81c21b82cc13af7f83aec1a26ac5404e3c305055
[deliverable/binutils-gdb.git] / gdb / NEWS
1 What has changed in GDB?
2 (Organized release by release)
3
4 *** Changes since GDB 8.0
5
6 * GDB now supports access to the guarded-storage-control registers and the
7 software-based guarded-storage broadcast control registers on IBM z14.
8
9 * On Unix systems, GDB now supports transmitting environment variables
10 that are to be set or unset to GDBserver. These variables will
11 affect the environment to be passed to the remote inferior.
12
13 To inform GDB of environment variables that are to be transmitted to
14 GDBserver, use the "set environment" command. Only user set
15 environment variables are sent to GDBserver.
16
17 To inform GDB of environment variables that are to be unset before
18 the remote inferior is started by the GDBserver, use the "unset
19 environment" command.
20
21 * Python Scripting
22
23 ** New events gdb.new_inferior, gdb.inferior_deleted, and
24 gdb.new_thread are emitted. See the manual for further
25 description of these.
26
27 * New features in the GDB remote stub, GDBserver
28
29 ** New "--selftest" command line option runs some GDBserver self
30 tests. These self tests are disabled in releases.
31
32 ** On Unix systems, GDBserver now does globbing expansion and variable
33 substitution in inferior command line arguments.
34
35 This is done by starting inferiors using a shell, like GDB does.
36 See "set startup-with-shell" in the user manual for how to disable
37 this from GDB when using "target extended-remote". When using
38 "target remote", you can disable the startup with shell by using the
39 new "--no-startup-with-shell" GDBserver command line option.
40
41 ** On Unix systems, GDBserver now supports receiving environment
42 variables that are to be set or unset from GDB. These variables
43 will affect the environment to be passed to the inferior.
44
45 * New remote packets
46
47 QEnvironmentHexEncoded
48 Inform GDBserver of an environment variable that is to be passed to
49 the inferior when starting it.
50
51 QEnvironmentUnset
52 Inform GDBserver of an environment variable that is to be unset
53 before starting the remote inferior.
54
55 QEnvironmentReset
56 Inform GDBserver that the environment should be reset (i.e.,
57 user-set environment variables should be unset).
58
59 QStartupWithShell
60 Indicates whether the inferior must be started with a shell or not.
61
62 * The "maintenance print c-tdesc" command now takes an optional
63 argument which is the file name of XML target description.
64
65 * The "maintenance selftest" command now takes an optional argument to
66 filter the tests to be run.
67
68 * New commands
69
70 set|show compile-gcc
71 Set and show compilation command used for compiling and injecting code
72 with the 'compile' commands.
73
74 set debug separate-debug-file
75 show debug separate-debug-file
76 Control the display of debug output about separate debug file search.
77
78 maint info selftests
79 List the registered selftests.
80
81 starti
82 Start the debugged program stopping at the first instruction.
83
84 * TUI Single-Key mode now supports two new shortcut keys: `i' for stepi and
85 `o' for nexti.
86
87 * Safer/improved support for debugging with no debug info
88
89 GDB no longer assumes functions with no debug information return
90 'int'.
91
92 This means that GDB now refuses to call such functions unless you
93 tell it the function's type, by either casting the call to the
94 declared return type, or by casting the function to a function
95 pointer of the right type, and calling that:
96
97 (gdb) p getenv ("PATH")
98 'getenv' has unknown return type; cast the call to its declared return type
99 (gdb) p (char *) getenv ("PATH")
100 $1 = 0x7fffffffe "/usr/local/bin:/"...
101 (gdb) p ((char * (*) (const char *)) getenv) ("PATH")
102 $2 = 0x7fffffffe "/usr/local/bin:/"...
103
104 Similarly, GDB no longer assumes that global variables with no debug
105 info have type 'int', and refuses to print the variable's value
106 unless you tell it the variable's type:
107
108 (gdb) p var
109 'var' has unknown type; cast it to its declared type
110 (gdb) p (float) var
111 $3 = 3.14
112
113 * New native configurations
114
115 FreeBSD/aarch64 aarch64*-*-freebsd*
116
117 * New targets
118
119 FreeBSD/aarch64 aarch64*-*-freebsd*
120
121 * Removed targets and native configurations
122
123 Solaris 2.0-9 i?86-*-solaris2.[0-9], sparc*-*-solaris2.[0-9]
124
125 *** Changes in GDB 8.0
126
127 * GDB now supports access to the PKU register on GNU/Linux. The register is
128 added by the Memory Protection Keys for Userspace feature which will be
129 available in future Intel CPUs.
130
131 * GDB now supports C++11 rvalue references.
132
133 * Python Scripting
134
135 ** New functions to start, stop and access a running btrace recording.
136 ** Rvalue references are now supported in gdb.Type.
137
138 * GDB now supports recording and replaying rdrand and rdseed Intel 64
139 instructions.
140
141 * Building GDB and GDBserver now requires a C++11 compiler.
142
143 For example, GCC 4.8 or later.
144
145 It is no longer possible to build GDB or GDBserver with a C
146 compiler. The --disable-build-with-cxx configure option has been
147 removed.
148
149 * Building GDB and GDBserver now requires GNU make >= 3.81.
150
151 It is no longer supported to build GDB or GDBserver with another
152 implementation of the make program or an earlier version of GNU make.
153
154 * Native debugging on MS-Windows supports command-line redirection
155
156 Command-line arguments used for starting programs on MS-Windows can
157 now include redirection symbols supported by native Windows shells,
158 such as '<', '>', '>>', '2>&1', etc. This affects GDB commands such
159 as "run", "start", and "set args", as well as the corresponding MI
160 features.
161
162 * Support for thread names on MS-Windows.
163
164 GDB now catches and handles the special exception that programs
165 running on MS-Windows use to assign names to threads in the
166 debugger.
167
168 * Support for Java programs compiled with gcj has been removed.
169
170 * User commands now accept an unlimited number of arguments.
171 Previously, only up to 10 was accepted.
172
173 * The "eval" command now expands user-defined command arguments.
174
175 This makes it easier to process a variable number of arguments:
176
177 define mycommand
178 set $i = 0
179 while $i < $argc
180 eval "print $arg%d", $i
181 set $i = $i + 1
182 end
183 end
184
185 * Target descriptions can now describe registers for sparc32 and sparc64.
186
187 * GDB now supports DWARF version 5 (debug information format).
188 Its .debug_names index is not yet supported.
189
190 * New native configurations
191
192 FreeBSD/mips mips*-*-freebsd
193
194 * New targets
195
196 Synopsys ARC arc*-*-elf32
197 FreeBSD/mips mips*-*-freebsd
198
199 * Removed targets and native configurations
200
201 Alpha running FreeBSD alpha*-*-freebsd*
202 Alpha running GNU/kFreeBSD alpha*-*-kfreebsd*-gnu
203
204 * New commands
205
206 flash-erase
207 Erases all the flash memory regions reported by the target.
208
209 maint print arc arc-instruction address
210 Print internal disassembler information about instruction at a given address.
211
212 * New options
213
214 set disassembler-options
215 show disassembler-options
216 Controls the passing of target specific information to the disassembler.
217 If it is necessary to specify more than one disassembler option then
218 multiple options can be placed together into a comma separated list.
219 The default value is the empty string. Currently, the only supported
220 targets are ARM, PowerPC and S/390.
221
222 * New MI commands
223
224 -target-flash-erase
225 Erases all the flash memory regions reported by the target. This is
226 equivalent to the CLI command flash-erase.
227
228 -file-list-shared-libraries
229 List the shared libraries in the program. This is
230 equivalent to the CLI command "info shared".
231
232 *** Changes in GDB 7.12
233
234 * GDB and GDBserver now build with a C++ compiler by default.
235
236 The --enable-build-with-cxx configure option is now enabled by
237 default. One must now explicitly configure with
238 --disable-build-with-cxx in order to build with a C compiler. This
239 option will be removed in a future release.
240
241 * GDBserver now supports recording btrace without maintaining an active
242 GDB connection.
243
244 * GDB now supports a negative repeat count in the 'x' command to examine
245 memory backward from the given address. For example:
246
247 (gdb) bt
248 #0 Func1 (n=42, p=0x40061c "hogehoge") at main.cpp:4
249 #1 0x400580 in main (argc=1, argv=0x7fffffffe5c8) at main.cpp:8
250 (gdb) x/-5i 0x0000000000400580
251 0x40056a <main(int, char**)+8>: mov %edi,-0x4(%rbp)
252 0x40056d <main(int, char**)+11>: mov %rsi,-0x10(%rbp)
253 0x400571 <main(int, char**)+15>: mov $0x40061c,%esi
254 0x400576 <main(int, char**)+20>: mov $0x2a,%edi
255 0x40057b <main(int, char**)+25>:
256 callq 0x400536 <Func1(int, char const*)>
257
258 * Fortran: Support structures with fields of dynamic types and
259 arrays of dynamic types.
260
261 * The symbol dumping maintenance commands have new syntax.
262 maint print symbols [-pc address] [--] [filename]
263 maint print symbols [-objfile objfile] [-source source] [--] [filename]
264 maint print psymbols [-objfile objfile] [-pc address] [--] [filename]
265 maint print psymbols [-objfile objfile] [-source source] [--] [filename]
266 maint print msymbols [-objfile objfile] [--] [filename]
267
268 * GDB now supports multibit bitfields and enums in target register
269 descriptions.
270
271 * New Python-based convenience function $_as_string(val), which returns
272 the textual representation of a value. This function is especially
273 useful to obtain the text label of an enum value.
274
275 * Intel MPX bound violation handling.
276
277 Segmentation faults caused by a Intel MPX boundary violation
278 now display the kind of violation (upper or lower), the memory
279 address accessed and the memory bounds, along with the usual
280 signal received and code location.
281
282 For example:
283
284 Program received signal SIGSEGV, Segmentation fault
285 Upper bound violation while accessing address 0x7fffffffc3b3
286 Bounds: [lower = 0x7fffffffc390, upper = 0x7fffffffc3a3]
287 0x0000000000400d7c in upper () at i386-mpx-sigsegv.c:68
288
289 * Rust language support.
290 GDB now supports debugging programs written in the Rust programming
291 language. See https://www.rust-lang.org/ for more information about
292 Rust.
293
294 * Support for running interpreters on specified input/output devices
295
296 GDB now supports a new mechanism that allows frontends to provide
297 fully featured GDB console views, as a better alternative to
298 building such views on top of the "-interpreter-exec console"
299 command. See the new "new-ui" command below. With that command,
300 frontends can now start GDB in the traditional command-line mode
301 running in an embedded terminal emulator widget, and create a
302 separate MI interpreter running on a specified i/o device. In this
303 way, GDB handles line editing, history, tab completion, etc. in the
304 console all by itself, and the GUI uses the separate MI interpreter
305 for its own control and synchronization, invisible to the command
306 line.
307
308 * The "catch syscall" command catches groups of related syscalls.
309
310 The "catch syscall" command now supports catching a group of related
311 syscalls using the 'group:' or 'g:' prefix.
312
313 * New commands
314
315 skip -file file
316 skip -gfile file-glob-pattern
317 skip -function function
318 skip -rfunction regular-expression
319 A generalized form of the skip command, with new support for
320 glob-style file names and regular expressions for function names.
321 Additionally, a file spec and a function spec may now be combined.
322
323 maint info line-table REGEXP
324 Display the contents of GDB's internal line table data struture.
325
326 maint selftest
327 Run any GDB unit tests that were compiled in.
328
329 new-ui INTERP TTY
330 Start a new user interface instance running INTERP as interpreter,
331 using the TTY file for input/output.
332
333 * Python Scripting
334
335 ** gdb.Breakpoint objects have a new attribute "pending", which
336 indicates whether the breakpoint is pending.
337 ** Three new breakpoint-related events have been added:
338 gdb.breakpoint_created, gdb.breakpoint_modified, and
339 gdb.breakpoint_deleted.
340
341 signal-event EVENTID
342 Signal ("set") the given MS-Windows event object. This is used in
343 conjunction with the Windows JIT debugging (AeDebug) support, where
344 the OS suspends a crashing process until a debugger can attach to
345 it. Resuming the crashing process, in order to debug it, is done by
346 signalling an event.
347
348 * Support for tracepoints and fast tracepoints on s390-linux and s390x-linux
349 was added in GDBserver, including JIT compiling fast tracepoint's
350 conditional expression bytecode into native code.
351
352 * Support for various remote target protocols and ROM monitors has
353 been removed:
354
355 target m32rsdi Remote M32R debugging over SDI
356 target mips MIPS remote debugging protocol
357 target pmon PMON ROM monitor
358 target ddb NEC's DDB variant of PMON for Vr4300
359 target rockhopper NEC RockHopper variant of PMON
360 target lsi LSI variant of PMO
361
362 * Support for tracepoints and fast tracepoints on powerpc-linux,
363 powerpc64-linux, and powerpc64le-linux was added in GDBserver,
364 including JIT compiling fast tracepoint's conditional expression
365 bytecode into native code.
366
367 * MI async record =record-started now includes the method and format used for
368 recording. For example:
369
370 =record-started,thread-group="i1",method="btrace",format="bts"
371
372 * MI async record =thread-selected now includes the frame field. For example:
373
374 =thread-selected,id="3",frame={level="0",addr="0x00000000004007c0"}
375
376 * New targets
377
378 Andes NDS32 nds32*-*-elf
379
380 *** Changes in GDB 7.11
381
382 * GDB now supports debugging kernel-based threads on FreeBSD.
383
384 * Per-inferior thread numbers
385
386 Thread numbers are now per inferior instead of global. If you're
387 debugging multiple inferiors, GDB displays thread IDs using a
388 qualified INF_NUM.THR_NUM form. For example:
389
390 (gdb) info threads
391 Id Target Id Frame
392 1.1 Thread 0x7ffff7fc2740 (LWP 8155) (running)
393 1.2 Thread 0x7ffff7fc1700 (LWP 8168) (running)
394 * 2.1 Thread 0x7ffff7fc2740 (LWP 8157) (running)
395 2.2 Thread 0x7ffff7fc1700 (LWP 8190) (running)
396
397 As consequence, thread numbers as visible in the $_thread
398 convenience variable and in Python's InferiorThread.num attribute
399 are no longer unique between inferiors.
400
401 GDB now maintains a second thread ID per thread, referred to as the
402 global thread ID, which is the new equivalent of thread numbers in
403 previous releases. See also $_gthread below.
404
405 For backwards compatibility, MI's thread IDs always refer to global
406 IDs.
407
408 * Commands that accept thread IDs now accept the qualified
409 INF_NUM.THR_NUM form as well. For example:
410
411 (gdb) thread 2.1
412 [Switching to thread 2.1 (Thread 0x7ffff7fc2740 (LWP 8157))] (running)
413 (gdb)
414
415 * In commands that accept a list of thread IDs, you can now refer to
416 all threads of an inferior using a star wildcard. GDB accepts
417 "INF_NUM.*", to refer to all threads of inferior INF_NUM, and "*" to
418 refer to all threads of the current inferior. For example, "info
419 threads 2.*".
420
421 * You can use "info threads -gid" to display the global thread ID of
422 all threads.
423
424 * The new convenience variable $_gthread holds the global number of
425 the current thread.
426
427 * The new convenience variable $_inferior holds the number of the
428 current inferior.
