowledgment
39032
39033 @cindex acknowledgment, for @value{GDBN} remote
39034 @cindex packet acknowledgment, for @value{GDBN} remote
39035 By default, when either the host or the target machine receives a packet,
39036 the first response expected is an acknowledgment: either @samp{+} (to indicate
39037 the package was received correctly) or @samp{-} (to request retransmission).
39038 This mechanism allows the @value{GDBN} remote protocol to operate over
39039 unreliable transport mechanisms, such as a serial line.
39040
39041 In cases where the transport mechanism is itself reliable (such as a pipe or
39042 TCP connection), the @samp{+}/@samp{-} acknowledgments are redundant.
39043 It may be desirable to disable them in that case to reduce communication
39044 overhead, or for other reasons. This can be accomplished by means of the
39045 @samp{QStartNoAckMode} packet; @pxref{QStartNoAckMode}.
39046
39047 When in no-acknowledgment mode, neither the stub nor @value{GDBN} shall send or
39048 expect @samp{+}/@samp{-} protocol acknowledgments. The packet
39049 and response format still includes the normal checksum, as described in
39050 @ref{Overview}, but the checksum may be ignored by the receiver.
39051
39052 If the stub supports @samp{QStartNoAckMode} and prefers to operate in
39053 no-acknowledgment mode, it should report that to @value{GDBN}
39054 by including @samp{QStartNoAckMode+} in its response to @samp{qSupported};
39055 @pxref{qSupported}.
39056 If @value{GDBN} also supports @samp{QStartNoAckMode} and it has not been
39057 disabled via the @code{set remote noack-packet off} command
39058 (@pxref{Remote Configuration}),
39059 @value{GDBN} may then send a @samp{QStartNoAckMode} packet to the stub.
39060 Only then may the stub actually turn off packet acknowledgments.
39061 @value{GDBN} sends a final @samp{+} acknowledgment of the stub's @samp{OK}
39062 response, which can be safely ignored by the stub.
39063
39064 Note that @code{set remote noack-packet} command only affects negotiation
39065 between @value{GDBN} and the stub when subsequent connections are made;
39066 it does not affect the protocol acknowledgment state for any current
39067 connection.
39068 Since @samp{+}/@samp{-} acknowledgments are enabled by default when a
39069 new connection is established,
39070 there is also no protocol request to re-enable the acknowledgments
39071 for the current connection, once disabled.
39072
39073 @node Examples
39074 @section Examples
39075
39076 Example sequence of a target being re-started. Notice how the restart
39077 does not get any direct output:
39078
39079 @smallexample
39080 -> @code{R00}
39081 <- @code{+}
39082 @emph{target restarts}
39083 -> @code{?}
39084 <- @code{+}
39085 <- @code{T001:1234123412341234}
39086 -> @code{+}
39087 @end smallexample
39088
39089 Example sequence of a target being stepped by a single instruction:
39090
39091 @smallexample
39092 -> @code{G1445@dots{}}
39093 <- @code{+}
39094 -> @code{s}
39095 <- @code{+}
39096 @emph{time passes}
39097 <- @code{T001:1234123412341234}
39098 -> @code{+}
39099 -> @code{g}
39100 <- @code{+}
39101 <- @code{1455@dots{}}
39102 -> @code{+}
39103 @end smallexample
39104
39105 @node File-I/O Remote Protocol Extension
39106 @section File-I/O Remote Protocol Extension
39107 @cindex File-I/O remote protocol extension
39108
39109 @menu
39110 * File-I/O Overview::
39111 * Protocol Basics::
39112 * The F Request Packet::
39113 * The F Reply Packet::
39114 * The Ctrl-C Message::
39115 * Console I/O::
39116 * List of Supported Calls::
39117 * Protocol-specific Representation of Datatypes::
39118 * Constants::
39119 * File-I/O Examples::
39120 @end menu
39121
39122 @node File-I/O Overview
39123 @subsection File-I/O Overview
39124 @cindex file-i/o overview
39125
39126 The @dfn{File I/O remote protocol extension} (short: File-I/O) allows the
39127 target to use the host's file system and console I/O to perform various
39128 system calls. System calls on the target system are translated into a
39129 remote protocol packet to the host system, which then performs the needed
39130 actions and returns a response packet to the target system.
39131 This simulates file system operations even on targets that lack file systems.
39132
39133 The protocol is defined to be independent of both the host and target systems.
39134 It uses its own internal representation of datatypes and values. Both
39135 @value{GDBN} and the target's @value{GDBN} stub are responsible for
39136 translating the system-dependent value representations into the internal
39137 protocol representations when data is transmitted.
39138
39139 The communication is synchronous. A system call is possible only when
39140 @value{GDBN} is waiting for a response from the @samp{C}, @samp{c}, @samp{S}
39141 or @samp{s} packets. While @value{GDBN} handles the request for a system call,
39142 the target is stopped to allow deterministic access to the target's
39143 memory. Therefore File-I/O is not interruptible by target signals. On
39144 the other hand, it is possible to interrupt File-I/O by a user interrupt
39145 (@samp{Ctrl-C}) within @value{GDBN}.
39146
39147 The target's request to perform a host system call does not finish
39148 the latest @samp{C}, @samp{c}, @samp{S} or @samp{s} action. That means,
39149 after finishing the system call, the target returns to continuing the
39150 previous activity (continue, step). No additional continue or step
39151 request from @value{GDBN} is required.
39152
39153 @smallexample
39154 (@value{GDBP}) continue
39155 <- target requests 'system call X'
39156 target is stopped, @value{GDBN} executes system call
39157 -> @value{GDBN} returns result
39158 ... target continues, @value{GDBN} returns to wait for the target
39159 <- target hits breakpoint and sends a Txx packet
39160 @end smallexample
39161
39162 The protocol only supports I/O on the console and to regular files on
39163 the host file system. Character or block special devices, pipes,
39164 named pipes, sockets or any other communication method on the host
39165 system are not supported by this protocol.
39166
39167 File I/O is not supported in non-stop mode.
39168
39169 @node Protocol Basics
39170 @subsection Protocol Basics
39171 @cindex protocol basics, file-i/o
39172
39173 The File-I/O protocol uses the @code{F} packet as the request as well
39174 as reply packet. Since a File-I/O system call can only occur when
39175 @value{GDBN} is waiting for a response from the continuing or stepping target,
39176 the File-I/O request is a reply that @value{GDBN} has to expect as a result
39177 of a previous @samp{C}, @samp{c}, @samp{S} or @samp{s} packet.
39178 This @code{F} packet contains all information needed to allow @value{GDBN}
39179 to call the appropriate host system call:
39180
39181 @itemize @bullet
39182 @item
39183 A unique identifier for the requested system call.
39184
39185 @item
39186 All parameters to the system call. Pointers are given as addresses
39187 in the target memory address space. Pointers to strings are given as
39188 pointer/length pair. Numerical values are given as they are.
39189 Numerical control flags are given in a protocol-specific representation.
39190
39191 @end itemize
39192
39193 At this point, @value{GDBN} has to perform the following actions.
39194
39195 @itemize @bullet
39196 @item
39197 If the parameters include pointer values to data needed as input to a
39198 system call, @value{GDBN} requests this data from the target with a
39199 standard @code{m} packet request. This additional communication has to be
39200 expected by the target implementation and is handled as any other @code{m}
39201 packet.
39202
39203 @item
39204 @value{GDBN} translates all value from protocol representation to host
39205 representation as needed. Datatypes are coerced into the host types.
39206
39207 @item
39208 @value{GDBN} calls the system call.
39209
39210 @item
39211 It then coerces datatypes back to protocol representation.
39212
39213 @item
39214 If the system call is expected to return data in buffer space specified
39215 by pointer parameters to the call, the data is transmitted to the
39216 target using a @code{M} or @code{X} packet. This packet has to be expected
39217 by the target implementation and is handled as any other @code{M} or @code{X}
39218 packet.
39219
39220 @end itemize
39221
39222 Eventually @value{GDBN} replies with another @code{F} packet which contains all
39223 necessary information for the target to continue. This at least contains
39224
39225 @itemize @bullet
39226 @item
39227 Return value.
39228
39229 @item
39230 @code{errno}, if has been changed by the system call.
39231
39232 @item
39233 ``Ctrl-C'' flag.
39234
39235 @end itemize
39236
39237 After having done the needed type and value coercion, the target continues
39238 the latest continue or step action.
39239
39240 @node The F Request Packet
39241 @subsection The @code{F} Request Packet
39242 @cindex file-i/o request packet
39243 @cindex @code{F} request packet
39244
39245 The @code{F} request packet has the following format:
39246
39247 @table @samp
39248 @item F@var{call-id},@var{parameter@dots{}}
39249
39250 @var{call-id} is the identifier to indicate the host system call to be called.
39251 This is just the name of the function.
39252
39253 @var{parameter@dots{}} are the parameters to the system call.
39254 Parameters are hexadecimal integer values, either the actual values in case
39255 of scalar datatypes, pointers to target buffer space in case of compound
39256 datatypes and unspecified memory areas, or pointer/length pairs in case
39257 of string parameters. These are appended to the @var{call-id} as a
39258 comma-delimited list. All values are transmitted in ASCII
39259 string representation, pointer/length pairs separated by a slash.
39260
39261 @end table
39262
39263
39264
39265 @node The F Reply Packet
39266 @subsection The @code{F} Reply Packet
39267 @cindex file-i/o reply packet
39268 @cindex @code{F} reply packet
39269
39270 The @code{F} reply packet has the following format:
39271
39272 @table @samp
39273
39274 @item F@var{retcode},@var{errno},@var{Ctrl-C flag};@var{call-specific attachment}
39275
39276 @var{retcode} is the return code of the system call as hexadecimal value.
39277
39278 @var{errno} is the @code{errno} set by the call, in protocol-specific
39279 representation.
39280 This parameter can be omitted if the call was successful.
39281
39282 @var{Ctrl-C flag} is only sent if the user requested a break. In this
39283 case, @var{errno} must be sent as well, even if the call was successful.
39284 The @var{Ctrl-C flag} itself consists of the character @samp{C}:
39285
39286 @smallexample
39287 F0,0,C
39288 @end smallexample
39289
39290 @noindent
39291 or, if the call was interrupted before the host call has been performed:
39292
39293 @smallexample
39294 F-1,4,C
39295 @end smallexample
39296
39297 @noindent
39298 assuming 4 is the protocol-specific representation of @code{EINTR}.
39299
39300 @end table
39301
39302
39303 @node The Ctrl-C Message
39304 @subsection The @samp{Ctrl-C} Message
39305 @cindex ctrl-c message, in file-i/o protocol
39306
39307 If the @samp{Ctrl-C} flag is set in the @value{GDBN}
39308 reply packet (@pxref{The F Reply Packet}),
39309 the target should behave as if it had
39310 gotten a break message. The meaning for the target is ``system call
39311 interrupted by @code{SIGINT}''. Consequentially, the target should actually stop
39312 (as with a break message) and return to @value{GDBN} with a @code{T02}
39313 packet.
39314
39315 It's important for the target to know in which
39316 state the system call was interrupted. There are two possible cases:
39317
39318 @itemize @bullet
39319 @item
39320 The system call hasn't been performed on the host yet.
39321
39322 @item
39323 The system call on the host has been finished.
39324
39325 @end itemize
39326
39327 These two states can be distinguished by the target by the value of the
39328 returned @code{errno}. If it's the protocol representation of @code{EINTR}, the system
39329 call hasn't been performed. This is equivalent to the @code{EINTR} handling
39330 on POSIX systems. In any other case, the target may presume that the
39331 system call has been finished --- successfully or not --- and should behave
39332 as if the break message arrived right after the system call.
39333
39334 @value{GDBN} must behave reliably. If the system call has not been called
39335 yet, @value{GDBN} may send the @code{F} reply immediately, setting @code{EINTR} as
39336 @code{errno} in the packet. If the system call on the host has been finished
39337 before the user requests a break, the full action must be finished by
39338 @value{GDBN}. This requires sending @code{M} or @code{X} packets as necessary.
39339 The @code{F} packet may only be sent when either nothing has happened
39340 or the full action has been completed.
39341
39342 @node Console I/O
39343 @subsection Console I/O
39344 @cindex console i/o as part of file-i/o
39345
39346 By default and if not explicitly closed by the target system, the file
39347 descriptors 0, 1 and 2 are connected to the @value{GDBN} console. Output
39348 on the @value{GDBN} console is handled as any other file output operation
39349 (@code{write(1, @dots{})} or @code{write(2, @dots{})}). Console input is handled
39350 by @value{GDBN} so that after the target read request from file descriptor
39351 0 all following typing is buffered until either one of the following
39352 conditions is met:
39353
39354 @itemize @bullet
39355 @item
39356 The user types @kbd{Ctrl-c}. The behaviour is as explained above, and the
39357 @code{read}
39358 system call is treated as finished.
39359
39360 @item
39361 The user presses @key{RET}. This is treated as end of input with a trailing
39362 newline.
39363
39364 @item
39365 The user types @kbd{Ctrl-d}. This is treated as end of input. No trailing
39366 character (neither newline nor @samp{Ctrl-D}) is appended to the input.
39367
39368 @end itemize
39369
39370 If the user has typed more characters than fit in the buffer given to
39371 the @code{read} call, the trailing characters are buffered in @value{GDBN} until
39372 either another @code{read(0, @dots{})} is requested by the target, or debugging
39373 is stopped at the user's request.
39374
39375
39376 @node List of Supported Calls
39377 @subsection List of Supported Calls
39378 @cindex list of supported file-i/o calls
39379
39380 @menu
39381 * open::
39382 * close::
39383 * read::
39384 * write::
39385 * lseek::
39386 * rename::
39387 * unlink::
39388 * stat/fstat::
39389 * gettimeofday::
39390 * isatty::
39391 * system::
39392 @end menu
39393
39394 @node open
39395 @unnumberedsubsubsec open
39396 @cindex open, file-i/o system call
39397
39398 @table @asis
39399 @item Synopsis:
39400 @smallexample
39401 int open(const char *pathname, int flags);
39402 int open(const char *pathname, int flags, mode_t mode);
39403 @end smallexample
39404
39405 @item Request:
39406 @samp{Fopen,@var{pathptr}/@var{len},@var{flags},@var{mode}}
39407
39408 @noindent
39409 @var{flags} is the bitwise @code{OR} of the following values:
39410
39411 @table @code
39412 @item O_CREAT
39413 If the file does not exist it will be created. The host
39414 rules apply as far as file ownership and time stamps
39415 are concerned.
