2006-01-24 Jim Blandy <jimb@redhat.com>
[deliverable/binutils-gdb.git] / gdb / doc / gdbint.texinfo
1 \input texinfo @c -*- texinfo -*-
2 @setfilename gdbint.info
3 @include gdb-cfg.texi
4 @dircategory Software development
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 (C) 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
12 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
13 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
14 Contributed by Cygnus Solutions. Written by John Gilmore.
15 Second Edition by Stan Shebs.
16
17 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
18 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
19 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
20 Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover
21 Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU
22 Free Documentation License''.
23 @end ifinfo
24
25 @setchapternewpage off
26 @settitle @value{GDBN} Internals
27
28 @syncodeindex fn cp
29 @syncodeindex vr cp
30
31 @titlepage
32 @title @value{GDBN} Internals
33 @subtitle{A guide to the internals of the GNU debugger}
34 @author John Gilmore
35 @author Cygnus Solutions
36 @author Second Edition:
37 @author Stan Shebs
38 @author Cygnus Solutions
39 @page
40 @tex
41 \def\$#1${{#1}} % Kluge: collect RCS revision info without $...$
42 \xdef\manvers{\$Revision$} % For use in headers, footers too
43 {\parskip=0pt
44 \hfill Cygnus Solutions\par
45 \hfill \manvers\par
46 \hfill \TeX{}info \texinfoversion\par
47 }
48 @end tex
49
50 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
51 Copyright @copyright{} 1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1996,1998,1999,2000,2001,
52 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
53
54 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
55 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
56 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
57 Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover
58 Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU
59 Free Documentation License''.
60 @end titlepage
61
62 @contents
63
64 @node Top
65 @c Perhaps this should be the title of the document (but only for info,
66 @c not for TeX). Existing GNU manuals seem inconsistent on this point.
67 @top Scope of this Document
68
69 This document documents the internals of the GNU debugger, @value{GDBN}. It
70 includes description of @value{GDBN}'s key algorithms and operations, as well
71 as the mechanisms that adapt @value{GDBN} to specific hosts and targets.
72
73 @menu
74 * Requirements::
75 * Overall Structure::
76 * Algorithms::
77 * User Interface::
78 * libgdb::
79 * Symbol Handling::
80 * Language Support::
81 * Host Definition::
82 * Target Architecture Definition::
83 * Target Vector Definition::
84 * Native Debugging::
85 * Support Libraries::
86 * Coding::
87 * Porting GDB::
88 * Versions and Branches::
89 * Start of New Year Procedure::
90 * Releasing GDB::
91 * Testsuite::
92 * Hints::
93
94 * GDB Observers:: @value{GDBN} Currently available observers
95 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation
96 * Index::
97 @end menu
98
99 @node Requirements
100
101 @chapter Requirements
102 @cindex requirements for @value{GDBN}
103
104 Before diving into the internals, you should understand the formal
105 requirements and other expectations for @value{GDBN}. Although some
106 of these may seem obvious, there have been proposals for @value{GDBN}
107 that have run counter to these requirements.
108
109 First of all, @value{GDBN} is a debugger. It's not designed to be a
110 front panel for embedded systems. It's not a text editor. It's not a
111 shell. It's not a programming environment.
112
113 @value{GDBN} is an interactive tool. Although a batch mode is
114 available, @value{GDBN}'s primary role is to interact with a human
115 programmer.
116
117 @value{GDBN} should be responsive to the user. A programmer hot on
118 the trail of a nasty bug, and operating under a looming deadline, is
119 going to be very impatient of everything, including the response time
120 to debugger commands.
121
122 @value{GDBN} should be relatively permissive, such as for expressions.
123 While the compiler should be picky (or have the option to be made
124 picky), since source code lives for a long time usually, the
125 programmer doing debugging shouldn't be spending time figuring out to
126 mollify the debugger.
127
128 @value{GDBN} will be called upon to deal with really large programs.
129 Executable sizes of 50 to 100 megabytes occur regularly, and we've
130 heard reports of programs approaching 1 gigabyte in size.
131
132 @value{GDBN} should be able to run everywhere. No other debugger is
133 available for even half as many configurations as @value{GDBN}
134 supports.
135
136
137 @node Overall Structure
138
139 @chapter Overall Structure
140
141 @value{GDBN} consists of three major subsystems: user interface,
142 symbol handling (the @dfn{symbol side}), and target system handling (the
143 @dfn{target side}).
144
145 The user interface consists of several actual interfaces, plus
146 supporting code.
147
148 The symbol side consists of object file readers, debugging info
149 interpreters, symbol table management, source language expression
150 parsing, type and value printing.
151
152 The target side consists of execution control, stack frame analysis, and
153 physical target manipulation.
154
155 The target side/symbol side division is not formal, and there are a
156 number of exceptions. For instance, core file support involves symbolic
157 elements (the basic core file reader is in BFD) and target elements (it
158 supplies the contents of memory and the values of registers). Instead,
159 this division is useful for understanding how the minor subsystems
160 should fit together.
161
162 @section The Symbol Side
163
164 The symbolic side of @value{GDBN} can be thought of as ``everything
165 you can do in @value{GDBN} without having a live program running''.
166 For instance, you can look at the types of variables, and evaluate
167 many kinds of expressions.
168
169 @section The Target Side
170
171 The target side of @value{GDBN} is the ``bits and bytes manipulator''.
172 Although it may make reference to symbolic info here and there, most
173 of the target side will run with only a stripped executable
174 available---or even no executable at all, in remote debugging cases.
175
176 Operations such as disassembly, stack frame crawls, and register
177 display, are able to work with no symbolic info at all. In some cases,
178 such as disassembly, @value{GDBN} will use symbolic info to present addresses
179 relative to symbols rather than as raw numbers, but it will work either
180 way.
181
182 @section Configurations
183
184 @cindex host
185 @cindex target
186 @dfn{Host} refers to attributes of the system where @value{GDBN} runs.
187 @dfn{Target} refers to the system where the program being debugged
188 executes. In most cases they are the same machine, in which case a
189 third type of @dfn{Native} attributes come into play.
190
191 Defines and include files needed to build on the host are host support.
192 Examples are tty support, system defined types, host byte order, host
193 float format.
194
195 Defines and information needed to handle the target format are target
196 dependent. Examples are the stack frame format, instruction set,
197 breakpoint instruction, registers, and how to set up and tear down the stack
198 to call a function.
199
200 Information that is only needed when the host and target are the same,
201 is native dependent. One example is Unix child process support; if the
202 host and target are not the same, doing a fork to start the target
203 process is a bad idea. The various macros needed for finding the
204 registers in the @code{upage}, running @code{ptrace}, and such are all
205 in the native-dependent files.
206
207 Another example of native-dependent code is support for features that
208 are really part of the target environment, but which require
209 @code{#include} files that are only available on the host system. Core
210 file handling and @code{setjmp} handling are two common cases.
211
212 When you want to make @value{GDBN} work ``native'' on a particular machine, you
213 have to include all three kinds of information.
214
215
216 @node Algorithms
217
218 @chapter Algorithms
219 @cindex algorithms
220
221 @value{GDBN} uses a number of debugging-specific algorithms. They are
222 often not very complicated, but get lost in the thicket of special
223 cases and real-world issues. This chapter describes the basic
224 algorithms and mentions some of the specific target definitions that
225 they use.
226
227 @section Frames
228
229 @cindex frame
230 @cindex call stack frame
231 A frame is a construct that @value{GDBN} uses to keep track of calling
232 and called functions.
233
234 @cindex frame, unwind
235 @value{GDBN}'s current frame model is the result of an incremental
236 cleanup of working code, not a fresh design, so it's a little weird.
237
238 The natural model would have a frame object, with methods that read
239 and write that frame's registers. Reading or writing the youngest
240 frame's registers would simply read or write the processor's current
241 registers, since the youngest frame is running directly on the
242 processor. Older frames might have some registers saved on the stack
243 by younger frames, so accessing the older frames' registers would do a
244 mix of memory accesses and register accesses, as appropriate.
245
246 @findex frame_register_unwind
247 Instead, @value{GDBN}'s model is that you find a frame's registers by
248 ``unwinding'' them from the next younger frame. That is, to access
249 the registers of frame #1 (the next-to-youngest frame), you actually
250 apply @code{frame_register_unwind} to frame #0 (the youngest frame).
251 But then the obvious question is: how do you access the registers of
252 the youngest frame itself? How do you ``unwind'' them when they're
253 not wound up?
254
255 @cindex sentinel frame
256 @findex get_frame_type
257 @vindex SENTINEL_FRAME
258 To answer this question, GDB has the @dfn{sentinel} frame, the
259 ``-1st'' frame. Unwinding registers from the sentinel frame gives you
260 the current values of the youngest real frame's registers. If @var{f}
261 is a sentinel frame, then @code{get_frame_type (@var{f}) ==
262 SENTINEL_FRAME}.
263
264 @findex create_new_frame
265 @vindex FRAME_FP
266 @code{FRAME_FP} in the machine description has no meaning to the
267 machine-independent part of @value{GDBN}, except that it is used when
268 setting up a new frame from scratch, as follows:
269
270 @smallexample
271 create_new_frame (read_register (DEPRECATED_FP_REGNUM), read_pc ()));
272 @end smallexample
273
274 @cindex frame pointer register
275 Other than that, all the meaning imparted to @code{DEPRECATED_FP_REGNUM}
276 is imparted by the machine-dependent code. So,
277 @code{DEPRECATED_FP_REGNUM} can have any value that is convenient for
278 the code that creates new frames. (@code{create_new_frame} calls
279 @code{DEPRECATED_INIT_EXTRA_FRAME_INFO} if it is defined; that is where
280 you should use the @code{DEPRECATED_FP_REGNUM} value, if your frames are
281 nonstandard.)
282
283 @cindex frame chain
284 Given a @value{GDBN} frame, define @code{DEPRECATED_FRAME_CHAIN} to
285 determine the address of the calling function's frame. This will be
286 used to create a new @value{GDBN} frame struct, and then
287 @code{DEPRECATED_INIT_EXTRA_FRAME_INFO} and
288 @code{DEPRECATED_INIT_FRAME_PC} will be called for the new frame.
289
290 @section Breakpoint Handling
291
292 @cindex breakpoints
293 In general, a breakpoint is a user-designated location in the program
294 where the user wants to regain control if program execution ever reaches
295 that location.
296
297 There are two main ways to implement breakpoints; either as ``hardware''
298 breakpoints or as ``software'' breakpoints.
299
300 @cindex hardware breakpoints
301 @cindex program counter
302 Hardware breakpoints are sometimes available as a builtin debugging
303 features with some chips. Typically these work by having dedicated
304 register into which the breakpoint address may be stored. If the PC
305 (shorthand for @dfn{program counter})
306 ever matches a value in a breakpoint registers, the CPU raises an
307 exception and reports it to @value{GDBN}.
308
309 Another possibility is when an emulator is in use; many emulators
310 include circuitry that watches the address lines coming out from the
311 processor, and force it to stop if the address matches a breakpoint's
312 address.
313
314 A third possibility is that the target already has the ability to do
315 breakpoints somehow; for instance, a ROM monitor may do its own
316 software breakpoints. So although these are not literally ``hardware
317 breakpoints'', from @value{GDBN}'s point of view they work the same;
318 @value{GDBN} need not do anything more than set the breakpoint and wait
319 for something to happen.
320
321 Since they depend on hardware resources, hardware breakpoints may be
322 limited in number; when the user asks for more, @value{GDBN} will
323 start trying to set software breakpoints. (On some architectures,
324 notably the 32-bit x86 platforms, @value{GDBN} cannot always know
325 whether there's enough hardware resources to insert all the hardware
326 breakpoints and watchpoints. On those platforms, @value{GDBN} prints
327 an error message only when the program being debugged is continued.)
328
329 @cindex software breakpoints
330 Software breakpoints require @value{GDBN} to do somewhat more work.
331 The basic theory is that @value{GDBN} will replace a program
332 instruction with a trap, illegal divide, or some other instruction
333 that will cause an exception, and then when it's encountered,
334 @value{GDBN} will take the exception and stop the program. When the
335 user says to continue, @value{GDBN} will restore the original
336 instruction, single-step, re-insert the trap, and continue on.
337
338 Since it literally overwrites the program being tested, the program area
339 must be writable, so this technique won't work on programs in ROM. It
340 can also distort the behavior of programs that examine themselves,
341 although such a situation would be highly unusual.
342
343 Also, the software breakpoint instruction should be the smallest size of
344 instruction, so it doesn't overwrite an instruction that might be a jump
345 target, and cause disaster when the program jumps into the middle of the
346 breakpoint instruction. (Strictly speaking, the breakpoint must be no
347 larger than the smallest interval between instructions that may be jump
348 targets; perhaps there is an architecture where only even-numbered
349 instructions may jumped to.) Note that it's possible for an instruction
350 set not to have any instructions usable for a software breakpoint,
351 although in practice only the ARC has failed to define such an
352 instruction.
353
354 @findex BREAKPOINT
355 The basic definition of the software breakpoint is the macro
356 @code{BREAKPOINT}.
357
358 Basic breakpoint object handling is in @file{breakpoint.c}. However,
359 much of the interesting breakpoint action is in @file{infrun.c}.
360
361 @section Single Stepping
362
363 @section Signal Handling
364
365 @section Thread Handling
366
367 @section Inferior Function Calls
368
369 @section Longjmp Support
370
371 @cindex @code{longjmp} debugging
372 @value{GDBN} has support for figuring out that the target is doing a
373 @code{longjmp} and for stopping at the target of the jump, if we are
374 stepping. This is done with a few specialized internal breakpoints,
375 which are visible in the output of the @samp{maint info breakpoint}
376 command.
377
378 @findex GET_LONGJMP_TARGET
379 To make this work, you need to define a macro called
380 @code{GET_LONGJMP_TARGET}, which will examine the @code{jmp_buf}
381 structure and extract the longjmp target address. Since @code{jmp_buf}
382 is target specific, you will need to define it in the appropriate
383 @file{tm-@var{target}.h} file. Look in @file{tm-sun4os4.h} and
384 @file{sparc-tdep.c} for examples of how to do this.
385
386 @section Watchpoints
387 @cindex watchpoints
388
389 Watchpoints are a special kind of breakpoints (@pxref{Algorithms,
390 breakpoints}) which break when data is accessed rather than when some
391 instruction is executed. When you have data which changes without
392 your knowing what code does that, watchpoints are the silver bullet to
393 hunt down and kill such bugs.
394
395 @cindex hardware watchpoints
396 @cindex software watchpoints
397 Watchpoints can be either hardware-assisted or not; the latter type is
398 known as ``software watchpoints.'' @value{GDBN} always uses
399 hardware-assisted watchpoints if they are available, and falls back on
400 software watchpoints otherwise. Typical situations where @value{GDBN}
401 will use software watchpoints are:
402
403 @itemize @bullet
404 @item
405 The watched memory region is too large for the underlying hardware
406 watchpoint support. For example, each x86 debug register can watch up
407 to 4 bytes of memory, so trying to watch data structures whose size is
408 more than 16 bytes will cause @value{GDBN} to use software
409 watchpoints.
410
411 @item
412 The value of the expression to be watched depends on data held in
413 registers (as opposed to memory).
414
415 @item
416 Too many different watchpoints requested. (On some architectures,
417 this situation is impossible to detect until the debugged program is
418 resumed.) Note that x86 debug registers are used both for hardware
419 breakpoints and for watchpoints, so setting too many hardware
420 breakpoints might cause watchpoint insertion to fail.
421
422 @item
423 No hardware-assisted watchpoints provided by the target
424 implementation.
425 @end itemize
426
427 Software watchpoints are very slow, since @value{GDBN} needs to
428 single-step the program being debugged and test the value of the
429 watched expression(s) after each instruction. The rest of this
430 section is mostly irrelevant for software watchpoints.
431
432 When the inferior stops, @value{GDBN} tries to establish, among other
433 possible reasons, whether it stopped due to a watchpoint being hit.
434 For a data-write watchpoint, it does so by evaluating, for each
435 watchpoint, the expression whose value is being watched, and testing
436 whether the watched value has changed. For data-read and data-access
437 watchpoints, @value{GDBN} needs the target to supply a primitive that
438 returns the address of the data that was accessed or read (see the
439 description of @code{target_stopped_data_address} below): if this
440 primitive returns a valid address, @value{GDBN} infers that a
441 watchpoint triggered if it watches an expression whose evaluation uses
442 that address.
443
444 @value{GDBN} uses several macros and primitives to support hardware
445 watchpoints:
446
447 @table @code
448 @findex TARGET_HAS_HARDWARE_WATCHPOINTS
449 @item TARGET_HAS_HARDWARE_WATCHPOINTS
450 If defined, the target supports hardware watchpoints.
451
452 @findex TARGET_CAN_USE_HARDWARE_WATCHPOINT
453 @item TARGET_CAN_USE_HARDWARE_WATCHPOINT (@var{type}, @var{count}, @var{other})
454 Return the number of hardware watchpoints of type @var{type} that are
455 possible to be set. The value is positive if @var{count} watchpoints
456 of this type can be set, zero if setting watchpoints of this type is
457 not supported, and negative if @var{count} is more than the maximum
458 number of watchpoints of type @var{type} that can be set. @var{other}
459 is non-zero if other types of watchpoints are currently enabled (there
460 are architectures which cannot set watchpoints of different types at
461 the same time).
462
463 @findex TARGET_REGION_OK_FOR_HW_WATCHPOINT
464 @item TARGET_REGION_OK_FOR_HW_WATCHPOINT (@var{addr}, @var{len})
465 Return non-zero if hardware watchpoints can be used to watch a region
466 whose address is @var{addr} and whose length in bytes is @var{len}.
467
468 @findex TARGET_REGION_SIZE_OK_FOR_HW_WATCHPOINT
469 @item TARGET_REGION_SIZE_OK_FOR_HW_WATCHPOINT (@var{size})
470 Return non-zero if hardware watchpoints can be used to watch a region
471 whose size is @var{size}. @value{GDBN} only uses this macro as a
472 fall-back, in case @code{TARGET_REGION_OK_FOR_HW_WATCHPOINT} is not
473 defined.
474
475 @cindex insert or remove hardware watchpoint
476 @findex target_insert_watchpoint
477 @findex target_remove_watchpoint
478 @item target_insert_watchpoint (@var{addr}, @var{len}, @var{type})
479 @itemx target_remove_watchpoint (@var{addr}, @var{len}, @var{type})
480 Insert or remove a hardware watchpoint starting at @var{addr}, for
481 @var{len} bytes. @var{type} is the watchpoint type, one of the
482 possible values of the enumerated data type @code{target_hw_bp_type},
483 defined by @file{breakpoint.h} as follows:
484
485 @smallexample
486 enum target_hw_bp_type
487 @{
488 hw_write = 0, /* Common (write) HW watchpoint */
489 hw_read = 1, /* Read HW watchpoint */
490 hw_access = 2, /* Access (read or write) HW watchpoint */
491 hw_execute = 3 /* Execute HW breakpoint */
492 @};
493 @end smallexample
494
495 @noindent
496 These two macros should return 0 for success, non-zero for failure.
497
498 @cindex insert or remove hardware breakpoint
499 @findex target_remove_hw_breakpoint
500 @findex target_insert_hw_breakpoint
501 @item target_remove_hw_breakpoint (@var{addr}, @var{shadow})
502 @itemx target_insert_hw_breakpoint (@var{addr}, @var{shadow})
503 Insert or remove a hardware-assisted breakpoint at address @var{addr}.
504 Returns zero for success, non-zero for failure. @var{shadow} is the
505 real contents of the byte where the breakpoint has been inserted; it
506 is generally not valid when hardware breakpoints are used, but since
507 no other code touches these values, the implementations of the above
508 two macros can use them for their internal purposes.
509
510 @findex target_stopped_data_address
511 @item target_stopped_data_address (@var{addr_p})
512 If the inferior has some watchpoint that triggered, place the address
513 associated with the watchpoint at the location pointed to by
514 @var{addr_p} and return non-zero. Otherwise, return zero. Note that
515 this primitive is used by @value{GDBN} only on targets that support
516 data-read or data-access type watchpoints, so targets that have
517 support only for data-write watchpoints need not implement these
518 primitives.
519
520 @findex HAVE_STEPPABLE_WATCHPOINT
521 @item HAVE_STEPPABLE_WATCHPOINT
522 If defined to a non-zero value, it is not necessary to disable a
523 watchpoint to step over it.
524
525 @findex HAVE_NONSTEPPABLE_WATCHPOINT
526 @item HAVE_NONSTEPPABLE_WATCHPOINT
527 If defined to a non-zero value, @value{GDBN} should disable a
528 watchpoint to step the inferior over it.
529
530 @findex HAVE_CONTINUABLE_WATCHPOINT
531 @item HAVE_CONTINUABLE_WATCHPOINT
532 If defined to a non-zero value, it is possible to continue the
533 inferior after a watchpoint has been hit.
534
535 @findex CANNOT_STEP_HW_WATCHPOINTS
536 @item CANNOT_STEP_HW_WATCHPOINTS
537 If this is defined to a non-zero value, @value{GDBN} will remove all
538 watchpoints before stepping the inferior.
539
540 @findex STOPPED_BY_WATCHPOINT
541 @item STOPPED_BY_WATCHPOINT (@var{wait_status})
542 Return non-zero if stopped by a watchpoint. @var{wait_status} is of
543 the type @code{struct target_waitstatus}, defined by @file{target.h}.
544 Normally, this macro is defined to invoke the function pointed to by
545 the @code{to_stopped_by_watchpoint} member of the structure (of the
546 type @code{target_ops}, defined on @file{target.h}) that describes the
547 target-specific operations; @code{to_stopped_by_watchpoint} ignores
548 the @var{wait_status} argument.
549
550 @value{GDBN} does not require the non-zero value returned by
551 @code{STOPPED_BY_WATCHPOINT} to be 100% correct, so if a target cannot
552 determine for sure whether the inferior stopped due to a watchpoint,
553 it could return non-zero ``just in case''.
554 @end table
555
556 @subsection x86 Watchpoints
557 @cindex x86 debug registers
558 @cindex watchpoints, on x86
559
560 The 32-bit Intel x86 (a.k.a.@: ia32) processors feature special debug
561 registers designed to facilitate debugging. @value{GDBN} provides a
562 generic library of functions that x86-based ports can use to implement
563 support for watchpoints and hardware-assisted breakpoints. This
564 subsection documents the x86 watchpoint facilities in @value{GDBN}.
565
566 To use the generic x86 watchpoint support, a port should do the
567 following:
568
569 @itemize @bullet
570 @findex I386_USE_GENERIC_WATCHPOINTS
571 @item
572 Define the macro @code{I386_USE_GENERIC_WATCHPOINTS} somewhere in the
573 target-dependent headers.
574
575 @item
576 Include the @file{config/i386/nm-i386.h} header file @emph{after}
577 defining @code{I386_USE_GENERIC_WATCHPOINTS}.
578
579 @item
580 Add @file{i386-nat.o} to the value of the Make variable
581 @code{NATDEPFILES} (@pxref{Native Debugging, NATDEPFILES}) or
582 @code{TDEPFILES} (@pxref{Target Architecture Definition, TDEPFILES}).
583
584 @item
585 Provide implementations for the @code{I386_DR_LOW_*} macros described
586 below. Typically, each macro should call a target-specific function
587 which does the real work.
588 @end itemize
589
590 The x86 watchpoint support works by maintaining mirror images of the
591 debug registers. Values are copied between the mirror images and the
592 real debug registers via a set of macros which each target needs to
593 provide:
594
595 @table @code
596 @findex I386_DR_LOW_SET_CONTROL
597 @item I386_DR_LOW_SET_CONTROL (@var{val})
598 Set the Debug Control (DR7) register to the value @var{val}.
599
600 @findex I386_DR_LOW_SET_ADDR
601 @item I386_DR_LOW_SET_ADDR (@var{idx}, @var{addr})
602 Put the address @var{addr} into the debug register number @var{idx}.
603
604 @findex I386_DR_LOW_RESET_ADDR
605 @item I386_DR_LOW_RESET_ADDR (@var{idx})
606 Reset (i.e.@: zero out) the address stored in the debug register
607 number @var{idx}.
608
609 @findex I386_DR_LOW_GET_STATUS
610 @item I386_DR_LOW_GET_STATUS
611 Return the value of the Debug Status (DR6) register. This value is
612 used immediately after it is returned by
613 @code{I386_DR_LOW_GET_STATUS}, so as to support per-thread status
614 register values.
615 @end table
616
617 For each one of the 4 debug registers (whose indices are from 0 to 3)
618 that store addresses, a reference count is maintained by @value{GDBN},
619 to allow sharing of debug registers by several watchpoints. This
620 allows users to define several watchpoints that watch the same
621 expression, but with different conditions and/or commands, without
622 wasting debug registers which are in short supply. @value{GDBN}
623 maintains the reference counts internally, targets don't have to do
624 anything to use this feature.
625
626 The x86 debug registers can each watch a region that is 1, 2, or 4
627 bytes long. The ia32 architecture requires that each watched region
628 be appropriately aligned: 2-byte region on 2-byte boundary, 4-byte
629 region on 4-byte boundary. However, the x86 watchpoint support in
630 @value{GDBN} can watch unaligned regions and regions larger than 4
631 bytes (up to 16 bytes) by allocating several debug registers to watch
632 a single region. This allocation of several registers per a watched
633 region is also done automatically without target code intervention.
634
635 The generic x86 watchpoint support provides the following API for the
636 @value{GDBN}'s application code:
637
638 @table @code
639 @findex i386_region_ok_for_watchpoint
640 @item i386_region_ok_for_watchpoint (@var{addr}, @var{len})
641 The macro @code{TARGET_REGION_OK_FOR_HW_WATCHPOINT} is set to call
642 this function. It counts the number of debug registers required to
643 watch a given region, and returns a non-zero value if that number is
644 less than 4, the number of debug registers available to x86
645 processors.
646
647 @findex i386_stopped_data_address
648 @item i386_stopped_data_address (@var{addr_p})
649 The target function
650 @code{target_stopped_data_address} is set to call this function.
651 This
652 function examines the breakpoint condition bits in the DR6 Debug
653 Status register, as returned by the @code{I386_DR_LOW_GET_STATUS}
654 macro, and returns the address associated with the first bit that is
655 set in DR6.
656
657 @findex i386_stopped_by_watchpoint
658 @item i386_stopped_by_watchpoint (void)
659 The macro @code{STOPPED_BY_WATCHPOINT}
660 is set to call this function. The
661 argument passed to @code{STOPPED_BY_WATCHPOINT} is ignored. This
662 function examines the breakpoint condition bits in the DR6 Debug
663 Status register, as returned by the @code{I386_DR_LOW_GET_STATUS}
664 macro, and returns true if any bit is set. Otherwise, false is
665 returned.
666
667 @findex i386_insert_watchpoint
668 @findex i386_remove_watchpoint
669 @item i386_insert_watchpoint (@var{addr}, @var{len}, @var{type})
670 @itemx i386_remove_watchpoint (@var{addr}, @var{len}, @var{type})
671 Insert or remove a watchpoint. The macros
672 @code{target_insert_watchpoint} and @code{target_remove_watchpoint}
673 are set to call these functions. @code{i386_insert_watchpoint} first
674 looks for a debug register which is already set to watch the same
675 region for the same access types; if found, it just increments the
676 reference count of that debug register, thus implementing debug
677 register sharing between watchpoints. If no such register is found,
678 the function looks for a vacant debug register, sets its mirrored
679 value to @var{addr}, sets the mirrored value of DR7 Debug Control
680 register as appropriate for the @var{len} and @var{type} parameters,
681 and then passes the new values of the debug register and DR7 to the
682 inferior by calling @code{I386_DR_LOW_SET_ADDR} and
683 @code{I386_DR_LOW_SET_CONTROL}. If more than one debug register is
684 required to cover the given region, the above process is repeated for
685 each debug register.
686
687 @code{i386_remove_watchpoint} does the opposite: it resets the address
688 in the mirrored value of the debug register and its read/write and
689 length bits in the mirrored value of DR7, then passes these new
690 values to the inferior via @code{I386_DR_LOW_RESET_ADDR} and
691 @code{I386_DR_LOW_SET_CONTROL}. If a register is shared by several
692 watchpoints, each time a @code{i386_remove_watchpoint} is called, it
693 decrements the reference count, and only calls
694 @code{I386_DR_LOW_RESET_ADDR} and @code{I386_DR_LOW_SET_CONTROL} when
695 the count goes to zero.
696
697 @findex i386_insert_hw_breakpoint
698 @findex i386_remove_hw_breakpoint
699 @item i386_insert_hw_breakpoint (@var{addr}, @var{shadow}
700 @itemx i386_remove_hw_breakpoint (@var{addr}, @var{shadow})
701 These functions insert and remove hardware-assisted breakpoints. The
702 macros @code{target_insert_hw_breakpoint} and
703 @code{target_remove_hw_breakpoint} are set to call these functions.
704 These functions work like @code{i386_insert_watchpoint} and
705 @code{i386_remove_watchpoint}, respectively, except that they set up
706 the debug registers to watch instruction execution, and each
707 hardware-assisted breakpoint always requires exactly one debug
708 register.
709
710 @findex i386_stopped_by_hwbp
711 @item i386_stopped_by_hwbp (void)
712 This function returns non-zero if the inferior has some watchpoint or
713 hardware breakpoint that triggered. It works like
714 @code{i386_stopped_data_address}, except that it doesn't record the
715 address whose watchpoint triggered.
716
717 @findex i386_cleanup_dregs
718 @item i386_cleanup_dregs (void)
719 This function clears all the reference counts, addresses, and control
720 bits in the mirror images of the debug registers. It doesn't affect
721 the actual debug registers in the inferior process.
722 @end table
723
724 @noindent
725 @strong{Notes:}
726 @enumerate 1
727 @item
728 x86 processors support setting watchpoints on I/O reads or writes.
729 However, since no target supports this (as of March 2001), and since
730 @code{enum target_hw_bp_type} doesn't even have an enumeration for I/O
731 watchpoints, this feature is not yet available to @value{GDBN} running
732 on x86.
733
734 @item
735 x86 processors can enable watchpoints locally, for the current task
736 only, or globally, for all the tasks. For each debug register,
737 there's a bit in the DR7 Debug Control register that determines
738 whether the associated address is watched locally or globally. The
739 current implementation of x86 watchpoint support in @value{GDBN}
740 always sets watchpoints to be locally enabled, since global
741 watchpoints might interfere with the underlying OS and are probably
742 unavailable in many platforms.
743 @end enumerate
744
745 @section Checkpoints
746 @cindex checkpoints
747 @cindex restart
748 In the abstract, a checkpoint is a point in the execution history of
749 the program, which the user may wish to return to at some later time.
750
751 Internally, a checkpoint is a saved copy of the program state, including
752 whatever information is required in order to restore the program to that
753 state at a later time. This can be expected to include the state of
754 registers and memory, and may include external state such as the state
755 of open files and devices.
756
757 There are a number of ways in which checkpoints may be implemented
758 in gdb, eg. as corefiles, as forked processes, and as some opaque
759 method implemented on the target side.
760
761 A corefile can be used to save an image of target memory and register
762 state, which can in principle be restored later --- but corefiles do
763 not typically include information about external entities such as
764 open files. Currently this method is not implemented in gdb.
765
766 A forked process can save the state of user memory and registers,
767 as well as some subset of external (kernel) state. This method
768 is used to implement checkpoints on Linux, and in principle might
769 be used on other systems.
770
771 Some targets, eg.@: simulators, might have their own built-in
772 method for saving checkpoints, and gdb might be able to take
773 advantage of that capability without necessarily knowing any
774 details of how it is done.
775
776
777 @section Observing changes in @value{GDBN} internals
778 @cindex observer pattern interface
779 @cindex notifications about changes in internals
780
781 In order to function properly, several modules need to be notified when
782 some changes occur in the @value{GDBN} internals. Traditionally, these
783 modules have relied on several paradigms, the most common ones being
784 hooks and gdb-events. Unfortunately, none of these paradigms was
785 versatile enough to become the standard notification mechanism in
786 @value{GDBN}. The fact that they only supported one ``client'' was also
787 a strong limitation.
788
789 A new paradigm, based on the Observer pattern of the @cite{Design
790 Patterns} book, has therefore been implemented. The goal was to provide
791 a new interface overcoming the issues with the notification mechanisms
792 previously available. This new interface needed to be strongly typed,
793 easy to extend, and versatile enough to be used as the standard
794 interface when adding new notifications.
795
796 See @ref{GDB Observers} for a brief description of the observers
797 currently implemented in GDB. The rationale for the current
798 implementation is also briefly discussed.
799
800 @node User Interface
801
802 @chapter User Interface
803
804 @value{GDBN} has several user interfaces. Although the command-line interface
805 is the most common and most familiar, there are others.
806
807 @section Command Interpreter
808
809 @cindex command interpreter
810 @cindex CLI
811 The command interpreter in @value{GDBN} is fairly simple. It is designed to
812 allow for the set of commands to be augmented dynamically, and also
813 has a recursive subcommand capability, where the first argument to
814 a command may itself direct a lookup on a different command list.
815
816 For instance, the @samp{set} command just starts a lookup on the
817 @code{setlist} command list, while @samp{set thread} recurses
818 to the @code{set_thread_cmd_list}.
819
820 @findex add_cmd
821 @findex add_com
822 To add commands in general, use @code{add_cmd}. @code{add_com} adds to
823 the main command list, and should be used for those commands. The usual
824 place to add commands is in the @code{_initialize_@var{xyz}} routines at
825 the ends of most source files.
826
827 @findex add_setshow_cmd
828 @findex add_setshow_cmd_full
829 To add paired @samp{set} and @samp{show} commands, use
830 @code{add_setshow_cmd} or @code{add_setshow_cmd_full}. The former is
831 a slightly simpler interface which is useful when you don't need to
832 further modify the new command structures, while the latter returns
833 the new command structures for manipulation.
834
835 @cindex deprecating commands
836 @findex deprecate_cmd
837 Before removing commands from the command set it is a good idea to
838 deprecate them for some time. Use @code{deprecate_cmd} on commands or
839 aliases to set the deprecated flag. @code{deprecate_cmd} takes a
840 @code{struct cmd_list_element} as it's first argument. You can use the
841 return value from @code{add_com} or @code{add_cmd} to deprecate the
842 command immediately after it is created.
843
844 The first time a command is used the user will be warned and offered a
845 replacement (if one exists). Note that the replacement string passed to
846 @code{deprecate_cmd} should be the full name of the command, i.e. the
847 entire string the user should type at the command line.
848
849 @section UI-Independent Output---the @code{ui_out} Functions
850 @c This section is based on the documentation written by Fernando
851 @c Nasser <fnasser@redhat.com>.
852
853 @cindex @code{ui_out} functions
854 The @code{ui_out} functions present an abstraction level for the
855 @value{GDBN} output code. They hide the specifics of different user
856 interfaces supported by @value{GDBN}, and thus free the programmer
857 from the need to write several versions of the same code, one each for
858 every UI, to produce output.
859
860 @subsection Overview and Terminology
861
862 In general, execution of each @value{GDBN} command produces some sort
863 of output, and can even generate an input request.
864
865 Output can be generated for the following purposes:
866
867 @itemize @bullet
868 @item
869 to display a @emph{result} of an operation;
870
871 @item
872 to convey @emph{info} or produce side-effects of a requested
873 operation;
874
875 @item
876 to provide a @emph{notification} of an asynchronous event (including
877 progress indication of a prolonged asynchronous operation);
878
879 @item
880 to display @emph{error messages} (including warnings);
881
882 @item
883 to show @emph{debug data};
884
885 @item
886 to @emph{query} or prompt a user for input (a special case).
887 @end itemize
888
889 @noindent
890 This section mainly concentrates on how to build result output,
891 although some of it also applies to other kinds of output.
