Eliminate MALLOC_INCOMPATIBLE.
[deliverable/binutils-gdb.git] / gdb / doc / gdbint.texinfo
1 \input texinfo @c -*- texinfo -*-
2 @setfilename gdbint.info
3 @include gdb-cfg.texi
4 @dircategory Programming & development tools.
5 @direntry
6 * Gdb-Internals: (gdbint). The GNU debugger's internals.
7 @end direntry
8
9 @ifinfo
10 This file documents the internals of the GNU debugger @value{GDBN}.
11 Copyright 1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1996,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002
12 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
13 Contributed by Cygnus Solutions. Written by John Gilmore.
14 Second Edition by Stan Shebs.
15
16 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
17 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
18 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
19 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover Texts being ``A GNU Manual,''
20 and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below.
21
22 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
23 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
24 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
25 @end ifinfo
26
27 @setchapternewpage off
28 @settitle @value{GDBN} Internals
29
30 @syncodeindex fn cp
31 @syncodeindex vr cp
32
33 @titlepage
34 @title @value{GDBN} Internals
35 @subtitle{A guide to the internals of the GNU debugger}
36 @author John Gilmore
37 @author Cygnus Solutions
38 @author Second Edition:
39 @author Stan Shebs
40 @author Cygnus Solutions
41 @page
42 @tex
43 \def\$#1${{#1}} % Kluge: collect RCS revision info without $...$
44 \xdef\manvers{\$Revision$} % For use in headers, footers too
45 {\parskip=0pt
46 \hfill Cygnus Solutions\par
47 \hfill \manvers\par
48 \hfill \TeX{}info \texinfoversion\par
49 }
50 @end tex
51
52 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
53 Copyright @copyright{} 1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1996,1998,1999,2000,2001
54 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
55
56 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
57 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
58 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
59 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover Texts being ``A GNU Manual,''
60 and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below.
61
62 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
63 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
64 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
65 @end titlepage
66
67 @c TeX can handle the contents at the start but makeinfo 3.12 can not
68 @iftex
69 @contents
70 @end iftex
71
72 @node Top
73 @c Perhaps this should be the title of the document (but only for info,
74 @c not for TeX). Existing GNU manuals seem inconsistent on this point.
75 @top Scope of this Document
76
77 This document documents the internals of the GNU debugger, @value{GDBN}. It
78 includes description of @value{GDBN}'s key algorithms and operations, as well
79 as the mechanisms that adapt @value{GDBN} to specific hosts and targets.
80
81 @menu
82 * Requirements::
83 * Overall Structure::
84 * Algorithms::
85 * User Interface::
86 * libgdb::
87 * Symbol Handling::
88 * Language Support::
89 * Host Definition::
90 * Target Architecture Definition::
91 * Target Vector Definition::
92 * Native Debugging::
93 * Support Libraries::
94 * Coding::
95 * Porting GDB::
96 * Releasing GDB::
97 * Testsuite::
98 * Hints::
99 * Index::
100 @end menu
101
102 @node Requirements
103
104 @chapter Requirements
105 @cindex requirements for @value{GDBN}
106
107 Before diving into the internals, you should understand the formal
108 requirements and other expectations for @value{GDBN}. Although some
109 of these may seem obvious, there have been proposals for @value{GDBN}
110 that have run counter to these requirements.
111
112 First of all, @value{GDBN} is a debugger. It's not designed to be a
113 front panel for embedded systems. It's not a text editor. It's not a
114 shell. It's not a programming environment.
115
116 @value{GDBN} is an interactive tool. Although a batch mode is
117 available, @value{GDBN}'s primary role is to interact with a human
118 programmer.
119
120 @value{GDBN} should be responsive to the user. A programmer hot on
121 the trail of a nasty bug, and operating under a looming deadline, is
122 going to be very impatient of everything, including the response time
123 to debugger commands.
124
125 @value{GDBN} should be relatively permissive, such as for expressions.
126 While the compiler should be picky (or have the option to be made
127 picky), since source code lives for a long time usually, the
128 programmer doing debugging shouldn't be spending time figuring out to
129 mollify the debugger.
130
131 @value{GDBN} will be called upon to deal with really large programs.
132 Executable sizes of 50 to 100 megabytes occur regularly, and we've
133 heard reports of programs approaching 1 gigabyte in size.
134
135 @value{GDBN} should be able to run everywhere. No other debugger is
136 available for even half as many configurations as @value{GDBN}
137 supports.
138
139
140 @node Overall Structure
141
142 @chapter Overall Structure
143
144 @value{GDBN} consists of three major subsystems: user interface,
145 symbol handling (the @dfn{symbol side}), and target system handling (the
146 @dfn{target side}).
147
148 The user interface consists of several actual interfaces, plus
149 supporting code.
150
151 The symbol side consists of object file readers, debugging info
152 interpreters, symbol table management, source language expression
153 parsing, type and value printing.
154
155 The target side consists of execution control, stack frame analysis, and
156 physical target manipulation.
157
158 The target side/symbol side division is not formal, and there are a
159 number of exceptions. For instance, core file support involves symbolic
160 elements (the basic core file reader is in BFD) and target elements (it
161 supplies the contents of memory and the values of registers). Instead,
162 this division is useful for understanding how the minor subsystems
163 should fit together.
164
165 @section The Symbol Side
166
167 The symbolic side of @value{GDBN} can be thought of as ``everything
168 you can do in @value{GDBN} without having a live program running''.
169 For instance, you can look at the types of variables, and evaluate
170 many kinds of expressions.
171
172 @section The Target Side
173
174 The target side of @value{GDBN} is the ``bits and bytes manipulator''.
175 Although it may make reference to symbolic info here and there, most
176 of the target side will run with only a stripped executable
177 available---or even no executable at all, in remote debugging cases.
178
179 Operations such as disassembly, stack frame crawls, and register
180 display, are able to work with no symbolic info at all. In some cases,
181 such as disassembly, @value{GDBN} will use symbolic info to present addresses
182 relative to symbols rather than as raw numbers, but it will work either
183 way.
184
185 @section Configurations
186
187 @cindex host
188 @cindex target
189 @dfn{Host} refers to attributes of the system where @value{GDBN} runs.
190 @dfn{Target} refers to the system where the program being debugged
191 executes. In most cases they are the same machine, in which case a
192 third type of @dfn{Native} attributes come into play.
193
194 Defines and include files needed to build on the host are host support.
195 Examples are tty support, system defined types, host byte order, host
196 float format.
197
198 Defines and information needed to handle the target format are target
199 dependent. Examples are the stack frame format, instruction set,
200 breakpoint instruction, registers, and how to set up and tear down the stack
201 to call a function.
202
203 Information that is only needed when the host and target are the same,
204 is native dependent. One example is Unix child process support; if the
205 host and target are not the same, doing a fork to start the target
206 process is a bad idea. The various macros needed for finding the
207 registers in the @code{upage}, running @code{ptrace}, and such are all
208 in the native-dependent files.
209
210 Another example of native-dependent code is support for features that
211 are really part of the target environment, but which require
212 @code{#include} files that are only available on the host system. Core
213 file handling and @code{setjmp} handling are two common cases.
214
215 When you want to make @value{GDBN} work ``native'' on a particular machine, you
216 have to include all three kinds of information.
217
218
219 @node Algorithms
220
221 @chapter Algorithms
222 @cindex algorithms
223
224 @value{GDBN} uses a number of debugging-specific algorithms. They are
225 often not very complicated, but get lost in the thicket of special
226 cases and real-world issues. This chapter describes the basic
227 algorithms and mentions some of the specific target definitions that
228 they use.
229
230 @section Frames
231
232 @cindex frame
233 @cindex call stack frame
234 A frame is a construct that @value{GDBN} uses to keep track of calling
235 and called functions.
236
237 @findex create_new_frame
238 @vindex FRAME_FP
239 @code{FRAME_FP} in the machine description has no meaning to the
240 machine-independent part of @value{GDBN}, except that it is used when
241 setting up a new frame from scratch, as follows:
242
243 @example
244 create_new_frame (read_register (FP_REGNUM), read_pc ()));
245 @end example
246
247 @cindex frame pointer register
248 Other than that, all the meaning imparted to @code{FP_REGNUM} is
249 imparted by the machine-dependent code. So, @code{FP_REGNUM} can have
250 any value that is convenient for the code that creates new frames.
251 (@code{create_new_frame} calls @code{INIT_EXTRA_FRAME_INFO} if it is
252 defined; that is where you should use the @code{FP_REGNUM} value, if
253 your frames are nonstandard.)
254
255 @cindex frame chain
256 Given a @value{GDBN} frame, define @code{FRAME_CHAIN} to determine the
257 address of the calling function's frame. This will be used to create
258 a new @value{GDBN} frame struct, and then @code{INIT_EXTRA_FRAME_INFO}
259 and @code{INIT_FRAME_PC} will be called for the new frame.
260
261 @section Breakpoint Handling
262
263 @cindex breakpoints
264 In general, a breakpoint is a user-designated location in the program
265 where the user wants to regain control if program execution ever reaches
266 that location.
267
268 There are two main ways to implement breakpoints; either as ``hardware''
269 breakpoints or as ``software'' breakpoints.
270
271 @cindex hardware breakpoints
272 @cindex program counter
273 Hardware breakpoints are sometimes available as a builtin debugging
274 features with some chips. Typically these work by having dedicated
275 register into which the breakpoint address may be stored. If the PC
276 (shorthand for @dfn{program counter})
277 ever matches a value in a breakpoint registers, the CPU raises an
278 exception and reports it to @value{GDBN}.
279
280 Another possibility is when an emulator is in use; many emulators
281 include circuitry that watches the address lines coming out from the
282 processor, and force it to stop if the address matches a breakpoint's
283 address.
284
285 A third possibility is that the target already has the ability to do
286 breakpoints somehow; for instance, a ROM monitor may do its own
287 software breakpoints. So although these are not literally ``hardware
288 breakpoints'', from @value{GDBN}'s point of view they work the same;
289 @value{GDBN} need not do nothing more than set the breakpoint and wait
290 for something to happen.
291
292 Since they depend on hardware resources, hardware breakpoints may be
293 limited in number; when the user asks for more, @value{GDBN} will
294 start trying to set software breakpoints. (On some architectures,
295 notably the 32-bit x86 platforms, @value{GDBN} cannot alsways know
296 whether there's enough hardware resources to insert all the hardware
297 breakpoints and watchpoints. On those platforms, @value{GDBN} prints
298 an error message only when the program being debugged is continued.)
299
300 @cindex software breakpoints
301 Software breakpoints require @value{GDBN} to do somewhat more work.
302 The basic theory is that @value{GDBN} will replace a program
303 instruction with a trap, illegal divide, or some other instruction
304 that will cause an exception, and then when it's encountered,
305 @value{GDBN} will take the exception and stop the program. When the
306 user says to continue, @value{GDBN} will restore the original
307 instruction, single-step, re-insert the trap, and continue on.
308
309 Since it literally overwrites the program being tested, the program area
310 must be writable, so this technique won't work on programs in ROM. It
311 can also distort the behavior of programs that examine themselves,
312 although such a situation would be highly unusual.
313
314 Also, the software breakpoint instruction should be the smallest size of
315 instruction, so it doesn't overwrite an instruction that might be a jump
316 target, and cause disaster when the program jumps into the middle of the
317 breakpoint instruction. (Strictly speaking, the breakpoint must be no
318 larger than the smallest interval between instructions that may be jump
319 targets; perhaps there is an architecture where only even-numbered
320 instructions may jumped to.) Note that it's possible for an instruction
321 set not to have any instructions usable for a software breakpoint,
322 although in practice only the ARC has failed to define such an
323 instruction.
324
325 @findex BREAKPOINT
326 The basic definition of the software breakpoint is the macro
327 @code{BREAKPOINT}.
328
329 Basic breakpoint object handling is in @file{breakpoint.c}. However,
330 much of the interesting breakpoint action is in @file{infrun.c}.
331
332 @section Single Stepping
333
334 @section Signal Handling
335
336 @section Thread Handling
337
338 @section Inferior Function Calls
339
340 @section Longjmp Support
341
342 @cindex @code{longjmp} debugging
343 @value{GDBN} has support for figuring out that the target is doing a
344 @code{longjmp} and for stopping at the target of the jump, if we are
345 stepping. This is done with a few specialized internal breakpoints,
346 which are visible in the output of the @samp{maint info breakpoint}
347 command.
348
349 @findex GET_LONGJMP_TARGET
350 To make this work, you need to define a macro called
351 @code{GET_LONGJMP_TARGET}, which will examine the @code{jmp_buf}
352 structure and extract the longjmp target address. Since @code{jmp_buf}
353 is target specific, you will need to define it in the appropriate
354 @file{tm-@var{target}.h} file. Look in @file{tm-sun4os4.h} and
355 @file{sparc-tdep.c} for examples of how to do this.
356
357 @section Watchpoints
358 @cindex watchpoints
359
360 Watchpoints are a special kind of breakpoints (@pxref{Algorithms,
361 breakpoints}) which break when data is accessed rather than when some
362 instruction is executed. When you have data which changes without
363 your knowing what code does that, watchpoints are the silver bullet to
364 hunt down and kill such bugs.
365
366 @cindex hardware watchpoints
367 @cindex software watchpoints
368 Watchpoints can be either hardware-assisted or not; the latter type is
369 known as ``software watchpoints.'' @value{GDBN} always uses
370 hardware-assisted watchpoints if they are available, and falls back on
371 software watchpoints otherwise. Typical situations where @value{GDBN}
372 will use software watchpoints are:
373
374 @itemize @bullet
375 @item
376 The watched memory region is too large for the underlying hardware
377 watchpoint support. For example, each x86 debug register can watch up
378 to 4 bytes of memory, so trying to watch data structures whose size is
379 more than 16 bytes will cause @value{GDBN} to use software
380 watchpoints.
381
382 @item
383 The value of the expression to be watched depends on data held in
384 registers (as opposed to memory).
385
386 @item
387 Too many different watchpoints requested. (On some architectures,
388 this situation is impossible to detect until the debugged program is
389 resumed.) Note that x86 debug registers are used both for hardware
390 breakpoints and for watchpoints, so setting too many hardware
391 breakpoints might cause watchpoint insertion to fail.
392
393 @item
394 No hardware-assisted watchpoints provided by the target
395 implementation.
396 @end itemize
397
398 Software watchpoints are very slow, since @value{GDBN} needs to
399 single-step the program being debugged and test the value of the
400 watched expression(s) after each instruction. The rest of this
401 section is mostly irrelevant for software watchpoints.
402
403 @value{GDBN} uses several macros and primitives to support hardware
404 watchpoints:
405
406 @table @code
407 @findex TARGET_HAS_HARDWARE_WATCHPOINTS
408 @item TARGET_HAS_HARDWARE_WATCHPOINTS
409 If defined, the target supports hardware watchpoints.
410
411 @findex TARGET_CAN_USE_HARDWARE_WATCHPOINT
412 @item TARGET_CAN_USE_HARDWARE_WATCHPOINT (@var{type}, @var{count}, @var{other})
413 Return the number of hardware watchpoints of type @var{type} that are
414 possible to be set. The value is positive if @var{count} watchpoints
415 of this type can be set, zero if setting watchpoints of this type is
416 not supported, and negative if @var{count} is more than the maximum
417 number of watchpoints of type @var{type} that can be set. @var{other}
418 is non-zero if other types of watchpoints are currently enabled (there
419 are architectures which cannot set watchpoints of different types at
420 the same time).
421
422 @findex TARGET_REGION_OK_FOR_HW_WATCHPOINT
423 @item TARGET_REGION_OK_FOR_HW_WATCHPOINT (@var{addr}, @var{len})
424 Return non-zero if hardware watchpoints can be used to watch a region
425 whose address is @var{addr} and whose length in bytes is @var{len}.
426
427 @findex TARGET_REGION_SIZE_OK_FOR_HW_WATCHPOINT
428 @item TARGET_REGION_SIZE_OK_FOR_HW_WATCHPOINT (@var{size})
429 Return non-zero if hardware watchpoints can be used to watch a region
430 whose size is @var{size}. @value{GDBN} only uses this macro as a
431 fall-back, in case @code{TARGET_REGION_OK_FOR_HW_WATCHPOINT} is not
432 defined.
433
434 @findex TARGET_DISABLE_HW_WATCHPOINTS
435 @item TARGET_DISABLE_HW_WATCHPOINTS (@var{pid})
436 Disables watchpoints in the process identified by @var{pid}. This is
437 used, e.g., on HP-UX which provides operations to disable and enable
438 the page-level memory protection that implements hardware watchpoints
439 on that platform.
440
441 @findex TARGET_ENABLE_HW_WATCHPOINTS
442 @item TARGET_ENABLE_HW_WATCHPOINTS (@var{pid})
443 Enables watchpoints in the process identified by @var{pid}. This is
444 used, e.g., on HP-UX which provides operations to disable and enable
445 the page-level memory protection that implements hardware watchpoints
446 on that platform.
447
448 @findex target_insert_watchpoint
449 @findex target_remove_watchpoint
450 @item target_insert_watchpoint (@var{addr}, @var{len}, @var{type})
451 @itemx target_remove_watchpoint (@var{addr}, @var{len}, @var{type})
452 Insert or remove a hardware watchpoint starting at @var{addr}, for
453 @var{len} bytes. @var{type} is the watchpoint type, one of the
454 possible values of the enumerated data type @code{target_hw_bp_type},
455 defined by @file{breakpoint.h} as follows:
456
457 @example
458 enum target_hw_bp_type
459 @{
460 hw_write = 0, /* Common (write) HW watchpoint */
461 hw_read = 1, /* Read HW watchpoint */
462 hw_access = 2, /* Access (read or write) HW watchpoint */
463 hw_execute = 3 /* Execute HW breakpoint */
464 @};
465 @end example
466
467 @noindent
468 These two macros should return 0 for success, non-zero for failure.
469
470 @cindex insert or remove hardware breakpoint
471 @findex target_remove_hw_breakpoint
472 @findex target_insert_hw_breakpoint
473 @item target_remove_hw_breakpoint (@var{addr}, @var{shadow})
474 @itemx target_insert_hw_breakpoint (@var{addr}, @var{shadow})
475 Insert or remove a hardware-assisted breakpoint at address @var{addr}.
476 Returns zero for success, non-zero for failure. @var{shadow} is the
477 real contents of the byte where the breakpoint has been inserted; it
478 is generally not valid when hardware breakpoints are used, but since
479 no other code touches these values, the implementations of the above
480 two macros can use them for their internal purposes.
481
482 @findex target_stopped_data_address
483 @item target_stopped_data_address ()
484 If the inferior has some watchpoint that triggered, return the address
485 associated with that watchpoint. Otherwise, return zero.
486
487 @findex DECR_PC_AFTER_HW_BREAK
488 @item DECR_PC_AFTER_HW_BREAK
489 If defined, @value{GDBN} decrements the program counter by the value
490 of @code{DECR_PC_AFTER_HW_BREAK} after a hardware break-point. This
491 overrides the value of @code{DECR_PC_AFTER_BREAK} when a breakpoint
492 that breaks is a hardware-assisted breakpoint.
493
494 @findex HAVE_STEPPABLE_WATCHPOINT
495 @item HAVE_STEPPABLE_WATCHPOINT
496 If defined to a non-zero value, it is not necessary to disable a
497 watchpoint to step over it.
498
499 @findex HAVE_NONSTEPPABLE_WATCHPOINT
500 @item HAVE_NONSTEPPABLE_WATCHPOINT
501 If defined to a non-zero value, @value{GDBN} should disable a
502 watchpoint to step the inferior over it.
503
504 @findex HAVE_CONTINUABLE_WATCHPOINT
505 @item HAVE_CONTINUABLE_WATCHPOINT
506 If defined to a non-zero value, it is possible to continue the
507 inferior after a watchpoint has been hit.
508
509 @findex CANNOT_STEP_HW_WATCHPOINTS
510 @item CANNOT_STEP_HW_WATCHPOINTS
511 If this is defined to a non-zero value, @value{GDBN} will remove all
512 watchpoints before stepping the inferior.
513
514 @findex STOPPED_BY_WATCHPOINT
515 @item STOPPED_BY_WATCHPOINT (@var{wait_status})
516 Return non-zero if stopped by a watchpoint. @var{wait_status} is of
517 the type @code{struct target_waitstatus}, defined by @file{target.h}.
518 @end table
519
520 @subsection x86 Watchpoints
521 @cindex x86 debug registers
522 @cindex watchpoints, on x86
523
524 The 32-bit Intel x86 (a.k.a.@: ia32) processors feature special debug
525 registers designed to facilitate debugging. @value{GDBN} provides a
526 generic library of functions that x86-based ports can use to implement
527 support for watchpoints and hardware-assisted breakpoints. This
528 subsection documents the x86 watchpoint facilities in @value{GDBN}.
529
530 To use the generic x86 watchpoint support, a port should do the
531 following:
532
533 @itemize @bullet
534 @findex I386_USE_GENERIC_WATCHPOINTS
535 @item
536 Define the macro @code{I386_USE_GENERIC_WATCHPOINTS} somewhere in the
537 target-dependent headers.
538
539 @item
540 Include the @file{config/i386/nm-i386.h} header file @emph{after}
541 defining @code{I386_USE_GENERIC_WATCHPOINTS}.
542
543 @item
544 Add @file{i386-nat.o} to the value of the Make variable
545 @code{NATDEPFILES} (@pxref{Native Debugging, NATDEPFILES}) or
546 @code{TDEPFILES} (@pxref{Target Architecture Definition, TDEPFILES}).
547
548 @item
549 Provide implementations for the @code{I386_DR_LOW_*} macros described
550 below. Typically, each macro should call a target-specific function
551 which does the real work.
552 @end itemize
553
554 The x86 watchpoint support works by maintaining mirror images of the
555 debug registers. Values are copied between the mirror images and the
556 real debug registers via a set of macros which each target needs to
557 provide:
558
559 @table @code
560 @findex I386_DR_LOW_SET_CONTROL
561 @item I386_DR_LOW_SET_CONTROL (@var{val})
562 Set the Debug Control (DR7) register to the value @var{val}.
563
564 @findex I386_DR_LOW_SET_ADDR
565 @item I386_DR_LOW_SET_ADDR (@var{idx}, @var{addr})
566 Put the address @var{addr} into the debug register number @var{idx}.
567
568 @findex I386_DR_LOW_RESET_ADDR
569 @item I386_DR_LOW_RESET_ADDR (@var{idx})
570 Reset (i.e.@: zero out) the address stored in the debug register
571 number @var{idx}.
572
573 @findex I386_DR_LOW_GET_STATUS
574 @item I386_DR_LOW_GET_STATUS
575 Return the value of the Debug Status (DR6) register. This value is
576 used immediately after it is returned by
577 @code{I386_DR_LOW_GET_STATUS}, so as to support per-thread status
578 register values.
579 @end table
580
581 For each one of the 4 debug registers (whose indices are from 0 to 3)
582 that store addresses, a reference count is maintained by @value{GDBN},
583 to allow sharing of debug registers by several watchpoints. This
584 allows users to define several watchpoints that watch the same
585 expression, but with different conditions and/or commands, without
586 wasting debug registers which are in short supply. @value{GDBN}
587 maintains the reference counts internally, targets don't have to do
588 anything to use this feature.
589
590 The x86 debug registers can each watch a region that is 1, 2, or 4
591 bytes long. The ia32 architecture requires that each watched region
592 be appropriately aligned: 2-byte region on 2-byte boundary, 4-byte
593 region on 4-byte boundary. However, the x86 watchpoint support in
594 @value{GDBN} can watch unaligned regions and regions larger than 4
595 bytes (up to 16 bytes) by allocating several debug registers to watch
596 a single region. This allocation of several registers per a watched
597 region is also done automatically without target code intervention.
598
599 The generic x86 watchpoint support provides the following API for the
600 @value{GDBN}'s application code:
601
602 @table @code
603 @findex i386_region_ok_for_watchpoint
604 @item i386_region_ok_for_watchpoint (@var{addr}, @var{len})
605 The macro @code{TARGET_REGION_OK_FOR_HW_WATCHPOINT} is set to call
606 this function. It counts the number of debug registers required to
607 watch a given region, and returns a non-zero value if that number is
608 less than 4, the number of debug registers available to x86
609 processors.
610
611 @findex i386_stopped_data_address
612 @item i386_stopped_data_address (void)
613 The macros @code{STOPPED_BY_WATCHPOINT} and
614 @code{target_stopped_data_address} are set to call this function. The
615 argument passed to @code{STOPPED_BY_WATCHPOINT} is ignored. This
616 function examines the breakpoint condition bits in the DR6 Debug
617 Status register, as returned by the @code{I386_DR_LOW_GET_STATUS}
618 macro, and returns the address associated with the first bit that is
619 set in DR6.
620
621 @findex i386_insert_watchpoint
622 @findex i386_remove_watchpoint
623 @item i386_insert_watchpoint (@var{addr}, @var{len}, @var{type})
624 @itemx i386_remove_watchpoint (@var{addr}, @var{len}, @var{type})
625 Insert or remove a watchpoint. The macros
626 @code{target_insert_watchpoint} and @code{target_remove_watchpoint}
627 are set to call these functions. @code{i386_insert_watchpoint} first
628 looks for a debug register which is already set to watch the same
629 region for the same access types; if found, it just increments the
630 reference count of that debug register, thus implementing debug
631 register sharing between watchpoints. If no such register is found,
632 the function looks for a vacant debug register, sets its mirrorred
633 value to @var{addr}, sets the mirrorred value of DR7 Debug Control
634 register as appropriate for the @var{len} and @var{type} parameters,
635 and then passes the new values of the debug register and DR7 to the
636 inferior by calling @code{I386_DR_LOW_SET_ADDR} and
637 @code{I386_DR_LOW_SET_CONTROL}. If more than one debug register is
638 required to cover the given region, the above process is repeated for
639 each debug register.
640
641 @code{i386_remove_watchpoint} does the opposite: it resets the address
642 in the mirrorred value of the debug register and its read/write and
643 length bits in the mirrorred value of DR7, then passes these new
644 values to the inferior via @code{I386_DR_LOW_RESET_ADDR} and
645 @code{I386_DR_LOW_SET_CONTROL}. If a register is shared by several
646 watchpoints, each time a @code{i386_remove_watchpoint} is called, it
647 decrements the reference count, and only calls
648 @code{I386_DR_LOW_RESET_ADDR} and @code{I386_DR_LOW_SET_CONTROL} when
649 the count goes to zero.
650
651 @findex i386_insert_hw_breakpoint
652 @findex i386_remove_hw_breakpoint
653 @item i386_insert_hw_breakpoint (@var{addr}, @var{shadow}
654 @itemx i386_remove_hw_breakpoint (@var{addr}, @var{shadow})
655 These functions insert and remove hardware-assisted breakpoints. The
656 macros @code{target_insert_hw_breakpoint} and
657 @code{target_remove_hw_breakpoint} are set to call these functions.
658 These functions work like @code{i386_insert_watchpoint} and
659 @code{i386_remove_watchpoint}, respectively, except that they set up
660 the debug registers to watch instruction execution, and each
661 hardware-assisted breakpoint always requires exactly one debug
662 register.
663
664 @findex i386_stopped_by_hwbp
665 @item i386_stopped_by_hwbp (void)
666 This function returns non-zero if the inferior has some watchpoint or
667 hardware breakpoint that triggered. It works like
668 @code{i386_stopped_data_address}, except that it doesn't return the
669 address whose watchpoint triggered.
670
671 @findex i386_cleanup_dregs
672 @item i386_cleanup_dregs (void)
673 This function clears all the reference counts, addresses, and control
674 bits in the mirror images of the debug registers. It doesn't affect
675 the actual debug registers in the inferior process.
676 @end table
677
678 @noindent
679 @strong{Notes:}
680 @enumerate 1
681 @item
682 x86 processors support setting watchpoints on I/O reads or writes.
683 However, since no target supports this (as of March 2001), and since
684 @code{enum target_hw_bp_type} doesn't even have an enumeration for I/O
685 watchpoints, this feature is not yet available to @value{GDBN} running
686 on x86.
687
688 @item
689 x86 processors can enable watchpoints locally, for the current task
690 only, or globally, for all the tasks. For each debug register,
691 there's a bit in the DR7 Debug Control register that determines
692 whether the associated address is watched locally or globally. The
693 current implementation of x86 watchpoint support in @value{GDBN}
694 always sets watchpoints to be locally enabled, since global
695 watchpoints might interfere with the underlying OS and are probably
696 unavailable in many platforms.