39416
39417 @item O_EXCL
39418 When used with @code{O_CREAT}, if the file already exists it is
39419 an error and open() fails.
39420
39421 @item O_TRUNC
39422 If the file already exists and the open mode allows
39423 writing (@code{O_RDWR} or @code{O_WRONLY} is given) it will be
39424 truncated to zero length.
39425
39426 @item O_APPEND
39427 The file is opened in append mode.
39428
39429 @item O_RDONLY
39430 The file is opened for reading only.
39431
39432 @item O_WRONLY
39433 The file is opened for writing only.
39434
39435 @item O_RDWR
39436 The file is opened for reading and writing.
39437 @end table
39438
39439 @noindent
39440 Other bits are silently ignored.
39441
39442
39443 @noindent
39444 @var{mode} is the bitwise @code{OR} of the following values:
39445
39446 @table @code
39447 @item S_IRUSR
39448 User has read permission.
39449
39450 @item S_IWUSR
39451 User has write permission.
39452
39453 @item S_IRGRP
39454 Group has read permission.
39455
39456 @item S_IWGRP
39457 Group has write permission.
39458
39459 @item S_IROTH
39460 Others have read permission.
39461
39462 @item S_IWOTH
39463 Others have write permission.
39464 @end table
39465
39466 @noindent
39467 Other bits are silently ignored.
39468
39469
39470 @item Return value:
39471 @code{open} returns the new file descriptor or -1 if an error
39472 occurred.
39473
39474 @item Errors:
39475
39476 @table @code
39477 @item EEXIST
39478 @var{pathname} already exists and @code{O_CREAT} and @code{O_EXCL} were used.
39479
39480 @item EISDIR
39481 @var{pathname} refers to a directory.
39482
39483 @item EACCES
39484 The requested access is not allowed.
39485
39486 @item ENAMETOOLONG
39487 @var{pathname} was too long.
39488
39489 @item ENOENT
39490 A directory component in @var{pathname} does not exist.
39491
39492 @item ENODEV
39493 @var{pathname} refers to a device, pipe, named pipe or socket.
39494
39495 @item EROFS
39496 @var{pathname} refers to a file on a read-only filesystem and
39497 write access was requested.
39498
39499 @item EFAULT
39500 @var{pathname} is an invalid pointer value.
39501
39502 @item ENOSPC
39503 No space on device to create the file.
39504
39505 @item EMFILE
39506 The process already has the maximum number of files open.
39507
39508 @item ENFILE
39509 The limit on the total number of files open on the system
39510 has been reached.
39511
39512 @item EINTR
39513 The call was interrupted by the user.
39514 @end table
39515
39516 @end table
39517
39518 @node close
39519 @unnumberedsubsubsec close
39520 @cindex close, file-i/o system call
39521
39522 @table @asis
39523 @item Synopsis:
39524 @smallexample
39525 int close(int fd);
39526 @end smallexample
39527
39528 @item Request:
39529 @samp{Fclose,@var{fd}}
39530
39531 @item Return value:
39532 @code{close} returns zero on success, or -1 if an error occurred.
39533
39534 @item Errors:
39535
39536 @table @code
39537 @item EBADF
39538 @var{fd} isn't a valid open file descriptor.
39539
39540 @item EINTR
39541 The call was interrupted by the user.
39542 @end table
39543
39544 @end table
39545
39546 @node read
39547 @unnumberedsubsubsec read
39548 @cindex read, file-i/o system call
39549
39550 @table @asis
39551 @item Synopsis:
39552 @smallexample
39553 int read(int fd, void *buf, unsigned int count);
39554 @end smallexample
39555
39556 @item Request:
39557 @samp{Fread,@var{fd},@var{bufptr},@var{count}}
39558
39559 @item Return value:
39560 On success, the number of bytes read is returned.
39561 Zero indicates end of file. If count is zero, read
39562 returns zero as well. On error, -1 is returned.
39563
39564 @item Errors:
39565
39566 @table @code
39567 @item EBADF
39568 @var{fd} is not a valid file descriptor or is not open for
39569 reading.
39570
39571 @item EFAULT
39572 @var{bufptr} is an invalid pointer value.
39573
39574 @item EINTR
39575 The call was interrupted by the user.
39576 @end table
39577
39578 @end table
39579
39580 @node write
39581 @unnumberedsubsubsec write
39582 @cindex write, file-i/o system call
39583
39584 @table @asis
39585 @item Synopsis:
39586 @smallexample
39587 int write(int fd, const void *buf, unsigned int count);
39588 @end smallexample
39589
39590 @item Request:
39591 @samp{Fwrite,@var{fd},@var{bufptr},@var{count}}
39592
39593 @item Return value:
39594 On success, the number of bytes written are returned.
39595 Zero indicates nothing was written. On error, -1
39596 is returned.
39597
39598 @item Errors:
39599
39600 @table @code
39601 @item EBADF
39602 @var{fd} is not a valid file descriptor or is not open for
39603 writing.
39604
39605 @item EFAULT
39606 @var{bufptr} is an invalid pointer value.
39607
39608 @item EFBIG
39609 An attempt was made to write a file that exceeds the
39610 host-specific maximum file size allowed.
39611
39612 @item ENOSPC
39613 No space on device to write the data.
39614
39615 @item EINTR
39616 The call was interrupted by the user.
39617 @end table
39618
39619 @end table
39620
39621 @node lseek
39622 @unnumberedsubsubsec lseek
39623 @cindex lseek, file-i/o system call
39624
39625 @table @asis
39626 @item Synopsis:
39627 @smallexample
39628 long lseek (int fd, long offset, int flag);
39629 @end smallexample
39630
39631 @item Request:
39632 @samp{Flseek,@var{fd},@var{offset},@var{flag}}
39633
39634 @var{flag} is one of:
39635
39636 @table @code
39637 @item SEEK_SET
39638 The offset is set to @var{offset} bytes.
39639
39640 @item SEEK_CUR
39641 The offset is set to its current location plus @var{offset}
39642 bytes.
39643
39644 @item SEEK_END
39645 The offset is set to the size of the file plus @var{offset}
39646 bytes.
39647 @end table
39648
39649 @item Return value:
39650 On success, the resulting unsigned offset in bytes from
39651 the beginning of the file is returned. Otherwise, a
39652 value of -1 is returned.
39653
39654 @item Errors:
39655
39656 @table @code
39657 @item EBADF
39658 @var{fd} is not a valid open file descriptor.
39659
39660 @item ESPIPE
39661 @var{fd} is associated with the @value{GDBN} console.
39662
39663 @item EINVAL
39664 @var{flag} is not a proper value.
39665
39666 @item EINTR
39667 The call was interrupted by the user.
39668 @end table
39669
39670 @end table
39671
39672 @node rename
39673 @unnumberedsubsubsec rename
39674 @cindex rename, file-i/o system call
39675
39676 @table @asis
39677 @item Synopsis:
39678 @smallexample
39679 int rename(const char *oldpath, const char *newpath);
39680 @end smallexample
39681
39682 @item Request:
39683 @samp{Frename,@var{oldpathptr}/@var{len},@var{newpathptr}/@var{len}}
39684
39685 @item Return value:
39686 On success, zero is returned. On error, -1 is returned.
39687
39688 @item Errors:
39689
39690 @table @code
39691 @item EISDIR
39692 @var{newpath} is an existing directory, but @var{oldpath} is not a
39693 directory.
39694
39695 @item EEXIST
39696 @var{newpath} is a non-empty directory.
39697
39698 @item EBUSY
39699 @var{oldpath} or @var{newpath} is a directory that is in use by some
39700 process.
39701
39702 @item EINVAL
39703 An attempt was made to make a directory a subdirectory
39704 of itself.
39705
39706 @item ENOTDIR
39707 A component used as a directory in @var{oldpath} or new
39708 path is not a directory. Or @var{oldpath} is a directory
39709 and @var{newpath} exists but is not a directory.
39710
39711 @item EFAULT
39712 @var{oldpathptr} or @var{newpathptr} are invalid pointer values.
39713
39714 @item EACCES
39715 No access to the file or the path of the file.
39716
39717 @item ENAMETOOLONG
39718
39719 @var{oldpath} or @var{newpath} was too long.
39720
39721 @item ENOENT
39722 A directory component in @var{oldpath} or @var{newpath} does not exist.
39723
39724 @item EROFS
39725 The file is on a read-only filesystem.
39726
39727 @item ENOSPC
39728 The device containing the file has no room for the new
39729 directory entry.
39730
39731 @item EINTR
39732 The call was interrupted by the user.
39733 @end table
39734
39735 @end table
39736
39737 @node unlink
39738 @unnumberedsubsubsec unlink
39739 @cindex unlink, file-i/o system call
39740
39741 @table @asis
39742 @item Synopsis:
39743 @smallexample
39744 int unlink(const char *pathname);
39745 @end smallexample
39746
39747 @item Request:
39748 @samp{Funlink,@var{pathnameptr}/@var{len}}
39749
39750 @item Return value:
39751 On success, zero is returned. On error, -1 is returned.
39752
39753 @item Errors:
39754
39755 @table @code
39756 @item EACCES
39757 No access to the file or the path of the file.
39758
39759 @item EPERM
39760 The system does not allow unlinking of directories.
39761
39762 @item EBUSY
39763 The file @var{pathname} cannot be unlinked because it's
39764 being used by another process.
39765
39766 @item EFAULT
39767 @var{pathnameptr} is an invalid pointer value.
39768
39769 @item ENAMETOOLONG
39770 @var{pathname} was too long.
39771
39772 @item ENOENT
39773 A directory component in @var{pathname} does not exist.
39774
39775 @item ENOTDIR
39776 A component of the path is not a directory.
39777
39778 @item EROFS
39779 The file is on a read-only filesystem.
39780
39781 @item EINTR
39782 The call was interrupted by the user.
39783 @end table
39784
39785 @end table
39786
39787 @node stat/fstat
39788 @unnumberedsubsubsec stat/fstat
39789 @cindex fstat, file-i/o system call
39790 @cindex stat, file-i/o system call
39791
39792 @table @asis
39793 @item Synopsis:
39794 @smallexample
39795 int stat(const char *pathname, struct stat *buf);
39796 int fstat(int fd, struct stat *buf);
39797 @end smallexample
39798
39799 @item Request:
39800 @samp{Fstat,@var{pathnameptr}/@var{len},@var{bufptr}}@*
39801 @samp{Ffstat,@var{fd},@var{bufptr}}
39802
39803 @item Return value:
39804 On success, zero is returned. On error, -1 is returned.
39805
39806 @item Errors:
39807
39808 @table @code
39809 @item EBADF
39810 @var{fd} is not a valid open file.
39811
39812 @item ENOENT
39813 A directory component in @var{pathname} does not exist or the
39814 path is an empty string.
39815
39816 @item ENOTDIR
39817 A component of the path is not a directory.
39818
39819 @item EFAULT
39820 @var{pathnameptr} is an invalid pointer value.
39821
39822 @item EACCES
39823 No access to the file or the path of the file.
39824
39825 @item ENAMETOOLONG
39826 @var{pathname} was too long.
39827
39828 @item EINTR
39829 The call was interrupted by the user.
39830 @end table
39831
39832 @end table
39833
39834 @node gettimeofday
39835 @unnumberedsubsubsec gettimeofday
39836 @cindex gettimeofday, file-i/o system call
39837
39838 @table @asis
39839 @item Synopsis:
39840 @smallexample
39841 int gettimeofday(struct timeval *tv, void *tz);
39842 @end smallexample
39843
39844 @item Request:
39845 @samp{Fgettimeofday,@var{tvptr},@var{tzptr}}
39846
39847 @item Return value:
39848 On success, 0 is returned, -1 otherwise.
39849
39850 @item Errors:
39851
39852 @table @code
39853 @item EINVAL
39854 @var{tz} is a non-NULL pointer.
39855
39856 @item EFAULT
39857 @var{tvptr} and/or @var{tzptr} is an invalid pointer value.
39858 @end table
39859
39860 @end table
39861
39862 @node isatty
39863 @unnumberedsubsubsec isatty
39864 @cindex isatty, file-i/o system call
39865
39866 @table @asis
39867 @item Synopsis:
39868 @smallexample
39869 int isatty(int fd);
39870 @end smallexample
39871
39872 @item Request:
39873 @samp{Fisatty,@var{fd}}
39874
39875 @item Return value:
39876 Returns 1 if @var{fd} refers to the @value{GDBN} console, 0 otherwise.
39877
39878 @item Errors:
39879
39880 @table @code
39881 @item EINTR
39882 The call was interrupted by the user.
39883 @end table
39884
39885 @end table
39886
39887 Note that the @code{isatty} call is treated as a special case: it returns
39888 1 to the target if the file descriptor is attached
39889 to the @value{GDBN} console, 0 otherwise. Implementing through system calls
39890 would require implementing @code{ioctl} and would be more complex than
39891 needed.
39892
39893
39894 @node system
39895 @unnumberedsubsubsec system
39896 @cindex system, file-i/o system call
39897
39898 @table @asis
39899 @item Synopsis:
39900 @smallexample
39901 int system(const char *command);
39902 @end smallexample
39903
39904 @item Request:
39905 @samp{Fsystem,@var{commandptr}/@var{len}}
39906
39907 @item Return value:
39908 If @var{len} is zero, the return value indicates whether a shell is
39909 available. A zero return value indicates a shell is not available.
39910 For non-zero @var{len}, the value returned is -1 on error and the
39911 return status of the command otherwise. Only the exit status of the
39912 command is returned, which is extracted from the host's @code{system}
39913 return value by calling @code{WEXITSTATUS(retval)}. In case
39914 @file{/bin/sh} could not be executed, 127 is returned.
39915
39916 @item Errors:
39917
39918 @table @code
39919 @item EINTR
39920 The call was interrupted by the user.
39921 @end table
39922
39923 @end table
39924
39925 @value{GDBN} takes over the full task of calling the necessary host calls
39926 to perform the @code{system} call. The return value of @code{system} on
39927 the host is simplified before it's returned
39928 to the target. Any termination signal information from the child process
39929 is discarded, and the return value consists
39930 entirely of the exit status of the called command.
39931
39932 Due to security concerns, the @code{system} call is by default refused
39933 by @value{GDBN}. The user has to allow this call explicitly with the
39934 @code{set remote system-call-allowed 1} command.