892
893 Generation of output that displays the results of an operation
894 involves one or more of the following:
895
896 @itemize @bullet
897 @item
898 output of the actual data
899
900 @item
901 formatting the output as appropriate for console output, to make it
902 easily readable by humans
903
904 @item
905 machine oriented formatting--a more terse formatting to allow for easy
906 parsing by programs which read @value{GDBN}'s output
907
908 @item
909 annotation, whose purpose is to help legacy GUIs to identify interesting
910 parts in the output
911 @end itemize
912
913 The @code{ui_out} routines take care of the first three aspects.
914 Annotations are provided by separate annotation routines. Note that use
915 of annotations for an interface between a GUI and @value{GDBN} is
916 deprecated.
917
918 Output can be in the form of a single item, which we call a @dfn{field};
919 a @dfn{list} consisting of identical fields; a @dfn{tuple} consisting of
920 non-identical fields; or a @dfn{table}, which is a tuple consisting of a
921 header and a body. In a BNF-like form:
922
923 @table @code
924 @item <table> @expansion{}
925 @code{<header> <body>}
926 @item <header> @expansion{}
927 @code{@{ <column> @}}
928 @item <column> @expansion{}
929 @code{<width> <alignment> <title>}
930 @item <body> @expansion{}
931 @code{@{<row>@}}
932 @end table
933
934
935 @subsection General Conventions
936
937 Most @code{ui_out} routines are of type @code{void}, the exceptions are
938 @code{ui_out_stream_new} (which returns a pointer to the newly created
939 object) and the @code{make_cleanup} routines.
940
941 The first parameter is always the @code{ui_out} vector object, a pointer
942 to a @code{struct ui_out}.
943
944 The @var{format} parameter is like in @code{printf} family of functions.
945 When it is present, there must also be a variable list of arguments
946 sufficient used to satisfy the @code{%} specifiers in the supplied
947 format.
948
949 When a character string argument is not used in a @code{ui_out} function
950 call, a @code{NULL} pointer has to be supplied instead.
951
952
953 @subsection Table, Tuple and List Functions
954
955 @cindex list output functions
956 @cindex table output functions
957 @cindex tuple output functions
958 This section introduces @code{ui_out} routines for building lists,
959 tuples and tables. The routines to output the actual data items
960 (fields) are presented in the next section.
961
962 To recap: A @dfn{tuple} is a sequence of @dfn{fields}, each field
963 containing information about an object; a @dfn{list} is a sequence of
964 fields where each field describes an identical object.
965
966 Use the @dfn{table} functions when your output consists of a list of
967 rows (tuples) and the console output should include a heading. Use this
968 even when you are listing just one object but you still want the header.
969
970 @cindex nesting level in @code{ui_out} functions
971 Tables can not be nested. Tuples and lists can be nested up to a
972 maximum of five levels.
973
974 The overall structure of the table output code is something like this:
975
976 @smallexample
977 ui_out_table_begin
978 ui_out_table_header
979 @dots{}
980 ui_out_table_body
981 ui_out_tuple_begin
982 ui_out_field_*
983 @dots{}
984 ui_out_tuple_end
985 @dots{}
986 ui_out_table_end
987 @end smallexample
988
989 Here is the description of table-, tuple- and list-related @code{ui_out}
990 functions:
991
992 @deftypefun void ui_out_table_begin (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, int @var{nbrofcols}, int @var{nr_rows}, const char *@var{tblid})
993 The function @code{ui_out_table_begin} marks the beginning of the output
994 of a table. It should always be called before any other @code{ui_out}
995 function for a given table. @var{nbrofcols} is the number of columns in
996 the table. @var{nr_rows} is the number of rows in the table.
997 @var{tblid} is an optional string identifying the table. The string
998 pointed to by @var{tblid} is copied by the implementation of
999 @code{ui_out_table_begin}, so the application can free the string if it
1000 was @code{malloc}ed.
1001
1002 The companion function @code{ui_out_table_end}, described below, marks
1003 the end of the table's output.
1004 @end deftypefun
1005
1006 @deftypefun void ui_out_table_header (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, int @var{width}, enum ui_align @var{alignment}, const char *@var{colhdr})
1007 @code{ui_out_table_header} provides the header information for a single
1008 table column. You call this function several times, one each for every
1009 column of the table, after @code{ui_out_table_begin}, but before
1010 @code{ui_out_table_body}.
1011
1012 The value of @var{width} gives the column width in characters. The
1013 value of @var{alignment} is one of @code{left}, @code{center}, and
1014 @code{right}, and it specifies how to align the header: left-justify,
1015 center, or right-justify it. @var{colhdr} points to a string that
1016 specifies the column header; the implementation copies that string, so
1017 column header strings in @code{malloc}ed storage can be freed after the
1018 call.
1019 @end deftypefun
1020
1021 @deftypefun void ui_out_table_body (struct ui_out *@var{uiout})
1022 This function delimits the table header from the table body.
1023 @end deftypefun
1024
1025 @deftypefun void ui_out_table_end (struct ui_out *@var{uiout})
1026 This function signals the end of a table's output. It should be called
1027 after the table body has been produced by the list and field output
1028 functions.
1029
1030 There should be exactly one call to @code{ui_out_table_end} for each
1031 call to @code{ui_out_table_begin}, otherwise the @code{ui_out} functions
1032 will signal an internal error.
1033 @end deftypefun
1034
1035 The output of the tuples that represent the table rows must follow the
1036 call to @code{ui_out_table_body} and precede the call to
1037 @code{ui_out_table_end}. You build a tuple by calling
1038 @code{ui_out_tuple_begin} and @code{ui_out_tuple_end}, with suitable
1039 calls to functions which actually output fields between them.
1040
1041 @deftypefun void ui_out_tuple_begin (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, const char *@var{id})
1042 This function marks the beginning of a tuple output. @var{id} points
1043 to an optional string that identifies the tuple; it is copied by the
1044 implementation, and so strings in @code{malloc}ed storage can be freed
1045 after the call.
1046 @end deftypefun
1047
1048 @deftypefun void ui_out_tuple_end (struct ui_out *@var{uiout})
1049 This function signals an end of a tuple output. There should be exactly
1050 one call to @code{ui_out_tuple_end} for each call to
1051 @code{ui_out_tuple_begin}, otherwise an internal @value{GDBN} error will
1052 be signaled.
1053 @end deftypefun
1054
1055 @deftypefun struct cleanup *make_cleanup_ui_out_tuple_begin_end (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, const char *@var{id})
1056 This function first opens the tuple and then establishes a cleanup
1057 (@pxref{Coding, Cleanups}) to close the tuple. It provides a convenient
1058 and correct implementation of the non-portable@footnote{The function
1059 cast is not portable ISO C.} code sequence:
1060 @smallexample
1061 struct cleanup *old_cleanup;
1062 ui_out_tuple_begin (uiout, "...");
1063 old_cleanup = make_cleanup ((void(*)(void *)) ui_out_tuple_end,
1064 uiout);
1065 @end smallexample
1066 @end deftypefun
1067
1068 @deftypefun void ui_out_list_begin (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, const char *@var{id})
1069 This function marks the beginning of a list output. @var{id} points to
1070 an optional string that identifies the list; it is copied by the
1071 implementation, and so strings in @code{malloc}ed storage can be freed
1072 after the call.
1073 @end deftypefun
1074
1075 @deftypefun void ui_out_list_end (struct ui_out *@var{uiout})
1076 This function signals an end of a list output. There should be exactly
1077 one call to @code{ui_out_list_end} for each call to
1078 @code{ui_out_list_begin}, otherwise an internal @value{GDBN} error will
1079 be signaled.
1080 @end deftypefun
1081
1082 @deftypefun struct cleanup *make_cleanup_ui_out_list_begin_end (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, const char *@var{id})
1083 Similar to @code{make_cleanup_ui_out_tuple_begin_end}, this function
1084 opens a list and then establishes cleanup (@pxref{Coding, Cleanups})
1085 that will close the list.list.
1086 @end deftypefun
1087
1088 @subsection Item Output Functions
1089
1090 @cindex item output functions
1091 @cindex field output functions
1092 @cindex data output
1093 The functions described below produce output for the actual data
1094 items, or fields, which contain information about the object.
1095
1096 Choose the appropriate function accordingly to your particular needs.
1097
1098 @deftypefun void ui_out_field_fmt (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, char *@var{fldname}, char *@var{format}, ...)
1099 This is the most general output function. It produces the
1100 representation of the data in the variable-length argument list
1101 according to formatting specifications in @var{format}, a
1102 @code{printf}-like format string. The optional argument @var{fldname}
1103 supplies the name of the field. The data items themselves are
1104 supplied as additional arguments after @var{format}.
1105
1106 This generic function should be used only when it is not possible to
1107 use one of the specialized versions (see below).
1108 @end deftypefun
1109
1110 @deftypefun void ui_out_field_int (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, const char *@var{fldname}, int @var{value})
1111 This function outputs a value of an @code{int} variable. It uses the
1112 @code{"%d"} output conversion specification. @var{fldname} specifies
1113 the name of the field.
1114 @end deftypefun
1115
1116 @deftypefun void ui_out_field_fmt_int (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, int @var{width}, enum ui_align @var{alignment}, const char *@var{fldname}, int @var{value})
1117 This function outputs a value of an @code{int} variable. It differs from
1118 @code{ui_out_field_int} in that the caller specifies the desired @var{width} and @var{alignment} of the output.
1119 @var{fldname} specifies
1120 the name of the field.
1121 @end deftypefun
1122
1123 @deftypefun void ui_out_field_core_addr (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, const char *@var{fldname}, CORE_ADDR @var{address})
1124 This function outputs an address.
1125 @end deftypefun
1126
1127 @deftypefun void ui_out_field_string (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, const char *@var{fldname}, const char *@var{string})
1128 This function outputs a string using the @code{"%s"} conversion
1129 specification.
1130 @end deftypefun
1131
1132 Sometimes, there's a need to compose your output piece by piece using
1133 functions that operate on a stream, such as @code{value_print} or
1134 @code{fprintf_symbol_filtered}. These functions accept an argument of
1135 the type @code{struct ui_file *}, a pointer to a @code{ui_file} object
1136 used to store the data stream used for the output. When you use one
1137 of these functions, you need a way to pass their results stored in a
1138 @code{ui_file} object to the @code{ui_out} functions. To this end,
1139 you first create a @code{ui_stream} object by calling
1140 @code{ui_out_stream_new}, pass the @code{stream} member of that
1141 @code{ui_stream} object to @code{value_print} and similar functions,
1142 and finally call @code{ui_out_field_stream} to output the field you
1143 constructed. When the @code{ui_stream} object is no longer needed,
1144 you should destroy it and free its memory by calling
1145 @code{ui_out_stream_delete}.
1146
1147 @deftypefun struct ui_stream *ui_out_stream_new (struct ui_out *@var{uiout})
1148 This function creates a new @code{ui_stream} object which uses the
1149 same output methods as the @code{ui_out} object whose pointer is
1150 passed in @var{uiout}. It returns a pointer to the newly created
1151 @code{ui_stream} object.
1152 @end deftypefun
1153
1154 @deftypefun void ui_out_stream_delete (struct ui_stream *@var{streambuf})
1155 This functions destroys a @code{ui_stream} object specified by
1156 @var{streambuf}.
1157 @end deftypefun
1158
1159 @deftypefun void ui_out_field_stream (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, const char *@var{fieldname}, struct ui_stream *@var{streambuf})
1160 This function consumes all the data accumulated in
1161 @code{streambuf->stream} and outputs it like
1162 @code{ui_out_field_string} does. After a call to
1163 @code{ui_out_field_stream}, the accumulated data no longer exists, but
1164 the stream is still valid and may be used for producing more fields.
1165 @end deftypefun
1166
1167 @strong{Important:} If there is any chance that your code could bail
1168 out before completing output generation and reaching the point where
1169 @code{ui_out_stream_delete} is called, it is necessary to set up a
1170 cleanup, to avoid leaking memory and other resources. Here's a
1171 skeleton code to do that:
1172
1173 @smallexample
1174 struct ui_stream *mybuf = ui_out_stream_new (uiout);
1175 struct cleanup *old = make_cleanup (ui_out_stream_delete, mybuf);
1176 ...
1177 do_cleanups (old);
1178 @end smallexample
1179
1180 If the function already has the old cleanup chain set (for other kinds
1181 of cleanups), you just have to add your cleanup to it:
1182
1183 @smallexample
1184 mybuf = ui_out_stream_new (uiout);
1185 make_cleanup (ui_out_stream_delete, mybuf);
1186 @end smallexample
1187
1188 Note that with cleanups in place, you should not call
1189 @code{ui_out_stream_delete} directly, or you would attempt to free the
1190 same buffer twice.
1191
1192 @subsection Utility Output Functions
1193
1194 @deftypefun void ui_out_field_skip (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, const char *@var{fldname})
1195 This function skips a field in a table. Use it if you have to leave
1196 an empty field without disrupting the table alignment. The argument
1197 @var{fldname} specifies a name for the (missing) filed.
1198 @end deftypefun
1199
1200 @deftypefun void ui_out_text (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, const char *@var{string})
1201 This function outputs the text in @var{string} in a way that makes it
1202 easy to be read by humans. For example, the console implementation of
1203 this method filters the text through a built-in pager, to prevent it
1204 from scrolling off the visible portion of the screen.
1205
1206 Use this function for printing relatively long chunks of text around
1207 the actual field data: the text it produces is not aligned according
1208 to the table's format. Use @code{ui_out_field_string} to output a
1209 string field, and use @code{ui_out_message}, described below, to
1210 output short messages.
1211 @end deftypefun
1212
1213 @deftypefun void ui_out_spaces (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, int @var{nspaces})
1214 This function outputs @var{nspaces} spaces. It is handy to align the
1215 text produced by @code{ui_out_text} with the rest of the table or
1216 list.
1217 @end deftypefun
1218
1219 @deftypefun void ui_out_message (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, int @var{verbosity}, const char *@var{format}, ...)
1220 This function produces a formatted message, provided that the current
1221 verbosity level is at least as large as given by @var{verbosity}. The
1222 current verbosity level is specified by the user with the @samp{set
1223 verbositylevel} command.@footnote{As of this writing (April 2001),
1224 setting verbosity level is not yet implemented, and is always returned
1225 as zero. So calling @code{ui_out_message} with a @var{verbosity}
1226 argument more than zero will cause the message to never be printed.}
1227 @end deftypefun
1228
1229 @deftypefun void ui_out_wrap_hint (struct ui_out *@var{uiout}, char *@var{indent})
1230 This function gives the console output filter (a paging filter) a hint
1231 of where to break lines which are too long. Ignored for all other
1232 output consumers. @var{indent}, if non-@code{NULL}, is the string to
1233 be printed to indent the wrapped text on the next line; it must remain
1234 accessible until the next call to @code{ui_out_wrap_hint}, or until an
1235 explicit newline is produced by one of the other functions. If
1236 @var{indent} is @code{NULL}, the wrapped text will not be indented.
1237 @end deftypefun
1238
1239 @deftypefun void ui_out_flush (struct ui_out *@var{uiout})
1240 This function flushes whatever output has been accumulated so far, if
1241 the UI buffers output.
1242 @end deftypefun
1243
1244
1245 @subsection Examples of Use of @code{ui_out} functions
1246
1247 @cindex using @code{ui_out} functions
1248 @cindex @code{ui_out} functions, usage examples
1249 This section gives some practical examples of using the @code{ui_out}
1250 functions to generalize the old console-oriented code in
1251 @value{GDBN}. The examples all come from functions defined on the
1252 @file{breakpoints.c} file.
1253
1254 This example, from the @code{breakpoint_1} function, shows how to
1255 produce a table.
1256
1257 The original code was:
1258
1259 @smallexample
1260 if (!found_a_breakpoint++)
1261 @{
1262 annotate_breakpoints_headers ();
1263
1264 annotate_field (0);
1265 printf_filtered ("Num ");
1266 annotate_field (1);
1267 printf_filtered ("Type ");
1268 annotate_field (2);
1269 printf_filtered ("Disp ");
1270 annotate_field (3);
1271 printf_filtered ("Enb ");
1272 if (addressprint)
1273 @{
1274 annotate_field (4);
1275 printf_filtered ("Address ");
1276 @}
1277 annotate_field (5);
1278 printf_filtered ("What\n");
1279
1280 annotate_breakpoints_table ();
1281 @}
1282 @end smallexample
1283
1284 Here's the new version:
1285
1286 @smallexample
1287 nr_printable_breakpoints = @dots{};
1288
1289 if (addressprint)
1290 ui_out_table_begin (ui, 6, nr_printable_breakpoints, "BreakpointTable");
1291 else
1292 ui_out_table_begin (ui, 5, nr_printable_breakpoints, "BreakpointTable");
1293
1294 if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
1295 annotate_breakpoints_headers ();
1296 if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
1297 annotate_field (0);
1298 ui_out_table_header (uiout, 3, ui_left, "number", "Num"); /* 1 */
1299 if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
1300 annotate_field (1);
1301 ui_out_table_header (uiout, 14, ui_left, "type", "Type"); /* 2 */
1302 if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
1303 annotate_field (2);
1304 ui_out_table_header (uiout, 4, ui_left, "disp", "Disp"); /* 3 */
1305 if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
1306 annotate_field (3);
1307 ui_out_table_header (uiout, 3, ui_left, "enabled", "Enb"); /* 4 */
1308 if (addressprint)
1309 @{
1310 if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
1311 annotate_field (4);
1312 if (TARGET_ADDR_BIT <= 32)
1313 ui_out_table_header (uiout, 10, ui_left, "addr", "Address");/* 5 */
1314 else
1315 ui_out_table_header (uiout, 18, ui_left, "addr", "Address");/* 5 */
1316 @}
1317 if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
1318 annotate_field (5);
1319 ui_out_table_header (uiout, 40, ui_noalign, "what", "What"); /* 6 */
1320 ui_out_table_body (uiout);
1321 if (nr_printable_breakpoints > 0)
1322 annotate_breakpoints_table ();
1323 @end smallexample
1324
1325 This example, from the @code{print_one_breakpoint} function, shows how
1326 to produce the actual data for the table whose structure was defined
1327 in the above example. The original code was:
1328
1329 @smallexample
1330 annotate_record ();
1331 annotate_field (0);
1332 printf_filtered ("%-3d ", b->number);
1333 annotate_field (1);
1334 if ((int)b->type > (sizeof(bptypes)/sizeof(bptypes[0]))
1335 || ((int) b->type != bptypes[(int) b->type].type))
1336 internal_error ("bptypes table does not describe type #%d.",
1337 (int)b->type);
1338 printf_filtered ("%-14s ", bptypes[(int)b->type].description);
1339 annotate_field (2);
1340 printf_filtered ("%-4s ", bpdisps[(int)b->disposition]);
1341 annotate_field (3);
1342 printf_filtered ("%-3c ", bpenables[(int)b->enable]);
1343 @dots{}
1344 @end smallexample
1345
1346 This is the new version:
1347
1348 @smallexample
1349 annotate_record ();
1350 ui_out_tuple_begin (uiout, "bkpt");
1351 annotate_field (0);
1352 ui_out_field_int (uiout, "number", b->number);
1353 annotate_field (1);
1354 if (((int) b->type > (sizeof (bptypes) / sizeof (bptypes[0])))
1355 || ((int) b->type != bptypes[(int) b->type].type))
1356 internal_error ("bptypes table does not describe type #%d.",
1357 (int) b->type);
1358 ui_out_field_string (uiout, "type", bptypes[(int)b->type].description);
1359 annotate_field (2);
1360 ui_out_field_string (uiout, "disp", bpdisps[(int)b->disposition]);
1361 annotate_field (3);
1362 ui_out_field_fmt (uiout, "enabled", "%c", bpenables[(int)b->enable]);
1363 @dots{}
1364 @end smallexample
1365
1366 This example, also from @code{print_one_breakpoint}, shows how to
1367 produce a complicated output field using the @code{print_expression}
1368 functions which requires a stream to be passed. It also shows how to
1369 automate stream destruction with cleanups. The original code was:
1370
1371 @smallexample
1372 annotate_field (5);
1373 print_expression (b->exp, gdb_stdout);
1374 @end smallexample
1375
1376 The new version is:
1377
1378 @smallexample
1379 struct ui_stream *stb = ui_out_stream_new (uiout);
1380 struct cleanup *old_chain = make_cleanup_ui_out_stream_delete (stb);
1381 ...
1382 annotate_field (5);
1383 print_expression (b->exp, stb->stream);
1384 ui_out_field_stream (uiout, "what", local_stream);
1385 @end smallexample
1386
1387 This example, also from @code{print_one_breakpoint}, shows how to use
1388 @code{ui_out_text} and @code{ui_out_field_string}. The original code
1389 was:
1390
1391 @smallexample
1392 annotate_field (5);
1393 if (b->dll_pathname == NULL)
1394 printf_filtered ("<any library> ");
1395 else
1396 printf_filtered ("library \"%s\" ", b->dll_pathname);
1397 @end smallexample
1398
1399 It became:
1400
1401 @smallexample
1402 annotate_field (5);
1403 if (b->dll_pathname == NULL)
1404 @{
1405 ui_out_field_string (uiout, "what", "<any library>");
1406 ui_out_spaces (uiout, 1);
1407 @}
1408 else
1409 @{
1410 ui_out_text (uiout, "library \"");
1411 ui_out_field_string (uiout, "what", b->dll_pathname);
1412 ui_out_text (uiout, "\" ");
1413 @}
1414 @end smallexample
1415
1416 The following example from @code{print_one_breakpoint} shows how to
1417 use @code{ui_out_field_int} and @code{ui_out_spaces}. The original
1418 code was:
1419
1420 @smallexample
1421 annotate_field (5);
1422 if (b->forked_inferior_pid != 0)
1423 printf_filtered ("process %d ", b->forked_inferior_pid);
1424 @end smallexample
1425
1426 It became:
1427
1428 @smallexample
1429 annotate_field (5);
1430 if (b->forked_inferior_pid != 0)
1431 @{
1432 ui_out_text (uiout, "process ");
1433 ui_out_field_int (uiout, "what", b->forked_inferior_pid);
1434 ui_out_spaces (uiout, 1);
1435 @}
1436 @end smallexample
1437
1438 Here's an example of using @code{ui_out_field_string}. The original
1439 code was:
1440
1441 @smallexample
1442 annotate_field (5);
1443 if (b->exec_pathname != NULL)
1444 printf_filtered ("program \"%s\" ", b->exec_pathname);
1445 @end smallexample
1446
1447 It became:
1448
1449 @smallexample
1450 annotate_field (5);
1451 if (b->exec_pathname != NULL)
1452 @{
1453 ui_out_text (uiout, "program \"");
1454 ui_out_field_string (uiout, "what", b->exec_pathname);
1455 ui_out_text (uiout, "\" ");
1456 @}
1457 @end smallexample
1458
1459 Finally, here's an example of printing an address. The original code:
1460
1461 @smallexample
1462 annotate_field (4);
1463 printf_filtered ("%s ",
1464 hex_string_custom ((unsigned long) b->address, 8));
1465 @end smallexample
1466
1467 It became:
1468
1469 @smallexample
1470 annotate_field (4);
1471 ui_out_field_core_addr (uiout, "Address", b->address);
1472 @end smallexample
1473
1474
1475 @section Console Printing
1476
1477 @section TUI
1478
1479 @node libgdb
1480
1481 @chapter libgdb
1482
1483 @section libgdb 1.0
1484 @cindex @code{libgdb}
1485 @code{libgdb} 1.0 was an abortive project of years ago. The theory was
1486 to provide an API to @value{GDBN}'s functionality.
1487
1488 @section libgdb 2.0
1489 @cindex @code{libgdb}
1490 @code{libgdb} 2.0 is an ongoing effort to update @value{GDBN} so that is
1491 better able to support graphical and other environments.
1492
1493 Since @code{libgdb} development is on-going, its architecture is still
1494 evolving. The following components have so far been identified:
1495
1496 @itemize @bullet
1497 @item
1498 Observer - @file{gdb-events.h}.
1499 @item
1500 Builder - @file{ui-out.h}
1501 @item
1502 Event Loop - @file{event-loop.h}
1503 @item
1504 Library - @file{gdb.h}
1505 @end itemize
1506
1507 The model that ties these components together is described below.
1508
1509 @section The @code{libgdb} Model
1510
1511 A client of @code{libgdb} interacts with the library in two ways.
1512
1513 @itemize @bullet
1514 @item
1515 As an observer (using @file{gdb-events}) receiving notifications from
1516 @code{libgdb} of any internal state changes (break point changes, run
1517 state, etc).
1518 @item
1519 As a client querying @code{libgdb} (using the @file{ui-out} builder) to
1520 obtain various status values from @value{GDBN}.
1521 @end itemize
1522
1523 Since @code{libgdb} could have multiple clients (e.g., a GUI supporting
1524 the existing @value{GDBN} CLI), those clients must co-operate when
1525 controlling @code{libgdb}. In particular, a client must ensure that
1526 @code{libgdb} is idle (i.e. no other client is using @code{libgdb})
1527 before responding to a @file{gdb-event} by making a query.
1528
1529 @section CLI support
1530
1531 At present @value{GDBN}'s CLI is very much entangled in with the core of
1532 @code{libgdb}. Consequently, a client wishing to include the CLI in
1533 their interface needs to carefully co-ordinate its own and the CLI's
1534 requirements.
1535
1536 It is suggested that the client set @code{libgdb} up to be bi-modal
1537 (alternate between CLI and client query modes). The notes below sketch
1538 out the theory:
1539
1540 @itemize @bullet
1541 @item
1542 The client registers itself as an observer of @code{libgdb}.
1543 @item
1544 The client create and install @code{cli-out} builder using its own
1545 versions of the @code{ui-file} @code{gdb_stderr}, @code{gdb_stdtarg} and
1546 @code{gdb_stdout} streams.
1547 @item
1548 The client creates a separate custom @code{ui-out} builder that is only
1549 used while making direct queries to @code{libgdb}.
1550 @end itemize
1551
1552 When the client receives input intended for the CLI, it simply passes it
1553 along. Since the @code{cli-out} builder is installed by default, all
1554 the CLI output in response to that command is routed (pronounced rooted)
1555 through to the client controlled @code{gdb_stdout} et.@: al.@: streams.
1556 At the same time, the client is kept abreast of internal changes by
1557 virtue of being a @code{libgdb} observer.
1558
1559 The only restriction on the client is that it must wait until
1560 @code{libgdb} becomes idle before initiating any queries (using the
1561 client's custom builder).
1562
1563 @section @code{libgdb} components
1564
1565 @subheading Observer - @file{gdb-events.h}
1566 @file{gdb-events} provides the client with a very raw mechanism that can
1567 be used to implement an observer. At present it only allows for one
1568 observer and that observer must, internally, handle the need to delay
1569 the processing of any event notifications until after @code{libgdb} has
1570 finished the current command.
1571
1572 @subheading Builder - @file{ui-out.h}
1573 @file{ui-out} provides the infrastructure necessary for a client to
1574 create a builder. That builder is then passed down to @code{libgdb}
1575 when doing any queries.
1576
1577 @subheading Event Loop - @file{event-loop.h}
1578 @c There could be an entire section on the event-loop
1579 @file{event-loop}, currently non-re-entrant, provides a simple event
1580 loop. A client would need to either plug its self into this loop or,
1581 implement a new event-loop that GDB would use.
1582
1583 The event-loop will eventually be made re-entrant. This is so that
1584 @value{GDBN} can better handle the problem of some commands blocking
1585 instead of returning.
1586
1587 @subheading Library - @file{gdb.h}
1588 @file{libgdb} is the most obvious component of this system. It provides
1589 the query interface. Each function is parameterized by a @code{ui-out}
1590 builder. The result of the query is constructed using that builder
1591 before the query function returns.
1592
1593 @node Symbol Handling
1594
1595 @chapter Symbol Handling
1596
1597 Symbols are a key part of @value{GDBN}'s operation. Symbols include variables,
1598 functions, and types.
1599
1600 @section Symbol Reading
1601
1602 @cindex symbol reading
1603 @cindex reading of symbols
1604 @cindex symbol files
1605 @value{GDBN} reads symbols from @dfn{symbol files}. The usual symbol
1606 file is the file containing the program which @value{GDBN} is
1607 debugging. @value{GDBN} can be directed to use a different file for
1608 symbols (with the @samp{symbol-file} command), and it can also read
1609 more symbols via the @samp{add-file} and @samp{load} commands, or while
1610 reading symbols from shared libraries.
1611
1612 @findex find_sym_fns
1613 Symbol files are initially opened by code in @file{symfile.c} using
1614 the BFD library (@pxref{Support Libraries}). BFD identifies the type
1615 of the file by examining its header. @code{find_sym_fns} then uses
1616 this identification to locate a set of symbol-reading functions.
1617
1618 @findex add_symtab_fns
1619 @cindex @code{sym_fns} structure
1620 @cindex adding a symbol-reading module
1621 Symbol-reading modules identify themselves to @value{GDBN} by calling
1622 @code{add_symtab_fns} during their module initialization. The argument
1623 to @code{add_symtab_fns} is a @code{struct sym_fns} which contains the
1624 name (or name prefix) of the symbol format, the length of the prefix,
1625 and pointers to four functions. These functions are called at various
1626 times to process symbol files whose identification matches the specified
1627 prefix.
1628
1629 The functions supplied by each module are:
1630
1631 @table @code
1632 @item @var{xyz}_symfile_init(struct sym_fns *sf)
1633
1634 @cindex secondary symbol file
1635 Called from @code{symbol_file_add} when we are about to read a new
1636 symbol file. This function should clean up any internal state (possibly
1637 resulting from half-read previous files, for example) and prepare to
1638 read a new symbol file. Note that the symbol file which we are reading
1639 might be a new ``main'' symbol file, or might be a secondary symbol file
1640 whose symbols are being added to the existing symbol table.
1641
1642 The argument to @code{@var{xyz}_symfile_init} is a newly allocated
1643 @code{struct sym_fns} whose @code{bfd} field contains the BFD for the
1644 new symbol file being read. Its @code{private} field has been zeroed,
1645 and can be modified as desired. Typically, a struct of private
1646 information will be @code{malloc}'d, and a pointer to it will be placed
1647 in the @code{private} field.
1648
1649 There is no result from @code{@var{xyz}_symfile_init}, but it can call
1650 @code{error} if it detects an unavoidable problem.
1651
1652 @item @var{xyz}_new_init()
1653
1654 Called from @code{symbol_file_add} when discarding existing symbols.
1655 This function needs only handle the symbol-reading module's internal
1656 state; the symbol table data structures visible to the rest of
1657 @value{GDBN} will be discarded by @code{symbol_file_add}. It has no
1658 arguments and no result. It may be called after
1659 @code{@var{xyz}_symfile_init}, if a new symbol table is being read, or
1660 may be called alone if all symbols are simply being discarded.
1661
1662 @item @var{xyz}_symfile_read(struct sym_fns *sf, CORE_ADDR addr, int mainline)
1663
1664 Called from @code{symbol_file_add} to actually read the symbols from a
1665 symbol-file into a set of psymtabs or symtabs.
1666
1667 @code{sf} points to the @code{struct sym_fns} originally passed to
1668 @code{@var{xyz}_sym_init} for possible initialization. @code{addr} is
1669 the offset between the file's specified start address and its true
1670 address in memory. @code{mainline} is 1 if this is the main symbol
1671 table being read, and 0 if a secondary symbol file (e.g., shared library
1672 or dynamically loaded file) is being read.@refill
1673 @end table
1674
1675 In addition, if a symbol-reading module creates psymtabs when
1676 @var{xyz}_symfile_read is called, these psymtabs will contain a pointer
1677 to a function @code{@var{xyz}_psymtab_to_symtab}, which can be called
1678 from any point in the @value{GDBN} symbol-handling code.
1679
1680 @table @code
1681 @item @var{xyz}_psymtab_to_symtab (struct partial_symtab *pst)
1682
1683 Called from @code{psymtab_to_symtab} (or the @code{PSYMTAB_TO_SYMTAB} macro) if
1684 the psymtab has not already been read in and had its @code{pst->symtab}
1685 pointer set. The argument is the psymtab to be fleshed-out into a
1686 symtab. Upon return, @code{pst->readin} should have been set to 1, and
1687 @code{pst->symtab} should contain a pointer to the new corresponding symtab, or
1688 zero if there were no symbols in that part of the symbol file.
1689 @end table
1690
1691 @section Partial Symbol Tables
1692
1693 @value{GDBN} has three types of symbol tables:
1694
1695 @itemize @bullet
1696 @cindex full symbol table
1697 @cindex symtabs
1698 @item
1699 Full symbol tables (@dfn{symtabs}). These contain the main
1700 information about symbols and addresses.
1701
1702 @cindex psymtabs
1703 @item
1704 Partial symbol tables (@dfn{psymtabs}). These contain enough
1705 information to know when to read the corresponding part of the full
1706 symbol table.
1707
1708 @cindex minimal symbol table
1709 @cindex minsymtabs
1710 @item
1711 Minimal symbol tables (@dfn{msymtabs}). These contain information
1712 gleaned from non-debugging symbols.
1713 @end itemize
1714
1715 @cindex partial symbol table
1716 This section describes partial symbol tables.
1717
1718 A psymtab is constructed by doing a very quick pass over an executable
1719 file's debugging information. Small amounts of information are
1720 extracted---enough to identify which parts of the symbol table will
1721 need to be re-read and fully digested later, when the user needs the
1722 information. The speed of this pass causes @value{GDBN} to start up very
1723 quickly. Later, as the detailed rereading occurs, it occurs in small
1724 pieces, at various times, and the delay therefrom is mostly invisible to
1725 the user.
1726 @c (@xref{Symbol Reading}.)
1727
1728 The symbols that show up in a file's psymtab should be, roughly, those
1729 visible to the debugger's user when the program is not running code from
1730 that file. These include external symbols and types, static symbols and
1731 types, and @code{enum} values declared at file scope.
1732
1733 The psymtab also contains the range of instruction addresses that the
1734 full symbol table would represent.
1735
1736 @cindex finding a symbol
1737 @cindex symbol lookup
1738 The idea is that there are only two ways for the user (or much of the
1739 code in the debugger) to reference a symbol:
1740
1741 @itemize @bullet
1742 @findex find_pc_function
1743 @findex find_pc_line
1744 @item
1745 By its address (e.g., execution stops at some address which is inside a
1746 function in this file). The address will be noticed to be in the
1747 range of this psymtab, and the full symtab will be read in.
1748 @code{find_pc_function}, @code{find_pc_line}, and other
1749 @code{find_pc_@dots{}} functions handle this.
1750
1751 @cindex lookup_symbol
1752 @item
1753 By its name
1754 (e.g., the user asks to print a variable, or set a breakpoint on a
1755 function). Global names and file-scope names will be found in the
1756 psymtab, which will cause the symtab to be pulled in. Local names will
1757 have to be qualified by a global name, or a file-scope name, in which
1758 case we will have already read in the symtab as we evaluated the
1759 qualifier. Or, a local symbol can be referenced when we are ``in'' a
1760 local scope, in which case the first case applies. @code{lookup_symbol}
1761 does most of the work here.
1762 @end itemize
1763
1764 The only reason that psymtabs exist is to cause a symtab to be read in
1765 at the right moment. Any symbol that can be elided from a psymtab,
1766 while still causing that to happen, should not appear in it. Since
1767 psymtabs don't have the idea of scope, you can't put local symbols in
1768 them anyway. Psymtabs don't have the idea of the type of a symbol,
1769 either, so types need not appear, unless they will be referenced by
1770 name.
1771
1772 It is a bug for @value{GDBN} to behave one way when only a psymtab has
1773 been read, and another way if the corresponding symtab has been read
1774 in. Such bugs are typically caused by a psymtab that does not contain
1775 all the visible symbols, or which has the wrong instruction address
1776 ranges.
1777
1778 The psymtab for a particular section of a symbol file (objfile) could be
1779 thrown away after the symtab has been read in. The symtab should always
1780 be searched before the psymtab, so the psymtab will never be used (in a
1781 bug-free environment). Currently, psymtabs are allocated on an obstack,
1782 and all the psymbols themselves are allocated in a pair of large arrays
1783 on an obstack, so there is little to be gained by trying to free them
1784 unless you want to do a lot more work.