697 @end enumerate
698
699 @node User Interface
700
701 @chapter User Interface
702
703 @value{GDBN} has several user interfaces. Although the command-line interface
704 is the most common and most familiar, there are others.
705
706 @section Command Interpreter
707
708 @cindex command interpreter
709 @cindex CLI
710 The command interpreter in @value{GDBN} is fairly simple. It is designed to
711 allow for the set of commands to be augmented dynamically, and also
712 has a recursive subcommand capability, where the first argument to
713 a command may itself direct a lookup on a different command list.
714
715 For instance, the @samp{set} command just starts a lookup on the
716 @code{setlist} command list, while @samp{set thread} recurses
717 to the @code{set_thread_cmd_list}.
718
719 @findex add_cmd
720 @findex add_com
721 To add commands in general, use @code{add_cmd}. @code{add_com} adds to
722 the main command list, and should be used for those commands. The usual
723 place to add commands is in the @code{_initialize_@var{xyz}} routines at
724 the ends of most source files.
725
726 @cindex deprecating commands
727 @findex deprecate_cmd
728 Before removing commands from the command set it is a good idea to
729 deprecate them for some time. Use @code{deprecate_cmd} on commands or
730 aliases to set the deprecated flag. @code{deprecate_cmd} takes a
731 @code{struct cmd_list_element} as it's first argument. You can use the
732 return value from @code{add_com} or @code{add_cmd} to deprecate the
733 command immediately after it is created.
734
735 The first time a command is used the user will be warned and offered a
736 replacement (if one exists). Note that the replacement string passed to
737 @code{deprecate_cmd} should be the full name of the command, i.e. the
738 entire string the user should type at the command line.
739
740 @section UI-Independent Output---the @code{ui_out} Functions
741 @c This section is based on the documentation written by Fernando
742 @c Nasser <fnasser@redhat.com>.
743
744 @cindex @code{ui_out} functions
745 The @code{ui_out} functions present an abstraction level for the
746 @value{GDBN} output code. They hide the specifics of different user
747 interfaces supported by @value{GDBN}, and thus free the programmer
748 from the need to write several versions of the same code, one each for
749 every UI, to produce output.
750
751 @subsection Overview and Terminology
752
753 In general, execution of each @value{GDBN} command produces some sort
754 of output, and can even generate an input request.
755
756 Output can be generated for the following purposes:
757
758 @itemize @bullet
759 @item
760 to display a @emph{result} of an operation;
761
762 @item
763 to convey @emph{info} or produce side-effects of a requested
764 operation;
765
766 @item
767 to provide a @emph{notification} of an asynchronous event (including
768 progress indication of a prolonged asynchronous operation);
769
770 @item
771 to display @emph{error messages} (including warnings);
772
773 @item
774 to show @emph{debug data};
775
776 @item
777 to @emph{query} or prompt a user for input (a special case).
778 @end itemize
779
780 @noindent
781 This section mainly concentrates on how to build result output,
782 although some of it also applies to other kinds of output.
783
784 Generation of output that displays the results of an operation
785 involves one or more of the following:
786
787 @itemize @bullet
788 @item
789 output of the actual data
790
791 @item
792 formatting the output as appropriate for console output, to make it
793 easily readable by humans
794
795 @item
796 machine oriented formatting--a more terse formatting to allow for easy
797 parsing by programs which read @value{GDBN}'s output
798
799 @item
800 annotation, whose purpose is to help legacy GUIs to identify interesting
801 parts in the output
802 @end itemize
803
804 The @code{ui_out} routines take care of the first three aspects.
805 Annotations are provided by separate annotation routines. Note that use
806 of annotations for an interface between a GUI and @value{GDBN} is
807 deprecated.
808
809 Output can be in the form of a single item, which we call a @dfn{field};
810 a @dfn{list} consisting of identical fields; a @dfn{tuple} consisting of
811 non-identical fields; or a @dfn{table}, which is a tuple consisting of a
812 header and a body. In a BNF-like form:
813
814 @table @code
815 @item <table> @expansion{}
816 @code{<header> <body>}
817 @item <header> @expansion{}
818 @code{@{ <column> @}}
819 @item <column> @expansion{}
820 @code{<width> <alignment> <title>}
821 @item <body> @expansion{}
822 @code{@{<row>@}}
823 @end table
824
825
826 @subsection General Conventions
827
828 Most @code{ui_out} routines are of type @code{void}, the exceptions are
829 @code{ui_out_stream_new} (which returns a pointer to the newly created
830 object) and the @code{make_cleanup} routines.
831
832 The first parameter is always the @code{ui_out} vector object, a pointer
833 to a @code{struct ui_out}.
834
835 The @var{format} parameter is like in @code{printf} family of functions.
836 When it is present, there must also be a variable list of arguments
837 sufficient used to satisfy the @code{%} specifiers in the supplied
838 format.
839
840 When a character string argument is not used in a @code{ui_out} function
841 call, a @code{NULL} pointer has to be supplied instead.
842
843
844 @subsection Table, Tuple and List Functions
845
846 @cindex list output functions
847 @cindex table output functions
848 @cindex tuple output functions
849 This section introduces @code{ui_out} routines for building lists,
850 tuples and tables. The routines to output the actual data items
851 (fields) are presented in the next section.
852
853 To recap: A @dfn{tuple} is a sequence of @dfn{fields}, each field
854 containing information about an object; a @dfn{list} is a sequence of
855 fields where each field describes an identical object.
856
857 Use the @dfn{table} functions when your output consists of a list of
858 rows (tuples) and the console output should include a heading. Use this
859 even when you are listing just one object but you still want the header.
860
861 @cindex nesting level in @code{ui_out} functions
862 Tables can not be nested. Tuples and lists can be nested up to a
863 maximum of five levels.
864
865 The overall structure of the table output code is something like this:
866
867 @example
868 ui_out_table_begin
869 ui_out_table_header
870 @dots{}
871 ui_out_table_body
872 ui_out_tuple_begin
873 ui_out_field_*
874 @dots{}
875 ui_out_tuple_end
876 @dots{}
877 ui_out_table_end
878 @end example
879
880 Here is the description of table-, tuple- and list-related @code{ui_out}
881 functions:
882
883 @deftypefun void ui_out_table_begin (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, int @var{nbrofcols}, int @var{nr_rows}, const char *@var{tblid})
884 The function @code{ui_out_table_begin} marks the beginning of the output
885 of a table. It should always be called before any other @code{ui_out}
886 function for a given table. @var{nbrofcols} is the number of columns in
887 the table. @var{nr_rows} is the number of rows in the table.
888 @var{tblid} is an optional string identifying the table. The string
889 pointed to by @var{tblid} is copied by the implementation of
890 @code{ui_out_table_begin}, so the application can free the string if it
891 was @code{malloc}ed.
892
893 The companion function @code{ui_out_table_end}, described below, marks
894 the end of the table's output.
895 @end deftypefun
896
897 @deftypefun void ui_out_table_header (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, int @var{width}, enum ui_align @var{alignment}, const char *@var{colhdr})
898 @code{ui_out_table_header} provides the header information for a single
899 table column. You call this function several times, one each for every
900 column of the table, after @code{ui_out_table_begin}, but before
901 @code{ui_out_table_body}.
902
903 The value of @var{width} gives the column width in characters. The
904 value of @var{alignment} is one of @code{left}, @code{center}, and
905 @code{right}, and it specifies how to align the header: left-justify,
906 center, or right-justify it. @var{colhdr} points to a string that
907 specifies the column header; the implementation copies that string, so
908 column header strings in @code{malloc}ed storage can be freed after the
909 call.
910 @end deftypefun
911
912 @deftypefun void ui_out_table_body (struct ui_out *@var{uiout})
913 This function delimits the table header from the table body.
914 @end deftypefun
915
916 @deftypefun void ui_out_table_end (struct ui_out *@var{uiout})
917 This function signals the end of a table's output. It should be called
918 after the table body has been produced by the list and field output
919 functions.
920
921 There should be exactly one call to @code{ui_out_table_end} for each
922 call to @code{ui_out_table_begin}, otherwise the @code{ui_out} functions
923 will signal an internal error.
924 @end deftypefun
925
926 The output of the tuples that represent the table rows must follow the
927 call to @code{ui_out_table_body} and precede the call to
928 @code{ui_out_table_end}. You build a tuple by calling
929 @code{ui_out_tuple_begin} and @code{ui_out_tuple_end}, with suitable
930 calls to functions which actually output fields between them.
931
932 @deftypefun void ui_out_tuple_begin (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, const char *@var{id})
933 This function marks the beginning of a tuple output. @var{id} points
934 to an optional string that identifies the tuple; it is copied by the
935 implementation, and so strings in @code{malloc}ed storage can be freed
936 after the call.
937 @end deftypefun
938
939 @deftypefun void ui_out_tuple_end (struct ui_out *@var{uiout})
940 This function signals an end of a tuple output. There should be exactly
941 one call to @code{ui_out_tuple_end} for each call to
942 @code{ui_out_tuple_begin}, otherwise an internal @value{GDBN} error will
943 be signaled.
944 @end deftypefun
945
946 @deftypefun struct cleanup *make_cleanup_ui_out_tuple_begin_end (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, const char *@var{id})
947 This function first opens the tuple and then establishes a cleanup
948 (@pxref{Coding, Cleanups}) to close the tuple. It provides a convenient
949 and correct implementation of the non-portable@footnote{The function
950 cast is not portable ISO-C.} code sequence:
951 @smallexample
952 struct cleanup *old_cleanup;
953 ui_out_tuple_begin (uiout, "...");
954 old_cleanup = make_cleanup ((void(*)(void *)) ui_out_tuple_end,
955 uiout);
956 @end smallexample
957 @end deftypefun
958
959 @deftypefun void ui_out_list_begin (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, const char *@var{id})
960 This function marks the beginning of a list output. @var{id} points to
961 an optional string that identifies the list; it is copied by the
962 implementation, and so strings in @code{malloc}ed storage can be freed
963 after the call.
964 @end deftypefun
965
966 @deftypefun void ui_out_list_end (struct ui_out *@var{uiout})
967 This function signals an end of a list output. There should be exactly
968 one call to @code{ui_out_list_end} for each call to
969 @code{ui_out_list_begin}, otherwise an internal @value{GDBN} error will
970 be signaled.
971 @end deftypefun
972
973 @deftypefun struct cleanup *make_cleanup_ui_out_list_begin_end (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, const char *@var{id})
974 Similar to @code{make_cleanup_ui_out_tuple_begin_end}, this function
975 opens a list and then establishes cleanup (@pxref{Coding, Cleanups})
976 that will close the list.list.
977 @end deftypefun
978
979 @subsection Item Output Functions
980
981 @cindex item output functions
982 @cindex field output functions
983 @cindex data output
984 The functions described below produce output for the actual data
985 items, or fields, which contain information about the object.
986
987 Choose the appropriate function accordingly to your particular needs.
988
989 @deftypefun void ui_out_field_fmt (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, char *@var{fldname}, char *@var{format}, ...)
990 This is the most general output function. It produces the
991 representation of the data in the variable-length argument list
992 according to formatting specifications in @var{format}, a
993 @code{printf}-like format string. The optional argument @var{fldname}
994 supplies the name of the field. The data items themselves are
995 supplied as additional arguments after @var{format}.
996
997 This generic function should be used only when it is not possible to
998 use one of the specialized versions (see below).
999 @end deftypefun
1000
1001 @deftypefun void ui_out_field_int (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, const char *@var{fldname}, int @var{value})
1002 This function outputs a value of an @code{int} variable. It uses the
1003 @code{"%d"} output conversion specification. @var{fldname} specifies
1004 the name of the field.
1005 @end deftypefun
1006
1007 @deftypefun void ui_out_field_core_addr (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, const char *@var{fldname}, CORE_ADDR @var{address})
1008 This function outputs an address.
1009 @end deftypefun
1010
1011 @deftypefun void ui_out_field_string (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, const char *@var{fldname}, const char *@var{string})
1012 This function outputs a string using the @code{"%s"} conversion
1013 specification.
1014 @end deftypefun
1015
1016 Sometimes, there's a need to compose your output piece by piece using
1017 functions that operate on a stream, such as @code{value_print} or
1018 @code{fprintf_symbol_filtered}. These functions accept an argument of
1019 the type @code{struct ui_file *}, a pointer to a @code{ui_file} object
1020 used to store the data stream used for the output. When you use one
1021 of these functions, you need a way to pass their results stored in a
1022 @code{ui_file} object to the @code{ui_out} functions. To this end,
1023 you first create a @code{ui_stream} object by calling
1024 @code{ui_out_stream_new}, pass the @code{stream} member of that
1025 @code{ui_stream} object to @code{value_print} and similar functions,
1026 and finally call @code{ui_out_field_stream} to output the field you
1027 constructed. When the @code{ui_stream} object is no longer needed,
1028 you should destroy it and free its memory by calling
1029 @code{ui_out_stream_delete}.
1030
1031 @deftypefun struct ui_stream *ui_out_stream_new (struct ui_out *@var{uiout})
1032 This function creates a new @code{ui_stream} object which uses the
1033 same output methods as the @code{ui_out} object whose pointer is
1034 passed in @var{uiout}. It returns a pointer to the newly created
1035 @code{ui_stream} object.
1036 @end deftypefun
1037
1038 @deftypefun void ui_out_stream_delete (struct ui_stream *@var{streambuf})
1039 This functions destroys a @code{ui_stream} object specified by
1040 @var{streambuf}.
1041 @end deftypefun
1042
1043 @deftypefun void ui_out_field_stream (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, const char *@var{fieldname}, struct ui_stream *@var{streambuf})
1044 This function consumes all the data accumulated in
1045 @code{streambuf->stream} and outputs it like
1046 @code{ui_out_field_string} does. After a call to
1047 @code{ui_out_field_stream}, the accumulated data no longer exists, but
1048 the stream is still valid and may be used for producing more fields.
1049 @end deftypefun
1050
1051 @strong{Important:} If there is any chance that your code could bail
1052 out before completing output generation and reaching the point where
1053 @code{ui_out_stream_delete} is called, it is necessary to set up a
1054 cleanup, to avoid leaking memory and other resources. Here's a
1055 skeleton code to do that:
1056
1057 @smallexample
1058 struct ui_stream *mybuf = ui_out_stream_new (uiout);
1059 struct cleanup *old = make_cleanup (ui_out_stream_delete, mybuf);
1060 ...
1061 do_cleanups (old);
1062 @end smallexample
1063
1064 If the function already has the old cleanup chain set (for other kinds
1065 of cleanups), you just have to add your cleanup to it:
1066
1067 @smallexample
1068 mybuf = ui_out_stream_new (uiout);
1069 make_cleanup (ui_out_stream_delete, mybuf);
1070 @end smallexample
1071
1072 Note that with cleanups in place, you should not call
1073 @code{ui_out_stream_delete} directly, or you would attempt to free the
1074 same buffer twice.
1075
1076 @subsection Utility Output Functions
1077
1078 @deftypefun void ui_out_field_skip (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, const char *@var{fldname})
1079 This function skips a field in a table. Use it if you have to leave
1080 an empty field without disrupting the table alignment. The argument
1081 @var{fldname} specifies a name for the (missing) filed.
1082 @end deftypefun
1083
1084 @deftypefun void ui_out_text (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, const char *@var{string})
1085 This function outputs the text in @var{string} in a way that makes it
1086 easy to be read by humans. For example, the console implementation of
1087 this method filters the text through a built-in pager, to prevent it
1088 from scrolling off the visible portion of the screen.
1089
1090 Use this function for printing relatively long chunks of text around
1091 the actual field data: the text it produces is not aligned according
1092 to the table's format. Use @code{ui_out_field_string} to output a
1093 string field, and use @code{ui_out_message}, described below, to
1094 output short messages.
1095 @end deftypefun
1096
1097 @deftypefun void ui_out_spaces (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, int @var{nspaces})
1098 This function outputs @var{nspaces} spaces. It is handy to align the
1099 text produced by @code{ui_out_text} with the rest of the table or
1100 list.
1101 @end deftypefun
1102
1103 @deftypefun void ui_out_message (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, int @var{verbosity}, const char *@var{format}, ...)
1104 This function produces a formatted message, provided that the current
1105 verbosity level is at least as large as given by @var{verbosity}. The
1106 current verbosity level is specified by the user with the @samp{set
1107 verbositylevel} command.@footnote{As of this writing (April 2001),
1108 setting verbosity level is not yet implemented, and is always returned
1109 as zero. So calling @code{ui_out_message} with a @var{verbosity}
1110 argument more than zero will cause the message to never be printed.}
1111 @end deftypefun
1112
1113 @deftypefun void ui_out_wrap_hint (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, char *@var{indent})
1114 This function gives the console output filter (a paging filter) a hint
1115 of where to break lines which are too long. Ignored for all other
1116 output consumers. @var{indent}, if non-@code{NULL}, is the string to
1117 be printed to indent the wrapped text on the next line; it must remain
1118 accessible until the next call to @code{ui_out_wrap_hint}, or until an
1119 explicit newline is produced by one of the other functions. If
1120 @var{indent} is @code{NULL}, the wrapped text will not be indented.
1121 @end deftypefun
1122
1123 @deftypefun void ui_out_flush (struct ui_out *@var{uiout})
1124 This function flushes whatever output has been accumulated so far, if
1125 the UI buffers output.
1126 @end deftypefun
1127
1128
1129 @subsection Examples of Use of @code{ui_out} functions
1130
1131 @cindex using @code{ui_out} functions
1132 @cindex @code{ui_out} functions, usage examples
1133 This section gives some practical examples of using the @code{ui_out}
1134 functions to generalize the old console-oriented code in
1135 @value{GDBN}. The examples all come from functions defined on the
1136 @file{breakpoints.c} file.
1137
1138 This example, from the @code{breakpoint_1} function, shows how to
1139 produce a table.
1140
1141 The original code was:
1142
1143 @example
1144 if (!found_a_breakpoint++)
1145 @{
1146 annotate_breakpoints_headers ();
1147
1148 annotate_field (0);
1149 printf_filtered ("Num ");
1150 annotate_field (1);
1151 printf_filtered ("Type ");
1152 annotate_field (2);
1153 printf_filtered ("Disp ");
1154 annotate_field (3);
1155 printf_filtered ("Enb ");
1156 if (addressprint)
1157 @{
1158 annotate_field (4);
1159 printf_filtered ("Address ");
1160 @}
1161 annotate_field (5);
1162 printf_filtered ("What\n");
1163
1164 annotate_breakpoints_table ();
1165 @}
1166 @end example
1167
1168 Here's the new version:
1169
1170 @example
1171 nr_printable_breakpoints = @dots{};
1172
1173 if (addressprint)
1174 ui_out_table_begin (ui, 6, nr_printable_breakpoints, "BreakpointTable");
1175 else
1176 ui_out_table_begin (ui, 5, nr_printable_breakpoints, "BreakpointTable");
1177
1178 if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
1179 annotate_breakpoints_headers ();
1180 if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
1181 annotate_field (0);
1182 ui_out_table_header (uiout, 3, ui_left, "number", "Num"); /* 1 */
1183 if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
1184 annotate_field (1);
1185 ui_out_table_header (uiout, 14, ui_left, "type", "Type"); /* 2 */
1186 if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
1187 annotate_field (2);
1188 ui_out_table_header (uiout, 4, ui_left, "disp", "Disp"); /* 3 */
1189 if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
1190 annotate_field (3);
1191 ui_out_table_header (uiout, 3, ui_left, "enabled", "Enb"); /* 4 */
1192 if (addressprint)
1193 @{
1194 if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
1195 annotate_field (4);
1196 if (TARGET_ADDR_BIT <= 32)
1197 ui_out_table_header (uiout, 10, ui_left, "addr", "Address");/* 5 */
1198 else
1199 ui_out_table_header (uiout, 18, ui_left, "addr", "Address");/* 5 */
1200 @}
1201 if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
1202 annotate_field (5);
1203 ui_out_table_header (uiout, 40, ui_noalign, "what", "What"); /* 6 */
1204 ui_out_table_body (uiout);
1205 if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
1206 annotate_breakpoints_table ();
1207 @end example
1208
1209 This example, from the @code{print_one_breakpoint} function, shows how
1210 to produce the actual data for the table whose structure was defined
1211 in the above example. The original code was:
1212
1213 @example
1214 annotate_record ();
1215 annotate_field (0);
1216 printf_filtered ("%-3d ", b->number);
1217 annotate_field (1);
1218 if ((int)b->type > (sizeof(bptypes)/sizeof(bptypes[0]))
1219 || ((int) b->type != bptypes[(int) b->type].type))
1220 internal_error ("bptypes table does not describe type #%d.",
1221 (int)b->type);
1222 printf_filtered ("%-14s ", bptypes[(int)b->type].description);
1223 annotate_field (2);
1224 printf_filtered ("%-4s ", bpdisps[(int)b->disposition]);
1225 annotate_field (3);
1226 printf_filtered ("%-3c ", bpenables[(int)b->enable]);
1227 @dots{}
1228 @end example
1229
1230 This is the new version:
1231
1232 @example
1233 annotate_record ();
1234 ui_out_tuple_begin (uiout, "bkpt");
1235 annotate_field (0);
1236 ui_out_field_int (uiout, "number", b->number);
1237 annotate_field (1);
1238 if (((int) b->type > (sizeof (bptypes) / sizeof (bptypes[0])))
1239 || ((int) b->type != bptypes[(int) b->type].type))
1240 internal_error ("bptypes table does not describe type #%d.",
1241 (int) b->type);
1242 ui_out_field_string (uiout, "type", bptypes[(int)b->type].description);
1243 annotate_field (2);
1244 ui_out_field_string (uiout, "disp", bpdisps[(int)b->disposition]);
1245 annotate_field (3);
1246 ui_out_field_fmt (uiout, "enabled", "%c", bpenables[(int)b->enable]);
1247 @dots{}
1248 @end example
1249
1250 This example, also from @code{print_one_breakpoint}, shows how to
1251 produce a complicated output field using the @code{print_expression}
1252 functions which requires a stream to be passed. It also shows how to
1253 automate stream destruction with cleanups. The original code was:
1254
1255 @example
1256 annotate_field (5);
1257 print_expression (b->exp, gdb_stdout);
1258 @end example
1259
1260 The new version is:
1261
1262 @example
1263 struct ui_stream *stb = ui_out_stream_new (uiout);
1264 struct cleanup *old_chain = make_cleanup_ui_out_stream_delete (stb);
1265 ...
1266 annotate_field (5);
1267 print_expression (b->exp, stb->stream);
1268 ui_out_field_stream (uiout, "what", local_stream);
1269 @end example
1270
1271 This example, also from @code{print_one_breakpoint}, shows how to use
1272 @code{ui_out_text} and @code{ui_out_field_string}. The original code
1273 was:
1274
1275 @example
1276 annotate_field (5);
1277 if (b->dll_pathname == NULL)
1278 printf_filtered ("<any library> ");
1279 else
1280 printf_filtered ("library \"%s\" ", b->dll_pathname);
1281 @end example
1282
1283 It became:
1284
1285 @example
1286 annotate_field (5);
1287 if (b->dll_pathname == NULL)
1288 @{
1289 ui_out_field_string (uiout, "what", "<any library>");
1290 ui_out_spaces (uiout, 1);
1291 @}
1292 else
1293 @{
1294 ui_out_text (uiout, "library \"");
1295 ui_out_field_string (uiout, "what", b->dll_pathname);
1296 ui_out_text (uiout, "\" ");
1297 @}
1298 @end example
1299
1300 The following example from @code{print_one_breakpoint} shows how to
1301 use @code{ui_out_field_int} and @code{ui_out_spaces}. The original
1302 code was:
1303
1304 @example
1305 annotate_field (5);
1306 if (b->forked_inferior_pid != 0)
1307 printf_filtered ("process %d ", b->forked_inferior_pid);
1308 @end example
1309
1310 It became:
1311
1312 @example
1313 annotate_field (5);
1314 if (b->forked_inferior_pid != 0)
1315 @{
1316 ui_out_text (uiout, "process ");
1317 ui_out_field_int (uiout, "what", b->forked_inferior_pid);
1318 ui_out_spaces (uiout, 1);
1319 @}
1320 @end example
1321
1322 Here's an example of using @code{ui_out_field_string}. The original
1323 code was:
1324
1325 @example
1326 annotate_field (5);
1327 if (b->exec_pathname != NULL)
1328 printf_filtered ("program \"%s\" ", b->exec_pathname);
1329 @end example
1330
1331 It became:
1332
1333 @example
1334 annotate_field (5);
1335 if (b->exec_pathname != NULL)
1336 @{
1337 ui_out_text (uiout, "program \"");
1338 ui_out_field_string (uiout, "what", b->exec_pathname);
1339 ui_out_text (uiout, "\" ");
1340 @}
1341 @end example
1342
1343 Finally, here's an example of printing an address. The original code:
1344
1345 @example
1346 annotate_field (4);
1347 printf_filtered ("%s ",
1348 local_hex_string_custom ((unsigned long) b->address, "08l"));
1349 @end example
1350
1351 It became:
1352
1353 @example
1354 annotate_field (4);
1355 ui_out_field_core_addr (uiout, "Address", b->address);
1356 @end example
1357
1358
1359 @section Console Printing
1360
1361 @section TUI
1362
1363 @node libgdb
1364
1365 @chapter libgdb
1366
1367 @section libgdb 1.0
1368 @cindex @code{libgdb}
1369 @code{libgdb} 1.0 was an abortive project of years ago. The theory was
1370 to provide an API to @value{GDBN}'s functionality.
1371
1372 @section libgdb 2.0
1373 @cindex @code{libgdb}
1374 @code{libgdb} 2.0 is an ongoing effort to update @value{GDBN} so that is
1375 better able to support graphical and other environments.
1376
1377 Since @code{libgdb} development is on-going, its architecture is still
1378 evolving. The following components have so far been identified:
1379
1380 @itemize @bullet
1381 @item
1382 Observer - @file{gdb-events.h}.
1383 @item
1384 Builder - @file{ui-out.h}
1385 @item
1386 Event Loop - @file{event-loop.h}
1387 @item
1388 Library - @file{gdb.h}
1389 @end itemize
1390
1391 The model that ties these components together is described below.
1392
1393 @section The @code{libgdb} Model
1394
1395 A client of @code{libgdb} interacts with the library in two ways.
1396
1397 @itemize @bullet
1398 @item
1399 As an observer (using @file{gdb-events}) receiving notifications from
1400 @code{libgdb} of any internal state changes (break point changes, run
1401 state, etc).
1402 @item
1403 As a client querying @code{libgdb} (using the @file{ui-out} builder) to
1404 obtain various status values from @value{GDBN}.
1405 @end itemize
1406
1407 Since @code{libgdb} could have multiple clients (e.g. a GUI supporting
1408 the existing @value{GDBN} CLI), those clients must co-operate when
1409 controlling @code{libgdb}. In particular, a client must ensure that
1410 @code{libgdb} is idle (i.e. no other client is using @code{libgdb})
1411 before responding to a @file{gdb-event} by making a query.
1412
1413 @section CLI support
1414
1415 At present @value{GDBN}'s CLI is very much entangled in with the core of
1416 @code{libgdb}. Consequently, a client wishing to include the CLI in
1417 their interface needs to carefully co-ordinate its own and the CLI's
1418 requirements.
1419
1420 It is suggested that the client set @code{libgdb} up to be bi-modal
1421 (alternate between CLI and client query modes). The notes below sketch
1422 out the theory:
1423
1424 @itemize @bullet
1425 @item
1426 The client registers itself as an observer of @code{libgdb}.
1427 @item
1428 The client create and install @code{cli-out} builder using its own
1429 versions of the @code{ui-file} @code{gdb_stderr}, @code{gdb_stdtarg} and
1430 @code{gdb_stdout} streams.
1431 @item
1432 The client creates a separate custom @code{ui-out} builder that is only
1433 used while making direct queries to @code{libgdb}.
1434 @end itemize
1435
1436 When the client receives input intended for the CLI, it simply passes it
1437 along. Since the @code{cli-out} builder is installed by default, all
1438 the CLI output in response to that command is routed (pronounced rooted)
1439 through to the client controlled @code{gdb_stdout} et.@: al.@: streams.
1440 At the same time, the client is kept abreast of internal changes by
1441 virtue of being a @code{libgdb} observer.
1442
1443 The only restriction on the client is that it must wait until
1444 @code{libgdb} becomes idle before initiating any queries (using the
1445 client's custom builder).