39935
39936 @table @code
39937 @item set remote system-call-allowed
39938 @kindex set remote system-call-allowed
39939 Control whether to allow the @code{system} calls in the File I/O
39940 protocol for the remote target. The default is zero (disabled).
39941
39942 @item show remote system-call-allowed
39943 @kindex show remote system-call-allowed
39944 Show whether the @code{system} calls are allowed in the File I/O
39945 protocol.
39946 @end table
39947
39948 @node Protocol-specific Representation of Datatypes
39949 @subsection Protocol-specific Representation of Datatypes
39950 @cindex protocol-specific representation of datatypes, in file-i/o protocol
39951
39952 @menu
39953 * Integral Datatypes::
39954 * Pointer Values::
39955 * Memory Transfer::
39956 * struct stat::
39957 * struct timeval::
39958 @end menu
39959
39960 @node Integral Datatypes
39961 @unnumberedsubsubsec Integral Datatypes
39962 @cindex integral datatypes, in file-i/o protocol
39963
39964 The integral datatypes used in the system calls are @code{int},
39965 @code{unsigned int}, @code{long}, @code{unsigned long},
39966 @code{mode_t}, and @code{time_t}.
39967
39968 @code{int}, @code{unsigned int}, @code{mode_t} and @code{time_t} are
39969 implemented as 32 bit values in this protocol.
39970
39971 @code{long} and @code{unsigned long} are implemented as 64 bit types.
39972
39973 @xref{Limits}, for corresponding MIN and MAX values (similar to those
39974 in @file{limits.h}) to allow range checking on host and target.
39975
39976 @code{time_t} datatypes are defined as seconds since the Epoch.
39977
39978 All integral datatypes transferred as part of a memory read or write of a
39979 structured datatype e.g.@: a @code{struct stat} have to be given in big endian
39980 byte order.
39981
39982 @node Pointer Values
39983 @unnumberedsubsubsec Pointer Values
39984 @cindex pointer values, in file-i/o protocol
39985
39986 Pointers to target data are transmitted as they are. An exception
39987 is made for pointers to buffers for which the length isn't
39988 transmitted as part of the function call, namely strings. Strings
39989 are transmitted as a pointer/length pair, both as hex values, e.g.@:
39990
39991 @smallexample
39992 @code{1aaf/12}
39993 @end smallexample
39994
39995 @noindent
39996 which is a pointer to data of length 18 bytes at position 0x1aaf.
39997 The length is defined as the full string length in bytes, including
39998 the trailing null byte. For example, the string @code{"hello world"}
39999 at address 0x123456 is transmitted as
40000
40001 @smallexample
40002 @code{123456/d}
40003 @end smallexample
40004
40005 @node Memory Transfer
40006 @unnumberedsubsubsec Memory Transfer
40007 @cindex memory transfer, in file-i/o protocol
40008
40009 Structured data which is transferred using a memory read or write (for
40010 example, a @code{struct stat}) is expected to be in a protocol-specific format
40011 with all scalar multibyte datatypes being big endian. Translation to
40012 this representation needs to be done both by the target before the @code{F}
40013 packet is sent, and by @value{GDBN} before
40014 it transfers memory to the target. Transferred pointers to structured
40015 data should point to the already-coerced data at any time.
40016
40017
40018 @node struct stat
40019 @unnumberedsubsubsec struct stat
40020 @cindex struct stat, in file-i/o protocol
40021
40022 The buffer of type @code{struct stat} used by the target and @value{GDBN}
40023 is defined as follows:
40024
40025 @smallexample
40026 struct stat @{
40027 unsigned int st_dev; /* device */
40028 unsigned int st_ino; /* inode */
40029 mode_t st_mode; /* protection */
40030 unsigned int st_nlink; /* number of hard links */
40031 unsigned int st_uid; /* user ID of owner */
40032 unsigned int st_gid; /* group ID of owner */
40033 unsigned int st_rdev; /* device type (if inode device) */
40034 unsigned long st_size; /* total size, in bytes */
40035 unsigned long st_blksize; /* blocksize for filesystem I/O */
40036 unsigned long st_blocks; /* number of blocks allocated */
40037 time_t st_atime; /* time of last access */
40038 time_t st_mtime; /* time of last modification */
40039 time_t st_ctime; /* time of last change */
40040 @};
40041 @end smallexample
40042
40043 The integral datatypes conform to the definitions given in the
40044 appropriate section (see @ref{Integral Datatypes}, for details) so this
40045 structure is of size 64 bytes.
40046
40047 The values of several fields have a restricted meaning and/or
40048 range of values.
40049
40050 @table @code
40051
40052 @item st_dev
40053 A value of 0 represents a file, 1 the console.
40054
40055 @item st_ino
40056 No valid meaning for the target. Transmitted unchanged.
40057
40058 @item st_mode
40059 Valid mode bits are described in @ref{Constants}. Any other
40060 bits have currently no meaning for the target.
40061
40062 @item st_uid
40063 @itemx st_gid
40064 @itemx st_rdev
40065 No valid meaning for the target. Transmitted unchanged.
40066
40067 @item st_atime
40068 @itemx st_mtime
40069 @itemx st_ctime
40070 These values have a host and file system dependent
40071 accuracy. Especially on Windows hosts, the file system may not
40072 support exact timing values.
40073 @end table
40074
40075 The target gets a @code{struct stat} of the above representation and is
40076 responsible for coercing it to the target representation before
40077 continuing.
40078
40079 Note that due to size differences between the host, target, and protocol
40080 representations of @code{struct stat} members, these members could eventually
40081 get truncated on the target.
40082
40083 @node struct timeval
40084 @unnumberedsubsubsec struct timeval
40085 @cindex struct timeval, in file-i/o protocol
40086
40087 The buffer of type @code{struct timeval} used by the File-I/O protocol
40088 is defined as follows:
40089
40090 @smallexample
40091 struct timeval @{
40092 time_t tv_sec; /* second */
40093 long tv_usec; /* microsecond */
40094 @};
40095 @end smallexample
40096
40097 The integral datatypes conform to the definitions given in the
40098 appropriate section (see @ref{Integral Datatypes}, for details) so this
40099 structure is of size 8 bytes.
40100
40101 @node Constants
40102 @subsection Constants
40103 @cindex constants, in file-i/o protocol
40104
40105 The following values are used for the constants inside of the
40106 protocol. @value{GDBN} and target are responsible for translating these
40107 values before and after the call as needed.
40108
40109 @menu
40110 * Open Flags::
40111 * mode_t Values::
40112 * Errno Values::
40113 * Lseek Flags::
40114 * Limits::
40115 @end menu
40116
40117 @node Open Flags
40118 @unnumberedsubsubsec Open Flags
40119 @cindex open flags, in file-i/o protocol
40120
40121 All values are given in hexadecimal representation.
40122
40123 @smallexample
40124 O_RDONLY 0x0
40125 O_WRONLY 0x1
40126 O_RDWR 0x2
40127 O_APPEND 0x8
40128 O_CREAT 0x200
40129 O_TRUNC 0x400
40130 O_EXCL 0x800
40131 @end smallexample
40132
40133 @node mode_t Values
40134 @unnumberedsubsubsec mode_t Values
40135 @cindex mode_t values, in file-i/o protocol
40136
40137 All values are given in octal representation.
40138
40139 @smallexample
40140 S_IFREG 0100000
40141 S_IFDIR 040000
40142 S_IRUSR 0400
40143 S_IWUSR 0200
40144 S_IXUSR 0100
40145 S_IRGRP 040
40146 S_IWGRP 020
40147 S_IXGRP 010
40148 S_IROTH 04
40149 S_IWOTH 02
40150 S_IXOTH 01
40151 @end smallexample
40152
40153 @node Errno Values
40154 @unnumberedsubsubsec Errno Values
40155 @cindex errno values, in file-i/o protocol
40156
40157 All values are given in decimal representation.
40158
40159 @smallexample
40160 EPERM 1
40161 ENOENT 2
40162 EINTR 4
40163 EBADF 9
40164 EACCES 13
40165 EFAULT 14
40166 EBUSY 16
40167 EEXIST 17
40168 ENODEV 19
40169 ENOTDIR 20
40170 EISDIR 21
40171 EINVAL 22
40172 ENFILE 23
40173 EMFILE 24
40174 EFBIG 27
40175 ENOSPC 28
40176 ESPIPE 29
40177 EROFS 30
40178 ENAMETOOLONG 91
40179 EUNKNOWN 9999
40180 @end smallexample
40181
40182 @code{EUNKNOWN} is used as a fallback error value if a host system returns
40183 any error value not in the list of supported error numbers.
40184
40185 @node Lseek Flags
40186 @unnumberedsubsubsec Lseek Flags
40187 @cindex lseek flags, in file-i/o protocol
40188
40189 @smallexample
40190 SEEK_SET 0
40191 SEEK_CUR 1
40192 SEEK_END 2
40193 @end smallexample
40194
40195 @node Limits
40196 @unnumberedsubsubsec Limits
40197 @cindex limits, in file-i/o protocol
40198
40199 All values are given in decimal representation.
40200
40201 @smallexample
40202 INT_MIN -2147483648
40203 INT_MAX 2147483647
40204 UINT_MAX 4294967295
40205 LONG_MIN -9223372036854775808
40206 LONG_MAX 9223372036854775807
40207 ULONG_MAX 18446744073709551615
40208 @end smallexample
40209
40210 @node File-I/O Examples
40211 @subsection File-I/O Examples
40212 @cindex file-i/o examples
40213
40214 Example sequence of a write call, file descriptor 3, buffer is at target
40215 address 0x1234, 6 bytes should be written:
40216
40217 @smallexample
40218 <- @code{Fwrite,3,1234,6}
40219 @emph{request memory read from target}
40220 -> @code{m1234,6}
40221 <- XXXXXX
40222 @emph{return "6 bytes written"}
40223 -> @code{F6}
40224 @end smallexample
40225
40226 Example sequence of a read call, file descriptor 3, buffer is at target
40227 address 0x1234, 6 bytes should be read:
40228
40229 @smallexample
40230 <- @code{Fread,3,1234,6}
40231 @emph{request memory write to target}
40232 -> @code{X1234,6:XXXXXX}
40233 @emph{return "6 bytes read"}
40234 -> @code{F6}
40235 @end smallexample
40236
40237 Example sequence of a read call, call fails on the host due to invalid
40238 file descriptor (@code{EBADF}):
40239
40240 @smallexample
40241 <- @code{Fread,3,1234,6}
40242 -> @code{F-1,9}
40243 @end smallexample
40244
40245 Example sequence of a read call, user presses @kbd{Ctrl-c} before syscall on
40246 host is called:
40247
40248 @smallexample
40249 <- @code{Fread,3,1234,6}
40250 -> @code{F-1,4,C}
40251 <- @code{T02}
40252 @end smallexample
40253
40254 Example sequence of a read call, user presses @kbd{Ctrl-c} after syscall on
40255 host is called:
40256
40257 @smallexample
40258 <- @code{Fread,3,1234,6}
40259 -> @code{X1234,6:XXXXXX}
40260 <- @code{T02}
40261 @end smallexample
40262
40263 @node Library List Format
40264 @section Library List Format
40265 @cindex library list format, remote protocol
40266
40267 On some platforms, a dynamic loader (e.g.@: @file{ld.so}) runs in the
40268 same process as your application to manage libraries. In this case,
40269 @value{GDBN} can use the loader's symbol table and normal memory
40270 operations to maintain a list of shared libraries. On other
40271 platforms, the operating system manages loaded libraries.
40272 @value{GDBN} can not retrieve the list of currently loaded libraries
40273 through memory operations, so it uses the @samp{qXfer:libraries:read}
40274 packet (@pxref{qXfer library list read}) instead. The remote stub
40275 queries the target's operating system and reports which libraries
40276 are loaded.
40277
40278 The @samp{qXfer:libraries:read} packet returns an XML document which
40279 lists loaded libraries and their offsets. Each library has an
40280 associated name and one or more segment or section base addresses,
40281 which report where the library was loaded in memory.
40282
40283 For the common case of libraries that are fully linked binaries, the
40284 library should have a list of segments. If the target supports
40285 dynamic linking of a relocatable object file, its library XML element
40286 should instead include a list of allocated sections. The segment or
40287 section bases are start addresses, not relocation offsets; they do not
40288 depend on the library's link-time base addresses.
40289
40290 @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support XML
40291 library lists. @xref{Expat}.
40292
40293 A simple memory map, with one loaded library relocated by a single
40294 offset, looks like this:
40295
40296 @smallexample
40297 <library-list>
40298 <library name="/lib/libc.so.6">
40299 <segment address="0x10000000"/>
40300 </library>
40301 </library-list>
40302 @end smallexample
40303
40304 Another simple memory map, with one loaded library with three
40305 allocated sections (.text, .data, .bss), looks like this:
40306
40307 @smallexample
40308 <library-list>
40309 <library name="sharedlib.o">
40310 <section address="0x10000000"/>
40311 <section address="0x20000000"/>
40312 <section address="0x30000000"/>
40313 </library>
40314 </library-list>
40315 @end smallexample
40316
40317 The format of a library list is described by this DTD:
40318
40319 @smallexample
40320 <!-- library-list: Root element with versioning -->
40321 <!ELEMENT library-list (library)*>
40322 <!ATTLIST library-list version CDATA #FIXED "1.0">
40323 <!ELEMENT library (segment*, section*)>
40324 <!ATTLIST library name CDATA #REQUIRED>
40325 <!ELEMENT segment EMPTY>
40326 <!ATTLIST segment address CDATA #REQUIRED>
40327 <!ELEMENT section EMPTY>
40328 <!ATTLIST section address CDATA #REQUIRED>
40329 @end smallexample
40330
40331 In addition, segments and section descriptors cannot be mixed within a
40332 single library element, and you must supply at least one segment or
40333 section for each library.
40334
40335 @node Library List Format for SVR4 Targets
40336 @section Library List Format for SVR4 Targets
40337 @cindex library list format, remote protocol
40338
40339 On SVR4 platforms @value{GDBN} can use the symbol table of a dynamic loader
40340 (e.g.@: @file{ld.so}) and normal memory operations to maintain a list of
40341 shared libraries. Still a special library list provided by this packet is
40342 more efficient for the @value{GDBN} remote protocol.