1785
1786 @section Types
1787
1788 @unnumberedsubsec Fundamental Types (e.g., @code{FT_VOID}, @code{FT_BOOLEAN}).
1789
1790 @cindex fundamental types
1791 These are the fundamental types that @value{GDBN} uses internally. Fundamental
1792 types from the various debugging formats (stabs, ELF, etc) are mapped
1793 into one of these. They are basically a union of all fundamental types
1794 that @value{GDBN} knows about for all the languages that @value{GDBN}
1795 knows about.
1796
1797 @unnumberedsubsec Type Codes (e.g., @code{TYPE_CODE_PTR}, @code{TYPE_CODE_ARRAY}).
1798
1799 @cindex type codes
1800 Each time @value{GDBN} builds an internal type, it marks it with one
1801 of these types. The type may be a fundamental type, such as
1802 @code{TYPE_CODE_INT}, or a derived type, such as @code{TYPE_CODE_PTR}
1803 which is a pointer to another type. Typically, several @code{FT_*}
1804 types map to one @code{TYPE_CODE_*} type, and are distinguished by
1805 other members of the type struct, such as whether the type is signed
1806 or unsigned, and how many bits it uses.
1807
1808 @unnumberedsubsec Builtin Types (e.g., @code{builtin_type_void}, @code{builtin_type_char}).
1809
1810 These are instances of type structs that roughly correspond to
1811 fundamental types and are created as global types for @value{GDBN} to
1812 use for various ugly historical reasons. We eventually want to
1813 eliminate these. Note for example that @code{builtin_type_int}
1814 initialized in @file{gdbtypes.c} is basically the same as a
1815 @code{TYPE_CODE_INT} type that is initialized in @file{c-lang.c} for
1816 an @code{FT_INTEGER} fundamental type. The difference is that the
1817 @code{builtin_type} is not associated with any particular objfile, and
1818 only one instance exists, while @file{c-lang.c} builds as many
1819 @code{TYPE_CODE_INT} types as needed, with each one associated with
1820 some particular objfile.
1821
1822 @section Object File Formats
1823 @cindex object file formats
1824
1825 @subsection a.out
1826
1827 @cindex @code{a.out} format
1828 The @code{a.out} format is the original file format for Unix. It
1829 consists of three sections: @code{text}, @code{data}, and @code{bss},
1830 which are for program code, initialized data, and uninitialized data,
1831 respectively.
1832
1833 The @code{a.out} format is so simple that it doesn't have any reserved
1834 place for debugging information. (Hey, the original Unix hackers used
1835 @samp{adb}, which is a machine-language debugger!) The only debugging
1836 format for @code{a.out} is stabs, which is encoded as a set of normal
1837 symbols with distinctive attributes.
1838
1839 The basic @code{a.out} reader is in @file{dbxread.c}.
1840
1841 @subsection COFF
1842
1843 @cindex COFF format
1844 The COFF format was introduced with System V Release 3 (SVR3) Unix.
1845 COFF files may have multiple sections, each prefixed by a header. The
1846 number of sections is limited.
1847
1848 The COFF specification includes support for debugging. Although this
1849 was a step forward, the debugging information was woefully limited. For
1850 instance, it was not possible to represent code that came from an
1851 included file.
1852
1853 The COFF reader is in @file{coffread.c}.
1854
1855 @subsection ECOFF
1856
1857 @cindex ECOFF format
1858 ECOFF is an extended COFF originally introduced for Mips and Alpha
1859 workstations.
1860
1861 The basic ECOFF reader is in @file{mipsread.c}.
1862
1863 @subsection XCOFF
1864
1865 @cindex XCOFF format
1866 The IBM RS/6000 running AIX uses an object file format called XCOFF.
1867 The COFF sections, symbols, and line numbers are used, but debugging
1868 symbols are @code{dbx}-style stabs whose strings are located in the
1869 @code{.debug} section (rather than the string table). For more
1870 information, see @ref{Top,,,stabs,The Stabs Debugging Format}.
1871
1872 The shared library scheme has a clean interface for figuring out what
1873 shared libraries are in use, but the catch is that everything which
1874 refers to addresses (symbol tables and breakpoints at least) needs to be
1875 relocated for both shared libraries and the main executable. At least
1876 using the standard mechanism this can only be done once the program has
1877 been run (or the core file has been read).
1878
1879 @subsection PE
1880
1881 @cindex PE-COFF format
1882 Windows 95 and NT use the PE (@dfn{Portable Executable}) format for their
1883 executables. PE is basically COFF with additional headers.
1884
1885 While BFD includes special PE support, @value{GDBN} needs only the basic
1886 COFF reader.
1887
1888 @subsection ELF
1889
1890 @cindex ELF format
1891 The ELF format came with System V Release 4 (SVR4) Unix. ELF is similar
1892 to COFF in being organized into a number of sections, but it removes
1893 many of COFF's limitations.
1894
1895 The basic ELF reader is in @file{elfread.c}.
1896
1897 @subsection SOM
1898
1899 @cindex SOM format
1900 SOM is HP's object file and debug format (not to be confused with IBM's
1901 SOM, which is a cross-language ABI).
1902
1903 The SOM reader is in @file{hpread.c}.
1904
1905 @subsection Other File Formats
1906
1907 @cindex Netware Loadable Module format
1908 Other file formats that have been supported by @value{GDBN} include Netware
1909 Loadable Modules (@file{nlmread.c}).
1910
1911 @section Debugging File Formats
1912
1913 This section describes characteristics of debugging information that
1914 are independent of the object file format.
1915
1916 @subsection stabs
1917
1918 @cindex stabs debugging info
1919 @code{stabs} started out as special symbols within the @code{a.out}
1920 format. Since then, it has been encapsulated into other file
1921 formats, such as COFF and ELF.
1922
1923 While @file{dbxread.c} does some of the basic stab processing,
1924 including for encapsulated versions, @file{stabsread.c} does
1925 the real work.
1926
1927 @subsection COFF
1928
1929 @cindex COFF debugging info
1930 The basic COFF definition includes debugging information. The level
1931 of support is minimal and non-extensible, and is not often used.
1932
1933 @subsection Mips debug (Third Eye)
1934
1935 @cindex ECOFF debugging info
1936 ECOFF includes a definition of a special debug format.
1937
1938 The file @file{mdebugread.c} implements reading for this format.
1939
1940 @subsection DWARF 1
1941
1942 @cindex DWARF 1 debugging info
1943 DWARF 1 is a debugging format that was originally designed to be
1944 used with ELF in SVR4 systems.
1945
1946 @c GCC_PRODUCER
1947 @c GPLUS_PRODUCER
1948 @c LCC_PRODUCER
1949 @c If defined, these are the producer strings in a DWARF 1 file. All of
1950 @c these have reasonable defaults already.
1951
1952 The DWARF 1 reader is in @file{dwarfread.c}.
1953
1954 @subsection DWARF 2
1955
1956 @cindex DWARF 2 debugging info
1957 DWARF 2 is an improved but incompatible version of DWARF 1.
1958
1959 The DWARF 2 reader is in @file{dwarf2read.c}.
1960
1961 @subsection SOM
1962
1963 @cindex SOM debugging info
1964 Like COFF, the SOM definition includes debugging information.
1965
1966 @section Adding a New Symbol Reader to @value{GDBN}
1967
1968 @cindex adding debugging info reader
1969 If you are using an existing object file format (@code{a.out}, COFF, ELF, etc),
1970 there is probably little to be done.
1971
1972 If you need to add a new object file format, you must first add it to
1973 BFD. This is beyond the scope of this document.
1974
1975 You must then arrange for the BFD code to provide access to the
1976 debugging symbols. Generally @value{GDBN} will have to call swapping routines
1977 from BFD and a few other BFD internal routines to locate the debugging
1978 information. As much as possible, @value{GDBN} should not depend on the BFD
1979 internal data structures.
1980
1981 For some targets (e.g., COFF), there is a special transfer vector used
1982 to call swapping routines, since the external data structures on various
1983 platforms have different sizes and layouts. Specialized routines that
1984 will only ever be implemented by one object file format may be called
1985 directly. This interface should be described in a file
1986 @file{bfd/lib@var{xyz}.h}, which is included by @value{GDBN}.
1987
1988
1989 @node Language Support
1990
1991 @chapter Language Support
1992
1993 @cindex language support
1994 @value{GDBN}'s language support is mainly driven by the symbol reader,
1995 although it is possible for the user to set the source language
1996 manually.
1997
1998 @value{GDBN} chooses the source language by looking at the extension
1999 of the file recorded in the debug info; @file{.c} means C, @file{.f}
2000 means Fortran, etc. It may also use a special-purpose language
2001 identifier if the debug format supports it, like with DWARF.
2002
2003 @section Adding a Source Language to @value{GDBN}
2004
2005 @cindex adding source language
2006 To add other languages to @value{GDBN}'s expression parser, follow the
2007 following steps:
2008
2009 @table @emph
2010 @item Create the expression parser.
2011
2012 @cindex expression parser
2013 This should reside in a file @file{@var{lang}-exp.y}. Routines for
2014 building parsed expressions into a @code{union exp_element} list are in
2015 @file{parse.c}.
2016
2017 @cindex language parser
2018 Since we can't depend upon everyone having Bison, and YACC produces
2019 parsers that define a bunch of global names, the following lines
2020 @strong{must} be included at the top of the YACC parser, to prevent the
2021 various parsers from defining the same global names:
2022
2023 @smallexample
2024 #define yyparse @var{lang}_parse
2025 #define yylex @var{lang}_lex
2026 #define yyerror @var{lang}_error
2027 #define yylval @var{lang}_lval
2028 #define yychar @var{lang}_char
2029 #define yydebug @var{lang}_debug
2030 #define yypact @var{lang}_pact
2031 #define yyr1 @var{lang}_r1
2032 #define yyr2 @var{lang}_r2
2033 #define yydef @var{lang}_def
2034 #define yychk @var{lang}_chk
2035 #define yypgo @var{lang}_pgo
2036 #define yyact @var{lang}_act
2037 #define yyexca @var{lang}_exca
2038 #define yyerrflag @var{lang}_errflag
2039 #define yynerrs @var{lang}_nerrs
2040 @end smallexample
2041
2042 At the bottom of your parser, define a @code{struct language_defn} and
2043 initialize it with the right values for your language. Define an
2044 @code{initialize_@var{lang}} routine and have it call
2045 @samp{add_language(@var{lang}_language_defn)} to tell the rest of @value{GDBN}
2046 that your language exists. You'll need some other supporting variables
2047 and functions, which will be used via pointers from your
2048 @code{@var{lang}_language_defn}. See the declaration of @code{struct
2049 language_defn} in @file{language.h}, and the other @file{*-exp.y} files,
2050 for more information.
2051
2052 @item Add any evaluation routines, if necessary
2053
2054 @cindex expression evaluation routines
2055 @findex evaluate_subexp
2056 @findex prefixify_subexp
2057 @findex length_of_subexp
2058 If you need new opcodes (that represent the operations of the language),
2059 add them to the enumerated type in @file{expression.h}. Add support
2060 code for these operations in the @code{evaluate_subexp} function
2061 defined in the file @file{eval.c}. Add cases
2062 for new opcodes in two functions from @file{parse.c}:
2063 @code{prefixify_subexp} and @code{length_of_subexp}. These compute
2064 the number of @code{exp_element}s that a given operation takes up.
2065
2066 @item Update some existing code
2067
2068 Add an enumerated identifier for your language to the enumerated type
2069 @code{enum language} in @file{defs.h}.
2070
2071 Update the routines in @file{language.c} so your language is included.
2072 These routines include type predicates and such, which (in some cases)
2073 are language dependent. If your language does not appear in the switch
2074 statement, an error is reported.
2075
2076 @vindex current_language
2077 Also included in @file{language.c} is the code that updates the variable
2078 @code{current_language}, and the routines that translate the
2079 @code{language_@var{lang}} enumerated identifier into a printable
2080 string.
2081
2082 @findex _initialize_language
2083 Update the function @code{_initialize_language} to include your
2084 language. This function picks the default language upon startup, so is
2085 dependent upon which languages that @value{GDBN} is built for.
2086
2087 @findex allocate_symtab
2088 Update @code{allocate_symtab} in @file{symfile.c} and/or symbol-reading
2089 code so that the language of each symtab (source file) is set properly.
2090 This is used to determine the language to use at each stack frame level.
2091 Currently, the language is set based upon the extension of the source
2092 file. If the language can be better inferred from the symbol
2093 information, please set the language of the symtab in the symbol-reading
2094 code.
2095
2096 @findex print_subexp
2097 @findex op_print_tab
2098 Add helper code to @code{print_subexp} (in @file{expprint.c}) to handle any new
2099 expression opcodes you have added to @file{expression.h}. Also, add the
2100 printed representations of your operators to @code{op_print_tab}.
2101
2102 @item Add a place of call
2103
2104 @findex parse_exp_1
2105 Add a call to @code{@var{lang}_parse()} and @code{@var{lang}_error} in
2106 @code{parse_exp_1} (defined in @file{parse.c}).
2107
2108 @item Use macros to trim code
2109
2110 @cindex trimming language-dependent code
2111 The user has the option of building @value{GDBN} for some or all of the
2112 languages. If the user decides to build @value{GDBN} for the language
2113 @var{lang}, then every file dependent on @file{language.h} will have the
2114 macro @code{_LANG_@var{lang}} defined in it. Use @code{#ifdef}s to
2115 leave out large routines that the user won't need if he or she is not
2116 using your language.
2117
2118 Note that you do not need to do this in your YACC parser, since if @value{GDBN}
2119 is not build for @var{lang}, then @file{@var{lang}-exp.tab.o} (the
2120 compiled form of your parser) is not linked into @value{GDBN} at all.
2121
2122 See the file @file{configure.in} for how @value{GDBN} is configured
2123 for different languages.
2124
2125 @item Edit @file{Makefile.in}
2126
2127 Add dependencies in @file{Makefile.in}. Make sure you update the macro
2128 variables such as @code{HFILES} and @code{OBJS}, otherwise your code may
2129 not get linked in, or, worse yet, it may not get @code{tar}red into the
2130 distribution!
2131 @end table
2132
2133
2134 @node Host Definition
2135
2136 @chapter Host Definition
2137
2138 With the advent of Autoconf, it's rarely necessary to have host
2139 definition machinery anymore. The following information is provided,
2140 mainly, as an historical reference.
2141
2142 @section Adding a New Host
2143
2144 @cindex adding a new host
2145 @cindex host, adding
2146 @value{GDBN}'s host configuration support normally happens via Autoconf.
2147 New host-specific definitions should not be needed. Older hosts
2148 @value{GDBN} still use the host-specific definitions and files listed
2149 below, but these mostly exist for historical reasons, and will
2150 eventually disappear.
2151
2152 @table @file
2153 @item gdb/config/@var{arch}/@var{xyz}.mh
2154 This file once contained both host and native configuration information
2155 (@pxref{Native Debugging}) for the machine @var{xyz}. The host
2156 configuration information is now handed by Autoconf.
2157
2158 Host configuration information included a definition of
2159 @code{XM_FILE=xm-@var{xyz}.h} and possibly definitions for @code{CC},
2160 @code{SYSV_DEFINE}, @code{XM_CFLAGS}, @code{XM_ADD_FILES},
2161 @code{XM_CLIBS}, @code{XM_CDEPS}, etc.; see @file{Makefile.in}.
2162
2163 New host only configurations do not need this file.
2164
2165 @item gdb/config/@var{arch}/xm-@var{xyz}.h
2166 This file once contained definitions and includes required when hosting
2167 gdb on machine @var{xyz}. Those definitions and includes are now
2168 handled by Autoconf.
2169
2170 New host and native configurations do not need this file.
2171
2172 @emph{Maintainer's note: Some hosts continue to use the @file{xm-xyz.h}
2173 file to define the macros @var{HOST_FLOAT_FORMAT},
2174 @var{HOST_DOUBLE_FORMAT} and @var{HOST_LONG_DOUBLE_FORMAT}. That code
2175 also needs to be replaced with either an Autoconf or run-time test.}
2176
2177 @end table
2178
2179 @subheading Generic Host Support Files
2180
2181 @cindex generic host support
2182 There are some ``generic'' versions of routines that can be used by
2183 various systems. These can be customized in various ways by macros
2184 defined in your @file{xm-@var{xyz}.h} file. If these routines work for
2185 the @var{xyz} host, you can just include the generic file's name (with
2186 @samp{.o}, not @samp{.c}) in @code{XDEPFILES}.
2187
2188 Otherwise, if your machine needs custom support routines, you will need
2189 to write routines that perform the same functions as the generic file.
2190 Put them into @code{@var{xyz}-xdep.c}, and put @code{@var{xyz}-xdep.o}
2191 into @code{XDEPFILES}.
2192
2193 @table @file
2194 @cindex remote debugging support
2195 @cindex serial line support
2196 @item ser-unix.c
2197 This contains serial line support for Unix systems. This is always
2198 included, via the makefile variable @code{SER_HARDWIRE}; override this
2199 variable in the @file{.mh} file to avoid it.
2200
2201 @item ser-go32.c
2202 This contains serial line support for 32-bit programs running under DOS,
2203 using the DJGPP (a.k.a.@: GO32) execution environment.
2204
2205 @cindex TCP remote support
2206 @item ser-tcp.c
2207 This contains generic TCP support using sockets.
2208 @end table
2209
2210 @section Host Conditionals
2211
2212 When @value{GDBN} is configured and compiled, various macros are
2213 defined or left undefined, to control compilation based on the
2214 attributes of the host system. These macros and their meanings (or if
2215 the meaning is not documented here, then one of the source files where
2216 they are used is indicated) are:
2217
2218 @ftable @code
2219 @item @value{GDBN}INIT_FILENAME
2220 The default name of @value{GDBN}'s initialization file (normally
2221 @file{.gdbinit}).
2222
2223 @item NO_STD_REGS
2224 This macro is deprecated.
2225
2226 @item SIGWINCH_HANDLER
2227 If your host defines @code{SIGWINCH}, you can define this to be the name
2228 of a function to be called if @code{SIGWINCH} is received.
2229
2230 @item SIGWINCH_HANDLER_BODY
2231 Define this to expand into code that will define the function named by
2232 the expansion of @code{SIGWINCH_HANDLER}.
2233
2234 @item ALIGN_STACK_ON_STARTUP
2235 @cindex stack alignment
2236 Define this if your system is of a sort that will crash in
2237 @code{tgetent} if the stack happens not to be longword-aligned when
2238 @code{main} is called. This is a rare situation, but is known to occur
2239 on several different types of systems.
2240
2241 @item CRLF_SOURCE_FILES
2242 @cindex DOS text files
2243 Define this if host files use @code{\r\n} rather than @code{\n} as a
2244 line terminator. This will cause source file listings to omit @code{\r}
2245 characters when printing and it will allow @code{\r\n} line endings of files
2246 which are ``sourced'' by gdb. It must be possible to open files in binary
2247 mode using @code{O_BINARY} or, for fopen, @code{"rb"}.
2248
2249 @item DEFAULT_PROMPT
2250 @cindex prompt
2251 The default value of the prompt string (normally @code{"(gdb) "}).
2252
2253 @item DEV_TTY
2254 @cindex terminal device
2255 The name of the generic TTY device, defaults to @code{"/dev/tty"}.
2256
2257 @item FOPEN_RB
2258 Define this if binary files are opened the same way as text files.
2259
2260 @item HAVE_MMAP
2261 @findex mmap
2262 In some cases, use the system call @code{mmap} for reading symbol
2263 tables. For some machines this allows for sharing and quick updates.
2264
2265 @item HAVE_TERMIO
2266 Define this if the host system has @code{termio.h}.
2267
2268 @item INT_MAX
2269 @itemx INT_MIN
2270 @itemx LONG_MAX
2271 @itemx UINT_MAX
2272 @itemx ULONG_MAX
2273 Values for host-side constants.
2274
2275 @item ISATTY
2276 Substitute for isatty, if not available.
2277
2278 @item LONGEST
2279 This is the longest integer type available on the host. If not defined,
2280 it will default to @code{long long} or @code{long}, depending on
2281 @code{CC_HAS_LONG_LONG}.
2282
2283 @item CC_HAS_LONG_LONG
2284 @cindex @code{long long} data type
2285 Define this if the host C compiler supports @code{long long}. This is set
2286 by the @code{configure} script.
2287
2288 @item PRINTF_HAS_LONG_LONG
2289 Define this if the host can handle printing of long long integers via
2290 the printf format conversion specifier @code{ll}. This is set by the
2291 @code{configure} script.
2292
2293 @item HAVE_LONG_DOUBLE
2294 Define this if the host C compiler supports @code{long double}. This is
2295 set by the @code{configure} script.
2296
2297 @item PRINTF_HAS_LONG_DOUBLE
2298 Define this if the host can handle printing of long double float-point
2299 numbers via the printf format conversion specifier @code{Lg}. This is
2300 set by the @code{configure} script.
2301
2302 @item SCANF_HAS_LONG_DOUBLE
2303 Define this if the host can handle the parsing of long double
2304 float-point numbers via the scanf format conversion specifier
2305 @code{Lg}. This is set by the @code{configure} script.
2306
2307 @item LSEEK_NOT_LINEAR
2308 Define this if @code{lseek (n)} does not necessarily move to byte number
2309 @code{n} in the file. This is only used when reading source files. It
2310 is normally faster to define @code{CRLF_SOURCE_FILES} when possible.
2311
2312 @item L_SET
2313 This macro is used as the argument to @code{lseek} (or, most commonly,
2314 @code{bfd_seek}). FIXME, should be replaced by SEEK_SET instead,
2315 which is the POSIX equivalent.
2316
2317 @item NORETURN
2318 If defined, this should be one or more tokens, such as @code{volatile},
2319 that can be used in both the declaration and definition of functions to
2320 indicate that they never return. The default is already set correctly
2321 if compiling with GCC. This will almost never need to be defined.
2322
2323 @item ATTR_NORETURN
2324 If defined, this should be one or more tokens, such as
2325 @code{__attribute__ ((noreturn))}, that can be used in the declarations
2326 of functions to indicate that they never return. The default is already
2327 set correctly if compiling with GCC. This will almost never need to be
2328 defined.
2329
2330 @item SEEK_CUR
2331 @itemx SEEK_SET
2332 Define these to appropriate value for the system @code{lseek}, if not already
2333 defined.
2334
2335 @item STOP_SIGNAL
2336 This is the signal for stopping @value{GDBN}. Defaults to
2337 @code{SIGTSTP}. (Only redefined for the Convex.)
2338
2339 @item USG
2340 Means that System V (prior to SVR4) include files are in use. (FIXME:
2341 This symbol is abused in @file{infrun.c}, @file{regex.c}, and
2342 @file{utils.c} for other things, at the moment.)
2343
2344 @item lint
2345 Define this to help placate @code{lint} in some situations.
2346
2347 @item volatile
2348 Define this to override the defaults of @code{__volatile__} or
2349 @code{/**/}.
2350 @end ftable
2351
2352
2353 @node Target Architecture Definition
2354
2355 @chapter Target Architecture Definition
2356
2357 @cindex target architecture definition
2358 @value{GDBN}'s target architecture defines what sort of
2359 machine-language programs @value{GDBN} can work with, and how it works
2360 with them.
2361
2362 The target architecture object is implemented as the C structure
2363 @code{struct gdbarch *}. The structure, and its methods, are generated
2364 using the Bourne shell script @file{gdbarch.sh}.
2365
2366 @section Operating System ABI Variant Handling
2367 @cindex OS ABI variants
2368
2369 @value{GDBN} provides a mechanism for handling variations in OS
2370 ABIs. An OS ABI variant may have influence over any number of
2371 variables in the target architecture definition. There are two major
2372 components in the OS ABI mechanism: sniffers and handlers.
2373
2374 A @dfn{sniffer} examines a file matching a BFD architecture/flavour pair
2375 (the architecture may be wildcarded) in an attempt to determine the
2376 OS ABI of that file. Sniffers with a wildcarded architecture are considered
2377 to be @dfn{generic}, while sniffers for a specific architecture are
2378 considered to be @dfn{specific}. A match from a specific sniffer
2379 overrides a match from a generic sniffer. Multiple sniffers for an
2380 architecture/flavour may exist, in order to differentiate between two
2381 different operating systems which use the same basic file format. The
2382 OS ABI framework provides a generic sniffer for ELF-format files which
2383 examines the @code{EI_OSABI} field of the ELF header, as well as note
2384 sections known to be used by several operating systems.
2385
2386 @cindex fine-tuning @code{gdbarch} structure
2387 A @dfn{handler} is used to fine-tune the @code{gdbarch} structure for the
2388 selected OS ABI. There may be only one handler for a given OS ABI
2389 for each BFD architecture.
2390
2391 The following OS ABI variants are defined in @file{osabi.h}:
2392
2393 @table @code
2394
2395 @findex GDB_OSABI_UNKNOWN
2396 @item GDB_OSABI_UNKNOWN
2397 The ABI of the inferior is unknown. The default @code{gdbarch}
2398 settings for the architecture will be used.
2399
2400 @findex GDB_OSABI_SVR4
2401 @item GDB_OSABI_SVR4
2402 UNIX System V Release 4
2403
2404 @findex GDB_OSABI_HURD
2405 @item GDB_OSABI_HURD
2406 GNU using the Hurd kernel
2407
2408 @findex GDB_OSABI_SOLARIS
2409 @item GDB_OSABI_SOLARIS
2410 Sun Solaris
2411
2412 @findex GDB_OSABI_OSF1
2413 @item GDB_OSABI_OSF1
2414 OSF/1, including Digital UNIX and Compaq Tru64 UNIX
2415
2416 @findex GDB_OSABI_LINUX
2417 @item GDB_OSABI_LINUX
2418 GNU using the Linux kernel
2419
2420 @findex GDB_OSABI_FREEBSD_AOUT
2421 @item GDB_OSABI_FREEBSD_AOUT
2422 FreeBSD using the a.out executable format
2423
2424 @findex GDB_OSABI_FREEBSD_ELF
2425 @item GDB_OSABI_FREEBSD_ELF
2426 FreeBSD using the ELF executable format
2427
2428 @findex GDB_OSABI_NETBSD_AOUT
2429 @item GDB_OSABI_NETBSD_AOUT
2430 NetBSD using the a.out executable format
2431
2432 @findex GDB_OSABI_NETBSD_ELF
2433 @item GDB_OSABI_NETBSD_ELF
2434 NetBSD using the ELF executable format
2435
2436 @findex GDB_OSABI_WINCE
2437 @item GDB_OSABI_WINCE
2438 Windows CE
2439
2440 @findex GDB_OSABI_GO32
2441 @item GDB_OSABI_GO32
2442 DJGPP
2443
2444 @findex GDB_OSABI_NETWARE
2445 @item GDB_OSABI_NETWARE
2446 Novell NetWare
2447
2448 @findex GDB_OSABI_ARM_EABI_V1
2449 @item GDB_OSABI_ARM_EABI_V1
2450 ARM Embedded ABI version 1
2451
2452 @findex GDB_OSABI_ARM_EABI_V2
2453 @item GDB_OSABI_ARM_EABI_V2
2454 ARM Embedded ABI version 2
2455
2456 @findex GDB_OSABI_ARM_APCS
2457 @item GDB_OSABI_ARM_APCS
2458 Generic ARM Procedure Call Standard
2459
2460 @end table
2461
2462 Here are the functions that make up the OS ABI framework:
2463
2464 @deftypefun const char *gdbarch_osabi_name (enum gdb_osabi @var{osabi})
2465 Return the name of the OS ABI corresponding to @var{osabi}.
2466 @end deftypefun
2467
2468 @deftypefun void gdbarch_register_osabi (enum bfd_architecture @var{arch}, unsigned long @var{machine}, enum gdb_osabi @var{osabi}, void (*@var{init_osabi})(struct gdbarch_info @var{info}, struct gdbarch *@var{gdbarch}))
2469 Register the OS ABI handler specified by @var{init_osabi} for the
2470 architecture, machine type and OS ABI specified by @var{arch},
2471 @var{machine} and @var{osabi}. In most cases, a value of zero for the
2472 machine type, which implies the architecture's default machine type,
2473 will suffice.
2474 @end deftypefun
2475
2476 @deftypefun void gdbarch_register_osabi_sniffer (enum bfd_architecture @var{arch}, enum bfd_flavour @var{flavour}, enum gdb_osabi (*@var{sniffer})(bfd *@var{abfd}))
2477 Register the OS ABI file sniffer specified by @var{sniffer} for the
2478 BFD architecture/flavour pair specified by @var{arch} and @var{flavour}.
2479 If @var{arch} is @code{bfd_arch_unknown}, the sniffer is considered to
2480 be generic, and is allowed to examine @var{flavour}-flavoured files for
2481 any architecture.
2482 @end deftypefun
2483
2484 @deftypefun enum gdb_osabi gdbarch_lookup_osabi (bfd *@var{abfd})
2485 Examine the file described by @var{abfd} to determine its OS ABI.
2486 The value @code{GDB_OSABI_UNKNOWN} is returned if the OS ABI cannot
2487 be determined.
2488 @end deftypefun
2489
2490 @deftypefun void gdbarch_init_osabi (struct gdbarch info @var{info}, struct gdbarch *@var{gdbarch}, enum gdb_osabi @var{osabi})
2491 Invoke the OS ABI handler corresponding to @var{osabi} to fine-tune the
2492 @code{gdbarch} structure specified by @var{gdbarch}. If a handler
2493 corresponding to @var{osabi} has not been registered for @var{gdbarch}'s
2494 architecture, a warning will be issued and the debugging session will continue
2495 with the defaults already established for @var{gdbarch}.
2496 @end deftypefun
2497
2498 @section Registers and Memory
2499
2500 @value{GDBN}'s model of the target machine is rather simple.
2501 @value{GDBN} assumes the machine includes a bank of registers and a
2502 block of memory. Each register may have a different size.
2503
2504 @value{GDBN} does not have a magical way to match up with the
2505 compiler's idea of which registers are which; however, it is critical
2506 that they do match up accurately. The only way to make this work is
2507 to get accurate information about the order that the compiler uses,
2508 and to reflect that in the @code{REGISTER_NAME} and related macros.
2509
2510 @value{GDBN} can handle big-endian, little-endian, and bi-endian architectures.
2511
2512 @section Pointers Are Not Always Addresses
2513 @cindex pointer representation
2514 @cindex address representation
2515 @cindex word-addressed machines
2516 @cindex separate data and code address spaces
2517 @cindex spaces, separate data and code address
2518 @cindex address spaces, separate data and code
2519 @cindex code pointers, word-addressed
2520 @cindex converting between pointers and addresses
2521 @cindex D10V addresses
2522
2523 On almost all 32-bit architectures, the representation of a pointer is
2524 indistinguishable from the representation of some fixed-length number
2525 whose value is the byte address of the object pointed to. On such
2526 machines, the words ``pointer'' and ``address'' can be used interchangeably.
2527 However, architectures with smaller word sizes are often cramped for
2528 address space, so they may choose a pointer representation that breaks this
2529 identity, and allows a larger code address space.
2530
2531 For example, the Renesas D10V is a 16-bit VLIW processor whose
2532 instructions are 32 bits long@footnote{Some D10V instructions are
2533 actually pairs of 16-bit sub-instructions. However, since you can't
2534 jump into the middle of such a pair, code addresses can only refer to
2535 full 32 bit instructions, which is what matters in this explanation.}.
2536 If the D10V used ordinary byte addresses to refer to code locations,
2537 then the processor would only be able to address 64kb of instructions.
2538 However, since instructions must be aligned on four-byte boundaries, the
2539 low two bits of any valid instruction's byte address are always
2540 zero---byte addresses waste two bits. So instead of byte addresses,
2541 the D10V uses word addresses---byte addresses shifted right two bits---to
2542 refer to code. Thus, the D10V can use 16-bit words to address 256kb of
2543 code space.
2544
2545 However, this means that code pointers and data pointers have different
2546 forms on the D10V. The 16-bit word @code{0xC020} refers to byte address
2547 @code{0xC020} when used as a data address, but refers to byte address
2548 @code{0x30080} when used as a code address.
2549
2550 (The D10V also uses separate code and data address spaces, which also
2551 affects the correspondence between pointers and addresses, but we're
2552 going to ignore that here; this example is already too long.)
2553
2554 To cope with architectures like this---the D10V is not the only
2555 one!---@value{GDBN} tries to distinguish between @dfn{addresses}, which are
2556 byte numbers, and @dfn{pointers}, which are the target's representation
2557 of an address of a particular type of data. In the example above,
2558 @code{0xC020} is the pointer, which refers to one of the addresses
2559 @code{0xC020} or @code{0x30080}, depending on the type imposed upon it.
2560 @value{GDBN} provides functions for turning a pointer into an address
2561 and vice versa, in the appropriate way for the current architecture.
2562
2563 Unfortunately, since addresses and pointers are identical on almost all
2564 processors, this distinction tends to bit-rot pretty quickly. Thus,
2565 each time you port @value{GDBN} to an architecture which does
2566 distinguish between pointers and addresses, you'll probably need to
2567 clean up some architecture-independent code.
2568
2569 Here are functions which convert between pointers and addresses:
2570
2571 @deftypefun CORE_ADDR extract_typed_address (void *@var{buf}, struct type *@var{type})
2572 Treat the bytes at @var{buf} as a pointer or reference of type
2573 @var{type}, and return the address it represents, in a manner
2574 appropriate for the current architecture. This yields an address
2575 @value{GDBN} can use to read target memory, disassemble, etc. Note that
2576 @var{buf} refers to a buffer in @value{GDBN}'s memory, not the
2577 inferior's.
2578
2579 For example, if the current architecture is the Intel x86, this function
2580 extracts a little-endian integer of the appropriate length from
2581 @var{buf} and returns it. However, if the current architecture is the
2582 D10V, this function will return a 16-bit integer extracted from
2583 @var{buf}, multiplied by four if @var{type} is a pointer to a function.
2584
2585 If @var{type} is not a pointer or reference type, then this function
2586 will signal an internal error.
2587 @end deftypefun
2588
2589 @deftypefun CORE_ADDR store_typed_address (void *@var{buf}, struct type *@var{type}, CORE_ADDR @var{addr})
2590 Store the address @var{addr} in @var{buf}, in the proper format for a
2591 pointer of type @var{type} in the current architecture. Note that
2592 @var{buf} refers to a buffer in @value{GDBN}'s memory, not the
2593 inferior's.
2594
2595 For example, if the current architecture is the Intel x86, this function
2596 stores @var{addr} unmodified as a little-endian integer of the
2597 appropriate length in @var{buf}. However, if the current architecture
2598 is the D10V, this function divides @var{addr} by four if @var{type} is
2599 a pointer to a function, and then stores it in @var{buf}.
2600
2601 If @var{type} is not a pointer or reference type, then this function
2602 will signal an internal error.
2603 @end deftypefun
2604
2605 @deftypefun CORE_ADDR value_as_address (struct value *@var{val})
2606 Assuming that @var{val} is a pointer, return the address it represents,
2607 as appropriate for the current architecture.
2608
2609 This function actually works on integral values, as well as pointers.
2610 For pointers, it performs architecture-specific conversions as
2611 described above for @code{extract_typed_address}.
2612 @end deftypefun
2613
2614 @deftypefun CORE_ADDR value_from_pointer (struct type *@var{type}, CORE_ADDR @var{addr})
2615 Create and return a value representing a pointer of type @var{type} to
2616 the address @var{addr}, as appropriate for the current architecture.
2617 This function performs architecture-specific conversions as described
2618 above for @code{store_typed_address}.
2619 @end deftypefun
2620
2621 Here are some macros which architectures can define to indicate the
2622 relationship between pointers and addresses. These have default
2623 definitions, appropriate for architectures on which all pointers are
2624 simple unsigned byte addresses.