1446
1447 @section @code{libgdb} components
1448
1449 @subheading Observer - @file{gdb-events.h}
1450 @file{gdb-events} provides the client with a very raw mechanism that can
1451 be used to implement an observer. At present it only allows for one
1452 observer and that observer must, internally, handle the need to delay
1453 the processing of any event notifications until after @code{libgdb} has
1454 finished the current command.
1455
1456 @subheading Builder - @file{ui-out.h}
1457 @file{ui-out} provides the infrastructure necessary for a client to
1458 create a builder. That builder is then passed down to @code{libgdb}
1459 when doing any queries.
1460
1461 @subheading Event Loop - @file{event-loop.h}
1462 @c There could be an entire section on the event-loop
1463 @file{event-loop}, currently non-re-entrant, provides a simple event
1464 loop. A client would need to either plug its self into this loop or,
1465 implement a new event-loop that GDB would use.
1466
1467 The event-loop will eventually be made re-entrant. This is so that
1468 @value{GDB} can better handle the problem of some commands blocking
1469 instead of returning.
1470
1471 @subheading Library - @file{gdb.h}
1472 @file{libgdb} is the most obvious component of this system. It provides
1473 the query interface. Each function is parameterized by a @code{ui-out}
1474 builder. The result of the query is constructed using that builder
1475 before the query function returns.
1476
1477 @node Symbol Handling
1478
1479 @chapter Symbol Handling
1480
1481 Symbols are a key part of @value{GDBN}'s operation. Symbols include variables,
1482 functions, and types.
1483
1484 @section Symbol Reading
1485
1486 @cindex symbol reading
1487 @cindex reading of symbols
1488 @cindex symbol files
1489 @value{GDBN} reads symbols from @dfn{symbol files}. The usual symbol
1490 file is the file containing the program which @value{GDBN} is
1491 debugging. @value{GDBN} can be directed to use a different file for
1492 symbols (with the @samp{symbol-file} command), and it can also read
1493 more symbols via the @samp{add-file} and @samp{load} commands, or while
1494 reading symbols from shared libraries.
1495
1496 @findex find_sym_fns
1497 Symbol files are initially opened by code in @file{symfile.c} using
1498 the BFD library (@pxref{Support Libraries}). BFD identifies the type
1499 of the file by examining its header. @code{find_sym_fns} then uses
1500 this identification to locate a set of symbol-reading functions.
1501
1502 @findex add_symtab_fns
1503 @cindex @code{sym_fns} structure
1504 @cindex adding a symbol-reading module
1505 Symbol-reading modules identify themselves to @value{GDBN} by calling
1506 @code{add_symtab_fns} during their module initialization. The argument
1507 to @code{add_symtab_fns} is a @code{struct sym_fns} which contains the
1508 name (or name prefix) of the symbol format, the length of the prefix,
1509 and pointers to four functions. These functions are called at various
1510 times to process symbol files whose identification matches the specified
1511 prefix.
1512
1513 The functions supplied by each module are:
1514
1515 @table @code
1516 @item @var{xyz}_symfile_init(struct sym_fns *sf)
1517
1518 @cindex secondary symbol file
1519 Called from @code{symbol_file_add} when we are about to read a new
1520 symbol file. This function should clean up any internal state (possibly
1521 resulting from half-read previous files, for example) and prepare to
1522 read a new symbol file. Note that the symbol file which we are reading
1523 might be a new ``main'' symbol file, or might be a secondary symbol file
1524 whose symbols are being added to the existing symbol table.
1525
1526 The argument to @code{@var{xyz}_symfile_init} is a newly allocated
1527 @code{struct sym_fns} whose @code{bfd} field contains the BFD for the
1528 new symbol file being read. Its @code{private} field has been zeroed,
1529 and can be modified as desired. Typically, a struct of private
1530 information will be @code{malloc}'d, and a pointer to it will be placed
1531 in the @code{private} field.
1532
1533 There is no result from @code{@var{xyz}_symfile_init}, but it can call
1534 @code{error} if it detects an unavoidable problem.
1535
1536 @item @var{xyz}_new_init()
1537
1538 Called from @code{symbol_file_add} when discarding existing symbols.
1539 This function needs only handle the symbol-reading module's internal
1540 state; the symbol table data structures visible to the rest of
1541 @value{GDBN} will be discarded by @code{symbol_file_add}. It has no
1542 arguments and no result. It may be called after
1543 @code{@var{xyz}_symfile_init}, if a new symbol table is being read, or
1544 may be called alone if all symbols are simply being discarded.
1545
1546 @item @var{xyz}_symfile_read(struct sym_fns *sf, CORE_ADDR addr, int mainline)
1547
1548 Called from @code{symbol_file_add} to actually read the symbols from a
1549 symbol-file into a set of psymtabs or symtabs.
1550
1551 @code{sf} points to the @code{struct sym_fns} originally passed to
1552 @code{@var{xyz}_sym_init} for possible initialization. @code{addr} is
1553 the offset between the file's specified start address and its true
1554 address in memory. @code{mainline} is 1 if this is the main symbol
1555 table being read, and 0 if a secondary symbol file (e.g. shared library
1556 or dynamically loaded file) is being read.@refill
1557 @end table
1558
1559 In addition, if a symbol-reading module creates psymtabs when
1560 @var{xyz}_symfile_read is called, these psymtabs will contain a pointer
1561 to a function @code{@var{xyz}_psymtab_to_symtab}, which can be called
1562 from any point in the @value{GDBN} symbol-handling code.
1563
1564 @table @code
1565 @item @var{xyz}_psymtab_to_symtab (struct partial_symtab *pst)
1566
1567 Called from @code{psymtab_to_symtab} (or the @code{PSYMTAB_TO_SYMTAB} macro) if
1568 the psymtab has not already been read in and had its @code{pst->symtab}
1569 pointer set. The argument is the psymtab to be fleshed-out into a
1570 symtab. Upon return, @code{pst->readin} should have been set to 1, and
1571 @code{pst->symtab} should contain a pointer to the new corresponding symtab, or
1572 zero if there were no symbols in that part of the symbol file.
1573 @end table
1574
1575 @section Partial Symbol Tables
1576
1577 @value{GDBN} has three types of symbol tables:
1578
1579 @itemize @bullet
1580 @cindex full symbol table
1581 @cindex symtabs
1582 @item
1583 Full symbol tables (@dfn{symtabs}). These contain the main
1584 information about symbols and addresses.
1585
1586 @cindex psymtabs
1587 @item
1588 Partial symbol tables (@dfn{psymtabs}). These contain enough
1589 information to know when to read the corresponding part of the full
1590 symbol table.
1591
1592 @cindex minimal symbol table
1593 @cindex minsymtabs
1594 @item
1595 Minimal symbol tables (@dfn{msymtabs}). These contain information
1596 gleaned from non-debugging symbols.
1597 @end itemize
1598
1599 @cindex partial symbol table
1600 This section describes partial symbol tables.
1601
1602 A psymtab is constructed by doing a very quick pass over an executable
1603 file's debugging information. Small amounts of information are
1604 extracted---enough to identify which parts of the symbol table will
1605 need to be re-read and fully digested later, when the user needs the
1606 information. The speed of this pass causes @value{GDBN} to start up very
1607 quickly. Later, as the detailed rereading occurs, it occurs in small
1608 pieces, at various times, and the delay therefrom is mostly invisible to
1609 the user.
1610 @c (@xref{Symbol Reading}.)
1611
1612 The symbols that show up in a file's psymtab should be, roughly, those
1613 visible to the debugger's user when the program is not running code from
1614 that file. These include external symbols and types, static symbols and
1615 types, and @code{enum} values declared at file scope.
1616
1617 The psymtab also contains the range of instruction addresses that the
1618 full symbol table would represent.
1619
1620 @cindex finding a symbol
1621 @cindex symbol lookup
1622 The idea is that there are only two ways for the user (or much of the
1623 code in the debugger) to reference a symbol:
1624
1625 @itemize @bullet
1626 @findex find_pc_function
1627 @findex find_pc_line
1628 @item
1629 By its address (e.g. execution stops at some address which is inside a
1630 function in this file). The address will be noticed to be in the
1631 range of this psymtab, and the full symtab will be read in.
1632 @code{find_pc_function}, @code{find_pc_line}, and other
1633 @code{find_pc_@dots{}} functions handle this.
1634
1635 @cindex lookup_symbol
1636 @item
1637 By its name
1638 (e.g. the user asks to print a variable, or set a breakpoint on a
1639 function). Global names and file-scope names will be found in the
1640 psymtab, which will cause the symtab to be pulled in. Local names will
1641 have to be qualified by a global name, or a file-scope name, in which
1642 case we will have already read in the symtab as we evaluated the
1643 qualifier. Or, a local symbol can be referenced when we are ``in'' a
1644 local scope, in which case the first case applies. @code{lookup_symbol}
1645 does most of the work here.
1646 @end itemize
1647
1648 The only reason that psymtabs exist is to cause a symtab to be read in
1649 at the right moment. Any symbol that can be elided from a psymtab,
1650 while still causing that to happen, should not appear in it. Since
1651 psymtabs don't have the idea of scope, you can't put local symbols in
1652 them anyway. Psymtabs don't have the idea of the type of a symbol,
1653 either, so types need not appear, unless they will be referenced by
1654 name.
1655
1656 It is a bug for @value{GDBN} to behave one way when only a psymtab has
1657 been read, and another way if the corresponding symtab has been read
1658 in. Such bugs are typically caused by a psymtab that does not contain
1659 all the visible symbols, or which has the wrong instruction address
1660 ranges.
1661
1662 The psymtab for a particular section of a symbol file (objfile) could be
1663 thrown away after the symtab has been read in. The symtab should always
1664 be searched before the psymtab, so the psymtab will never be used (in a
1665 bug-free environment). Currently, psymtabs are allocated on an obstack,
1666 and all the psymbols themselves are allocated in a pair of large arrays
1667 on an obstack, so there is little to be gained by trying to free them
1668 unless you want to do a lot more work.
1669
1670 @section Types
1671
1672 @unnumberedsubsec Fundamental Types (e.g., @code{FT_VOID}, @code{FT_BOOLEAN}).
1673
1674 @cindex fundamental types
1675 These are the fundamental types that @value{GDBN} uses internally. Fundamental
1676 types from the various debugging formats (stabs, ELF, etc) are mapped
1677 into one of these. They are basically a union of all fundamental types
1678 that @value{GDBN} knows about for all the languages that @value{GDBN}
1679 knows about.
1680
1681 @unnumberedsubsec Type Codes (e.g., @code{TYPE_CODE_PTR}, @code{TYPE_CODE_ARRAY}).
1682
1683 @cindex type codes
1684 Each time @value{GDBN} builds an internal type, it marks it with one
1685 of these types. The type may be a fundamental type, such as
1686 @code{TYPE_CODE_INT}, or a derived type, such as @code{TYPE_CODE_PTR}
1687 which is a pointer to another type. Typically, several @code{FT_*}
1688 types map to one @code{TYPE_CODE_*} type, and are distinguished by
1689 other members of the type struct, such as whether the type is signed
1690 or unsigned, and how many bits it uses.
1691
1692 @unnumberedsubsec Builtin Types (e.g., @code{builtin_type_void}, @code{builtin_type_char}).
1693
1694 These are instances of type structs that roughly correspond to
1695 fundamental types and are created as global types for @value{GDBN} to
1696 use for various ugly historical reasons. We eventually want to
1697 eliminate these. Note for example that @code{builtin_type_int}
1698 initialized in @file{gdbtypes.c} is basically the same as a
1699 @code{TYPE_CODE_INT} type that is initialized in @file{c-lang.c} for
1700 an @code{FT_INTEGER} fundamental type. The difference is that the
1701 @code{builtin_type} is not associated with any particular objfile, and
1702 only one instance exists, while @file{c-lang.c} builds as many
1703 @code{TYPE_CODE_INT} types as needed, with each one associated with
1704 some particular objfile.
1705
1706 @section Object File Formats
1707 @cindex object file formats
1708
1709 @subsection a.out
1710
1711 @cindex @code{a.out} format
1712 The @code{a.out} format is the original file format for Unix. It
1713 consists of three sections: @code{text}, @code{data}, and @code{bss},
1714 which are for program code, initialized data, and uninitialized data,
1715 respectively.
1716
1717 The @code{a.out} format is so simple that it doesn't have any reserved
1718 place for debugging information. (Hey, the original Unix hackers used
1719 @samp{adb}, which is a machine-language debugger!) The only debugging
1720 format for @code{a.out} is stabs, which is encoded as a set of normal
1721 symbols with distinctive attributes.
1722
1723 The basic @code{a.out} reader is in @file{dbxread.c}.
1724
1725 @subsection COFF
1726
1727 @cindex COFF format
1728 The COFF format was introduced with System V Release 3 (SVR3) Unix.
1729 COFF files may have multiple sections, each prefixed by a header. The
1730 number of sections is limited.
1731
1732 The COFF specification includes support for debugging. Although this
1733 was a step forward, the debugging information was woefully limited. For
1734 instance, it was not possible to represent code that came from an
1735 included file.
1736
1737 The COFF reader is in @file{coffread.c}.
1738
1739 @subsection ECOFF
1740
1741 @cindex ECOFF format
1742 ECOFF is an extended COFF originally introduced for Mips and Alpha
1743 workstations.
1744
1745 The basic ECOFF reader is in @file{mipsread.c}.
1746
1747 @subsection XCOFF
1748
1749 @cindex XCOFF format
1750 The IBM RS/6000 running AIX uses an object file format called XCOFF.
1751 The COFF sections, symbols, and line numbers are used, but debugging
1752 symbols are @code{dbx}-style stabs whose strings are located in the
1753 @code{.debug} section (rather than the string table). For more
1754 information, see @ref{Top,,,stabs,The Stabs Debugging Format}.
1755
1756 The shared library scheme has a clean interface for figuring out what
1757 shared libraries are in use, but the catch is that everything which
1758 refers to addresses (symbol tables and breakpoints at least) needs to be
1759 relocated for both shared libraries and the main executable. At least
1760 using the standard mechanism this can only be done once the program has
1761 been run (or the core file has been read).
1762
1763 @subsection PE
1764
1765 @cindex PE-COFF format
1766 Windows 95 and NT use the PE (@dfn{Portable Executable}) format for their
1767 executables. PE is basically COFF with additional headers.
1768
1769 While BFD includes special PE support, @value{GDBN} needs only the basic
1770 COFF reader.
1771
1772 @subsection ELF
1773
1774 @cindex ELF format
1775 The ELF format came with System V Release 4 (SVR4) Unix. ELF is similar
1776 to COFF in being organized into a number of sections, but it removes
1777 many of COFF's limitations.
1778
1779 The basic ELF reader is in @file{elfread.c}.
1780
1781 @subsection SOM
1782
1783 @cindex SOM format
1784 SOM is HP's object file and debug format (not to be confused with IBM's
1785 SOM, which is a cross-language ABI).
1786
1787 The SOM reader is in @file{hpread.c}.
1788
1789 @subsection Other File Formats
1790
1791 @cindex Netware Loadable Module format
1792 Other file formats that have been supported by @value{GDBN} include Netware
1793 Loadable Modules (@file{nlmread.c}).
1794
1795 @section Debugging File Formats
1796
1797 This section describes characteristics of debugging information that
1798 are independent of the object file format.
1799
1800 @subsection stabs
1801
1802 @cindex stabs debugging info
1803 @code{stabs} started out as special symbols within the @code{a.out}
1804 format. Since then, it has been encapsulated into other file
1805 formats, such as COFF and ELF.
1806
1807 While @file{dbxread.c} does some of the basic stab processing,
1808 including for encapsulated versions, @file{stabsread.c} does
1809 the real work.
1810
1811 @subsection COFF
1812
1813 @cindex COFF debugging info
1814 The basic COFF definition includes debugging information. The level
1815 of support is minimal and non-extensible, and is not often used.
1816
1817 @subsection Mips debug (Third Eye)
1818
1819 @cindex ECOFF debugging info
1820 ECOFF includes a definition of a special debug format.
1821
1822 The file @file{mdebugread.c} implements reading for this format.
1823
1824 @subsection DWARF 1
1825
1826 @cindex DWARF 1 debugging info
1827 DWARF 1 is a debugging format that was originally designed to be
1828 used with ELF in SVR4 systems.
1829
1830 @c CHILL_PRODUCER
1831 @c GCC_PRODUCER
1832 @c GPLUS_PRODUCER
1833 @c LCC_PRODUCER
1834 @c If defined, these are the producer strings in a DWARF 1 file. All of
1835 @c these have reasonable defaults already.
1836
1837 The DWARF 1 reader is in @file{dwarfread.c}.
1838
1839 @subsection DWARF 2
1840
1841 @cindex DWARF 2 debugging info
1842 DWARF 2 is an improved but incompatible version of DWARF 1.
1843
1844 The DWARF 2 reader is in @file{dwarf2read.c}.
1845
1846 @subsection SOM
1847
1848 @cindex SOM debugging info
1849 Like COFF, the SOM definition includes debugging information.
1850
1851 @section Adding a New Symbol Reader to @value{GDBN}
1852
1853 @cindex adding debugging info reader
1854 If you are using an existing object file format (@code{a.out}, COFF, ELF, etc),
1855 there is probably little to be done.
1856
1857 If you need to add a new object file format, you must first add it to
1858 BFD. This is beyond the scope of this document.
1859
1860 You must then arrange for the BFD code to provide access to the
1861 debugging symbols. Generally @value{GDBN} will have to call swapping routines
1862 from BFD and a few other BFD internal routines to locate the debugging
1863 information. As much as possible, @value{GDBN} should not depend on the BFD
1864 internal data structures.
1865
1866 For some targets (e.g., COFF), there is a special transfer vector used
1867 to call swapping routines, since the external data structures on various
1868 platforms have different sizes and layouts. Specialized routines that
1869 will only ever be implemented by one object file format may be called
1870 directly. This interface should be described in a file
1871 @file{bfd/lib@var{xyz}.h}, which is included by @value{GDBN}.
1872
1873
1874 @node Language Support
1875
1876 @chapter Language Support
1877
1878 @cindex language support
1879 @value{GDBN}'s language support is mainly driven by the symbol reader,
1880 although it is possible for the user to set the source language
1881 manually.
1882
1883 @value{GDBN} chooses the source language by looking at the extension
1884 of the file recorded in the debug info; @file{.c} means C, @file{.f}
1885 means Fortran, etc. It may also use a special-purpose language
1886 identifier if the debug format supports it, like with DWARF.
1887
1888 @section Adding a Source Language to @value{GDBN}
1889
1890 @cindex adding source language
1891 To add other languages to @value{GDBN}'s expression parser, follow the
1892 following steps:
1893
1894 @table @emph
1895 @item Create the expression parser.
1896
1897 @cindex expression parser
1898 This should reside in a file @file{@var{lang}-exp.y}. Routines for
1899 building parsed expressions into a @code{union exp_element} list are in
1900 @file{parse.c}.
1901
1902 @cindex language parser
1903 Since we can't depend upon everyone having Bison, and YACC produces
1904 parsers that define a bunch of global names, the following lines
1905 @strong{must} be included at the top of the YACC parser, to prevent the
1906 various parsers from defining the same global names:
1907
1908 @example
1909 #define yyparse @var{lang}_parse
1910 #define yylex @var{lang}_lex
1911 #define yyerror @var{lang}_error
1912 #define yylval @var{lang}_lval
1913 #define yychar @var{lang}_char
1914 #define yydebug @var{lang}_debug
1915 #define yypact @var{lang}_pact
1916 #define yyr1 @var{lang}_r1
1917 #define yyr2 @var{lang}_r2
1918 #define yydef @var{lang}_def
1919 #define yychk @var{lang}_chk
1920 #define yypgo @var{lang}_pgo
1921 #define yyact @var{lang}_act
1922 #define yyexca @var{lang}_exca
1923 #define yyerrflag @var{lang}_errflag
1924 #define yynerrs @var{lang}_nerrs
1925 @end example
1926
1927 At the bottom of your parser, define a @code{struct language_defn} and
1928 initialize it with the right values for your language. Define an
1929 @code{initialize_@var{lang}} routine and have it call
1930 @samp{add_language(@var{lang}_language_defn)} to tell the rest of @value{GDBN}
1931 that your language exists. You'll need some other supporting variables
1932 and functions, which will be used via pointers from your
1933 @code{@var{lang}_language_defn}. See the declaration of @code{struct
1934 language_defn} in @file{language.h}, and the other @file{*-exp.y} files,
1935 for more information.
1936
1937 @item Add any evaluation routines, if necessary
1938
1939 @cindex expression evaluation routines
1940 @findex evaluate_subexp
1941 @findex prefixify_subexp
1942 @findex length_of_subexp
1943 If you need new opcodes (that represent the operations of the language),
1944 add them to the enumerated type in @file{expression.h}. Add support
1945 code for these operations in the @code{evaluate_subexp} function
1946 defined in the file @file{eval.c}. Add cases
1947 for new opcodes in two functions from @file{parse.c}:
1948 @code{prefixify_subexp} and @code{length_of_subexp}. These compute
1949 the number of @code{exp_element}s that a given operation takes up.
1950
1951 @item Update some existing code
1952
1953 Add an enumerated identifier for your language to the enumerated type
1954 @code{enum language} in @file{defs.h}.
1955
1956 Update the routines in @file{language.c} so your language is included.
1957 These routines include type predicates and such, which (in some cases)
1958 are language dependent. If your language does not appear in the switch
1959 statement, an error is reported.
1960
1961 @vindex current_language
1962 Also included in @file{language.c} is the code that updates the variable
1963 @code{current_language}, and the routines that translate the
1964 @code{language_@var{lang}} enumerated identifier into a printable
1965 string.
1966
1967 @findex _initialize_language
1968 Update the function @code{_initialize_language} to include your
1969 language. This function picks the default language upon startup, so is
1970 dependent upon which languages that @value{GDBN} is built for.
1971
1972 @findex allocate_symtab
1973 Update @code{allocate_symtab} in @file{symfile.c} and/or symbol-reading
1974 code so that the language of each symtab (source file) is set properly.
1975 This is used to determine the language to use at each stack frame level.
1976 Currently, the language is set based upon the extension of the source
1977 file. If the language can be better inferred from the symbol
1978 information, please set the language of the symtab in the symbol-reading
1979 code.
1980
1981 @findex print_subexp
1982 @findex op_print_tab
1983 Add helper code to @code{print_subexp} (in @file{expprint.c}) to handle any new
1984 expression opcodes you have added to @file{expression.h}. Also, add the
1985 printed representations of your operators to @code{op_print_tab}.
1986
1987 @item Add a place of call
1988
1989 @findex parse_exp_1
1990 Add a call to @code{@var{lang}_parse()} and @code{@var{lang}_error} in
1991 @code{parse_exp_1} (defined in @file{parse.c}).
1992
1993 @item Use macros to trim code
1994
1995 @cindex trimming language-dependent code
1996 The user has the option of building @value{GDBN} for some or all of the
1997 languages. If the user decides to build @value{GDBN} for the language
1998 @var{lang}, then every file dependent on @file{language.h} will have the
1999 macro @code{_LANG_@var{lang}} defined in it. Use @code{#ifdef}s to
2000 leave out large routines that the user won't need if he or she is not
2001 using your language.
2002
2003 Note that you do not need to do this in your YACC parser, since if @value{GDBN}
2004 is not build for @var{lang}, then @file{@var{lang}-exp.tab.o} (the
2005 compiled form of your parser) is not linked into @value{GDBN} at all.
2006
2007 See the file @file{configure.in} for how @value{GDBN} is configured
2008 for different languages.
2009
2010 @item Edit @file{Makefile.in}
2011
2012 Add dependencies in @file{Makefile.in}. Make sure you update the macro
2013 variables such as @code{HFILES} and @code{OBJS}, otherwise your code may
2014 not get linked in, or, worse yet, it may not get @code{tar}red into the
2015 distribution!
2016 @end table
2017
2018
2019 @node Host Definition
2020
2021 @chapter Host Definition
2022
2023 @emph{Maintainer's note: In theory, new targets no longer need to use
2024 the host framework described below. Instead it should be possible to
2025 handle everything using autoconf. Patches eliminating this framework
2026 welcome.}
2027
2028 With the advent of Autoconf, it's rarely necessary to have host
2029 definition machinery anymore.
2030
2031 @section Adding a New Host
2032
2033 @cindex adding a new host
2034 @cindex host, adding
2035 Most of @value{GDBN}'s host configuration support happens via
2036 Autoconf. New host-specific definitions should be rarely needed.
2037 @value{GDBN} still uses the host-specific definitions and files listed
2038 below, but these mostly exist for historical reasons, and should
2039 eventually disappear.
2040
2041 Several files control @value{GDBN}'s configuration for host systems:
2042
2043 @table @file
2044 @item gdb/config/@var{arch}/@var{xyz}.mh
2045 Specifies Makefile fragments needed when hosting on machine @var{xyz}.
2046 Optionally specifies the header file which describes host @var{xyz}, by
2047 defining @code{XM_FILE= xm-@var{xyz}.h}. You can also define @code{CC},
2048 @code{SYSV_DEFINE}, @code{XM_CFLAGS}, @code{XM_ADD_FILES},
2049 @code{XM_CLIBS}, @code{XM_CDEPS}, etc.; see @file{Makefile.in}.
2050
2051 @item gdb/config/@var{arch}/xm-@var{xyz}.h
2052 (@file{xm.h} is a link to this file, created by @code{configure}). Contains C
2053 macro definitions describing the host system environment, such as byte
2054 order, host C compiler and library.
2055
2056 @end table
2057
2058 @subheading Generic Host Support Files
2059
2060 @cindex generic host support
2061 There are some ``generic'' versions of routines that can be used by
2062 various systems. These can be customized in various ways by macros
2063 defined in your @file{xm-@var{xyz}.h} file. If these routines work for
2064 the @var{xyz} host, you can just include the generic file's name (with
2065 @samp{.o}, not @samp{.c}) in @code{XDEPFILES}.
2066
2067 Otherwise, if your machine needs custom support routines, you will need
2068 to write routines that perform the same functions as the generic file.
2069 Put them into @code{@var{xyz}-xdep.c}, and put @code{@var{xyz}-xdep.o}
2070 into @code{XDEPFILES}.
2071
2072 @table @file
2073 @cindex remote debugging support
2074 @cindex serial line support
2075 @item ser-unix.c
2076 This contains serial line support for Unix systems. This is always
2077 included, via the makefile variable @code{SER_HARDWIRE}; override this
2078 variable in the @file{.mh} file to avoid it.
2079
2080 @item ser-go32.c
2081 This contains serial line support for 32-bit programs running under DOS,
2082 using the DJGPP (a.k.a.@: GO32) execution environment.
2083
2084 @cindex TCP remote support
2085 @item ser-tcp.c
2086 This contains generic TCP support using sockets.
2087 @end table
2088
2089 @section Host Conditionals
2090
2091 When @value{GDBN} is configured and compiled, various macros are
2092 defined or left undefined, to control compilation based on the
2093 attributes of the host system. These macros and their meanings (or if
2094 the meaning is not documented here, then one of the source files where
2095 they are used is indicated) are:
2096
2097 @ftable @code
2098 @item @value{GDBN}INIT_FILENAME
2099 The default name of @value{GDBN}'s initialization file (normally
2100 @file{.gdbinit}).
2101
2102 @item NO_STD_REGS
2103 This macro is deprecated.
2104
2105 @item NO_SYS_FILE
2106 Define this if your system does not have a @code{<sys/file.h>}.
2107
2108 @item SIGWINCH_HANDLER
2109 If your host defines @code{SIGWINCH}, you can define this to be the name
2110 of a function to be called if @code{SIGWINCH} is received.
2111
2112 @item SIGWINCH_HANDLER_BODY
2113 Define this to expand into code that will define the function named by
2114 the expansion of @code{SIGWINCH_HANDLER}.
2115
2116 @item ALIGN_STACK_ON_STARTUP
2117 @cindex stack alignment
2118 Define this if your system is of a sort that will crash in
2119 @code{tgetent} if the stack happens not to be longword-aligned when
2120 @code{main} is called. This is a rare situation, but is known to occur
2121 on several different types of systems.
2122
2123 @item CRLF_SOURCE_FILES
2124 @cindex DOS text files
2125 Define this if host files use @code{\r\n} rather than @code{\n} as a
2126 line terminator. This will cause source file listings to omit @code{\r}
2127 characters when printing and it will allow @code{\r\n} line endings of files
2128 which are ``sourced'' by gdb. It must be possible to open files in binary
2129 mode using @code{O_BINARY} or, for fopen, @code{"rb"}.