40343
40344 The @samp{qXfer:libraries-svr4:read} packet returns an XML document which lists
40345 loaded libraries and their SVR4 linker parameters. For each library on SVR4
40346 target, the following parameters are reported:
40347
40348 @itemize @minus
40349 @item
40350 @code{name}, the absolute file name from the @code{l_name} field of
40351 @code{struct link_map}.
40352 @item
40353 @code{lm} with address of @code{struct link_map} used for TLS
40354 (Thread Local Storage) access.
40355 @item
40356 @code{l_addr}, the displacement as read from the field @code{l_addr} of
40357 @code{struct link_map}. For prelinked libraries this is not an absolute
40358 memory address. It is a displacement of absolute memory address against
40359 address the file was prelinked to during the library load.
40360 @item
40361 @code{l_ld}, which is memory address of the @code{PT_DYNAMIC} segment
40362 @end itemize
40363
40364 Additionally the single @code{main-lm} attribute specifies address of
40365 @code{struct link_map} used for the main executable. This parameter is used
40366 for TLS access and its presence is optional.
40367
40368 @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support XML
40369 SVR4 library lists. @xref{Expat}.
40370
40371 A simple memory map, with two loaded libraries (which do not use prelink),
40372 looks like this:
40373
40374 @smallexample
40375 <library-list-svr4 version="1.0" main-lm="0xe4f8f8">
40376 <library name="/lib/ld-linux.so.2" lm="0xe4f51c" l_addr="0xe2d000"
40377 l_ld="0xe4eefc"/>
40378 <library name="/lib/libc.so.6" lm="0xe4fbe8" l_addr="0x154000"
40379 l_ld="0x152350"/>
40380 </library-list-svr>
40381 @end smallexample
40382
40383 The format of an SVR4 library list is described by this DTD:
40384
40385 @smallexample
40386 <!-- library-list-svr4: Root element with versioning -->
40387 <!ELEMENT library-list-svr4 (library)*>
40388 <!ATTLIST library-list-svr4 version CDATA #FIXED "1.0">
40389 <!ATTLIST library-list-svr4 main-lm CDATA #IMPLIED>
40390 <!ELEMENT library EMPTY>
40391 <!ATTLIST library name CDATA #REQUIRED>
40392 <!ATTLIST library lm CDATA #REQUIRED>
40393 <!ATTLIST library l_addr CDATA #REQUIRED>
40394 <!ATTLIST library l_ld CDATA #REQUIRED>
40395 @end smallexample
40396
40397 @node Memory Map Format
40398 @section Memory Map Format
40399 @cindex memory map format
40400
40401 To be able to write into flash memory, @value{GDBN} needs to obtain a
40402 memory map from the target. This section describes the format of the
40403 memory map.
40404
40405 The memory map is obtained using the @samp{qXfer:memory-map:read}
40406 (@pxref{qXfer memory map read}) packet and is an XML document that
40407 lists memory regions.
40408
40409 @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support XML
40410 memory maps. @xref{Expat}.
40411
40412 The top-level structure of the document is shown below:
40413
40414 @smallexample
40415 <?xml version="1.0"?>
40416 <!DOCTYPE memory-map
40417 PUBLIC "+//IDN gnu.org//DTD GDB Memory Map V1.0//EN"
40418 "http://sourceware.org/gdb/gdb-memory-map.dtd">
40419 <memory-map>
40420 region...
40421 </memory-map>
40422 @end smallexample
40423
40424 Each region can be either:
40425
40426 @itemize
40427
40428 @item
40429 A region of RAM starting at @var{addr} and extending for @var{length}
40430 bytes from there:
40431
40432 @smallexample
40433 <memory type="ram" start="@var{addr}" length="@var{length}"/>
40434 @end smallexample
40435
40436
40437 @item
40438 A region of read-only memory:
40439
40440 @smallexample
40441 <memory type="rom" start="@var{addr}" length="@var{length}"/>
40442 @end smallexample
40443
40444
40445 @item
40446 A region of flash memory, with erasure blocks @var{blocksize}
40447 bytes in length:
40448
40449 @smallexample
40450 <memory type="flash" start="@var{addr}" length="@var{length}">
40451 <property name="blocksize">@var{blocksize}</property>
40452 </memory>
40453 @end smallexample
40454
40455 @end itemize
40456
40457 Regions must not overlap. @value{GDBN} assumes that areas of memory not covered
40458 by the memory map are RAM, and uses the ordinary @samp{M} and @samp{X}
40459 packets to write to addresses in such ranges.
40460
40461 The formal DTD for memory map format is given below:
40462
40463 @smallexample
40464 <!-- ................................................... -->
40465 <!-- Memory Map XML DTD ................................ -->
40466 <!-- File: memory-map.dtd .............................. -->
40467 <!-- .................................... .............. -->
40468 <!-- memory-map.dtd -->
40469 <!-- memory-map: Root element with versioning -->
40470 <!ELEMENT memory-map (memory | property)>
40471 <!ATTLIST memory-map version CDATA #FIXED "1.0.0">
40472 <!ELEMENT memory (property)>
40473 <!-- memory: Specifies a memory region,
40474 and its type, or device. -->
40475 <!ATTLIST memory type CDATA #REQUIRED
40476 start CDATA #REQUIRED
40477 length CDATA #REQUIRED
40478 device CDATA #IMPLIED>
40479 <!-- property: Generic attribute tag -->
40480 <!ELEMENT property (#PCDATA | property)*>
40481 <!ATTLIST property name CDATA #REQUIRED>
40482 @end smallexample
40483
40484 @node Thread List Format
40485 @section Thread List Format
40486 @cindex thread list format
40487
40488 To efficiently update the list of threads and their attributes,
40489 @value{GDBN} issues the @samp{qXfer:threads:read} packet
40490 (@pxref{qXfer threads read}) and obtains the XML document with
40491 the following structure:
40492
40493 @smallexample
40494 <?xml version="1.0"?>
40495 <threads>
40496 <thread id="id" core="0">
40497 ... description ...
40498 </thread>
40499 </threads>
40500 @end smallexample
40501
40502 Each @samp{thread} element must have the @samp{id} attribute that
40503 identifies the thread (@pxref{thread-id syntax}). The
40504 @samp{core} attribute, if present, specifies which processor core
40505 the thread was last executing on. The content of the of @samp{thread}
40506 element is interpreted as human-readable auxilliary information.
40507
40508 @node Traceframe Info Format
40509 @section Traceframe Info Format
40510 @cindex traceframe info format
40511
40512 To be able to know which objects in the inferior can be examined when
40513 inspecting a tracepoint hit, @value{GDBN} needs to obtain the list of
40514 memory ranges, registers and trace state variables that have been
40515 collected in a traceframe.
40516
40517 This list is obtained using the @samp{qXfer:traceframe-info:read}
40518 (@pxref{qXfer traceframe info read}) packet and is an XML document.
40519
40520 @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support XML
40521 traceframe info discovery. @xref{Expat}.
40522
40523 The top-level structure of the document is shown below:
40524
40525 @smallexample
40526 <?xml version="1.0"?>
40527 <!DOCTYPE traceframe-info
40528 PUBLIC "+//IDN gnu.org//DTD GDB Memory Map V1.0//EN"
40529 "http://sourceware.org/gdb/gdb-traceframe-info.dtd">
40530 <traceframe-info>
40531 block...
40532 </traceframe-info>
40533 @end smallexample
40534
40535 Each traceframe block can be either:
40536
40537 @itemize
40538
40539 @item
40540 A region of collected memory starting at @var{addr} and extending for
40541 @var{length} bytes from there:
40542
40543 @smallexample
40544 <memory start="@var{addr}" length="@var{length}"/>
40545 @end smallexample
40546
40547 @end itemize
40548
40549 The formal DTD for the traceframe info format is given below:
40550
40551 @smallexample
40552 <!ELEMENT traceframe-info (memory)* >
40553 <!ATTLIST traceframe-info version CDATA #FIXED "1.0">
40554
40555 <!ELEMENT memory EMPTY>
40556 <!ATTLIST memory start CDATA #REQUIRED
40557 length CDATA #REQUIRED>
40558 @end smallexample
40559
40560 @node Branch Trace Format
40561 @section Branch Trace Format
40562 @cindex branch trace format
40563
40564 In order to display the branch trace of an inferior thread,
40565 @value{GDBN} needs to obtain the list of branches. This list is
40566 represented as list of sequential code blocks that are connected via
40567 branches. The code in each block has been executed sequentially.
40568
40569 This list is obtained using the @samp{qXfer:btrace:read}
40570 (@pxref{qXfer btrace read}) packet and is an XML document.
40571
40572 @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support XML
40573 traceframe info discovery. @xref{Expat}.
40574
40575 The top-level structure of the document is shown below:
40576
40577 @smallexample
40578 <?xml version="1.0"?>
40579 <!DOCTYPE btrace
40580 PUBLIC "+//IDN gnu.org//DTD GDB Branch Trace V1.0//EN"
40581 "http://sourceware.org/gdb/gdb-btrace.dtd">
40582 <btrace>
40583 block...
40584 </btrace>
40585 @end smallexample
40586
40587 @itemize
40588
40589 @item
40590 A block of sequentially executed instructions starting at @var{begin}
40591 and ending at @var{end}:
40592
40593 @smallexample
40594 <block begin="@var{begin}" end="@var{end}"/>
40595 @end smallexample
40596
40597 @end itemize
40598
40599 The formal DTD for the branch trace format is given below:
40600
40601 @smallexample
40602 <!ELEMENT btrace (block)* >
40603 <!ATTLIST btrace version CDATA #FIXED "1.0">
40604
40605 <!ELEMENT block EMPTY>
40606 <!ATTLIST block begin CDATA #REQUIRED
40607 end CDATA #REQUIRED>
40608 @end smallexample
40609
40610 @include agentexpr.texi
40611
40612 @node Target Descriptions
40613 @appendix Target Descriptions
40614 @cindex target descriptions
40615
40616 One of the challenges of using @value{GDBN} to debug embedded systems
40617 is that there are so many minor variants of each processor
40618 architecture in use. It is common practice for vendors to start with
40619 a standard processor core --- ARM, PowerPC, or @acronym{MIPS}, for example ---
40620 and then make changes to adapt it to a particular market niche. Some
40621 architectures have hundreds of variants, available from dozens of
40622 vendors. This leads to a number of problems:
40623
40624 @itemize @bullet
40625 @item
40626 With so many different customized processors, it is difficult for
40627 the @value{GDBN} maintainers to keep up with the changes.
40628 @item
40629 Since individual variants may have short lifetimes or limited
40630 audiences, it may not be worthwhile to carry information about every
40631 variant in the @value{GDBN} source tree.
40632 @item
40633 When @value{GDBN} does support the architecture of the embedded system
40634 at hand, the task of finding the correct architecture name to give the
40635 @command{set architecture} command can be error-prone.
40636 @end itemize
40637
40638 To address these problems, the @value{GDBN} remote protocol allows a
40639 target system to not only identify itself to @value{GDBN}, but to
40640 actually describe its own features. This lets @value{GDBN} support
40641 processor variants it has never seen before --- to the extent that the
40642 descriptions are accurate, and that @value{GDBN} understands them.
40643
40644 @value{GDBN} must be linked with the Expat library to support XML
40645 target descriptions. @xref{Expat}.
40646
40647 @menu
40648 * Retrieving Descriptions:: How descriptions are fetched from a target.
40649 * Target Description Format:: The contents of a target description.
40650 * Predefined Target Types:: Standard types available for target
40651 descriptions.
40652 * Standard Target Features:: Features @value{GDBN} knows about.
40653 @end menu
40654
40655 @node Retrieving Descriptions
40656 @section Retrieving Descriptions
40657
40658 Target descriptions can be read from the target automatically, or
40659 specified by the user manually. The default behavior is to read the
40660 description from the target. @value{GDBN} retrieves it via the remote
40661 protocol using @samp{qXfer} requests (@pxref{General Query Packets,
40662 qXfer}). The @var{annex} in the @samp{qXfer} packet will be
40663 @samp{target.xml}. The contents of the @samp{target.xml} annex are an
40664 XML document, of the form described in @ref{Target Description
40665 Format}.
40666
40667 Alternatively, you can specify a file to read for the target description.
40668 If a file is set, the target will not be queried. The commands to
40669 specify a file are:
40670
40671 @table @code
40672 @cindex set tdesc filename
40673 @item set tdesc filename @var{path}
40674 Read the target description from @var{path}.
40675
40676 @cindex unset tdesc filename
40677 @item unset tdesc filename
40678 Do not read the XML target description from a file. @value{GDBN}
40679 will use the description supplied by the current target.
40680
40681 @cindex show tdesc filename
40682 @item show tdesc filename
40683 Show the filename to read for a target description, if any.
40684 @end table
40685
40686
40687 @node Target Description Format
40688 @section Target Description Format
40689 @cindex target descriptions, XML format
40690
40691 A target description annex is an @uref{http://www.w3.org/XML/, XML}
40692 document which complies with the Document Type Definition provided in
40693 the @value{GDBN} sources in @file{gdb/features/gdb-target.dtd}. This
40694 means you can use generally available tools like @command{xmllint} to
40695 check that your feature descriptions are well-formed and valid.
40696 However, to help people unfamiliar with XML write descriptions for
40697 their targets, we also describe the grammar here.
40698
40699 Target descriptions can identify the architecture of the remote target
40700 and (for some architectures) provide information about custom register
40701 sets. They can also identify the OS ABI of the remote target.
40702 @value{GDBN} can use this information to autoconfigure for your
40703 target, or to warn you if you connect to an unsupported target.
40704
40705 Here is a simple target description:
40706
40707 @smallexample
40708 <target version="1.0">
40709 <architecture>i386:x86-64</architecture>
40710 </target>
40711 @end smallexample
40712
40713 @noindent
40714 This minimal description only says that the target uses
40715 the x86-64 architecture.
40716
40717 A target description has the following overall form, with [ ] marking
40718 optional elements and @dots{} marking repeatable elements. The elements
40719 are explained further below.
40720
40721 @smallexample
40722 <?xml version="1.0"?>
40723 <!DOCTYPE target SYSTEM "gdb-target.dtd">
40724 <target version="1.0">
40725 @r{[}@var{architecture}@r{]}
40726 @r{[}@var{osabi}@r{]}
40727 @r{[}@var{compatible}@r{]}
40728 @r{[}@var{feature}@dots{}@r{]}
40729 </target>
40730 @end smallexample
40731
40732 @noindent
40733 The description is generally insensitive to whitespace and line
40734 breaks, under the usual common-sense rules. The XML version
40735 declaration and document type declaration can generally be omitted
40736 (@value{GDBN} does not require them), but specifying them may be
40737 useful for XML validation tools. The @samp{version} attribute for
40738 @samp{<target>} may also be omitted, but we recommend
40739 including it; if future versions of @value{GDBN} use an incompatible
40740 revision of @file{gdb-target.dtd}, they will detect and report
40741 the version mismatch.