429
430 * GDB now displays the ID and name of the thread that hit a breakpoint
431 or received a signal, if your program is multi-threaded. For
432 example:
433
434 Thread 3 "bar" hit Breakpoint 1 at 0x40087a: file program.c, line 20.
435 Thread 1 "main" received signal SIGINT, Interrupt.
436
437 * Record btrace now supports non-stop mode.
438
439 * Support for tracepoints on aarch64-linux was added in GDBserver.
440
441 * The 'record instruction-history' command now indicates speculative execution
442 when using the Intel Processor Trace recording format.
443
444 * GDB now allows users to specify explicit locations, bypassing
445 the linespec parser. This feature is also available to GDB/MI
446 clients.
447
448 * Multi-architecture debugging is supported on AArch64 GNU/Linux.
449 GDB now is able to debug both AArch64 applications and ARM applications
450 at the same time.
451
452 * Support for fast tracepoints on aarch64-linux was added in GDBserver,
453 including JIT compiling fast tracepoint's conditional expression bytecode
454 into native code.
455
456 * GDB now supports displaced stepping on AArch64 GNU/Linux.
457
458 * "info threads", "info inferiors", "info display", "info checkpoints"
459 and "maint info program-spaces" now list the corresponding items in
460 ascending ID order, for consistency with all other "info" commands.
461
462 * In Ada, the overloads selection menu has been enhanced to display the
463 parameter types and the return types for the matching overloaded subprograms.
464
465 * New commands
466
467 maint set target-non-stop (on|off|auto)
468 maint show target-non-stop
469 Control whether GDB targets always operate in non-stop mode even if
470 "set non-stop" is "off". The default is "auto", meaning non-stop
471 mode is enabled if supported by the target.
472
473 maint set bfd-sharing
474 maint show bfd-sharing
475 Control the reuse of bfd objects.
476
477 set debug bfd-cache
478 show debug bfd-cache
479 Control display of debugging info regarding bfd caching.
480
481 set debug fbsd-lwp
482 show debug fbsd-lwp
483 Control display of debugging info regarding FreeBSD threads.
484
485 set remote multiprocess-extensions-packet
486 show remote multiprocess-extensions-packet
487 Set/show the use of the remote protocol multiprocess extensions.
488
489 set remote thread-events
490 show remote thread-events
491 Set/show the use of thread create/exit events.
492
493 set ada print-signatures on|off
494 show ada print-signatures"
495 Control whether parameter types and return types are displayed in overloads
496 selection menus. It is activaled (@code{on}) by default.
497
498 set max-value-size
499 show max-value-size
500 Controls the maximum size of memory, in bytes, that GDB will
501 allocate for value contents. Prevents incorrect programs from
502 causing GDB to allocate overly large buffers. Default is 64k.
503
504 * The "disassemble" command accepts a new modifier: /s.
505 It prints mixed source+disassembly like /m with two differences:
506 - disassembled instructions are now printed in program order, and
507 - and source for all relevant files is now printed.
508 The "/m" option is now considered deprecated: its "source-centric"
509 output hasn't proved useful in practice.
510
511 * The "record instruction-history" command accepts a new modifier: /s.
512 It behaves exactly like /m and prints mixed source+disassembly.
513
514 * The "set scheduler-locking" command supports a new mode "replay".
515 It behaves like "off" in record mode and like "on" in replay mode.
516
517 * Support for various ROM monitors has been removed:
518
519 target dbug dBUG ROM monitor for Motorola ColdFire
520 target picobug Motorola picobug monitor
521 target dink32 DINK32 ROM monitor for PowerPC
522 target m32r Renesas M32R/D ROM monitor
523 target mon2000 mon2000 ROM monitor
524 target ppcbug PPCBUG ROM monitor for PowerPC
525
526 * Support for reading/writing memory and extracting values on architectures
527 whose memory is addressable in units of any integral multiple of 8 bits.
528
529 * New remote packets
530
531 exec stop reason
532 Indicates that an exec system call was executed.
533
534 exec-events feature in qSupported
535 The qSupported packet allows GDB to request support for exec
536 events using the new 'gdbfeature' exec-event, and the qSupported
537 response can contain the corresponding 'stubfeature'. Set and
538 show commands can be used to display whether these features are enabled.
539
540 vCtrlC
541 Equivalent to interrupting with the ^C character, but works in
542 non-stop mode.
543
544 thread created stop reason (T05 create:...)
545 Indicates that the thread was just created and is stopped at entry.
546
547 thread exit stop reply (w exitcode;tid)
548 Indicates that the thread has terminated.
549
550 QThreadEvents
551 Enables/disables thread create and exit event reporting. For
552 example, this is used in non-stop mode when GDB stops a set of
553 threads and synchronously waits for the their corresponding stop
554 replies. Without exit events, if one of the threads exits, GDB
555 would hang forever not knowing that it should no longer expect a
556 stop for that same thread.
557
558 N stop reply
559 Indicates that there are no resumed threads left in the target (all
560 threads are stopped). The remote stub reports support for this stop
561 reply to GDB's qSupported query.
562
563 QCatchSyscalls
564 Enables/disables catching syscalls from the inferior process.
565 The remote stub reports support for this packet to GDB's qSupported query.
566
567 syscall_entry stop reason
568 Indicates that a syscall was just called.
569
570 syscall_return stop reason
571 Indicates that a syscall just returned.
572
573 * Extended-remote exec events
574
575 ** GDB now has support for exec events on extended-remote Linux targets.
576 For such targets with Linux kernels 2.5.46 and later, this enables
577 follow-exec-mode and exec catchpoints.
578
579 set remote exec-event-feature-packet
580 show remote exec-event-feature-packet
581 Set/show the use of the remote exec event feature.
582
583 * Thread names in remote protocol
584
585 The reply to qXfer:threads:read may now include a name attribute for each
586 thread.
587
588 * Target remote mode fork and exec events
589
590 ** GDB now has support for fork and exec events on target remote mode
591 Linux targets. For such targets with Linux kernels 2.5.46 and later,
592 this enables follow-fork-mode, detach-on-fork, follow-exec-mode, and
593 fork and exec catchpoints.
594
595 * Remote syscall events
596
597 ** GDB now has support for catch syscall on remote Linux targets,
598 currently enabled on x86/x86_64 architectures.
599
600 set remote catch-syscall-packet
601 show remote catch-syscall-packet
602 Set/show the use of the remote catch syscall feature.
603
604 * MI changes
605
606 ** The -var-set-format command now accepts the zero-hexadecimal
607 format. It outputs data in hexadecimal format with zero-padding on the
608 left.
609
610 * Python Scripting
611
612 ** gdb.InferiorThread objects have a new attribute "global_num",
613 which refers to the thread's global thread ID. The existing
614 "num" attribute now refers to the thread's per-inferior number.
615 See "Per-inferior thread numbers" above.
616 ** gdb.InferiorThread objects have a new attribute "inferior", which
617 is the Inferior object the thread belongs to.
618
619 *** Changes in GDB 7.10
620
621 * Support for process record-replay and reverse debugging on aarch64*-linux*
622 targets has been added. GDB now supports recording of A64 instruction set
623 including advance SIMD instructions.
624
625 * Support for Sun's version of the "stabs" debug file format has been removed.
626
627 * GDB now honors the content of the file /proc/PID/coredump_filter
628 (PID is the process ID) on GNU/Linux systems. This file can be used
629 to specify the types of memory mappings that will be included in a
630 corefile. For more information, please refer to the manual page of
631 "core(5)". GDB also has a new command: "set use-coredump-filter
632 on|off". It allows to set whether GDB will read the content of the
633 /proc/PID/coredump_filter file when generating a corefile.
634
635 * The "info os" command on GNU/Linux can now display information on
636 cpu information :
637 "info os cpus" Listing of all cpus/cores on the system
638
639 * GDB has two new commands: "set serial parity odd|even|none" and
640 "show serial parity". These allows to set or show parity for the
641 remote serial I/O.
642
643 * The "info source" command now displays the producer string if it was
644 present in the debug info. This typically includes the compiler version
645 and may include things like its command line arguments.
646
647 * The "info dll", an alias of the "info sharedlibrary" command,
648 is now available on all platforms.
649
650 * Directory names supplied to the "set sysroot" commands may be
651 prefixed with "target:" to tell GDB to access shared libraries from
652 the target system, be it local or remote. This replaces the prefix
653 "remote:". The default sysroot has been changed from "" to
654 "target:". "remote:" is automatically converted to "target:" for
655 backward compatibility.
656
657 * The system root specified by "set sysroot" will be prepended to the
658 filename of the main executable (if reported to GDB as absolute by
659 the operating system) when starting processes remotely, and when
660 attaching to already-running local or remote processes.
661
662 * GDB now supports automatic location and retrieval of executable
663 files from remote targets. Remote debugging can now be initiated
664 using only a "target remote" or "target extended-remote" command
665 (no "set sysroot" or "file" commands are required). See "New remote
666 packets" below.
667
668 * The "dump" command now supports verilog hex format.
669
670 * GDB now supports the vector ABI on S/390 GNU/Linux targets.
671
672 * On GNU/Linux, GDB and gdbserver are now able to access executable
673 and shared library files without a "set sysroot" command when
674 attaching to processes running in different mount namespaces from
675 the debugger. This makes it possible to attach to processes in
676 containers as simply as "gdb -p PID" or "gdbserver --attach PID".
677 See "New remote packets" below.
678
679 * The "tui reg" command now provides completion for all of the
680 available register groups, including target specific groups.
681
682 * The HISTSIZE environment variable is no longer read when determining
683 the size of GDB's command history. GDB now instead reads the dedicated
684 GDBHISTSIZE environment variable. Setting GDBHISTSIZE to "-1" or to "" now
685 disables truncation of command history. Non-numeric values of GDBHISTSIZE
686 are ignored.
687
688 * Guile Scripting
689
690 ** Memory ports can now be unbuffered.
691
692 * Python Scripting
693
694 ** gdb.Objfile objects have a new attribute "username",
695 which is the name of the objfile as specified by the user,
696 without, for example, resolving symlinks.
697 ** You can now write frame unwinders in Python.
698 ** gdb.Type objects have a new method "optimized_out",
699 returning optimized out gdb.Value instance of this type.
700 ** gdb.Value objects have new methods "reference_value" and
701 "const_value" which return a reference to the value and a
702 "const" version of the value respectively.
703
704 * New commands
705
706 maint print symbol-cache
707 Print the contents of the symbol cache.
708
709 maint print symbol-cache-statistics
710 Print statistics of symbol cache usage.
711
712 maint flush-symbol-cache
713 Flush the contents of the symbol cache.
714
715 record btrace bts
716 record bts
717 Start branch trace recording using Branch Trace Store (BTS) format.
718
719 compile print
720 Evaluate expression by using the compiler and print result.
721
722 tui enable
723 tui disable
724 Explicit commands for enabling and disabling tui mode.
725
726 show mpx bound
727 set mpx bound on i386 and amd64
728 Support for bound table investigation on Intel MPX enabled applications.
729
730 record btrace pt
731 record pt
732 Start branch trace recording using Intel Processor Trace format.
733
734 maint info btrace
735 Print information about branch tracing internals.
736
737 maint btrace packet-history
738 Print the raw branch tracing data.
739
740 maint btrace clear-packet-history
741 Discard the stored raw branch tracing data.
742
743 maint btrace clear
744 Discard all branch tracing data. It will be fetched and processed
745 anew by the next "record" command.
746
747 * New options
748
749 set debug dwarf-die
750 Renamed from "set debug dwarf2-die".
751 show debug dwarf-die
752 Renamed from "show debug dwarf2-die".
753
754 set debug dwarf-read
755 Renamed from "set debug dwarf2-read".
756 show debug dwarf-read
757 Renamed from "show debug dwarf2-read".
758
759 maint set dwarf always-disassemble
760 Renamed from "maint set dwarf2 always-disassemble".
761 maint show dwarf always-disassemble
762 Renamed from "maint show dwarf2 always-disassemble".
763
764 maint set dwarf max-cache-age
765 Renamed from "maint set dwarf2 max-cache-age".
766 maint show dwarf max-cache-age
767 Renamed from "maint show dwarf2 max-cache-age".
768
769 set debug dwarf-line
770 show debug dwarf-line
771 Control display of debugging info regarding DWARF line processing.
772
773 set max-completions
774 show max-completions
775 Set the maximum number of candidates to be considered during
776 completion. The default value is 200. This limit allows GDB
777 to avoid generating large completion lists, the computation of
778 which can cause the debugger to become temporarily unresponsive.
779
780 set history remove-duplicates
781 show history remove-duplicates
782 Control the removal of duplicate history entries.
783
784 maint set symbol-cache-size
785 maint show symbol-cache-size
786 Control the size of the symbol cache.
787
788 set|show record btrace bts buffer-size
789 Set and show the size of the ring buffer used for branch tracing in
790 BTS format.
791 The obtained size may differ from the requested size. Use "info
792 record" to see the obtained buffer size.
793
794 set debug linux-namespaces
795 show debug linux-namespaces
796 Control display of debugging info regarding Linux namespaces.
797
798 set|show record btrace pt buffer-size
799 Set and show the size of the ring buffer used for branch tracing in
800 Intel Processor Trace format.
801 The obtained size may differ from the requested size. Use "info
802 record" to see the obtained buffer size.
803
804 maint set|show btrace pt skip-pad
805 Set and show whether PAD packets are skipped when computing the
806 packet history.
807
808 * The command 'thread apply all' can now support new option '-ascending'
809 to call its specified command for all threads in ascending order.
810
811 * Python/Guile scripting
812
813 ** GDB now supports auto-loading of Python/Guile scripts contained in the
814 special section named `.debug_gdb_scripts'.
815
816 * New remote packets
817
818 qXfer:btrace-conf:read
819 Return the branch trace configuration for the current thread.
820
821 Qbtrace-conf:bts:size
822 Set the requested ring buffer size for branch tracing in BTS format.
823
824 Qbtrace:pt
825 Enable Intel Procesor Trace-based branch tracing for the current
826 process. The remote stub reports support for this packet to GDB's
827 qSupported query.
828
829 Qbtrace-conf:pt:size
830 Set the requested ring buffer size for branch tracing in Intel Processor
831 Trace format.
832
833 swbreak stop reason
834 Indicates a memory breakpoint instruction was executed, irrespective
835 of whether it was GDB that planted the breakpoint or the breakpoint
836 is hardcoded in the program. This is required for correct non-stop
837 mode operation.
838
839 hwbreak stop reason
840 Indicates the target stopped for a hardware breakpoint. This is
841 required for correct non-stop mode operation.
842
843 vFile:fstat:
844 Return information about files on the remote system.
845
846 qXfer:exec-file:read
847 Return the full absolute name of the file that was executed to
848 create a process running on the remote system.
849
850 vFile:setfs:
851 Select the filesystem on which vFile: operations with filename
852 arguments will operate. This is required for GDB to be able to
853 access files on remote targets where the remote stub does not
854 share a common filesystem with the inferior(s).
855
856 fork stop reason
857 Indicates that a fork system call was executed.
858
859 vfork stop reason
860 Indicates that a vfork system call was executed.
861
862 vforkdone stop reason
863 Indicates that a vfork child of the specified process has executed
864 an exec or exit, allowing the vfork parent to resume execution.