2130
2131 @item DEFAULT_PROMPT
2132 @cindex prompt
2133 The default value of the prompt string (normally @code{"(gdb) "}).
2134
2135 @item DEV_TTY
2136 @cindex terminal device
2137 The name of the generic TTY device, defaults to @code{"/dev/tty"}.
2138
2139 @item FCLOSE_PROVIDED
2140 Define this if the system declares @code{fclose} in the headers included
2141 in @code{defs.h}. This isn't needed unless your compiler is unusually
2142 anal.
2143
2144 @item FOPEN_RB
2145 Define this if binary files are opened the same way as text files.
2146
2147 @item GETENV_PROVIDED
2148 Define this if the system declares @code{getenv} in its headers included
2149 in @code{defs.h}. This isn't needed unless your compiler is unusually
2150 anal.
2151
2152 @item HAVE_MMAP
2153 @findex mmap
2154 In some cases, use the system call @code{mmap} for reading symbol
2155 tables. For some machines this allows for sharing and quick updates.
2156
2157 @item HAVE_TERMIO
2158 Define this if the host system has @code{termio.h}.
2159
2160 @item INT_MAX
2161 @itemx INT_MIN
2162 @itemx LONG_MAX
2163 @itemx UINT_MAX
2164 @itemx ULONG_MAX
2165 Values for host-side constants.
2166
2167 @item ISATTY
2168 Substitute for isatty, if not available.
2169
2170 @item LONGEST
2171 This is the longest integer type available on the host. If not defined,
2172 it will default to @code{long long} or @code{long}, depending on
2173 @code{CC_HAS_LONG_LONG}.
2174
2175 @item CC_HAS_LONG_LONG
2176 @cindex @code{long long} data type
2177 Define this if the host C compiler supports @code{long long}. This is set
2178 by the @code{configure} script.
2179
2180 @item PRINTF_HAS_LONG_LONG
2181 Define this if the host can handle printing of long long integers via
2182 the printf format conversion specifier @code{ll}. This is set by the
2183 @code{configure} script.
2184
2185 @item HAVE_LONG_DOUBLE
2186 Define this if the host C compiler supports @code{long double}. This is
2187 set by the @code{configure} script.
2188
2189 @item PRINTF_HAS_LONG_DOUBLE
2190 Define this if the host can handle printing of long double float-point
2191 numbers via the printf format conversion specifier @code{Lg}. This is
2192 set by the @code{configure} script.
2193
2194 @item SCANF_HAS_LONG_DOUBLE
2195 Define this if the host can handle the parsing of long double
2196 float-point numbers via the scanf format conversion specifier
2197 @code{Lg}. This is set by the @code{configure} script.
2198
2199 @item LSEEK_NOT_LINEAR
2200 Define this if @code{lseek (n)} does not necessarily move to byte number
2201 @code{n} in the file. This is only used when reading source files. It
2202 is normally faster to define @code{CRLF_SOURCE_FILES} when possible.
2203
2204 @item L_SET
2205 This macro is used as the argument to @code{lseek} (or, most commonly,
2206 @code{bfd_seek}). FIXME, should be replaced by SEEK_SET instead,
2207 which is the POSIX equivalent.
2208
2209 @item MMAP_BASE_ADDRESS
2210 When using HAVE_MMAP, the first mapping should go at this address.
2211
2212 @item MMAP_INCREMENT
2213 when using HAVE_MMAP, this is the increment between mappings.
2214
2215 @item NORETURN
2216 If defined, this should be one or more tokens, such as @code{volatile},
2217 that can be used in both the declaration and definition of functions to
2218 indicate that they never return. The default is already set correctly
2219 if compiling with GCC. This will almost never need to be defined.
2220
2221 @item ATTR_NORETURN
2222 If defined, this should be one or more tokens, such as
2223 @code{__attribute__ ((noreturn))}, that can be used in the declarations
2224 of functions to indicate that they never return. The default is already
2225 set correctly if compiling with GCC. This will almost never need to be
2226 defined.
2227
2228 @item USE_GENERIC_DUMMY_FRAMES
2229 @cindex generic dummy frames
2230 Define this to 1 if the target is using the generic inferior function
2231 call code. See @code{blockframe.c} for more information.
2232
2233 @item USE_MMALLOC
2234 @findex mmalloc
2235 @value{GDBN} will use the @code{mmalloc} library for memory allocation
2236 for symbol reading if this symbol is defined. Be careful defining it
2237 since there are systems on which @code{mmalloc} does not work for some
2238 reason. One example is the DECstation, where its RPC library can't
2239 cope with our redefinition of @code{malloc} to call @code{mmalloc}.
2240 When defining @code{USE_MMALLOC}, you will also have to set
2241 @code{MMALLOC} in the Makefile, to point to the @code{mmalloc} library. This
2242 define is set when you configure with @samp{--with-mmalloc}.
2243
2244 @item NO_MMCHECK
2245 @findex mmcheck
2246 Define this if you are using @code{mmalloc}, but don't want the overhead
2247 of checking the heap with @code{mmcheck}. Note that on some systems,
2248 the C runtime makes calls to @code{malloc} prior to calling @code{main}, and if
2249 @code{free} is ever called with these pointers after calling
2250 @code{mmcheck} to enable checking, a memory corruption abort is certain
2251 to occur. These systems can still use @code{mmalloc}, but must define
2252 @code{NO_MMCHECK}.
2253
2254 @item MMCHECK_FORCE
2255 Define this to 1 if the C runtime allocates memory prior to
2256 @code{mmcheck} being called, but that memory is never freed so we don't
2257 have to worry about it triggering a memory corruption abort. The
2258 default is 0, which means that @code{mmcheck} will only install the heap
2259 checking functions if there has not yet been any memory allocation
2260 calls, and if it fails to install the functions, @value{GDBN} will issue a
2261 warning. This is currently defined if you configure using
2262 @samp{--with-mmalloc}.
2263
2264 @item NO_SIGINTERRUPT
2265 @findex siginterrupt
2266 Define this to indicate that @code{siginterrupt} is not available.
2267
2268 @item SEEK_CUR
2269 @itemx SEEK_SET
2270 Define these to appropriate value for the system @code{lseek}, if not already
2271 defined.
2272
2273 @item STOP_SIGNAL
2274 This is the signal for stopping @value{GDBN}. Defaults to
2275 @code{SIGTSTP}. (Only redefined for the Convex.)
2276
2277 @item USE_O_NOCTTY
2278 Define this if the interior's tty should be opened with the @code{O_NOCTTY}
2279 flag. (FIXME: This should be a native-only flag, but @file{inflow.c} is
2280 always linked in.)
2281
2282 @item USG
2283 Means that System V (prior to SVR4) include files are in use. (FIXME:
2284 This symbol is abused in @file{infrun.c}, @file{regex.c},
2285 @file{remote-nindy.c}, and @file{utils.c} for other things, at the
2286 moment.)
2287
2288 @item lint
2289 Define this to help placate @code{lint} in some situations.
2290
2291 @item volatile
2292 Define this to override the defaults of @code{__volatile__} or
2293 @code{/**/}.
2294 @end ftable
2295
2296
2297 @node Target Architecture Definition
2298
2299 @chapter Target Architecture Definition
2300
2301 @cindex target architecture definition
2302 @value{GDBN}'s target architecture defines what sort of
2303 machine-language programs @value{GDBN} can work with, and how it works
2304 with them.
2305
2306 The target architecture object is implemented as the C structure
2307 @code{struct gdbarch *}. The structure, and its methods, are generated
2308 using the Bourne shell script @file{gdbarch.sh}.
2309
2310 @section Registers and Memory
2311
2312 @value{GDBN}'s model of the target machine is rather simple.
2313 @value{GDBN} assumes the machine includes a bank of registers and a
2314 block of memory. Each register may have a different size.
2315
2316 @value{GDBN} does not have a magical way to match up with the
2317 compiler's idea of which registers are which; however, it is critical
2318 that they do match up accurately. The only way to make this work is
2319 to get accurate information about the order that the compiler uses,
2320 and to reflect that in the @code{REGISTER_NAME} and related macros.
2321
2322 @value{GDBN} can handle big-endian, little-endian, and bi-endian architectures.
2323
2324 @section Pointers Are Not Always Addresses
2325 @cindex pointer representation
2326 @cindex address representation
2327 @cindex word-addressed machines
2328 @cindex separate data and code address spaces
2329 @cindex spaces, separate data and code address
2330 @cindex address spaces, separate data and code
2331 @cindex code pointers, word-addressed
2332 @cindex converting between pointers and addresses
2333 @cindex D10V addresses
2334
2335 On almost all 32-bit architectures, the representation of a pointer is
2336 indistinguishable from the representation of some fixed-length number
2337 whose value is the byte address of the object pointed to. On such
2338 machines, the words ``pointer'' and ``address'' can be used interchangeably.
2339 However, architectures with smaller word sizes are often cramped for
2340 address space, so they may choose a pointer representation that breaks this
2341 identity, and allows a larger code address space.
2342
2343 For example, the Mitsubishi D10V is a 16-bit VLIW processor whose
2344 instructions are 32 bits long@footnote{Some D10V instructions are
2345 actually pairs of 16-bit sub-instructions. However, since you can't
2346 jump into the middle of such a pair, code addresses can only refer to
2347 full 32 bit instructions, which is what matters in this explanation.}.
2348 If the D10V used ordinary byte addresses to refer to code locations,
2349 then the processor would only be able to address 64kb of instructions.
2350 However, since instructions must be aligned on four-byte boundaries, the
2351 low two bits of any valid instruction's byte address are always
2352 zero---byte addresses waste two bits. So instead of byte addresses,
2353 the D10V uses word addresses---byte addresses shifted right two bits---to
2354 refer to code. Thus, the D10V can use 16-bit words to address 256kb of
2355 code space.
2356
2357 However, this means that code pointers and data pointers have different
2358 forms on the D10V. The 16-bit word @code{0xC020} refers to byte address
2359 @code{0xC020} when used as a data address, but refers to byte address
2360 @code{0x30080} when used as a code address.
2361
2362 (The D10V also uses separate code and data address spaces, which also
2363 affects the correspondence between pointers and addresses, but we're
2364 going to ignore that here; this example is already too long.)
2365
2366 To cope with architectures like this---the D10V is not the only
2367 one!---@value{GDBN} tries to distinguish between @dfn{addresses}, which are
2368 byte numbers, and @dfn{pointers}, which are the target's representation
2369 of an address of a particular type of data. In the example above,
2370 @code{0xC020} is the pointer, which refers to one of the addresses
2371 @code{0xC020} or @code{0x30080}, depending on the type imposed upon it.
2372 @value{GDBN} provides functions for turning a pointer into an address
2373 and vice versa, in the appropriate way for the current architecture.
2374
2375 Unfortunately, since addresses and pointers are identical on almost all
2376 processors, this distinction tends to bit-rot pretty quickly. Thus,
2377 each time you port @value{GDBN} to an architecture which does
2378 distinguish between pointers and addresses, you'll probably need to
2379 clean up some architecture-independent code.
2380
2381 Here are functions which convert between pointers and addresses:
2382
2383 @deftypefun CORE_ADDR extract_typed_address (void *@var{buf}, struct type *@var{type})
2384 Treat the bytes at @var{buf} as a pointer or reference of type
2385 @var{type}, and return the address it represents, in a manner
2386 appropriate for the current architecture. This yields an address
2387 @value{GDBN} can use to read target memory, disassemble, etc. Note that
2388 @var{buf} refers to a buffer in @value{GDBN}'s memory, not the
2389 inferior's.
2390
2391 For example, if the current architecture is the Intel x86, this function
2392 extracts a little-endian integer of the appropriate length from
2393 @var{buf} and returns it. However, if the current architecture is the
2394 D10V, this function will return a 16-bit integer extracted from
2395 @var{buf}, multiplied by four if @var{type} is a pointer to a function.
2396
2397 If @var{type} is not a pointer or reference type, then this function
2398 will signal an internal error.
2399 @end deftypefun
2400
2401 @deftypefun CORE_ADDR store_typed_address (void *@var{buf}, struct type *@var{type}, CORE_ADDR @var{addr})
2402 Store the address @var{addr} in @var{buf}, in the proper format for a
2403 pointer of type @var{type} in the current architecture. Note that
2404 @var{buf} refers to a buffer in @value{GDBN}'s memory, not the
2405 inferior's.
2406
2407 For example, if the current architecture is the Intel x86, this function
2408 stores @var{addr} unmodified as a little-endian integer of the
2409 appropriate length in @var{buf}. However, if the current architecture
2410 is the D10V, this function divides @var{addr} by four if @var{type} is
2411 a pointer to a function, and then stores it in @var{buf}.
2412
2413 If @var{type} is not a pointer or reference type, then this function
2414 will signal an internal error.
2415 @end deftypefun
2416
2417 @deftypefun CORE_ADDR value_as_address (struct value *@var{val})
2418 Assuming that @var{val} is a pointer, return the address it represents,
2419 as appropriate for the current architecture.
2420
2421 This function actually works on integral values, as well as pointers.
2422 For pointers, it performs architecture-specific conversions as
2423 described above for @code{extract_typed_address}.
2424 @end deftypefun
2425
2426 @deftypefun CORE_ADDR value_from_pointer (struct type *@var{type}, CORE_ADDR @var{addr})
2427 Create and return a value representing a pointer of type @var{type} to
2428 the address @var{addr}, as appropriate for the current architecture.
2429 This function performs architecture-specific conversions as described
2430 above for @code{store_typed_address}.
2431 @end deftypefun
2432
2433
2434 @value{GDBN} also provides functions that do the same tasks, but assume
2435 that pointers are simply byte addresses; they aren't sensitive to the
2436 current architecture, beyond knowing the appropriate endianness.
2437
2438 @deftypefun CORE_ADDR extract_address (void *@var{addr}, int len)
2439 Extract a @var{len}-byte number from @var{addr} in the appropriate
2440 endianness for the current architecture, and return it. Note that
2441 @var{addr} refers to @value{GDBN}'s memory, not the inferior's.
2442
2443 This function should only be used in architecture-specific code; it
2444 doesn't have enough information to turn bits into a true address in the
2445 appropriate way for the current architecture. If you can, use
2446 @code{extract_typed_address} instead.
2447 @end deftypefun
2448
2449 @deftypefun void store_address (void *@var{addr}, int @var{len}, LONGEST @var{val})
2450 Store @var{val} at @var{addr} as a @var{len}-byte integer, in the
2451 appropriate endianness for the current architecture. Note that
2452 @var{addr} refers to a buffer in @value{GDBN}'s memory, not the
2453 inferior's.
2454
2455 This function should only be used in architecture-specific code; it
2456 doesn't have enough information to turn a true address into bits in the
2457 appropriate way for the current architecture. If you can, use
2458 @code{store_typed_address} instead.
2459 @end deftypefun
2460
2461
2462 Here are some macros which architectures can define to indicate the
2463 relationship between pointers and addresses. These have default
2464 definitions, appropriate for architectures on which all pointers are
2465 simple unsigned byte addresses.
2466
2467 @deftypefn {Target Macro} CORE_ADDR POINTER_TO_ADDRESS (struct type *@var{type}, char *@var{buf})
2468 Assume that @var{buf} holds a pointer of type @var{type}, in the
2469 appropriate format for the current architecture. Return the byte
2470 address the pointer refers to.
2471
2472 This function may safely assume that @var{type} is either a pointer or a
2473 C@t{++} reference type.
2474 @end deftypefn
2475
2476 @deftypefn {Target Macro} void ADDRESS_TO_POINTER (struct type *@var{type}, char *@var{buf}, CORE_ADDR @var{addr})
2477 Store in @var{buf} a pointer of type @var{type} representing the address
2478 @var{addr}, in the appropriate format for the current architecture.
2479
2480 This function may safely assume that @var{type} is either a pointer or a
2481 C@t{++} reference type.
2482 @end deftypefn
2483
2484
2485 @section Using Different Register and Memory Data Representations
2486 @cindex raw representation
2487 @cindex virtual representation
2488 @cindex representations, raw and virtual
2489 @cindex register data formats, converting
2490 @cindex @code{struct value}, converting register contents to
2491
2492 @emph{Maintainer's note: The way GDB manipulates registers is undergoing
2493 significant change. Many of the macros and functions refered to in the
2494 sections below are likely to be made obsolete. See the file @file{TODO}
2495 for more up-to-date information.}
2496
2497 Some architectures use one representation for a value when it lives in a
2498 register, but use a different representation when it lives in memory.
2499 In @value{GDBN}'s terminology, the @dfn{raw} representation is the one used in
2500 the target registers, and the @dfn{virtual} representation is the one
2501 used in memory, and within @value{GDBN} @code{struct value} objects.
2502
2503 For almost all data types on almost all architectures, the virtual and
2504 raw representations are identical, and no special handling is needed.
2505 However, they do occasionally differ. For example:
2506
2507 @itemize @bullet
2508 @item
2509 The x86 architecture supports an 80-bit @code{long double} type. However, when
2510 we store those values in memory, they occupy twelve bytes: the
2511 floating-point number occupies the first ten, and the final two bytes
2512 are unused. This keeps the values aligned on four-byte boundaries,
2513 allowing more efficient access. Thus, the x86 80-bit floating-point
2514 type is the raw representation, and the twelve-byte loosely-packed
2515 arrangement is the virtual representation.
2516
2517 @item
2518 Some 64-bit MIPS targets present 32-bit registers to @value{GDBN} as 64-bit
2519 registers, with garbage in their upper bits. @value{GDBN} ignores the top 32
2520 bits. Thus, the 64-bit form, with garbage in the upper 32 bits, is the
2521 raw representation, and the trimmed 32-bit representation is the
2522 virtual representation.
2523 @end itemize
2524
2525 In general, the raw representation is determined by the architecture, or
2526 @value{GDBN}'s interface to the architecture, while the virtual representation
2527 can be chosen for @value{GDBN}'s convenience. @value{GDBN}'s register file,
2528 @code{registers}, holds the register contents in raw format, and the
2529 @value{GDBN} remote protocol transmits register values in raw format.
2530
2531 Your architecture may define the following macros to request
2532 conversions between the raw and virtual format:
2533
2534 @deftypefn {Target Macro} int REGISTER_CONVERTIBLE (int @var{reg})
2535 Return non-zero if register number @var{reg}'s value needs different raw
2536 and virtual formats.
2537
2538 You should not use @code{REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_VIRTUAL} for a register
2539 unless this macro returns a non-zero value for that register.
2540 @end deftypefn
2541
2542 @deftypefn {Target Macro} int REGISTER_RAW_SIZE (int @var{reg})
2543 The size of register number @var{reg}'s raw value. This is the number
2544 of bytes the register will occupy in @code{registers}, or in a @value{GDBN}
2545 remote protocol packet.
2546 @end deftypefn
2547
2548 @deftypefn {Target Macro} int REGISTER_VIRTUAL_SIZE (int @var{reg})
2549 The size of register number @var{reg}'s value, in its virtual format.
2550 This is the size a @code{struct value}'s buffer will have, holding that
2551 register's value.
2552 @end deftypefn
2553
2554 @deftypefn {Target Macro} struct type *REGISTER_VIRTUAL_TYPE (int @var{reg})
2555 This is the type of the virtual representation of register number
2556 @var{reg}. Note that there is no need for a macro giving a type for the
2557 register's raw form; once the register's value has been obtained, @value{GDBN}
2558 always uses the virtual form.
2559 @end deftypefn
2560
2561 @deftypefn {Target Macro} void REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_VIRTUAL (int @var{reg}, struct type *@var{type}, char *@var{from}, char *@var{to})
2562 Convert the value of register number @var{reg} to @var{type}, which
2563 should always be @code{REGISTER_VIRTUAL_TYPE (@var{reg})}. The buffer
2564 at @var{from} holds the register's value in raw format; the macro should
2565 convert the value to virtual format, and place it at @var{to}.
2566
2567 Note that @code{REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_VIRTUAL} and
2568 @code{REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_RAW} take their @var{reg} and @var{type}
2569 arguments in different orders.
2570
2571 You should only use @code{REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_VIRTUAL} with registers
2572 for which the @code{REGISTER_CONVERTIBLE} macro returns a non-zero
2573 value.
2574 @end deftypefn
2575
2576 @deftypefn {Target Macro} void REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_RAW (struct type *@var{type}, int @var{reg}, char *@var{from}, char *@var{to})
2577 Convert the value of register number @var{reg} to @var{type}, which
2578 should always be @code{REGISTER_VIRTUAL_TYPE (@var{reg})}. The buffer
2579 at @var{from} holds the register's value in raw format; the macro should
2580 convert the value to virtual format, and place it at @var{to}.
2581
2582 Note that REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_VIRTUAL and REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_RAW take
2583 their @var{reg} and @var{type} arguments in different orders.
2584 @end deftypefn
2585
2586
2587 @section Frame Interpretation
2588
2589 @section Inferior Call Setup
2590
2591 @section Compiler Characteristics
2592
2593 @section Target Conditionals
2594
2595 This section describes the macros that you can use to define the target
2596 machine.
2597
2598 @table @code
2599
2600 @item ADDITIONAL_OPTIONS
2601 @itemx ADDITIONAL_OPTION_CASES
2602 @itemx ADDITIONAL_OPTION_HANDLER
2603 @itemx ADDITIONAL_OPTION_HELP
2604 @findex ADDITIONAL_OPTION_HELP
2605 @findex ADDITIONAL_OPTION_HANDLER
2606 @findex ADDITIONAL_OPTION_CASES
2607 @findex ADDITIONAL_OPTIONS
2608 These are a set of macros that allow the addition of additional command
2609 line options to @value{GDBN}. They are currently used only for the unsupported
2610 i960 Nindy target, and should not be used in any other configuration.
2611
2612 @item ADDR_BITS_REMOVE (addr)
2613 @findex ADDR_BITS_REMOVE
2614 If a raw machine instruction address includes any bits that are not
2615 really part of the address, then define this macro to expand into an
2616 expression that zeroes those bits in @var{addr}. This is only used for
2617 addresses of instructions, and even then not in all contexts.
2618
2619 For example, the two low-order bits of the PC on the Hewlett-Packard PA
2620 2.0 architecture contain the privilege level of the corresponding
2621 instruction. Since instructions must always be aligned on four-byte
2622 boundaries, the processor masks out these bits to generate the actual
2623 address of the instruction. ADDR_BITS_REMOVE should filter out these
2624 bits with an expression such as @code{((addr) & ~3)}.
2625
2626 @item ADDRESS_TO_POINTER (@var{type}, @var{buf}, @var{addr})
2627 @findex ADDRESS_TO_POINTER
2628 Store in @var{buf} a pointer of type @var{type} representing the address
2629 @var{addr}, in the appropriate format for the current architecture.
2630 This macro may safely assume that @var{type} is either a pointer or a
2631 C@t{++} reference type.
2632 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Pointers Are Not Always Addresses}.
2633
2634 @item BEFORE_MAIN_LOOP_HOOK
2635 @findex BEFORE_MAIN_LOOP_HOOK
2636 Define this to expand into any code that you want to execute before the
2637 main loop starts. Although this is not, strictly speaking, a target
2638 conditional, that is how it is currently being used. Note that if a
2639 configuration were to define it one way for a host and a different way
2640 for the target, @value{GDBN} will probably not compile, let alone run
2641 correctly. This macro is currently used only for the unsupported i960 Nindy
2642 target, and should not be used in any other configuration.
2643
2644 @item BELIEVE_PCC_PROMOTION
2645 @findex BELIEVE_PCC_PROMOTION
2646 Define if the compiler promotes a @code{short} or @code{char}
2647 parameter to an @code{int}, but still reports the parameter as its
2648 original type, rather than the promoted type.
2649
2650 @item BELIEVE_PCC_PROMOTION_TYPE
2651 @findex BELIEVE_PCC_PROMOTION_TYPE
2652 Define this if @value{GDBN} should believe the type of a @code{short}
2653 argument when compiled by @code{pcc}, but look within a full int space to get
2654 its value. Only defined for Sun-3 at present.
2655
2656 @item BITS_BIG_ENDIAN
2657 @findex BITS_BIG_ENDIAN
2658 Define this if the numbering of bits in the targets does @strong{not} match the
2659 endianness of the target byte order. A value of 1 means that the bits
2660 are numbered in a big-endian bit order, 0 means little-endian.
2661
2662 @item BREAKPOINT
2663 @findex BREAKPOINT
2664 This is the character array initializer for the bit pattern to put into
2665 memory where a breakpoint is set. Although it's common to use a trap
2666 instruction for a breakpoint, it's not required; for instance, the bit
2667 pattern could be an invalid instruction. The breakpoint must be no
2668 longer than the shortest instruction of the architecture.
2669
2670 @code{BREAKPOINT} has been deprecated in favor of
2671 @code{BREAKPOINT_FROM_PC}.
2672
2673 @item BIG_BREAKPOINT
2674 @itemx LITTLE_BREAKPOINT
2675 @findex LITTLE_BREAKPOINT
2676 @findex BIG_BREAKPOINT
2677 Similar to BREAKPOINT, but used for bi-endian targets.
2678
2679 @code{BIG_BREAKPOINT} and @code{LITTLE_BREAKPOINT} have been deprecated in
2680 favor of @code{BREAKPOINT_FROM_PC}.
2681
2682 @item REMOTE_BREAKPOINT
2683 @itemx LITTLE_REMOTE_BREAKPOINT
2684 @itemx BIG_REMOTE_BREAKPOINT
2685 @findex BIG_REMOTE_BREAKPOINT
2686 @findex LITTLE_REMOTE_BREAKPOINT
2687 @findex REMOTE_BREAKPOINT
2688 Similar to BREAKPOINT, but used for remote targets.
2689
2690 @code{BIG_REMOTE_BREAKPOINT} and @code{LITTLE_REMOTE_BREAKPOINT} have been
2691 deprecated in favor of @code{BREAKPOINT_FROM_PC}.
2692
2693 @item BREAKPOINT_FROM_PC (@var{pcptr}, @var{lenptr})
2694 @findex BREAKPOINT_FROM_PC
2695 Use the program counter to determine the contents and size of a
2696 breakpoint instruction. It returns a pointer to a string of bytes
2697 that encode a breakpoint instruction, stores the length of the string
2698 to *@var{lenptr}, and adjusts pc (if necessary) to point to the actual
2699 memory location where the breakpoint should be inserted.
2700
2701 Although it is common to use a trap instruction for a breakpoint, it's
2702 not required; for instance, the bit pattern could be an invalid
2703 instruction. The breakpoint must be no longer than the shortest
2704 instruction of the architecture.
2705
2706 Replaces all the other @var{BREAKPOINT} macros.
2707
2708 @item MEMORY_INSERT_BREAKPOINT (@var{addr}, @var{contents_cache})
2709 @itemx MEMORY_REMOVE_BREAKPOINT (@var{addr}, @var{contents_cache})
2710 @findex MEMORY_REMOVE_BREAKPOINT
2711 @findex MEMORY_INSERT_BREAKPOINT
2712 Insert or remove memory based breakpoints. Reasonable defaults
2713 (@code{default_memory_insert_breakpoint} and
2714 @code{default_memory_remove_breakpoint} respectively) have been
2715 provided so that it is not necessary to define these for most
2716 architectures. Architectures which may want to define
2717 @code{MEMORY_INSERT_BREAKPOINT} and @code{MEMORY_REMOVE_BREAKPOINT} will
2718 likely have instructions that are oddly sized or are not stored in a
2719 conventional manner.
2720
2721 It may also be desirable (from an efficiency standpoint) to define
2722 custom breakpoint insertion and removal routines if
2723 @code{BREAKPOINT_FROM_PC} needs to read the target's memory for some
2724 reason.
2725
2726 @item CALL_DUMMY_P
2727 @findex CALL_DUMMY_P
2728 A C expresson that is non-zero when the target suports inferior function
2729 calls.
2730
2731 @item CALL_DUMMY_WORDS
2732 @findex CALL_DUMMY_WORDS
2733 Pointer to an array of @code{LONGEST} words of data containing
2734 host-byte-ordered @code{REGISTER_BYTES} sized values that partially
2735 specify the sequence of instructions needed for an inferior function
2736 call.
2737
2738 Should be deprecated in favor of a macro that uses target-byte-ordered
2739 data.