2625
2626 @deftypefn {Target Macro} CORE_ADDR POINTER_TO_ADDRESS (struct type *@var{type}, char *@var{buf})
2627 Assume that @var{buf} holds a pointer of type @var{type}, in the
2628 appropriate format for the current architecture. Return the byte
2629 address the pointer refers to.
2630
2631 This function may safely assume that @var{type} is either a pointer or a
2632 C@t{++} reference type.
2633 @end deftypefn
2634
2635 @deftypefn {Target Macro} void ADDRESS_TO_POINTER (struct type *@var{type}, char *@var{buf}, CORE_ADDR @var{addr})
2636 Store in @var{buf} a pointer of type @var{type} representing the address
2637 @var{addr}, in the appropriate format for the current architecture.
2638
2639 This function may safely assume that @var{type} is either a pointer or a
2640 C@t{++} reference type.
2641 @end deftypefn
2642
2643 @section Address Classes
2644 @cindex address classes
2645 @cindex DW_AT_byte_size
2646 @cindex DW_AT_address_class
2647
2648 Sometimes information about different kinds of addresses is available
2649 via the debug information. For example, some programming environments
2650 define addresses of several different sizes. If the debug information
2651 distinguishes these kinds of address classes through either the size
2652 info (e.g, @code{DW_AT_byte_size} in @w{DWARF 2}) or through an explicit
2653 address class attribute (e.g, @code{DW_AT_address_class} in @w{DWARF 2}), the
2654 following macros should be defined in order to disambiguate these
2655 types within @value{GDBN} as well as provide the added information to
2656 a @value{GDBN} user when printing type expressions.
2657
2658 @deftypefn {Target Macro} int ADDRESS_CLASS_TYPE_FLAGS (int @var{byte_size}, int @var{dwarf2_addr_class})
2659 Returns the type flags needed to construct a pointer type whose size
2660 is @var{byte_size} and whose address class is @var{dwarf2_addr_class}.
2661 This function is normally called from within a symbol reader. See
2662 @file{dwarf2read.c}.
2663 @end deftypefn
2664
2665 @deftypefn {Target Macro} char *ADDRESS_CLASS_TYPE_FLAGS_TO_NAME (int @var{type_flags})
2666 Given the type flags representing an address class qualifier, return
2667 its name.
2668 @end deftypefn
2669 @deftypefn {Target Macro} int ADDRESS_CLASS_NAME_to_TYPE_FLAGS (int @var{name}, int *var{type_flags_ptr})
2670 Given an address qualifier name, set the @code{int} refererenced by @var{type_flags_ptr} to the type flags
2671 for that address class qualifier.
2672 @end deftypefn
2673
2674 Since the need for address classes is rather rare, none of
2675 the address class macros defined by default. Predicate
2676 macros are provided to detect when they are defined.
2677
2678 Consider a hypothetical architecture in which addresses are normally
2679 32-bits wide, but 16-bit addresses are also supported. Furthermore,
2680 suppose that the @w{DWARF 2} information for this architecture simply
2681 uses a @code{DW_AT_byte_size} value of 2 to indicate the use of one
2682 of these "short" pointers. The following functions could be defined
2683 to implement the address class macros:
2684
2685 @smallexample
2686 somearch_address_class_type_flags (int byte_size,
2687 int dwarf2_addr_class)
2688 @{
2689 if (byte_size == 2)
2690 return TYPE_FLAG_ADDRESS_CLASS_1;
2691 else
2692 return 0;
2693 @}
2694
2695 static char *
2696 somearch_address_class_type_flags_to_name (int type_flags)
2697 @{
2698 if (type_flags & TYPE_FLAG_ADDRESS_CLASS_1)
2699 return "short";
2700 else
2701 return NULL;
2702 @}
2703
2704 int
2705 somearch_address_class_name_to_type_flags (char *name,
2706 int *type_flags_ptr)
2707 @{
2708 if (strcmp (name, "short") == 0)
2709 @{
2710 *type_flags_ptr = TYPE_FLAG_ADDRESS_CLASS_1;
2711 return 1;
2712 @}
2713 else
2714 return 0;
2715 @}
2716 @end smallexample
2717
2718 The qualifier @code{@@short} is used in @value{GDBN}'s type expressions
2719 to indicate the presence of one of these "short" pointers. E.g, if
2720 the debug information indicates that @code{short_ptr_var} is one of these
2721 short pointers, @value{GDBN} might show the following behavior:
2722
2723 @smallexample
2724 (gdb) ptype short_ptr_var
2725 type = int * @@short
2726 @end smallexample
2727
2728
2729 @section Raw and Virtual Register Representations
2730 @cindex raw register representation
2731 @cindex virtual register representation
2732 @cindex representations, raw and virtual registers
2733
2734 @emph{Maintainer note: This section is pretty much obsolete. The
2735 functionality described here has largely been replaced by
2736 pseudo-registers and the mechanisms described in @ref{Target
2737 Architecture Definition, , Using Different Register and Memory Data
2738 Representations}. See also @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/bugs/,
2739 Bug Tracking Database} and
2740 @uref{http://sources.redhat.com/gdb/current/ari/, ARI Index} for more
2741 up-to-date information.}
2742
2743 Some architectures use one representation for a value when it lives in a
2744 register, but use a different representation when it lives in memory.
2745 In @value{GDBN}'s terminology, the @dfn{raw} representation is the one used in
2746 the target registers, and the @dfn{virtual} representation is the one
2747 used in memory, and within @value{GDBN} @code{struct value} objects.
2748
2749 @emph{Maintainer note: Notice that the same mechanism is being used to
2750 both convert a register to a @code{struct value} and alternative
2751 register forms.}
2752
2753 For almost all data types on almost all architectures, the virtual and
2754 raw representations are identical, and no special handling is needed.
2755 However, they do occasionally differ. For example:
2756
2757 @itemize @bullet
2758 @item
2759 The x86 architecture supports an 80-bit @code{long double} type. However, when
2760 we store those values in memory, they occupy twelve bytes: the
2761 floating-point number occupies the first ten, and the final two bytes
2762 are unused. This keeps the values aligned on four-byte boundaries,
2763 allowing more efficient access. Thus, the x86 80-bit floating-point
2764 type is the raw representation, and the twelve-byte loosely-packed
2765 arrangement is the virtual representation.
2766
2767 @item
2768 Some 64-bit MIPS targets present 32-bit registers to @value{GDBN} as 64-bit
2769 registers, with garbage in their upper bits. @value{GDBN} ignores the top 32
2770 bits. Thus, the 64-bit form, with garbage in the upper 32 bits, is the
2771 raw representation, and the trimmed 32-bit representation is the
2772 virtual representation.
2773 @end itemize
2774
2775 In general, the raw representation is determined by the architecture, or
2776 @value{GDBN}'s interface to the architecture, while the virtual representation
2777 can be chosen for @value{GDBN}'s convenience. @value{GDBN}'s register file,
2778 @code{registers}, holds the register contents in raw format, and the
2779 @value{GDBN} remote protocol transmits register values in raw format.
2780
2781 Your architecture may define the following macros to request
2782 conversions between the raw and virtual format:
2783
2784 @deftypefn {Target Macro} int REGISTER_CONVERTIBLE (int @var{reg})
2785 Return non-zero if register number @var{reg}'s value needs different raw
2786 and virtual formats.
2787
2788 You should not use @code{REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_VIRTUAL} for a register
2789 unless this macro returns a non-zero value for that register.
2790 @end deftypefn
2791
2792 @deftypefn {Target Macro} int DEPRECATED_REGISTER_RAW_SIZE (int @var{reg})
2793 The size of register number @var{reg}'s raw value. This is the number
2794 of bytes the register will occupy in @code{registers}, or in a @value{GDBN}
2795 remote protocol packet.
2796 @end deftypefn
2797
2798 @deftypefn {Target Macro} int DEPRECATED_REGISTER_VIRTUAL_SIZE (int @var{reg})
2799 The size of register number @var{reg}'s value, in its virtual format.
2800 This is the size a @code{struct value}'s buffer will have, holding that
2801 register's value.
2802 @end deftypefn
2803
2804 @deftypefn {Target Macro} struct type *DEPRECATED_REGISTER_VIRTUAL_TYPE (int @var{reg})
2805 This is the type of the virtual representation of register number
2806 @var{reg}. Note that there is no need for a macro giving a type for the
2807 register's raw form; once the register's value has been obtained, @value{GDBN}
2808 always uses the virtual form.
2809 @end deftypefn
2810
2811 @deftypefn {Target Macro} void REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_VIRTUAL (int @var{reg}, struct type *@var{type}, char *@var{from}, char *@var{to})
2812 Convert the value of register number @var{reg} to @var{type}, which
2813 should always be @code{DEPRECATED_REGISTER_VIRTUAL_TYPE (@var{reg})}. The buffer
2814 at @var{from} holds the register's value in raw format; the macro should
2815 convert the value to virtual format, and place it at @var{to}.
2816
2817 Note that @code{REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_VIRTUAL} and
2818 @code{REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_RAW} take their @var{reg} and @var{type}
2819 arguments in different orders.
2820
2821 You should only use @code{REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_VIRTUAL} with registers
2822 for which the @code{REGISTER_CONVERTIBLE} macro returns a non-zero
2823 value.
2824 @end deftypefn
2825
2826 @deftypefn {Target Macro} void REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_RAW (struct type *@var{type}, int @var{reg}, char *@var{from}, char *@var{to})
2827 Convert the value of register number @var{reg} to @var{type}, which
2828 should always be @code{DEPRECATED_REGISTER_VIRTUAL_TYPE (@var{reg})}. The buffer
2829 at @var{from} holds the register's value in raw format; the macro should
2830 convert the value to virtual format, and place it at @var{to}.
2831
2832 Note that REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_VIRTUAL and REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_RAW take
2833 their @var{reg} and @var{type} arguments in different orders.
2834 @end deftypefn
2835
2836
2837 @section Using Different Register and Memory Data Representations
2838 @cindex register representation
2839 @cindex memory representation
2840 @cindex representations, register and memory
2841 @cindex register data formats, converting
2842 @cindex @code{struct value}, converting register contents to
2843
2844 @emph{Maintainer's note: The way GDB manipulates registers is undergoing
2845 significant change. Many of the macros and functions refered to in this
2846 section are likely to be subject to further revision. See
2847 @uref{http://sources.redhat.com/gdb/current/ari/, A.R. Index} and
2848 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/bugs, Bug Tracking Database} for
2849 further information. cagney/2002-05-06.}
2850
2851 Some architectures can represent a data object in a register using a
2852 form that is different to the objects more normal memory representation.
2853 For example:
2854
2855 @itemize @bullet
2856
2857 @item
2858 The Alpha architecture can represent 32 bit integer values in
2859 floating-point registers.
2860
2861 @item
2862 The x86 architecture supports 80-bit floating-point registers. The
2863 @code{long double} data type occupies 96 bits in memory but only 80 bits
2864 when stored in a register.
2865
2866 @end itemize
2867
2868 In general, the register representation of a data type is determined by
2869 the architecture, or @value{GDBN}'s interface to the architecture, while
2870 the memory representation is determined by the Application Binary
2871 Interface.
2872
2873 For almost all data types on almost all architectures, the two
2874 representations are identical, and no special handling is needed.
2875 However, they do occasionally differ. Your architecture may define the
2876 following macros to request conversions between the register and memory
2877 representations of a data type:
2878
2879 @deftypefn {Target Macro} int CONVERT_REGISTER_P (int @var{reg})
2880 Return non-zero if the representation of a data value stored in this
2881 register may be different to the representation of that same data value
2882 when stored in memory.
2883
2884 When non-zero, the macros @code{REGISTER_TO_VALUE} and
2885 @code{VALUE_TO_REGISTER} are used to perform any necessary conversion.
2886 @end deftypefn
2887
2888 @deftypefn {Target Macro} void REGISTER_TO_VALUE (int @var{reg}, struct type *@var{type}, char *@var{from}, char *@var{to})
2889 Convert the value of register number @var{reg} to a data object of type
2890 @var{type}. The buffer at @var{from} holds the register's value in raw
2891 format; the converted value should be placed in the buffer at @var{to}.
2892
2893 Note that @code{REGISTER_TO_VALUE} and @code{VALUE_TO_REGISTER} take
2894 their @var{reg} and @var{type} arguments in different orders.
2895
2896 You should only use @code{REGISTER_TO_VALUE} with registers for which
2897 the @code{CONVERT_REGISTER_P} macro returns a non-zero value.
2898 @end deftypefn
2899
2900 @deftypefn {Target Macro} void VALUE_TO_REGISTER (struct type *@var{type}, int @var{reg}, char *@var{from}, char *@var{to})
2901 Convert a data value of type @var{type} to register number @var{reg}'
2902 raw format.
2903
2904 Note that @code{REGISTER_TO_VALUE} and @code{VALUE_TO_REGISTER} take
2905 their @var{reg} and @var{type} arguments in different orders.
2906
2907 You should only use @code{VALUE_TO_REGISTER} with registers for which
2908 the @code{CONVERT_REGISTER_P} macro returns a non-zero value.
2909 @end deftypefn
2910
2911 @deftypefn {Target Macro} void REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_TYPE (int @var{regnum}, struct type *@var{type}, char *@var{buf})
2912 See @file{mips-tdep.c}. It does not do what you want.
2913 @end deftypefn
2914
2915
2916 @section Frame Interpretation
2917
2918 @section Inferior Call Setup
2919
2920 @section Compiler Characteristics
2921
2922 @section Target Conditionals
2923
2924 This section describes the macros that you can use to define the target
2925 machine.
2926
2927 @table @code
2928
2929 @item ADDR_BITS_REMOVE (addr)
2930 @findex ADDR_BITS_REMOVE
2931 If a raw machine instruction address includes any bits that are not
2932 really part of the address, then define this macro to expand into an
2933 expression that zeroes those bits in @var{addr}. This is only used for
2934 addresses of instructions, and even then not in all contexts.
2935
2936 For example, the two low-order bits of the PC on the Hewlett-Packard PA
2937 2.0 architecture contain the privilege level of the corresponding
2938 instruction. Since instructions must always be aligned on four-byte
2939 boundaries, the processor masks out these bits to generate the actual
2940 address of the instruction. ADDR_BITS_REMOVE should filter out these
2941 bits with an expression such as @code{((addr) & ~3)}.
2942
2943 @item ADDRESS_CLASS_NAME_TO_TYPE_FLAGS (@var{name}, @var{type_flags_ptr})
2944 @findex ADDRESS_CLASS_NAME_TO_TYPE_FLAGS
2945 If @var{name} is a valid address class qualifier name, set the @code{int}
2946 referenced by @var{type_flags_ptr} to the mask representing the qualifier
2947 and return 1. If @var{name} is not a valid address class qualifier name,
2948 return 0.
2949
2950 The value for @var{type_flags_ptr} should be one of
2951 @code{TYPE_FLAG_ADDRESS_CLASS_1}, @code{TYPE_FLAG_ADDRESS_CLASS_2}, or
2952 possibly some combination of these values or'd together.
2953 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Address Classes}.
2954
2955 @item ADDRESS_CLASS_NAME_TO_TYPE_FLAGS_P ()
2956 @findex ADDRESS_CLASS_NAME_TO_TYPE_FLAGS_P
2957 Predicate which indicates whether @code{ADDRESS_CLASS_NAME_TO_TYPE_FLAGS}
2958 has been defined.
2959
2960 @item ADDRESS_CLASS_TYPE_FLAGS (@var{byte_size}, @var{dwarf2_addr_class})
2961 @findex ADDRESS_CLASS_TYPE_FLAGS (@var{byte_size}, @var{dwarf2_addr_class})
2962 Given a pointers byte size (as described by the debug information) and
2963 the possible @code{DW_AT_address_class} value, return the type flags
2964 used by @value{GDBN} to represent this address class. The value
2965 returned should be one of @code{TYPE_FLAG_ADDRESS_CLASS_1},
2966 @code{TYPE_FLAG_ADDRESS_CLASS_2}, or possibly some combination of these
2967 values or'd together.
2968 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Address Classes}.
2969
2970 @item ADDRESS_CLASS_TYPE_FLAGS_P ()
2971 @findex ADDRESS_CLASS_TYPE_FLAGS_P
2972 Predicate which indicates whether @code{ADDRESS_CLASS_TYPE_FLAGS} has
2973 been defined.
2974
2975 @item ADDRESS_CLASS_TYPE_FLAGS_TO_NAME (@var{type_flags})
2976 @findex ADDRESS_CLASS_TYPE_FLAGS_TO_NAME
2977 Return the name of the address class qualifier associated with the type
2978 flags given by @var{type_flags}.
2979
2980 @item ADDRESS_CLASS_TYPE_FLAGS_TO_NAME_P ()
2981 @findex ADDRESS_CLASS_TYPE_FLAGS_TO_NAME_P
2982 Predicate which indicates whether @code{ADDRESS_CLASS_TYPE_FLAGS_TO_NAME} has
2983 been defined.
2984 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Address Classes}.
2985
2986 @item ADDRESS_TO_POINTER (@var{type}, @var{buf}, @var{addr})
2987 @findex ADDRESS_TO_POINTER
2988 Store in @var{buf} a pointer of type @var{type} representing the address
2989 @var{addr}, in the appropriate format for the current architecture.
2990 This macro may safely assume that @var{type} is either a pointer or a
2991 C@t{++} reference type.
2992 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Pointers Are Not Always Addresses}.
2993
2994 @item BELIEVE_PCC_PROMOTION
2995 @findex BELIEVE_PCC_PROMOTION
2996 Define if the compiler promotes a @code{short} or @code{char}
2997 parameter to an @code{int}, but still reports the parameter as its
2998 original type, rather than the promoted type.
2999
3000 @item BITS_BIG_ENDIAN
3001 @findex BITS_BIG_ENDIAN
3002 Define this if the numbering of bits in the targets does @strong{not} match the
3003 endianness of the target byte order. A value of 1 means that the bits
3004 are numbered in a big-endian bit order, 0 means little-endian.
3005
3006 @item BREAKPOINT
3007 @findex BREAKPOINT
3008 This is the character array initializer for the bit pattern to put into
3009 memory where a breakpoint is set. Although it's common to use a trap
3010 instruction for a breakpoint, it's not required; for instance, the bit
3011 pattern could be an invalid instruction. The breakpoint must be no
3012 longer than the shortest instruction of the architecture.
3013
3014 @code{BREAKPOINT} has been deprecated in favor of
3015 @code{BREAKPOINT_FROM_PC}.
3016
3017 @item BIG_BREAKPOINT
3018 @itemx LITTLE_BREAKPOINT
3019 @findex LITTLE_BREAKPOINT
3020 @findex BIG_BREAKPOINT
3021 Similar to BREAKPOINT, but used for bi-endian targets.
3022
3023 @code{BIG_BREAKPOINT} and @code{LITTLE_BREAKPOINT} have been deprecated in
3024 favor of @code{BREAKPOINT_FROM_PC}.
3025
3026 @item DEPRECATED_REMOTE_BREAKPOINT
3027 @itemx DEPRECATED_LITTLE_REMOTE_BREAKPOINT
3028 @itemx DEPRECATED_BIG_REMOTE_BREAKPOINT
3029 @findex DEPRECATED_BIG_REMOTE_BREAKPOINT
3030 @findex DEPRECATED_LITTLE_REMOTE_BREAKPOINT
3031 @findex DEPRECATED_REMOTE_BREAKPOINT
3032 Specify the breakpoint instruction sequence for a remote target.
3033 @code{DEPRECATED_REMOTE_BREAKPOINT},
3034 @code{DEPRECATED_BIG_REMOTE_BREAKPOINT} and
3035 @code{DEPRECATED_LITTLE_REMOTE_BREAKPOINT} have been deprecated in
3036 favor of @code{BREAKPOINT_FROM_PC} (@pxref{BREAKPOINT_FROM_PC}).
3037
3038 @item BREAKPOINT_FROM_PC (@var{pcptr}, @var{lenptr})
3039 @findex BREAKPOINT_FROM_PC
3040 @anchor{BREAKPOINT_FROM_PC} Use the program counter to determine the
3041 contents and size of a breakpoint instruction. It returns a pointer to
3042 a string of bytes that encode a breakpoint instruction, stores the
3043 length of the string to @code{*@var{lenptr}}, and adjusts the program
3044 counter (if necessary) to point to the actual memory location where the
3045 breakpoint should be inserted.
3046
3047 Although it is common to use a trap instruction for a breakpoint, it's
3048 not required; for instance, the bit pattern could be an invalid
3049 instruction. The breakpoint must be no longer than the shortest
3050 instruction of the architecture.
3051
3052 Replaces all the other @var{BREAKPOINT} macros.
3053
3054 @item MEMORY_INSERT_BREAKPOINT (@var{addr}, @var{contents_cache})
3055 @itemx MEMORY_REMOVE_BREAKPOINT (@var{addr}, @var{contents_cache})
3056 @findex MEMORY_REMOVE_BREAKPOINT
3057 @findex MEMORY_INSERT_BREAKPOINT
3058 Insert or remove memory based breakpoints. Reasonable defaults
3059 (@code{default_memory_insert_breakpoint} and
3060 @code{default_memory_remove_breakpoint} respectively) have been
3061 provided so that it is not necessary to define these for most
3062 architectures. Architectures which may want to define
3063 @code{MEMORY_INSERT_BREAKPOINT} and @code{MEMORY_REMOVE_BREAKPOINT} will
3064 likely have instructions that are oddly sized or are not stored in a
3065 conventional manner.
3066
3067 It may also be desirable (from an efficiency standpoint) to define
3068 custom breakpoint insertion and removal routines if
3069 @code{BREAKPOINT_FROM_PC} needs to read the target's memory for some
3070 reason.
3071
3072 @item ADJUST_BREAKPOINT_ADDRESS (@var{address})
3073 @findex ADJUST_BREAKPOINT_ADDRESS
3074 @cindex breakpoint address adjusted
3075 Given an address at which a breakpoint is desired, return a breakpoint
3076 address adjusted to account for architectural constraints on
3077 breakpoint placement. This method is not needed by most targets.
3078
3079 The FR-V target (see @file{frv-tdep.c}) requires this method.
3080 The FR-V is a VLIW architecture in which a number of RISC-like
3081 instructions are grouped (packed) together into an aggregate
3082 instruction or instruction bundle. When the processor executes
3083 one of these bundles, the component instructions are executed
3084 in parallel.
3085
3086 In the course of optimization, the compiler may group instructions
3087 from distinct source statements into the same bundle. The line number
3088 information associated with one of the latter statements will likely
3089 refer to some instruction other than the first one in the bundle. So,
3090 if the user attempts to place a breakpoint on one of these latter
3091 statements, @value{GDBN} must be careful to @emph{not} place the break
3092 instruction on any instruction other than the first one in the bundle.
3093 (Remember though that the instructions within a bundle execute
3094 in parallel, so the @emph{first} instruction is the instruction
3095 at the lowest address and has nothing to do with execution order.)
3096
3097 The FR-V's @code{ADJUST_BREAKPOINT_ADDRESS} method will adjust a
3098 breakpoint's address by scanning backwards for the beginning of
3099 the bundle, returning the address of the bundle.
3100
3101 Since the adjustment of a breakpoint may significantly alter a user's
3102 expectation, @value{GDBN} prints a warning when an adjusted breakpoint
3103 is initially set and each time that that breakpoint is hit.
3104
3105 @item CALL_DUMMY_LOCATION
3106 @findex CALL_DUMMY_LOCATION
3107 See the file @file{inferior.h}.
3108
3109 This method has been replaced by @code{push_dummy_code}
3110 (@pxref{push_dummy_code}).
3111
3112 @item CANNOT_FETCH_REGISTER (@var{regno})
3113 @findex CANNOT_FETCH_REGISTER
3114 A C expression that should be nonzero if @var{regno} cannot be fetched
3115 from an inferior process. This is only relevant if
3116 @code{FETCH_INFERIOR_REGISTERS} is not defined.
3117
3118 @item CANNOT_STORE_REGISTER (@var{regno})
3119 @findex CANNOT_STORE_REGISTER
3120 A C expression that should be nonzero if @var{regno} should not be
3121 written to the target. This is often the case for program counters,
3122 status words, and other special registers. If this is not defined,
3123 @value{GDBN} will assume that all registers may be written.
3124
3125 @item int CONVERT_REGISTER_P(@var{regnum})
3126 @findex CONVERT_REGISTER_P
3127 Return non-zero if register @var{regnum} can represent data values in a
3128 non-standard form.
3129 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Using Different Register and Memory Data Representations}.
3130
3131 @item DECR_PC_AFTER_BREAK
3132 @findex DECR_PC_AFTER_BREAK
3133 Define this to be the amount by which to decrement the PC after the
3134 program encounters a breakpoint. This is often the number of bytes in
3135 @code{BREAKPOINT}, though not always. For most targets this value will be 0.
3136
3137 @item DISABLE_UNSETTABLE_BREAK (@var{addr})
3138 @findex DISABLE_UNSETTABLE_BREAK
3139 If defined, this should evaluate to 1 if @var{addr} is in a shared
3140 library in which breakpoints cannot be set and so should be disabled.
3141
3142 @item PRINT_FLOAT_INFO()
3143 @findex PRINT_FLOAT_INFO
3144 If defined, then the @samp{info float} command will print information about
3145 the processor's floating point unit.
3146
3147 @item print_registers_info (@var{gdbarch}, @var{frame}, @var{regnum}, @var{all})
3148 @findex print_registers_info
3149 If defined, pretty print the value of the register @var{regnum} for the
3150 specified @var{frame}. If the value of @var{regnum} is -1, pretty print
3151 either all registers (@var{all} is non zero) or a select subset of
3152 registers (@var{all} is zero).
3153
3154 The default method prints one register per line, and if @var{all} is
3155 zero omits floating-point registers.
3156
3157 @item PRINT_VECTOR_INFO()
3158 @findex PRINT_VECTOR_INFO
3159 If defined, then the @samp{info vector} command will call this function
3160 to print information about the processor's vector unit.
3161
3162 By default, the @samp{info vector} command will print all vector
3163 registers (the register's type having the vector attribute).
3164
3165 @item DWARF_REG_TO_REGNUM
3166 @findex DWARF_REG_TO_REGNUM
3167 Convert DWARF register number into @value{GDBN} regnum. If not defined,
3168 no conversion will be performed.
3169
3170 @item DWARF2_REG_TO_REGNUM
3171 @findex DWARF2_REG_TO_REGNUM
3172 Convert DWARF2 register number into @value{GDBN} regnum. If not
3173 defined, no conversion will be performed.
3174
3175 @item ECOFF_REG_TO_REGNUM
3176 @findex ECOFF_REG_TO_REGNUM
3177 Convert ECOFF register number into @value{GDBN} regnum. If not defined,
3178 no conversion will be performed.
3179
3180 @item END_OF_TEXT_DEFAULT
3181 @findex END_OF_TEXT_DEFAULT
3182 This is an expression that should designate the end of the text section.
3183 @c (? FIXME ?)
3184
3185 @item EXTRACT_RETURN_VALUE(@var{type}, @var{regbuf}, @var{valbuf})
3186 @findex EXTRACT_RETURN_VALUE
3187 Define this to extract a function's return value of type @var{type} from
3188 the raw register state @var{regbuf} and copy that, in virtual format,
3189 into @var{valbuf}.
3190
3191 This method has been deprecated in favour of @code{gdbarch_return_value}
3192 (@pxref{gdbarch_return_value}).
3193
3194 @item DEPRECATED_EXTRACT_STRUCT_VALUE_ADDRESS(@var{regbuf})
3195 @findex DEPRECATED_EXTRACT_STRUCT_VALUE_ADDRESS
3196 @anchor{DEPRECATED_EXTRACT_STRUCT_VALUE_ADDRESS}
3197 When defined, extract from the array @var{regbuf} (containing the raw
3198 register state) the @code{CORE_ADDR} at which a function should return
3199 its structure value.
3200
3201 @xref{gdbarch_return_value}.
3202
3203 @item DEPRECATED_EXTRACT_STRUCT_VALUE_ADDRESS_P()
3204 @findex DEPRECATED_EXTRACT_STRUCT_VALUE_ADDRESS_P
3205 Predicate for @code{DEPRECATED_EXTRACT_STRUCT_VALUE_ADDRESS}.
3206
3207 @item DEPRECATED_FP_REGNUM
3208 @findex DEPRECATED_FP_REGNUM
3209 If the virtual frame pointer is kept in a register, then define this
3210 macro to be the number (greater than or equal to zero) of that register.
3211
3212 This should only need to be defined if @code{DEPRECATED_TARGET_READ_FP}
3213 is not defined.
3214
3215 @item DEPRECATED_FRAMELESS_FUNCTION_INVOCATION(@var{fi})
3216 @findex DEPRECATED_FRAMELESS_FUNCTION_INVOCATION
3217 Define this to an expression that returns 1 if the function invocation
3218 represented by @var{fi} does not have a stack frame associated with it.
3219 Otherwise return 0.
3220
3221 @item frame_align (@var{address})
3222 @anchor{frame_align}
3223 @findex frame_align
3224 Define this to adjust @var{address} so that it meets the alignment
3225 requirements for the start of a new stack frame. A stack frame's
3226 alignment requirements are typically stronger than a target processors
3227 stack alignment requirements (@pxref{DEPRECATED_STACK_ALIGN}).
3228
3229 This function is used to ensure that, when creating a dummy frame, both
3230 the initial stack pointer and (if needed) the address of the return
3231 value are correctly aligned.
3232
3233 Unlike @code{DEPRECATED_STACK_ALIGN}, this function always adjusts the
3234 address in the direction of stack growth.
3235
3236 By default, no frame based stack alignment is performed.
3237
3238 @item int frame_red_zone_size
3239
3240 The number of bytes, beyond the innermost-stack-address, reserved by the
3241 @sc{abi}. A function is permitted to use this scratch area (instead of
3242 allocating extra stack space).
3243
3244 When performing an inferior function call, to ensure that it does not
3245 modify this area, @value{GDBN} adjusts the innermost-stack-address by
3246 @var{frame_red_zone_size} bytes before pushing parameters onto the
3247 stack.
3248
3249 By default, zero bytes are allocated. The value must be aligned
3250 (@pxref{frame_align}).
3251
3252 The @sc{amd64} (nee x86-64) @sc{abi} documentation refers to the
3253 @emph{red zone} when describing this scratch area.
3254 @cindex red zone
3255
3256 @item DEPRECATED_FRAME_CHAIN(@var{frame})
3257 @findex DEPRECATED_FRAME_CHAIN
3258 Given @var{frame}, return a pointer to the calling frame.
3259
3260 @item DEPRECATED_FRAME_CHAIN_VALID(@var{chain}, @var{thisframe})
3261 @findex DEPRECATED_FRAME_CHAIN_VALID
3262 Define this to be an expression that returns zero if the given frame is an
3263 outermost frame, with no caller, and nonzero otherwise. Most normal
3264 situations can be handled without defining this macro, including @code{NULL}
3265 chain pointers, dummy frames, and frames whose PC values are inside the
3266 startup file (e.g.@: @file{crt0.o}), inside @code{main}, or inside
3267 @code{_start}.
3268
3269 @item DEPRECATED_FRAME_INIT_SAVED_REGS(@var{frame})
3270 @findex DEPRECATED_FRAME_INIT_SAVED_REGS
3271 See @file{frame.h}. Determines the address of all registers in the
3272 current stack frame storing each in @code{frame->saved_regs}. Space for
3273 @code{frame->saved_regs} shall be allocated by
3274 @code{DEPRECATED_FRAME_INIT_SAVED_REGS} using
3275 @code{frame_saved_regs_zalloc}.
3276
3277 @code{FRAME_FIND_SAVED_REGS} is deprecated.
3278
3279 @item FRAME_NUM_ARGS (@var{fi})
3280 @findex FRAME_NUM_ARGS
3281 For the frame described by @var{fi} return the number of arguments that
3282 are being passed. If the number of arguments is not known, return
3283 @code{-1}.
3284
3285 @item DEPRECATED_FRAME_SAVED_PC(@var{frame})
3286 @findex DEPRECATED_FRAME_SAVED_PC
3287 @anchor{DEPRECATED_FRAME_SAVED_PC} Given @var{frame}, return the pc
3288 saved there. This is the return address.
3289
3290 This method is deprecated. @xref{unwind_pc}.
3291
3292 @item CORE_ADDR unwind_pc (struct frame_info *@var{this_frame})
3293 @findex unwind_pc
3294 @anchor{unwind_pc} Return the instruction address, in @var{this_frame}'s
3295 caller, at which execution will resume after @var{this_frame} returns.
3296 This is commonly refered to as the return address.
3297
3298 The implementation, which must be frame agnostic (work with any frame),
3299 is typically no more than:
3300
3301 @smallexample
3302 ULONGEST pc;
3303 frame_unwind_unsigned_register (this_frame, D10V_PC_REGNUM, &pc);
3304 return d10v_make_iaddr (pc);
3305 @end smallexample
3306
3307 @noindent
3308 @xref{DEPRECATED_FRAME_SAVED_PC}, which this method replaces.
3309
3310 @item CORE_ADDR unwind_sp (struct frame_info *@var{this_frame})
3311 @findex unwind_sp
3312 @anchor{unwind_sp} Return the frame's inner most stack address. This is
3313 commonly refered to as the frame's @dfn{stack pointer}.
3314
3315 The implementation, which must be frame agnostic (work with any frame),
3316 is typically no more than:
3317
3318 @smallexample
3319 ULONGEST sp;
3320 frame_unwind_unsigned_register (this_frame, D10V_SP_REGNUM, &sp);
3321 return d10v_make_daddr (sp);
3322 @end smallexample
3323
3324 @noindent
3325 @xref{TARGET_READ_SP}, which this method replaces.
3326
3327 @item FUNCTION_EPILOGUE_SIZE
3328 @findex FUNCTION_EPILOGUE_SIZE
3329 For some COFF targets, the @code{x_sym.x_misc.x_fsize} field of the
3330 function end symbol is 0. For such targets, you must define
3331 @code{FUNCTION_EPILOGUE_SIZE} to expand into the standard size of a
3332 function's epilogue.
3333
3334 @item DEPRECATED_FUNCTION_START_OFFSET
3335 @findex DEPRECATED_FUNCTION_START_OFFSET
3336 An integer, giving the offset in bytes from a function's address (as
3337 used in the values of symbols, function pointers, etc.), and the
3338 function's first genuine instruction.
3339
3340 This is zero on almost all machines: the function's address is usually
3341 the address of its first instruction. However, on the VAX, for
3342 example, each function starts with two bytes containing a bitmask
3343 indicating which registers to save upon entry to the function. The
3344 VAX @code{call} instructions check this value, and save the
3345 appropriate registers automatically. Thus, since the offset from the
3346 function's address to its first instruction is two bytes,
3347 @code{DEPRECATED_FUNCTION_START_OFFSET} would be 2 on the VAX.
3348
3349 @item GCC_COMPILED_FLAG_SYMBOL
3350 @itemx GCC2_COMPILED_FLAG_SYMBOL
3351 @findex GCC2_COMPILED_FLAG_SYMBOL
3352 @findex GCC_COMPILED_FLAG_SYMBOL
3353 If defined, these are the names of the symbols that @value{GDBN} will
3354 look for to detect that GCC compiled the file. The default symbols
3355 are @code{gcc_compiled.} and @code{gcc2_compiled.},
3356 respectively. (Currently only defined for the Delta 68.)
3357
3358 @item @value{GDBN}_MULTI_ARCH
3359 @findex @value{GDBN}_MULTI_ARCH
3360 If defined and non-zero, enables support for multiple architectures
3361 within @value{GDBN}.
3362
3363 This support can be enabled at two levels. At level one, only
3364 definitions for previously undefined macros are provided; at level two,
3365 a multi-arch definition of all architecture dependent macros will be
3366 defined.
3367
3368 @item @value{GDBN}_TARGET_IS_HPPA
3369 @findex @value{GDBN}_TARGET_IS_HPPA
3370 This determines whether horrible kludge code in @file{dbxread.c} and
3371 @file{partial-stab.h} is used to mangle multiple-symbol-table files from
3372 HPPA's. This should all be ripped out, and a scheme like @file{elfread.c}
3373 used instead.