40742
40743 @subsection Inclusion
40744 @cindex target descriptions, inclusion
40745 @cindex XInclude
40746 @ifnotinfo
40747 @cindex <xi:include>
40748 @end ifnotinfo
40749
40750 It can sometimes be valuable to split a target description up into
40751 several different annexes, either for organizational purposes, or to
40752 share files between different possible target descriptions. You can
40753 divide a description into multiple files by replacing any element of
40754 the target description with an inclusion directive of the form:
40755
40756 @smallexample
40757 <xi:include href="@var{document}"/>
40758 @end smallexample
40759
40760 @noindent
40761 When @value{GDBN} encounters an element of this form, it will retrieve
40762 the named XML @var{document}, and replace the inclusion directive with
40763 the contents of that document. If the current description was read
40764 using @samp{qXfer}, then so will be the included document;
40765 @var{document} will be interpreted as the name of an annex. If the
40766 current description was read from a file, @value{GDBN} will look for
40767 @var{document} as a file in the same directory where it found the
40768 original description.
40769
40770 @subsection Architecture
40771 @cindex <architecture>
40772
40773 An @samp{<architecture>} element has this form:
40774
40775 @smallexample
40776 <architecture>@var{arch}</architecture>
40777 @end smallexample
40778
40779 @var{arch} is one of the architectures from the set accepted by
40780 @code{set architecture} (@pxref{Targets, ,Specifying a Debugging Target}).
40781
40782 @subsection OS ABI
40783 @cindex @code{<osabi>}
40784
40785 This optional field was introduced in @value{GDBN} version 7.0.
40786 Previous versions of @value{GDBN} ignore it.
40787
40788 An @samp{<osabi>} element has this form:
40789
40790 @smallexample
40791 <osabi>@var{abi-name}</osabi>
40792 @end smallexample
40793
40794 @var{abi-name} is an OS ABI name from the same selection accepted by
40795 @w{@code{set osabi}} (@pxref{ABI, ,Configuring the Current ABI}).
40796
40797 @subsection Compatible Architecture
40798 @cindex @code{<compatible>}
40799
40800 This optional field was introduced in @value{GDBN} version 7.0.
40801 Previous versions of @value{GDBN} ignore it.
40802
40803 A @samp{<compatible>} element has this form:
40804
40805 @smallexample
40806 <compatible>@var{arch}</compatible>
40807 @end smallexample
40808
40809 @var{arch} is one of the architectures from the set accepted by
40810 @code{set architecture} (@pxref{Targets, ,Specifying a Debugging Target}).
40811
40812 A @samp{<compatible>} element is used to specify that the target
40813 is able to run binaries in some other than the main target architecture
40814 given by the @samp{<architecture>} element. For example, on the
40815 Cell Broadband Engine, the main architecture is @code{powerpc:common}
40816 or @code{powerpc:common64}, but the system is able to run binaries
40817 in the @code{spu} architecture as well. The way to describe this
40818 capability with @samp{<compatible>} is as follows:
40819
40820 @smallexample
40821 <architecture>powerpc:common</architecture>
40822 <compatible>spu</compatible>
40823 @end smallexample
40824
40825 @subsection Features
40826 @cindex <feature>
40827
40828 Each @samp{<feature>} describes some logical portion of the target
40829 system. Features are currently used to describe available CPU
40830 registers and the types of their contents. A @samp{<feature>} element
40831 has this form:
40832
40833 @smallexample
40834 <feature name="@var{name}">
40835 @r{[}@var{type}@dots{}@r{]}
40836 @var{reg}@dots{}
40837 </feature>
40838 @end smallexample
40839
40840 @noindent
40841 Each feature's name should be unique within the description. The name
40842 of a feature does not matter unless @value{GDBN} has some special
40843 knowledge of the contents of that feature; if it does, the feature
40844 should have its standard name. @xref{Standard Target Features}.
40845
40846 @subsection Types
40847
40848 Any register's value is a collection of bits which @value{GDBN} must
40849 interpret. The default interpretation is a two's complement integer,
40850 but other types can be requested by name in the register description.
40851 Some predefined types are provided by @value{GDBN} (@pxref{Predefined
40852 Target Types}), and the description can define additional composite types.
40853
40854 Each type element must have an @samp{id} attribute, which gives
40855 a unique (within the containing @samp{<feature>}) name to the type.
40856 Types must be defined before they are used.
40857
40858 @cindex <vector>
40859 Some targets offer vector registers, which can be treated as arrays
40860 of scalar elements. These types are written as @samp{<vector>} elements,
40861 specifying the array element type, @var{type}, and the number of elements,
40862 @var{count}:
40863
40864 @smallexample
40865 <vector id="@var{id}" type="@var{type}" count="@var{count}"/>
40866 @end smallexample
40867
40868 @cindex <union>
40869 If a register's value is usefully viewed in multiple ways, define it
40870 with a union type containing the useful representations. The
40871 @samp{<union>} element contains one or more @samp{<field>} elements,
40872 each of which has a @var{name} and a @var{type}:
40873
40874 @smallexample
40875 <union id="@var{id}">
40876 <field name="@var{name}" type="@var{type}"/>
40877 @dots{}
40878 </union>
40879 @end smallexample
40880
40881 @cindex <struct>
40882 If a register's value is composed from several separate values, define
40883 it with a structure type. There are two forms of the @samp{<struct>}
40884 element; a @samp{<struct>} element must either contain only bitfields
40885 or contain no bitfields. If the structure contains only bitfields,
40886 its total size in bytes must be specified, each bitfield must have an
40887 explicit start and end, and bitfields are automatically assigned an
40888 integer type. The field's @var{start} should be less than or
40889 equal to its @var{end}, and zero represents the least significant bit.
40890
40891 @smallexample
40892 <struct id="@var{id}" size="@var{size}">
40893 <field name="@var{name}" start="@var{start}" end="@var{end}"/>
40894 @dots{}
40895 </struct>
40896 @end smallexample
40897
40898 If the structure contains no bitfields, then each field has an
40899 explicit type, and no implicit padding is added.
40900
40901 @smallexample
40902 <struct id="@var{id}">
40903 <field name="@var{name}" type="@var{type}"/>
40904 @dots{}
40905 </struct>
40906 @end smallexample
40907
40908 @cindex <flags>
40909 If a register's value is a series of single-bit flags, define it with
40910 a flags type. The @samp{<flags>} element has an explicit @var{size}
40911 and contains one or more @samp{<field>} elements. Each field has a
40912 @var{name}, a @var{start}, and an @var{end}. Only single-bit flags
40913 are supported.
40914
40915 @smallexample
40916 <flags id="@var{id}" size="@var{size}">
40917 <field name="@var{name}" start="@var{start}" end="@var{end}"/>
40918 @dots{}
40919 </flags>
40920 @end smallexample
40921
40922 @subsection Registers
40923 @cindex <reg>
40924
40925 Each register is represented as an element with this form:
40926
40927 @smallexample
40928 <reg name="@var{name}"
40929 bitsize="@var{size}"
40930 @r{[}regnum="@var{num}"@r{]}
40931 @r{[}save-restore="@var{save-restore}"@r{]}
40932 @r{[}type="@var{type}"@r{]}
40933 @r{[}group="@var{group}"@r{]}/>
40934 @end smallexample
40935
40936 @noindent
40937 The components are as follows:
40938
40939 @table @var
40940
40941 @item name
40942 The register's name; it must be unique within the target description.
40943
40944 @item bitsize
40945 The register's size, in bits.
40946
40947 @item regnum
40948 The register's number. If omitted, a register's number is one greater
40949 than that of the previous register (either in the current feature or in
40950 a preceding feature); the first register in the target description
40951 defaults to zero. This register number is used to read or write
40952 the register; e.g.@: it is used in the remote @code{p} and @code{P}
40953 packets, and registers appear in the @code{g} and @code{G} packets
40954 in order of increasing register number.
40955
40956 @item save-restore
40957 Whether the register should be preserved across inferior function
40958 calls; this must be either @code{yes} or @code{no}. The default is
40959 @code{yes}, which is appropriate for most registers except for
40960 some system control registers; this is not related to the target's
40961 ABI.
40962
40963 @item type
40964 The type of the register. @var{type} may be a predefined type, a type
40965 defined in the current feature, or one of the special types @code{int}
40966 and @code{float}. @code{int} is an integer type of the correct size
40967 for @var{bitsize}, and @code{float} is a floating point type (in the
40968 architecture's normal floating point format) of the correct size for
40969 @var{bitsize}. The default is @code{int}.
40970
40971 @item group
40972 The register group to which this register belongs. @var{group} must
40973 be either @code{general}, @code{float}, or @code{vector}. If no
40974 @var{group} is specified, @value{GDBN} will not display the register
40975 in @code{info registers}.
40976
40977 @end table
40978
40979 @node Predefined Target Types
40980 @section Predefined Target Types
40981 @cindex target descriptions, predefined types
40982
40983 Type definitions in the self-description can build up composite types
40984 from basic building blocks, but can not define fundamental types. Instead,
40985 standard identifiers are provided by @value{GDBN} for the fundamental
40986 types. The currently supported types are:
40987
40988 @table @code
40989
40990 @item int8
40991 @itemx int16
40992 @itemx int32
40993 @itemx int64
40994 @itemx int128
40995 Signed integer types holding the specified number of bits.
40996
40997 @item uint8
40998 @itemx uint16
40999 @itemx uint32
41000 @itemx uint64
41001 @itemx uint128
41002 Unsigned integer types holding the specified number of bits.
41003
41004 @item code_ptr
41005 @itemx data_ptr
41006 Pointers to unspecified code and data. The program counter and
41007 any dedicated return address register may be marked as code
41008 pointers; printing a code pointer converts it into a symbolic
41009 address. The stack pointer and any dedicated address registers
41010 may be marked as data pointers.
41011
41012 @item ieee_single
41013 Single precision IEEE floating point.
41014
41015 @item ieee_double
41016 Double precision IEEE floating point.
41017
41018 @item arm_fpa_ext
41019 The 12-byte extended precision format used by ARM FPA registers.
41020
41021 @item i387_ext
41022 The 10-byte extended precision format used by x87 registers.
41023
41024 @item i386_eflags
41025 32bit @sc{eflags} register used by x86.
41026
41027 @item i386_mxcsr
41028 32bit @sc{mxcsr} register used by x86.
41029
41030 @end table
41031
41032 @node Standard Target Features
41033 @section Standard Target Features
41034 @cindex target descriptions, standard features
41035
41036 A target description must contain either no registers or all the
41037 target's registers. If the description contains no registers, then
41038 @value{GDBN} will assume a default register layout, selected based on
41039 the architecture. If the description contains any registers, the
41040 default layout will not be used; the standard registers must be
41041 described in the target description, in such a way that @value{GDBN}
41042 can recognize them.
41043
41044 This is accomplished by giving specific names to feature elements
41045 which contain standard registers. @value{GDBN} will look for features
41046 with those names and verify that they contain the expected registers;
41047 if any known feature is missing required registers, or if any required
41048 feature is missing, @value{GDBN} will reject the target
41049 description. You can add additional registers to any of the
41050 standard features --- @value{GDBN} will display them just as if
41051 they were added to an unrecognized feature.
41052
41053 This section lists the known features and their expected contents.
41054 Sample XML documents for these features are included in the
41055 @value{GDBN} source tree, in the directory @file{gdb/features}.
41056
41057 Names recognized by @value{GDBN} should include the name of the
41058 company or organization which selected the name, and the overall
41059 architecture to which the feature applies; so e.g.@: the feature
41060 containing ARM core registers is named @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.core}.
41061
41062 The names of registers are not case sensitive for the purpose
41063 of recognizing standard features, but @value{GDBN} will only display
41064 registers using the capitalization used in the description.
41065
41066 @menu
41067 * AArch64 Features::
41068 * ARM Features::
41069 * i386 Features::
41070 * MIPS Features::
41071 * M68K Features::
41072 * PowerPC Features::
41073 * TIC6x Features::
41074 @end menu
41075
41076
41077 @node AArch64 Features
41078 @subsection AArch64 Features
41079 @cindex target descriptions, AArch64 features
41080
41081 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.aarch64.core} feature is required for AArch64
41082 targets. It should contain registers @samp{x0} through @samp{x30},
41083 @samp{sp}, @samp{pc}, and @samp{cpsr}.
41084
41085 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.aarch64.fpu} feature is optional. If present,
41086 it should contain registers @samp{v0} through @samp{v31}, @samp{fpsr},
41087 and @samp{fpcr}.
41088
41089 @node ARM Features
41090 @subsection ARM Features
41091 @cindex target descriptions, ARM features
41092
41093 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.core} feature is required for non-M-profile
41094 ARM targets.
41095 It should contain registers @samp{r0} through @samp{r13}, @samp{sp},
41096 @samp{lr}, @samp{pc}, and @samp{cpsr}.
41097
41098 For M-profile targets (e.g. Cortex-M3), the @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.core}
41099 feature is replaced by @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.m-profile}. It should contain
41100 registers @samp{r0} through @samp{r13}, @samp{sp}, @samp{lr}, @samp{pc},
41101 and @samp{xpsr}.
41102
41103 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.fpa} feature is optional. If present, it
41104 should contain registers @samp{f0} through @samp{f7} and @samp{fps}.
41105
41106 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.xscale.iwmmxt} feature is optional. If present,
41107 it should contain at least registers @samp{wR0} through @samp{wR15} and
41108 @samp{wCGR0} through @samp{wCGR3}. The @samp{wCID}, @samp{wCon},
41109 @samp{wCSSF}, and @samp{wCASF} registers are optional.
41110
41111 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.vfp} feature is optional. If present, it
41112 should contain at least registers @samp{d0} through @samp{d15}. If
41113 they are present, @samp{d16} through @samp{d31} should also be included.
41114 @value{GDBN} will synthesize the single-precision registers from
41115 halves of the double-precision registers.