2740
2741 @item SIZEOF_CALL_DUMMY_WORDS
2742 @findex SIZEOF_CALL_DUMMY_WORDS
2743 The size of @code{CALL_DUMMY_WORDS}. When @code{CALL_DUMMY_P} this must
2744 return a positive value. See also @code{CALL_DUMMY_LENGTH}.
2745
2746 @item CALL_DUMMY
2747 @findex CALL_DUMMY
2748 A static initializer for @code{CALL_DUMMY_WORDS}. Deprecated.
2749
2750 @item CALL_DUMMY_LOCATION
2751 @findex CALL_DUMMY_LOCATION
2752 See the file @file{inferior.h}.
2753
2754 @item CALL_DUMMY_STACK_ADJUST
2755 @findex CALL_DUMMY_STACK_ADJUST
2756 Stack adjustment needed when performing an inferior function call.
2757
2758 Should be deprecated in favor of something like @code{STACK_ALIGN}.
2759
2760 @item CALL_DUMMY_STACK_ADJUST_P
2761 @findex CALL_DUMMY_STACK_ADJUST_P
2762 Predicate for use of @code{CALL_DUMMY_STACK_ADJUST}.
2763
2764 Should be deprecated in favor of something like @code{STACK_ALIGN}.
2765
2766 @item CANNOT_FETCH_REGISTER (@var{regno})
2767 @findex CANNOT_FETCH_REGISTER
2768 A C expression that should be nonzero if @var{regno} cannot be fetched
2769 from an inferior process. This is only relevant if
2770 @code{FETCH_INFERIOR_REGISTERS} is not defined.
2771
2772 @item CANNOT_STORE_REGISTER (@var{regno})
2773 @findex CANNOT_STORE_REGISTER
2774 A C expression that should be nonzero if @var{regno} should not be
2775 written to the target. This is often the case for program counters,
2776 status words, and other special registers. If this is not defined,
2777 @value{GDBN} will assume that all registers may be written.
2778
2779 @item DO_DEFERRED_STORES
2780 @itemx CLEAR_DEFERRED_STORES
2781 @findex CLEAR_DEFERRED_STORES
2782 @findex DO_DEFERRED_STORES
2783 Define this to execute any deferred stores of registers into the inferior,
2784 and to cancel any deferred stores.
2785
2786 Currently only implemented correctly for native Sparc configurations?
2787
2788 @item COERCE_FLOAT_TO_DOUBLE (@var{formal}, @var{actual})
2789 @findex COERCE_FLOAT_TO_DOUBLE
2790 @cindex promotion to @code{double}
2791 @cindex @code{float} arguments
2792 @cindex prototyped functions, passing arguments to
2793 @cindex passing arguments to prototyped functions
2794 Return non-zero if GDB should promote @code{float} values to
2795 @code{double} when calling a non-prototyped function. The argument
2796 @var{actual} is the type of the value we want to pass to the function.
2797 The argument @var{formal} is the type of this argument, as it appears in
2798 the function's definition. Note that @var{formal} may be zero if we
2799 have no debugging information for the function, or if we're passing more
2800 arguments than are officially declared (for example, varargs). This
2801 macro is never invoked if the function definitely has a prototype.
2802
2803 How you should pass arguments to a function depends on whether it was
2804 defined in K&R style or prototype style. If you define a function using
2805 the K&R syntax that takes a @code{float} argument, then callers must
2806 pass that argument as a @code{double}. If you define the function using
2807 the prototype syntax, then you must pass the argument as a @code{float},
2808 with no promotion.
2809
2810 Unfortunately, on certain older platforms, the debug info doesn't
2811 indicate reliably how each function was defined. A function type's
2812 @code{TYPE_FLAG_PROTOTYPED} flag may be unset, even if the function was
2813 defined in prototype style. When calling a function whose
2814 @code{TYPE_FLAG_PROTOTYPED} flag is unset, GDB consults the
2815 @code{COERCE_FLOAT_TO_DOUBLE} macro to decide what to do.
2816
2817 @findex standard_coerce_float_to_double
2818 For modern targets, it is proper to assume that, if the prototype flag
2819 is unset, that can be trusted: @code{float} arguments should be promoted
2820 to @code{double}. You should use the function
2821 @code{standard_coerce_float_to_double} to get this behavior.
2822
2823 @findex default_coerce_float_to_double
2824 For some older targets, if the prototype flag is unset, that doesn't
2825 tell us anything. So we guess that, if we don't have a type for the
2826 formal parameter (@i{i.e.}, the first argument to
2827 @code{COERCE_FLOAT_TO_DOUBLE} is null), then we should promote it;
2828 otherwise, we should leave it alone. The function
2829 @code{default_coerce_float_to_double} provides this behavior; it is the
2830 default value, for compatibility with older configurations.
2831
2832 @item CPLUS_MARKER
2833 @findex CPLUS_MARKERz
2834 Define this to expand into the character that G@t{++} uses to distinguish
2835 compiler-generated identifiers from programmer-specified identifiers.
2836 By default, this expands into @code{'$'}. Most System V targets should
2837 define this to @code{'.'}.
2838
2839 @item DBX_PARM_SYMBOL_CLASS
2840 @findex DBX_PARM_SYMBOL_CLASS
2841 Hook for the @code{SYMBOL_CLASS} of a parameter when decoding DBX symbol
2842 information. In the i960, parameters can be stored as locals or as
2843 args, depending on the type of the debug record.
2844
2845 @item DECR_PC_AFTER_BREAK
2846 @findex DECR_PC_AFTER_BREAK
2847 Define this to be the amount by which to decrement the PC after the
2848 program encounters a breakpoint. This is often the number of bytes in
2849 @code{BREAKPOINT}, though not always. For most targets this value will be 0.
2850
2851 @item DECR_PC_AFTER_HW_BREAK
2852 @findex DECR_PC_AFTER_HW_BREAK
2853 Similarly, for hardware breakpoints.
2854
2855 @item DISABLE_UNSETTABLE_BREAK (@var{addr})
2856 @findex DISABLE_UNSETTABLE_BREAK
2857 If defined, this should evaluate to 1 if @var{addr} is in a shared
2858 library in which breakpoints cannot be set and so should be disabled.
2859
2860 @item DO_REGISTERS_INFO
2861 @findex DO_REGISTERS_INFO
2862 If defined, use this to print the value of a register or all registers.
2863
2864 @item DWARF_REG_TO_REGNUM
2865 @findex DWARF_REG_TO_REGNUM
2866 Convert DWARF register number into @value{GDBN} regnum. If not defined,
2867 no conversion will be performed.
2868
2869 @item DWARF2_REG_TO_REGNUM
2870 @findex DWARF2_REG_TO_REGNUM
2871 Convert DWARF2 register number into @value{GDBN} regnum. If not
2872 defined, no conversion will be performed.
2873
2874 @item ECOFF_REG_TO_REGNUM
2875 @findex ECOFF_REG_TO_REGNUM
2876 Convert ECOFF register number into @value{GDBN} regnum. If not defined,
2877 no conversion will be performed.
2878
2879 @item END_OF_TEXT_DEFAULT
2880 @findex END_OF_TEXT_DEFAULT
2881 This is an expression that should designate the end of the text section.
2882 @c (? FIXME ?)
2883
2884 @item EXTRACT_RETURN_VALUE(@var{type}, @var{regbuf}, @var{valbuf})
2885 @findex EXTRACT_RETURN_VALUE
2886 Define this to extract a function's return value of type @var{type} from
2887 the raw register state @var{regbuf} and copy that, in virtual format,
2888 into @var{valbuf}.
2889
2890 @item EXTRACT_STRUCT_VALUE_ADDRESS(@var{regbuf})
2891 @findex EXTRACT_STRUCT_VALUE_ADDRESS
2892 When defined, extract from the array @var{regbuf} (containing the raw
2893 register state) the @code{CORE_ADDR} at which a function should return
2894 its structure value.
2895
2896 If not defined, @code{EXTRACT_RETURN_VALUE} is used.
2897
2898 @item EXTRACT_STRUCT_VALUE_ADDRESS_P()
2899 @findex EXTRACT_STRUCT_VALUE_ADDRESS_P
2900 Predicate for @code{EXTRACT_STRUCT_VALUE_ADDRESS}.
2901
2902 @item FLOAT_INFO
2903 @findex FLOAT_INFO
2904 If defined, then the @samp{info float} command will print information about
2905 the processor's floating point unit.
2906
2907 @item FP_REGNUM
2908 @findex FP_REGNUM
2909 If the virtual frame pointer is kept in a register, then define this
2910 macro to be the number (greater than or equal to zero) of that register.
2911
2912 This should only need to be defined if @code{TARGET_READ_FP} and
2913 @code{TARGET_WRITE_FP} are not defined.
2914
2915 @item FRAMELESS_FUNCTION_INVOCATION(@var{fi})
2916 @findex FRAMELESS_FUNCTION_INVOCATION
2917 Define this to an expression that returns 1 if the function invocation
2918 represented by @var{fi} does not have a stack frame associated with it.
2919 Otherwise return 0.
2920
2921 @item FRAME_ARGS_ADDRESS_CORRECT
2922 @findex FRAME_ARGS_ADDRESS_CORRECT
2923 See @file{stack.c}.
2924
2925 @item FRAME_CHAIN(@var{frame})
2926 @findex FRAME_CHAIN
2927 Given @var{frame}, return a pointer to the calling frame.
2928
2929 @item FRAME_CHAIN_COMBINE(@var{chain}, @var{frame})
2930 @findex FRAME_CHAIN_COMBINE
2931 Define this to take the frame chain pointer and the frame's nominal
2932 address and produce the nominal address of the caller's frame.
2933 Presently only defined for HP PA.
2934
2935 @item FRAME_CHAIN_VALID(@var{chain}, @var{thisframe})
2936 @findex FRAME_CHAIN_VALID
2937 Define this to be an expression that returns zero if the given frame is
2938 an outermost frame, with no caller, and nonzero otherwise. Several
2939 common definitions are available:
2940
2941 @itemize @bullet
2942 @item
2943 @code{file_frame_chain_valid} is nonzero if the chain pointer is nonzero
2944 and given frame's PC is not inside the startup file (such as
2945 @file{crt0.o}).
2946
2947 @item
2948 @code{func_frame_chain_valid} is nonzero if the chain
2949 pointer is nonzero and the given frame's PC is not in @code{main} or a
2950 known entry point function (such as @code{_start}).
2951
2952 @item
2953 @code{generic_file_frame_chain_valid} and
2954 @code{generic_func_frame_chain_valid} are equivalent implementations for
2955 targets using generic dummy frames.
2956 @end itemize
2957
2958 @item FRAME_INIT_SAVED_REGS(@var{frame})
2959 @findex FRAME_INIT_SAVED_REGS
2960 See @file{frame.h}. Determines the address of all registers in the
2961 current stack frame storing each in @code{frame->saved_regs}. Space for
2962 @code{frame->saved_regs} shall be allocated by
2963 @code{FRAME_INIT_SAVED_REGS} using either
2964 @code{frame_saved_regs_zalloc} or @code{frame_obstack_alloc}.
2965
2966 @code{FRAME_FIND_SAVED_REGS} and @code{EXTRA_FRAME_INFO} are deprecated.
2967
2968 @item FRAME_NUM_ARGS (@var{fi})
2969 @findex FRAME_NUM_ARGS
2970 For the frame described by @var{fi} return the number of arguments that
2971 are being passed. If the number of arguments is not known, return
2972 @code{-1}.
2973
2974 @item FRAME_SAVED_PC(@var{frame})
2975 @findex FRAME_SAVED_PC
2976 Given @var{frame}, return the pc saved there. This is the return
2977 address.
2978
2979 @item FUNCTION_EPILOGUE_SIZE
2980 @findex FUNCTION_EPILOGUE_SIZE
2981 For some COFF targets, the @code{x_sym.x_misc.x_fsize} field of the
2982 function end symbol is 0. For such targets, you must define
2983 @code{FUNCTION_EPILOGUE_SIZE} to expand into the standard size of a
2984 function's epilogue.
2985
2986 @item FUNCTION_START_OFFSET
2987 @findex FUNCTION_START_OFFSET
2988 An integer, giving the offset in bytes from a function's address (as
2989 used in the values of symbols, function pointers, etc.), and the
2990 function's first genuine instruction.
2991
2992 This is zero on almost all machines: the function's address is usually
2993 the address of its first instruction. However, on the VAX, for example,
2994 each function starts with two bytes containing a bitmask indicating
2995 which registers to save upon entry to the function. The VAX @code{call}
2996 instructions check this value, and save the appropriate registers
2997 automatically. Thus, since the offset from the function's address to
2998 its first instruction is two bytes, @code{FUNCTION_START_OFFSET} would
2999 be 2 on the VAX.
3000
3001 @item GCC_COMPILED_FLAG_SYMBOL
3002 @itemx GCC2_COMPILED_FLAG_SYMBOL
3003 @findex GCC2_COMPILED_FLAG_SYMBOL
3004 @findex GCC_COMPILED_FLAG_SYMBOL
3005 If defined, these are the names of the symbols that @value{GDBN} will
3006 look for to detect that GCC compiled the file. The default symbols
3007 are @code{gcc_compiled.} and @code{gcc2_compiled.},
3008 respectively. (Currently only defined for the Delta 68.)
3009
3010 @item @value{GDBN}_MULTI_ARCH
3011 @findex @value{GDBN}_MULTI_ARCH
3012 If defined and non-zero, enables suport for multiple architectures
3013 within @value{GDBN}.
3014
3015 This support can be enabled at two levels. At level one, only
3016 definitions for previously undefined macros are provided; at level two,
3017 a multi-arch definition of all architecture dependant macros will be
3018 defined.
3019
3020 @item @value{GDBN}_TARGET_IS_HPPA
3021 @findex @value{GDBN}_TARGET_IS_HPPA
3022 This determines whether horrible kludge code in @file{dbxread.c} and
3023 @file{partial-stab.h} is used to mangle multiple-symbol-table files from
3024 HPPA's. This should all be ripped out, and a scheme like @file{elfread.c}
3025 used instead.
3026
3027 @item GET_LONGJMP_TARGET
3028 @findex GET_LONGJMP_TARGET
3029 For most machines, this is a target-dependent parameter. On the
3030 DECstation and the Iris, this is a native-dependent parameter, since
3031 trhe header file @file{setjmp.h} is needed to define it.
3032
3033 This macro determines the target PC address that @code{longjmp} will jump to,
3034 assuming that we have just stopped at a @code{longjmp} breakpoint. It takes a
3035 @code{CORE_ADDR *} as argument, and stores the target PC value through this
3036 pointer. It examines the current state of the machine as needed.
3037
3038 @item GET_SAVED_REGISTER
3039 @findex GET_SAVED_REGISTER
3040 @findex get_saved_register
3041 Define this if you need to supply your own definition for the function
3042 @code{get_saved_register}.
3043
3044 @item HAVE_REGISTER_WINDOWS
3045 @findex HAVE_REGISTER_WINDOWS
3046 Define this if the target has register windows.
3047
3048 @item REGISTER_IN_WINDOW_P (@var{regnum})
3049 @findex REGISTER_IN_WINDOW_P
3050 Define this to be an expression that is 1 if the given register is in
3051 the window.
3052
3053 @item IBM6000_TARGET
3054 @findex IBM6000_TARGET
3055 Shows that we are configured for an IBM RS/6000 target. This
3056 conditional should be eliminated (FIXME) and replaced by
3057 feature-specific macros. It was introduced in a haste and we are
3058 repenting at leisure.
3059
3060 @item I386_USE_GENERIC_WATCHPOINTS
3061 An x86-based target can define this to use the generic x86 watchpoint
3062 support; see @ref{Algorithms, I386_USE_GENERIC_WATCHPOINTS}.
3063
3064 @item SYMBOLS_CAN_START_WITH_DOLLAR
3065 @findex SYMBOLS_CAN_START_WITH_DOLLAR
3066 Some systems have routines whose names start with @samp{$}. Giving this
3067 macro a non-zero value tells @value{GDBN}'s expression parser to check for such
3068 routines when parsing tokens that begin with @samp{$}.
3069
3070 On HP-UX, certain system routines (millicode) have names beginning with
3071 @samp{$} or @samp{$$}. For example, @code{$$dyncall} is a millicode
3072 routine that handles inter-space procedure calls on PA-RISC.
3073
3074 @item IEEE_FLOAT
3075 @findex IEEE_FLOAT
3076 Define this if the target system uses IEEE-format floating point numbers.
3077
3078 @item INIT_EXTRA_FRAME_INFO (@var{fromleaf}, @var{frame})
3079 @findex INIT_EXTRA_FRAME_INFO
3080 If additional information about the frame is required this should be
3081 stored in @code{frame->extra_info}. Space for @code{frame->extra_info}
3082 is allocated using @code{frame_obstack_alloc}.
3083
3084 @item INIT_FRAME_PC (@var{fromleaf}, @var{prev})
3085 @findex INIT_FRAME_PC
3086 This is a C statement that sets the pc of the frame pointed to by
3087 @var{prev}. [By default...]
3088
3089 @item INNER_THAN (@var{lhs}, @var{rhs})
3090 @findex INNER_THAN
3091 Returns non-zero if stack address @var{lhs} is inner than (nearer to the
3092 stack top) stack address @var{rhs}. Define this as @code{lhs < rhs} if
3093 the target's stack grows downward in memory, or @code{lhs > rsh} if the
3094 stack grows upward.
3095
3096 @item gdbarch_in_function_epilogue_p (@var{gdbarch}, @var{pc})
3097 @findex gdbarch_in_function_epilogue_p
3098 Returns non-zero if the given @var{pc} is in the epilogue of a function.
3099 The epilogue of a function is defined as the part of a function where
3100 the stack frame of the function already has been destroyed up to the
3101 final `return from function call' instruction.
3102
3103 @item IN_SIGTRAMP (@var{pc}, @var{name})
3104 @findex IN_SIGTRAMP
3105 Define this to return non-zero if the given @var{pc} and/or @var{name}
3106 indicates that the current function is a @code{sigtramp}.
3107
3108 @item SIGTRAMP_START (@var{pc})
3109 @findex SIGTRAMP_START
3110 @itemx SIGTRAMP_END (@var{pc})
3111 @findex SIGTRAMP_END
3112 Define these to be the start and end address of the @code{sigtramp} for the
3113 given @var{pc}. On machines where the address is just a compile time
3114 constant, the macro expansion will typically just ignore the supplied
3115 @var{pc}.
3116
3117 @item IN_SOLIB_CALL_TRAMPOLINE (@var{pc}, @var{name})
3118 @findex IN_SOLIB_CALL_TRAMPOLINE
3119 Define this to evaluate to nonzero if the program is stopped in the
3120 trampoline that connects to a shared library.
3121
3122 @item IN_SOLIB_RETURN_TRAMPOLINE (@var{pc}, @var{name})
3123 @findex IN_SOLIB_RETURN_TRAMPOLINE
3124 Define this to evaluate to nonzero if the program is stopped in the
3125 trampoline that returns from a shared library.
3126
3127 @item IN_SOLIB_DYNSYM_RESOLVE_CODE (@var{pc})
3128 @findex IN_SOLIB_DYNSYM_RESOLVE_CODE
3129 Define this to evaluate to nonzero if the program is stopped in the
3130 dynamic linker.
3131
3132 @item SKIP_SOLIB_RESOLVER (@var{pc})
3133 @findex SKIP_SOLIB_RESOLVER
3134 Define this to evaluate to the (nonzero) address at which execution
3135 should continue to get past the dynamic linker's symbol resolution
3136 function. A zero value indicates that it is not important or necessary
3137 to set a breakpoint to get through the dynamic linker and that single
3138 stepping will suffice.
3139
3140 @item INTEGER_TO_ADDRESS (@var{type}, @var{buf})
3141 @findex INTEGER_TO_ADDRESS
3142 @cindex converting integers to addresses
3143 Define this when the architecture needs to handle non-pointer to address
3144 conversions specially. Converts that value to an address according to
3145 the current architectures conventions.
3146
3147 @emph{Pragmatics: When the user copies a well defined expression from
3148 their source code and passes it, as a parameter, to @value{GDBN}'s
3149 @code{print} command, they should get the same value as would have been
3150 computed by the target program. Any deviation from this rule can cause
3151 major confusion and annoyance, and needs to be justified carefully. In
3152 other words, @value{GDBN} doesn't really have the freedom to do these
3153 conversions in clever and useful ways. It has, however, been pointed
3154 out that users aren't complaining about how @value{GDBN} casts integers
3155 to pointers; they are complaining that they can't take an address from a
3156 disassembly listing and give it to @code{x/i}. Adding an architecture
3157 method like @code{INTEGER_TO_ADDRESS} certainly makes it possible for
3158 @value{GDBN} to ``get it right'' in all circumstances.}
3159
3160 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Pointers Are Not Always
3161 Addresses}.
3162
3163 @item IS_TRAPPED_INTERNALVAR (@var{name})
3164 @findex IS_TRAPPED_INTERNALVAR
3165 This is an ugly hook to allow the specification of special actions that
3166 should occur as a side-effect of setting the value of a variable
3167 internal to @value{GDBN}. Currently only used by the h8500. Note that this
3168 could be either a host or target conditional.
3169
3170 @item NEED_TEXT_START_END
3171 @findex NEED_TEXT_START_END
3172 Define this if @value{GDBN} should determine the start and end addresses of the
3173 text section. (Seems dubious.)
3174
3175 @item NO_HIF_SUPPORT
3176 @findex NO_HIF_SUPPORT
3177 (Specific to the a29k.)
3178
3179 @item POINTER_TO_ADDRESS (@var{type}, @var{buf})
3180 @findex POINTER_TO_ADDRESS
3181 Assume that @var{buf} holds a pointer of type @var{type}, in the
3182 appropriate format for the current architecture. Return the byte
3183 address the pointer refers to.
3184 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Pointers Are Not Always Addresses}.
3185
3186 @item REGISTER_CONVERTIBLE (@var{reg})
3187 @findex REGISTER_CONVERTIBLE
3188 Return non-zero if @var{reg} uses different raw and virtual formats.
3189 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Using Different Register and Memory Data Representations}.
3190
3191 @item REGISTER_RAW_SIZE (@var{reg})
3192 @findex REGISTER_RAW_SIZE
3193 Return the raw size of @var{reg}.
3194 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Using Different Register and Memory Data Representations}.
3195
3196 @item REGISTER_VIRTUAL_SIZE (@var{reg})
3197 @findex REGISTER_VIRTUAL_SIZE
3198 Return the virtual size of @var{reg}.
3199 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Using Different Register and Memory Data Representations}.
3200
3201 @item REGISTER_VIRTUAL_TYPE (@var{reg})
3202 @findex REGISTER_VIRTUAL_TYPE
3203 Return the virtual type of @var{reg}.
3204 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Using Different Register and Memory Data Representations}.
3205
3206 @item REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_VIRTUAL(@var{reg}, @var{type}, @var{from}, @var{to})
3207 @findex REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_VIRTUAL
3208 Convert the value of register @var{reg} from its raw form to its virtual
3209 form.
3210 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Using Different Register and Memory Data Representations}.
3211
3212 @item REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_RAW(@var{type}, @var{reg}, @var{from}, @var{to})
3213 @findex REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_RAW
3214 Convert the value of register @var{reg} from its virtual form to its raw
3215 form.
3216 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Using Different Register and Memory Data Representations}.
3217
3218 @item RETURN_VALUE_ON_STACK(@var{type})
3219 @findex RETURN_VALUE_ON_STACK
3220 @cindex returning structures by value
3221 @cindex structures, returning by value
3222
3223 Return non-zero if values of type TYPE are returned on the stack, using
3224 the ``struct convention'' (i.e., the caller provides a pointer to a
3225 buffer in which the callee should store the return value). This
3226 controls how the @samp{finish} command finds a function's return value,
3227 and whether an inferior function call reserves space on the stack for
3228 the return value.
3229
3230 The full logic @value{GDBN} uses here is kind of odd.
3231
3232 @itemize @bullet
3233 @item
3234 If the type being returned by value is not a structure, union, or array,
3235 and @code{RETURN_VALUE_ON_STACK} returns zero, then @value{GDBN}
3236 concludes the value is not returned using the struct convention.
3237
3238 @item
3239 Otherwise, @value{GDBN} calls @code{USE_STRUCT_CONVENTION} (see below).
3240 If that returns non-zero, @value{GDBN} assumes the struct convention is
3241 in use.
3242 @end itemize
3243
3244 In other words, to indicate that a given type is returned by value using
3245 the struct convention, that type must be either a struct, union, array,
3246 or something @code{RETURN_VALUE_ON_STACK} likes, @emph{and} something
3247 that @code{USE_STRUCT_CONVENTION} likes.
3248
3249 Note that, in C and C@t{++}, arrays are never returned by value. In those
3250 languages, these predicates will always see a pointer type, never an
3251 array type. All the references above to arrays being returned by value
3252 apply only to other languages.
3253
3254 @item SOFTWARE_SINGLE_STEP_P()
3255 @findex SOFTWARE_SINGLE_STEP_P
3256 Define this as 1 if the target does not have a hardware single-step
3257 mechanism. The macro @code{SOFTWARE_SINGLE_STEP} must also be defined.
3258
3259 @item SOFTWARE_SINGLE_STEP(@var{signal}, @var{insert_breapoints_p})
3260 @findex SOFTWARE_SINGLE_STEP
3261 A function that inserts or removes (depending on
3262 @var{insert_breapoints_p}) breakpoints at each possible destinations of
3263 the next instruction. See @file{sparc-tdep.c} and @file{rs6000-tdep.c}
3264 for examples.
3265
3266 @item SOFUN_ADDRESS_MAYBE_MISSING
3267 @findex SOFUN_ADDRESS_MAYBE_MISSING
3268 Somebody clever observed that, the more actual addresses you have in the
3269 debug information, the more time the linker has to spend relocating
3270 them. So whenever there's some other way the debugger could find the
3271 address it needs, you should omit it from the debug info, to make
3272 linking faster.
3273
3274 @code{SOFUN_ADDRESS_MAYBE_MISSING} indicates that a particular set of
3275 hacks of this sort are in use, affecting @code{N_SO} and @code{N_FUN}
3276 entries in stabs-format debugging information. @code{N_SO} stabs mark
3277 the beginning and ending addresses of compilation units in the text
3278 segment. @code{N_FUN} stabs mark the starts and ends of functions.
3279
3280 @code{SOFUN_ADDRESS_MAYBE_MISSING} means two things:
3281
3282 @itemize @bullet
3283 @item
3284 @code{N_FUN} stabs have an address of zero. Instead, you should find the
3285 addresses where the function starts by taking the function name from
3286 the stab, and then looking that up in the minsyms (the
3287 linker/assembler symbol table). In other words, the stab has the
3288 name, and the linker/assembler symbol table is the only place that carries
3289 the address.
3290
3291 @item
3292 @code{N_SO} stabs have an address of zero, too. You just look at the
3293 @code{N_FUN} stabs that appear before and after the @code{N_SO} stab,
3294 and guess the starting and ending addresses of the compilation unit from
3295 them.
3296 @end itemize
3297
3298 @item PCC_SOL_BROKEN
3299 @findex PCC_SOL_BROKEN
3300 (Used only in the Convex target.)
3301
3302 @item PC_IN_CALL_DUMMY
3303 @findex PC_IN_CALL_DUMMY
3304 See @file{inferior.h}.
3305
3306 @item PC_LOAD_SEGMENT
3307 @findex PC_LOAD_SEGMENT
3308 If defined, print information about the load segment for the program
3309 counter. (Defined only for the RS/6000.)
3310
3311 @item PC_REGNUM
3312 @findex PC_REGNUM
3313 If the program counter is kept in a register, then define this macro to
3314 be the number (greater than or equal to zero) of that register.
3315
3316 This should only need to be defined if @code{TARGET_READ_PC} and
3317 @code{TARGET_WRITE_PC} are not defined.
3318
3319 @item NPC_REGNUM
3320 @findex NPC_REGNUM
3321 The number of the ``next program counter'' register, if defined.
3322
3323 @item NNPC_REGNUM
3324 @findex NNPC_REGNUM
3325 The number of the ``next next program counter'' register, if defined.
3326 Currently, this is only defined for the Motorola 88K.
3327
3328 @item PARM_BOUNDARY
3329 @findex PARM_BOUNDARY
3330 If non-zero, round arguments to a boundary of this many bits before
3331 pushing them on the stack.