3374
3375 @item GET_LONGJMP_TARGET
3376 @findex GET_LONGJMP_TARGET
3377 For most machines, this is a target-dependent parameter. On the
3378 DECstation and the Iris, this is a native-dependent parameter, since
3379 the header file @file{setjmp.h} is needed to define it.
3380
3381 This macro determines the target PC address that @code{longjmp} will jump to,
3382 assuming that we have just stopped at a @code{longjmp} breakpoint. It takes a
3383 @code{CORE_ADDR *} as argument, and stores the target PC value through this
3384 pointer. It examines the current state of the machine as needed.
3385
3386 @item DEPRECATED_GET_SAVED_REGISTER
3387 @findex DEPRECATED_GET_SAVED_REGISTER
3388 Define this if you need to supply your own definition for the function
3389 @code{DEPRECATED_GET_SAVED_REGISTER}.
3390
3391 @item DEPRECATED_IBM6000_TARGET
3392 @findex DEPRECATED_IBM6000_TARGET
3393 Shows that we are configured for an IBM RS/6000 system. This
3394 conditional should be eliminated (FIXME) and replaced by
3395 feature-specific macros. It was introduced in a haste and we are
3396 repenting at leisure.
3397
3398 @item I386_USE_GENERIC_WATCHPOINTS
3399 An x86-based target can define this to use the generic x86 watchpoint
3400 support; see @ref{Algorithms, I386_USE_GENERIC_WATCHPOINTS}.
3401
3402 @item SYMBOLS_CAN_START_WITH_DOLLAR
3403 @findex SYMBOLS_CAN_START_WITH_DOLLAR
3404 Some systems have routines whose names start with @samp{$}. Giving this
3405 macro a non-zero value tells @value{GDBN}'s expression parser to check for such
3406 routines when parsing tokens that begin with @samp{$}.
3407
3408 On HP-UX, certain system routines (millicode) have names beginning with
3409 @samp{$} or @samp{$$}. For example, @code{$$dyncall} is a millicode
3410 routine that handles inter-space procedure calls on PA-RISC.
3411
3412 @item DEPRECATED_INIT_EXTRA_FRAME_INFO (@var{fromleaf}, @var{frame})
3413 @findex DEPRECATED_INIT_EXTRA_FRAME_INFO
3414 If additional information about the frame is required this should be
3415 stored in @code{frame->extra_info}. Space for @code{frame->extra_info}
3416 is allocated using @code{frame_extra_info_zalloc}.
3417
3418 @item DEPRECATED_INIT_FRAME_PC (@var{fromleaf}, @var{prev})
3419 @findex DEPRECATED_INIT_FRAME_PC
3420 This is a C statement that sets the pc of the frame pointed to by
3421 @var{prev}. [By default...]
3422
3423 @item INNER_THAN (@var{lhs}, @var{rhs})
3424 @findex INNER_THAN
3425 Returns non-zero if stack address @var{lhs} is inner than (nearer to the
3426 stack top) stack address @var{rhs}. Define this as @code{lhs < rhs} if
3427 the target's stack grows downward in memory, or @code{lhs > rsh} if the
3428 stack grows upward.
3429
3430 @item gdbarch_in_function_epilogue_p (@var{gdbarch}, @var{pc})
3431 @findex gdbarch_in_function_epilogue_p
3432 Returns non-zero if the given @var{pc} is in the epilogue of a function.
3433 The epilogue of a function is defined as the part of a function where
3434 the stack frame of the function already has been destroyed up to the
3435 final `return from function call' instruction.
3436
3437 @item DEPRECATED_SIGTRAMP_START (@var{pc})
3438 @findex DEPRECATED_SIGTRAMP_START
3439 @itemx DEPRECATED_SIGTRAMP_END (@var{pc})
3440 @findex DEPRECATED_SIGTRAMP_END
3441 Define these to be the start and end address of the @code{sigtramp} for the
3442 given @var{pc}. On machines where the address is just a compile time
3443 constant, the macro expansion will typically just ignore the supplied
3444 @var{pc}.
3445
3446 @item IN_SOLIB_CALL_TRAMPOLINE (@var{pc}, @var{name})
3447 @findex IN_SOLIB_CALL_TRAMPOLINE
3448 Define this to evaluate to nonzero if the program is stopped in the
3449 trampoline that connects to a shared library.
3450
3451 @item IN_SOLIB_RETURN_TRAMPOLINE (@var{pc}, @var{name})
3452 @findex IN_SOLIB_RETURN_TRAMPOLINE
3453 Define this to evaluate to nonzero if the program is stopped in the
3454 trampoline that returns from a shared library.
3455
3456 @item IN_SOLIB_DYNSYM_RESOLVE_CODE (@var{pc})
3457 @findex IN_SOLIB_DYNSYM_RESOLVE_CODE
3458 Define this to evaluate to nonzero if the program is stopped in the
3459 dynamic linker.
3460
3461 @item SKIP_SOLIB_RESOLVER (@var{pc})
3462 @findex SKIP_SOLIB_RESOLVER
3463 Define this to evaluate to the (nonzero) address at which execution
3464 should continue to get past the dynamic linker's symbol resolution
3465 function. A zero value indicates that it is not important or necessary
3466 to set a breakpoint to get through the dynamic linker and that single
3467 stepping will suffice.
3468
3469 @item INTEGER_TO_ADDRESS (@var{type}, @var{buf})
3470 @findex INTEGER_TO_ADDRESS
3471 @cindex converting integers to addresses
3472 Define this when the architecture needs to handle non-pointer to address
3473 conversions specially. Converts that value to an address according to
3474 the current architectures conventions.
3475
3476 @emph{Pragmatics: When the user copies a well defined expression from
3477 their source code and passes it, as a parameter, to @value{GDBN}'s
3478 @code{print} command, they should get the same value as would have been
3479 computed by the target program. Any deviation from this rule can cause
3480 major confusion and annoyance, and needs to be justified carefully. In
3481 other words, @value{GDBN} doesn't really have the freedom to do these
3482 conversions in clever and useful ways. It has, however, been pointed
3483 out that users aren't complaining about how @value{GDBN} casts integers
3484 to pointers; they are complaining that they can't take an address from a
3485 disassembly listing and give it to @code{x/i}. Adding an architecture
3486 method like @code{INTEGER_TO_ADDRESS} certainly makes it possible for
3487 @value{GDBN} to ``get it right'' in all circumstances.}
3488
3489 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Pointers Are Not Always
3490 Addresses}.
3491
3492 @item NO_HIF_SUPPORT
3493 @findex NO_HIF_SUPPORT
3494 (Specific to the a29k.)
3495
3496 @item POINTER_TO_ADDRESS (@var{type}, @var{buf})
3497 @findex POINTER_TO_ADDRESS
3498 Assume that @var{buf} holds a pointer of type @var{type}, in the
3499 appropriate format for the current architecture. Return the byte
3500 address the pointer refers to.
3501 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Pointers Are Not Always Addresses}.
3502
3503 @item REGISTER_CONVERTIBLE (@var{reg})
3504 @findex REGISTER_CONVERTIBLE
3505 Return non-zero if @var{reg} uses different raw and virtual formats.
3506 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Raw and Virtual Register Representations}.
3507
3508 @item REGISTER_TO_VALUE(@var{regnum}, @var{type}, @var{from}, @var{to})
3509 @findex REGISTER_TO_VALUE
3510 Convert the raw contents of register @var{regnum} into a value of type
3511 @var{type}.
3512 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Using Different Register and Memory Data Representations}.
3513
3514 @item DEPRECATED_REGISTER_RAW_SIZE (@var{reg})
3515 @findex DEPRECATED_REGISTER_RAW_SIZE
3516 Return the raw size of @var{reg}; defaults to the size of the register's
3517 virtual type.
3518 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Raw and Virtual Register Representations}.
3519
3520 @item register_reggroup_p (@var{gdbarch}, @var{regnum}, @var{reggroup})
3521 @findex register_reggroup_p
3522 @cindex register groups
3523 Return non-zero if register @var{regnum} is a member of the register
3524 group @var{reggroup}.
3525
3526 By default, registers are grouped as follows:
3527
3528 @table @code
3529 @item float_reggroup
3530 Any register with a valid name and a floating-point type.
3531 @item vector_reggroup
3532 Any register with a valid name and a vector type.
3533 @item general_reggroup
3534 Any register with a valid name and a type other than vector or
3535 floating-point. @samp{float_reggroup}.
3536 @item save_reggroup
3537 @itemx restore_reggroup
3538 @itemx all_reggroup
3539 Any register with a valid name.
3540 @end table
3541
3542 @item DEPRECATED_REGISTER_VIRTUAL_SIZE (@var{reg})
3543 @findex DEPRECATED_REGISTER_VIRTUAL_SIZE
3544 Return the virtual size of @var{reg}; defaults to the size of the
3545 register's virtual type.
3546 Return the virtual size of @var{reg}.
3547 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Raw and Virtual Register Representations}.
3548
3549 @item DEPRECATED_REGISTER_VIRTUAL_TYPE (@var{reg})
3550 @findex REGISTER_VIRTUAL_TYPE
3551 Return the virtual type of @var{reg}.
3552 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Raw and Virtual Register Representations}.
3553
3554 @item struct type *register_type (@var{gdbarch}, @var{reg})
3555 @findex register_type
3556 If defined, return the type of register @var{reg}. This function
3557 superseeds @code{DEPRECATED_REGISTER_VIRTUAL_TYPE}. @xref{Target Architecture
3558 Definition, , Raw and Virtual Register Representations}.
3559
3560 @item REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_VIRTUAL(@var{reg}, @var{type}, @var{from}, @var{to})
3561 @findex REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_VIRTUAL
3562 Convert the value of register @var{reg} from its raw form to its virtual
3563 form.
3564 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Raw and Virtual Register Representations}.
3565
3566 @item REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_RAW(@var{type}, @var{reg}, @var{from}, @var{to})
3567 @findex REGISTER_CONVERT_TO_RAW
3568 Convert the value of register @var{reg} from its virtual form to its raw
3569 form.
3570 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Raw and Virtual Register Representations}.
3571
3572 @item const struct regset *regset_from_core_section (struct gdbarch * @var{gdbarch}, const char * @var{sect_name}, size_t @var{sect_size})
3573 @findex regset_from_core_section
3574 Return the appropriate register set for a core file section with name
3575 @var{sect_name} and size @var{sect_size}.
3576
3577 @item SOFTWARE_SINGLE_STEP_P()
3578 @findex SOFTWARE_SINGLE_STEP_P
3579 Define this as 1 if the target does not have a hardware single-step
3580 mechanism. The macro @code{SOFTWARE_SINGLE_STEP} must also be defined.
3581
3582 @item SOFTWARE_SINGLE_STEP(@var{signal}, @var{insert_breapoints_p})
3583 @findex SOFTWARE_SINGLE_STEP
3584 A function that inserts or removes (depending on
3585 @var{insert_breapoints_p}) breakpoints at each possible destinations of
3586 the next instruction. See @file{sparc-tdep.c} and @file{rs6000-tdep.c}
3587 for examples.
3588
3589 @item SOFUN_ADDRESS_MAYBE_MISSING
3590 @findex SOFUN_ADDRESS_MAYBE_MISSING
3591 Somebody clever observed that, the more actual addresses you have in the
3592 debug information, the more time the linker has to spend relocating
3593 them. So whenever there's some other way the debugger could find the
3594 address it needs, you should omit it from the debug info, to make
3595 linking faster.
3596
3597 @code{SOFUN_ADDRESS_MAYBE_MISSING} indicates that a particular set of
3598 hacks of this sort are in use, affecting @code{N_SO} and @code{N_FUN}
3599 entries in stabs-format debugging information. @code{N_SO} stabs mark
3600 the beginning and ending addresses of compilation units in the text
3601 segment. @code{N_FUN} stabs mark the starts and ends of functions.
3602
3603 @code{SOFUN_ADDRESS_MAYBE_MISSING} means two things:
3604
3605 @itemize @bullet
3606 @item
3607 @code{N_FUN} stabs have an address of zero. Instead, you should find the
3608 addresses where the function starts by taking the function name from
3609 the stab, and then looking that up in the minsyms (the
3610 linker/assembler symbol table). In other words, the stab has the
3611 name, and the linker/assembler symbol table is the only place that carries
3612 the address.
3613
3614 @item
3615 @code{N_SO} stabs have an address of zero, too. You just look at the
3616 @code{N_FUN} stabs that appear before and after the @code{N_SO} stab,
3617 and guess the starting and ending addresses of the compilation unit from
3618 them.
3619 @end itemize
3620
3621 @item PC_LOAD_SEGMENT
3622 @findex PC_LOAD_SEGMENT
3623 If defined, print information about the load segment for the program
3624 counter. (Defined only for the RS/6000.)
3625
3626 @item PC_REGNUM
3627 @findex PC_REGNUM
3628 If the program counter is kept in a register, then define this macro to
3629 be the number (greater than or equal to zero) of that register.
3630
3631 This should only need to be defined if @code{TARGET_READ_PC} and
3632 @code{TARGET_WRITE_PC} are not defined.
3633
3634 @item PARM_BOUNDARY
3635 @findex PARM_BOUNDARY
3636 If non-zero, round arguments to a boundary of this many bits before
3637 pushing them on the stack.
3638
3639 @item stabs_argument_has_addr (@var{gdbarch}, @var{type})
3640 @findex stabs_argument_has_addr
3641 @findex DEPRECATED_REG_STRUCT_HAS_ADDR
3642 @anchor{stabs_argument_has_addr} Define this to return nonzero if a
3643 function argument of type @var{type} is passed by reference instead of
3644 value.
3645
3646 This method replaces @code{DEPRECATED_REG_STRUCT_HAS_ADDR}
3647 (@pxref{DEPRECATED_REG_STRUCT_HAS_ADDR}).
3648
3649 @item PROCESS_LINENUMBER_HOOK
3650 @findex PROCESS_LINENUMBER_HOOK
3651 A hook defined for XCOFF reading.
3652
3653 @item PROLOGUE_FIRSTLINE_OVERLAP
3654 @findex PROLOGUE_FIRSTLINE_OVERLAP
3655 (Only used in unsupported Convex configuration.)
3656
3657 @item PS_REGNUM
3658 @findex PS_REGNUM
3659 If defined, this is the number of the processor status register. (This
3660 definition is only used in generic code when parsing "$ps".)
3661
3662 @item DEPRECATED_POP_FRAME
3663 @findex DEPRECATED_POP_FRAME
3664 @findex frame_pop
3665 If defined, used by @code{frame_pop} to remove a stack frame. This
3666 method has been superseeded by generic code.
3667
3668 @item push_dummy_call (@var{gdbarch}, @var{function}, @var{regcache}, @var{pc_addr}, @var{nargs}, @var{args}, @var{sp}, @var{struct_return}, @var{struct_addr})
3669 @findex push_dummy_call
3670 @findex DEPRECATED_PUSH_ARGUMENTS.
3671 @anchor{push_dummy_call} Define this to push the dummy frame's call to
3672 the inferior function onto the stack. In addition to pushing
3673 @var{nargs}, the code should push @var{struct_addr} (when
3674 @var{struct_return}), and the return address (@var{bp_addr}).
3675
3676 @var{function} is a pointer to a @code{struct value}; on architectures that use
3677 function descriptors, this contains the function descriptor value.
3678
3679 Returns the updated top-of-stack pointer.
3680
3681 This method replaces @code{DEPRECATED_PUSH_ARGUMENTS}.
3682
3683 @item CORE_ADDR push_dummy_code (@var{gdbarch}, @var{sp}, @var{funaddr}, @var{using_gcc}, @var{args}, @var{nargs}, @var{value_type}, @var{real_pc}, @var{bp_addr})
3684 @findex push_dummy_code
3685 @anchor{push_dummy_code} Given a stack based call dummy, push the
3686 instruction sequence (including space for a breakpoint) to which the
3687 called function should return.
3688
3689 Set @var{bp_addr} to the address at which the breakpoint instruction
3690 should be inserted, @var{real_pc} to the resume address when starting
3691 the call sequence, and return the updated inner-most stack address.
3692
3693 By default, the stack is grown sufficient to hold a frame-aligned
3694 (@pxref{frame_align}) breakpoint, @var{bp_addr} is set to the address
3695 reserved for that breakpoint, and @var{real_pc} set to @var{funaddr}.
3696
3697 This method replaces @code{CALL_DUMMY_LOCATION},
3698 @code{DEPRECATED_REGISTER_SIZE}.
3699
3700 @item REGISTER_NAME(@var{i})
3701 @findex REGISTER_NAME
3702 Return the name of register @var{i} as a string. May return @code{NULL}
3703 or @code{NUL} to indicate that register @var{i} is not valid.
3704
3705 @item DEPRECATED_REG_STRUCT_HAS_ADDR (@var{gcc_p}, @var{type})
3706 @findex DEPRECATED_REG_STRUCT_HAS_ADDR
3707 @anchor{DEPRECATED_REG_STRUCT_HAS_ADDR}Define this to return 1 if the
3708 given type will be passed by pointer rather than directly.
3709
3710 This method has been replaced by @code{stabs_argument_has_addr}
3711 (@pxref{stabs_argument_has_addr}).
3712
3713 @item SAVE_DUMMY_FRAME_TOS (@var{sp})
3714 @findex SAVE_DUMMY_FRAME_TOS
3715 @anchor{SAVE_DUMMY_FRAME_TOS} Used in @samp{call_function_by_hand} to
3716 notify the target dependent code of the top-of-stack value that will be
3717 passed to the the inferior code. This is the value of the @code{SP}
3718 after both the dummy frame and space for parameters/results have been
3719 allocated on the stack. @xref{unwind_dummy_id}.
3720
3721 @item SDB_REG_TO_REGNUM
3722 @findex SDB_REG_TO_REGNUM
3723 Define this to convert sdb register numbers into @value{GDBN} regnums. If not
3724 defined, no conversion will be done.
3725
3726 @item enum return_value_convention gdbarch_return_value (struct gdbarch *@var{gdbarch}, struct type *@var{valtype}, struct regcache *@var{regcache}, void *@var{readbuf}, const void *@var{writebuf})
3727 @findex gdbarch_return_value
3728 @anchor{gdbarch_return_value} Given a function with a return-value of
3729 type @var{rettype}, return which return-value convention that function
3730 would use.
3731
3732 @value{GDBN} currently recognizes two function return-value conventions:
3733 @code{RETURN_VALUE_REGISTER_CONVENTION} where the return value is found
3734 in registers; and @code{RETURN_VALUE_STRUCT_CONVENTION} where the return
3735 value is found in memory and the address of that memory location is
3736 passed in as the function's first parameter.
3737
3738 If the register convention is being used, and @var{writebuf} is
3739 non-@code{NULL}, also copy the return-value in @var{writebuf} into
3740 @var{regcache}.
3741
3742 If the register convention is being used, and @var{readbuf} is
3743 non-@code{NULL}, also copy the return value from @var{regcache} into
3744 @var{readbuf} (@var{regcache} contains a copy of the registers from the
3745 just returned function).
3746
3747 @xref{DEPRECATED_EXTRACT_STRUCT_VALUE_ADDRESS}, for a description of how
3748 return-values that use the struct convention are handled.
3749
3750 @emph{Maintainer note: This method replaces separate predicate, extract,
3751 store methods. By having only one method, the logic needed to determine
3752 the return-value convention need only be implemented in one place. If
3753 @value{GDBN} were written in an @sc{oo} language, this method would
3754 instead return an object that knew how to perform the register
3755 return-value extract and store.}
3756
3757 @emph{Maintainer note: This method does not take a @var{gcc_p}
3758 parameter, and such a parameter should not be added. If an architecture
3759 that requires per-compiler or per-function information be identified,
3760 then the replacement of @var{rettype} with @code{struct value}
3761 @var{function} should be persued.}
3762
3763 @emph{Maintainer note: The @var{regcache} parameter limits this methods
3764 to the inner most frame. While replacing @var{regcache} with a
3765 @code{struct frame_info} @var{frame} parameter would remove that
3766 limitation there has yet to be a demonstrated need for such a change.}
3767
3768 @item SKIP_PERMANENT_BREAKPOINT
3769 @findex SKIP_PERMANENT_BREAKPOINT
3770 Advance the inferior's PC past a permanent breakpoint. @value{GDBN} normally
3771 steps over a breakpoint by removing it, stepping one instruction, and
3772 re-inserting the breakpoint. However, permanent breakpoints are
3773 hardwired into the inferior, and can't be removed, so this strategy
3774 doesn't work. Calling @code{SKIP_PERMANENT_BREAKPOINT} adjusts the processor's
3775 state so that execution will resume just after the breakpoint. This
3776 macro does the right thing even when the breakpoint is in the delay slot
3777 of a branch or jump.
3778
3779 @item SKIP_PROLOGUE (@var{pc})
3780 @findex SKIP_PROLOGUE
3781 A C expression that returns the address of the ``real'' code beyond the
3782 function entry prologue found at @var{pc}.
3783
3784 @item SKIP_TRAMPOLINE_CODE (@var{pc})
3785 @findex SKIP_TRAMPOLINE_CODE
3786 If the target machine has trampoline code that sits between callers and
3787 the functions being called, then define this macro to return a new PC
3788 that is at the start of the real function.
3789
3790 @item SP_REGNUM
3791 @findex SP_REGNUM
3792 If the stack-pointer is kept in a register, then define this macro to be
3793 the number (greater than or equal to zero) of that register, or -1 if
3794 there is no such register.
3795
3796 @item STAB_REG_TO_REGNUM
3797 @findex STAB_REG_TO_REGNUM
3798 Define this to convert stab register numbers (as gotten from `r'
3799 declarations) into @value{GDBN} regnums. If not defined, no conversion will be
3800 done.
3801
3802 @item DEPRECATED_STACK_ALIGN (@var{addr})
3803 @anchor{DEPRECATED_STACK_ALIGN}
3804 @findex DEPRECATED_STACK_ALIGN
3805 Define this to increase @var{addr} so that it meets the alignment
3806 requirements for the processor's stack.
3807
3808 Unlike @ref{frame_align}, this function always adjusts @var{addr}
3809 upwards.
3810
3811 By default, no stack alignment is performed.
3812
3813 @item STEP_SKIPS_DELAY (@var{addr})
3814 @findex STEP_SKIPS_DELAY
3815 Define this to return true if the address is of an instruction with a
3816 delay slot. If a breakpoint has been placed in the instruction's delay
3817 slot, @value{GDBN} will single-step over that instruction before resuming
3818 normally. Currently only defined for the Mips.
3819
3820 @item STORE_RETURN_VALUE (@var{type}, @var{regcache}, @var{valbuf})
3821 @findex STORE_RETURN_VALUE
3822 A C expression that writes the function return value, found in
3823 @var{valbuf}, into the @var{regcache}. @var{type} is the type of the
3824 value that is to be returned.
3825
3826 This method has been deprecated in favour of @code{gdbarch_return_value}
3827 (@pxref{gdbarch_return_value}).
3828
3829 @item SYMBOL_RELOADING_DEFAULT
3830 @findex SYMBOL_RELOADING_DEFAULT
3831 The default value of the ``symbol-reloading'' variable. (Never defined in
3832 current sources.)
3833
3834 @item TARGET_CHAR_BIT
3835 @findex TARGET_CHAR_BIT
3836 Number of bits in a char; defaults to 8.
3837
3838 @item TARGET_CHAR_SIGNED
3839 @findex TARGET_CHAR_SIGNED
3840 Non-zero if @code{char} is normally signed on this architecture; zero if
3841 it should be unsigned.
3842
3843 The ISO C standard requires the compiler to treat @code{char} as
3844 equivalent to either @code{signed char} or @code{unsigned char}; any
3845 character in the standard execution set is supposed to be positive.
3846 Most compilers treat @code{char} as signed, but @code{char} is unsigned
3847 on the IBM S/390, RS6000, and PowerPC targets.
3848
3849 @item TARGET_COMPLEX_BIT
3850 @findex TARGET_COMPLEX_BIT
3851 Number of bits in a complex number; defaults to @code{2 * TARGET_FLOAT_BIT}.
3852
3853 At present this macro is not used.
3854
3855 @item TARGET_DOUBLE_BIT
3856 @findex TARGET_DOUBLE_BIT
3857 Number of bits in a double float; defaults to @code{8 * TARGET_CHAR_BIT}.
3858
3859 @item TARGET_DOUBLE_COMPLEX_BIT
3860 @findex TARGET_DOUBLE_COMPLEX_BIT
3861 Number of bits in a double complex; defaults to @code{2 * TARGET_DOUBLE_BIT}.
3862
3863 At present this macro is not used.
3864
3865 @item TARGET_FLOAT_BIT
3866 @findex TARGET_FLOAT_BIT
3867 Number of bits in a float; defaults to @code{4 * TARGET_CHAR_BIT}.
3868
3869 @item TARGET_INT_BIT
3870 @findex TARGET_INT_BIT
3871 Number of bits in an integer; defaults to @code{4 * TARGET_CHAR_BIT}.
3872
3873 @item TARGET_LONG_BIT
3874 @findex TARGET_LONG_BIT
3875 Number of bits in a long integer; defaults to @code{4 * TARGET_CHAR_BIT}.
3876
3877 @item TARGET_LONG_DOUBLE_BIT
3878 @findex TARGET_LONG_DOUBLE_BIT
3879 Number of bits in a long double float;
3880 defaults to @code{2 * TARGET_DOUBLE_BIT}.
3881
3882 @item TARGET_LONG_LONG_BIT
3883 @findex TARGET_LONG_LONG_BIT
3884 Number of bits in a long long integer; defaults to @code{2 * TARGET_LONG_BIT}.
3885
3886 @item TARGET_PTR_BIT
3887 @findex TARGET_PTR_BIT
3888 Number of bits in a pointer; defaults to @code{TARGET_INT_BIT}.
3889
3890 @item TARGET_SHORT_BIT
3891 @findex TARGET_SHORT_BIT
3892 Number of bits in a short integer; defaults to @code{2 * TARGET_CHAR_BIT}.
3893
3894 @item TARGET_READ_PC
3895 @findex TARGET_READ_PC
3896 @itemx TARGET_WRITE_PC (@var{val}, @var{pid})
3897 @findex TARGET_WRITE_PC
3898 @anchor{TARGET_WRITE_PC}
3899 @itemx TARGET_READ_SP
3900 @findex TARGET_READ_SP
3901 @itemx TARGET_READ_FP
3902 @findex TARGET_READ_FP
3903 @findex read_pc
3904 @findex write_pc
3905 @findex read_sp
3906 @findex read_fp
3907 @anchor{TARGET_READ_SP} These change the behavior of @code{read_pc},
3908 @code{write_pc}, and @code{read_sp}. For most targets, these may be
3909 left undefined. @value{GDBN} will call the read and write register
3910 functions with the relevant @code{_REGNUM} argument.
3911
3912 These macros are useful when a target keeps one of these registers in a
3913 hard to get at place; for example, part in a segment register and part
3914 in an ordinary register.
3915
3916 @xref{unwind_sp}, which replaces @code{TARGET_READ_SP}.
3917
3918 @item TARGET_VIRTUAL_FRAME_POINTER(@var{pc}, @var{regp}, @var{offsetp})
3919 @findex TARGET_VIRTUAL_FRAME_POINTER
3920 Returns a @code{(register, offset)} pair representing the virtual frame
3921 pointer in use at the code address @var{pc}. If virtual frame pointers
3922 are not used, a default definition simply returns
3923 @code{DEPRECATED_FP_REGNUM}, with an offset of zero.
3924
3925 @item TARGET_HAS_HARDWARE_WATCHPOINTS
3926 If non-zero, the target has support for hardware-assisted
3927 watchpoints. @xref{Algorithms, watchpoints}, for more details and
3928 other related macros.
3929
3930 @item TARGET_PRINT_INSN (@var{addr}, @var{info})
3931 @findex TARGET_PRINT_INSN
3932 This is the function used by @value{GDBN} to print an assembly
3933 instruction. It prints the instruction at address @var{addr} in
3934 debugged memory and returns the length of the instruction, in bytes. If
3935 a target doesn't define its own printing routine, it defaults to an
3936 accessor function for the global pointer
3937 @code{deprecated_tm_print_insn}. This usually points to a function in
3938 the @code{opcodes} library (@pxref{Support Libraries, ,Opcodes}).
3939 @var{info} is a structure (of type @code{disassemble_info}) defined in
3940 @file{include/dis-asm.h} used to pass information to the instruction
3941 decoding routine.
3942
3943 @item struct frame_id unwind_dummy_id (struct frame_info *@var{frame})
3944 @findex unwind_dummy_id
3945 @anchor{unwind_dummy_id} Given @var{frame} return a @code{struct
3946 frame_id} that uniquely identifies an inferior function call's dummy
3947 frame. The value returned must match the dummy frame stack value
3948 previously saved using @code{SAVE_DUMMY_FRAME_TOS}.
3949 @xref{SAVE_DUMMY_FRAME_TOS}.
3950
3951 @item DEPRECATED_USE_STRUCT_CONVENTION (@var{gcc_p}, @var{type})
3952 @findex DEPRECATED_USE_STRUCT_CONVENTION
3953 If defined, this must be an expression that is nonzero if a value of the
3954 given @var{type} being returned from a function must have space
3955 allocated for it on the stack. @var{gcc_p} is true if the function
3956 being considered is known to have been compiled by GCC; this is helpful
3957 for systems where GCC is known to use different calling convention than
3958 other compilers.
3959
3960 This method has been deprecated in favour of @code{gdbarch_return_value}
3961 (@pxref{gdbarch_return_value}).
3962
3963 @item VALUE_TO_REGISTER(@var{type}, @var{regnum}, @var{from}, @var{to})
3964 @findex VALUE_TO_REGISTER
3965 Convert a value of type @var{type} into the raw contents of register
3966 @var{regnum}'s.
3967 @xref{Target Architecture Definition, , Using Different Register and Memory Data Representations}.
3968
3969 @item VARIABLES_INSIDE_BLOCK (@var{desc}, @var{gcc_p})
3970 @findex VARIABLES_INSIDE_BLOCK
3971 For dbx-style debugging information, if the compiler puts variable
3972 declarations inside LBRAC/RBRAC blocks, this should be defined to be
3973 nonzero. @var{desc} is the value of @code{n_desc} from the
3974 @code{N_RBRAC} symbol, and @var{gcc_p} is true if @value{GDBN} has noticed the
3975 presence of either the @code{GCC_COMPILED_SYMBOL} or the
3976 @code{GCC2_COMPILED_SYMBOL}. By default, this is 0.
3977
3978 @item OS9K_VARIABLES_INSIDE_BLOCK (@var{desc}, @var{gcc_p})
3979 @findex OS9K_VARIABLES_INSIDE_BLOCK
3980 Similarly, for OS/9000. Defaults to 1.
3981 @end table
3982
3983 Motorola M68K target conditionals.
3984
3985 @ftable @code
3986 @item BPT_VECTOR
3987 Define this to be the 4-bit location of the breakpoint trap vector. If
3988 not defined, it will default to @code{0xf}.
3989
3990 @item REMOTE_BPT_VECTOR
3991 Defaults to @code{1}.
3992
3993 @item NAME_OF_MALLOC
3994 @findex NAME_OF_MALLOC
3995 A string containing the name of the function to call in order to
3996 allocate some memory in the inferior. The default value is "malloc".
3997
3998 @end ftable
3999
4000 @section Adding a New Target
4001
4002 @cindex adding a target
4003 The following files add a target to @value{GDBN}:
4004
4005 @table @file
4006 @vindex TDEPFILES
4007 @item gdb/config/@var{arch}/@var{ttt}.mt
4008 Contains a Makefile fragment specific to this target. Specifies what
4009 object files are needed for target @var{ttt}, by defining
4010 @samp{TDEPFILES=@dots{}} and @samp{TDEPLIBS=@dots{}}. Also specifies
4011 the header file which describes @var{ttt}, by defining @samp{TM_FILE=
4012 tm-@var{ttt}.h}.
4013
4014 You can also define @samp{TM_CFLAGS}, @samp{TM_CLIBS}, @samp{TM_CDEPS},
4015 but these are now deprecated, replaced by autoconf, and may go away in
4016 future versions of @value{GDBN}.
4017
4018 @item gdb/@var{ttt}-tdep.c
4019 Contains any miscellaneous code required for this target machine. On
4020 some machines it doesn't exist at all. Sometimes the macros in
4021 @file{tm-@var{ttt}.h} become very complicated, so they are implemented
4022 as functions here instead, and the macro is simply defined to call the
4023 function. This is vastly preferable, since it is easier to understand
4024 and debug.
4025
4026 @item gdb/@var{arch}-tdep.c
4027 @itemx gdb/@var{arch}-tdep.h
4028 This often exists to describe the basic layout of the target machine's
4029 processor chip (registers, stack, etc.). If used, it is included by
4030 @file{@var{ttt}-tdep.h}. It can be shared among many targets that use
4031 the same processor.
4032
4033 @item gdb/config/@var{arch}/tm-@var{ttt}.h
4034 (@file{tm.h} is a link to this file, created by @code{configure}). Contains
4035 macro definitions about the target machine's registers, stack frame
4036 format and instructions.
4037
4038 New targets do not need this file and should not create it.
4039
4040 @item gdb/config/@var{arch}/tm-@var{arch}.h
4041 This often exists to describe the basic layout of the target machine's
4042 processor chip (registers, stack, etc.). If used, it is included by
4043 @file{tm-@var{ttt}.h}. It can be shared among many targets that use the
4044 same processor.
4045
4046 New targets do not need this file and should not create it.
4047
4048 @end table
4049
4050 If you are adding a new operating system for an existing CPU chip, add a
4051 @file{config/tm-@var{os}.h} file that describes the operating system
4052 facilities that are unusual (extra symbol table info; the breakpoint
4053 instruction needed; etc.). Then write a @file{@var{arch}/tm-@var{os}.h}
4054 that just @code{#include}s @file{tm-@var{arch}.h} and
4055 @file{config/tm-@var{os}.h}.
4056
4057
4058 @section Converting an existing Target Architecture to Multi-arch
4059 @cindex converting targets to multi-arch
4060
4061 This section describes the current accepted best practice for converting
4062 an existing target architecture to the multi-arch framework.
4063
4064 The process consists of generating, testing, posting and committing a
4065 sequence of patches. Each patch must contain a single change, for
4066 instance:
4067
4068 @itemize @bullet
4069
4070 @item
4071 Directly convert a group of functions into macros (the conversion does
4072 not change the behavior of any of the functions).
4073
4074 @item
4075 Replace a non-multi-arch with a multi-arch mechanism (e.g.,
4076 @code{FRAME_INFO}).
4077
4078 @item
4079 Enable multi-arch level one.
4080
4081 @item
4082 Delete one or more files.
4083
4084 @end itemize
4085
4086 @noindent
4087 There isn't a size limit on a patch, however, a developer is strongly
4088 encouraged to keep the patch size down.
4089
4090 Since each patch is well defined, and since each change has been tested
4091 and shows no regressions, the patches are considered @emph{fairly}
4092 obvious. Such patches, when submitted by developers listed in the
4093 @file{MAINTAINERS} file, do not need approval. Occasional steps in the
4094 process may be more complicated and less clear. The developer is
4095 expected to use their judgment and is encouraged to seek advice as
4096 needed.
4097
4098 @subsection Preparation
4099
4100 The first step is to establish control. Build (with @option{-Werror}
4101 enabled) and test the target so that there is a baseline against which
4102 the debugger can be compared.
4103
4104 At no stage can the test results regress or @value{GDBN} stop compiling
4105 with @option{-Werror}.