865
866 fork-events and vfork-events features in qSupported
867 The qSupported packet allows GDB to request support for fork and
868 vfork events using new 'gdbfeatures' fork-events and vfork-events,
869 and the qSupported response can contain the corresponding
870 'stubfeatures'. Set and show commands can be used to display
871 whether these features are enabled.
872
873 * Extended-remote fork events
874
875 ** GDB now has support for fork events on extended-remote Linux
876 targets. For targets with Linux kernels 2.5.60 and later, this
877 enables follow-fork-mode and detach-on-fork for both fork and
878 vfork, as well as fork and vfork catchpoints.
879
880 * The info record command now shows the recording format and the
881 branch tracing configuration for the current thread when using
882 the btrace record target.
883 For the BTS format, it shows the ring buffer size.
884
885 * GDB now has support for DTrace USDT (Userland Static Defined
886 Tracing) probes. The supported targets are x86_64-*-linux-gnu.
887
888 * GDB now supports access to vector registers on S/390 GNU/Linux
889 targets.
890
891 * Removed command line options
892
893 -xdb HP-UX XDB compatibility mode.
894
895 * Removed targets and native configurations
896
897 HP/PA running HP-UX hppa*-*-hpux*
898 Itanium running HP-UX ia64-*-hpux*
899
900 * New configure options
901
902 --with-intel-pt
903 This configure option allows the user to build GDB with support for
904 Intel Processor Trace (default: auto). This requires libipt.
905
906 --with-libipt-prefix=PATH
907 Specify the path to the version of libipt that GDB should use.
908 $PATH/include should contain the intel-pt.h header and
909 $PATH/lib should contain the libipt.so library.
910
911 *** Changes in GDB 7.9.1
912
913 * Python Scripting
914
915 ** Xmethods can now specify a result type.
916
917 *** Changes in GDB 7.9
918
919 * GDB now supports hardware watchpoints on x86 GNU Hurd.
920
921 * Python Scripting
922
923 ** You can now access frame registers from Python scripts.
924 ** New attribute 'producer' for gdb.Symtab objects.
925 ** gdb.Objfile objects have a new attribute "progspace",
926 which is the gdb.Progspace object of the containing program space.
927 ** gdb.Objfile objects have a new attribute "owner".
928 ** gdb.Objfile objects have a new attribute "build_id",
929 which is the build ID generated when the file was built.
930 ** gdb.Objfile objects have a new method "add_separate_debug_file".
931 ** A new event "gdb.clear_objfiles" has been added, triggered when
932 selecting a new file to debug.
933 ** You can now add attributes to gdb.Objfile and gdb.Progspace objects.
934 ** New function gdb.lookup_objfile.
935
936 New events which are triggered when GDB modifies the state of the
937 inferior.
938
939 ** gdb.events.inferior_call_pre: Function call is about to be made.
940 ** gdb.events.inferior_call_post: Function call has just been made.
941 ** gdb.events.memory_changed: A memory location has been altered.
942 ** gdb.events.register_changed: A register has been altered.
943
944 * New Python-based convenience functions:
945
946 ** $_caller_is(name [, number_of_frames])
947 ** $_caller_matches(regexp [, number_of_frames])
948 ** $_any_caller_is(name [, number_of_frames])
949 ** $_any_caller_matches(regexp [, number_of_frames])
950
951 * GDB now supports the compilation and injection of source code into
952 the inferior. GDB will use GCC 5.0 or higher built with libcc1.so
953 to compile the source code to object code, and if successful, inject
954 and execute that code within the current context of the inferior.
955 Currently the C language is supported. The commands used to
956 interface with this new feature are:
957
958 compile code [-raw|-r] [--] [source code]
959 compile file [-raw|-r] filename
960
961 * New commands
962
963 demangle [-l language] [--] name
964 Demangle "name" in the specified language, or the current language
965 if elided. This command is renamed from the "maint demangle" command.
966 The latter is kept as a no-op to avoid "maint demangle" being interpreted
967 as "maint demangler-warning".
968
969 queue-signal signal-name-or-number
970 Queue a signal to be delivered to the thread when it is resumed.
971
972 add-auto-load-scripts-directory directory
973 Add entries to the list of directories from which to load auto-loaded
974 scripts.
975
976 maint print user-registers
977 List all currently available "user" registers.
978
979 compile code [-r|-raw] [--] [source code]
980 Compile, inject, and execute in the inferior the executable object
981 code produced by compiling the provided source code.
982
983 compile file [-r|-raw] filename
984 Compile and inject into the inferior the executable object code
985 produced by compiling the source code stored in the filename
986 provided.
987
988 * On resume, GDB now always passes the signal the program had stopped
989 for to the thread the signal was sent to, even if the user changed
990 threads before resuming. Previously GDB would often (but not
991 always) deliver the signal to the thread that happens to be current
992 at resume time.
993
994 * Conversely, the "signal" command now consistently delivers the
995 requested signal to the current thread. GDB now asks for
996 confirmation if the program had stopped for a signal and the user
997 switched threads meanwhile.
998
999 * "breakpoint always-inserted" modes "off" and "auto" merged.
1000
1001 Now, when 'breakpoint always-inserted mode' is set to "off", GDB
1002 won't remove breakpoints from the target until all threads stop,
1003 even in non-stop mode. The "auto" mode has been removed, and "off"
1004 is now the default mode.
1005
1006 * New options
1007
1008 set debug symbol-lookup
1009 show debug symbol-lookup
1010 Control display of debugging info regarding symbol lookup.
1011
1012 * MI changes
1013
1014 ** The -list-thread-groups command outputs an exit-code field for
1015 inferiors that have exited.
1016
1017 * New targets
1018
1019 MIPS SDE mips*-sde*-elf*
1020
1021 * Removed targets
1022
1023 Support for these obsolete configurations has been removed.
1024
1025 Alpha running OSF/1 (or Tru64) alpha*-*-osf*
1026 SGI Irix-5.x mips-*-irix5*
1027 SGI Irix-6.x mips-*-irix6*
1028 VAX running (4.2 - 4.3 Reno) BSD vax-*-bsd*
1029 VAX running Ultrix vax-*-ultrix*
1030
1031 * The "dll-symbols" command, and its two aliases ("add-shared-symbol-files"
1032 and "assf"), have been removed. Use the "sharedlibrary" command, or
1033 its alias "share", instead.
1034
1035 *** Changes in GDB 7.8
1036
1037 * New command line options
1038
1039 -D data-directory
1040 This is an alias for the --data-directory option.
1041
1042 * GDB supports printing and modifying of variable length automatic arrays
1043 as specified in ISO C99.
1044
1045 * The ARM simulator now supports instruction level tracing
1046 with or without disassembly.
1047
1048 * Guile scripting
1049
1050 GDB now has support for scripting using Guile. Whether this is
1051 available is determined at configure time.
1052 Guile version 2.0 or greater is required.
1053 Guile version 2.0.9 is well tested, earlier 2.0 versions are not.
1054
1055 * New commands (for set/show, see "New options" below)
1056
1057 guile [code]
1058 gu [code]
1059 Invoke CODE by passing it to the Guile interpreter.
1060
1061 guile-repl
1062 gr
1063 Start a Guile interactive prompt (or "repl" for "read-eval-print loop").
1064
1065 info auto-load guile-scripts [regexp]
1066 Print the list of automatically loaded Guile scripts.
1067
1068 * The source command is now capable of sourcing Guile scripts.
1069 This feature is dependent on the debugger being built with Guile support.
1070
1071 * New options
1072
1073 set print symbol-loading (off|brief|full)
1074 show print symbol-loading
1075 Control whether to print informational messages when loading symbol
1076 information for a file. The default is "full", but when debugging
1077 programs with large numbers of shared libraries the amount of output
1078 becomes less useful.
1079
1080 set guile print-stack (none|message|full)
1081 show guile print-stack
1082 Show a stack trace when an error is encountered in a Guile script.
1083
1084 set auto-load guile-scripts (on|off)
1085 show auto-load guile-scripts
1086 Control auto-loading of Guile script files.
1087
1088 maint ada set ignore-descriptive-types (on|off)
1089 maint ada show ignore-descriptive-types
1090 Control whether the debugger should ignore descriptive types in Ada
1091 programs. The default is not to ignore the descriptive types. See
1092 the user manual for more details on descriptive types and the intended
1093 usage of this option.
1094
1095 set auto-connect-native-target
1096
1097 Control whether GDB is allowed to automatically connect to the
1098 native target for the run, attach, etc. commands when not connected
1099 to any target yet. See also "target native" below.
1100
1101 set record btrace replay-memory-access (read-only|read-write)
1102 show record btrace replay-memory-access
1103 Control what memory accesses are allowed during replay.
1104
1105 maint set target-async (on|off)
1106 maint show target-async
1107 This controls whether GDB targets operate in synchronous or
1108 asynchronous mode. Normally the default is asynchronous, if it is
1109 available; but this can be changed to more easily debug problems
1110 occurring only in synchronous mode.
1111
1112 set mi-async (on|off)
1113 show mi-async
1114 Control whether MI asynchronous mode is preferred. This supersedes
1115 "set target-async" of previous GDB versions.
1116
1117 * "set target-async" is deprecated as a CLI option and is now an alias
1118 for "set mi-async" (only puts MI into async mode).
1119
1120 * Background execution commands (e.g., "c&", "s&", etc.) are now
1121 possible ``out of the box'' if the target supports them. Previously
1122 the user would need to explicitly enable the possibility with the
1123 "set target-async on" command.
1124
1125 * New features in the GDB remote stub, GDBserver
1126
1127 ** New option --debug-format=option1[,option2,...] allows one to add
1128 additional text to each output. At present only timestamps
1129 are supported: --debug-format=timestamps.
1130 Timestamps can also be turned on with the
1131 "monitor set debug-format timestamps" command from GDB.
1132
1133 * The 'record instruction-history' command now starts counting instructions
1134 at one. This also affects the instruction ranges reported by the
1135 'record function-call-history' command when given the /i modifier.
1136
1137 * The command 'record function-call-history' supports a new modifier '/c' to
1138 indent the function names based on their call stack depth.
1139 The fields for the '/i' and '/l' modifier have been reordered.
1140 The source line range is now prefixed with 'at'.
1141 The instruction range is now prefixed with 'inst'.
1142 Both ranges are now printed as '<from>, <to>' to allow copy&paste to the
1143 "record instruction-history" and "list" commands.
1144
1145 * The ranges given as arguments to the 'record function-call-history' and
1146 'record instruction-history' commands are now inclusive.
1147
1148 * The btrace record target now supports the 'record goto' command.
1149 For locations inside the execution trace, the back trace is computed
1150 based on the information stored in the execution trace.
1151
1152 * The btrace record target supports limited reverse execution and replay.
1153 The target does not record data and therefore does not allow reading
1154 memory or registers.
1155
1156 * The "catch syscall" command now works on s390*-linux* targets.
1157
1158 * The "compare-sections" command is no longer specific to target
1159 remote. It now works with all targets.
1160
1161 * All native targets are now consistently called "native".
1162 Consequently, the "target child", "target GNU", "target djgpp",
1163 "target procfs" (Solaris/Irix/OSF/AIX) and "target darwin-child"
1164 commands have been replaced with "target native". The QNX/NTO port
1165 leaves the "procfs" target in place and adds a "native" target for
1166 consistency with other ports. The impact on users should be minimal
1167 as these commands previously either throwed an error, or were
1168 no-ops. The target's name is visible in the output of the following
1169 commands: "help target", "info target", "info files", "maint print
1170 target-stack".
1171
1172 * The "target native" command now connects to the native target. This
1173 can be used to launch native programs even when "set
1174 auto-connect-native-target" is set to off.
1175
1176 * GDB now supports access to Intel MPX registers on GNU/Linux.
1177
1178 * Support for Intel AVX-512 registers on GNU/Linux.
1179 Support displaying and modifying Intel AVX-512 registers
1180 $zmm0 - $zmm31 and $k0 - $k7 on GNU/Linux.
1181
1182 * New remote packets
1183
1184 qXfer:btrace:read's annex
1185 The qXfer:btrace:read packet supports a new annex 'delta' to read
1186 branch trace incrementally.
1187
1188 * Python Scripting
1189
1190 ** Valid Python operations on gdb.Value objects representing
1191 structs/classes invoke the corresponding overloaded operators if
1192 available.
1193 ** New `Xmethods' feature in the Python API. Xmethods are
1194 additional methods or replacements for existing methods of a C++
1195 class. This feature is useful for those cases where a method
1196 defined in C++ source code could be inlined or optimized out by
1197 the compiler, making it unavailable to GDB.
1198
1199 * New targets
1200 PowerPC64 GNU/Linux little-endian powerpc64le-*-linux*
1201
1202 * The "dll-symbols" command, and its two aliases ("add-shared-symbol-files"
1203 and "assf"), have been deprecated. Use the "sharedlibrary" command, or
1204 its alias "share", instead.
1205
1206 * The commands "set remotebaud" and "show remotebaud" are no longer
1207 supported. Use "set serial baud" and "show serial baud" (respectively)
1208 instead.
1209
1210 * MI changes
1211
1212 ** A new option "-gdb-set mi-async" replaces "-gdb-set
1213 target-async". The latter is left as a deprecated alias of the
1214 former for backward compatibility. If the target supports it,
1215 CLI background execution commands are now always possible by
1216 default, independently of whether the frontend stated a
1217 preference for asynchronous execution with "-gdb-set mi-async".
1218 Previously "-gdb-set target-async off" affected both MI execution
1219 commands and CLI execution commands.
1220
1221 *** Changes in GDB 7.7
1222
1223 * Improved support for process record-replay and reverse debugging on
1224 arm*-linux* targets. Support for thumb32 and syscall instruction
1225 recording has been added.
1226
1227 * GDB now supports SystemTap SDT probes on AArch64 GNU/Linux.
1228
1229 * GDB now supports Fission DWP file format version 2.
1230 http://gcc.gnu.org/wiki/DebugFission
1231
1232 * New convenience function "$_isvoid", to check whether an expression
1233 is void. A void expression is an expression where the type of the
1234 result is "void". For example, some convenience variables may be
1235 "void" when evaluated (e.g., "$_exitcode" before the execution of
1236 the program being debugged; or an undefined convenience variable).
1237 Another example, when calling a function whose return type is
1238 "void".
1239
1240 * The "maintenance print objfiles" command now takes an optional regexp.
1241
1242 * The "catch syscall" command now works on arm*-linux* targets.
1243
1244 * GDB now consistently shows "<not saved>" when printing values of
1245 registers the debug info indicates have not been saved in the frame
1246 and there's nowhere to retrieve them from
1247 (callee-saved/call-clobbered registers):
1248
1249 (gdb) p $rax
1250 $1 = <not saved>
1251
1252 (gdb) info registers rax
1253 rax <not saved>
1254
1255 Before, the former would print "<optimized out>", and the latter
1256 "*value not available*".
1257
1258 * New script contrib/gdb-add-index.sh for adding .gdb_index sections
1259 to binaries.
1260
1261 * Python scripting
1262
1263 ** Frame filters and frame decorators have been added.
1264 ** Temporary breakpoints are now supported.
1265 ** Line tables representation has been added.
1266 ** New attribute 'parent_type' for gdb.Field objects.
1267 ** gdb.Field objects can be used as subscripts on gdb.Value objects.
1268 ** New attribute 'name' for gdb.Type objects.