3332
3333 @item PRINT_REGISTER_HOOK (@var{regno})
3334 @findex PRINT_REGISTER_HOOK
3335 If defined, this must be a function that prints the contents of the
3336 given register to standard output.
3337
3338 @item PRINT_TYPELESS_INTEGER
3339 @findex PRINT_TYPELESS_INTEGER
3340 This is an obscure substitute for @code{print_longest} that seems to
3341 have been defined for the Convex target.
3342
3343 @item PROCESS_LINENUMBER_HOOK
3344 @findex PROCESS_LINENUMBER_HOOK
3345 A hook defined for XCOFF reading.
3346
3347 @item PROLOGUE_FIRSTLINE_OVERLAP
3348 @findex PROLOGUE_FIRSTLINE_OVERLAP
3349 (Only used in unsupported Convex configuration.)
3350
3351 @item PS_REGNUM
3352 @findex PS_REGNUM
3353 If defined, this is the number of the processor status register. (This
3354 definition is only used in generic code when parsing "$ps".)
3355
3356 @item POP_FRAME
3357 @findex POP_FRAME
3358 @findex call_function_by_hand
3359 @findex return_command
3360 Used in @samp{call_function_by_hand} to remove an artificial stack
3361 frame and in @samp{return_command} to remove a real stack frame.
3362
3363 @item PUSH_ARGUMENTS (@var{nargs}, @var{args}, @var{sp}, @var{struct_return}, @var{struct_addr})
3364 @findex PUSH_ARGUMENTS
3365 Define this to push arguments onto the stack for inferior function
3366 call. Returns the updated stack pointer value.
3367
3368 @item PUSH_DUMMY_FRAME
3369 @findex PUSH_DUMMY_FRAME
3370 Used in @samp{call_function_by_hand} to create an artificial stack frame.
3371
3372 @item REGISTER_BYTES
3373 @findex REGISTER_BYTES
3374 The total amount of space needed to store @value{GDBN}'s copy of the machine's
3375 register state.
3376
3377 @item REGISTER_NAME(@var{i})
3378 @findex REGISTER_NAME
3379 Return the name of register @var{i} as a string. May return @code{NULL}
3380 or @code{NUL} to indicate that register @var{i} is not valid.
3381
3382 @item REGISTER_NAMES
3383 @findex REGISTER_NAMES
3384 Deprecated in favor of @code{REGISTER_NAME}.
3385
3386 @item REG_STRUCT_HAS_ADDR (@var{gcc_p}, @var{type})
3387 @findex REG_STRUCT_HAS_ADDR
3388 Define this to return 1 if the given type will be passed by pointer
3389 rather than directly.
3390
3391 @item SAVE_DUMMY_FRAME_TOS (@var{sp})
3392 @findex SAVE_DUMMY_FRAME_TOS
3393 Used in @samp{call_function_by_hand} to notify the target dependent code
3394 of the top-of-stack value that will be passed to the the inferior code.
3395 This is the value of the @code{SP} after both the dummy frame and space
3396 for parameters/results have been allocated on the stack.
3397
3398 @item SDB_REG_TO_REGNUM
3399 @findex SDB_REG_TO_REGNUM
3400 Define this to convert sdb register numbers into @value{GDBN} regnums. If not
3401 defined, no conversion will be done.
3402
3403 @item SHIFT_INST_REGS
3404 @findex SHIFT_INST_REGS
3405 (Only used for m88k targets.)
3406
3407 @item SKIP_PERMANENT_BREAKPOINT
3408 @findex SKIP_PERMANENT_BREAKPOINT
3409 Advance the inferior's PC past a permanent breakpoint. @value{GDBN} normally
3410 steps over a breakpoint by removing it, stepping one instruction, and
3411 re-inserting the breakpoint. However, permanent breakpoints are
3412 hardwired into the inferior, and can't be removed, so this strategy
3413 doesn't work. Calling @code{SKIP_PERMANENT_BREAKPOINT} adjusts the processor's
3414 state so that execution will resume just after the breakpoint. This
3415 macro does the right thing even when the breakpoint is in the delay slot
3416 of a branch or jump.
3417
3418 @item SKIP_PROLOGUE (@var{pc})
3419 @findex SKIP_PROLOGUE
3420 A C expression that returns the address of the ``real'' code beyond the
3421 function entry prologue found at @var{pc}.
3422
3423 @item SKIP_PROLOGUE_FRAMELESS_P
3424 @findex SKIP_PROLOGUE_FRAMELESS_P
3425 A C expression that should behave similarly, but that can stop as soon
3426 as the function is known to have a frame. If not defined,
3427 @code{SKIP_PROLOGUE} will be used instead.
3428
3429 @item SKIP_TRAMPOLINE_CODE (@var{pc})
3430 @findex SKIP_TRAMPOLINE_CODE
3431 If the target machine has trampoline code that sits between callers and
3432 the functions being called, then define this macro to return a new PC
3433 that is at the start of the real function.
3434
3435 @item SP_REGNUM
3436 @findex SP_REGNUM
3437 If the stack-pointer is kept in a register, then define this macro to be
3438 the number (greater than or equal to zero) of that register.
3439
3440 This should only need to be defined if @code{TARGET_WRITE_SP} and
3441 @code{TARGET_WRITE_SP} are not defined.
3442
3443 @item STAB_REG_TO_REGNUM
3444 @findex STAB_REG_TO_REGNUM
3445 Define this to convert stab register numbers (as gotten from `r'
3446 declarations) into @value{GDBN} regnums. If not defined, no conversion will be
3447 done.
3448
3449 @item STACK_ALIGN (@var{addr})
3450 @findex STACK_ALIGN
3451 Define this to adjust the address to the alignment required for the
3452 processor's stack.
3453
3454 @item STEP_SKIPS_DELAY (@var{addr})
3455 @findex STEP_SKIPS_DELAY
3456 Define this to return true if the address is of an instruction with a
3457 delay slot. If a breakpoint has been placed in the instruction's delay
3458 slot, @value{GDBN} will single-step over that instruction before resuming
3459 normally. Currently only defined for the Mips.
3460
3461 @item STORE_RETURN_VALUE (@var{type}, @var{valbuf})
3462 @findex STORE_RETURN_VALUE
3463 A C expression that stores a function return value of type @var{type},
3464 where @var{valbuf} is the address of the value to be stored.
3465
3466 @item SUN_FIXED_LBRAC_BUG
3467 @findex SUN_FIXED_LBRAC_BUG
3468 (Used only for Sun-3 and Sun-4 targets.)
3469
3470 @item SYMBOL_RELOADING_DEFAULT
3471 @findex SYMBOL_RELOADING_DEFAULT
3472 The default value of the ``symbol-reloading'' variable. (Never defined in
3473 current sources.)
3474
3475 @item TARGET_BYTE_ORDER_DEFAULT
3476 @findex TARGET_BYTE_ORDER_DEFAULT
3477 The ordering of bytes in the target. This must be either
3478 @code{BFD_ENDIAN_BIG} or @code{BFD_ENDIAN_LITTLE}. This macro replaces
3479 @code{TARGET_BYTE_ORDER} which is deprecated.
3480
3481 @item TARGET_BYTE_ORDER_SELECTABLE_P
3482 @findex TARGET_BYTE_ORDER_SELECTABLE_P
3483 Non-zero if the target has both @code{BIG_ENDIAN} and
3484 @code{BFD_ENDIAN_LITTLE} variants. This macro replaces
3485 @code{TARGET_BYTE_ORDER_SELECTABLE} which is deprecated.
3486
3487 @item TARGET_CHAR_BIT
3488 @findex TARGET_CHAR_BIT
3489 Number of bits in a char; defaults to 8.
3490
3491 @item TARGET_CHAR_SIGNED
3492 @findex TARGET_CHAR_SIGNED
3493 Non-zero if @code{char} is normally signed on this architecture; zero if
3494 it should be unsigned.
3495
3496 The ISO C standard requires the compiler to treat @code{char} as
3497 equivalent to either @code{signed char} or @code{unsigned char}; any
3498 character in the standard execution set is supposed to be positive.
3499 Most compilers treat @code{char} as signed, but @code{char} is unsigned
3500 on the IBM S/390, RS6000, and PowerPC targets.
3501
3502 @item TARGET_COMPLEX_BIT
3503 @findex TARGET_COMPLEX_BIT
3504 Number of bits in a complex number; defaults to @code{2 * TARGET_FLOAT_BIT}.
3505
3506 At present this macro is not used.
3507
3508 @item TARGET_DOUBLE_BIT
3509 @findex TARGET_DOUBLE_BIT
3510 Number of bits in a double float; defaults to @code{8 * TARGET_CHAR_BIT}.
3511
3512 @item TARGET_DOUBLE_COMPLEX_BIT
3513 @findex TARGET_DOUBLE_COMPLEX_BIT
3514 Number of bits in a double complex; defaults to @code{2 * TARGET_DOUBLE_BIT}.
3515
3516 At present this macro is not used.
3517
3518 @item TARGET_FLOAT_BIT
3519 @findex TARGET_FLOAT_BIT
3520 Number of bits in a float; defaults to @code{4 * TARGET_CHAR_BIT}.
3521
3522 @item TARGET_INT_BIT
3523 @findex TARGET_INT_BIT
3524 Number of bits in an integer; defaults to @code{4 * TARGET_CHAR_BIT}.
3525
3526 @item TARGET_LONG_BIT
3527 @findex TARGET_LONG_BIT
3528 Number of bits in a long integer; defaults to @code{4 * TARGET_CHAR_BIT}.
3529
3530 @item TARGET_LONG_DOUBLE_BIT
3531 @findex TARGET_LONG_DOUBLE_BIT
3532 Number of bits in a long double float;
3533 defaults to @code{2 * TARGET_DOUBLE_BIT}.
3534
3535 @item TARGET_LONG_LONG_BIT
3536 @findex TARGET_LONG_LONG_BIT
3537 Number of bits in a long long integer; defaults to @code{2 * TARGET_LONG_BIT}.
3538
3539 @item TARGET_PTR_BIT
3540 @findex TARGET_PTR_BIT
3541 Number of bits in a pointer; defaults to @code{TARGET_INT_BIT}.
3542
3543 @item TARGET_SHORT_BIT
3544 @findex TARGET_SHORT_BIT
3545 Number of bits in a short integer; defaults to @code{2 * TARGET_CHAR_BIT}.
3546
3547 @item TARGET_READ_PC
3548 @findex TARGET_READ_PC
3549 @itemx TARGET_WRITE_PC (@var{val}, @var{pid})
3550 @findex TARGET_WRITE_PC
3551 @itemx TARGET_READ_SP
3552 @findex TARGET_READ_SP
3553 @itemx TARGET_WRITE_SP
3554 @findex TARGET_WRITE_SP
3555 @itemx TARGET_READ_FP
3556 @findex TARGET_READ_FP
3557 @itemx TARGET_WRITE_FP
3558 @findex TARGET_WRITE_FP
3559 @findex read_pc
3560 @findex write_pc
3561 @findex read_sp
3562 @findex write_sp
3563 @findex read_fp
3564 @findex write_fp
3565 These change the behavior of @code{read_pc}, @code{write_pc},
3566 @code{read_sp}, @code{write_sp}, @code{read_fp} and @code{write_fp}.
3567 For most targets, these may be left undefined. @value{GDBN} will call the read
3568 and write register functions with the relevant @code{_REGNUM} argument.
3569
3570 These macros are useful when a target keeps one of these registers in a
3571 hard to get at place; for example, part in a segment register and part
3572 in an ordinary register.
3573
3574 @item TARGET_VIRTUAL_FRAME_POINTER(@var{pc}, @var{regp}, @var{offsetp})
3575 @findex TARGET_VIRTUAL_FRAME_POINTER
3576 Returns a @code{(register, offset)} pair representing the virtual
3577 frame pointer in use at the code address @var{pc}. If virtual
3578 frame pointers are not used, a default definition simply returns
3579 @code{FP_REGNUM}, with an offset of zero.
3580
3581 @item TARGET_HAS_HARDWARE_WATCHPOINTS
3582 If non-zero, the target has support for hardware-assisted
3583 watchpoints. @xref{Algorithms, watchpoints}, for more details and
3584 other related macros.
3585
3586 @item TARGET_PRINT_INSN (@var{addr}, @var{info})
3587 @findex TARGET_PRINT_INSN
3588 This is the function used by @value{GDBN} to print an assembly
3589 instruction. It prints the instruction at address @var{addr} in
3590 debugged memory and returns the length of the instruction, in bytes. If
3591 a target doesn't define its own printing routine, it defaults to an
3592 accessor function for the global pointer @code{tm_print_insn}. This
3593 usually points to a function in the @code{opcodes} library (@pxref{Support
3594 Libraries, ,Opcodes}). @var{info} is a structure (of type
3595 @code{disassemble_info}) defined in @file{include/dis-asm.h} used to
3596 pass information to the instruction decoding routine.
3597
3598 @item USE_STRUCT_CONVENTION (@var{gcc_p}, @var{type})
3599 @findex USE_STRUCT_CONVENTION
3600 If defined, this must be an expression that is nonzero if a value of the
3601 given @var{type} being returned from a function must have space
3602 allocated for it on the stack. @var{gcc_p} is true if the function
3603 being considered is known to have been compiled by GCC; this is helpful
3604 for systems where GCC is known to use different calling convention than
3605 other compilers.
3606
3607 @item VARIABLES_INSIDE_BLOCK (@var{desc}, @var{gcc_p})
3608 @findex VARIABLES_INSIDE_BLOCK
3609 For dbx-style debugging information, if the compiler puts variable
3610 declarations inside LBRAC/RBRAC blocks, this should be defined to be
3611 nonzero. @var{desc} is the value of @code{n_desc} from the
3612 @code{N_RBRAC} symbol, and @var{gcc_p} is true if @value{GDBN} has noticed the
3613 presence of either the @code{GCC_COMPILED_SYMBOL} or the
3614 @code{GCC2_COMPILED_SYMBOL}. By default, this is 0.
3615
3616 @item OS9K_VARIABLES_INSIDE_BLOCK (@var{desc}, @var{gcc_p})
3617 @findex OS9K_VARIABLES_INSIDE_BLOCK
3618 Similarly, for OS/9000. Defaults to 1.
3619 @end table
3620
3621 Motorola M68K target conditionals.
3622
3623 @ftable @code
3624 @item BPT_VECTOR
3625 Define this to be the 4-bit location of the breakpoint trap vector. If
3626 not defined, it will default to @code{0xf}.
3627
3628 @item REMOTE_BPT_VECTOR
3629 Defaults to @code{1}.
3630 @end ftable
3631
3632 @section Adding a New Target
3633
3634 @cindex adding a target
3635 The following files add a target to @value{GDBN}:
3636
3637 @table @file
3638 @vindex TDEPFILES
3639 @item gdb/config/@var{arch}/@var{ttt}.mt
3640 Contains a Makefile fragment specific to this target. Specifies what
3641 object files are needed for target @var{ttt}, by defining
3642 @samp{TDEPFILES=@dots{}} and @samp{TDEPLIBS=@dots{}}. Also specifies
3643 the header file which describes @var{ttt}, by defining @samp{TM_FILE=
3644 tm-@var{ttt}.h}.
3645
3646 You can also define @samp{TM_CFLAGS}, @samp{TM_CLIBS}, @samp{TM_CDEPS},
3647 but these are now deprecated, replaced by autoconf, and may go away in
3648 future versions of @value{GDBN}.
3649
3650 @item gdb/@var{ttt}-tdep.c
3651 Contains any miscellaneous code required for this target machine. On
3652 some machines it doesn't exist at all. Sometimes the macros in
3653 @file{tm-@var{ttt}.h} become very complicated, so they are implemented
3654 as functions here instead, and the macro is simply defined to call the
3655 function. This is vastly preferable, since it is easier to understand
3656 and debug.
3657
3658 @item gdb/@var{arch}-tdep.c
3659 @itemx gdb/@var{arch}-tdep.h
3660 This often exists to describe the basic layout of the target machine's
3661 processor chip (registers, stack, etc.). If used, it is included by
3662 @file{@var{ttt}-tdep.h}. It can be shared among many targets that use
3663 the same processor.
3664
3665 @item gdb/config/@var{arch}/tm-@var{ttt}.h
3666 (@file{tm.h} is a link to this file, created by @code{configure}). Contains
3667 macro definitions about the target machine's registers, stack frame
3668 format and instructions.
3669
3670 New targets do not need this file and should not create it.
3671
3672 @item gdb/config/@var{arch}/tm-@var{arch}.h
3673 This often exists to describe the basic layout of the target machine's
3674 processor chip (registers, stack, etc.). If used, it is included by
3675 @file{tm-@var{ttt}.h}. It can be shared among many targets that use the
3676 same processor.
3677
3678 New targets do not need this file and should not create it.
3679
3680 @end table
3681
3682 If you are adding a new operating system for an existing CPU chip, add a
3683 @file{config/tm-@var{os}.h} file that describes the operating system
3684 facilities that are unusual (extra symbol table info; the breakpoint
3685 instruction needed; etc.). Then write a @file{@var{arch}/tm-@var{os}.h}
3686 that just @code{#include}s @file{tm-@var{arch}.h} and
3687 @file{config/tm-@var{os}.h}.
3688
3689
3690 @node Target Vector Definition
3691
3692 @chapter Target Vector Definition
3693 @cindex target vector
3694
3695 The target vector defines the interface between @value{GDBN}'s
3696 abstract handling of target systems, and the nitty-gritty code that
3697 actually exercises control over a process or a serial port.
3698 @value{GDBN} includes some 30-40 different target vectors; however,
3699 each configuration of @value{GDBN} includes only a few of them.
3700
3701 @section File Targets
3702
3703 Both executables and core files have target vectors.
3704
3705 @section Standard Protocol and Remote Stubs
3706
3707 @value{GDBN}'s file @file{remote.c} talks a serial protocol to code
3708 that runs in the target system. @value{GDBN} provides several sample
3709 @dfn{stubs} that can be integrated into target programs or operating
3710 systems for this purpose; they are named @file{*-stub.c}.
3711
3712 The @value{GDBN} user's manual describes how to put such a stub into
3713 your target code. What follows is a discussion of integrating the
3714 SPARC stub into a complicated operating system (rather than a simple
3715 program), by Stu Grossman, the author of this stub.
3716
3717 The trap handling code in the stub assumes the following upon entry to
3718 @code{trap_low}:
3719
3720 @enumerate
3721 @item
3722 %l1 and %l2 contain pc and npc respectively at the time of the trap;
3723
3724 @item
3725 traps are disabled;
3726
3727 @item
3728 you are in the correct trap window.
3729 @end enumerate
3730
3731 As long as your trap handler can guarantee those conditions, then there
3732 is no reason why you shouldn't be able to ``share'' traps with the stub.
3733 The stub has no requirement that it be jumped to directly from the
3734 hardware trap vector. That is why it calls @code{exceptionHandler()},
3735 which is provided by the external environment. For instance, this could
3736 set up the hardware traps to actually execute code which calls the stub
3737 first, and then transfers to its own trap handler.
3738
3739 For the most point, there probably won't be much of an issue with
3740 ``sharing'' traps, as the traps we use are usually not used by the kernel,
3741 and often indicate unrecoverable error conditions. Anyway, this is all
3742 controlled by a table, and is trivial to modify. The most important
3743 trap for us is for @code{ta 1}. Without that, we can't single step or
3744 do breakpoints. Everything else is unnecessary for the proper operation
3745 of the debugger/stub.
3746
3747 From reading the stub, it's probably not obvious how breakpoints work.
3748 They are simply done by deposit/examine operations from @value{GDBN}.
3749
3750 @section ROM Monitor Interface
3751
3752 @section Custom Protocols
3753
3754 @section Transport Layer
3755
3756 @section Builtin Simulator
3757
3758
3759 @node Native Debugging
3760
3761 @chapter Native Debugging
3762 @cindex native debugging
3763
3764 Several files control @value{GDBN}'s configuration for native support:
3765
3766 @table @file
3767 @vindex NATDEPFILES
3768 @item gdb/config/@var{arch}/@var{xyz}.mh
3769 Specifies Makefile fragments needed when hosting @emph{or native} on
3770 machine @var{xyz}. In particular, this lists the required
3771 native-dependent object files, by defining @samp{NATDEPFILES=@dots{}}.
3772 Also specifies the header file which describes native support on
3773 @var{xyz}, by defining @samp{NAT_FILE= nm-@var{xyz}.h}. You can also
3774 define @samp{NAT_CFLAGS}, @samp{NAT_ADD_FILES}, @samp{NAT_CLIBS},
3775 @samp{NAT_CDEPS}, etc.; see @file{Makefile.in}.
3776
3777 @item gdb/config/@var{arch}/nm-@var{xyz}.h
3778 (@file{nm.h} is a link to this file, created by @code{configure}). Contains C
3779 macro definitions describing the native system environment, such as
3780 child process control and core file support.
3781
3782 @item gdb/@var{xyz}-nat.c
3783 Contains any miscellaneous C code required for this native support of
3784 this machine. On some machines it doesn't exist at all.
3785 @end table
3786
3787 There are some ``generic'' versions of routines that can be used by
3788 various systems. These can be customized in various ways by macros
3789 defined in your @file{nm-@var{xyz}.h} file. If these routines work for
3790 the @var{xyz} host, you can just include the generic file's name (with
3791 @samp{.o}, not @samp{.c}) in @code{NATDEPFILES}.
3792
3793 Otherwise, if your machine needs custom support routines, you will need
3794 to write routines that perform the same functions as the generic file.
3795 Put them into @file{@var{xyz}-nat.c}, and put @file{@var{xyz}-nat.o}
3796 into @code{NATDEPFILES}.
3797
3798 @table @file
3799 @item inftarg.c
3800 This contains the @emph{target_ops vector} that supports Unix child
3801 processes on systems which use ptrace and wait to control the child.
3802
3803 @item procfs.c
3804 This contains the @emph{target_ops vector} that supports Unix child
3805 processes on systems which use /proc to control the child.
3806
3807 @item fork-child.c
3808 This does the low-level grunge that uses Unix system calls to do a ``fork
3809 and exec'' to start up a child process.
3810
3811 @item infptrace.c
3812 This is the low level interface to inferior processes for systems using
3813 the Unix @code{ptrace} call in a vanilla way.
3814 @end table
3815
3816 @section Native core file Support
3817 @cindex native core files
3818
3819 @table @file
3820 @findex fetch_core_registers
3821 @item core-aout.c::fetch_core_registers()
3822 Support for reading registers out of a core file. This routine calls
3823 @code{register_addr()}, see below. Now that BFD is used to read core
3824 files, virtually all machines should use @code{core-aout.c}, and should
3825 just provide @code{fetch_core_registers} in @code{@var{xyz}-nat.c} (or
3826 @code{REGISTER_U_ADDR} in @code{nm-@var{xyz}.h}).
3827
3828 @item core-aout.c::register_addr()
3829 If your @code{nm-@var{xyz}.h} file defines the macro
3830 @code{REGISTER_U_ADDR(addr, blockend, regno)}, it should be defined to
3831 set @code{addr} to the offset within the @samp{user} struct of @value{GDBN}
3832 register number @code{regno}. @code{blockend} is the offset within the
3833 ``upage'' of @code{u.u_ar0}. If @code{REGISTER_U_ADDR} is defined,
3834 @file{core-aout.c} will define the @code{register_addr()} function and
3835 use the macro in it. If you do not define @code{REGISTER_U_ADDR}, but
3836 you are using the standard @code{fetch_core_registers()}, you will need
3837 to define your own version of @code{register_addr()}, put it into your
3838 @code{@var{xyz}-nat.c} file, and be sure @code{@var{xyz}-nat.o} is in
3839 the @code{NATDEPFILES} list. If you have your own
3840 @code{fetch_core_registers()}, you may not need a separate
3841 @code{register_addr()}. Many custom @code{fetch_core_registers()}
3842 implementations simply locate the registers themselves.@refill
3843 @end table
3844
3845 When making @value{GDBN} run native on a new operating system, to make it
3846 possible to debug core files, you will need to either write specific
3847 code for parsing your OS's core files, or customize
3848 @file{bfd/trad-core.c}. First, use whatever @code{#include} files your
3849 machine uses to define the struct of registers that is accessible
3850 (possibly in the u-area) in a core file (rather than
3851 @file{machine/reg.h}), and an include file that defines whatever header
3852 exists on a core file (e.g. the u-area or a @code{struct core}). Then
3853 modify @code{trad_unix_core_file_p} to use these values to set up the
3854 section information for the data segment, stack segment, any other
3855 segments in the core file (perhaps shared library contents or control
3856 information), ``registers'' segment, and if there are two discontiguous
3857 sets of registers (e.g. integer and float), the ``reg2'' segment. This
3858 section information basically delimits areas in the core file in a
3859 standard way, which the section-reading routines in BFD know how to seek
3860 around in.
3861
3862 Then back in @value{GDBN}, you need a matching routine called
3863 @code{fetch_core_registers}. If you can use the generic one, it's in
3864 @file{core-aout.c}; if not, it's in your @file{@var{xyz}-nat.c} file.
3865 It will be passed a char pointer to the entire ``registers'' segment,
3866 its length, and a zero; or a char pointer to the entire ``regs2''
3867 segment, its length, and a 2. The routine should suck out the supplied
3868 register values and install them into @value{GDBN}'s ``registers'' array.
3869
3870 If your system uses @file{/proc} to control processes, and uses ELF
3871 format core files, then you may be able to use the same routines for
3872 reading the registers out of processes and out of core files.
3873
3874 @section ptrace
3875
3876 @section /proc
3877
3878 @section win32
3879
3880 @section shared libraries
3881
3882 @section Native Conditionals
3883 @cindex native conditionals
3884
3885 When @value{GDBN} is configured and compiled, various macros are
3886 defined or left undefined, to control compilation when the host and
3887 target systems are the same. These macros should be defined (or left
3888 undefined) in @file{nm-@var{system}.h}.
3889
3890 @table @code
3891 @item ATTACH_DETACH
3892 @findex ATTACH_DETACH
3893 If defined, then @value{GDBN} will include support for the @code{attach} and
3894 @code{detach} commands.
3895
3896 @item CHILD_PREPARE_TO_STORE
3897 @findex CHILD_PREPARE_TO_STORE
3898 If the machine stores all registers at once in the child process, then
3899 define this to ensure that all values are correct. This usually entails
3900 a read from the child.
3901
3902 [Note that this is incorrectly defined in @file{xm-@var{system}.h} files
3903 currently.]
3904
3905 @item FETCH_INFERIOR_REGISTERS
3906 @findex FETCH_INFERIOR_REGISTERS
3907 Define this if the native-dependent code will provide its own routines
3908 @code{fetch_inferior_registers} and @code{store_inferior_registers} in
3909 @file{@var{host}-nat.c}. If this symbol is @emph{not} defined, and
3910 @file{infptrace.c} is included in this configuration, the default
3911 routines in @file{infptrace.c} are used for these functions.
3912
3913 @item FILES_INFO_HOOK
3914 @findex FILES_INFO_HOOK
3915 (Only defined for Convex.)
3916
3917 @item FP0_REGNUM
3918 @findex FP0_REGNUM
3919 This macro is normally defined to be the number of the first floating
3920 point register, if the machine has such registers. As such, it would
3921 appear only in target-specific code. However, @file{/proc} support uses this
3922 to decide whether floats are in use on this target.
3923
3924 @item GET_LONGJMP_TARGET
3925 @findex GET_LONGJMP_TARGET
3926 For most machines, this is a target-dependent parameter. On the
3927 DECstation and the Iris, this is a native-dependent parameter, since
3928 @file{setjmp.h} is needed to define it.
3929
3930 This macro determines the target PC address that @code{longjmp} will jump to,
3931 assuming that we have just stopped at a longjmp breakpoint. It takes a
3932 @code{CORE_ADDR *} as argument, and stores the target PC value through this
3933 pointer. It examines the current state of the machine as needed.
3934
3935 @item I386_USE_GENERIC_WATCHPOINTS
3936 An x86-based machine can define this to use the generic x86 watchpoint
3937 support; see @ref{Algorithms, I386_USE_GENERIC_WATCHPOINTS}.
3938
3939 @item KERNEL_U_ADDR
3940 @findex KERNEL_U_ADDR
3941 Define this to the address of the @code{u} structure (the ``user
3942 struct'', also known as the ``u-page'') in kernel virtual memory. @value{GDBN}
3943 needs to know this so that it can subtract this address from absolute
3944 addresses in the upage, that are obtained via ptrace or from core files.