4106
4107 @subsection Add the multi-arch initialization code
4108
4109 The objective of this step is to establish the basic multi-arch
4110 framework. It involves
4111
4112 @itemize @bullet
4113
4114 @item
4115 The addition of a @code{@var{arch}_gdbarch_init} function@footnote{The
4116 above is from the original example and uses K&R C. @value{GDBN}
4117 has since converted to ISO C but lets ignore that.} that creates
4118 the architecture:
4119 @smallexample
4120 static struct gdbarch *
4121 d10v_gdbarch_init (info, arches)
4122 struct gdbarch_info info;
4123 struct gdbarch_list *arches;
4124 @{
4125 struct gdbarch *gdbarch;
4126 /* there is only one d10v architecture */
4127 if (arches != NULL)
4128 return arches->gdbarch;
4129 gdbarch = gdbarch_alloc (&info, NULL);
4130 return gdbarch;
4131 @}
4132 @end smallexample
4133 @noindent
4134 @emph{}
4135
4136 @item
4137 A per-architecture dump function to print any architecture specific
4138 information:
4139 @smallexample
4140 static void
4141 mips_dump_tdep (struct gdbarch *current_gdbarch,
4142 struct ui_file *file)
4143 @{
4144 @dots{} code to print architecture specific info @dots{}
4145 @}
4146 @end smallexample
4147
4148 @item
4149 A change to @code{_initialize_@var{arch}_tdep} to register this new
4150 architecture:
4151 @smallexample
4152 void
4153 _initialize_mips_tdep (void)
4154 @{
4155 gdbarch_register (bfd_arch_mips, mips_gdbarch_init,
4156 mips_dump_tdep);
4157 @end smallexample
4158
4159 @item
4160 Add the macro @code{GDB_MULTI_ARCH}, defined as 0 (zero), to the file@*
4161 @file{config/@var{arch}/tm-@var{arch}.h}.
4162
4163 @end itemize
4164
4165 @subsection Update multi-arch incompatible mechanisms
4166
4167 Some mechanisms do not work with multi-arch. They include:
4168
4169 @table @code
4170 @item FRAME_FIND_SAVED_REGS
4171 Replaced with @code{DEPRECATED_FRAME_INIT_SAVED_REGS}
4172 @end table
4173
4174 @noindent
4175 At this stage you could also consider converting the macros into
4176 functions.
4177
4178 @subsection Prepare for multi-arch level to one
4179
4180 Temporally set @code{GDB_MULTI_ARCH} to @code{GDB_MULTI_ARCH_PARTIAL}
4181 and then build and start @value{GDBN} (the change should not be
4182 committed). @value{GDBN} may not build, and once built, it may die with
4183 an internal error listing the architecture methods that must be
4184 provided.
4185
4186 Fix any build problems (patch(es)).
4187
4188 Convert all the architecture methods listed, which are only macros, into
4189 functions (patch(es)).
4190
4191 Update @code{@var{arch}_gdbarch_init} to set all the missing
4192 architecture methods and wrap the corresponding macros in @code{#if
4193 !GDB_MULTI_ARCH} (patch(es)).
4194
4195 @subsection Set multi-arch level one
4196
4197 Change the value of @code{GDB_MULTI_ARCH} to GDB_MULTI_ARCH_PARTIAL (a
4198 single patch).
4199
4200 Any problems with throwing ``the switch'' should have been fixed
4201 already.
4202
4203 @subsection Convert remaining macros
4204
4205 Suggest converting macros into functions (and setting the corresponding
4206 architecture method) in small batches.
4207
4208 @subsection Set multi-arch level to two
4209
4210 This should go smoothly.
4211
4212 @subsection Delete the TM file
4213
4214 The @file{tm-@var{arch}.h} can be deleted. @file{@var{arch}.mt} and
4215 @file{configure.in} updated.
4216
4217
4218 @node Target Vector Definition
4219
4220 @chapter Target Vector Definition
4221 @cindex target vector
4222
4223 The target vector defines the interface between @value{GDBN}'s
4224 abstract handling of target systems, and the nitty-gritty code that
4225 actually exercises control over a process or a serial port.
4226 @value{GDBN} includes some 30-40 different target vectors; however,
4227 each configuration of @value{GDBN} includes only a few of them.
4228
4229 @section File Targets
4230
4231 Both executables and core files have target vectors.
4232
4233 @section Standard Protocol and Remote Stubs
4234
4235 @value{GDBN}'s file @file{remote.c} talks a serial protocol to code
4236 that runs in the target system. @value{GDBN} provides several sample
4237 @dfn{stubs} that can be integrated into target programs or operating
4238 systems for this purpose; they are named @file{*-stub.c}.
4239
4240 The @value{GDBN} user's manual describes how to put such a stub into
4241 your target code. What follows is a discussion of integrating the
4242 SPARC stub into a complicated operating system (rather than a simple
4243 program), by Stu Grossman, the author of this stub.
4244
4245 The trap handling code in the stub assumes the following upon entry to
4246 @code{trap_low}:
4247
4248 @enumerate
4249 @item
4250 %l1 and %l2 contain pc and npc respectively at the time of the trap;
4251
4252 @item
4253 traps are disabled;
4254
4255 @item
4256 you are in the correct trap window.
4257 @end enumerate
4258
4259 As long as your trap handler can guarantee those conditions, then there
4260 is no reason why you shouldn't be able to ``share'' traps with the stub.
4261 The stub has no requirement that it be jumped to directly from the
4262 hardware trap vector. That is why it calls @code{exceptionHandler()},
4263 which is provided by the external environment. For instance, this could
4264 set up the hardware traps to actually execute code which calls the stub
4265 first, and then transfers to its own trap handler.
4266
4267 For the most point, there probably won't be much of an issue with
4268 ``sharing'' traps, as the traps we use are usually not used by the kernel,
4269 and often indicate unrecoverable error conditions. Anyway, this is all
4270 controlled by a table, and is trivial to modify. The most important
4271 trap for us is for @code{ta 1}. Without that, we can't single step or
4272 do breakpoints. Everything else is unnecessary for the proper operation
4273 of the debugger/stub.
4274
4275 From reading the stub, it's probably not obvious how breakpoints work.
4276 They are simply done by deposit/examine operations from @value{GDBN}.
4277
4278 @section ROM Monitor Interface
4279
4280 @section Custom Protocols
4281
4282 @section Transport Layer
4283
4284 @section Builtin Simulator
4285
4286
4287 @node Native Debugging
4288
4289 @chapter Native Debugging
4290 @cindex native debugging
4291
4292 Several files control @value{GDBN}'s configuration for native support:
4293
4294 @table @file
4295 @vindex NATDEPFILES
4296 @item gdb/config/@var{arch}/@var{xyz}.mh
4297 Specifies Makefile fragments needed by a @emph{native} configuration on
4298 machine @var{xyz}. In particular, this lists the required
4299 native-dependent object files, by defining @samp{NATDEPFILES=@dots{}}.
4300 Also specifies the header file which describes native support on
4301 @var{xyz}, by defining @samp{NAT_FILE= nm-@var{xyz}.h}. You can also
4302 define @samp{NAT_CFLAGS}, @samp{NAT_ADD_FILES}, @samp{NAT_CLIBS},
4303 @samp{NAT_CDEPS}, etc.; see @file{Makefile.in}.
4304
4305 @emph{Maintainer's note: The @file{.mh} suffix is because this file
4306 originally contained @file{Makefile} fragments for hosting @value{GDBN}
4307 on machine @var{xyz}. While the file is no longer used for this
4308 purpose, the @file{.mh} suffix remains. Perhaps someone will
4309 eventually rename these fragments so that they have a @file{.mn}
4310 suffix.}
4311
4312 @item gdb/config/@var{arch}/nm-@var{xyz}.h
4313 (@file{nm.h} is a link to this file, created by @code{configure}). Contains C
4314 macro definitions describing the native system environment, such as
4315 child process control and core file support.
4316
4317 @item gdb/@var{xyz}-nat.c
4318 Contains any miscellaneous C code required for this native support of
4319 this machine. On some machines it doesn't exist at all.
4320 @end table
4321
4322 There are some ``generic'' versions of routines that can be used by
4323 various systems. These can be customized in various ways by macros
4324 defined in your @file{nm-@var{xyz}.h} file. If these routines work for
4325 the @var{xyz} host, you can just include the generic file's name (with
4326 @samp{.o}, not @samp{.c}) in @code{NATDEPFILES}.
4327
4328 Otherwise, if your machine needs custom support routines, you will need
4329 to write routines that perform the same functions as the generic file.
4330 Put them into @file{@var{xyz}-nat.c}, and put @file{@var{xyz}-nat.o}
4331 into @code{NATDEPFILES}.
4332
4333 @table @file
4334 @item inftarg.c
4335 This contains the @emph{target_ops vector} that supports Unix child
4336 processes on systems which use ptrace and wait to control the child.
4337
4338 @item procfs.c
4339 This contains the @emph{target_ops vector} that supports Unix child
4340 processes on systems which use /proc to control the child.
4341
4342 @item fork-child.c
4343 This does the low-level grunge that uses Unix system calls to do a ``fork
4344 and exec'' to start up a child process.
4345
4346 @item infptrace.c
4347 This is the low level interface to inferior processes for systems using
4348 the Unix @code{ptrace} call in a vanilla way.
4349 @end table
4350
4351 @section Native core file Support
4352 @cindex native core files
4353
4354 @table @file
4355 @findex fetch_core_registers
4356 @item core-aout.c::fetch_core_registers()
4357 Support for reading registers out of a core file. This routine calls
4358 @code{register_addr()}, see below. Now that BFD is used to read core
4359 files, virtually all machines should use @code{core-aout.c}, and should
4360 just provide @code{fetch_core_registers} in @code{@var{xyz}-nat.c} (or
4361 @code{REGISTER_U_ADDR} in @code{nm-@var{xyz}.h}).
4362
4363 @item core-aout.c::register_addr()
4364 If your @code{nm-@var{xyz}.h} file defines the macro
4365 @code{REGISTER_U_ADDR(addr, blockend, regno)}, it should be defined to
4366 set @code{addr} to the offset within the @samp{user} struct of @value{GDBN}
4367 register number @code{regno}. @code{blockend} is the offset within the
4368 ``upage'' of @code{u.u_ar0}. If @code{REGISTER_U_ADDR} is defined,
4369 @file{core-aout.c} will define the @code{register_addr()} function and
4370 use the macro in it. If you do not define @code{REGISTER_U_ADDR}, but
4371 you are using the standard @code{fetch_core_registers()}, you will need
4372 to define your own version of @code{register_addr()}, put it into your
4373 @code{@var{xyz}-nat.c} file, and be sure @code{@var{xyz}-nat.o} is in
4374 the @code{NATDEPFILES} list. If you have your own
4375 @code{fetch_core_registers()}, you may not need a separate
4376 @code{register_addr()}. Many custom @code{fetch_core_registers()}
4377 implementations simply locate the registers themselves.@refill
4378 @end table
4379
4380 When making @value{GDBN} run native on a new operating system, to make it
4381 possible to debug core files, you will need to either write specific
4382 code for parsing your OS's core files, or customize
4383 @file{bfd/trad-core.c}. First, use whatever @code{#include} files your
4384 machine uses to define the struct of registers that is accessible
4385 (possibly in the u-area) in a core file (rather than
4386 @file{machine/reg.h}), and an include file that defines whatever header
4387 exists on a core file (e.g., the u-area or a @code{struct core}). Then
4388 modify @code{trad_unix_core_file_p} to use these values to set up the
4389 section information for the data segment, stack segment, any other
4390 segments in the core file (perhaps shared library contents or control
4391 information), ``registers'' segment, and if there are two discontiguous
4392 sets of registers (e.g., integer and float), the ``reg2'' segment. This
4393 section information basically delimits areas in the core file in a
4394 standard way, which the section-reading routines in BFD know how to seek
4395 around in.
4396
4397 Then back in @value{GDBN}, you need a matching routine called
4398 @code{fetch_core_registers}. If you can use the generic one, it's in
4399 @file{core-aout.c}; if not, it's in your @file{@var{xyz}-nat.c} file.
4400 It will be passed a char pointer to the entire ``registers'' segment,
4401 its length, and a zero; or a char pointer to the entire ``regs2''
4402 segment, its length, and a 2. The routine should suck out the supplied
4403 register values and install them into @value{GDBN}'s ``registers'' array.
4404
4405 If your system uses @file{/proc} to control processes, and uses ELF
4406 format core files, then you may be able to use the same routines for
4407 reading the registers out of processes and out of core files.
4408
4409 @section ptrace
4410
4411 @section /proc
4412
4413 @section win32
4414
4415 @section shared libraries
4416
4417 @section Native Conditionals
4418 @cindex native conditionals
4419
4420 When @value{GDBN} is configured and compiled, various macros are
4421 defined or left undefined, to control compilation when the host and
4422 target systems are the same. These macros should be defined (or left
4423 undefined) in @file{nm-@var{system}.h}.
4424
4425 @table @code
4426
4427 @item CHILD_PREPARE_TO_STORE
4428 @findex CHILD_PREPARE_TO_STORE
4429 If the machine stores all registers at once in the child process, then
4430 define this to ensure that all values are correct. This usually entails
4431 a read from the child.
4432
4433 [Note that this is incorrectly defined in @file{xm-@var{system}.h} files
4434 currently.]
4435
4436 @item FETCH_INFERIOR_REGISTERS
4437 @findex FETCH_INFERIOR_REGISTERS
4438 Define this if the native-dependent code will provide its own routines
4439 @code{fetch_inferior_registers} and @code{store_inferior_registers} in
4440 @file{@var{host}-nat.c}. If this symbol is @emph{not} defined, and
4441 @file{infptrace.c} is included in this configuration, the default
4442 routines in @file{infptrace.c} are used for these functions.
4443
4444 @item FP0_REGNUM
4445 @findex FP0_REGNUM
4446 This macro is normally defined to be the number of the first floating
4447 point register, if the machine has such registers. As such, it would
4448 appear only in target-specific code. However, @file{/proc} support uses this
4449 to decide whether floats are in use on this target.
4450
4451 @item GET_LONGJMP_TARGET
4452 @findex GET_LONGJMP_TARGET
4453 For most machines, this is a target-dependent parameter. On the
4454 DECstation and the Iris, this is a native-dependent parameter, since
4455 @file{setjmp.h} is needed to define it.
4456
4457 This macro determines the target PC address that @code{longjmp} will jump to,
4458 assuming that we have just stopped at a longjmp breakpoint. It takes a
4459 @code{CORE_ADDR *} as argument, and stores the target PC value through this
4460 pointer. It examines the current state of the machine as needed.
4461
4462 @item I386_USE_GENERIC_WATCHPOINTS
4463 An x86-based machine can define this to use the generic x86 watchpoint
4464 support; see @ref{Algorithms, I386_USE_GENERIC_WATCHPOINTS}.
4465
4466 @item KERNEL_U_ADDR
4467 @findex KERNEL_U_ADDR
4468 Define this to the address of the @code{u} structure (the ``user
4469 struct'', also known as the ``u-page'') in kernel virtual memory. @value{GDBN}
4470 needs to know this so that it can subtract this address from absolute
4471 addresses in the upage, that are obtained via ptrace or from core files.
4472 On systems that don't need this value, set it to zero.
4473
4474 @item KERNEL_U_ADDR_HPUX
4475 @findex KERNEL_U_ADDR_HPUX
4476 Define this to cause @value{GDBN} to determine the address of @code{u} at
4477 runtime, by using HP-style @code{nlist} on the kernel's image in the
4478 root directory.
4479
4480 @item ONE_PROCESS_WRITETEXT
4481 @findex ONE_PROCESS_WRITETEXT
4482 Define this to be able to, when a breakpoint insertion fails, warn the
4483 user that another process may be running with the same executable.
4484
4485 @item PROC_NAME_FMT
4486 @findex PROC_NAME_FMT
4487 Defines the format for the name of a @file{/proc} device. Should be
4488 defined in @file{nm.h} @emph{only} in order to override the default
4489 definition in @file{procfs.c}.
4490
4491 @item PTRACE_ARG3_TYPE
4492 @findex PTRACE_ARG3_TYPE
4493 The type of the third argument to the @code{ptrace} system call, if it
4494 exists and is different from @code{int}.
4495
4496 @item REGISTER_U_ADDR
4497 @findex REGISTER_U_ADDR
4498 Defines the offset of the registers in the ``u area''.
4499
4500 @item SHELL_COMMAND_CONCAT
4501 @findex SHELL_COMMAND_CONCAT
4502 If defined, is a string to prefix on the shell command used to start the
4503 inferior.
4504
4505 @item SHELL_FILE
4506 @findex SHELL_FILE
4507 If defined, this is the name of the shell to use to run the inferior.
4508 Defaults to @code{"/bin/sh"}.
4509
4510 @item SOLIB_ADD (@var{filename}, @var{from_tty}, @var{targ}, @var{readsyms})
4511 @findex SOLIB_ADD
4512 Define this to expand into an expression that will cause the symbols in
4513 @var{filename} to be added to @value{GDBN}'s symbol table. If
4514 @var{readsyms} is zero symbols are not read but any necessary low level
4515 processing for @var{filename} is still done.
4516
4517 @item SOLIB_CREATE_INFERIOR_HOOK
4518 @findex SOLIB_CREATE_INFERIOR_HOOK
4519 Define this to expand into any shared-library-relocation code that you
4520 want to be run just after the child process has been forked.
4521
4522 @item START_INFERIOR_TRAPS_EXPECTED
4523 @findex START_INFERIOR_TRAPS_EXPECTED
4524 When starting an inferior, @value{GDBN} normally expects to trap
4525 twice; once when
4526 the shell execs, and once when the program itself execs. If the actual
4527 number of traps is something other than 2, then define this macro to
4528 expand into the number expected.
4529
4530 @item USE_PROC_FS
4531 @findex USE_PROC_FS
4532 This determines whether small routines in @file{*-tdep.c}, which
4533 translate register values between @value{GDBN}'s internal
4534 representation and the @file{/proc} representation, are compiled.
4535
4536 @item U_REGS_OFFSET
4537 @findex U_REGS_OFFSET
4538 This is the offset of the registers in the upage. It need only be
4539 defined if the generic ptrace register access routines in
4540 @file{infptrace.c} are being used (that is, @file{infptrace.c} is
4541 configured in, and @code{FETCH_INFERIOR_REGISTERS} is not defined). If
4542 the default value from @file{infptrace.c} is good enough, leave it
4543 undefined.
4544
4545 The default value means that u.u_ar0 @emph{points to} the location of
4546 the registers. I'm guessing that @code{#define U_REGS_OFFSET 0} means
4547 that @code{u.u_ar0} @emph{is} the location of the registers.
4548
4549 @item CLEAR_SOLIB
4550 @findex CLEAR_SOLIB
4551 See @file{objfiles.c}.
4552
4553 @item DEBUG_PTRACE
4554 @findex DEBUG_PTRACE
4555 Define this to debug @code{ptrace} calls.
4556 @end table
4557
4558
4559 @node Support Libraries
4560
4561 @chapter Support Libraries
4562
4563 @section BFD
4564 @cindex BFD library
4565
4566 BFD provides support for @value{GDBN} in several ways:
4567
4568 @table @emph
4569 @item identifying executable and core files
4570 BFD will identify a variety of file types, including a.out, coff, and
4571 several variants thereof, as well as several kinds of core files.
4572
4573 @item access to sections of files
4574 BFD parses the file headers to determine the names, virtual addresses,
4575 sizes, and file locations of all the various named sections in files
4576 (such as the text section or the data section). @value{GDBN} simply
4577 calls BFD to read or write section @var{x} at byte offset @var{y} for
4578 length @var{z}.
4579
4580 @item specialized core file support
4581 BFD provides routines to determine the failing command name stored in a
4582 core file, the signal with which the program failed, and whether a core
4583 file matches (i.e.@: could be a core dump of) a particular executable
4584 file.
4585
4586 @item locating the symbol information
4587 @value{GDBN} uses an internal interface of BFD to determine where to find the
4588 symbol information in an executable file or symbol-file. @value{GDBN} itself
4589 handles the reading of symbols, since BFD does not ``understand'' debug
4590 symbols, but @value{GDBN} uses BFD's cached information to find the symbols,
4591 string table, etc.
4592 @end table
4593
4594 @section opcodes
4595 @cindex opcodes library
4596
4597 The opcodes library provides @value{GDBN}'s disassembler. (It's a separate
4598 library because it's also used in binutils, for @file{objdump}).
4599
4600 @section readline
4601
4602 @section mmalloc
4603
4604 @section libiberty
4605 @cindex @code{libiberty} library
4606
4607 The @code{libiberty} library provides a set of functions and features
4608 that integrate and improve on functionality found in modern operating
4609 systems. Broadly speaking, such features can be divided into three
4610 groups: supplemental functions (functions that may be missing in some
4611 environments and operating systems), replacement functions (providing
4612 a uniform and easier to use interface for commonly used standard
4613 functions), and extensions (which provide additional functionality
4614 beyond standard functions).
4615
4616 @value{GDBN} uses various features provided by the @code{libiberty}
4617 library, for instance the C@t{++} demangler, the @acronym{IEEE}
4618 floating format support functions, the input options parser
4619 @samp{getopt}, the @samp{obstack} extension, and other functions.
4620
4621 @subsection @code{obstacks} in @value{GDBN}
4622 @cindex @code{obstacks}
4623
4624 The obstack mechanism provides a convenient way to allocate and free
4625 chunks of memory. Each obstack is a pool of memory that is managed
4626 like a stack. Objects (of any nature, size and alignment) are
4627 allocated and freed in a @acronym{LIFO} fashion on an obstack (see
4628 @code{libiberty}'s documenatation for a more detailed explanation of
4629 @code{obstacks}).
4630
4631 The most noticeable use of the @code{obstacks} in @value{GDBN} is in
4632 object files. There is an obstack associated with each internal
4633 representation of an object file. Lots of things get allocated on
4634 these @code{obstacks}: dictionary entries, blocks, blockvectors,
4635 symbols, minimal symbols, types, vectors of fundamental types, class
4636 fields of types, object files section lists, object files section
4637 offets lists, line tables, symbol tables, partial symbol tables,
4638 string tables, symbol table private data, macros tables, debug
4639 information sections and entries, import and export lists (som),
4640 unwind information (hppa), dwarf2 location expressions data. Plus
4641 various strings such as directory names strings, debug format strings,
4642 names of types.
4643
4644 An essential and convenient property of all data on @code{obstacks} is
4645 that memory for it gets allocated (with @code{obstack_alloc}) at
4646 various times during a debugging sesssion, but it is released all at
4647 once using the @code{obstack_free} function. The @code{obstack_free}
4648 function takes a pointer to where in the stack it must start the
4649 deletion from (much like the cleanup chains have a pointer to where to
4650 start the cleanups). Because of the stack like structure of the
4651 @code{obstacks}, this allows to free only a top portion of the
4652 obstack. There are a few instances in @value{GDBN} where such thing
4653 happens. Calls to @code{obstack_free} are done after some local data
4654 is allocated to the obstack. Only the local data is deleted from the
4655 obstack. Of course this assumes that nothing between the
4656 @code{obstack_alloc} and the @code{obstack_free} allocates anything
4657 else on the same obstack. For this reason it is best and safest to
4658 use temporary @code{obstacks}.
4659
4660 Releasing the whole obstack is also not safe per se. It is safe only
4661 under the condition that we know the @code{obstacks} memory is no
4662 longer needed. In @value{GDBN} we get rid of the @code{obstacks} only
4663 when we get rid of the whole objfile(s), for instance upon reading a
4664 new symbol file.
4665
4666 @section gnu-regex
4667 @cindex regular expressions library
4668
4669 Regex conditionals.
4670
4671 @table @code
4672 @item C_ALLOCA
4673
4674 @item NFAILURES
4675
4676 @item RE_NREGS
4677
4678 @item SIGN_EXTEND_CHAR
4679
4680 @item SWITCH_ENUM_BUG
4681
4682 @item SYNTAX_TABLE
4683
4684 @item Sword
4685
4686 @item sparc
4687 @end table
4688
4689 @section include
4690
4691 @node Coding
4692
4693 @chapter Coding
4694
4695 This chapter covers topics that are lower-level than the major
4696 algorithms of @value{GDBN}.
4697
4698 @section Cleanups
4699 @cindex cleanups
4700
4701 Cleanups are a structured way to deal with things that need to be done
4702 later.
4703
4704 When your code does something (e.g., @code{xmalloc} some memory, or
4705 @code{open} a file) that needs to be undone later (e.g., @code{xfree}
4706 the memory or @code{close} the file), it can make a cleanup. The
4707 cleanup will be done at some future point: when the command is finished
4708 and control returns to the top level; when an error occurs and the stack
4709 is unwound; or when your code decides it's time to explicitly perform
4710 cleanups. Alternatively you can elect to discard the cleanups you
4711 created.
4712
4713 Syntax:
4714
4715 @table @code
4716 @item struct cleanup *@var{old_chain};
4717 Declare a variable which will hold a cleanup chain handle.
4718
4719 @findex make_cleanup
4720 @item @var{old_chain} = make_cleanup (@var{function}, @var{arg});
4721 Make a cleanup which will cause @var{function} to be called with
4722 @var{arg} (a @code{char *}) later. The result, @var{old_chain}, is a
4723 handle that can later be passed to @code{do_cleanups} or
4724 @code{discard_cleanups}. Unless you are going to call
4725 @code{do_cleanups} or @code{discard_cleanups}, you can ignore the result
4726 from @code{make_cleanup}.
4727
4728 @findex do_cleanups
4729 @item do_cleanups (@var{old_chain});
4730 Do all cleanups added to the chain since the corresponding
4731 @code{make_cleanup} call was made.
4732
4733 @findex discard_cleanups
4734 @item discard_cleanups (@var{old_chain});
4735 Same as @code{do_cleanups} except that it just removes the cleanups from
4736 the chain and does not call the specified functions.
4737 @end table
4738
4739 Cleanups are implemented as a chain. The handle returned by
4740 @code{make_cleanups} includes the cleanup passed to the call and any
4741 later cleanups appended to the chain (but not yet discarded or
4742 performed). E.g.:
4743
4744 @smallexample
4745 make_cleanup (a, 0);
4746 @{
4747 struct cleanup *old = make_cleanup (b, 0);
4748 make_cleanup (c, 0)
4749 ...
4750 do_cleanups (old);
4751 @}
4752 @end smallexample
4753
4754 @noindent
4755 will call @code{c()} and @code{b()} but will not call @code{a()}. The
4756 cleanup that calls @code{a()} will remain in the cleanup chain, and will
4757 be done later unless otherwise discarded.@refill
4758
4759 Your function should explicitly do or discard the cleanups it creates.
4760 Failing to do this leads to non-deterministic behavior since the caller
4761 will arbitrarily do or discard your functions cleanups. This need leads
4762 to two common cleanup styles.
4763
4764 The first style is try/finally. Before it exits, your code-block calls
4765 @code{do_cleanups} with the old cleanup chain and thus ensures that your
4766 code-block's cleanups are always performed. For instance, the following
4767 code-segment avoids a memory leak problem (even when @code{error} is
4768 called and a forced stack unwind occurs) by ensuring that the
4769 @code{xfree} will always be called:
4770
4771 @smallexample
4772 struct cleanup *old = make_cleanup (null_cleanup, 0);
4773 data = xmalloc (sizeof blah);
4774 make_cleanup (xfree, data);
4775 ... blah blah ...
4776 do_cleanups (old);
4777 @end smallexample
4778
4779 The second style is try/except. Before it exits, your code-block calls
4780 @code{discard_cleanups} with the old cleanup chain and thus ensures that
4781 any created cleanups are not performed. For instance, the following
4782 code segment, ensures that the file will be closed but only if there is
4783 an error:
4784
4785 @smallexample
4786 FILE *file = fopen ("afile", "r");
4787 struct cleanup *old = make_cleanup (close_file, file);
4788 ... blah blah ...
4789 discard_cleanups (old);
4790 return file;
4791 @end smallexample
4792
4793 Some functions, e.g., @code{fputs_filtered()} or @code{error()}, specify
4794 that they ``should not be called when cleanups are not in place''. This
4795 means that any actions you need to reverse in the case of an error or
4796 interruption must be on the cleanup chain before you call these
4797 functions, since they might never return to your code (they
4798 @samp{longjmp} instead).
4799
4800 @section Per-architecture module data
4801 @cindex per-architecture module data
4802 @cindex multi-arch data
4803 @cindex data-pointer, per-architecture/per-module
4804
4805 The multi-arch framework includes a mechanism for adding module
4806 specific per-architecture data-pointers to the @code{struct gdbarch}
4807 architecture object.
4808
4809 A module registers one or more per-architecture data-pointers using:
4810
4811 @deftypefun struct gdbarch_data *gdbarch_data_register_pre_init (gdbarch_data_pre_init_ftype *@var{pre_init})
4812 @var{pre_init} is used to, on-demand, allocate an initial value for a
4813 per-architecture data-pointer using the architecture's obstack (passed
4814 in as a parameter). Since @var{pre_init} can be called during
4815 architecture creation, it is not parameterized with the architecture.
4816 and must not call modules that use per-architecture data.
4817 @end deftypefun
4818
4819 @deftypefun struct gdbarch_data *gdbarch_data_register_post_init (gdbarch_data_post_init_ftype *@var{post_init})
4820 @var{post_init} is used to obtain an initial value for a
4821 per-architecture data-pointer @emph{after}. Since @var{post_init} is
4822 always called after architecture creation, it both receives the fully
4823 initialized architecture and is free to call modules that use
4824 per-architecture data (care needs to be taken to ensure that those
4825 other modules do not try to call back to this module as that will
4826 create in cycles in the initialization call graph).
4827 @end deftypefun
4828
4829 These functions return a @code{struct gdbarch_data} that is used to
4830 identify the per-architecture data-pointer added for that module.
4831
4832 The per-architecture data-pointer is accessed using the function:
4833
4834 @deftypefun void *gdbarch_data (struct gdbarch *@var{gdbarch}, struct gdbarch_data *@var{data_handle})
4835 Given the architecture @var{arch} and module data handle
4836 @var{data_handle} (returned by @code{gdbarch_data_register_pre_init}
4837 or @code{gdbarch_data_register_post_init}), this function returns the
4838 current value of the per-architecture data-pointer. If the data
4839 pointer is @code{NULL}, it is first initialized by calling the
4840 corresponding @var{pre_init} or @var{post_init} method.
4841 @end deftypefun
4842
4843 The examples below assume the following definitions:
4844
4845 @smallexample
4846 struct nozel @{ int total; @};
4847 static struct gdbarch_data *nozel_handle;
4848 @end smallexample
4849
4850 A module can extend the architecture vector, adding additional
4851 per-architecture data, using the @var{pre_init} method. The module's
4852 per-architecture data is then initialized during architecture
4853 creation.
4854
4855 In the below, the module's per-architecture @emph{nozel} is added. An
4856 architecture can specify its nozel by calling @code{set_gdbarch_nozel}
4857 from @code{gdbarch_init}.
4858
4859 @smallexample
4860 static void *
4861 nozel_pre_init (struct obstack *obstack)
4862 @{
4863 struct nozel *data = OBSTACK_ZALLOC (obstack, struct nozel);
4864 return data;
4865 @}
4866 @end smallexample
4867
4868 @smallexample
4869 extern void
4870 set_gdbarch_nozel (struct gdbarch *gdbarch, int total)
4871 @{
4872 struct nozel *data = gdbarch_data (gdbarch, nozel_handle);
4873 data->total = nozel;
4874 @}
4875 @end smallexample
4876
4877 A module can on-demand create architecture dependant data structures
4878 using @code{post_init}.
4879
4880 In the below, the nozel's total is computed on-demand by
4881 @code{nozel_post_init} using information obtained from the
4882 architecture.
4883
4884 @smallexample
4885 static void *
4886 nozel_post_init (struct gdbarch *gdbarch)
4887 @{
4888 struct nozel *data = GDBARCH_OBSTACK_ZALLOC (gdbarch, struct nozel);
4889 nozel->total = gdbarch@dots{} (gdbarch);
4890 return data;
4891 @}
4892 @end smallexample
4893
4894 @smallexample
4895 extern int
4896 nozel_total (struct gdbarch *gdbarch)
4897 @{
4898 struct nozel *data = gdbarch_data (gdbarch, nozel_handle);
4899 return data->total;
4900 @}
4901 @end smallexample
4902
4903 @section Wrapping Output Lines
4904 @cindex line wrap in output
4905
4906 @findex wrap_here
4907 Output that goes through @code{printf_filtered} or @code{fputs_filtered}
4908 or @code{fputs_demangled} needs only to have calls to @code{wrap_here}
4909 added in places that would be good breaking points. The utility
4910 routines will take care of actually wrapping if the line width is
4911 exceeded.
4912
4913 The argument to @code{wrap_here} is an indentation string which is
4914 printed @emph{only} if the line breaks there. This argument is saved
4915 away and used later. It must remain valid until the next call to
4916 @code{wrap_here} or until a newline has been printed through the
4917 @code{*_filtered} functions. Don't pass in a local variable and then
4918 return!
4919
4920 It is usually best to call @code{wrap_here} after printing a comma or
4921 space. If you call it before printing a space, make sure that your
4922 indentation properly accounts for the leading space that will print if
4923 the line wraps there.
4924
4925 Any function or set of functions that produce filtered output must
4926 finish by printing a newline, to flush the wrap buffer, before switching
4927 to unfiltered (@code{printf}) output. Symbol reading routines that
4928 print warnings are a good example.
4929
4930 @section @value{GDBN} Coding Standards
4931 @cindex coding standards
4932
4933 @value{GDBN} follows the GNU coding standards, as described in
4934 @file{etc/standards.texi}. This file is also available for anonymous
4935 FTP from GNU archive sites. @value{GDBN} takes a strict interpretation
4936 of the standard; in general, when the GNU standard recommends a practice
4937 but does not require it, @value{GDBN} requires it.
4938
4939 @value{GDBN} follows an additional set of coding standards specific to
4940 @value{GDBN}, as described in the following sections.
4941
4942
4943 @subsection ISO C
4944
4945 @value{GDBN} assumes an ISO/IEC 9899:1990 (a.k.a.@: ISO C90) compliant
4946 compiler.
4947
4948 @value{GDBN} does not assume an ISO C or POSIX compliant C library.
4949
4950
4951 @subsection Memory Management
4952
4953 @value{GDBN} does not use the functions @code{malloc}, @code{realloc},
4954 @code{calloc}, @code{free} and @code{asprintf}.
4955
4956 @value{GDBN} uses the functions @code{xmalloc}, @code{xrealloc} and
4957 @code{xcalloc} when allocating memory. Unlike @code{malloc} et.al.@:
4958 these functions do not return when the memory pool is empty. Instead,
4959 they unwind the stack using cleanups. These functions return
4960 @code{NULL} when requested to allocate a chunk of memory of size zero.
4961
4962 @emph{Pragmatics: By using these functions, the need to check every
4963 memory allocation is removed. These functions provide portable
4964 behavior.}
4965
4966 @value{GDBN} does not use the function @code{free}.
4967
4968 @value{GDBN} uses the function @code{xfree} to return memory to the
4969 memory pool. Consistent with ISO-C, this function ignores a request to
4970 free a @code{NULL} pointer.
4971
4972 @emph{Pragmatics: On some systems @code{free} fails when passed a
4973 @code{NULL} pointer.}
4974
4975 @value{GDBN} can use the non-portable function @code{alloca} for the
4976 allocation of small temporary values (such as strings).
4977
4978 @emph{Pragmatics: This function is very non-portable. Some systems
4979 restrict the memory being allocated to no more than a few kilobytes.}
4980
4981 @value{GDBN} uses the string function @code{xstrdup} and the print
4982 function @code{xstrprintf}.
4983
4984 @emph{Pragmatics: @code{asprintf} and @code{strdup} can fail. Print
4985 functions such as @code{sprintf} are very prone to buffer overflow
4986 errors.}
4987
4988
4989 @subsection Compiler Warnings
4990 @cindex compiler warnings
4991
4992 With few exceptions, developers should include the configuration option
4993 @samp{--enable-gdb-build-warnings=,-Werror} when building @value{GDBN}.