1269
1270 * New targets
1271
1272 Nios II ELF nios2*-*-elf
1273 Nios II GNU/Linux nios2*-*-linux
1274 Texas Instruments MSP430 msp430*-*-elf
1275
1276 * Removed native configurations
1277
1278 Support for these a.out NetBSD and OpenBSD obsolete configurations has
1279 been removed. ELF variants of these configurations are kept supported.
1280
1281 arm*-*-netbsd* but arm*-*-netbsdelf* is kept supported.
1282 i[34567]86-*-netbsd* but i[34567]86-*-netbsdelf* is kept supported.
1283 i[34567]86-*-openbsd[0-2].* but i[34567]86-*-openbsd* is kept supported.
1284 i[34567]86-*-openbsd3.[0-3]
1285 m68*-*-netbsd* but m68*-*-netbsdelf* is kept supported.
1286 sparc-*-netbsd* but sparc-*-netbsdelf* is kept supported.
1287 vax-*-netbsd* but vax-*-netbsdelf* is kept supported.
1288
1289 * New commands:
1290 catch rethrow
1291 Like "catch throw", but catches a re-thrown exception.
1292 maint check-psymtabs
1293 Renamed from old "maint check-symtabs".
1294 maint check-symtabs
1295 Perform consistency checks on symtabs.
1296 maint expand-symtabs
1297 Expand symtabs matching an optional regexp.
1298
1299 show configuration
1300 Display the details of GDB configure-time options.
1301
1302 maint set|show per-command
1303 maint set|show per-command space
1304 maint set|show per-command time
1305 maint set|show per-command symtab
1306 Enable display of per-command gdb resource usage.
1307
1308 remove-symbol-file FILENAME
1309 remove-symbol-file -a ADDRESS
1310 Remove a symbol file added via add-symbol-file. The file to remove
1311 can be identified by its filename or by an address that lies within
1312 the boundaries of this symbol file in memory.
1313
1314 info exceptions
1315 info exceptions REGEXP
1316 Display the list of Ada exceptions defined in the program being
1317 debugged. If provided, only the exceptions whose names match REGEXP
1318 are listed.
1319
1320 * New options
1321
1322 set debug symfile off|on
1323 show debug symfile
1324 Control display of debugging info regarding reading symbol files and
1325 symbol tables within those files
1326
1327 set print raw frame-arguments
1328 show print raw frame-arguments
1329 Set/show whether to print frame arguments in raw mode,
1330 disregarding any defined pretty-printers.
1331
1332 set remote trace-status-packet
1333 show remote trace-status-packet
1334 Set/show the use of remote protocol qTStatus packet.
1335
1336 set debug nios2
1337 show debug nios2
1338 Control display of debugging messages related to Nios II targets.
1339
1340 set range-stepping
1341 show range-stepping
1342 Control whether target-assisted range stepping is enabled.
1343
1344 set startup-with-shell
1345 show startup-with-shell
1346 Specifies whether Unix child processes are started via a shell or
1347 directly.
1348
1349 set code-cache
1350 show code-cache
1351 Use the target memory cache for accesses to the code segment. This
1352 improves performance of remote debugging (particularly disassembly).
1353
1354 * You can now use a literal value 'unlimited' for options that
1355 interpret 0 or -1 as meaning "unlimited". E.g., "set
1356 trace-buffer-size unlimited" is now an alias for "set
1357 trace-buffer-size -1" and "set height unlimited" is now an alias for
1358 "set height 0".
1359
1360 * The "set debug symtab-create" debugging option of GDB has been changed to
1361 accept a verbosity level. 0 means "off", 1 provides basic debugging
1362 output, and values of 2 or greater provides more verbose output.
1363
1364 * New command-line options
1365 --configuration
1366 Display the details of GDB configure-time options.
1367
1368 * The command 'tsave' can now support new option '-ctf' to save trace
1369 buffer in Common Trace Format.
1370
1371 * Newly installed $prefix/bin/gcore acts as a shell interface for the
1372 GDB command gcore.
1373
1374 * GDB now implements the the C++ 'typeid' operator.
1375
1376 * The new convenience variable $_exception holds the exception being
1377 thrown or caught at an exception-related catchpoint.
1378
1379 * The exception-related catchpoints, like "catch throw", now accept a
1380 regular expression which can be used to filter exceptions by type.
1381
1382 * The new convenience variable $_exitsignal is automatically set to
1383 the terminating signal number when the program being debugged dies
1384 due to an uncaught signal.
1385
1386 * MI changes
1387
1388 ** All MI commands now accept an optional "--language" option.
1389 Support for this feature can be verified by using the "-list-features"
1390 command, which should contain "language-option".
1391
1392 ** The new command -info-gdb-mi-command allows the user to determine
1393 whether a GDB/MI command is supported or not.
1394
1395 ** The "^error" result record returned when trying to execute an undefined
1396 GDB/MI command now provides a variable named "code" whose content is the
1397 "undefined-command" error code. Support for this feature can be verified
1398 by using the "-list-features" command, which should contain
1399 "undefined-command-error-code".
1400
1401 ** The -trace-save MI command can optionally save trace buffer in Common
1402 Trace Format now.
1403
1404 ** The new command -dprintf-insert sets a dynamic printf breakpoint.
1405
1406 ** The command -data-list-register-values now accepts an optional
1407 "--skip-unavailable" option. When used, only the available registers
1408 are displayed.
1409
1410 ** The new command -trace-frame-collected dumps collected variables,
1411 computed expressions, tvars, memory and registers in a traceframe.
1412
1413 ** The commands -stack-list-locals, -stack-list-arguments and
1414 -stack-list-variables now accept an option "--skip-unavailable".
1415 When used, only the available locals or arguments are displayed.
1416
1417 ** The -exec-run command now accepts an optional "--start" option.
1418 When used, the command follows the same semantics as the "start"
1419 command, stopping the program's execution at the start of its
1420 main subprogram. Support for this feature can be verified using
1421 the "-list-features" command, which should contain
1422 "exec-run-start-option".
1423
1424 ** The new commands -catch-assert and -catch-exceptions insert
1425 catchpoints stopping the program when Ada exceptions are raised.
1426
1427 ** The new command -info-ada-exceptions provides the equivalent of
1428 the new "info exceptions" command.
1429
1430 * New system-wide configuration scripts
1431 A GDB installation now provides scripts suitable for use as system-wide
1432 configuration scripts for the following systems:
1433 ** ElinOS
1434 ** Wind River Linux
1435
1436 * GDB now supports target-assigned range stepping with remote targets.
1437 This improves the performance of stepping source lines by reducing
1438 the number of control packets from/to GDB. See "New remote packets"
1439 below.
1440
1441 * GDB now understands the element 'tvar' in the XML traceframe info.
1442 It has the id of the collected trace state variables.
1443
1444 * On S/390 targets that provide the transactional-execution feature,
1445 the program interruption transaction diagnostic block (TDB) is now
1446 represented as a number of additional "registers" in GDB.
1447
1448 * New remote packets
1449
1450 vCont;r
1451
1452 The vCont packet supports a new 'r' action, that tells the remote
1453 stub to step through an address range itself, without GDB
1454 involvemement at each single-step.
1455
1456 qXfer:libraries-svr4:read's annex
1457 The previously unused annex of the qXfer:libraries-svr4:read packet
1458 is now used to support passing an argument list. The remote stub
1459 reports support for this argument list to GDB's qSupported query.
1460 The defined arguments are "start" and "prev", used to reduce work
1461 necessary for library list updating, resulting in significant
1462 speedup.
1463
1464 * New features in the GDB remote stub, GDBserver
1465
1466 ** GDBserver now supports target-assisted range stepping. Currently
1467 enabled on x86/x86_64 GNU/Linux targets.
1468
1469 ** GDBserver now adds element 'tvar' in the XML in the reply to
1470 'qXfer:traceframe-info:read'. It has the id of the collected
1471 trace state variables.
1472
1473 ** GDBserver now supports hardware watchpoints on the MIPS GNU/Linux
1474 target.
1475
1476 * New 'z' formatter for printing and examining memory, this displays the
1477 value as hexadecimal zero padded on the left to the size of the type.
1478
1479 * GDB can now use Windows x64 unwinding data.
1480
1481 * The "set remotebaud" command has been replaced by "set serial baud".
1482 Similarly, "show remotebaud" has been replaced by "show serial baud".
1483 The "set remotebaud" and "show remotebaud" commands are still available
1484 to provide backward compatibility with older versions of GDB.
1485
1486 *** Changes in GDB 7.6
1487
1488 * Target record has been renamed to record-full.
1489 Record/replay is now enabled with the "record full" command.
1490 This also affects settings that are associated with full record/replay
1491 that have been moved from "set/show record" to "set/show record full":
1492
1493 set|show record full insn-number-max
1494 set|show record full stop-at-limit
1495 set|show record full memory-query
1496
1497 * A new record target "record-btrace" has been added. The new target
1498 uses hardware support to record the control-flow of a process. It
1499 does not support replaying the execution, but it implements the
1500 below new commands for investigating the recorded execution log.
1501 This new recording method can be enabled using:
1502
1503 record btrace
1504
1505 The "record-btrace" target is only available on Intel Atom processors
1506 and requires a Linux kernel 2.6.32 or later.
1507
1508 * Two new commands have been added for record/replay to give information
1509 about the recorded execution without having to replay the execution.
1510 The commands are only supported by "record btrace".
1511
1512 record instruction-history prints the execution history at
1513 instruction granularity
1514
1515 record function-call-history prints the execution history at
1516 function granularity
1517
1518 * New native configurations
1519
1520 ARM AArch64 GNU/Linux aarch64*-*-linux-gnu
1521 FreeBSD/powerpc powerpc*-*-freebsd
1522 x86_64/Cygwin x86_64-*-cygwin*
1523 Tilera TILE-Gx GNU/Linux tilegx*-*-linux-gnu
1524
1525 * New targets
1526
1527 ARM AArch64 aarch64*-*-elf
1528 ARM AArch64 GNU/Linux aarch64*-*-linux
1529 Lynx 178 PowerPC powerpc-*-lynx*178
1530 x86_64/Cygwin x86_64-*-cygwin*
1531 Tilera TILE-Gx GNU/Linux tilegx*-*-linux
1532
1533 * If the configured location of system.gdbinit file (as given by the
1534 --with-system-gdbinit option at configure time) is in the
1535 data-directory (as specified by --with-gdb-datadir at configure
1536 time) or in one of its subdirectories, then GDB will look for the
1537 system-wide init file in the directory specified by the
1538 --data-directory command-line option.
1539
1540 * New command line options:
1541
1542 -nh Disables auto-loading of ~/.gdbinit, but still executes all the
1543 other initialization files, unlike -nx which disables all of them.
1544
1545 * Removed command line options
1546
1547 -epoch This was used by the gdb mode in Epoch, an ancient fork of
1548 Emacs.
1549
1550 * The 'ptype' and 'whatis' commands now accept an argument to control
1551 type formatting.
1552
1553 * 'info proc' now works on some core files.
1554
1555 * Python scripting
1556
1557 ** Vectors can be created with gdb.Type.vector.
1558
1559 ** Python's atexit.register now works in GDB.
1560
1561 ** Types can be pretty-printed via a Python API.
1562
1563 ** Python 3 is now supported (in addition to Python 2.4 or later)
1564
1565 ** New class gdb.Architecture exposes GDB's internal representation
1566 of architecture in the Python API.
1567
1568 ** New method Frame.architecture returns the gdb.Architecture object
1569 corresponding to the frame's architecture.
1570
1571 * New Python-based convenience functions:
1572
1573 ** $_memeq(buf1, buf2, length)
1574 ** $_streq(str1, str2)
1575 ** $_strlen(str)
1576 ** $_regex(str, regex)
1577
1578 * The 'cd' command now defaults to using '~' (the home directory) if not
1579 given an argument.
1580
1581 * The C++ ABI now defaults to the GNU v3 ABI. This has been the
1582 default for GCC since November 2000.
1583
1584 * The command 'forward-search' can now be abbreviated as 'fo'.
1585
1586 * The command 'info tracepoints' can now display 'installed on target'
1587 or 'not installed on target' for each non-pending location of tracepoint.
1588
1589 * New configure options
1590
1591 --enable-libmcheck/--disable-libmcheck
1592 By default, development versions are built with -lmcheck on hosts
1593 that support it, in order to help track memory corruption issues.
1594 Release versions, on the other hand, are built without -lmcheck
1595 by default. The --enable-libmcheck/--disable-libmcheck configure
1596 options allow the user to override that default.
1597 --with-babeltrace/--with-babeltrace-include/--with-babeltrace-lib
1598 This configure option allows the user to build GDB with
1599 libbabeltrace using which GDB can read Common Trace Format data.
1600
1601 * New commands (for set/show, see "New options" below)
1602
1603 catch signal
1604 Catch signals. This is similar to "handle", but allows commands and
1605 conditions to be attached.
1606
1607 maint info bfds
1608 List the BFDs known to GDB.
1609
1610 python-interactive [command]
1611 pi [command]
1612 Start a Python interactive prompt, or evaluate the optional command
1613 and print the result of expressions.
1614
1615 py [command]
1616 "py" is a new alias for "python".
1617
1618 enable type-printer [name]...
1619 disable type-printer [name]...
1620 Enable or disable type printers.
1621
1622 * Removed commands
1623
1624 ** For the Renesas Super-H architecture, the "regs" command has been removed
1625 (has been deprecated in GDB 7.5), and "info all-registers" should be used
1626 instead.
1627
1628 * New options
1629
1630 set print type methods (on|off)
1631 show print type methods
1632 Control whether method declarations are displayed by "ptype".
1633 The default is to show them.
1634
1635 set print type typedefs (on|off)
1636 show print type typedefs
1637 Control whether typedef definitions are displayed by "ptype".
1638 The default is to show them.
1639
1640 set filename-display basename|relative|absolute
1641 show filename-display
1642 Control the way in which filenames is displayed.
1643 The default is "relative", which preserves previous behavior.
1644
1645 set trace-buffer-size
1646 show trace-buffer-size
1647 Request target to change the size of trace buffer.
1648
1649 set remote trace-buffer-size-packet auto|on|off
1650 show remote trace-buffer-size-packet
1651 Control the use of the remote protocol `QTBuffer:size' packet.
1652
1653 set debug aarch64
1654 show debug aarch64
1655 Control display of debugging messages related to ARM AArch64.
1656 The default is off.
1657
1658 set debug coff-pe-read
1659 show debug coff-pe-read
1660 Control display of debugging messages related to reading of COFF/PE
1661 exported symbols.
1662
1663 set debug mach-o
1664 show debug mach-o
1665 Control display of debugging messages related to Mach-O symbols
1666 processing.
1667
1668 set debug notification
1669 show debug notification
1670 Control display of debugging info for async remote notification.
1671
1672 * MI changes
1673
1674 ** Command parameter changes are now notified using new async record
1675 "=cmd-param-changed".
1676 ** Trace frame changes caused by command "tfind" are now notified using
1677 new async record "=traceframe-changed".
1678 ** The creation, deletion and modification of trace state variables
1679 are now notified using new async records "=tsv-created",
1680 "=tsv-deleted" and "=tsv-modified".
1681 ** The start and stop of process record are now notified using new
1682 async record "=record-started" and "=record-stopped".
1683 ** Memory changes are now notified using new async record
1684 "=memory-changed".
1685 ** The data-disassemble command response will include a "fullname" field
1686 containing the absolute file name when source has been requested.