3945 On systems that don't need this value, set it to zero.
3946
3947 @item KERNEL_U_ADDR_BSD
3948 @findex KERNEL_U_ADDR_BSD
3949 Define this to cause @value{GDBN} to determine the address of @code{u} at
3950 runtime, by using Berkeley-style @code{nlist} on the kernel's image in
3951 the root directory.
3952
3953 @item KERNEL_U_ADDR_HPUX
3954 @findex KERNEL_U_ADDR_HPUX
3955 Define this to cause @value{GDBN} to determine the address of @code{u} at
3956 runtime, by using HP-style @code{nlist} on the kernel's image in the
3957 root directory.
3958
3959 @item ONE_PROCESS_WRITETEXT
3960 @findex ONE_PROCESS_WRITETEXT
3961 Define this to be able to, when a breakpoint insertion fails, warn the
3962 user that another process may be running with the same executable.
3963
3964 @item PREPARE_TO_PROCEED (@var{select_it})
3965 @findex PREPARE_TO_PROCEED
3966 This (ugly) macro allows a native configuration to customize the way the
3967 @code{proceed} function in @file{infrun.c} deals with switching between
3968 threads.
3969
3970 In a multi-threaded task we may select another thread and then continue
3971 or step. But if the old thread was stopped at a breakpoint, it will
3972 immediately cause another breakpoint stop without any execution (i.e. it
3973 will report a breakpoint hit incorrectly). So @value{GDBN} must step over it
3974 first.
3975
3976 If defined, @code{PREPARE_TO_PROCEED} should check the current thread
3977 against the thread that reported the most recent event. If a step-over
3978 is required, it returns TRUE. If @var{select_it} is non-zero, it should
3979 reselect the old thread.
3980
3981 @item PROC_NAME_FMT
3982 @findex PROC_NAME_FMT
3983 Defines the format for the name of a @file{/proc} device. Should be
3984 defined in @file{nm.h} @emph{only} in order to override the default
3985 definition in @file{procfs.c}.
3986
3987 @item PTRACE_FP_BUG
3988 @findex PTRACE_FP_BUG
3989 See @file{mach386-xdep.c}.
3990
3991 @item PTRACE_ARG3_TYPE
3992 @findex PTRACE_ARG3_TYPE
3993 The type of the third argument to the @code{ptrace} system call, if it
3994 exists and is different from @code{int}.
3995
3996 @item REGISTER_U_ADDR
3997 @findex REGISTER_U_ADDR
3998 Defines the offset of the registers in the ``u area''.
3999
4000 @item SHELL_COMMAND_CONCAT
4001 @findex SHELL_COMMAND_CONCAT
4002 If defined, is a string to prefix on the shell command used to start the
4003 inferior.
4004
4005 @item SHELL_FILE
4006 @findex SHELL_FILE
4007 If defined, this is the name of the shell to use to run the inferior.
4008 Defaults to @code{"/bin/sh"}.
4009
4010 @item SOLIB_ADD (@var{filename}, @var{from_tty}, @var{targ}, @var{readsyms})
4011 @findex SOLIB_ADD
4012 Define this to expand into an expression that will cause the symbols in
4013 @var{filename} to be added to @value{GDBN}'s symbol table. If
4014 @var{readsyms} is zero symbols are not read but any necessary low level
4015 processing for @var{filename} is still done.
4016
4017 @item SOLIB_CREATE_INFERIOR_HOOK
4018 @findex SOLIB_CREATE_INFERIOR_HOOK
4019 Define this to expand into any shared-library-relocation code that you
4020 want to be run just after the child process has been forked.
4021
4022 @item START_INFERIOR_TRAPS_EXPECTED
4023 @findex START_INFERIOR_TRAPS_EXPECTED
4024 When starting an inferior, @value{GDBN} normally expects to trap
4025 twice; once when
4026 the shell execs, and once when the program itself execs. If the actual
4027 number of traps is something other than 2, then define this macro to
4028 expand into the number expected.
4029
4030 @item SVR4_SHARED_LIBS
4031 @findex SVR4_SHARED_LIBS
4032 Define this to indicate that SVR4-style shared libraries are in use.
4033
4034 @item USE_PROC_FS
4035 @findex USE_PROC_FS
4036 This determines whether small routines in @file{*-tdep.c}, which
4037 translate register values between @value{GDBN}'s internal
4038 representation and the @file{/proc} representation, are compiled.
4039
4040 @item U_REGS_OFFSET
4041 @findex U_REGS_OFFSET
4042 This is the offset of the registers in the upage. It need only be
4043 defined if the generic ptrace register access routines in
4044 @file{infptrace.c} are being used (that is, @file{infptrace.c} is
4045 configured in, and @code{FETCH_INFERIOR_REGISTERS} is not defined). If
4046 the default value from @file{infptrace.c} is good enough, leave it
4047 undefined.
4048
4049 The default value means that u.u_ar0 @emph{points to} the location of
4050 the registers. I'm guessing that @code{#define U_REGS_OFFSET 0} means
4051 that @code{u.u_ar0} @emph{is} the location of the registers.
4052
4053 @item CLEAR_SOLIB
4054 @findex CLEAR_SOLIB
4055 See @file{objfiles.c}.
4056
4057 @item DEBUG_PTRACE
4058 @findex DEBUG_PTRACE
4059 Define this to debug @code{ptrace} calls.
4060 @end table
4061
4062
4063 @node Support Libraries
4064
4065 @chapter Support Libraries
4066
4067 @section BFD
4068 @cindex BFD library
4069
4070 BFD provides support for @value{GDBN} in several ways:
4071
4072 @table @emph
4073 @item identifying executable and core files
4074 BFD will identify a variety of file types, including a.out, coff, and
4075 several variants thereof, as well as several kinds of core files.
4076
4077 @item access to sections of files
4078 BFD parses the file headers to determine the names, virtual addresses,
4079 sizes, and file locations of all the various named sections in files
4080 (such as the text section or the data section). @value{GDBN} simply
4081 calls BFD to read or write section @var{x} at byte offset @var{y} for
4082 length @var{z}.
4083
4084 @item specialized core file support
4085 BFD provides routines to determine the failing command name stored in a
4086 core file, the signal with which the program failed, and whether a core
4087 file matches (i.e.@: could be a core dump of) a particular executable
4088 file.
4089
4090 @item locating the symbol information
4091 @value{GDBN} uses an internal interface of BFD to determine where to find the
4092 symbol information in an executable file or symbol-file. @value{GDBN} itself
4093 handles the reading of symbols, since BFD does not ``understand'' debug
4094 symbols, but @value{GDBN} uses BFD's cached information to find the symbols,
4095 string table, etc.
4096 @end table
4097
4098 @section opcodes
4099 @cindex opcodes library
4100
4101 The opcodes library provides @value{GDBN}'s disassembler. (It's a separate
4102 library because it's also used in binutils, for @file{objdump}).
4103
4104 @section readline
4105
4106 @section mmalloc
4107
4108 @section libiberty
4109
4110 @section gnu-regex
4111 @cindex regular expressions library
4112
4113 Regex conditionals.
4114
4115 @table @code
4116 @item C_ALLOCA
4117
4118 @item NFAILURES
4119
4120 @item RE_NREGS
4121
4122 @item SIGN_EXTEND_CHAR
4123
4124 @item SWITCH_ENUM_BUG
4125
4126 @item SYNTAX_TABLE
4127
4128 @item Sword
4129
4130 @item sparc
4131 @end table
4132
4133 @section include
4134
4135 @node Coding
4136
4137 @chapter Coding
4138
4139 This chapter covers topics that are lower-level than the major
4140 algorithms of @value{GDBN}.
4141
4142 @section Cleanups
4143 @cindex cleanups
4144
4145 Cleanups are a structured way to deal with things that need to be done
4146 later.
4147
4148 When your code does something (e.g., @code{xmalloc} some memory, or
4149 @code{open} a file) that needs to be undone later (e.g., @code{xfree}
4150 the memory or @code{close} the file), it can make a cleanup. The
4151 cleanup will be done at some future point: when the command is finished
4152 and control returns to the top level; when an error occurs and the stack
4153 is unwound; or when your code decides it's time to explicitly perform
4154 cleanups. Alternatively you can elect to discard the cleanups you
4155 created.
4156
4157 Syntax:
4158
4159 @table @code
4160 @item struct cleanup *@var{old_chain};
4161 Declare a variable which will hold a cleanup chain handle.
4162
4163 @findex make_cleanup
4164 @item @var{old_chain} = make_cleanup (@var{function}, @var{arg});
4165 Make a cleanup which will cause @var{function} to be called with
4166 @var{arg} (a @code{char *}) later. The result, @var{old_chain}, is a
4167 handle that can later be passed to @code{do_cleanups} or
4168 @code{discard_cleanups}. Unless you are going to call
4169 @code{do_cleanups} or @code{discard_cleanups}, you can ignore the result
4170 from @code{make_cleanup}.
4171
4172 @findex do_cleanups
4173 @item do_cleanups (@var{old_chain});
4174 Do all cleanups added to the chain since the corresponding
4175 @code{make_cleanup} call was made.
4176
4177 @findex discard_cleanups
4178 @item discard_cleanups (@var{old_chain});
4179 Same as @code{do_cleanups} except that it just removes the cleanups from
4180 the chain and does not call the specified functions.
4181 @end table
4182
4183 Cleanups are implemented as a chain. The handle returned by
4184 @code{make_cleanups} includes the cleanup passed to the call and any
4185 later cleanups appended to the chain (but not yet discarded or
4186 performed). E.g.:
4187
4188 @example
4189 make_cleanup (a, 0);
4190 @{
4191 struct cleanup *old = make_cleanup (b, 0);
4192 make_cleanup (c, 0)
4193 ...
4194 do_cleanups (old);
4195 @}
4196 @end example
4197
4198 @noindent
4199 will call @code{c()} and @code{b()} but will not call @code{a()}. The
4200 cleanup that calls @code{a()} will remain in the cleanup chain, and will
4201 be done later unless otherwise discarded.@refill
4202
4203 Your function should explicitly do or discard the cleanups it creates.
4204 Failing to do this leads to non-deterministic behavior since the caller
4205 will arbitrarily do or discard your functions cleanups. This need leads
4206 to two common cleanup styles.
4207
4208 The first style is try/finally. Before it exits, your code-block calls
4209 @code{do_cleanups} with the old cleanup chain and thus ensures that your
4210 code-block's cleanups are always performed. For instance, the following
4211 code-segment avoids a memory leak problem (even when @code{error} is
4212 called and a forced stack unwind occurs) by ensuring that the
4213 @code{xfree} will always be called:
4214
4215 @example
4216 struct cleanup *old = make_cleanup (null_cleanup, 0);
4217 data = xmalloc (sizeof blah);
4218 make_cleanup (xfree, data);
4219 ... blah blah ...
4220 do_cleanups (old);
4221 @end example
4222
4223 The second style is try/except. Before it exits, your code-block calls
4224 @code{discard_cleanups} with the old cleanup chain and thus ensures that
4225 any created cleanups are not performed. For instance, the following
4226 code segment, ensures that the file will be closed but only if there is
4227 an error:
4228
4229 @example
4230 FILE *file = fopen ("afile", "r");
4231 struct cleanup *old = make_cleanup (close_file, file);
4232 ... blah blah ...
4233 discard_cleanups (old);
4234 return file;
4235 @end example
4236
4237 Some functions, e.g. @code{fputs_filtered()} or @code{error()}, specify
4238 that they ``should not be called when cleanups are not in place''. This
4239 means that any actions you need to reverse in the case of an error or
4240 interruption must be on the cleanup chain before you call these
4241 functions, since they might never return to your code (they
4242 @samp{longjmp} instead).
4243
4244 @section Wrapping Output Lines
4245 @cindex line wrap in output
4246
4247 @findex wrap_here
4248 Output that goes through @code{printf_filtered} or @code{fputs_filtered}
4249 or @code{fputs_demangled} needs only to have calls to @code{wrap_here}
4250 added in places that would be good breaking points. The utility
4251 routines will take care of actually wrapping if the line width is
4252 exceeded.
4253
4254 The argument to @code{wrap_here} is an indentation string which is
4255 printed @emph{only} if the line breaks there. This argument is saved
4256 away and used later. It must remain valid until the next call to
4257 @code{wrap_here} or until a newline has been printed through the
4258 @code{*_filtered} functions. Don't pass in a local variable and then
4259 return!
4260
4261 It is usually best to call @code{wrap_here} after printing a comma or
4262 space. If you call it before printing a space, make sure that your
4263 indentation properly accounts for the leading space that will print if
4264 the line wraps there.
4265
4266 Any function or set of functions that produce filtered output must
4267 finish by printing a newline, to flush the wrap buffer, before switching
4268 to unfiltered (@code{printf}) output. Symbol reading routines that
4269 print warnings are a good example.
4270
4271 @section @value{GDBN} Coding Standards
4272 @cindex coding standards
4273
4274 @value{GDBN} follows the GNU coding standards, as described in
4275 @file{etc/standards.texi}. This file is also available for anonymous
4276 FTP from GNU archive sites. @value{GDBN} takes a strict interpretation
4277 of the standard; in general, when the GNU standard recommends a practice
4278 but does not require it, @value{GDBN} requires it.
4279
4280 @value{GDBN} follows an additional set of coding standards specific to
4281 @value{GDBN}, as described in the following sections.
4282
4283
4284 @subsection ISO-C
4285
4286 @value{GDBN} assumes an ISO-C compliant compiler.
4287
4288 @value{GDBN} does not assume an ISO-C or POSIX compliant C library.
4289
4290
4291 @subsection Memory Management
4292
4293 @value{GDBN} does not use the functions @code{malloc}, @code{realloc},
4294 @code{calloc}, @code{free} and @code{asprintf}.
4295
4296 @value{GDBN} uses the functions @code{xmalloc}, @code{xrealloc} and
4297 @code{xcalloc} when allocating memory. Unlike @code{malloc} et.al.@:
4298 these functions do not return when the memory pool is empty. Instead,
4299 they unwind the stack using cleanups. These functions return
4300 @code{NULL} when requested to allocate a chunk of memory of size zero.
4301
4302 @emph{Pragmatics: By using these functions, the need to check every
4303 memory allocation is removed. These functions provide portable
4304 behavior.}
4305
4306 @value{GDBN} does not use the function @code{free}.
4307
4308 @value{GDBN} uses the function @code{xfree} to return memory to the
4309 memory pool. Consistent with ISO-C, this function ignores a request to
4310 free a @code{NULL} pointer.
4311
4312 @emph{Pragmatics: On some systems @code{free} fails when passed a
4313 @code{NULL} pointer.}
4314
4315 @value{GDBN} can use the non-portable function @code{alloca} for the
4316 allocation of small temporary values (such as strings).
4317
4318 @emph{Pragmatics: This function is very non-portable. Some systems
4319 restrict the memory being allocated to no more than a few kilobytes.}
4320
4321 @value{GDBN} uses the string function @code{xstrdup} and the print
4322 function @code{xasprintf}.
4323
4324 @emph{Pragmatics: @code{asprintf} and @code{strdup} can fail. Print
4325 functions such as @code{sprintf} are very prone to buffer overflow
4326 errors.}
4327
4328
4329 @subsection Compiler Warnings
4330 @cindex compiler warnings
4331
4332 With few exceptions, developers should include the configuration option
4333 @samp{--enable-gdb-build-warnings=,-Werror} when building @value{GDBN}.
4334 The exceptions are listed in the file @file{gdb/MAINTAINERS}.
4335
4336 This option causes @value{GDBN} (when built using GCC) to be compiled
4337 with a carefully selected list of compiler warning flags. Any warnings
4338 from those flags being treated as errors.
4339
4340 The current list of warning flags includes:
4341
4342 @table @samp
4343 @item -Wimplicit
4344 Since @value{GDBN} coding standard requires all functions to be declared
4345 using a prototype, the flag has the side effect of ensuring that
4346 prototyped functions are always visible with out resorting to
4347 @samp{-Wstrict-prototypes}.
4348
4349 @item -Wreturn-type
4350 Such code often appears to work except on instruction set architectures
4351 that use register windows.
4352
4353 @item -Wcomment
4354
4355 @item -Wtrigraphs
4356
4357 @item -Wformat
4358 Since @value{GDBN} uses the @code{format printf} attribute on all
4359 @code{printf} like functions this checks not just @code{printf} calls
4360 but also calls to functions such as @code{fprintf_unfiltered}.
4361
4362 @item -Wparentheses
4363 This warning includes uses of the assignment operator within an
4364 @code{if} statement.
4365
4366 @item -Wpointer-arith
4367
4368 @item -Wuninitialized
4369 @end table
4370
4371 @emph{Pragmatics: Due to the way that @value{GDBN} is implemented most
4372 functions have unused parameters. Consequently the warning
4373 @samp{-Wunused-parameter} is precluded from the list. The macro
4374 @code{ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED} is not used as it leads to false negatives ---
4375 it is not an error to have @code{ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED} on a parameter that
4376 is being used. The options @samp{-Wall} and @samp{-Wunused} are also
4377 precluded because they both include @samp{-Wunused-parameter}.}
4378
4379 @emph{Pragmatics: @value{GDBN} has not simply accepted the warnings
4380 enabled by @samp{-Wall -Werror -W...}. Instead it is selecting warnings
4381 when and where their benefits can be demonstrated.}
4382
4383 @subsection Formatting
4384
4385 @cindex source code formatting
4386 The standard GNU recommendations for formatting must be followed
4387 strictly.
4388
4389 A function declaration should not have its name in column zero. A
4390 function definition should have its name in column zero.
4391
4392 @example
4393 /* Declaration */
4394 static void foo (void);
4395 /* Definition */
4396 void
4397 foo (void)
4398 @{
4399 @}
4400 @end example
4401
4402 @emph{Pragmatics: This simplifies scripting. Function definitions can
4403 be found using @samp{^function-name}.}
4404
4405 There must be a space between a function or macro name and the opening
4406 parenthesis of its argument list (except for macro definitions, as
4407 required by C). There must not be a space after an open paren/bracket
4408 or before a close paren/bracket.
4409
4410 While additional whitespace is generally helpful for reading, do not use
4411 more than one blank line to separate blocks, and avoid adding whitespace
4412 after the end of a program line (as of 1/99, some 600 lines had
4413 whitespace after the semicolon). Excess whitespace causes difficulties
4414 for @code{diff} and @code{patch} utilities.
4415
4416 Pointers are declared using the traditional K&R C style:
4417
4418 @example
4419 void *foo;
4420 @end example
4421
4422 @noindent
4423 and not:
4424
4425 @example
4426 void * foo;
4427 void* foo;
4428 @end example
4429
4430 @subsection Comments
4431
4432 @cindex comment formatting
4433 The standard GNU requirements on comments must be followed strictly.
4434
4435 Block comments must appear in the following form, with no @code{/*}- or
4436 @code{*/}-only lines, and no leading @code{*}:
4437
4438 @example
4439 /* Wait for control to return from inferior to debugger. If inferior
4440 gets a signal, we may decide to start it up again instead of
4441 returning. That is why there is a loop in this function. When
4442 this function actually returns it means the inferior should be left
4443 stopped and @value{GDBN} should read more commands. */
4444 @end example
4445
4446 (Note that this format is encouraged by Emacs; tabbing for a multi-line
4447 comment works correctly, and @kbd{M-q} fills the block consistently.)
4448
4449 Put a blank line between the block comments preceding function or
4450 variable definitions, and the definition itself.
4451
4452 In general, put function-body comments on lines by themselves, rather
4453 than trying to fit them into the 20 characters left at the end of a
4454 line, since either the comment or the code will inevitably get longer
4455 than will fit, and then somebody will have to move it anyhow.
4456
4457 @subsection C Usage
4458
4459 @cindex C data types
4460 Code must not depend on the sizes of C data types, the format of the
4461 host's floating point numbers, the alignment of anything, or the order
4462 of evaluation of expressions.
4463
4464 @cindex function usage
4465 Use functions freely. There are only a handful of compute-bound areas
4466 in @value{GDBN} that might be affected by the overhead of a function
4467 call, mainly in symbol reading. Most of @value{GDBN}'s performance is
4468 limited by the target interface (whether serial line or system call).
4469
4470 However, use functions with moderation. A thousand one-line functions
4471 are just as hard to understand as a single thousand-line function.
4472
4473 @emph{Macros are bad, M'kay.}
4474 (But if you have to use a macro, make sure that the macro arguments are
4475 protected with parentheses.)
4476
4477 @cindex types
4478
4479 Declarations like @samp{struct foo *} should be used in preference to
4480 declarations like @samp{typedef struct foo @{ @dots{} @} *foo_ptr}.
4481
4482
4483 @subsection Function Prototypes
4484 @cindex function prototypes
4485
4486 Prototypes must be used when both @emph{declaring} and @emph{defining}
4487 a function. Prototypes for @value{GDBN} functions must include both the
4488 argument type and name, with the name matching that used in the actual
4489 function definition.
4490
4491 All external functions should have a declaration in a header file that
4492 callers include, except for @code{_initialize_*} functions, which must
4493 be external so that @file{init.c} construction works, but shouldn't be
4494 visible to random source files.
4495
4496 Where a source file needs a forward declaration of a static function,
4497 that declaration must appear in a block near the top of the source file.
4498
4499
4500 @subsection Internal Error Recovery
4501
4502 During its execution, @value{GDBN} can encounter two types of errors.
4503 User errors and internal errors. User errors include not only a user
4504 entering an incorrect command but also problems arising from corrupt
4505 object files and system errors when interacting with the target.
4506 Internal errors include situtations where @value{GDBN} has detected, at
4507 run time, a corrupt or erroneous situtation.
4508
4509 When reporting an internal error, @value{GDBN} uses
4510 @code{internal_error} and @code{gdb_assert}.
4511
4512 @value{GDBN} must not call @code{abort} or @code{assert}.
4513
4514 @emph{Pragmatics: There is no @code{internal_warning} function. Either
4515 the code detected a user error, recovered from it and issued a
4516 @code{warning} or the code failed to correctly recover from the user
4517 error and issued an @code{internal_error}.}
4518
4519 @subsection File Names
4520
4521 Any file used when building the core of @value{GDBN} must be in lower
4522 case. Any file used when building the core of @value{GDBN} must be 8.3
4523 unique. These requirements apply to both source and generated files.
4524
4525 @emph{Pragmatics: The core of @value{GDBN} must be buildable on many
4526 platforms including DJGPP and MacOS/HFS. Every time an unfriendly file
4527 is introduced to the build process both @file{Makefile.in} and
4528 @file{configure.in} need to be modified accordingly. Compare the
4529 convoluted conversion process needed to transform @file{COPYING} into
4530 @file{copying.c} with the conversion needed to transform
4531 @file{version.in} into @file{version.c}.}
4532
4533 Any file non 8.3 compliant file (that is not used when building the core
4534 of @value{GDBN}) must be added to @file{gdb/config/djgpp/fnchange.lst}.
4535
4536 @emph{Pragmatics: This is clearly a compromise.}
4537
4538 When @value{GDBN} has a local version of a system header file (ex
4539 @file{string.h}) the file name based on the POSIX header prefixed with
4540 @file{gdb_} (@file{gdb_string.h}).
4541
4542 For other files @samp{-} is used as the separator.
4543
4544
4545 @subsection Include Files
4546
4547 All @file{.c} files should include @file{defs.h} first.
4548
4549 All @file{.c} files should explicitly include the headers for any
4550 declarations they refer to. They should not rely on files being
4551 included indirectly.
4552
4553 With the exception of the global definitions supplied by @file{defs.h},
4554 a header file should explictily include the header declaring any
4555 @code{typedefs} et.al.@: it refers to.
4556
4557 @code{extern} declarations should never appear in @code{.c} files.
4558
4559 All include files should be wrapped in:
4560
4561 @example
4562 #ifndef INCLUDE_FILE_NAME_H
4563 #define INCLUDE_FILE_NAME_H
4564 header body
4565 #endif
4566 @end example
4567
4568
4569 @subsection Clean Design and Portable Implementation
4570
4571 @cindex design
4572 In addition to getting the syntax right, there's the little question of
4573 semantics. Some things are done in certain ways in @value{GDBN} because long
4574 experience has shown that the more obvious ways caused various kinds of
4575 trouble.
4576
4577 @cindex assumptions about targets
4578 You can't assume the byte order of anything that comes from a target
4579 (including @var{value}s, object files, and instructions). Such things
4580 must be byte-swapped using @code{SWAP_TARGET_AND_HOST} in
4581 @value{GDBN}, or one of the swap routines defined in @file{bfd.h},
4582 such as @code{bfd_get_32}.
4583
4584 You can't assume that you know what interface is being used to talk to
4585 the target system. All references to the target must go through the
4586 current @code{target_ops} vector.
4587
4588 You can't assume that the host and target machines are the same machine
4589 (except in the ``native'' support modules). In particular, you can't
4590 assume that the target machine's header files will be available on the
4591 host machine. Target code must bring along its own header files --
4592 written from scratch or explicitly donated by their owner, to avoid
4593 copyright problems.
4594
4595 @cindex portability
4596 Insertion of new @code{#ifdef}'s will be frowned upon. It's much better
4597 to write the code portably than to conditionalize it for various
4598 systems.
4599
4600 @cindex system dependencies
4601 New @code{#ifdef}'s which test for specific compilers or manufacturers
4602 or operating systems are unacceptable. All @code{#ifdef}'s should test
4603 for features. The information about which configurations contain which
4604 features should be segregated into the configuration files. Experience
4605 has proven far too often that a feature unique to one particular system
4606 often creeps into other systems; and that a conditional based on some
4607 predefined macro for your current system will become worthless over
4608 time, as new versions of your system come out that behave differently
4609 with regard to this feature.
4610
4611 Adding code that handles specific architectures, operating systems,
4612 target interfaces, or hosts, is not acceptable in generic code.
4613
4614 @cindex portable file name handling
4615 @cindex file names, portability
4616 One particularly notorious area where system dependencies tend to
4617 creep in is handling of file names. The mainline @value{GDBN} code
4618 assumes Posix semantics of file names: absolute file names begin with
4619 a forward slash @file{/}, slashes are used to separate leading
4620 directories, case-sensitive file names. These assumptions are not
4621 necessarily true on non-Posix systems such as MS-Windows. To avoid
4622 system-dependent code where you need to take apart or construct a file
4623 name, use the following portable macros:
4624
4625 @table @code
4626 @findex HAVE_DOS_BASED_FILE_SYSTEM
4627 @item HAVE_DOS_BASED_FILE_SYSTEM
4628 This preprocessing symbol is defined to a non-zero value on hosts
4629 whose filesystems belong to the MS-DOS/MS-Windows family. Use this
4630 symbol to write conditional code which should only be compiled for
4631 such hosts.
4632
4633 @findex IS_DIR_SEPARATOR
4634 @item IS_DIR_SEPARATOR (@var{c}
4635 Evaluates to a non-zero value if @var{c} is a directory separator
4636 character. On Unix and GNU/Linux systems, only a slash @file{/} is
4637 such a character, but on Windows, both @file{/} and @file{\} will
4638 pass.
4639
4640 @findex IS_ABSOLUTE_PATH
4641 @item IS_ABSOLUTE_PATH (@var{file})
4642 Evaluates to a non-zero value if @var{file} is an absolute file name.
4643 For Unix and GNU/Linux hosts, a name which begins with a slash
4644 @file{/} is absolute. On DOS and Windows, @file{d:/foo} and
4645 @file{x:\bar} are also absolute file names.
4646
4647 @findex FILENAME_CMP
4648 @item FILENAME_CMP (@var{f1}, @var{f2})
4649 Calls a function which compares file names @var{f1} and @var{f2} as
4650 appropriate for the underlying host filesystem. For Posix systems,
4651 this simply calls @code{strcmp}; on case-insensitive filesystems it
4652 will call @code{strcasecmp} instead.
4653
4654 @findex DIRNAME_SEPARATOR
4655 @item DIRNAME_SEPARATOR
4656 Evaluates to a character which separates directories in
4657 @code{PATH}-style lists, typically held in environment variables.
4658 This character is @samp{:} on Unix, @samp{;} on DOS and Windows.
4659
4660 @findex SLASH_STRING
4661 @item SLASH_STRING
4662 This evaluates to a constant string you should use to produce an
4663 absolute filename from leading directories and the file's basename.
4664 @code{SLASH_STRING} is @code{"/"} on most systems, but might be
4665 @code{"\\"} for some Windows-based ports.