4994 The exceptions are listed in the file @file{gdb/MAINTAINERS}.
4995
4996 This option causes @value{GDBN} (when built using GCC) to be compiled
4997 with a carefully selected list of compiler warning flags. Any warnings
4998 from those flags being treated as errors.
4999
5000 The current list of warning flags includes:
5001
5002 @table @samp
5003 @item -Wimplicit
5004 Since @value{GDBN} coding standard requires all functions to be declared
5005 using a prototype, the flag has the side effect of ensuring that
5006 prototyped functions are always visible with out resorting to
5007 @samp{-Wstrict-prototypes}.
5008
5009 @item -Wreturn-type
5010 Such code often appears to work except on instruction set architectures
5011 that use register windows.
5012
5013 @item -Wcomment
5014
5015 @item -Wtrigraphs
5016
5017 @item -Wformat
5018 @itemx -Wformat-nonliteral
5019 Since @value{GDBN} uses the @code{format printf} attribute on all
5020 @code{printf} like functions these check not just @code{printf} calls
5021 but also calls to functions such as @code{fprintf_unfiltered}.
5022
5023 @item -Wparentheses
5024 This warning includes uses of the assignment operator within an
5025 @code{if} statement.
5026
5027 @item -Wpointer-arith
5028
5029 @item -Wuninitialized
5030
5031 @item -Wunused-label
5032 This warning has the additional benefit of detecting the absence of the
5033 @code{case} reserved word in a switch statement:
5034 @smallexample
5035 enum @{ FD_SCHEDULED, NOTHING_SCHEDULED @} sched;
5036 @dots{}
5037 switch (sched)
5038 @{
5039 case FD_SCHEDULED:
5040 @dots{};
5041 break;
5042 NOTHING_SCHEDULED:
5043 @dots{};
5044 break;
5045 @}
5046 @end smallexample
5047
5048 @item -Wunused-function
5049
5050 @item -Wno-pointer-sign
5051 In version 4.0, GCC began warning about pointer argument passing or
5052 assignment even when the source and destination differed only in
5053 signedness. However, most @value{GDBN} code doesn't distinguish
5054 carefully between @code{char} and @code{unsigned char}. In early 2006
5055 the @value{GDBN} developers decided correcting these warnings wasn't
5056 worth the time it would take.
5057
5058 @end table
5059
5060 @emph{Pragmatics: Due to the way that @value{GDBN} is implemented most
5061 functions have unused parameters. Consequently the warning
5062 @samp{-Wunused-parameter} is precluded from the list. The macro
5063 @code{ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED} is not used as it leads to false negatives ---
5064 it is not an error to have @code{ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED} on a parameter that
5065 is being used. The options @samp{-Wall} and @samp{-Wunused} are also
5066 precluded because they both include @samp{-Wunused-parameter}.}
5067
5068 @emph{Pragmatics: @value{GDBN} has not simply accepted the warnings
5069 enabled by @samp{-Wall -Werror -W...}. Instead it is selecting warnings
5070 when and where their benefits can be demonstrated.}
5071
5072 @subsection Formatting
5073
5074 @cindex source code formatting
5075 The standard GNU recommendations for formatting must be followed
5076 strictly.
5077
5078 A function declaration should not have its name in column zero. A
5079 function definition should have its name in column zero.
5080
5081 @smallexample
5082 /* Declaration */
5083 static void foo (void);
5084 /* Definition */
5085 void
5086 foo (void)
5087 @{
5088 @}
5089 @end smallexample
5090
5091 @emph{Pragmatics: This simplifies scripting. Function definitions can
5092 be found using @samp{^function-name}.}
5093
5094 There must be a space between a function or macro name and the opening
5095 parenthesis of its argument list (except for macro definitions, as
5096 required by C). There must not be a space after an open paren/bracket
5097 or before a close paren/bracket.
5098
5099 While additional whitespace is generally helpful for reading, do not use
5100 more than one blank line to separate blocks, and avoid adding whitespace
5101 after the end of a program line (as of 1/99, some 600 lines had
5102 whitespace after the semicolon). Excess whitespace causes difficulties
5103 for @code{diff} and @code{patch} utilities.
5104
5105 Pointers are declared using the traditional K&R C style:
5106
5107 @smallexample
5108 void *foo;
5109 @end smallexample
5110
5111 @noindent
5112 and not:
5113
5114 @smallexample
5115 void * foo;
5116 void* foo;
5117 @end smallexample
5118
5119 @subsection Comments
5120
5121 @cindex comment formatting
5122 The standard GNU requirements on comments must be followed strictly.
5123
5124 Block comments must appear in the following form, with no @code{/*}- or
5125 @code{*/}-only lines, and no leading @code{*}:
5126
5127 @smallexample
5128 /* Wait for control to return from inferior to debugger. If inferior
5129 gets a signal, we may decide to start it up again instead of
5130 returning. That is why there is a loop in this function. When
5131 this function actually returns it means the inferior should be left
5132 stopped and @value{GDBN} should read more commands. */
5133 @end smallexample
5134
5135 (Note that this format is encouraged by Emacs; tabbing for a multi-line
5136 comment works correctly, and @kbd{M-q} fills the block consistently.)
5137
5138 Put a blank line between the block comments preceding function or
5139 variable definitions, and the definition itself.
5140
5141 In general, put function-body comments on lines by themselves, rather
5142 than trying to fit them into the 20 characters left at the end of a
5143 line, since either the comment or the code will inevitably get longer
5144 than will fit, and then somebody will have to move it anyhow.
5145
5146 @subsection C Usage
5147
5148 @cindex C data types
5149 Code must not depend on the sizes of C data types, the format of the
5150 host's floating point numbers, the alignment of anything, or the order
5151 of evaluation of expressions.
5152
5153 @cindex function usage
5154 Use functions freely. There are only a handful of compute-bound areas
5155 in @value{GDBN} that might be affected by the overhead of a function
5156 call, mainly in symbol reading. Most of @value{GDBN}'s performance is
5157 limited by the target interface (whether serial line or system call).
5158
5159 However, use functions with moderation. A thousand one-line functions
5160 are just as hard to understand as a single thousand-line function.
5161
5162 @emph{Macros are bad, M'kay.}
5163 (But if you have to use a macro, make sure that the macro arguments are
5164 protected with parentheses.)
5165
5166 @cindex types
5167
5168 Declarations like @samp{struct foo *} should be used in preference to
5169 declarations like @samp{typedef struct foo @{ @dots{} @} *foo_ptr}.
5170
5171
5172 @subsection Function Prototypes
5173 @cindex function prototypes
5174
5175 Prototypes must be used when both @emph{declaring} and @emph{defining}
5176 a function. Prototypes for @value{GDBN} functions must include both the
5177 argument type and name, with the name matching that used in the actual
5178 function definition.
5179
5180 All external functions should have a declaration in a header file that
5181 callers include, except for @code{_initialize_*} functions, which must
5182 be external so that @file{init.c} construction works, but shouldn't be
5183 visible to random source files.
5184
5185 Where a source file needs a forward declaration of a static function,
5186 that declaration must appear in a block near the top of the source file.
5187
5188
5189 @subsection Internal Error Recovery
5190
5191 During its execution, @value{GDBN} can encounter two types of errors.
5192 User errors and internal errors. User errors include not only a user
5193 entering an incorrect command but also problems arising from corrupt
5194 object files and system errors when interacting with the target.
5195 Internal errors include situations where @value{GDBN} has detected, at
5196 run time, a corrupt or erroneous situation.
5197
5198 When reporting an internal error, @value{GDBN} uses
5199 @code{internal_error} and @code{gdb_assert}.
5200
5201 @value{GDBN} must not call @code{abort} or @code{assert}.
5202
5203 @emph{Pragmatics: There is no @code{internal_warning} function. Either
5204 the code detected a user error, recovered from it and issued a
5205 @code{warning} or the code failed to correctly recover from the user
5206 error and issued an @code{internal_error}.}
5207
5208 @subsection File Names
5209
5210 Any file used when building the core of @value{GDBN} must be in lower
5211 case. Any file used when building the core of @value{GDBN} must be 8.3
5212 unique. These requirements apply to both source and generated files.
5213
5214 @emph{Pragmatics: The core of @value{GDBN} must be buildable on many
5215 platforms including DJGPP and MacOS/HFS. Every time an unfriendly file
5216 is introduced to the build process both @file{Makefile.in} and
5217 @file{configure.in} need to be modified accordingly. Compare the
5218 convoluted conversion process needed to transform @file{COPYING} into
5219 @file{copying.c} with the conversion needed to transform
5220 @file{version.in} into @file{version.c}.}
5221
5222 Any file non 8.3 compliant file (that is not used when building the core
5223 of @value{GDBN}) must be added to @file{gdb/config/djgpp/fnchange.lst}.
5224
5225 @emph{Pragmatics: This is clearly a compromise.}
5226
5227 When @value{GDBN} has a local version of a system header file (ex
5228 @file{string.h}) the file name based on the POSIX header prefixed with
5229 @file{gdb_} (@file{gdb_string.h}). These headers should be relatively
5230 independent: they should use only macros defined by @file{configure},
5231 the compiler, or the host; they should include only system headers; they
5232 should refer only to system types. They may be shared between multiple
5233 programs, e.g.@: @value{GDBN} and @sc{gdbserver}.
5234
5235 For other files @samp{-} is used as the separator.
5236
5237
5238 @subsection Include Files
5239
5240 A @file{.c} file should include @file{defs.h} first.
5241
5242 A @file{.c} file should directly include the @code{.h} file of every
5243 declaration and/or definition it directly refers to. It cannot rely on
5244 indirect inclusion.
5245
5246 A @file{.h} file should directly include the @code{.h} file of every
5247 declaration and/or definition it directly refers to. It cannot rely on
5248 indirect inclusion. Exception: The file @file{defs.h} does not need to
5249 be directly included.
5250
5251 An external declaration should only appear in one include file.
5252
5253 An external declaration should never appear in a @code{.c} file.
5254 Exception: a declaration for the @code{_initialize} function that
5255 pacifies @option{-Wmissing-declaration}.
5256
5257 A @code{typedef} definition should only appear in one include file.
5258
5259 An opaque @code{struct} declaration can appear in multiple @file{.h}
5260 files. Where possible, a @file{.h} file should use an opaque
5261 @code{struct} declaration instead of an include.
5262
5263 All @file{.h} files should be wrapped in:
5264
5265 @smallexample
5266 #ifndef INCLUDE_FILE_NAME_H
5267 #define INCLUDE_FILE_NAME_H
5268 header body
5269 #endif
5270 @end smallexample
5271
5272
5273 @subsection Clean Design and Portable Implementation
5274
5275 @cindex design
5276 In addition to getting the syntax right, there's the little question of
5277 semantics. Some things are done in certain ways in @value{GDBN} because long
5278 experience has shown that the more obvious ways caused various kinds of
5279 trouble.
5280
5281 @cindex assumptions about targets
5282 You can't assume the byte order of anything that comes from a target
5283 (including @var{value}s, object files, and instructions). Such things
5284 must be byte-swapped using @code{SWAP_TARGET_AND_HOST} in
5285 @value{GDBN}, or one of the swap routines defined in @file{bfd.h},
5286 such as @code{bfd_get_32}.
5287
5288 You can't assume that you know what interface is being used to talk to
5289 the target system. All references to the target must go through the
5290 current @code{target_ops} vector.
5291
5292 You can't assume that the host and target machines are the same machine
5293 (except in the ``native'' support modules). In particular, you can't
5294 assume that the target machine's header files will be available on the
5295 host machine. Target code must bring along its own header files --
5296 written from scratch or explicitly donated by their owner, to avoid
5297 copyright problems.
5298
5299 @cindex portability
5300 Insertion of new @code{#ifdef}'s will be frowned upon. It's much better
5301 to write the code portably than to conditionalize it for various
5302 systems.
5303
5304 @cindex system dependencies
5305 New @code{#ifdef}'s which test for specific compilers or manufacturers
5306 or operating systems are unacceptable. All @code{#ifdef}'s should test
5307 for features. The information about which configurations contain which
5308 features should be segregated into the configuration files. Experience
5309 has proven far too often that a feature unique to one particular system
5310 often creeps into other systems; and that a conditional based on some
5311 predefined macro for your current system will become worthless over
5312 time, as new versions of your system come out that behave differently
5313 with regard to this feature.
5314
5315 Adding code that handles specific architectures, operating systems,
5316 target interfaces, or hosts, is not acceptable in generic code.
5317
5318 @cindex portable file name handling
5319 @cindex file names, portability
5320 One particularly notorious area where system dependencies tend to
5321 creep in is handling of file names. The mainline @value{GDBN} code
5322 assumes Posix semantics of file names: absolute file names begin with
5323 a forward slash @file{/}, slashes are used to separate leading
5324 directories, case-sensitive file names. These assumptions are not
5325 necessarily true on non-Posix systems such as MS-Windows. To avoid
5326 system-dependent code where you need to take apart or construct a file
5327 name, use the following portable macros:
5328
5329 @table @code
5330 @findex HAVE_DOS_BASED_FILE_SYSTEM
5331 @item HAVE_DOS_BASED_FILE_SYSTEM
5332 This preprocessing symbol is defined to a non-zero value on hosts
5333 whose filesystems belong to the MS-DOS/MS-Windows family. Use this
5334 symbol to write conditional code which should only be compiled for
5335 such hosts.
5336
5337 @findex IS_DIR_SEPARATOR
5338 @item IS_DIR_SEPARATOR (@var{c})
5339 Evaluates to a non-zero value if @var{c} is a directory separator
5340 character. On Unix and GNU/Linux systems, only a slash @file{/} is
5341 such a character, but on Windows, both @file{/} and @file{\} will
5342 pass.
5343
5344 @findex IS_ABSOLUTE_PATH
5345 @item IS_ABSOLUTE_PATH (@var{file})
5346 Evaluates to a non-zero value if @var{file} is an absolute file name.
5347 For Unix and GNU/Linux hosts, a name which begins with a slash
5348 @file{/} is absolute. On DOS and Windows, @file{d:/foo} and
5349 @file{x:\bar} are also absolute file names.
5350
5351 @findex FILENAME_CMP
5352 @item FILENAME_CMP (@var{f1}, @var{f2})
5353 Calls a function which compares file names @var{f1} and @var{f2} as
5354 appropriate for the underlying host filesystem. For Posix systems,
5355 this simply calls @code{strcmp}; on case-insensitive filesystems it
5356 will call @code{strcasecmp} instead.
5357
5358 @findex DIRNAME_SEPARATOR
5359 @item DIRNAME_SEPARATOR
5360 Evaluates to a character which separates directories in
5361 @code{PATH}-style lists, typically held in environment variables.
5362 This character is @samp{:} on Unix, @samp{;} on DOS and Windows.
5363
5364 @findex SLASH_STRING
5365 @item SLASH_STRING
5366 This evaluates to a constant string you should use to produce an
5367 absolute filename from leading directories and the file's basename.
5368 @code{SLASH_STRING} is @code{"/"} on most systems, but might be
5369 @code{"\\"} for some Windows-based ports.
5370 @end table
5371
5372 In addition to using these macros, be sure to use portable library
5373 functions whenever possible. For example, to extract a directory or a
5374 basename part from a file name, use the @code{dirname} and
5375 @code{basename} library functions (available in @code{libiberty} for
5376 platforms which don't provide them), instead of searching for a slash
5377 with @code{strrchr}.
5378
5379 Another way to generalize @value{GDBN} along a particular interface is with an
5380 attribute struct. For example, @value{GDBN} has been generalized to handle
5381 multiple kinds of remote interfaces---not by @code{#ifdef}s everywhere, but
5382 by defining the @code{target_ops} structure and having a current target (as
5383 well as a stack of targets below it, for memory references). Whenever
5384 something needs to be done that depends on which remote interface we are
5385 using, a flag in the current target_ops structure is tested (e.g.,
5386 @code{target_has_stack}), or a function is called through a pointer in the
5387 current target_ops structure. In this way, when a new remote interface
5388 is added, only one module needs to be touched---the one that actually
5389 implements the new remote interface. Other examples of
5390 attribute-structs are BFD access to multiple kinds of object file
5391 formats, or @value{GDBN}'s access to multiple source languages.
5392
5393 Please avoid duplicating code. For example, in @value{GDBN} 3.x all
5394 the code interfacing between @code{ptrace} and the rest of
5395 @value{GDBN} was duplicated in @file{*-dep.c}, and so changing
5396 something was very painful. In @value{GDBN} 4.x, these have all been
5397 consolidated into @file{infptrace.c}. @file{infptrace.c} can deal
5398 with variations between systems the same way any system-independent
5399 file would (hooks, @code{#if defined}, etc.), and machines which are
5400 radically different don't need to use @file{infptrace.c} at all.
5401
5402 All debugging code must be controllable using the @samp{set debug
5403 @var{module}} command. Do not use @code{printf} to print trace
5404 messages. Use @code{fprintf_unfiltered(gdb_stdlog, ...}. Do not use
5405 @code{#ifdef DEBUG}.
5406
5407
5408 @node Porting GDB
5409
5410 @chapter Porting @value{GDBN}
5411 @cindex porting to new machines
5412
5413 Most of the work in making @value{GDBN} compile on a new machine is in
5414 specifying the configuration of the machine. This is done in a
5415 dizzying variety of header files and configuration scripts, which we
5416 hope to make more sensible soon. Let's say your new host is called an
5417 @var{xyz} (e.g., @samp{sun4}), and its full three-part configuration
5418 name is @code{@var{arch}-@var{xvend}-@var{xos}} (e.g.,
5419 @samp{sparc-sun-sunos4}). In particular:
5420
5421 @itemize @bullet
5422 @item
5423 In the top level directory, edit @file{config.sub} and add @var{arch},
5424 @var{xvend}, and @var{xos} to the lists of supported architectures,
5425 vendors, and operating systems near the bottom of the file. Also, add
5426 @var{xyz} as an alias that maps to
5427 @code{@var{arch}-@var{xvend}-@var{xos}}. You can test your changes by
5428 running
5429
5430 @smallexample
5431 ./config.sub @var{xyz}
5432 @end smallexample
5433
5434 @noindent
5435 and
5436
5437 @smallexample
5438 ./config.sub @code{@var{arch}-@var{xvend}-@var{xos}}
5439 @end smallexample
5440
5441 @noindent
5442 which should both respond with @code{@var{arch}-@var{xvend}-@var{xos}}
5443 and no error messages.
5444
5445 @noindent
5446 You need to port BFD, if that hasn't been done already. Porting BFD is
5447 beyond the scope of this manual.
5448
5449 @item
5450 To configure @value{GDBN} itself, edit @file{gdb/configure.host} to recognize
5451 your system and set @code{gdb_host} to @var{xyz}, and (unless your
5452 desired target is already available) also edit @file{gdb/configure.tgt},
5453 setting @code{gdb_target} to something appropriate (for instance,
5454 @var{xyz}).
5455
5456 @emph{Maintainer's note: Work in progress. The file
5457 @file{gdb/configure.host} originally needed to be modified when either a
5458 new native target or a new host machine was being added to @value{GDBN}.
5459 Recent changes have removed this requirement. The file now only needs
5460 to be modified when adding a new native configuration. This will likely
5461 changed again in the future.}
5462
5463 @item
5464 Finally, you'll need to specify and define @value{GDBN}'s host-, native-, and
5465 target-dependent @file{.h} and @file{.c} files used for your
5466 configuration.
5467 @end itemize
5468
5469 @node Versions and Branches
5470 @chapter Versions and Branches
5471
5472 @section Versions
5473
5474 @value{GDBN}'s version is determined by the file
5475 @file{gdb/version.in} and takes one of the following forms:
5476
5477 @table @asis
5478 @item @var{major}.@var{minor}
5479 @itemx @var{major}.@var{minor}.@var{patchlevel}
5480 an official release (e.g., 6.2 or 6.2.1)
5481 @item @var{major}.@var{minor}.@var{patchlevel}.@var{YYYY}@var{MM}@var{DD}
5482 a snapshot taken at @var{YYYY}-@var{MM}-@var{DD}-gmt (e.g.,
5483 6.1.50.20020302, 6.1.90.20020304, or 6.1.0.20020308)
5484 @item @var{major}.@var{minor}.@var{patchlevel}.@var{YYYY}@var{MM}@var{DD}-cvs
5485 a @sc{cvs} check out drawn on @var{YYYY}-@var{MM}-@var{DD} (e.g.,
5486 6.1.50.20020302-cvs, 6.1.90.20020304-cvs, or 6.1.0.20020308-cvs)
5487 @item @var{major}.@var{minor}.@var{patchlevel}.@var{YYYY}@var{MM}@var{DD} (@var{vendor})
5488 a vendor specific release of @value{GDBN}, that while based on@*
5489 @var{major}.@var{minor}.@var{patchlevel}.@var{YYYY}@var{MM}@var{DD},
5490 may include additional changes
5491 @end table
5492
5493 @value{GDBN}'s mainline uses the @var{major} and @var{minor} version
5494 numbers from the most recent release branch, with a @var{patchlevel}
5495 of 50. At the time each new release branch is created, the mainline's
5496 @var{major} and @var{minor} version numbers are updated.
5497
5498 @value{GDBN}'s release branch is similar. When the branch is cut, the
5499 @var{patchlevel} is changed from 50 to 90. As draft releases are
5500 drawn from the branch, the @var{patchlevel} is incremented. Once the
5501 first release (@var{major}.@var{minor}) has been made, the
5502 @var{patchlevel} is set to 0 and updates have an incremented
5503 @var{patchlevel}.
5504
5505 For snapshots, and @sc{cvs} check outs, it is also possible to
5506 identify the @sc{cvs} origin:
5507
5508 @table @asis
5509 @item @var{major}.@var{minor}.50.@var{YYYY}@var{MM}@var{DD}
5510 drawn from the @sc{head} of mainline @sc{cvs} (e.g., 6.1.50.20020302)
5511 @item @var{major}.@var{minor}.90.@var{YYYY}@var{MM}@var{DD}
5512 @itemx @var{major}.@var{minor}.91.@var{YYYY}@var{MM}@var{DD} @dots{}
5513 drawn from a release branch prior to the release (e.g.,
5514 6.1.90.20020304)
5515 @item @var{major}.@var{minor}.0.@var{YYYY}@var{MM}@var{DD}
5516 @itemx @var{major}.@var{minor}.1.@var{YYYY}@var{MM}@var{DD} @dots{}
5517 drawn from a release branch after the release (e.g., 6.2.0.20020308)
5518 @end table
5519
5520 If the previous @value{GDBN} version is 6.1 and the current version is
5521 6.2, then, substituting 6 for @var{major} and 1 or 2 for @var{minor},
5522 here's an illustration of a typical sequence:
5523
5524 @smallexample
5525 <HEAD>
5526 |
5527 6.1.50.20020302-cvs
5528 |
5529 +--------------------------.
5530 | <gdb_6_2-branch>
5531 | |
5532 6.2.50.20020303-cvs 6.1.90 (draft #1)
5533 | |
5534 6.2.50.20020304-cvs 6.1.90.20020304-cvs
5535 | |
5536 6.2.50.20020305-cvs 6.1.91 (draft #2)
5537 | |
5538 6.2.50.20020306-cvs 6.1.91.20020306-cvs
5539 | |
5540 6.2.50.20020307-cvs 6.2 (release)
5541 | |
5542 6.2.50.20020308-cvs 6.2.0.20020308-cvs
5543 | |
5544 6.2.50.20020309-cvs 6.2.1 (update)
5545 | |
5546 6.2.50.20020310-cvs <branch closed>
5547 |
5548 6.2.50.20020311-cvs
5549 |
5550 +--------------------------.
5551 | <gdb_6_3-branch>
5552 | |
5553 6.3.50.20020312-cvs 6.2.90 (draft #1)
5554 | |
5555 @end smallexample
5556
5557 @section Release Branches
5558 @cindex Release Branches
5559
5560 @value{GDBN} draws a release series (6.2, 6.2.1, @dots{}) from a
5561 single release branch, and identifies that branch using the @sc{cvs}
5562 branch tags:
5563
5564 @smallexample
5565 gdb_@var{major}_@var{minor}-@var{YYYY}@var{MM}@var{DD}-branchpoint
5566 gdb_@var{major}_@var{minor}-branch
5567 gdb_@var{major}_@var{minor}-@var{YYYY}@var{MM}@var{DD}-release
5568 @end smallexample
5569
5570 @emph{Pragmatics: To help identify the date at which a branch or
5571 release is made, both the branchpoint and release tags include the
5572 date that they are cut (@var{YYYY}@var{MM}@var{DD}) in the tag. The
5573 branch tag, denoting the head of the branch, does not need this.}
5574
5575 @section Vendor Branches
5576 @cindex vendor branches
5577
5578 To avoid version conflicts, vendors are expected to modify the file
5579 @file{gdb/version.in} to include a vendor unique alphabetic identifier
5580 (an official @value{GDBN} release never uses alphabetic characters in
5581 its version identifer). E.g., @samp{6.2widgit2}, or @samp{6.2 (Widgit
5582 Inc Patch 2)}.
5583
5584 @section Experimental Branches
5585 @cindex experimental branches
5586
5587 @subsection Guidelines
5588
5589 @value{GDBN} permits the creation of branches, cut from the @sc{cvs}
5590 repository, for experimental development. Branches make it possible
5591 for developers to share preliminary work, and maintainers to examine
5592 significant new developments.
5593
5594 The following are a set of guidelines for creating such branches:
5595
5596 @table @emph
5597
5598 @item a branch has an owner
5599 The owner can set further policy for a branch, but may not change the
5600 ground rules. In particular, they can set a policy for commits (be it
5601 adding more reviewers or deciding who can commit).
5602
5603 @item all commits are posted
5604 All changes committed to a branch shall also be posted to
5605 @email{gdb-patches@@sources.redhat.com, the @value{GDBN} patches
5606 mailing list}. While commentary on such changes are encouraged, people
5607 should remember that the changes only apply to a branch.
5608
5609 @item all commits are covered by an assignment
5610 This ensures that all changes belong to the Free Software Foundation,
5611 and avoids the possibility that the branch may become contaminated.
5612
5613 @item a branch is focused
5614 A focused branch has a single objective or goal, and does not contain
5615 unnecessary or irrelevant changes. Cleanups, where identified, being
5616 be pushed into the mainline as soon as possible.
5617
5618 @item a branch tracks mainline
5619 This keeps the level of divergence under control. It also keeps the
5620 pressure on developers to push cleanups and other stuff into the
5621 mainline.
5622
5623 @item a branch shall contain the entire @value{GDBN} module
5624 The @value{GDBN} module @code{gdb} should be specified when creating a
5625 branch (branches of individual files should be avoided). @xref{Tags}.
5626
5627 @item a branch shall be branded using @file{version.in}
5628 The file @file{gdb/version.in} shall be modified so that it identifies
5629 the branch @var{owner} and branch @var{name}, e.g.,
5630 @samp{6.2.50.20030303_owner_name} or @samp{6.2 (Owner Name)}.
5631
5632 @end table
5633
5634 @subsection Tags
5635 @anchor{Tags}
5636
5637 To simplify the identification of @value{GDBN} branches, the following
5638 branch tagging convention is strongly recommended:
5639
5640 @table @code
5641
5642 @item @var{owner}_@var{name}-@var{YYYYMMDD}-branchpoint
5643 @itemx @var{owner}_@var{name}-@var{YYYYMMDD}-branch
5644 The branch point and corresponding branch tag. @var{YYYYMMDD} is the
5645 date that the branch was created. A branch is created using the
5646 sequence: @anchor{experimental branch tags}
5647 @smallexample
5648 cvs rtag @var{owner}_@var{name}-@var{YYYYMMDD}-branchpoint gdb
5649 cvs rtag -b -r @var{owner}_@var{name}-@var{YYYYMMDD}-branchpoint \
5650 @var{owner}_@var{name}-@var{YYYYMMDD}-branch gdb
5651 @end smallexample
5652
5653 @item @var{owner}_@var{name}-@var{yyyymmdd}-mergepoint
5654 The tagged point, on the mainline, that was used when merging the branch
5655 on @var{yyyymmdd}. To merge in all changes since the branch was cut,
5656 use a command sequence like:
5657 @smallexample
5658 cvs rtag @var{owner}_@var{name}-@var{yyyymmdd}-mergepoint gdb
5659 cvs update \
5660 -j@var{owner}_@var{name}-@var{YYYYMMDD}-branchpoint
5661 -j@var{owner}_@var{name}-@var{yyyymmdd}-mergepoint
5662 @end smallexample
5663 @noindent
5664 Similar sequences can be used to just merge in changes since the last
5665 merge.
5666
5667 @end table
5668
5669 @noindent
5670 For further information on @sc{cvs}, see
5671 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/cvs/, Concurrent Versions System}.
5672
5673 @node Start of New Year Procedure
5674 @chapter Start of New Year Procedure
5675 @cindex new year procedure
5676
5677 At the start of each new year, the following actions should be performed:
5678
5679 @itemize @bullet
5680 @item
5681 Rotate the ChangeLog file
5682
5683 The current @file{ChangeLog} file should be renamed into
5684 @file{ChangeLog-YYYY} where YYYY is the year that has just passed.
5685 A new @file{ChangeLog} file should be created, and its contents should
5686 contain a reference to the previous ChangeLog. The following should
5687 also be preserved at the end of the new ChangeLog, in order to provide
5688 the appropriate settings when editing this file with Emacs:
5689 @smallexample
5690 Local Variables:
5691 mode: change-log
5692 left-margin: 8
5693 fill-column: 74
5694 version-control: never
5695 End:
5696 @end smallexample
5697
5698 @item
5699 Update the copyright year in the startup message
5700
5701 Update the copyright year in file @file{top.c}, function
5702 @code{print_gdb_version}.
5703 @end itemize
5704
5705 @node Releasing GDB
5706
5707 @chapter Releasing @value{GDBN}
5708 @cindex making a new release of gdb
5709
5710 @section Branch Commit Policy
5711
5712 The branch commit policy is pretty slack. @value{GDBN} releases 5.0,
5713 5.1 and 5.2 all used the below:
5714
5715 @itemize @bullet
5716 @item
5717 The @file{gdb/MAINTAINERS} file still holds.
5718 @item
5719 Don't fix something on the branch unless/until it is also fixed in the
5720 trunk. If this isn't possible, mentioning it in the @file{gdb/PROBLEMS}
5721 file is better than committing a hack.
5722 @item
5723 When considering a patch for the branch, suggested criteria include:
5724 Does it fix a build? Does it fix the sequence @kbd{break main; run}
5725 when debugging a static binary?
5726 @item
5727 The further a change is from the core of @value{GDBN}, the less likely
5728 the change will worry anyone (e.g., target specific code).
5729 @item
5730 Only post a proposal to change the core of @value{GDBN} after you've
5731 sent individual bribes to all the people listed in the
5732 @file{MAINTAINERS} file @t{;-)}
5733 @end itemize
5734
5735 @emph{Pragmatics: Provided updates are restricted to non-core
5736 functionality there is little chance that a broken change will be fatal.
5737 This means that changes such as adding a new architectures or (within
5738 reason) support for a new host are considered acceptable.}
5739
5740
5741 @section Obsoleting code
5742
5743 Before anything else, poke the other developers (and around the source
5744 code) to see if there is anything that can be removed from @value{GDBN}
5745 (an old target, an unused file).
5746
5747 Obsolete code is identified by adding an @code{OBSOLETE} prefix to every
5748 line. Doing this means that it is easy to identify something that has
5749 been obsoleted when greping through the sources.
5750
5751 The process is done in stages --- this is mainly to ensure that the
5752 wider @value{GDBN} community has a reasonable opportunity to respond.
5753 Remember, everything on the Internet takes a week.
5754
5755 @enumerate
5756 @item
5757 Post the proposal on @email{gdb@@sources.redhat.com, the GDB mailing
5758 list} Creating a bug report to track the task's state, is also highly
5759 recommended.
5760 @item
5761 Wait a week or so.
5762 @item
5763 Post the proposal on @email{gdb-announce@@sources.redhat.com, the GDB
5764 Announcement mailing list}.
5765 @item
5766 Wait a week or so.
5767 @item
5768 Go through and edit all relevant files and lines so that they are
5769 prefixed with the word @code{OBSOLETE}.
5770 @item
5771 Wait until the next GDB version, containing this obsolete code, has been
5772 released.
5773 @item
5774 Remove the obsolete code.
5775 @end enumerate
5776
5777 @noindent
5778 @emph{Maintainer note: While removing old code is regrettable it is
5779 hopefully better for @value{GDBN}'s long term development. Firstly it
5780 helps the developers by removing code that is either no longer relevant
5781 or simply wrong. Secondly since it removes any history associated with
5782 the file (effectively clearing the slate) the developer has a much freer
5783 hand when it comes to fixing broken files.}
5784
5785
5786
5787 @section Before the Branch
5788
5789 The most important objective at this stage is to find and fix simple
5790 changes that become a pain to track once the branch is created. For
5791 instance, configuration problems that stop @value{GDBN} from even
5792 building. If you can't get the problem fixed, document it in the
5793 @file{gdb/PROBLEMS} file.
5794
5795 @subheading Prompt for @file{gdb/NEWS}
5796
5797 People always forget. Send a post reminding them but also if you know
5798 something interesting happened add it yourself. The @code{schedule}
5799 script will mention this in its e-mail.
5800
5801 @subheading Review @file{gdb/README}
5802
5803 Grab one of the nightly snapshots and then walk through the
5804 @file{gdb/README} looking for anything that can be improved. The
5805 @code{schedule} script will mention this in its e-mail.
5806
5807 @subheading Refresh any imported files.
5808
5809 A number of files are taken from external repositories. They include:
5810
5811 @itemize @bullet
5812 @item
5813 @file{texinfo/texinfo.tex}
5814 @item
5815 @file{config.guess} et.@: al.@: (see the top-level @file{MAINTAINERS}
5816 file)
5817 @item
5818 @file{etc/standards.texi}, @file{etc/make-stds.texi}
5819 @end itemize
5820
5821 @subheading Check the ARI
5822
5823 @uref{http://sources.redhat.com/gdb/ari,,A.R.I.} is an @code{awk} script
5824 (Awk Regression Index ;-) that checks for a number of errors and coding
5825 conventions. The checks include things like using @code{malloc} instead
5826 of @code{xmalloc} and file naming problems. There shouldn't be any
5827 regressions.
5828
5829 @subsection Review the bug data base
5830
5831 Close anything obviously fixed.
5832
5833 @subsection Check all cross targets build
5834
5835 The targets are listed in @file{gdb/MAINTAINERS}.
5836
5837
5838 @section Cut the Branch
5839
5840 @subheading Create the branch
5841
5842 @smallexample
5843 $ u=5.1
5844 $ v=5.2
5845 $ V=`echo $v | sed 's/\./_/g'`
5846 $ D=`date -u +%Y-%m-%d`
5847 $ echo $u $V $D
5848 5.1 5_2 2002-03-03
5849 $ echo cvs -f -d :ext:sources.redhat.com:/cvs/src rtag \
5850 -D $D-gmt gdb_$V-$D-branchpoint insight+dejagnu
5851 cvs -f -d :ext:sources.redhat.com:/cvs/src rtag
5852 -D 2002-03-03-gmt gdb_5_2-2002-03-03-branchpoint insight+dejagnu
5853 $ ^echo ^^
5854 ...
5855 $ echo cvs -f -d :ext:sources.redhat.com:/cvs/src rtag \
5856 -b -r gdb_$V-$D-branchpoint gdb_$V-branch insight+dejagnu
5857 cvs -f -d :ext:sources.redhat.com:/cvs/src rtag \
5858 -b -r gdb_5_2-2002-03-03-branchpoint gdb_5_2-branch insight+dejagnu
5859 $ ^echo ^^
5860 ...
5861 $
5862 @end smallexample
5863
5864 @itemize @bullet
5865 @item
5866 by using @kbd{-D YYYY-MM-DD-gmt} the branch is forced to an exact
5867 date/time.