41116
41117 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.neon} feature is optional. It does not
41118 need to contain registers; it instructs @value{GDBN} to display the
41119 VFP double-precision registers as vectors and to synthesize the
41120 quad-precision registers from pairs of double-precision registers.
41121 If this feature is present, @samp{org.gnu.gdb.arm.vfp} must also
41122 be present and include 32 double-precision registers.
41123
41124 @node i386 Features
41125 @subsection i386 Features
41126 @cindex target descriptions, i386 features
41127
41128 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.core} feature is required for i386/amd64
41129 targets. It should describe the following registers:
41130
41131 @itemize @minus
41132 @item
41133 @samp{eax} through @samp{edi} plus @samp{eip} for i386
41134 @item
41135 @samp{rax} through @samp{r15} plus @samp{rip} for amd64
41136 @item
41137 @samp{eflags}, @samp{cs}, @samp{ss}, @samp{ds}, @samp{es},
41138 @samp{fs}, @samp{gs}
41139 @item
41140 @samp{st0} through @samp{st7}
41141 @item
41142 @samp{fctrl}, @samp{fstat}, @samp{ftag}, @samp{fiseg}, @samp{fioff},
41143 @samp{foseg}, @samp{fooff} and @samp{fop}
41144 @end itemize
41145
41146 The register sets may be different, depending on the target.
41147
41148 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.sse} feature is optional. It should
41149 describe registers:
41150
41151 @itemize @minus
41152 @item
41153 @samp{xmm0} through @samp{xmm7} for i386
41154 @item
41155 @samp{xmm0} through @samp{xmm15} for amd64
41156 @item
41157 @samp{mxcsr}
41158 @end itemize
41159
41160 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.avx} feature is optional and requires the
41161 @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.sse} feature. It should
41162 describe the upper 128 bits of @sc{ymm} registers:
41163
41164 @itemize @minus
41165 @item
41166 @samp{ymm0h} through @samp{ymm7h} for i386
41167 @item
41168 @samp{ymm0h} through @samp{ymm15h} for amd64
41169 @end itemize
41170
41171 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.i386.linux} feature is optional. It should
41172 describe a single register, @samp{orig_eax}.
41173
41174 @node MIPS Features
41175 @subsection @acronym{MIPS} Features
41176 @cindex target descriptions, @acronym{MIPS} features
41177
41178 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.mips.cpu} feature is required for @acronym{MIPS} targets.
41179 It should contain registers @samp{r0} through @samp{r31}, @samp{lo},
41180 @samp{hi}, and @samp{pc}. They may be 32-bit or 64-bit depending
41181 on the target.
41182
41183 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.mips.cp0} feature is also required. It should
41184 contain at least the @samp{status}, @samp{badvaddr}, and @samp{cause}
41185 registers. They may be 32-bit or 64-bit depending on the target.
41186
41187 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.mips.fpu} feature is currently required, though
41188 it may be optional in a future version of @value{GDBN}. It should
41189 contain registers @samp{f0} through @samp{f31}, @samp{fcsr}, and
41190 @samp{fir}. They may be 32-bit or 64-bit depending on the target.
41191
41192 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.mips.dsp} feature is optional. It should
41193 contain registers @samp{hi1} through @samp{hi3}, @samp{lo1} through
41194 @samp{lo3}, and @samp{dspctl}. The @samp{dspctl} register should
41195 be 32-bit and the rest may be 32-bit or 64-bit depending on the target.
41196
41197 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.mips.linux} feature is optional. It should
41198 contain a single register, @samp{restart}, which is used by the
41199 Linux kernel to control restartable syscalls.
41200
41201 @node M68K Features
41202 @subsection M68K Features
41203 @cindex target descriptions, M68K features
41204
41205 @table @code
41206 @item @samp{org.gnu.gdb.m68k.core}
41207 @itemx @samp{org.gnu.gdb.coldfire.core}
41208 @itemx @samp{org.gnu.gdb.fido.core}
41209 One of those features must be always present.
41210 The feature that is present determines which flavor of m68k is
41211 used. The feature that is present should contain registers
41212 @samp{d0} through @samp{d7}, @samp{a0} through @samp{a5}, @samp{fp},
41213 @samp{sp}, @samp{ps} and @samp{pc}.
41214
41215 @item @samp{org.gnu.gdb.coldfire.fp}
41216 This feature is optional. If present, it should contain registers
41217 @samp{fp0} through @samp{fp7}, @samp{fpcontrol}, @samp{fpstatus} and
41218 @samp{fpiaddr}.
41219 @end table
41220
41221 @node PowerPC Features
41222 @subsection PowerPC Features
41223 @cindex target descriptions, PowerPC features
41224
41225 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.core} feature is required for PowerPC
41226 targets. It should contain registers @samp{r0} through @samp{r31},
41227 @samp{pc}, @samp{msr}, @samp{cr}, @samp{lr}, @samp{ctr}, and
41228 @samp{xer}. They may be 32-bit or 64-bit depending on the target.
41229
41230 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.fpu} feature is optional. It should
41231 contain registers @samp{f0} through @samp{f31} and @samp{fpscr}.
41232
41233 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.altivec} feature is optional. It should
41234 contain registers @samp{vr0} through @samp{vr31}, @samp{vscr},
41235 and @samp{vrsave}.
41236
41237 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.vsx} feature is optional. It should
41238 contain registers @samp{vs0h} through @samp{vs31h}. @value{GDBN}
41239 will combine these registers with the floating point registers
41240 (@samp{f0} through @samp{f31}) and the altivec registers (@samp{vr0}
41241 through @samp{vr31}) to present the 128-bit wide registers @samp{vs0}
41242 through @samp{vs63}, the set of vector registers for POWER7.
41243
41244 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.spe} feature is optional. It should
41245 contain registers @samp{ev0h} through @samp{ev31h}, @samp{acc}, and
41246 @samp{spefscr}. SPE targets should provide 32-bit registers in
41247 @samp{org.gnu.gdb.power.core} and provide the upper halves in
41248 @samp{ev0h} through @samp{ev31h}. @value{GDBN} will combine
41249 these to present registers @samp{ev0} through @samp{ev31} to the
41250 user.
41251
41252 @node TIC6x Features
41253 @subsection TMS320C6x Features
41254 @cindex target descriptions, TIC6x features
41255 @cindex target descriptions, TMS320C6x features
41256 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.tic6x.core} feature is required for TMS320C6x
41257 targets. It should contain registers @samp{A0} through @samp{A15},
41258 registers @samp{B0} through @samp{B15}, @samp{CSR} and @samp{PC}.
41259
41260 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.tic6x.gp} feature is optional. It should
41261 contain registers @samp{A16} through @samp{A31} and @samp{B16}
41262 through @samp{B31}.
41263
41264 The @samp{org.gnu.gdb.tic6x.c6xp} feature is optional. It should
41265 contain registers @samp{TSR}, @samp{ILC} and @samp{RILC}.
41266
41267 @node Operating System Information
41268 @appendix Operating System Information
41269 @cindex operating system information
41270
41271 @menu
41272 * Process list::
41273 @end menu
41274
41275 Users of @value{GDBN} often wish to obtain information about the state of
41276 the operating system running on the target---for example the list of
41277 processes, or the list of open files. This section describes the
41278 mechanism that makes it possible. This mechanism is similar to the
41279 target features mechanism (@pxref{Target Descriptions}), but focuses
41280 on a different aspect of target.
41281
41282 Operating system information is retrived from the target via the
41283 remote protocol, using @samp{qXfer} requests (@pxref{qXfer osdata
41284 read}). The object name in the request should be @samp{osdata}, and
41285 the @var{annex} identifies the data to be fetched.
41286
41287 @node Process list
41288 @appendixsection Process list
41289 @cindex operating system information, process list
41290
41291 When requesting the process list, the @var{annex} field in the
41292 @samp{qXfer} request should be @samp{processes}. The returned data is
41293 an XML document. The formal syntax of this document is defined in
41294 @file{gdb/features/osdata.dtd}.
41295
41296 An example document is:
41297
41298 @smallexample
41299 <?xml version="1.0"?>
41300 <!DOCTYPE target SYSTEM "osdata.dtd">
41301 <osdata type="processes">
41302 <item>
41303 <column name="pid">1</column>
41304 <column name="user">root</column>
41305 <column name="command">/sbin/init</column>
41306 <column name="cores">1,2,3</column>
41307 </item>
41308 </osdata>
41309 @end smallexample
41310
41311 Each item should include a column whose name is @samp{pid}. The value
41312 of that column should identify the process on the target. The
41313 @samp{user} and @samp{command} columns are optional, and will be
41314 displayed by @value{GDBN}. The @samp{cores} column, if present,
41315 should contain a comma-separated list of cores that this process
41316 is running on. Target may provide additional columns,
41317 which @value{GDBN} currently ignores.
41318
41319 @node Trace File Format
41320 @appendix Trace File Format
41321 @cindex trace file format
41322
41323 The trace file comes in three parts: a header, a textual description
41324 section, and a trace frame section with binary data.
41325
41326 The header has the form @code{\x7fTRACE0\n}. The first byte is
41327 @code{0x7f} so as to indicate that the file contains binary data,
41328 while the @code{0} is a version number that may have different values
41329 in the future.
41330
41331 The description section consists of multiple lines of @sc{ascii} text
41332 separated by newline characters (@code{0xa}). The lines may include a
41333 variety of optional descriptive or context-setting information, such
41334 as tracepoint definitions or register set size. @value{GDBN} will
41335 ignore any line that it does not recognize. An empty line marks the end
41336 of this section.
41337
41338 @c FIXME add some specific types of data
41339
41340 The trace frame section consists of a number of consecutive frames.
41341 Each frame begins with a two-byte tracepoint number, followed by a
41342 four-byte size giving the amount of data in the frame. The data in
41343 the frame consists of a number of blocks, each introduced by a
41344 character indicating its type (at least register, memory, and trace
41345 state variable). The data in this section is raw binary, not a
41346 hexadecimal or other encoding; its endianness matches the target's
41347 endianness.
41348
41349 @c FIXME bi-arch may require endianness/arch info in description section
41350
41351 @table @code
41352 @item R @var{bytes}
41353 Register block. The number and ordering of bytes matches that of a
41354 @code{g} packet in the remote protocol. Note that these are the
41355 actual bytes, in target order and @value{GDBN} register order, not a
41356 hexadecimal encoding.
41357
41358 @item M @var{address} @var{length} @var{bytes}...
41359 Memory block. This is a contiguous block of memory, at the 8-byte
41360 address @var{address}, with a 2-byte length @var{length}, followed by
41361 @var{length} bytes.
41362
41363 @item V @var{number} @var{value}
41364 Trace state variable block. This records the 8-byte signed value
41365 @var{value} of trace state variable numbered @var{number}.
41366
41367 @end table
41368
41369 Future enhancements of the trace file format may include additional types
41370 of blocks.
41371
41372 @node Index Section Format
41373 @appendix @code{.gdb_index} section format
41374 @cindex .gdb_index section format
41375 @cindex index section format
41376
41377 This section documents the index section that is created by @code{save
41378 gdb-index} (@pxref{Index Files}). The index section is
41379 DWARF-specific; some knowledge of DWARF is assumed in this
41380 description.
41381
41382 The mapped index file format is designed to be directly
41383 @code{mmap}able on any architecture. In most cases, a datum is
41384 represented using a little-endian 32-bit integer value, called an
41385 @code{offset_type}. Big endian machines must byte-swap the values
41386 before using them. Exceptions to this rule are noted. The data is
41387 laid out such that alignment is always respected.
41388
41389 A mapped index consists of several areas, laid out in order.
41390
41391 @enumerate
41392 @item
41393 The file header. This is a sequence of values, of @code{offset_type}
41394 unless otherwise noted:
41395
41396 @enumerate
41397 @item
41398 The version number, currently 8. Versions 1, 2 and 3 are obsolete.
41399 Version 4 uses a different hashing function from versions 5 and 6.
41400 Version 6 includes symbols for inlined functions, whereas versions 4
41401 and 5 do not. Version 7 adds attributes to the CU indices in the
41402 symbol table. Version 8 specifies that symbols from DWARF type units
41403 (@samp{DW_TAG_type_unit}) refer to the type unit's symbol table and not the
41404 compilation unit (@samp{DW_TAG_comp_unit}) using the type.
41405
41406 @value{GDBN} will only read version 4, 5, or 6 indices
41407 by specifying @code{set use-deprecated-index-sections on}.
41408 GDB has a workaround for potentially broken version 7 indices so it is
41409 currently not flagged as deprecated.
41410
41411 @item
41412 The offset, from the start of the file, of the CU list.
41413
41414 @item
41415 The offset, from the start of the file, of the types CU list. Note
41416 that this area can be empty, in which case this offset will be equal
41417 to the next offset.
41418
41419 @item
41420 The offset, from the start of the file, of the address area.
41421
41422 @item
41423 The offset, from the start of the file, of the symbol table.
41424
41425 @item
41426 The offset, from the start of the file, of the constant pool.
41427 @end enumerate
41428
41429 @item
41430 The CU list. This is a sequence of pairs of 64-bit little-endian
41431 values, sorted by the CU offset. The first element in each pair is
41432 the offset of a CU in the @code{.debug_info} section. The second
41433 element in each pair is the length of that CU. References to a CU
41434 elsewhere in the map are done using a CU index, which is just the
41435 0-based index into this table. Note that if there are type CUs, then
41436 conceptually CUs and type CUs form a single list for the purposes of
41437 CU indices.
41438
41439 @item
41440 The types CU list. This is a sequence of triplets of 64-bit
41441 little-endian values. In a triplet, the first value is the CU offset,
41442 the second value is the type offset in the CU, and the third value is
41443 the type signature. The types CU list is not sorted.
41444
41445 @item
41446 The address area. The address area consists of a sequence of address
41447 entries. Each address entry has three elements:
41448
41449 @enumerate
41450 @item
41451 The low address. This is a 64-bit little-endian value.
41452
41453 @item
41454 The high address. This is a 64-bit little-endian value. Like
41455 @code{DW_AT_high_pc}, the value is one byte beyond the end.
41456
41457 @item
41458 The CU index. This is an @code{offset_type} value.
41459 @end enumerate
41460
41461 @item
41462 The symbol table. This is an open-addressed hash table. The size of
41463 the hash table is always a power of 2.
41464
41465 Each slot in the hash table consists of a pair of @code{offset_type}
41466 values. The first value is the offset of the symbol's name in the
41467 constant pool. The second value is the offset of the CU vector in the
41468 constant pool.