1687 ** New optional parameter COUNT added to the "-data-write-memory-bytes"
1688 command, to allow pattern filling of memory areas.
1689 ** New commands "-catch-load"/"-catch-unload" added for intercepting
1690 library load/unload events.
1691 ** The response to breakpoint commands and breakpoint async records
1692 includes an "installed" field containing a boolean state about each
1693 non-pending tracepoint location is whether installed on target or not.
1694 ** Output of the "-trace-status" command includes a "trace-file" field
1695 containing the name of the trace file being examined. This field is
1696 optional, and only present when examining a trace file.
1697 ** The "fullname" field is now always present along with the "file" field,
1698 even if the file cannot be found by GDB.
1699
1700 * GDB now supports the "mini debuginfo" section, .gnu_debugdata.
1701 You must have the LZMA library available when configuring GDB for this
1702 feature to be enabled. For more information, see:
1703 http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Features/MiniDebugInfo
1704
1705 * New remote packets
1706
1707 QTBuffer:size
1708 Set the size of trace buffer. The remote stub reports support for this
1709 packet to gdb's qSupported query.
1710
1711 Qbtrace:bts
1712 Enable Branch Trace Store (BTS)-based branch tracing for the current
1713 thread. The remote stub reports support for this packet to gdb's
1714 qSupported query.
1715
1716 Qbtrace:off
1717 Disable branch tracing for the current thread. The remote stub reports
1718 support for this packet to gdb's qSupported query.
1719
1720 qXfer:btrace:read
1721 Read the traced branches for the current thread. The remote stub
1722 reports support for this packet to gdb's qSupported query.
1723
1724 *** Changes in GDB 7.5
1725
1726 * GDB now supports x32 ABI. Visit <http://sites.google.com/site/x32abi/>
1727 for more x32 ABI info.
1728
1729 * GDB now supports access to MIPS DSP registers on Linux targets.
1730
1731 * GDB now supports debugging microMIPS binaries.
1732
1733 * The "info os" command on GNU/Linux can now display information on
1734 several new classes of objects managed by the operating system:
1735 "info os procgroups" lists process groups
1736 "info os files" lists file descriptors
1737 "info os sockets" lists internet-domain sockets
1738 "info os shm" lists shared-memory regions
1739 "info os semaphores" lists semaphores
1740 "info os msg" lists message queues
1741 "info os modules" lists loaded kernel modules
1742
1743 * GDB now has support for SDT (Static Defined Tracing) probes. Currently,
1744 the only implemented backend is for SystemTap probes (<sys/sdt.h>). You
1745 can set a breakpoint using the new "-probe, "-pstap" or "-probe-stap"
1746 options and inspect the probe arguments using the new $_probe_arg family
1747 of convenience variables. You can obtain more information about SystemTap
1748 in <http://sourceware.org/systemtap/>.
1749
1750 * GDB now supports reversible debugging on ARM, it allows you to
1751 debug basic ARM and THUMB instructions, and provides
1752 record/replay support.
1753
1754 * The option "symbol-reloading" has been deleted as it is no longer used.
1755
1756 * Python scripting
1757
1758 ** GDB commands implemented in Python can now be put in command class
1759 "gdb.COMMAND_USER".
1760
1761 ** The "maint set python print-stack on|off" is now deleted.
1762
1763 ** A new class, gdb.printing.FlagEnumerationPrinter, can be used to
1764 apply "flag enum"-style pretty-printing to any enum.
1765
1766 ** gdb.lookup_symbol can now work when there is no current frame.
1767
1768 ** gdb.Symbol now has a 'line' attribute, holding the line number in
1769 the source at which the symbol was defined.
1770
1771 ** gdb.Symbol now has the new attribute 'needs_frame' and the new
1772 method 'value'. The former indicates whether the symbol needs a
1773 frame in order to compute its value, and the latter computes the
1774 symbol's value.
1775
1776 ** A new method 'referenced_value' on gdb.Value objects which can
1777 dereference pointer as well as C++ reference values.
1778
1779 ** New methods 'global_block' and 'static_block' on gdb.Symtab objects
1780 which return the global and static blocks (as gdb.Block objects),
1781 of the underlying symbol table, respectively.
1782
1783 ** New function gdb.find_pc_line which returns the gdb.Symtab_and_line
1784 object associated with a PC value.
1785
1786 ** gdb.Symtab_and_line has new attribute 'last' which holds the end
1787 of the address range occupied by code for the current source line.
1788
1789 * Go language support.
1790 GDB now supports debugging programs written in the Go programming
1791 language.
1792
1793 * GDBserver now supports stdio connections.
1794 E.g. (gdb) target remote | ssh myhost gdbserver - hello
1795
1796 * The binary "gdbtui" can no longer be built or installed.
1797 Use "gdb -tui" instead.
1798
1799 * GDB will now print "flag" enums specially. A flag enum is one where
1800 all the enumerator values have no bits in common when pairwise
1801 "and"ed. When printing a value whose type is a flag enum, GDB will
1802 show all the constants, e.g., for enum E { ONE = 1, TWO = 2}:
1803 (gdb) print (enum E) 3
1804 $1 = (ONE | TWO)
1805
1806 * The filename part of a linespec will now match trailing components
1807 of a source file name. For example, "break gcc/expr.c:1000" will
1808 now set a breakpoint in build/gcc/expr.c, but not
1809 build/libcpp/expr.c.
1810
1811 * The "info proc" and "generate-core-file" commands will now also
1812 work on remote targets connected to GDBserver on Linux.
1813
1814 * The command "info catch" has been removed. It has been disabled
1815 since December 2007.
1816
1817 * The "catch exception" and "catch assert" commands now accept
1818 a condition at the end of the command, much like the "break"
1819 command does. For instance:
1820
1821 (gdb) catch exception Constraint_Error if Barrier = True
1822
1823 Previously, it was possible to add a condition to such catchpoints,
1824 but it had to be done as a second step, after the catchpoint had been
1825 created, using the "condition" command.
1826
1827 * The "info static-tracepoint-marker" command will now also work on
1828 native Linux targets with in-process agent.
1829
1830 * GDB can now set breakpoints on inlined functions.
1831
1832 * The .gdb_index section has been updated to include symbols for
1833 inlined functions. GDB will ignore older .gdb_index sections by
1834 default, which could cause symbol files to be loaded more slowly
1835 until their .gdb_index sections can be recreated. The new command
1836 "set use-deprecated-index-sections on" will cause GDB to use any older
1837 .gdb_index sections it finds. This will restore performance, but the
1838 ability to set breakpoints on inlined functions will be lost in symbol
1839 files with older .gdb_index sections.
1840
1841 The .gdb_index section has also been updated to record more information
1842 about each symbol. This speeds up the "info variables", "info functions"
1843 and "info types" commands when used with programs having the .gdb_index
1844 section, as well as speeding up debugging with shared libraries using
1845 the .gdb_index section.
1846
1847 * Ada support for GDB/MI Variable Objects has been added.
1848
1849 * GDB can now support 'breakpoint always-inserted mode' in 'record'
1850 target.
1851
1852 * MI changes
1853
1854 ** New command -info-os is the MI equivalent of "info os".
1855
1856 ** Output logs ("set logging" and related) now include MI output.
1857
1858 * New commands
1859
1860 ** "set use-deprecated-index-sections on|off"
1861 "show use-deprecated-index-sections on|off"
1862 Controls the use of deprecated .gdb_index sections.
1863
1864 ** "catch load" and "catch unload" can be used to stop when a shared
1865 library is loaded or unloaded, respectively.
1866
1867 ** "enable count" can be used to auto-disable a breakpoint after
1868 several hits.
1869
1870 ** "info vtbl" can be used to show the virtual method tables for
1871 C++ and Java objects.
1872
1873 ** "explore" and its sub commands "explore value" and "explore type"
1874 can be used to recursively explore values and types of
1875 expressions. These commands are available only if GDB is
1876 configured with '--with-python'.
1877
1878 ** "info auto-load" shows status of all kinds of auto-loaded files,
1879 "info auto-load gdb-scripts" shows status of auto-loading GDB canned
1880 sequences of commands files, "info auto-load python-scripts"
1881 shows status of auto-loading Python script files,
1882 "info auto-load local-gdbinit" shows status of loading init file
1883 (.gdbinit) from current directory and "info auto-load libthread-db" shows
1884 status of inferior specific thread debugging shared library loading.
1885
1886 ** "info auto-load-scripts", "set auto-load-scripts on|off"
1887 and "show auto-load-scripts" commands have been deprecated, use their
1888 "info auto-load python-scripts", "set auto-load python-scripts on|off"
1889 and "show auto-load python-scripts" counterparts instead.
1890
1891 ** "dprintf location,format,args..." creates a dynamic printf, which
1892 is basically a breakpoint that does a printf and immediately
1893 resumes your program's execution, so it is like a printf that you
1894 can insert dynamically at runtime instead of at compiletime.
1895
1896 ** "set print symbol"
1897 "show print symbol"
1898 Controls whether GDB attempts to display the symbol, if any,
1899 corresponding to addresses it prints. This defaults to "on", but
1900 you can set it to "off" to restore GDB's previous behavior.
1901
1902 * Deprecated commands
1903
1904 ** For the Renesas Super-H architecture, the "regs" command has been
1905 deprecated, and "info all-registers" should be used instead.
1906
1907 * New targets
1908
1909 Renesas RL78 rl78-*-elf
1910 HP OpenVMS ia64 ia64-hp-openvms*
1911
1912 * GDBserver supports evaluation of breakpoint conditions. When
1913 support is advertised by GDBserver, GDB may be told to send the
1914 breakpoint conditions in bytecode form to GDBserver. GDBserver
1915 will only report the breakpoint trigger to GDB when its condition
1916 evaluates to true.
1917
1918 * New options
1919
1920 set mips compression
1921 show mips compression
1922 Select the compressed ISA encoding used in functions that have no symbol
1923 information available. The encoding can be set to either of:
1924 mips16
1925 micromips
1926 and is updated automatically from ELF file flags if available.
1927
1928 set breakpoint condition-evaluation
1929 show breakpoint condition-evaluation
1930 Control whether breakpoint conditions are evaluated by GDB ("host") or by
1931 GDBserver ("target"). Default option "auto" chooses the most efficient
1932 available mode.
1933 This option can improve debugger efficiency depending on the speed of the
1934 target.
1935
1936 set auto-load off
1937 Disable auto-loading globally.
1938
1939 show auto-load
1940 Show auto-loading setting of all kinds of auto-loaded files.
1941
1942 set auto-load gdb-scripts on|off
1943 show auto-load gdb-scripts
1944 Control auto-loading of GDB canned sequences of commands files.
1945
1946 set auto-load python-scripts on|off
1947 show auto-load python-scripts
1948 Control auto-loading of Python script files.
1949
1950 set auto-load local-gdbinit on|off
1951 show auto-load local-gdbinit
1952 Control loading of init file (.gdbinit) from current directory.
1953
1954 set auto-load libthread-db on|off
1955 show auto-load libthread-db
1956 Control auto-loading of inferior specific thread debugging shared library.
1957
1958 set auto-load scripts-directory <dir1>[:<dir2>...]
1959 show auto-load scripts-directory
1960 Set a list of directories from which to load auto-loaded scripts.
1961 Automatically loaded Python scripts and GDB scripts are located in one
1962 of the directories listed by this option.
1963 The delimiter (':' above) may differ according to the host platform.
1964
1965 set auto-load safe-path <dir1>[:<dir2>...]
1966 show auto-load safe-path
1967 Set a list of directories from which it is safe to auto-load files.
1968 The delimiter (':' above) may differ according to the host platform.
1969
1970 set debug auto-load on|off
1971 show debug auto-load
1972 Control display of debugging info for auto-loading the files above.
1973
1974 set dprintf-style gdb|call|agent
1975 show dprintf-style
1976 Control the way in which a dynamic printf is performed; "gdb"
1977 requests a GDB printf command, while "call" causes dprintf to call a
1978 function in the inferior. "agent" requests that the target agent
1979 (such as GDBserver) do the printing.
1980
1981 set dprintf-function <expr>
1982 show dprintf-function
1983 set dprintf-channel <expr>
1984 show dprintf-channel
1985 Set the function and optional first argument to the call when using
1986 the "call" style of dynamic printf.
1987
1988 set disconnected-dprintf on|off
1989 show disconnected-dprintf
1990 Control whether agent-style dynamic printfs continue to be in effect
1991 after GDB disconnects.
1992
1993 * New configure options
1994
1995 --with-auto-load-dir
1996 Configure default value for the 'set auto-load scripts-directory'
1997 setting above. It defaults to '$debugdir:$datadir/auto-load',
1998 $debugdir representing global debugging info directories (available
1999 via 'show debug-file-directory') and $datadir representing GDB's data
2000 directory (available via 'show data-directory').
2001
2002 --with-auto-load-safe-path
2003 Configure default value for the 'set auto-load safe-path' setting
2004 above. It defaults to the --with-auto-load-dir setting.
2005
2006 --without-auto-load-safe-path
2007 Set 'set auto-load safe-path' to '/', effectively disabling this
2008 security feature.
2009
2010 * New remote packets
2011
2012 z0/z1 conditional breakpoints extension
2013
2014 The z0/z1 breakpoint insertion packets have been extended to carry
2015 a list of conditional expressions over to the remote stub depending on the
2016 condition evaluation mode. The use of this extension can be controlled
2017 via the "set remote conditional-breakpoints-packet" command.
2018
2019 QProgramSignals:
2020
2021 Specify the signals which the remote stub may pass to the debugged
2022 program without GDB involvement.
2023
2024 * New command line options
2025
2026 --init-command=FILE, -ix Like --command, -x but execute it
2027 before loading inferior.
2028 --init-eval-command=COMMAND, -iex Like --eval-command=COMMAND, -ex but
2029 execute it before loading inferior.
2030
2031 *** Changes in GDB 7.4
2032
2033 * GDB now handles ambiguous linespecs more consistently; the existing
2034 FILE:LINE support has been expanded to other types of linespecs. A
2035 breakpoint will now be set on all matching locations in all
2036 inferiors, and locations will be added or removed according to
2037 inferior changes.
2038
2039 * GDB now allows you to skip uninteresting functions and files when
2040 stepping with the "skip function" and "skip file" commands.
2041
2042 * GDB has two new commands: "set remote hardware-watchpoint-length-limit"
2043 and "show remote hardware-watchpoint-length-limit". These allows to
2044 set or show the maximum length limit (in bytes) of a remote
2045 target hardware watchpoint.
2046
2047 This allows e.g. to use "unlimited" hardware watchpoints with the
2048 gdbserver integrated in Valgrind version >= 3.7.0. Such Valgrind
2049 watchpoints are slower than real hardware watchpoints but are
2050 significantly faster than gdb software watchpoints.
2051
2052 * Python scripting
2053
2054 ** The register_pretty_printer function in module gdb.printing now takes
2055 an optional `replace' argument. If True, the new printer replaces any
2056 existing one.
2057
2058 ** The "maint set python print-stack on|off" command has been
2059 deprecated and will be deleted in GDB 7.5.
2060 A new command: "set python print-stack none|full|message" has
2061 replaced it. Additionally, the default for "print-stack" is
2062 now "message", which just prints the error message without
2063 the stack trace.