5868 @item
5869 the trunk is first taged so that the branch point can easily be found
5870 @item
5871 Insight (which includes GDB) and dejagnu are all tagged at the same time
5872 @item
5873 @file{version.in} gets bumped to avoid version number conflicts
5874 @item
5875 the reading of @file{.cvsrc} is disabled using @file{-f}
5876 @end itemize
5877
5878 @subheading Update @file{version.in}
5879
5880 @smallexample
5881 $ u=5.1
5882 $ v=5.2
5883 $ V=`echo $v | sed 's/\./_/g'`
5884 $ echo $u $v$V
5885 5.1 5_2
5886 $ cd /tmp
5887 $ echo cvs -f -d :ext:sources.redhat.com:/cvs/src co \
5888 -r gdb_$V-branch src/gdb/version.in
5889 cvs -f -d :ext:sources.redhat.com:/cvs/src co
5890 -r gdb_5_2-branch src/gdb/version.in
5891 $ ^echo ^^
5892 U src/gdb/version.in
5893 $ cd src/gdb
5894 $ echo $u.90-0000-00-00-cvs > version.in
5895 $ cat version.in
5896 5.1.90-0000-00-00-cvs
5897 $ cvs -f commit version.in
5898 @end smallexample
5899
5900 @itemize @bullet
5901 @item
5902 @file{0000-00-00} is used as a date to pump prime the version.in update
5903 mechanism
5904 @item
5905 @file{.90} and the previous branch version are used as fairly arbitrary
5906 initial branch version number
5907 @end itemize
5908
5909
5910 @subheading Update the web and news pages
5911
5912 Something?
5913
5914 @subheading Tweak cron to track the new branch
5915
5916 The file @file{gdbadmin/cron/crontab} contains gdbadmin's cron table.
5917 This file needs to be updated so that:
5918
5919 @itemize @bullet
5920 @item
5921 a daily timestamp is added to the file @file{version.in}
5922 @item
5923 the new branch is included in the snapshot process
5924 @end itemize
5925
5926 @noindent
5927 See the file @file{gdbadmin/cron/README} for how to install the updated
5928 cron table.
5929
5930 The file @file{gdbadmin/ss/README} should also be reviewed to reflect
5931 any changes. That file is copied to both the branch/ and current/
5932 snapshot directories.
5933
5934
5935 @subheading Update the NEWS and README files
5936
5937 The @file{NEWS} file needs to be updated so that on the branch it refers
5938 to @emph{changes in the current release} while on the trunk it also
5939 refers to @emph{changes since the current release}.
5940
5941 The @file{README} file needs to be updated so that it refers to the
5942 current release.
5943
5944 @subheading Post the branch info
5945
5946 Send an announcement to the mailing lists:
5947
5948 @itemize @bullet
5949 @item
5950 @email{gdb-announce@@sources.redhat.com, GDB Announcement mailing list}
5951 @item
5952 @email{gdb@@sources.redhat.com, GDB Discsussion mailing list} and
5953 @email{gdb-testers@@sources.redhat.com, GDB Discsussion mailing list}
5954 @end itemize
5955
5956 @emph{Pragmatics: The branch creation is sent to the announce list to
5957 ensure that people people not subscribed to the higher volume discussion
5958 list are alerted.}
5959
5960 The announcement should include:
5961
5962 @itemize @bullet
5963 @item
5964 the branch tag
5965 @item
5966 how to check out the branch using CVS
5967 @item
5968 the date/number of weeks until the release
5969 @item
5970 the branch commit policy
5971 still holds.
5972 @end itemize
5973
5974 @section Stabilize the branch
5975
5976 Something goes here.
5977
5978 @section Create a Release
5979
5980 The process of creating and then making available a release is broken
5981 down into a number of stages. The first part addresses the technical
5982 process of creating a releasable tar ball. The later stages address the
5983 process of releasing that tar ball.
5984
5985 When making a release candidate just the first section is needed.
5986
5987 @subsection Create a release candidate
5988
5989 The objective at this stage is to create a set of tar balls that can be
5990 made available as a formal release (or as a less formal release
5991 candidate).
5992
5993 @subsubheading Freeze the branch
5994
5995 Send out an e-mail notifying everyone that the branch is frozen to
5996 @email{gdb-patches@@sources.redhat.com}.
5997
5998 @subsubheading Establish a few defaults.
5999
6000 @smallexample
6001 $ b=gdb_5_2-branch
6002 $ v=5.2
6003 $ t=/sourceware/snapshot-tmp/gdbadmin-tmp
6004 $ echo $t/$b/$v
6005 /sourceware/snapshot-tmp/gdbadmin-tmp/gdb_5_2-branch/5.2
6006 $ mkdir -p $t/$b/$v
6007 $ cd $t/$b/$v
6008 $ pwd
6009 /sourceware/snapshot-tmp/gdbadmin-tmp/gdb_5_2-branch/5.2
6010 $ which autoconf
6011 /home/gdbadmin/bin/autoconf
6012 $
6013 @end smallexample
6014
6015 @noindent
6016 Notes:
6017
6018 @itemize @bullet
6019 @item
6020 Check the @code{autoconf} version carefully. You want to be using the
6021 version taken from the @file{binutils} snapshot directory, which can be
6022 found at @uref{ftp://sources.redhat.com/pub/binutils/}. It is very
6023 unlikely that a system installed version of @code{autoconf} (e.g.,
6024 @file{/usr/bin/autoconf}) is correct.
6025 @end itemize
6026
6027 @subsubheading Check out the relevant modules:
6028
6029 @smallexample
6030 $ for m in gdb insight dejagnu
6031 do
6032 ( mkdir -p $m && cd $m && cvs -q -f -d /cvs/src co -P -r $b $m )
6033 done
6034 $
6035 @end smallexample
6036
6037 @noindent
6038 Note:
6039
6040 @itemize @bullet
6041 @item
6042 The reading of @file{.cvsrc} is disabled (@file{-f}) so that there isn't
6043 any confusion between what is written here and what your local
6044 @code{cvs} really does.
6045 @end itemize
6046
6047 @subsubheading Update relevant files.
6048
6049 @table @file
6050
6051 @item gdb/NEWS
6052
6053 Major releases get their comments added as part of the mainline. Minor
6054 releases should probably mention any significant bugs that were fixed.
6055
6056 Don't forget to include the @file{ChangeLog} entry.
6057
6058 @smallexample
6059 $ emacs gdb/src/gdb/NEWS
6060 ...
6061 c-x 4 a
6062 ...
6063 c-x c-s c-x c-c
6064 $ cp gdb/src/gdb/NEWS insight/src/gdb/NEWS
6065 $ cp gdb/src/gdb/ChangeLog insight/src/gdb/ChangeLog
6066 @end smallexample
6067
6068 @item gdb/README
6069
6070 You'll need to update:
6071
6072 @itemize @bullet
6073 @item
6074 the version
6075 @item
6076 the update date
6077 @item
6078 who did it
6079 @end itemize
6080
6081 @smallexample
6082 $ emacs gdb/src/gdb/README
6083 ...
6084 c-x 4 a
6085 ...
6086 c-x c-s c-x c-c
6087 $ cp gdb/src/gdb/README insight/src/gdb/README
6088 $ cp gdb/src/gdb/ChangeLog insight/src/gdb/ChangeLog
6089 @end smallexample
6090
6091 @emph{Maintainer note: Hopefully the @file{README} file was reviewed
6092 before the initial branch was cut so just a simple substitute is needed
6093 to get it updated.}
6094
6095 @emph{Maintainer note: Other projects generate @file{README} and
6096 @file{INSTALL} from the core documentation. This might be worth
6097 pursuing.}
6098
6099 @item gdb/version.in
6100
6101 @smallexample
6102 $ echo $v > gdb/src/gdb/version.in
6103 $ cat gdb/src/gdb/version.in
6104 5.2
6105 $ emacs gdb/src/gdb/version.in
6106 ...
6107 c-x 4 a
6108 ... Bump to version ...
6109 c-x c-s c-x c-c
6110 $ cp gdb/src/gdb/version.in insight/src/gdb/version.in
6111 $ cp gdb/src/gdb/ChangeLog insight/src/gdb/ChangeLog
6112 @end smallexample
6113
6114 @item dejagnu/src/dejagnu/configure.in
6115
6116 Dejagnu is more complicated. The version number is a parameter to
6117 @code{AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE}. Tweak it to read something like gdb-5.1.91.
6118
6119 Don't forget to re-generate @file{configure}.
6120
6121 Don't forget to include a @file{ChangeLog} entry.
6122
6123 @smallexample
6124 $ emacs dejagnu/src/dejagnu/configure.in
6125 ...
6126 c-x 4 a
6127 ...
6128 c-x c-s c-x c-c
6129 $ ( cd dejagnu/src/dejagnu && autoconf )
6130 @end smallexample
6131
6132 @end table
6133
6134 @subsubheading Do the dirty work
6135
6136 This is identical to the process used to create the daily snapshot.
6137
6138 @smallexample
6139 $ for m in gdb insight
6140 do
6141 ( cd $m/src && gmake -f src-release $m.tar )
6142 done
6143 $ ( m=dejagnu; cd $m/src && gmake -f src-release $m.tar.bz2 )
6144 @end smallexample
6145
6146 If the top level source directory does not have @file{src-release}
6147 (@value{GDBN} version 5.3.1 or earlier), try these commands instead:
6148
6149 @smallexample
6150 $ for m in gdb insight
6151 do
6152 ( cd $m/src && gmake -f Makefile.in $m.tar )
6153 done
6154 $ ( m=dejagnu; cd $m/src && gmake -f Makefile.in $m.tar.bz2 )
6155 @end smallexample
6156
6157 @subsubheading Check the source files
6158
6159 You're looking for files that have mysteriously disappeared.
6160 @kbd{distclean} has the habit of deleting files it shouldn't. Watch out
6161 for the @file{version.in} update @kbd{cronjob}.
6162
6163 @smallexample
6164 $ ( cd gdb/src && cvs -f -q -n update )
6165 M djunpack.bat
6166 ? gdb-5.1.91.tar
6167 ? proto-toplev
6168 @dots{} lots of generated files @dots{}
6169 M gdb/ChangeLog
6170 M gdb/NEWS
6171 M gdb/README
6172 M gdb/version.in
6173 @dots{} lots of generated files @dots{}
6174 $
6175 @end smallexample
6176
6177 @noindent
6178 @emph{Don't worry about the @file{gdb.info-??} or
6179 @file{gdb/p-exp.tab.c}. They were generated (and yes @file{gdb.info-1}
6180 was also generated only something strange with CVS means that they
6181 didn't get supressed). Fixing it would be nice though.}
6182
6183 @subsubheading Create compressed versions of the release
6184
6185 @smallexample
6186 $ cp */src/*.tar .
6187 $ cp */src/*.bz2 .
6188 $ ls -F
6189 dejagnu/ dejagnu-gdb-5.2.tar.bz2 gdb/ gdb-5.2.tar insight/ insight-5.2.tar
6190 $ for m in gdb insight
6191 do
6192 bzip2 -v -9 -c $m-$v.tar > $m-$v.tar.bz2
6193 gzip -v -9 -c $m-$v.tar > $m-$v.tar.gz
6194 done
6195 $
6196 @end smallexample
6197
6198 @noindent
6199 Note:
6200
6201 @itemize @bullet
6202 @item
6203 A pipe such as @kbd{bunzip2 < xxx.bz2 | gzip -9 > xxx.gz} is not since,
6204 in that mode, @code{gzip} does not know the name of the file and, hence,
6205 can not include it in the compressed file. This is also why the release
6206 process runs @code{tar} and @code{bzip2} as separate passes.
6207 @end itemize
6208
6209 @subsection Sanity check the tar ball
6210
6211 Pick a popular machine (Solaris/PPC?) and try the build on that.
6212
6213 @smallexample
6214 $ bunzip2 < gdb-5.2.tar.bz2 | tar xpf -
6215 $ cd gdb-5.2
6216 $ ./configure
6217 $ make
6218 @dots{}
6219 $ ./gdb/gdb ./gdb/gdb
6220 GNU gdb 5.2
6221 @dots{}
6222 (gdb) b main
6223 Breakpoint 1 at 0x80732bc: file main.c, line 734.
6224 (gdb) run
6225 Starting program: /tmp/gdb-5.2/gdb/gdb
6226
6227 Breakpoint 1, main (argc=1, argv=0xbffff8b4) at main.c:734
6228 734 catch_errors (captured_main, &args, "", RETURN_MASK_ALL);
6229 (gdb) print args
6230 $1 = @{argc = 136426532, argv = 0x821b7f0@}
6231 (gdb)
6232 @end smallexample
6233
6234 @subsection Make a release candidate available
6235
6236 If this is a release candidate then the only remaining steps are:
6237
6238 @enumerate
6239 @item
6240 Commit @file{version.in} and @file{ChangeLog}
6241 @item
6242 Tweak @file{version.in} (and @file{ChangeLog} to read
6243 @var{L}.@var{M}.@var{N}-0000-00-00-cvs so that the version update
6244 process can restart.
6245 @item
6246 Make the release candidate available in
6247 @uref{ftp://sources.redhat.com/pub/gdb/snapshots/branch}
6248 @item
6249 Notify the relevant mailing lists ( @email{gdb@@sources.redhat.com} and
6250 @email{gdb-testers@@sources.redhat.com} that the candidate is available.
6251 @end enumerate
6252
6253 @subsection Make a formal release available
6254
6255 (And you thought all that was required was to post an e-mail.)
6256
6257 @subsubheading Install on sware
6258
6259 Copy the new files to both the release and the old release directory:
6260
6261 @smallexample
6262 $ cp *.bz2 *.gz ~ftp/pub/gdb/old-releases/
6263 $ cp *.bz2 *.gz ~ftp/pub/gdb/releases
6264 @end smallexample
6265
6266 @noindent
6267 Clean up the releases directory so that only the most recent releases
6268 are available (e.g. keep 5.2 and 5.2.1 but remove 5.1):
6269
6270 @smallexample
6271 $ cd ~ftp/pub/gdb/releases
6272 $ rm @dots{}
6273 @end smallexample
6274
6275 @noindent
6276 Update the file @file{README} and @file{.message} in the releases
6277 directory:
6278
6279 @smallexample
6280 $ vi README
6281 @dots{}
6282 $ rm -f .message
6283 $ ln README .message
6284 @end smallexample
6285
6286 @subsubheading Update the web pages.
6287
6288 @table @file
6289
6290 @item htdocs/download/ANNOUNCEMENT
6291 This file, which is posted as the official announcement, includes:
6292 @itemize @bullet
6293 @item
6294 General announcement
6295 @item
6296 News. If making an @var{M}.@var{N}.1 release, retain the news from
6297 earlier @var{M}.@var{N} release.
6298 @item
6299 Errata
6300 @end itemize
6301
6302 @item htdocs/index.html
6303 @itemx htdocs/news/index.html
6304 @itemx htdocs/download/index.html
6305 These files include:
6306 @itemize @bullet
6307 @item
6308 announcement of the most recent release
6309 @item
6310 news entry (remember to update both the top level and the news directory).
6311 @end itemize
6312 These pages also need to be regenerate using @code{index.sh}.
6313
6314 @item download/onlinedocs/
6315 You need to find the magic command that is used to generate the online
6316 docs from the @file{.tar.bz2}. The best way is to look in the output
6317 from one of the nightly @code{cron} jobs and then just edit accordingly.
6318 Something like:
6319
6320 @smallexample
6321 $ ~/ss/update-web-docs \
6322 ~ftp/pub/gdb/releases/gdb-5.2.tar.bz2 \
6323 $PWD/www \
6324 /www/sourceware/htdocs/gdb/download/onlinedocs \
6325 gdb
6326 @end smallexample
6327
6328 @item download/ari/
6329 Just like the online documentation. Something like:
6330
6331 @smallexample
6332 $ /bin/sh ~/ss/update-web-ari \
6333 ~ftp/pub/gdb/releases/gdb-5.2.tar.bz2 \
6334 $PWD/www \
6335 /www/sourceware/htdocs/gdb/download/ari \
6336 gdb
6337 @end smallexample
6338
6339 @end table
6340
6341 @subsubheading Shadow the pages onto gnu
6342
6343 Something goes here.
6344
6345
6346 @subsubheading Install the @value{GDBN} tar ball on GNU
6347
6348 At the time of writing, the GNU machine was @kbd{gnudist.gnu.org} in
6349 @file{~ftp/gnu/gdb}.
6350
6351 @subsubheading Make the @file{ANNOUNCEMENT}
6352
6353 Post the @file{ANNOUNCEMENT} file you created above to:
6354
6355 @itemize @bullet
6356 @item
6357 @email{gdb-announce@@sources.redhat.com, GDB Announcement mailing list}
6358 @item
6359 @email{info-gnu@@gnu.org, General GNU Announcement list} (but delay it a
6360 day or so to let things get out)
6361 @item
6362 @email{bug-gdb@@gnu.org, GDB Bug Report mailing list}
6363 @end itemize
6364
6365 @subsection Cleanup
6366
6367 The release is out but you're still not finished.
6368
6369 @subsubheading Commit outstanding changes
6370
6371 In particular you'll need to commit any changes to:
6372
6373 @itemize @bullet
6374 @item
6375 @file{gdb/ChangeLog}
6376 @item
6377 @file{gdb/version.in}
6378 @item
6379 @file{gdb/NEWS}
6380 @item
6381 @file{gdb/README}
6382 @end itemize
6383
6384 @subsubheading Tag the release
6385
6386 Something like:
6387
6388 @smallexample
6389 $ d=`date -u +%Y-%m-%d`
6390 $ echo $d
6391 2002-01-24
6392 $ ( cd insight/src/gdb && cvs -f -q update )
6393 $ ( cd insight/src && cvs -f -q tag gdb_5_2-$d-release )
6394 @end smallexample
6395
6396 Insight is used since that contains more of the release than
6397 @value{GDBN} (@code{dejagnu} doesn't get tagged but I think we can live
6398 with that).
6399
6400 @subsubheading Mention the release on the trunk
6401
6402 Just put something in the @file{ChangeLog} so that the trunk also
6403 indicates when the release was made.
6404
6405 @subsubheading Restart @file{gdb/version.in}
6406
6407 If @file{gdb/version.in} does not contain an ISO date such as
6408 @kbd{2002-01-24} then the daily @code{cronjob} won't update it. Having
6409 committed all the release changes it can be set to
6410 @file{5.2.0_0000-00-00-cvs} which will restart things (yes the @kbd{_}
6411 is important - it affects the snapshot process).
6412
6413 Don't forget the @file{ChangeLog}.
6414
6415 @subsubheading Merge into trunk
6416
6417 The files committed to the branch may also need changes merged into the
6418 trunk.
6419
6420 @subsubheading Revise the release schedule
6421
6422 Post a revised release schedule to @email{gdb@@sources.redhat.com, GDB
6423 Discussion List} with an updated announcement. The schedule can be
6424 generated by running:
6425
6426 @smallexample
6427 $ ~/ss/schedule `date +%s` schedule
6428 @end smallexample
6429
6430 @noindent
6431 The first parameter is approximate date/time in seconds (from the epoch)
6432 of the most recent release.
6433
6434 Also update the schedule @code{cronjob}.
6435
6436 @section Post release
6437
6438 Remove any @code{OBSOLETE} code.
6439
6440 @node Testsuite
6441
6442 @chapter Testsuite
6443 @cindex test suite
6444
6445 The testsuite is an important component of the @value{GDBN} package.
6446 While it is always worthwhile to encourage user testing, in practice
6447 this is rarely sufficient; users typically use only a small subset of
6448 the available commands, and it has proven all too common for a change
6449 to cause a significant regression that went unnoticed for some time.
6450
6451 The @value{GDBN} testsuite uses the DejaGNU testing framework.
6452 DejaGNU is built using @code{Tcl} and @code{expect}. The tests
6453 themselves are calls to various @code{Tcl} procs; the framework runs all the
6454 procs and summarizes the passes and fails.
6455
6456 @section Using the Testsuite
6457
6458 @cindex running the test suite
6459 To run the testsuite, simply go to the @value{GDBN} object directory (or to the
6460 testsuite's objdir) and type @code{make check}. This just sets up some
6461 environment variables and invokes DejaGNU's @code{runtest} script. While
6462 the testsuite is running, you'll get mentions of which test file is in use,
6463 and a mention of any unexpected passes or fails. When the testsuite is
6464 finished, you'll get a summary that looks like this:
6465
6466 @smallexample
6467 === gdb Summary ===
6468
6469 # of expected passes 6016
6470 # of unexpected failures 58
6471 # of unexpected successes 5
6472 # of expected failures 183
6473 # of unresolved testcases 3
6474 # of untested testcases 5
6475 @end smallexample
6476
6477 The ideal test run consists of expected passes only; however, reality
6478 conspires to keep us from this ideal. Unexpected failures indicate
6479 real problems, whether in @value{GDBN} or in the testsuite. Expected
6480 failures are still failures, but ones which have been decided are too
6481 hard to deal with at the time; for instance, a test case might work
6482 everywhere except on AIX, and there is no prospect of the AIX case
6483 being fixed in the near future. Expected failures should not be added
6484 lightly, since you may be masking serious bugs in @value{GDBN}.
6485 Unexpected successes are expected fails that are passing for some
6486 reason, while unresolved and untested cases often indicate some minor
6487 catastrophe, such as the compiler being unable to deal with a test
6488 program.
6489
6490 When making any significant change to @value{GDBN}, you should run the
6491 testsuite before and after the change, to confirm that there are no
6492 regressions. Note that truly complete testing would require that you
6493 run the testsuite with all supported configurations and a variety of
6494 compilers; however this is more than really necessary. In many cases
6495 testing with a single configuration is sufficient. Other useful
6496 options are to test one big-endian (Sparc) and one little-endian (x86)
6497 host, a cross config with a builtin simulator (powerpc-eabi,
6498 mips-elf), or a 64-bit host (Alpha).
6499
6500 If you add new functionality to @value{GDBN}, please consider adding
6501 tests for it as well; this way future @value{GDBN} hackers can detect
6502 and fix their changes that break the functionality you added.
6503 Similarly, if you fix a bug that was not previously reported as a test
6504 failure, please add a test case for it. Some cases are extremely
6505 difficult to test, such as code that handles host OS failures or bugs
6506 in particular versions of compilers, and it's OK not to try to write
6507 tests for all of those.
6508
6509 DejaGNU supports separate build, host, and target machines. However,
6510 some @value{GDBN} test scripts do not work if the build machine and
6511 the host machine are not the same. In such an environment, these scripts
6512 will give a result of ``UNRESOLVED'', like this:
6513
6514 @smallexample
6515 UNRESOLVED: gdb.base/example.exp: This test script does not work on a remote host.
6516 @end smallexample
6517
6518 @section Testsuite Organization
6519
6520 @cindex test suite organization
6521 The testsuite is entirely contained in @file{gdb/testsuite}. While the
6522 testsuite includes some makefiles and configury, these are very minimal,
6523 and used for little besides cleaning up, since the tests themselves
6524 handle the compilation of the programs that @value{GDBN} will run. The file
6525 @file{testsuite/lib/gdb.exp} contains common utility procs useful for
6526 all @value{GDBN} tests, while the directory @file{testsuite/config} contains
6527 configuration-specific files, typically used for special-purpose
6528 definitions of procs like @code{gdb_load} and @code{gdb_start}.
6529
6530 The tests themselves are to be found in @file{testsuite/gdb.*} and
6531 subdirectories of those. The names of the test files must always end
6532 with @file{.exp}. DejaGNU collects the test files by wildcarding
6533 in the test directories, so both subdirectories and individual files
6534 get chosen and run in alphabetical order.
6535
6536 The following table lists the main types of subdirectories and what they
6537 are for. Since DejaGNU finds test files no matter where they are
6538 located, and since each test file sets up its own compilation and
6539 execution environment, this organization is simply for convenience and
6540 intelligibility.
6541
6542 @table @file
6543 @item gdb.base
6544 This is the base testsuite. The tests in it should apply to all
6545 configurations of @value{GDBN} (but generic native-only tests may live here).
6546 The test programs should be in the subset of C that is valid K&R,
6547 ANSI/ISO, and C@t{++} (@code{#ifdef}s are allowed if necessary, for instance
6548 for prototypes).
6549
6550 @item gdb.@var{lang}
6551 Language-specific tests for any language @var{lang} besides C. Examples are
6552 @file{gdb.cp} and @file{gdb.java}.
6553
6554 @item gdb.@var{platform}
6555 Non-portable tests. The tests are specific to a specific configuration
6556 (host or target), such as HP-UX or eCos. Example is @file{gdb.hp}, for
6557 HP-UX.
6558
6559 @item gdb.@var{compiler}
6560 Tests specific to a particular compiler. As of this writing (June
6561 1999), there aren't currently any groups of tests in this category that
6562 couldn't just as sensibly be made platform-specific, but one could
6563 imagine a @file{gdb.gcc}, for tests of @value{GDBN}'s handling of GCC
6564 extensions.
6565
6566 @item gdb.@var{subsystem}
6567 Tests that exercise a specific @value{GDBN} subsystem in more depth. For
6568 instance, @file{gdb.disasm} exercises various disassemblers, while
6569 @file{gdb.stabs} tests pathways through the stabs symbol reader.
6570 @end table
6571
6572 @section Writing Tests
6573 @cindex writing tests
6574
6575 In many areas, the @value{GDBN} tests are already quite comprehensive; you
6576 should be able to copy existing tests to handle new cases.
6577
6578 You should try to use @code{gdb_test} whenever possible, since it
6579 includes cases to handle all the unexpected errors that might happen.
6580 However, it doesn't cost anything to add new test procedures; for
6581 instance, @file{gdb.base/exprs.exp} defines a @code{test_expr} that
6582 calls @code{gdb_test} multiple times.
6583
6584 Only use @code{send_gdb} and @code{gdb_expect} when absolutely
6585 necessary, such as when @value{GDBN} has several valid responses to a command.
6586
6587 The source language programs do @emph{not} need to be in a consistent
6588 style. Since @value{GDBN} is used to debug programs written in many different
6589 styles, it's worth having a mix of styles in the testsuite; for
6590 instance, some @value{GDBN} bugs involving the display of source lines would
6591 never manifest themselves if the programs used GNU coding style
6592 uniformly.
6593
6594 @node Hints
6595
6596 @chapter Hints
6597
6598 Check the @file{README} file, it often has useful information that does not
6599 appear anywhere else in the directory.
6600
6601 @menu
6602 * Getting Started:: Getting started working on @value{GDBN}
6603 * Debugging GDB:: Debugging @value{GDBN} with itself
6604 @end menu
6605
6606 @node Getting Started,,, Hints
6607
6608 @section Getting Started
6609
6610 @value{GDBN} is a large and complicated program, and if you first starting to
6611 work on it, it can be hard to know where to start. Fortunately, if you
6612 know how to go about it, there are ways to figure out what is going on.
6613
6614 This manual, the @value{GDBN} Internals manual, has information which applies
6615 generally to many parts of @value{GDBN}.
6616
6617 Information about particular functions or data structures are located in
6618 comments with those functions or data structures. If you run across a
6619 function or a global variable which does not have a comment correctly
6620 explaining what is does, this can be thought of as a bug in @value{GDBN}; feel
6621 free to submit a bug report, with a suggested comment if you can figure
6622 out what the comment should say. If you find a comment which is
6623 actually wrong, be especially sure to report that.
6624
6625 Comments explaining the function of macros defined in host, target, or
6626 native dependent files can be in several places. Sometimes they are
6627 repeated every place the macro is defined. Sometimes they are where the
6628 macro is used. Sometimes there is a header file which supplies a
6629 default definition of the macro, and the comment is there. This manual
6630 also documents all the available macros.
6631 @c (@pxref{Host Conditionals}, @pxref{Target
6632 @c Conditionals}, @pxref{Native Conditionals}, and @pxref{Obsolete
6633 @c Conditionals})
6634
6635 Start with the header files. Once you have some idea of how
6636 @value{GDBN}'s internal symbol tables are stored (see @file{symtab.h},
6637 @file{gdbtypes.h}), you will find it much easier to understand the
6638 code which uses and creates those symbol tables.
6639
6640 You may wish to process the information you are getting somehow, to
6641 enhance your understanding of it. Summarize it, translate it to another
6642 language, add some (perhaps trivial or non-useful) feature to @value{GDBN}, use
6643 the code to predict what a test case would do and write the test case
6644 and verify your prediction, etc. If you are reading code and your eyes
6645 are starting to glaze over, this is a sign you need to use a more active
6646 approach.
6647
6648 Once you have a part of @value{GDBN} to start with, you can find more
6649 specifically the part you are looking for by stepping through each
6650 function with the @code{next} command. Do not use @code{step} or you
6651 will quickly get distracted; when the function you are stepping through
6652 calls another function try only to get a big-picture understanding
6653 (perhaps using the comment at the beginning of the function being
6654 called) of what it does. This way you can identify which of the
6655 functions being called by the function you are stepping through is the
6656 one which you are interested in. You may need to examine the data
6657 structures generated at each stage, with reference to the comments in
6658 the header files explaining what the data structures are supposed to
6659 look like.
6660
6661 Of course, this same technique can be used if you are just reading the
6662 code, rather than actually stepping through it. The same general
6663 principle applies---when the code you are looking at calls something
6664 else, just try to understand generally what the code being called does,
6665 rather than worrying about all its details.
6666
6667 @cindex command implementation
6668 A good place to start when tracking down some particular area is with
6669 a command which invokes that feature. Suppose you want to know how
6670 single-stepping works. As a @value{GDBN} user, you know that the
6671 @code{step} command invokes single-stepping. The command is invoked
6672 via command tables (see @file{command.h}); by convention the function
6673 which actually performs the command is formed by taking the name of
6674 the command and adding @samp{_command}, or in the case of an
6675 @code{info} subcommand, @samp{_info}. For example, the @code{step}
6676 command invokes the @code{step_command} function and the @code{info
6677 display} command invokes @code{display_info}. When this convention is
6678 not followed, you might have to use @code{grep} or @kbd{M-x
6679 tags-search} in emacs, or run @value{GDBN} on itself and set a
6680 breakpoint in @code{execute_command}.
6681
6682 @cindex @code{bug-gdb} mailing list
6683 If all of the above fail, it may be appropriate to ask for information
6684 on @code{bug-gdb}. But @emph{never} post a generic question like ``I was
6685 wondering if anyone could give me some tips about understanding
6686 @value{GDBN}''---if we had some magic secret we would put it in this manual.
6687 Suggestions for improving the manual are always welcome, of course.
6688
6689 @node Debugging GDB,,,Hints
6690
6691 @section Debugging @value{GDBN} with itself
6692 @cindex debugging @value{GDBN}
6693
6694 If @value{GDBN} is limping on your machine, this is the preferred way to get it
6695 fully functional. Be warned that in some ancient Unix systems, like
6696 Ultrix 4.2, a program can't be running in one process while it is being
6697 debugged in another. Rather than typing the command @kbd{@w{./gdb
6698 ./gdb}}, which works on Suns and such, you can copy @file{gdb} to
6699 @file{gdb2} and then type @kbd{@w{./gdb ./gdb2}}.
6700
6701 When you run @value{GDBN} in the @value{GDBN} source directory, it will read a
6702 @file{.gdbinit} file that sets up some simple things to make debugging
6703 gdb easier. The @code{info} command, when executed without a subcommand
6704 in a @value{GDBN} being debugged by gdb, will pop you back up to the top level
6705 gdb. See @file{.gdbinit} for details.
6706
6707 If you use emacs, you will probably want to do a @code{make TAGS} after
6708 you configure your distribution; this will put the machine dependent
6709 routines for your local machine where they will be accessed first by
6710 @kbd{M-.}
6711
6712 Also, make sure that you've either compiled @value{GDBN} with your local cc, or
6713 have run @code{fixincludes} if you are compiling with gcc.
6714
6715 @section Submitting Patches
6716
6717 @cindex submitting patches
6718 Thanks for thinking of offering your changes back to the community of
6719 @value{GDBN} users. In general we like to get well designed enhancements.
6720 Thanks also for checking in advance about the best way to transfer the
6721 changes.
6722
6723 The @value{GDBN} maintainers will only install ``cleanly designed'' patches.
6724 This manual summarizes what we believe to be clean design for @value{GDBN}.
6725
6726 If the maintainers don't have time to put the patch in when it arrives,
6727 or if there is any question about a patch, it goes into a large queue
6728 with everyone else's patches and bug reports.
6729
6730 @cindex legal papers for code contributions
6731 The legal issue is that to incorporate substantial changes requires a
6732 copyright assignment from you and/or your employer, granting ownership
6733 of the changes to the Free Software Foundation. You can get the
6734 standard documents for doing this by sending mail to @code{gnu@@gnu.org}
6735 and asking for it. We recommend that people write in "All programs
6736 owned by the Free Software Foundation" as "NAME OF PROGRAM", so that
6737 changes in many programs (not just @value{GDBN}, but GAS, Emacs, GCC,
6738 etc) can be
6739 contributed with only one piece of legalese pushed through the
6740 bureaucracy and filed with the FSF. We can't start merging changes until
6741 this paperwork is received by the FSF (their rules, which we follow
6742 since we maintain it for them).
6743
6744 Technically, the easiest way to receive changes is to receive each
6745 feature as a small context diff or unidiff, suitable for @code{patch}.
6746 Each message sent to me should include the changes to C code and
6747 header files for a single feature, plus @file{ChangeLog} entries for
6748 each directory where files were modified, and diffs for any changes
6749 needed to the manuals (@file{gdb/doc/gdb.texinfo} or
6750 @file{gdb/doc/gdbint.texinfo}). If there are a lot of changes for a
6751 single feature, they can be split down into multiple messages.
6752
6753 In this way, if we read and like the feature, we can add it to the
6754 sources with a single patch command, do some testing, and check it in.
6755 If you leave out the @file{ChangeLog}, we have to write one. If you leave
6756 out the doc, we have to puzzle out what needs documenting. Etc., etc.
6757
6758 The reason to send each change in a separate message is that we will not
6759 install some of the changes. They'll be returned to you with questions
6760 or comments. If we're doing our job correctly, the message back to you
6761 will say what you have to fix in order to make the change acceptable.
6762 The reason to have separate messages for separate features is so that
6763 the acceptable changes can be installed while one or more changes are
6764 being reworked. If multiple features are sent in a single message, we
6765 tend to not put in the effort to sort out the acceptable changes from
6766 the unacceptable, so none of the features get installed until all are
6767 acceptable.
6768
6769 If this sounds painful or authoritarian, well, it is. But we get a lot
6770 of bug reports and a lot of patches, and many of them don't get
6771 installed because we don't have the time to finish the job that the bug
6772 reporter or the contributor could have done. Patches that arrive
6773 complete, working, and well designed, tend to get installed on the day
6774 they arrive. The others go into a queue and get installed as time
6775 permits, which, since the maintainers have many demands to meet, may not
6776 be for quite some time.
6777
6778 Please send patches directly to
6779 @email{gdb-patches@@sources.redhat.com, the @value{GDBN} maintainers}.
6780
6781 @section Obsolete Conditionals
6782 @cindex obsolete code
6783
6784 Fragments of old code in @value{GDBN} sometimes reference or set the following
6785 configuration macros. They should not be used by new code, and old uses
6786 should be removed as those parts of the debugger are otherwise touched.
6787
6788 @table @code
6789 @item STACK_END_ADDR
6790 This macro used to define where the end of the stack appeared, for use
6791 in interpreting core file formats that don't record this address in the
6792 core file itself. This information is now configured in BFD, and @value{GDBN}
6793 gets the info portably from there. The values in @value{GDBN}'s configuration
6794 files should be moved into BFD configuration files (if needed there),
6795 and deleted from all of @value{GDBN}'s config files.
6796
6797 Any @file{@var{foo}-xdep.c} file that references STACK_END_ADDR
6798 is so old that it has never been converted to use BFD. Now that's old!
6799
6800 @end table
6801
6802 @include observer.texi
6803 @raisesections
6804 @include fdl.texi
6805 @lowersections
6806
6807 @node Index
6808 @unnumbered Index
6809
6810 @printindex cp
6811
6812 @bye
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