41469
41470 If both values are 0, then this slot in the hash table is empty. This
41471 is ok because while 0 is a valid constant pool index, it cannot be a
41472 valid index for both a string and a CU vector.
41473
41474 The hash value for a table entry is computed by applying an
41475 iterative hash function to the symbol's name. Starting with an
41476 initial value of @code{r = 0}, each (unsigned) character @samp{c} in
41477 the string is incorporated into the hash using the formula depending on the
41478 index version:
41479
41480 @table @asis
41481 @item Version 4
41482 The formula is @code{r = r * 67 + c - 113}.
41483
41484 @item Versions 5 to 7
41485 The formula is @code{r = r * 67 + tolower (c) - 113}.
41486 @end table
41487
41488 The terminating @samp{\0} is not incorporated into the hash.
41489
41490 The step size used in the hash table is computed via
41491 @code{((hash * 17) & (size - 1)) | 1}, where @samp{hash} is the hash
41492 value, and @samp{size} is the size of the hash table. The step size
41493 is used to find the next candidate slot when handling a hash
41494 collision.
41495
41496 The names of C@t{++} symbols in the hash table are canonicalized. We
41497 don't currently have a simple description of the canonicalization
41498 algorithm; if you intend to create new index sections, you must read
41499 the code.
41500
41501 @item
41502 The constant pool. This is simply a bunch of bytes. It is organized
41503 so that alignment is correct: CU vectors are stored first, followed by
41504 strings.
41505
41506 A CU vector in the constant pool is a sequence of @code{offset_type}
41507 values. The first value is the number of CU indices in the vector.
41508 Each subsequent value is the index and symbol attributes of a CU in
41509 the CU list. This element in the hash table is used to indicate which
41510 CUs define the symbol and how the symbol is used.
41511 See below for the format of each CU index+attributes entry.
41512
41513 A string in the constant pool is zero-terminated.
41514 @end enumerate
41515
41516 Attributes were added to CU index values in @code{.gdb_index} version 7.
41517 If a symbol has multiple uses within a CU then there is one
41518 CU index+attributes value for each use.
41519
41520 The format of each CU index+attributes entry is as follows
41521 (bit 0 = LSB):
41522
41523 @table @asis
41524
41525 @item Bits 0-23
41526 This is the index of the CU in the CU list.
41527 @item Bits 24-27
41528 These bits are reserved for future purposes and must be zero.
41529 @item Bits 28-30
41530 The kind of the symbol in the CU.
41531
41532 @table @asis
41533 @item 0
41534 This value is reserved and should not be used.
41535 By reserving zero the full @code{offset_type} value is backwards compatible
41536 with previous versions of the index.
41537 @item 1
41538 The symbol is a type.
41539 @item 2
41540 The symbol is a variable or an enum value.
41541 @item 3
41542 The symbol is a function.
41543 @item 4
41544 Any other kind of symbol.
41545 @item 5,6,7
41546 These values are reserved.
41547 @end table
41548
41549 @item Bit 31
41550 This bit is zero if the value is global and one if it is static.
41551
41552 The determination of whether a symbol is global or static is complicated.
41553 The authorative reference is the file @file{dwarf2read.c} in
41554 @value{GDBN} sources.
41555
41556 @end table
41557
41558 This pseudo-code describes the computation of a symbol's kind and
41559 global/static attributes in the index.
41560
41561 @smallexample
41562 is_external = get_attribute (die, DW_AT_external);
41563 language = get_attribute (cu_die, DW_AT_language);
41564 switch (die->tag)
41565 @{
41566 case DW_TAG_typedef:
41567 case DW_TAG_base_type:
41568 case DW_TAG_subrange_type:
41569 kind = TYPE;
41570 is_static = 1;
41571 break;
41572 case DW_TAG_enumerator:
41573 kind = VARIABLE;
41574 is_static = (language != CPLUS && language != JAVA);
41575 break;
41576 case DW_TAG_subprogram:
41577 kind = FUNCTION;
41578 is_static = ! (is_external || language == ADA);
41579 break;
41580 case DW_TAG_constant:
41581 kind = VARIABLE;
41582 is_static = ! is_external;
41583 break;
41584 case DW_TAG_variable:
41585 kind = VARIABLE;
41586 is_static = ! is_external;
41587 break;
41588 case DW_TAG_namespace:
41589 kind = TYPE;
41590 is_static = 0;
41591 break;
41592 case DW_TAG_class_type:
41593 case DW_TAG_interface_type:
41594 case DW_TAG_structure_type:
41595 case DW_TAG_union_type:
41596 case DW_TAG_enumeration_type:
41597 kind = TYPE;
41598 is_static = (language != CPLUS && language != JAVA);
41599 break;
41600 default:
41601 assert (0);
41602 @}
41603 @end smallexample
41604
41605 @node Man Pages
41606 @appendix Manual pages
41607 @cindex Man pages
41608
41609 @menu
41610 * gdb man:: The GNU Debugger man page
41611 * gdbserver man:: Remote Server for the GNU Debugger man page
41612 * gdbinit man:: gdbinit scripts
41613 @end menu
41614
41615 @node gdb man
41616 @heading gdb man
41617
41618 @c man title gdb The GNU Debugger
41619
41620 @c man begin SYNOPSIS gdb
41621 gdb [@option{-help}] [@option{-nh}] [@option{-nx}] [@option{-q}]
41622 [@option{-batch}] [@option{-cd=}@var{dir}] [@option{-f}]
41623 [@option{-b}@w{ }@var{bps}]
41624 [@option{-tty=}@var{dev}] [@option{-s} @var{symfile}]
41625 [@option{-e}@w{ }@var{prog}] [@option{-se}@w{ }@var{prog}]
41626 [@option{-c}@w{ }@var{core}] [@option{-p}@w{ }@var{procID}]
41627 [@option{-x}@w{ }@var{cmds}] [@option{-d}@w{ }@var{dir}]
41628 [@var{prog}|@var{prog} @var{procID}|@var{prog} @var{core}]
41629 @c man end
41630
41631 @c man begin DESCRIPTION gdb
41632 The purpose of a debugger such as @value{GDBN} is to allow you to see what is
41633 going on ``inside'' another program while it executes -- or what another
41634 program was doing at the moment it crashed.
41635
41636 @value{GDBN} can do four main kinds of things (plus other things in support of
41637 these) to help you catch bugs in the act:
41638
41639 @itemize @bullet
41640 @item
41641 Start your program, specifying anything that might affect its behavior.
41642
41643 @item
41644 Make your program stop on specified conditions.
41645
41646 @item
41647 Examine what has happened, when your program has stopped.
41648
41649 @item
41650 Change things in your program, so you can experiment with correcting the
41651 effects of one bug and go on to learn about another.
41652 @end itemize
41653
41654 You can use @value{GDBN} to debug programs written in C, C@t{++}, Fortran and
41655 Modula-2.
41656
41657 @value{GDBN} is invoked with the shell command @code{gdb}. Once started, it reads
41658 commands from the terminal until you tell it to exit with the @value{GDBN}
41659 command @code{quit}. You can get online help from @value{GDBN} itself
41660 by using the command @code{help}.
41661
41662 You can run @code{gdb} with no arguments or options; but the most
41663 usual way to start @value{GDBN} is with one argument or two, specifying an
41664 executable program as the argument:
41665
41666 @smallexample
41667 gdb program
41668 @end smallexample
41669
41670 You can also start with both an executable program and a core file specified:
41671
41672 @smallexample
41673 gdb program core
41674 @end smallexample
41675
41676 You can, instead, specify a process ID as a second argument, if you want
41677 to debug a running process:
41678
41679 @smallexample
41680 gdb program 1234
41681 gdb -p 1234
41682 @end smallexample
41683
41684 @noindent
41685 would attach @value{GDBN} to process @code{1234} (unless you also have a file
41686 named @file{1234}; @value{GDBN} does check for a core file first).
41687 With option @option{-p} you can omit the @var{program} filename.
41688
41689 Here are some of the most frequently needed @value{GDBN} commands:
41690
41691 @c pod2man highlights the right hand side of the @item lines.
41692 @table @env
41693 @item break [@var{file}:]@var{functiop}
41694 Set a breakpoint at @var{function} (in @var{file}).
41695
41696 @item run [@var{arglist}]
41697 Start your program (with @var{arglist}, if specified).
41698
41699 @item bt
41700 Backtrace: display the program stack.
41701
41702 @item print @var{expr}
41703 Display the value of an expression.
41704
41705 @item c
41706 Continue running your program (after stopping, e.g. at a breakpoint).
41707
41708 @item next
41709 Execute next program line (after stopping); step @emph{over} any
41710 function calls in the line.
41711
41712 @item edit [@var{file}:]@var{function}
41713 look at the program line where it is presently stopped.
41714
41715 @item list [@var{file}:]@var{function}
41716 type the text of the program in the vicinity of where it is presently stopped.
41717
41718 @item step
41719 Execute next program line (after stopping); step @emph{into} any
41720 function calls in the line.
41721
41722 @item help [@var{name}]
41723 Show information about @value{GDBN} command @var{name}, or general information
41724 about using @value{GDBN}.
41725
41726 @item quit
41727 Exit from @value{GDBN}.
41728 @end table
41729
41730 @ifset man
41731 For full details on @value{GDBN},
41732 see @cite{Using GDB: A Guide to the GNU Source-Level Debugger},
41733 by Richard M. Stallman and Roland H. Pesch. The same text is available online
41734 as the @code{gdb} entry in the @code{info} program.
41735 @end ifset
41736 @c man end
41737
41738 @c man begin OPTIONS gdb
41739 Any arguments other than options specify an executable
41740 file and core file (or process ID); that is, the first argument
41741 encountered with no
41742 associated option flag is equivalent to a @option{-se} option, and the second,
41743 if any, is equivalent to a @option{-c} option if it's the name of a file.
41744 Many options have
41745 both long and short forms; both are shown here. The long forms are also
41746 recognized if you truncate them, so long as enough of the option is
41747 present to be unambiguous. (If you prefer, you can flag option
41748 arguments with @option{+} rather than @option{-}, though we illustrate the
41749 more usual convention.)
41750
41751 All the options and command line arguments you give are processed
41752 in sequential order. The order makes a difference when the @option{-x}
41753 option is used.
41754
41755 @table @env
41756 @item -help
41757 @itemx -h
41758 List all options, with brief explanations.
41759
41760 @item -symbols=@var{file}
41761 @itemx -s @var{file}
41762 Read symbol table from file @var{file}.
41763
41764 @item -write
41765 Enable writing into executable and core files.
41766
41767 @item -exec=@var{file}
41768 @itemx -e @var{file}
41769 Use file @var{file} as the executable file to execute when
41770 appropriate, and for examining pure data in conjunction with a core
41771 dump.
41772
41773 @item -se=@var{file}
41774 Read symbol table from file @var{file} and use it as the executable
41775 file.
41776
41777 @item -core=@var{file}
41778 @itemx -c @var{file}
41779 Use file @var{file} as a core dump to examine.
41780
41781 @item -command=@var{file}
41782 @itemx -x @var{file}
41783 Execute @value{GDBN} commands from file @var{file}.
41784
41785 @item -ex @var{command}
41786 Execute given @value{GDBN} @var{command}.
41787
41788 @item -directory=@var{directory}
41789 @itemx -d @var{directory}
41790 Add @var{directory} to the path to search for source files.
41791
41792 @item -nh
41793 Do not execute commands from @file{~/.gdbinit}.
41794
41795 @item -nx
41796 @itemx -n
41797 Do not execute commands from any @file{.gdbinit} initialization files.
41798
41799 @item -quiet
41800 @itemx -q
41801 ``Quiet''. Do not print the introductory and copyright messages. These
41802 messages are also suppressed in batch mode.
41803
41804 @item -batch
41805 Run in batch mode. Exit with status @code{0} after processing all the command
41806 files specified with @option{-x} (and @file{.gdbinit}, if not inhibited).
41807 Exit with nonzero status if an error occurs in executing the @value{GDBN}
41808 commands in the command files.
41809
41810 Batch mode may be useful for running @value{GDBN} as a filter, for example to
41811 download and run a program on another computer; in order to make this
41812 more useful, the message
41813
41814 @smallexample
41815 Program exited normally.
41816 @end smallexample
41817
41818 @noindent
41819 (which is ordinarily issued whenever a program running under @value{GDBN} control
41820 terminates) is not issued when running in batch mode.
41821
41822 @item -cd=@var{directory}
41823 Run @value{GDBN} using @var{directory} as its working directory,
41824 instead of the current directory.
41825
41826 @item -fullname
41827 @itemx -f
41828 Emacs sets this option when it runs @value{GDBN} as a subprocess. It tells
41829 @value{GDBN} to output the full file name and line number in a standard,
41830 recognizable fashion each time a stack frame is displayed (which
41831 includes each time the program stops). This recognizable format looks
41832 like two @samp{\032} characters, followed by the file name, line number
41833 and character position separated by colons, and a newline. The
41834 Emacs-to-@value{GDBN} interface program uses the two @samp{\032}
41835 characters as a signal to display the source code for the frame.
41836
41837 @item -b @var{bps}
41838 Set the line speed (baud rate or bits per second) of any serial
41839 interface used by @value{GDBN} for remote debugging.
41840
41841 @item -tty=@var{device}
41842 Run using @var{device} for your program's standard input and output.
41843 @end table
41844 @c man end
41845
41846 @c man begin SEEALSO gdb
41847 @ifset man
41848 The full documentation for @value{GDBN} is maintained as a Texinfo manual.
41849 If the @code{info} and @code{gdb} programs and @value{GDBN}'s Texinfo
41850 documentation are properly installed at your site, the command
41851
41852 @smallexample
41853 info gdb
41854 @end smallexample
41855
41856 @noindent
41857 should give you access to the complete manual.
41858
41859 @cite{Using GDB: A Guide to the GNU Source-Level Debugger},
41860 Richard M. Stallman and Roland H. Pesch, July 1991.
41861 @end ifset
41862 @c man end
41863
41864 @node gdbserver man
41865 @heading gdbserver man
41866
41867 @c man title gdbserver Remote Server for the GNU Debugger
41868 @format
41869 @c man begin SYNOPSIS gdbserver
41870 gdbserver @var{comm} @var{prog} [@var{args}@dots{}]
41871
41872 gdbserver --attach @var{comm} @var{pid}
41873
41874 gdbserver --multi @var{comm}
41875 @c man end
41876 @end format
41877
41878 @c man begin DESCRIPTION gdbserver
41879 @command{gdbserver} is a program that allows you to run @value{GDBN} on a different machine
41880 than the one which is running the program being debugged.