2064
2065 ** A prompt substitution hook (prompt_hook) is now available to the
2066 Python API.
2067
2068 ** A new Python module, gdb.prompt has been added to the GDB Python
2069 modules library. This module provides functionality for
2070 escape sequences in prompts (used by set/show
2071 extended-prompt). These escape sequences are replaced by their
2072 corresponding value.
2073
2074 ** Python commands and convenience-functions located in
2075 'data-directory'/python/gdb/command and
2076 'data-directory'/python/gdb/function are now automatically loaded
2077 on GDB start-up.
2078
2079 ** Blocks now provide four new attributes. global_block and
2080 static_block will return the global and static blocks
2081 respectively. is_static and is_global are boolean attributes
2082 that indicate if the block is one of those two types.
2083
2084 ** Symbols now provide the "type" attribute, the type of the symbol.
2085
2086 ** The "gdb.breakpoint" function has been deprecated in favor of
2087 "gdb.breakpoints".
2088
2089 ** A new class "gdb.FinishBreakpoint" is provided to catch the return
2090 of a function. This class is based on the "finish" command
2091 available in the CLI.
2092
2093 ** Type objects for struct and union types now allow access to
2094 the fields using standard Python dictionary (mapping) methods.
2095 For example, "some_type['myfield']" now works, as does
2096 "some_type.items()".
2097
2098 ** A new event "gdb.new_objfile" has been added, triggered by loading a
2099 new object file.
2100
2101 ** A new function, "deep_items" has been added to the gdb.types
2102 module in the GDB Python modules library. This function returns
2103 an iterator over the fields of a struct or union type. Unlike
2104 the standard Python "iteritems" method, it will recursively traverse
2105 any anonymous fields.
2106
2107 * MI changes
2108
2109 ** "*stopped" events can report several new "reason"s, such as
2110 "solib-event".
2111
2112 ** Breakpoint changes are now notified using new async records, like
2113 "=breakpoint-modified".
2114
2115 ** New command -ada-task-info.
2116
2117 * libthread-db-search-path now supports two special values: $sdir and $pdir.
2118 $sdir specifies the default system locations of shared libraries.
2119 $pdir specifies the directory where the libpthread used by the application
2120 lives.
2121
2122 GDB no longer looks in $sdir and $pdir after it has searched the directories
2123 mentioned in libthread-db-search-path. If you want to search those
2124 directories, they must be specified in libthread-db-search-path.
2125 The default value of libthread-db-search-path on GNU/Linux and Solaris
2126 systems is now "$sdir:$pdir".
2127
2128 $pdir is not supported by gdbserver, it is currently ignored.
2129 $sdir is supported by gdbserver.
2130
2131 * New configure option --with-iconv-bin.
2132 When using the internationalization support like the one in the GNU C
2133 library, GDB will invoke the "iconv" program to get a list of supported
2134 character sets. If this program lives in a non-standard location, one can
2135 use this option to specify where to find it.
2136
2137 * When natively debugging programs on PowerPC BookE processors running
2138 a Linux kernel version 2.6.34 or later, GDB supports masked hardware
2139 watchpoints, which specify a mask in addition to an address to watch.
2140 The mask specifies that some bits of an address (the bits which are
2141 reset in the mask) should be ignored when matching the address accessed
2142 by the inferior against the watchpoint address. See the "PowerPC Embedded"
2143 section in the user manual for more details.
2144
2145 * The new option --once causes GDBserver to stop listening for connections once
2146 the first connection is made. The listening port used by GDBserver will
2147 become available after that.
2148
2149 * New commands "info macros" and "alias" have been added.
2150
2151 * New function parameters suffix @entry specifies value of function parameter
2152 at the time the function got called. Entry values are available only since
2153 gcc version 4.7.
2154
2155 * New commands
2156
2157 !SHELL COMMAND
2158 "!" is now an alias of the "shell" command.
2159 Note that no space is needed between "!" and SHELL COMMAND.
2160
2161 * Changed commands
2162
2163 watch EXPRESSION mask MASK_VALUE
2164 The watch command now supports the mask argument which allows creation
2165 of masked watchpoints, if the current architecture supports this feature.
2166
2167 info auto-load-scripts [REGEXP]
2168 This command was formerly named "maintenance print section-scripts".
2169 It is now generally useful and is no longer a maintenance-only command.
2170
2171 info macro [-all] [--] MACRO
2172 The info macro command has new options `-all' and `--'. The first for
2173 printing all definitions of a macro. The second for explicitly specifying
2174 the end of arguments and the beginning of the macro name in case the macro
2175 name starts with a hyphen.
2176
2177 collect[/s] EXPRESSIONS
2178 The tracepoint collect command now takes an optional modifier "/s"
2179 that directs it to dereference pointer-to-character types and
2180 collect the bytes of memory up to a zero byte. The behavior is
2181 similar to what you see when you use the regular print command on a
2182 string. An optional integer following the "/s" sets a bound on the
2183 number of bytes that will be collected.
2184
2185 tstart [NOTES]
2186 The trace start command now interprets any supplied arguments as a
2187 note to be recorded with the trace run, with an effect similar to
2188 setting the variable trace-notes.
2189
2190 tstop [NOTES]
2191 The trace stop command now interprets any arguments as a note to be
2192 mentioned along with the tstatus report that the trace was stopped
2193 with a command. The effect is similar to setting the variable
2194 trace-stop-notes.
2195
2196 * Tracepoints can now be enabled and disabled at any time after a trace
2197 experiment has been started using the standard "enable" and "disable"
2198 commands. It is now possible to start a trace experiment with no enabled
2199 tracepoints; GDB will display a warning, but will allow the experiment to
2200 begin, assuming that tracepoints will be enabled as needed while the trace
2201 is running.
2202
2203 * Fast tracepoints on 32-bit x86-architectures can now be placed at
2204 locations with 4-byte instructions, when they were previously
2205 limited to locations with instructions of 5 bytes or longer.
2206
2207 * New options
2208
2209 set debug dwarf2-read
2210 show debug dwarf2-read
2211 Turns on or off display of debugging messages related to reading
2212 DWARF debug info. The default is off.
2213
2214 set debug symtab-create
2215 show debug symtab-create
2216 Turns on or off display of debugging messages related to symbol table
2217 creation. The default is off.
2218
2219 set extended-prompt
2220 show extended-prompt
2221 Set the GDB prompt, and allow escape sequences to be inserted to
2222 display miscellaneous information (see 'help set extended-prompt'
2223 for the list of sequences). This prompt (and any information
2224 accessed through the escape sequences) is updated every time the
2225 prompt is displayed.
2226
2227 set print entry-values (both|compact|default|if-needed|no|only|preferred)
2228 show print entry-values
2229 Set printing of frame argument values at function entry. In some cases
2230 GDB can determine the value of function argument which was passed by the
2231 function caller, even if the value was modified inside the called function.
2232
2233 set debug entry-values
2234 show debug entry-values
2235 Control display of debugging info for determining frame argument values at
2236 function entry and virtual tail call frames.
2237
2238 set basenames-may-differ
2239 show basenames-may-differ
2240 Set whether a source file may have multiple base names.
2241 (A "base name" is the name of a file with the directory part removed.
2242 Example: The base name of "/home/user/hello.c" is "hello.c".)
2243 If set, GDB will canonicalize file names (e.g., expand symlinks)
2244 before comparing them. Canonicalization is an expensive operation,
2245 but it allows the same file be known by more than one base name.
2246 If not set (the default), all source files are assumed to have just
2247 one base name, and gdb will do file name comparisons more efficiently.
2248
2249 set trace-user
2250 show trace-user
2251 set trace-notes
2252 show trace-notes
2253 Set a user name and notes for the current and any future trace runs.
2254 This is useful for long-running and/or disconnected traces, to
2255 inform others (or yourself) as to who is running the trace, supply
2256 contact information, or otherwise explain what is going on.
2257
2258 set trace-stop-notes
2259 show trace-stop-notes
2260 Set a note attached to the trace run, that is displayed when the
2261 trace has been stopped by a tstop command. This is useful for
2262 instance as an explanation, if you are stopping a trace run that was
2263 started by someone else.
2264
2265 * New remote packets
2266
2267 QTEnable
2268
2269 Dynamically enable a tracepoint in a started trace experiment.
2270
2271 QTDisable
2272
2273 Dynamically disable a tracepoint in a started trace experiment.
2274
2275 QTNotes
2276
2277 Set the user and notes of the trace run.
2278
2279 qTP
2280
2281 Query the current status of a tracepoint.
2282
2283 qTMinFTPILen
2284
2285 Query the minimum length of instruction at which a fast tracepoint may
2286 be placed.
2287
2288 * Dcache size (number of lines) and line-size are now runtime-configurable
2289 via "set dcache line" and "set dcache line-size" commands.
2290
2291 * New targets
2292
2293 Texas Instruments TMS320C6x tic6x-*-*
2294
2295 * New Simulators
2296
2297 Renesas RL78 rl78-*-elf
2298
2299 *** Changes in GDB 7.3.1
2300
2301 * The build failure for NetBSD and OpenBSD targets have now been fixed.
2302
2303 *** Changes in GDB 7.3
2304
2305 * GDB has a new command: "thread find [REGEXP]".
2306 It finds the thread id whose name, target id, or thread extra info
2307 matches the given regular expression.
2308
2309 * The "catch syscall" command now works on mips*-linux* targets.
2310
2311 * The -data-disassemble MI command now supports modes 2 and 3 for
2312 dumping the instruction opcodes.
2313
2314 * New command line options
2315
2316 -data-directory DIR Specify DIR as the "data-directory".
2317 This is mostly for testing purposes.
2318
2319 * The "maint set python auto-load on|off" command has been renamed to
2320 "set auto-load-scripts on|off".
2321
2322 * GDB has a new command: "set directories".
2323 It is like the "dir" command except that it replaces the
2324 source path list instead of augmenting it.
2325
2326 * GDB now understands thread names.
2327
2328 On GNU/Linux, "info threads" will display the thread name as set by
2329 prctl or pthread_setname_np.
2330
2331 There is also a new command, "thread name", which can be used to
2332 assign a name internally for GDB to display.
2333
2334 * OpenCL C
2335 Initial support for the OpenCL C language (http://www.khronos.org/opencl)
2336 has been integrated into GDB.
2337
2338 * Python scripting
2339
2340 ** The function gdb.Write now accepts an optional keyword 'stream'.
2341 This keyword, when provided, will direct the output to either
2342 stdout, stderr, or GDB's logging output.
2343
2344 ** Parameters can now be be sub-classed in Python, and in particular
2345 you may implement the get_set_doc and get_show_doc functions.
2346 This improves how Parameter set/show documentation is processed
2347 and allows for more dynamic content.
2348
2349 ** Symbols, Symbol Table, Symbol Table and Line, Object Files,
2350 Inferior, Inferior Thread, Blocks, and Block Iterator APIs now
2351 have an is_valid method.
2352
2353 ** Breakpoints can now be sub-classed in Python, and in particular
2354 you may implement a 'stop' function that is executed each time
2355 the inferior reaches that breakpoint.
2356
2357 ** New function gdb.lookup_global_symbol looks up a global symbol.
2358
2359 ** GDB values in Python are now callable if the value represents a
2360 function. For example, if 'some_value' represents a function that
2361 takes two integer parameters and returns a value, you can call
2362 that function like so:
2363
2364 result = some_value (10,20)
2365
2366 ** Module gdb.types has been added.
2367 It contains a collection of utilities for working with gdb.Types objects:
2368 get_basic_type, has_field, make_enum_dict.
2369
2370 ** Module gdb.printing has been added.
2371 It contains utilities for writing and registering pretty-printers.
2372 New classes: PrettyPrinter, SubPrettyPrinter,
2373 RegexpCollectionPrettyPrinter.
2374 New function: register_pretty_printer.
2375
2376 ** New commands "info pretty-printers", "enable pretty-printer" and
2377 "disable pretty-printer" have been added.
2378
2379 ** gdb.parameter("directories") is now available.
2380
2381 ** New function gdb.newest_frame returns the newest frame in the
2382 selected thread.
2383
2384 ** The gdb.InferiorThread class has a new "name" attribute. This
2385 holds the thread's name.
2386
2387 ** Python Support for Inferior events.
2388 Python scripts can add observers to be notified of events
2389 occurring in the process being debugged.
2390 The following events are currently supported:
2391 - gdb.events.cont Continue event.
2392 - gdb.events.exited Inferior exited event.
2393 - gdb.events.stop Signal received, and Breakpoint hit events.
2394
2395 * C++ Improvements:
2396
2397 ** GDB now puts template parameters in scope when debugging in an
2398 instantiation. For example, if you have:
2399
2400 template<int X> int func (void) { return X; }
2401
2402 then if you step into func<5>, "print X" will show "5". This
2403 feature requires proper debuginfo support from the compiler; it
2404 was added to GCC 4.5.
2405
2406 ** The motion commands "next", "finish", "until", and "advance" now
2407 work better when exceptions are thrown. In particular, GDB will
2408 no longer lose control of the inferior; instead, the GDB will
2409 stop the inferior at the point at which the exception is caught.
2410 This functionality requires a change in the exception handling
2411 code that was introduced in GCC 4.5.
2412
2413 * GDB now follows GCC's rules on accessing volatile objects when
2414 reading or writing target state during expression evaluation.
2415 One notable difference to prior behavior is that "print x = 0"
2416 no longer generates a read of x; the value of the assignment is
2417 now always taken directly from the value being assigned.
2418
2419 * GDB now has some support for using labels in the program's source in
2420 linespecs. For instance, you can use "advance label" to continue
2421 execution to a label.
2422
2423 * GDB now has support for reading and writing a new .gdb_index
2424 section. This section holds a fast index of DWARF debugging
2425 information and can be used to greatly speed up GDB startup and
2426 operation. See the documentation for `save gdb-index' for details.
2427
2428 * The "watch" command now accepts an optional "-location" argument.
2429 When used, this causes GDB to watch the memory referred to by the
2430 expression. Such a watchpoint is never deleted due to it going out
2431 of scope.
2432
2433 * GDB now supports thread debugging of core dumps on GNU/Linux.
2434
2435 GDB now activates thread debugging using the libthread_db library
2436 when debugging GNU/Linux core dumps, similarly to when debugging
2437 live processes. As a result, when debugging a core dump file, GDB
2438 is now able to display pthread_t ids of threads. For example, "info
2439 threads" shows the same output as when debugging the process when it
2440 was live. In earlier releases, you'd see something like this:
2441
2442 (gdb) info threads
2443 * 1 LWP 6780 main () at main.c:10
2444
2445 While now you see this:
2446
2447 (gdb) info threads
2448 * 1 Thread 0x7f0f5712a700 (LWP 6780) main () at main.c:10
2449
2450 It is also now possible to inspect TLS variables when debugging core
2451 dumps.
2452
2453 When debugging a core dump generated on a machine other than the one
2454 used to run GDB, you may need to point GDB at the correct
2455 libthread_db library with the "set libthread-db-search-path"
2456 command. See the user manual for more details on this command.
2457
2458 * When natively debugging programs on PowerPC BookE processors running
2459 a Linux kernel version 2.6.34 or later, GDB supports ranged breakpoints,
2460 which stop execution of the inferior whenever it executes an instruction
2461 at any address within the specified range. See the "PowerPC Embedded"
2462 section in the user manual for more details.