4666 @end table
4667
4668 In addition to using these macros, be sure to use portable library
4669 functions whenever possible. For example, to extract a directory or a
4670 basename part from a file name, use the @code{dirname} and
4671 @code{basename} library functions (available in @code{libiberty} for
4672 platforms which don't provide them), instead of searching for a slash
4673 with @code{strrchr}.
4674
4675 Another way to generalize @value{GDBN} along a particular interface is with an
4676 attribute struct. For example, @value{GDBN} has been generalized to handle
4677 multiple kinds of remote interfaces---not by @code{#ifdef}s everywhere, but
4678 by defining the @code{target_ops} structure and having a current target (as
4679 well as a stack of targets below it, for memory references). Whenever
4680 something needs to be done that depends on which remote interface we are
4681 using, a flag in the current target_ops structure is tested (e.g.,
4682 @code{target_has_stack}), or a function is called through a pointer in the
4683 current target_ops structure. In this way, when a new remote interface
4684 is added, only one module needs to be touched---the one that actually
4685 implements the new remote interface. Other examples of
4686 attribute-structs are BFD access to multiple kinds of object file
4687 formats, or @value{GDBN}'s access to multiple source languages.
4688
4689 Please avoid duplicating code. For example, in @value{GDBN} 3.x all
4690 the code interfacing between @code{ptrace} and the rest of
4691 @value{GDBN} was duplicated in @file{*-dep.c}, and so changing
4692 something was very painful. In @value{GDBN} 4.x, these have all been
4693 consolidated into @file{infptrace.c}. @file{infptrace.c} can deal
4694 with variations between systems the same way any system-independent
4695 file would (hooks, @code{#if defined}, etc.), and machines which are
4696 radically different don't need to use @file{infptrace.c} at all.
4697
4698 All debugging code must be controllable using the @samp{set debug
4699 @var{module}} command. Do not use @code{printf} to print trace
4700 messages. Use @code{fprintf_unfiltered(gdb_stdlog, ...}. Do not use
4701 @code{#ifdef DEBUG}.
4702
4703
4704 @node Porting GDB
4705
4706 @chapter Porting @value{GDBN}
4707 @cindex porting to new machines
4708
4709 Most of the work in making @value{GDBN} compile on a new machine is in
4710 specifying the configuration of the machine. This is done in a
4711 dizzying variety of header files and configuration scripts, which we
4712 hope to make more sensible soon. Let's say your new host is called an
4713 @var{xyz} (e.g., @samp{sun4}), and its full three-part configuration
4714 name is @code{@var{arch}-@var{xvend}-@var{xos}} (e.g.,
4715 @samp{sparc-sun-sunos4}). In particular:
4716
4717 @itemize @bullet
4718 @item
4719 In the top level directory, edit @file{config.sub} and add @var{arch},
4720 @var{xvend}, and @var{xos} to the lists of supported architectures,
4721 vendors, and operating systems near the bottom of the file. Also, add
4722 @var{xyz} as an alias that maps to
4723 @code{@var{arch}-@var{xvend}-@var{xos}}. You can test your changes by
4724 running
4725
4726 @example
4727 ./config.sub @var{xyz}
4728 @end example
4729
4730 @noindent
4731 and
4732
4733 @example
4734 ./config.sub @code{@var{arch}-@var{xvend}-@var{xos}}
4735 @end example
4736
4737 @noindent
4738 which should both respond with @code{@var{arch}-@var{xvend}-@var{xos}}
4739 and no error messages.
4740
4741 @noindent
4742 You need to port BFD, if that hasn't been done already. Porting BFD is
4743 beyond the scope of this manual.
4744
4745 @item
4746 To configure @value{GDBN} itself, edit @file{gdb/configure.host} to recognize
4747 your system and set @code{gdb_host} to @var{xyz}, and (unless your
4748 desired target is already available) also edit @file{gdb/configure.tgt},
4749 setting @code{gdb_target} to something appropriate (for instance,
4750 @var{xyz}).
4751
4752 @item
4753 Finally, you'll need to specify and define @value{GDBN}'s host-, native-, and
4754 target-dependent @file{.h} and @file{.c} files used for your
4755 configuration.
4756 @end itemize
4757
4758 @section Configuring @value{GDBN} for Release
4759
4760 @cindex preparing a release
4761 @cindex making a distribution tarball
4762 From the top level directory (containing @file{gdb}, @file{bfd},
4763 @file{libiberty}, and so on):
4764
4765 @example
4766 make -f Makefile.in gdb.tar.gz
4767 @end example
4768
4769 @noindent
4770 This will properly configure, clean, rebuild any files that are
4771 distributed pre-built (e.g. @file{c-exp.tab.c} or @file{refcard.ps}),
4772 and will then make a tarfile. (If the top level directory has already
4773 been configured, you can just do @code{make gdb.tar.gz} instead.)
4774
4775 This procedure requires:
4776
4777 @itemize @bullet
4778
4779 @item
4780 symbolic links;
4781
4782 @item
4783 @code{makeinfo} (texinfo2 level);
4784
4785 @item
4786 @TeX{};
4787
4788 @item
4789 @code{dvips};
4790
4791 @item
4792 @code{yacc} or @code{bison}.
4793 @end itemize
4794
4795 @noindent
4796 @dots{} and the usual slew of utilities (@code{sed}, @code{tar}, etc.).
4797
4798 @subheading TEMPORARY RELEASE PROCEDURE FOR DOCUMENTATION
4799
4800 @file{gdb.texinfo} is currently marked up using the texinfo-2 macros,
4801 which are not yet a default for anything (but we have to start using
4802 them sometime).
4803
4804 For making paper, the only thing this implies is the right generation of
4805 @file{texinfo.tex} needs to be included in the distribution.
4806
4807 For making info files, however, rather than duplicating the texinfo2
4808 distribution, generate @file{gdb-all.texinfo} locally, and include the
4809 files @file{gdb.info*} in the distribution. Note the plural;
4810 @code{makeinfo} will split the document into one overall file and five
4811 or so included files.
4812
4813 @node Releasing GDB
4814
4815 @chapter Releasing @value{GDBN}
4816 @cindex making a new release of gdb
4817
4818 @section Before the branch
4819
4820 The most important objective at this stage is to find and fix simple
4821 changes that become a pain to track once the branch is created. For
4822 instance, configuration problems that stop @value{GDBN} from even
4823 building. If you can't get the problem fixed, document it in the
4824 @file{PROBLEMS} file.
4825
4826 @subheading Obsolete any code
4827
4828 Mark as @kbd{OBSOLETE} any uninteresting targets or code files. This
4829 has a number of steps and is slow --- mainly to ensure that people have
4830 had a reasonable chance to respond. Remember, everything on the
4831 internet takes a week.
4832
4833 @itemize @bullet
4834 @item
4835 announce the change on @email{gdb@@sources.redhat.com, GDB mailing list}
4836 @item
4837 wait a week
4838 @item
4839 announce the change on @email{gdb-announce@@sources.redhat.com, GDB
4840 Announcement mailing list}
4841 @item
4842 wait a week or so
4843 @item
4844 post / commit the change
4845 @end itemize
4846
4847 @subheading Refresh any imported files.
4848
4849 A number of files are taken from external repositories. They include:
4850
4851 @itemize @bullet
4852 @item
4853 @file{texinfo/texinfo.tex}
4854 @item
4855 @file{config.guess} et.@: al.@:
4856 @end itemize
4857
4858 and should be refreshed.
4859
4860 @subheading Organize and announce the schedule.
4861
4862 The following is a possible schedule. It is based on the rule-of-thumb
4863 that everything on the Internet takes a week. You may want to even
4864 increase those times further since an analysis of the actual data
4865 strongly suggests that the below is far to aggressive.
4866
4867 @itemize @bullet
4868 @item
4869 announce it
4870 @item
4871 wait a week
4872 @item
4873 announce branch date
4874 @item
4875 wait a week
4876 @item
4877 Cut the branch
4878 @item
4879 wait a week
4880 @item
4881 start enjoying all the fun
4882 @end itemize
4883
4884 As an aside, the branch tag name is probably regrettable vis:
4885 @file{gdb_N_M-YYYY-MM-DD-@{branch,branchpoint@}}.
4886
4887
4888 @section Building a Release
4889
4890 @subheading Establish a few defaults.
4891
4892 @example
4893 $ b=gdb_5_1_0_1-2002-01-03-branch
4894 $ v=5.1.0.1
4895 $ cd /sourceware/snapshot-tmp/gdbadmin-tmp/$b
4896 $ which autoconf
4897 /home/gdbadmin/bin/autoconf
4898 @end example
4899
4900 NB: Check the autoconf version carefully. You want to be using
4901 @file{gdbadmin}'s version (which is really the version taken from the
4902 binutils snapshot). SWARE may have a different version installed.
4903
4904 @subheading Check out the relevant modules:
4905
4906 @example
4907 $ for m in gdb insight dejagnu; do
4908 ( mkdir -p $m && cd $m && cvs -q -f -d /cvs/src co -P -r $b $m )
4909 done
4910 @end example
4911
4912 NB: The reading of @file{.cvsrc} is disabled (@file{-f}) so that there
4913 isn't any confusion between what is written here and what CVS really
4914 does.
4915
4916 @subheading Update the file @file{gdb/version.in} where applicable.
4917
4918 @example
4919 $ for m in gdb insight; do echo $v > $m/src/gdb/version.in ; done
4920 @end example
4921
4922
4923 @subheading Mutter something about creating a @file{ChangeLog} entry. (both trunk and branch).
4924
4925 @example
4926 $ emacs gdb/src/gdb/version.in
4927 c-x 4 a
4928 Bump version to 5.1.0.1.
4929 c-x c-s c-x c-c
4930 @end example
4931
4932 ditto for @file{insight/src/gdb/version.in}
4933
4934 @subheading Mutter something about updating @file{README}
4935
4936 For dejagnu, edit @file{dejagnu/src/dejagnu/configure.in} and set it to
4937 gdb-$v and then regenerate configure. Mention this in the dejagnu
4938 @file{ChangeLog}.
4939
4940 @example
4941 $ emacs dejagnu/src/dejagnu/configure.in
4942 ...
4943 c-x 4 a
4944 Bump version to 5.1.0.1.
4945 * configure: Re-generate.
4946 c-x c-s c-x c-c
4947 $ ( cd dejagnu/src/dejagnu && autoconf )
4948 @end example
4949
4950 @subheading Build the snapshot:
4951
4952 @example
4953 $ for m in gdb insight dejagnu; do
4954 ( cd $m/src && gmake -f Makefile.in $m.tar.bz2 )
4955 done
4956 @end example
4957
4958 @subheading Do another @kbd{CVS update} to see what the damage is.
4959
4960 @example
4961 $ ( cd gdb/src && cvs -q update )
4962 @end example
4963
4964 You're looking for files that have mysteriously disappeared as the
4965 @kbd{distclean} has the habit of deleting files it shouldn't. Watch out
4966 for the @file{version.in} update cronjob.
4967
4968 @subheading Copy all the @file{.bz2} files to the ftp directory:
4969
4970 @example
4971 cp */src/*.bz2 ~ftp/.....
4972 @end example
4973
4974 @subheading Something about @kbd{gzip}'ing them.
4975
4976 @subheading Something about web pages?
4977
4978 @subheading Something about documentation?
4979
4980 @subheading Cleanup the release tree
4981
4982 In particular you'll need to:
4983
4984 @itemize @bullet
4985 @item
4986 Commit the changes to @file{ChangeLog} and @file{version.in}
4987 @item
4988 Tag the repository.
4989 @end itemize
4990
4991
4992 @section After the release
4993
4994 Remove any @kbd{OBSOLETE} code.
4995
4996
4997 @node Testsuite
4998
4999 @chapter Testsuite
5000 @cindex test suite
5001
5002 The testsuite is an important component of the @value{GDBN} package.
5003 While it is always worthwhile to encourage user testing, in practice
5004 this is rarely sufficient; users typically use only a small subset of
5005 the available commands, and it has proven all too common for a change
5006 to cause a significant regression that went unnoticed for some time.
5007
5008 The @value{GDBN} testsuite uses the DejaGNU testing framework.
5009 DejaGNU is built using @code{Tcl} and @code{expect}. The tests
5010 themselves are calls to various @code{Tcl} procs; the framework runs all the
5011 procs and summarizes the passes and fails.
5012
5013 @section Using the Testsuite
5014
5015 @cindex running the test suite
5016 To run the testsuite, simply go to the @value{GDBN} object directory (or to the
5017 testsuite's objdir) and type @code{make check}. This just sets up some
5018 environment variables and invokes DejaGNU's @code{runtest} script. While
5019 the testsuite is running, you'll get mentions of which test file is in use,
5020 and a mention of any unexpected passes or fails. When the testsuite is
5021 finished, you'll get a summary that looks like this:
5022
5023 @example
5024 === gdb Summary ===
5025
5026 # of expected passes 6016
5027 # of unexpected failures 58
5028 # of unexpected successes 5
5029 # of expected failures 183
5030 # of unresolved testcases 3
5031 # of untested testcases 5
5032 @end example
5033
5034 The ideal test run consists of expected passes only; however, reality
5035 conspires to keep us from this ideal. Unexpected failures indicate
5036 real problems, whether in @value{GDBN} or in the testsuite. Expected
5037 failures are still failures, but ones which have been decided are too
5038 hard to deal with at the time; for instance, a test case might work
5039 everywhere except on AIX, and there is no prospect of the AIX case
5040 being fixed in the near future. Expected failures should not be added
5041 lightly, since you may be masking serious bugs in @value{GDBN}.
5042 Unexpected successes are expected fails that are passing for some
5043 reason, while unresolved and untested cases often indicate some minor
5044 catastrophe, such as the compiler being unable to deal with a test
5045 program.
5046
5047 When making any significant change to @value{GDBN}, you should run the
5048 testsuite before and after the change, to confirm that there are no
5049 regressions. Note that truly complete testing would require that you
5050 run the testsuite with all supported configurations and a variety of
5051 compilers; however this is more than really necessary. In many cases
5052 testing with a single configuration is sufficient. Other useful
5053 options are to test one big-endian (Sparc) and one little-endian (x86)
5054 host, a cross config with a builtin simulator (powerpc-eabi,
5055 mips-elf), or a 64-bit host (Alpha).
5056
5057 If you add new functionality to @value{GDBN}, please consider adding
5058 tests for it as well; this way future @value{GDBN} hackers can detect
5059 and fix their changes that break the functionality you added.
5060 Similarly, if you fix a bug that was not previously reported as a test
5061 failure, please add a test case for it. Some cases are extremely
5062 difficult to test, such as code that handles host OS failures or bugs
5063 in particular versions of compilers, and it's OK not to try to write
5064 tests for all of those.
5065
5066 @section Testsuite Organization
5067
5068 @cindex test suite organization
5069 The testsuite is entirely contained in @file{gdb/testsuite}. While the
5070 testsuite includes some makefiles and configury, these are very minimal,
5071 and used for little besides cleaning up, since the tests themselves
5072 handle the compilation of the programs that @value{GDBN} will run. The file
5073 @file{testsuite/lib/gdb.exp} contains common utility procs useful for
5074 all @value{GDBN} tests, while the directory @file{testsuite/config} contains
5075 configuration-specific files, typically used for special-purpose
5076 definitions of procs like @code{gdb_load} and @code{gdb_start}.
5077
5078 The tests themselves are to be found in @file{testsuite/gdb.*} and
5079 subdirectories of those. The names of the test files must always end
5080 with @file{.exp}. DejaGNU collects the test files by wildcarding
5081 in the test directories, so both subdirectories and individual files
5082 get chosen and run in alphabetical order.
5083
5084 The following table lists the main types of subdirectories and what they
5085 are for. Since DejaGNU finds test files no matter where they are
5086 located, and since each test file sets up its own compilation and
5087 execution environment, this organization is simply for convenience and
5088 intelligibility.
5089
5090 @table @file
5091 @item gdb.base
5092 This is the base testsuite. The tests in it should apply to all
5093 configurations of @value{GDBN} (but generic native-only tests may live here).
5094 The test programs should be in the subset of C that is valid K&R,
5095 ANSI/ISO, and C++ (@code{#ifdef}s are allowed if necessary, for instance
5096 for prototypes).
5097
5098 @item gdb.@var{lang}
5099 Language-specific tests for any language @var{lang} besides C. Examples are
5100 @file{gdb.c++} and @file{gdb.java}.
5101
5102 @item gdb.@var{platform}
5103 Non-portable tests. The tests are specific to a specific configuration
5104 (host or target), such as HP-UX or eCos. Example is @file{gdb.hp}, for
5105 HP-UX.
5106
5107 @item gdb.@var{compiler}
5108 Tests specific to a particular compiler. As of this writing (June
5109 1999), there aren't currently any groups of tests in this category that
5110 couldn't just as sensibly be made platform-specific, but one could
5111 imagine a @file{gdb.gcc}, for tests of @value{GDBN}'s handling of GCC
5112 extensions.
5113
5114 @item gdb.@var{subsystem}
5115 Tests that exercise a specific @value{GDBN} subsystem in more depth. For
5116 instance, @file{gdb.disasm} exercises various disassemblers, while
5117 @file{gdb.stabs} tests pathways through the stabs symbol reader.
5118 @end table
5119
5120 @section Writing Tests
5121 @cindex writing tests
5122
5123 In many areas, the @value{GDBN} tests are already quite comprehensive; you
5124 should be able to copy existing tests to handle new cases.
5125
5126 You should try to use @code{gdb_test} whenever possible, since it
5127 includes cases to handle all the unexpected errors that might happen.
5128 However, it doesn't cost anything to add new test procedures; for
5129 instance, @file{gdb.base/exprs.exp} defines a @code{test_expr} that
5130 calls @code{gdb_test} multiple times.
5131
5132 Only use @code{send_gdb} and @code{gdb_expect} when absolutely
5133 necessary, such as when @value{GDBN} has several valid responses to a command.
5134
5135 The source language programs do @emph{not} need to be in a consistent
5136 style. Since @value{GDBN} is used to debug programs written in many different
5137 styles, it's worth having a mix of styles in the testsuite; for
5138 instance, some @value{GDBN} bugs involving the display of source lines would
5139 never manifest themselves if the programs used GNU coding style
5140 uniformly.
5141
5142 @node Hints
5143
5144 @chapter Hints
5145
5146 Check the @file{README} file, it often has useful information that does not
5147 appear anywhere else in the directory.
5148
5149 @menu
5150 * Getting Started:: Getting started working on @value{GDBN}
5151 * Debugging GDB:: Debugging @value{GDBN} with itself
5152 @end menu
5153
5154 @node Getting Started,,, Hints
5155
5156 @section Getting Started
5157
5158 @value{GDBN} is a large and complicated program, and if you first starting to
5159 work on it, it can be hard to know where to start. Fortunately, if you
5160 know how to go about it, there are ways to figure out what is going on.
5161
5162 This manual, the @value{GDBN} Internals manual, has information which applies
5163 generally to many parts of @value{GDBN}.
5164
5165 Information about particular functions or data structures are located in
5166 comments with those functions or data structures. If you run across a
5167 function or a global variable which does not have a comment correctly
5168 explaining what is does, this can be thought of as a bug in @value{GDBN}; feel
5169 free to submit a bug report, with a suggested comment if you can figure
5170 out what the comment should say. If you find a comment which is
5171 actually wrong, be especially sure to report that.
5172
5173 Comments explaining the function of macros defined in host, target, or
5174 native dependent files can be in several places. Sometimes they are
5175 repeated every place the macro is defined. Sometimes they are where the
5176 macro is used. Sometimes there is a header file which supplies a
5177 default definition of the macro, and the comment is there. This manual
5178 also documents all the available macros.
5179 @c (@pxref{Host Conditionals}, @pxref{Target
5180 @c Conditionals}, @pxref{Native Conditionals}, and @pxref{Obsolete
5181 @c Conditionals})
5182
5183 Start with the header files. Once you have some idea of how
5184 @value{GDBN}'s internal symbol tables are stored (see @file{symtab.h},
5185 @file{gdbtypes.h}), you will find it much easier to understand the
5186 code which uses and creates those symbol tables.
5187
5188 You may wish to process the information you are getting somehow, to
5189 enhance your understanding of it. Summarize it, translate it to another
5190 language, add some (perhaps trivial or non-useful) feature to @value{GDBN}, use
5191 the code to predict what a test case would do and write the test case
5192 and verify your prediction, etc. If you are reading code and your eyes
5193 are starting to glaze over, this is a sign you need to use a more active
5194 approach.
5195
5196 Once you have a part of @value{GDBN} to start with, you can find more
5197 specifically the part you are looking for by stepping through each
5198 function with the @code{next} command. Do not use @code{step} or you
5199 will quickly get distracted; when the function you are stepping through
5200 calls another function try only to get a big-picture understanding
5201 (perhaps using the comment at the beginning of the function being
5202 called) of what it does. This way you can identify which of the
5203 functions being called by the function you are stepping through is the
5204 one which you are interested in. You may need to examine the data
5205 structures generated at each stage, with reference to the comments in
5206 the header files explaining what the data structures are supposed to
5207 look like.
5208
5209 Of course, this same technique can be used if you are just reading the
5210 code, rather than actually stepping through it. The same general
5211 principle applies---when the code you are looking at calls something
5212 else, just try to understand generally what the code being called does,
5213 rather than worrying about all its details.
5214
5215 @cindex command implementation
5216 A good place to start when tracking down some particular area is with
5217 a command which invokes that feature. Suppose you want to know how
5218 single-stepping works. As a @value{GDBN} user, you know that the
5219 @code{step} command invokes single-stepping. The command is invoked
5220 via command tables (see @file{command.h}); by convention the function
5221 which actually performs the command is formed by taking the name of
5222 the command and adding @samp{_command}, or in the case of an
5223 @code{info} subcommand, @samp{_info}. For example, the @code{step}
5224 command invokes the @code{step_command} function and the @code{info
5225 display} command invokes @code{display_info}. When this convention is
5226 not followed, you might have to use @code{grep} or @kbd{M-x
5227 tags-search} in emacs, or run @value{GDBN} on itself and set a
5228 breakpoint in @code{execute_command}.
5229
5230 @cindex @code{bug-gdb} mailing list
5231 If all of the above fail, it may be appropriate to ask for information
5232 on @code{bug-gdb}. But @emph{never} post a generic question like ``I was
5233 wondering if anyone could give me some tips about understanding
5234 @value{GDBN}''---if we had some magic secret we would put it in this manual.
5235 Suggestions for improving the manual are always welcome, of course.
5236
5237 @node Debugging GDB,,,Hints
5238
5239 @section Debugging @value{GDBN} with itself
5240 @cindex debugging @value{GDBN}
5241
5242 If @value{GDBN} is limping on your machine, this is the preferred way to get it
5243 fully functional. Be warned that in some ancient Unix systems, like
5244 Ultrix 4.2, a program can't be running in one process while it is being
5245 debugged in another. Rather than typing the command @kbd{@w{./gdb
5246 ./gdb}}, which works on Suns and such, you can copy @file{gdb} to
5247 @file{gdb2} and then type @kbd{@w{./gdb ./gdb2}}.
5248
5249 When you run @value{GDBN} in the @value{GDBN} source directory, it will read a
5250 @file{.gdbinit} file that sets up some simple things to make debugging
5251 gdb easier. The @code{info} command, when executed without a subcommand
5252 in a @value{GDBN} being debugged by gdb, will pop you back up to the top level
5253 gdb. See @file{.gdbinit} for details.
5254
5255 If you use emacs, you will probably want to do a @code{make TAGS} after
5256 you configure your distribution; this will put the machine dependent
5257 routines for your local machine where they will be accessed first by
5258 @kbd{M-.}
5259
5260 Also, make sure that you've either compiled @value{GDBN} with your local cc, or
5261 have run @code{fixincludes} if you are compiling with gcc.
5262
5263 @section Submitting Patches
5264
5265 @cindex submitting patches
5266 Thanks for thinking of offering your changes back to the community of
5267 @value{GDBN} users. In general we like to get well designed enhancements.
5268 Thanks also for checking in advance about the best way to transfer the
5269 changes.
5270
5271 The @value{GDBN} maintainers will only install ``cleanly designed'' patches.
5272 This manual summarizes what we believe to be clean design for @value{GDBN}.
5273
5274 If the maintainers don't have time to put the patch in when it arrives,
5275 or if there is any question about a patch, it goes into a large queue
5276 with everyone else's patches and bug reports.
5277
5278 @cindex legal papers for code contributions
5279 The legal issue is that to incorporate substantial changes requires a
5280 copyright assignment from you and/or your employer, granting ownership
5281 of the changes to the Free Software Foundation. You can get the
5282 standard documents for doing this by sending mail to @code{gnu@@gnu.org}
5283 and asking for it. We recommend that people write in "All programs
5284 owned by the Free Software Foundation" as "NAME OF PROGRAM", so that
5285 changes in many programs (not just @value{GDBN}, but GAS, Emacs, GCC,
5286 etc) can be
5287 contributed with only one piece of legalese pushed through the
5288 bureaucracy and filed with the FSF. We can't start merging changes until
5289 this paperwork is received by the FSF (their rules, which we follow
5290 since we maintain it for them).
5291
5292 Technically, the easiest way to receive changes is to receive each
5293 feature as a small context diff or unidiff, suitable for @code{patch}.
5294 Each message sent to me should include the changes to C code and
5295 header files for a single feature, plus @file{ChangeLog} entries for
5296 each directory where files were modified, and diffs for any changes
5297 needed to the manuals (@file{gdb/doc/gdb.texinfo} or
5298 @file{gdb/doc/gdbint.texinfo}). If there are a lot of changes for a
5299 single feature, they can be split down into multiple messages.
5300
5301 In this way, if we read and like the feature, we can add it to the
5302 sources with a single patch command, do some testing, and check it in.
5303 If you leave out the @file{ChangeLog}, we have to write one. If you leave
5304 out the doc, we have to puzzle out what needs documenting. Etc., etc.
5305
5306 The reason to send each change in a separate message is that we will not
5307 install some of the changes. They'll be returned to you with questions
5308 or comments. If we're doing our job correctly, the message back to you
5309 will say what you have to fix in order to make the change acceptable.
5310 The reason to have separate messages for separate features is so that
5311 the acceptable changes can be installed while one or more changes are
5312 being reworked. If multiple features are sent in a single message, we
5313 tend to not put in the effort to sort out the acceptable changes from
5314 the unacceptable, so none of the features get installed until all are
5315 acceptable.
5316
5317 If this sounds painful or authoritarian, well, it is. But we get a lot
5318 of bug reports and a lot of patches, and many of them don't get
5319 installed because we don't have the time to finish the job that the bug
5320 reporter or the contributor could have done. Patches that arrive
5321 complete, working, and well designed, tend to get installed on the day
5322 they arrive. The others go into a queue and get installed as time
5323 permits, which, since the maintainers have many demands to meet, may not
5324 be for quite some time.
5325
5326 Please send patches directly to
5327 @email{gdb-patches@@sourceware.cygnus.com, the @value{GDBN} maintainers}.
5328
5329 @section Obsolete Conditionals
5330 @cindex obsolete code
5331
5332 Fragments of old code in @value{GDBN} sometimes reference or set the following
5333 configuration macros. They should not be used by new code, and old uses
5334 should be removed as those parts of the debugger are otherwise touched.
5335
5336 @table @code
5337 @item STACK_END_ADDR
5338 This macro used to define where the end of the stack appeared, for use
5339 in interpreting core file formats that don't record this address in the
5340 core file itself. This information is now configured in BFD, and @value{GDBN}
5341 gets the info portably from there. The values in @value{GDBN}'s configuration
5342 files should be moved into BFD configuration files (if needed there),
5343 and deleted from all of @value{GDBN}'s config files.
5344
5345 Any @file{@var{foo}-xdep.c} file that references STACK_END_ADDR
5346 is so old that it has never been converted to use BFD. Now that's old!
5347
5348 @item PYRAMID_CONTROL_FRAME_DEBUGGING
5349 pyr-xdep.c
5350 @item PYRAMID_CORE
5351 pyr-xdep.c
5352 @item PYRAMID_PTRACE
5353 pyr-xdep.c
5354
5355 @item REG_STACK_SEGMENT
5356 exec.c
5357
5358 @end table
5359
5360 @node Index
5361 @unnumbered Index
5362
5363 @printindex cp
5364
5365 @c TeX can handle the contents at the start but makeinfo 3.12 can not
5366 @ifinfo
5367 @contents
5368 @end ifinfo
5369 @ifhtml
5370 @contents
5371 @end ifhtml
5372
5373 @bye
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