41881
41882 @ifclear man
41883 @subheading Usage (server (target) side)
41884 @end ifclear
41885 @ifset man
41886 Usage (server (target) side):
41887 @end ifset
41888
41889 First, you need to have a copy of the program you want to debug put onto
41890 the target system. The program can be stripped to save space if needed, as
41891 @command{gdbserver} doesn't care about symbols. All symbol handling is taken care of by
41892 the @value{GDBN} running on the host system.
41893
41894 To use the server, you log on to the target system, and run the @command{gdbserver}
41895 program. You must tell it (a) how to communicate with @value{GDBN}, (b) the name of
41896 your program, and (c) its arguments. The general syntax is:
41897
41898 @smallexample
41899 target> gdbserver @var{comm} @var{program} [@var{args} ...]
41900 @end smallexample
41901
41902 For example, using a serial port, you might say:
41903
41904 @smallexample
41905 @ifset man
41906 @c @file would wrap it as F</dev/com1>.
41907 target> gdbserver /dev/com1 emacs foo.txt
41908 @end ifset
41909 @ifclear man
41910 target> gdbserver @file{/dev/com1} emacs foo.txt
41911 @end ifclear
41912 @end smallexample
41913
41914 This tells @command{gdbserver} to debug emacs with an argument of foo.txt, and
41915 to communicate with @value{GDBN} via @file{/dev/com1}. @command{gdbserver} now
41916 waits patiently for the host @value{GDBN} to communicate with it.
41917
41918 To use a TCP connection, you could say:
41919
41920 @smallexample
41921 target> gdbserver host:2345 emacs foo.txt
41922 @end smallexample
41923
41924 This says pretty much the same thing as the last example, except that we are
41925 going to communicate with the @code{host} @value{GDBN} via TCP. The @code{host:2345} argument means
41926 that we are expecting to see a TCP connection from @code{host} to local TCP port
41927 2345. (Currently, the @code{host} part is ignored.) You can choose any number you
41928 want for the port number as long as it does not conflict with any existing TCP
41929 ports on the target system. This same port number must be used in the host
41930 @value{GDBN}s @code{target remote} command, which will be described shortly. Note that if
41931 you chose a port number that conflicts with another service, @command{gdbserver} will
41932 print an error message and exit.
41933
41934 @command{gdbserver} can also attach to running programs.
41935 This is accomplished via the @option{--attach} argument. The syntax is:
41936
41937 @smallexample
41938 target> gdbserver --attach @var{comm} @var{pid}
41939 @end smallexample
41940
41941 @var{pid} is the process ID of a currently running process. It isn't
41942 necessary to point @command{gdbserver} at a binary for the running process.
41943
41944 To start @code{gdbserver} without supplying an initial command to run
41945 or process ID to attach, use the @option{--multi} command line option.
41946 In such case you should connect using @kbd{target extended-remote} to start
41947 the program you want to debug.
41948
41949 @smallexample
41950 target> gdbserver --multi @var{comm}
41951 @end smallexample
41952
41953 @ifclear man
41954 @subheading Usage (host side)
41955 @end ifclear
41956 @ifset man
41957 Usage (host side):
41958 @end ifset
41959
41960 You need an unstripped copy of the target program on your host system, since
41961 @value{GDBN} needs to examine it's symbol tables and such. Start up @value{GDBN} as you normally
41962 would, with the target program as the first argument. (You may need to use the
41963 @option{--baud} option if the serial line is running at anything except 9600 baud.)
41964 That is @code{gdb TARGET-PROG}, or @code{gdb --baud BAUD TARGET-PROG}. After that, the only
41965 new command you need to know about is @code{target remote}
41966 (or @code{target extended-remote}). Its argument is either
41967 a device name (usually a serial device, like @file{/dev/ttyb}), or a @code{HOST:PORT}
41968 descriptor. For example:
41969
41970 @smallexample
41971 @ifset man
41972 @c @file would wrap it as F</dev/ttyb>.
41973 (gdb) target remote /dev/ttyb
41974 @end ifset
41975 @ifclear man
41976 (gdb) target remote @file{/dev/ttyb}
41977 @end ifclear
41978 @end smallexample
41979
41980 @noindent
41981 communicates with the server via serial line @file{/dev/ttyb}, and:
41982
41983 @smallexample
41984 (gdb) target remote the-target:2345
41985 @end smallexample
41986
41987 @noindent
41988 communicates via a TCP connection to port 2345 on host `the-target', where
41989 you previously started up @command{gdbserver} with the same port number. Note that for
41990 TCP connections, you must start up @command{gdbserver} prior to using the `target remote'
41991 command, otherwise you may get an error that looks something like
41992 `Connection refused'.
41993
41994 @command{gdbserver} can also debug multiple inferiors at once,
41995 described in
41996 @ifset man
41997 the @value{GDBN} manual in node @code{Inferiors and Programs}
41998 -- shell command @code{info -f gdb -n 'Inferiors and Programs'}.
41999 @end ifset
42000 @ifclear man
42001 @ref{Inferiors and Programs}.
42002 @end ifclear
42003 In such case use the @code{extended-remote} @value{GDBN} command variant:
42004
42005 @smallexample
42006 (gdb) target extended-remote the-target:2345
42007 @end smallexample
42008
42009 The @command{gdbserver} option @option{--multi} may or may not be used in such
42010 case.
42011 @c man end
42012
42013 @c man begin OPTIONS gdbserver
42014 There are three different modes for invoking @command{gdbserver}:
42015
42016 @itemize @bullet
42017
42018 @item
42019 Debug a specific program specified by its program name:
42020
42021 @smallexample
42022 gdbserver @var{comm} @var{prog} [@var{args}@dots{}]
42023 @end smallexample
42024
42025 The @var{comm} parameter specifies how should the server communicate
42026 with @value{GDBN}; it is either a device name (to use a serial line),
42027 a TCP port number (@code{:1234}), or @code{-} or @code{stdio} to use
42028 stdin/stdout of @code{gdbserver}. Specify the name of the program to
42029 debug in @var{prog}. Any remaining arguments will be passed to the
42030 program verbatim. When the program exits, @value{GDBN} will close the
42031 connection, and @code{gdbserver} will exit.
42032
42033 @item
42034 Debug a specific program by specifying the process ID of a running
42035 program:
42036
42037 @smallexample
42038 gdbserver --attach @var{comm} @var{pid}
42039 @end smallexample
42040
42041 The @var{comm} parameter is as described above. Supply the process ID
42042 of a running program in @var{pid}; @value{GDBN} will do everything
42043 else. Like with the previous mode, when the process @var{pid} exits,
42044 @value{GDBN} will close the connection, and @code{gdbserver} will exit.
42045
42046 @item
42047 Multi-process mode -- debug more than one program/process:
42048
42049 @smallexample
42050 gdbserver --multi @var{comm}
42051 @end smallexample
42052
42053 In this mode, @value{GDBN} can instruct @command{gdbserver} which
42054 command(s) to run. Unlike the other 2 modes, @value{GDBN} will not
42055 close the connection when a process being debugged exits, so you can
42056 debug several processes in the same session.
42057 @end itemize
42058
42059 In each of the modes you may specify these options:
42060
42061 @table @env
42062
42063 @item --help
42064 List all options, with brief explanations.
42065
42066 @item --version
42067 This option causes @command{gdbserver} to print its version number and exit.
42068
42069 @item --attach
42070 @command{gdbserver} will attach to a running program. The syntax is:
42071
42072 @smallexample
42073 target> gdbserver --attach @var{comm} @var{pid}
42074 @end smallexample
42075
42076 @var{pid} is the process ID of a currently running process. It isn't
42077 necessary to point @command{gdbserver} at a binary for the running process.
42078
42079 @item --multi
42080 To start @code{gdbserver} without supplying an initial command to run
42081 or process ID to attach, use this command line option.
42082 Then you can connect using @kbd{target extended-remote} and start
42083 the program you want to debug. The syntax is:
42084
42085 @smallexample
42086 target> gdbserver --multi @var{comm}
42087 @end smallexample
42088
42089 @item --debug
42090 Instruct @code{gdbserver} to display extra status information about the debugging
42091 process.
42092 This option is intended for @code{gdbserver} development and for bug reports to
42093 the developers.
42094
42095 @item --remote-debug
42096 Instruct @code{gdbserver} to display remote protocol debug output.
42097 This option is intended for @code{gdbserver} development and for bug reports to
42098 the developers.
42099
42100 @item --wrapper
42101 Specify a wrapper to launch programs
42102 for debugging. The option should be followed by the name of the
42103 wrapper, then any command-line arguments to pass to the wrapper, then
42104 @kbd{--} indicating the end of the wrapper arguments.
42105
42106 @item --once
42107 By default, @command{gdbserver} keeps the listening TCP port open, so that
42108 additional connections are possible. However, if you start @code{gdbserver}
42109 with the @option{--once} option, it will stop listening for any further
42110 connection attempts after connecting to the first @value{GDBN} session.
42111
42112 @c --disable-packet is not documented for users.
42113
42114 @c --disable-randomization and --no-disable-randomization are superseded by
42115 @c QDisableRandomization.
42116
42117 @end table
42118 @c man end
42119
42120 @c man begin SEEALSO gdbserver
42121 @ifset man
42122 The full documentation for @value{GDBN} is maintained as a Texinfo manual.
42123 If the @code{info} and @code{gdb} programs and @value{GDBN}'s Texinfo
42124 documentation are properly installed at your site, the command
42125
42126 @smallexample
42127 info gdb
42128 @end smallexample
42129
42130 should give you access to the complete manual.
42131
42132 @cite{Using GDB: A Guide to the GNU Source-Level Debugger},
42133 Richard M. Stallman and Roland H. Pesch, July 1991.
42134 @end ifset
42135 @c man end
42136
42137 @node gdbinit man
42138 @heading gdbinit
42139
42140 @c man title gdbinit GDB initialization scripts
42141
42142 @format
42143 @c man begin SYNOPSIS gdbinit
42144 @ifset SYSTEM_GDBINIT
42145 @value{SYSTEM_GDBINIT}
42146 @end ifset
42147
42148 ~/.gdbinit
42149
42150 ./.gdbinit
42151 @c man end
42152 @end format
42153
42154 @c man begin DESCRIPTION gdbinit
42155 These files contain @value{GDBN} commands to automatically execute during
42156 @value{GDBN} startup. The lines of contents are canned sequences of commands,
42157 described in
42158 @ifset man
42159 the @value{GDBN} manual in node @code{Sequences}
42160 -- shell command @code{info -f gdb -n Sequences}.
42161 @end ifset
42162 @ifclear man
42163 @ref{Sequences}.
42164 @end ifclear
42165
42166 Please read more in
42167 @ifset man
42168 the @value{GDBN} manual in node @code{Startup}
42169 -- shell command @code{info -f gdb -n Startup}.
42170 @end ifset
42171 @ifclear man
42172 @ref{Startup}.
42173 @end ifclear
42174
42175 @table @env
42176 @ifset SYSTEM_GDBINIT
42177 @item @value{SYSTEM_GDBINIT}
42178 @end ifset
42179 @ifclear SYSTEM_GDBINIT
42180 @item (not enabled with @code{--with-system-gdbinit} during compilation)
42181 @end ifclear
42182 System-wide initialization file. It is executed unless user specified
42183 @value{GDBN} option @code{-nx} or @code{-n}.
42184 See more in
42185 @ifset man
42186 the @value{GDBN} manual in node @code{System-wide configuration}
42187 -- shell command @code{info -f gdb -n 'System-wide configuration'}.
42188 @end ifset
42189 @ifclear man
42190 @ref{System-wide configuration}.
42191 @end ifclear
42192
42193 @item ~/.gdbinit
42194 User initialization file. It is executed unless user specified
42195 @value{GDBN} options @code{-nx}, @code{-n} or @code{-nh}.
42196
42197 @item ./.gdbinit
42198 Initialization file for current directory. It may need to be enabled with
42199 @value{GDBN} security command @code{set auto-load local-gdbinit}.
42200 See more in
42201 @ifset man
42202 the @value{GDBN} manual in node @code{Init File in the Current Directory}
42203 -- shell command @code{info -f gdb -n 'Init File in the Current Directory'}.
42204 @end ifset
42205 @ifclear man
42206 @ref{Init File in the Current Directory}.
42207 @end ifclear
42208 @end table
42209 @c man end
42210
42211 @c man begin SEEALSO gdbinit
42212 @ifset man
42213 gdb(1), @code{info -f gdb -n Startup}
42214
42215 The full documentation for @value{GDBN} is maintained as a Texinfo manual.
42216 If the @code{info} and @code{gdb} programs and @value{GDBN}'s Texinfo
42217 documentation are properly installed at your site, the command
42218
42219 @smallexample
42220 info gdb
42221 @end smallexample
42222
42223 should give you access to the complete manual.
42224
42225 @cite{Using GDB: A Guide to the GNU Source-Level Debugger},
42226 Richard M. Stallman and Roland H. Pesch, July 1991.
42227 @end ifset
42228 @c man end
42229
42230 @include gpl.texi
42231
42232 @node GNU Free Documentation License
42233 @appendix GNU Free Documentation License
42234 @include fdl.texi
42235
42236 @node Concept Index
42237 @unnumbered Concept Index
42238
42239 @printindex cp
42240
42241 @node Command and Variable Index
42242 @unnumbered Command, Variable, and Function Index
42243
42244 @printindex fn
42245
42246 @tex
42247 % I think something like @@colophon should be in texinfo. In the
42248 % meantime:
42249 \long\def\colophon{\hbox to0pt{}\vfill
42250 \centerline{The body of this manual is set in}
42251 \centerline{\fontname\tenrm,}
42252 \centerline{with headings in {\bf\fontname\tenbf}}
42253 \centerline{and examples in {\tt\fontname\tentt}.}
42254 \centerline{{\it\fontname\tenit\/},}
42255 \centerline{{\bf\fontname\tenbf}, and}
42256 \centerline{{\sl\fontname\tensl\/}}
42257 \centerline{are used for emphasis.}\vfill}
42258 \page\colophon
42259 % Blame: doc@@cygnus.com, 1991.
42260 @end tex
42261
42262 @bye
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