2463
2464 * New features in the GDB remote stub, GDBserver
2465
2466 ** GDBserver is now supported on PowerPC LynxOS (versions 4.x and 5.x),
2467 and i686 LynxOS (version 5.x).
2468
2469 ** GDBserver is now supported on Blackfin Linux.
2470
2471 * New native configurations
2472
2473 ia64 HP-UX ia64-*-hpux*
2474
2475 * New targets:
2476
2477 Analog Devices, Inc. Blackfin Processor bfin-*
2478
2479 * Ada task switching is now supported on sparc-elf targets when
2480 debugging a program using the Ravenscar Profile. For more information,
2481 see the "Tasking Support when using the Ravenscar Profile" section
2482 in the GDB user manual.
2483
2484 * Guile support was removed.
2485
2486 * New features in the GNU simulator
2487
2488 ** The --map-info flag lists all known core mappings.
2489
2490 ** CFI flashes may be simulated via the "cfi" device.
2491
2492 *** Changes in GDB 7.2
2493
2494 * Shared library support for remote targets by default
2495
2496 When GDB is configured for a generic, non-OS specific target, like
2497 for example, --target=arm-eabi or one of the many *-*-elf targets,
2498 GDB now queries remote stubs for loaded shared libraries using the
2499 `qXfer:libraries:read' packet. Previously, shared library support
2500 was always disabled for such configurations.
2501
2502 * C++ Improvements:
2503
2504 ** Argument Dependent Lookup (ADL)
2505
2506 In C++ ADL lookup directs function search to the namespaces of its
2507 arguments even if the namespace has not been imported.
2508 For example:
2509 namespace A
2510 {
2511 class B { };
2512 void foo (B) { }
2513 }
2514 ...
2515 A::B b
2516 foo(b)
2517 Here the compiler will search for `foo' in the namespace of 'b'
2518 and find A::foo. GDB now supports this. This construct is commonly
2519 used in the Standard Template Library for operators.
2520
2521 ** Improved User Defined Operator Support
2522
2523 In addition to member operators, GDB now supports lookup of operators
2524 defined in a namespace and imported with a `using' directive, operators
2525 defined in the global scope, operators imported implicitly from an
2526 anonymous namespace, and the ADL operators mentioned in the previous
2527 entry.
2528 GDB now also supports proper overload resolution for all the previously
2529 mentioned flavors of operators.
2530
2531 ** static const class members
2532
2533 Printing of static const class members that are initialized in the
2534 class definition has been fixed.
2535
2536 * Windows Thread Information Block access.
2537
2538 On Windows targets, GDB now supports displaying the Windows Thread
2539 Information Block (TIB) structure. This structure is visible either
2540 by using the new command `info w32 thread-information-block' or, by
2541 dereferencing the new convenience variable named `$_tlb', a
2542 thread-specific pointer to the TIB. This feature is also supported
2543 when remote debugging using GDBserver.
2544
2545 * Static tracepoints
2546
2547 Static tracepoints are calls in the user program into a tracing
2548 library. One such library is a port of the LTTng kernel tracer to
2549 userspace --- UST (LTTng Userspace Tracer, http://lttng.org/ust).
2550 When debugging with GDBserver, GDB now supports combining the GDB
2551 tracepoint machinery with such libraries. For example: the user can
2552 use GDB to probe a static tracepoint marker (a call from the user
2553 program into the tracing library) with the new "strace" command (see
2554 "New commands" below). This creates a "static tracepoint" in the
2555 breakpoint list, that can be manipulated with the same feature set
2556 as fast and regular tracepoints. E.g., collect registers, local and
2557 global variables, collect trace state variables, and define
2558 tracepoint conditions. In addition, the user can collect extra
2559 static tracepoint marker specific data, by collecting the new
2560 $_sdata internal variable. When analyzing the trace buffer, you can
2561 inspect $_sdata like any other variable available to GDB. For more
2562 information, see the "Tracepoints" chapter in GDB user manual. New
2563 remote packets have been defined to support static tracepoints, see
2564 the "New remote packets" section below.
2565
2566 * Better reconstruction of tracepoints after disconnected tracing
2567
2568 GDB will attempt to download the original source form of tracepoint
2569 definitions when starting a trace run, and then will upload these
2570 upon reconnection to the target, resulting in a more accurate
2571 reconstruction of the tracepoints that are in use on the target.
2572
2573 * Observer mode
2574
2575 You can now exercise direct control over the ways that GDB can
2576 affect your program. For instance, you can disallow the setting of
2577 breakpoints, so that the program can run continuously (assuming
2578 non-stop mode). In addition, the "observer" variable is available
2579 to switch all of the different controls; in observer mode, GDB
2580 cannot affect the target's behavior at all, which is useful for
2581 tasks like diagnosing live systems in the field.
2582
2583 * The new convenience variable $_thread holds the number of the
2584 current thread.
2585
2586 * New remote packets
2587
2588 qGetTIBAddr
2589
2590 Return the address of the Windows Thread Information Block of a given thread.
2591
2592 qRelocInsn
2593
2594 In response to several of the tracepoint packets, the target may now
2595 also respond with a number of intermediate `qRelocInsn' request
2596 packets before the final result packet, to have GDB handle
2597 relocating an instruction to execute at a different address. This
2598 is particularly useful for stubs that support fast tracepoints. GDB
2599 reports support for this feature in the qSupported packet.
2600
2601 qTfSTM, qTsSTM
2602
2603 List static tracepoint markers in the target program.
2604
2605 qTSTMat
2606
2607 List static tracepoint markers at a given address in the target
2608 program.
2609
2610 qXfer:statictrace:read
2611
2612 Read the static trace data collected (by a `collect $_sdata'
2613 tracepoint action). The remote stub reports support for this packet
2614 to gdb's qSupported query.
2615
2616 QAllow
2617
2618 Send the current settings of GDB's permission flags.
2619
2620 QTDPsrc
2621
2622 Send part of the source (textual) form of a tracepoint definition,
2623 which includes location, conditional, and action list.
2624
2625 * The source command now accepts a -s option to force searching for the
2626 script in the source search path even if the script name specifies
2627 a directory.
2628
2629 * New features in the GDB remote stub, GDBserver
2630
2631 - GDBserver now support tracepoints (including fast tracepoints, and
2632 static tracepoints). The feature is currently supported by the
2633 i386-linux and amd64-linux builds. See the "Tracepoints support
2634 in gdbserver" section in the manual for more information.
2635
2636 GDBserver JIT compiles the tracepoint's conditional agent
2637 expression bytecode into native code whenever possible for low
2638 overhead dynamic tracepoints conditionals. For such tracepoints,
2639 an expression that examines program state is evaluated when the
2640 tracepoint is reached, in order to determine whether to capture
2641 trace data. If the condition is simple and false, processing the
2642 tracepoint finishes very quickly and no data is gathered.
2643
2644 GDBserver interfaces with the UST (LTTng Userspace Tracer) library
2645 for static tracepoints support.
2646
2647 - GDBserver now supports x86_64 Windows 64-bit debugging.
2648
2649 * GDB now sends xmlRegisters= in qSupported packet to indicate that
2650 it understands register description.
2651
2652 * The --batch flag now disables pagination and queries.
2653
2654 * X86 general purpose registers
2655
2656 GDB now supports reading/writing byte, word and double-word x86
2657 general purpose registers directly. This means you can use, say,
2658 $ah or $ax to refer, respectively, to the byte register AH and
2659 16-bit word register AX that are actually portions of the 32-bit
2660 register EAX or 64-bit register RAX.
2661
2662 * The `commands' command now accepts a range of breakpoints to modify.
2663 A plain `commands' following a command that creates multiple
2664 breakpoints affects all the breakpoints set by that command. This
2665 applies to breakpoints set by `rbreak', and also applies when a
2666 single `break' command creates multiple breakpoints (e.g.,
2667 breakpoints on overloaded c++ functions).
2668
2669 * The `rbreak' command now accepts a filename specification as part of
2670 its argument, limiting the functions selected by the regex to those
2671 in the specified file.
2672
2673 * Support for remote debugging Windows and SymbianOS shared libraries
2674 from Unix hosts has been improved. Non Windows GDB builds now can
2675 understand target reported file names that follow MS-DOS based file
2676 system semantics, such as file names that include drive letters and
2677 use the backslash character as directory separator. This makes it
2678 possible to transparently use the "set sysroot" and "set
2679 solib-search-path" on Unix hosts to point as host copies of the
2680 target's shared libraries. See the new command "set
2681 target-file-system-kind" described below, and the "Commands to
2682 specify files" section in the user manual for more information.
2683
2684 * New commands
2685
2686 eval template, expressions...
2687 Convert the values of one or more expressions under the control
2688 of the string template to a command line, and call it.
2689
2690 set target-file-system-kind unix|dos-based|auto
2691 show target-file-system-kind
2692 Set or show the assumed file system kind for target reported file
2693 names.
2694
2695 save breakpoints <filename>
2696 Save all current breakpoint definitions to a file suitable for use
2697 in a later debugging session. To read the saved breakpoint
2698 definitions, use the `source' command.
2699
2700 `save tracepoints' is a new alias for `save-tracepoints'. The latter
2701 is now deprecated.
2702
2703 info static-tracepoint-markers
2704 Display information about static tracepoint markers in the target.
2705
2706 strace FN | FILE:LINE | *ADDR | -m MARKER_ID
2707 Define a static tracepoint by probing a marker at the given
2708 function, line, address, or marker ID.
2709
2710 set observer on|off
2711 show observer
2712 Enable and disable observer mode.
2713
2714 set may-write-registers on|off
2715 set may-write-memory on|off
2716 set may-insert-breakpoints on|off
2717 set may-insert-tracepoints on|off
2718 set may-insert-fast-tracepoints on|off
2719 set may-interrupt on|off
2720 Set individual permissions for GDB effects on the target. Note that
2721 some of these settings can have undesirable or surprising
2722 consequences, particularly when changed in the middle of a session.
2723 For instance, disabling the writing of memory can prevent
2724 breakpoints from being inserted, cause single-stepping to fail, or
2725 even crash your program, if you disable after breakpoints have been
2726 inserted. However, GDB should not crash.
2727
2728 set record memory-query on|off
2729 show record memory-query
2730 Control whether to stop the inferior if memory changes caused
2731 by an instruction cannot be recorded.
2732
2733 * Changed commands
2734
2735 disassemble
2736 The disassemble command now supports "start,+length" form of two arguments.
2737
2738 * Python scripting
2739
2740 ** GDB now provides a new directory location, called the python directory,
2741 where Python scripts written for GDB can be installed. The location
2742 of that directory is <data-directory>/python, where <data-directory>
2743 is the GDB data directory. For more details, see section `Scripting
2744 GDB using Python' in the manual.
2745
2746 ** The GDB Python API now has access to breakpoints, symbols, symbol
2747 tables, program spaces, inferiors, threads and frame's code blocks.
2748 Additionally, GDB Parameters can now be created from the API, and
2749 manipulated via set/show in the CLI.
2750
2751 ** New functions gdb.target_charset, gdb.target_wide_charset,
2752 gdb.progspaces, gdb.current_progspace, and gdb.string_to_argv.
2753
2754 ** New exception gdb.GdbError.
2755
2756 ** Pretty-printers are now also looked up in the current program space.
2757
2758 ** Pretty-printers can now be individually enabled and disabled.
2759
2760 ** GDB now looks for names of Python scripts to auto-load in a
2761 special section named `.debug_gdb_scripts', in addition to looking
2762 for a OBJFILE-gdb.py script when OBJFILE is read by the debugger.
2763
2764 * Tracepoint actions were unified with breakpoint commands. In particular,
2765 there are no longer differences in "info break" output for breakpoints and
2766 tracepoints and the "commands" command can be used for both tracepoints and
2767 regular breakpoints.
2768
2769 * New targets
2770
2771 ARM Symbian arm*-*-symbianelf*
2772
2773 * D language support.
2774 GDB now supports debugging programs written in the D programming
2775 language.
2776
2777 * GDB now supports the extended ptrace interface for PowerPC which is
2778 available since Linux kernel version 2.6.34. This automatically enables
2779 any hardware breakpoints and additional hardware watchpoints available in
2780 the processor. The old ptrace interface exposes just one hardware
2781 watchpoint and no hardware breakpoints.
2782
2783 * GDB is now able to use the Data Value Compare (DVC) register available on
2784 embedded PowerPC processors to implement in hardware simple watchpoint
2785 conditions of the form:
2786
2787 watch ADDRESS|VARIABLE if ADDRESS|VARIABLE == CONSTANT EXPRESSION
2788
2789 This works in native GDB running on Linux kernels with the extended ptrace
2790 interface mentioned above.
2791
2792 *** Changes in GDB 7.1
2793
2794 * C++ Improvements
2795
2796 ** Namespace Support
2797
2798 GDB now supports importing of namespaces in C++. This enables the
2799 user to inspect variables from imported namespaces. Support for
2800 namepace aliasing has also been added. So, if a namespace is
2801 aliased in the current scope (e.g. namepace C=A; ) the user can
2802 print variables using the alias (e.g. (gdb) print C::x).
2803
2804 ** Bug Fixes
2805
2806 All known bugs relating to the printing of virtual base class were
2807 fixed. It is now possible to call overloaded static methods using a
2808 qualified name.
2809
2810 ** Cast Operators
2811
2812 The C++ cast operators static_cast<>, dynamic_cast<>, const_cast<>,
2813 and reinterpret_cast<> are now handled by the C++ expression parser.
2814
2815 * New targets
2816
2817 Xilinx MicroBlaze microblaze-*-*
2818 Renesas RX rx-*-elf
2819
2820 * New Simulators
2821
2822 Xilinx MicroBlaze microblaze
2823 Renesas RX rx
2824
2825 * Multi-program debugging.
2826
2827 GDB now has support for multi-program (a.k.a. multi-executable or
2828 multi-exec) debugging. This allows for debugging multiple inferiors
2829 simultaneously each running a different program under the same GDB
2830 session. See "Debugging Multiple Inferiors and Programs" in the
2831 manual for more information. This implied some user visible changes
2832 in the multi-inferior support. For example, "info inferiors" now
2833 lists inferiors that are not running yet or that have exited
2834 already. See also "New commands" and "New options" below.
2835
2836 * New tracing features
2837
2838 GDB's tracepoint facility now includes several new features:
2839
2840 ** Trace state variables
2841
2842 GDB tracepoints now include support for trace state variables, which
2843 are variables managed by the target agent during a tracing
2844 experiment. They are useful for tracepoints that trigger each
2845 other, so for instance one tracepoint can count hits in a variable,
2846 and then a second tracepoint has a condition that is true when the
2847 count reaches a particular value. Trace state variables share the
2848 $-syntax of GDB convenience variables, and can appear in both
2849 tracepoint actions and condition expressions. Use the "tvariable"
2850 command to create, and "info tvariables" to view; see "Trace State
2851 Variables" in the manual for more detail.
2852
2853 ** Fast tracepoints
2854
2855 GDB now includes an option for defining fast tracepoints, which
2856 targets may implement more efficiently, such as by installing a jump
2857 into the target agent rather than a trap instruction. The resulting
2858 speedup can be by two orders of magnitude or more, although the
2859 tradeoff is that some program locations on some target architectures
2860 might not allow fast tracepoint installation, for instance if the
2861 instruction to be replaced is shorter than the jump. To request a
2862 fast tracepoint, use the "ftrace" command, with syntax identical to
2863 the regular trace command.
2864
2865 ** Disconnected tracing
2866
2867 It is now possible to detach GDB from the target while it is running
2868 a trace experiment, then reconnect later to see how the experiment
2869 is going. In addition, a new variable disconnected-tracing lets you
2870 tell the target agent whether to continue running a trace if the
2871 connection is lost unexpectedly.
2872
2873 ** Trace files
2874
2875 GDB now has the ability to save the trace buffer into a file, and
2876 then use that file as a target, similarly to you can do with
2877 corefiles. You can select trace frames, print data that was
2878 collected in them, and use tstatus to display the state of the
2879 tracing run at the moment that it was saved. To create a trace
2880 file, use "tsave <filename>", and to use it, do "target tfile
2881 <name>".
2882
2883 ** Circular trace buffer
2884
2885 You can ask the target agent to handle the trace buffer as a
2886 circular buffer, discarding the oldest trace frames to make room for
2887 newer ones, by setting circular-trace-buffer to on. This feature may
2888 not be available for all target agents.
2889
2890 * Changed commands
2891
2892 disassemble
2893 The disassemble command, when invoked with two arguments, now requires
2894 the arguments to be comma-separated.
2895
2896 info variables
2897 The info variables command now displays variable definitions. Files
2898 which only declare a variable are not shown.
2899
2900 source
2901 The source command is now capable of sourcing Python scripts.
2902 This feature is dependent on the debugger being build with Python
2903 support.
2904
2905 Related to this enhancement is also the introduction of a new command
2906 "set script-extension" (see below).
2907
2908 * New commands (for set/show, see "New options" below)
2909
2910 record save [<FILENAME>]
2911 Save a file (in core file format) containing the process record
2912 execution log for replay debugging at a later time.
2913
2914 record restore <FILENAME>
2915 Restore the process record execution log that was saved at an
2916 earlier time, for replay debugging.
2917
2918 add-inferior [-copies <N>] [-exec <FILENAME>]
2919 Add a new inferior.
2920
2921 clone-inferior [-copies <N>] [ID]
2922 Make a new inferior ready to execute the same program another
2923 inferior has loaded.
2924
2925 remove-inferior ID
2926 Remove an inferior.
2927
2928 maint info program-spaces
2929 List the program spaces loaded into GDB.
2930
2931 set remote interrupt-sequence [Ctrl-C | BREAK | BREAK-g]
2932 show remote interrupt-sequence
2933 Allow the user to select one of ^C, a BREAK signal or BREAK-g
2934 as the sequence to the remote target in order to interrupt the execution.
2935 Ctrl-C is a default. Some system prefers BREAK which is high level of
2936 serial line for some certain time. Linux kernel prefers BREAK-g, a.k.a
2937 Magic SysRq g. It is BREAK signal and character 'g'.
2938
2939 set remote interrupt-on-connect [on | off]
2940 show remote interrupt-on-connect
2941 When interrupt-on-connect is ON, gdb sends interrupt-sequence to
2942 remote target when gdb connects to it. This is needed when you debug
2943 Linux kernel.
2944
2945 set remotebreak [on | off]
2946 show remotebreak
2947 Deprecated. Use "set/show remote interrupt-sequence" instead.
2948
2949 tvariable $NAME [ = EXP ]
2950 Create or modify a trace state variable.
2951
2952 info tvariables
2953 List trace state variables and their values.
2954
2955 delete tvariable $NAME ...
2956 Delete one or more trace state variables.
2957
2958 teval EXPR, ...
2959 Evaluate the given expressions without collecting anything into the
2960 trace buffer. (Valid in tracepoint actions only.)
2961
2962 ftrace FN / FILE:LINE / *ADDR
2963 Define a fast tracepoint at the given function, line, or address.
2964
2965 * New expression syntax
2966
2967 GDB now parses the 0b prefix of binary numbers the same way as GCC does.
2968 GDB now parses 0b101010 identically with 42.
2969
2970 * New options
2971
2972 set follow-exec-mode new|same
2973 show follow-exec-mode
2974 Control whether GDB reuses the same inferior across an exec call or
2975 creates a new one. This is useful to be able to restart the old
2976 executable after the inferior having done an exec call.
2977
2978 set default-collect EXPR, ...
2979 show default-collect
2980 Define a list of expressions to be collected at each tracepoint.
2981 This is a useful way to ensure essential items are not overlooked,
2982 such as registers or a critical global variable.
2983
2984 set disconnected-tracing
2985 show disconnected-tracing
2986 If set to 1, the target is instructed to continue tracing if it
2987 loses its connection to GDB. If 0, the target is to stop tracing
2988 upon disconnection.
2989
2990 set circular-trace-buffer
2991 show circular-trace-buffer
2992 If set to on, the target is instructed to use a circular trace buffer
2993 and discard the oldest trace frames instead of stopping the trace due
2994 to a full trace buffer. If set to off, the trace stops when the buffer
2995 fills up. Some targets may not support this.
2996
2997 set script-extension off|soft|strict
2998 show script-extension
2999 If set to "off", the debugger does not perform any script language
3000 recognition, and all sourced files are assumed to be GDB scripts.
3001 If set to "soft" (the default), files are sourced according to
3002 filename extension, falling back to GDB scripts if the first
3003 evaluation failed.
3004 If set to "strict", files are sourced according to filename extension.
3005
3006 set ada trust-PAD-over-XVS on|off
3007 show ada trust-PAD-over-XVS
3008 If off, activate a workaround against a bug in the debugging information
3009 generated by the compiler for PAD types (see gcc/exp_dbug.ads in
3010 the GCC sources for more information about the GNAT encoding and
3011 PAD types in particular). It is always safe to set this option to
3012 off, but this introduces a slight performance penalty. The default
3013 is on.
3014
3015 * Python API Improvements
3016
3017 ** GDB provides the new class gdb.LazyString. This is useful in
3018 some pretty-printing cases. The new method gdb.Value.lazy_string
3019 provides a simple way to create objects of this type.
3020
3021 ** The fields returned by gdb.Type.fields now have an
3022 `is_base_class' attribute.
3023
3024 ** The new method gdb.Type.range returns the range of an array type.
3025
3026 ** The new method gdb.parse_and_eval can be used to parse and
3027 evaluate an expression.
3028
3029 * New remote packets
3030
3031 QTDV
3032 Define a trace state variable.
3033
3034 qTV
3035 Get the current value of a trace state variable.
3036
3037 QTDisconnected
3038 Set desired tracing behavior upon disconnection.
3039
3040 QTBuffer:circular
3041 Set the trace buffer to be linear or circular.
3042
3043 qTfP, qTsP
3044 Get data about the tracepoints currently in use.
3045
3046 * Bug fixes
3047
3048 Process record now works correctly with hardware watchpoints.
3049
3050 Multiple bug fixes have been made to the mips-irix port, making it
3051 much more reliable. In particular:
3052 - Debugging threaded applications is now possible again. Previously,
3053 GDB would hang while starting the program, or while waiting for
3054 the program to stop at a breakpoint.
3055 - Attaching to a running process no longer hangs.
3056 - An error occurring while loading a core file has been fixed.
3057 - Changing the value of the PC register now works again. This fixes
3058 problems observed when using the "jump" command, or when calling
3059 a function from GDB, or even when assigning a new value to $pc.
3060 - With the "finish" and "return" commands, the return value for functions
3061 returning a small array is now correctly printed.
3062 - It is now possible to break on shared library code which gets executed
3063 during a shared library init phase (code executed while executing
3064 their .init section). Previously, the breakpoint would have no effect.
3065 - GDB is now able to backtrace through the signal handler for
3066 non-threaded programs.
3067
3068 PIE (Position Independent Executable) programs debugging is now supported.
3069 This includes debugging execution of PIC (Position Independent Code) shared
3070 libraries although for that, it should be possible to run such libraries as an
3071 executable program.
3072
3073 *** Changes in GDB 7.0
3074
3075 * GDB now has an interface for JIT compilation. Applications that
3076 dynamically generate code can create symbol files in memory and register
3077 them with GDB. For users, the feature should work transparently, and
3078 for JIT developers, the interface is documented in the GDB manual in the
3079 "JIT Compilation Interface" chapter.
3080
3081 * Tracepoints may now be conditional. The syntax is as for
3082 breakpoints; either an "if" clause appended to the "trace" command,
3083 or the "condition" command is available. GDB sends the condition to
3084 the target for evaluation using the same bytecode format as is used
3085 for tracepoint actions.
3086
3087 * The disassemble command now supports: an optional /r modifier, print the
3088 raw instructions in hex as well as in symbolic form, and an optional /m
3089 modifier to print mixed source+assembly.
3090
3091 * Process record and replay
3092
3093 In a architecture environment that supports ``process record and
3094 replay'', ``process record and replay'' target can record a log of
3095 the process execution, and replay it with both forward and reverse
3096 execute commands.
3097
3098 * Reverse debugging: GDB now has new commands reverse-continue, reverse-
3099 step, reverse-next, reverse-finish, reverse-stepi, reverse-nexti, and
3100 set execution-direction {forward|reverse}, for targets that support
3101 reverse execution.
3102
3103 * GDB now supports hardware watchpoints on MIPS/Linux systems. This
3104 feature is available with a native GDB running on kernel version
3105 2.6.28 or later.
3106
3107 * GDB now has support for multi-byte and wide character sets on the
3108 target. Strings whose character type is wchar_t, char16_t, or
3109 char32_t are now correctly printed. GDB supports wide- and unicode-
3110 literals in C, that is, L'x', L"string", u'x', u"string", U'x', and
3111 U"string" syntax. And, GDB allows the "%ls" and "%lc" formats in
3112 `printf'. This feature requires iconv to work properly; if your
3113 system does not have a working iconv, GDB can use GNU libiconv. See
3114 the installation instructions for more information.
3115
3116 * GDB now supports automatic retrieval of shared library files from
3117 remote targets. To use this feature, specify a system root that begins
3118 with the `remote:' prefix, either via the `set sysroot' command or via
3119 the `--with-sysroot' configure-time option.
3120
3121 * "info sharedlibrary" now takes an optional regex of libraries to show,
3122 and it now reports if a shared library has no debugging information.
3123
3124 * Commands `set debug-file-directory', `set solib-search-path' and `set args'
3125 now complete on file names.
3126
3127 * When completing in expressions, gdb will attempt to limit
3128 completions to allowable structure or union fields, where appropriate.
3129 For instance, consider:
3130
3131 # struct example { int f1; double f2; };
3132 # struct example variable;
3133 (gdb) p variable.
3134
3135 If the user types TAB at the end of this command line, the available
3136 completions will be "f1" and "f2".
3137
3138 * Inlined functions are now supported. They show up in backtraces, and
3139 the "step", "next", and "finish" commands handle them automatically.
3140
3141 * GDB now supports the token-splicing (##) and stringification (#)
3142 operators when expanding macros. It also supports variable-arity
3143 macros.
3144
3145 * GDB now supports inspecting extra signal information, exported by
3146 the new $_siginfo convenience variable. The feature is currently
3147 implemented on linux ARM, i386 and amd64.
3148
3149 * GDB can now display the VFP floating point registers and NEON vector
3150 registers on ARM targets. Both ARM GNU/Linux native GDB and gdbserver
3151 can provide these registers (requires Linux 2.6.30 or later). Remote
3152 and simulator targets may also provide them.
3153
3154 * New remote packets
3155
3156 qSearch:memory:
3157 Search memory for a sequence of bytes.
3158
3159 QStartNoAckMode
3160 Turn off `+'/`-' protocol acknowledgments to permit more efficient
3161 operation over reliable transport links. Use of this packet is
3162 controlled by the `set remote noack-packet' command.
3163
3164 vKill
3165 Kill the process with the specified process ID. Use this in preference
3166 to `k' when multiprocess protocol extensions are supported.
3167
3168 qXfer:osdata:read
3169 Obtains additional operating system information
3170
3171 qXfer:siginfo:read
3172 qXfer:siginfo:write
3173 Read or write additional signal information.
3174
3175 * Removed remote protocol undocumented extension
3176
3177 An undocumented extension to the remote protocol's `S' stop reply
3178 packet that permited the stub to pass a process id was removed.
3179 Remote servers should use the `T' stop reply packet instead.
3180
3181 * GDB now supports multiple function calling conventions according to the
3182 DWARF-2 DW_AT_calling_convention function attribute.
3183
3184 * The SH target utilizes the aforementioned change to distinguish between gcc
3185 and Renesas calling convention. It also adds the new CLI commands
3186 `set/show sh calling-convention'.
3187
3188 * GDB can now read compressed debug sections, as produced by GNU gold
3189 with the --compress-debug-sections=zlib flag.
3190
3191 * 64-bit core files are now supported on AIX.
3192
3193 * Thread switching is now supported on Tru64.
3194
3195 * Watchpoints can now be set on unreadable memory locations, e.g. addresses
3196 which will be allocated using malloc later in program execution.
3197
3198 * The qXfer:libraries:read remote procotol packet now allows passing a
3199 list of section offsets.
3200
3201 * On GNU/Linux, GDB can now attach to stopped processes. Several race
3202 conditions handling signals delivered during attach or thread creation
3203 have also been fixed.
3204
3205 * GDB now supports the use of DWARF boolean types for Ada's type Boolean.
3206 From the user's standpoint, all unqualified instances of True and False
3207 are treated as the standard definitions, regardless of context.
3208
3209 * GDB now parses C++ symbol and type names more flexibly. For
3210 example, given:
3211
3212 template<typename T> class C { };
3213 C<char const *> c;
3214
3215 GDB will now correctly handle all of:
3216
3217 ptype C<char const *>
3218 ptype C<char const*>
3219 ptype C<const char *>
3220 ptype C<const char*>
3221
3222 * New features in the GDB remote stub, gdbserver
3223
3224 - The "--wrapper" command-line argument tells gdbserver to use a
3225 wrapper program to launch programs for debugging.
3226
3227 - On PowerPC and S/390 targets, it is now possible to use a single
3228 gdbserver executable to debug both 32-bit and 64-bit programs.
3229 (This requires gdbserver itself to be built as a 64-bit executable.)
3230
3231 - gdbserver uses the new noack protocol mode for TCP connections to
3232 reduce communications latency, if also supported and enabled in GDB.
3233
3234 - Support for the sparc64-linux-gnu target is now included in
3235 gdbserver.
3236
3237 - The amd64-linux build of gdbserver now supports debugging both
3238 32-bit and 64-bit programs.
3239
3240 - The i386-linux, amd64-linux, and i386-win32 builds of gdbserver
3241 now support hardware watchpoints, and will use them automatically
3242 as appropriate.
3243
3244 * Python scripting
3245
3246 GDB now has support for scripting using Python. Whether this is
3247 available is determined at configure time.
3248
3249 New GDB commands can now be written in Python.
3250
3251 * Ada tasking support
3252
3253 Ada tasks can now be inspected in GDB. The following commands have
3254 been introduced:
3255
3256 info tasks
3257 Print the list of Ada tasks.
3258 info task N
3259 Print detailed information about task number N.
3260 task
3261 Print the task number of the current task.
3262 task N
3263 Switch the context of debugging to task number N.
3264
3265 * Support for user-defined prefixed commands. The "define" command can
3266 add new commands to existing prefixes, e.g. "target".
3267
3268 * Multi-inferior, multi-process debugging.
3269
3270 GDB now has generalized support for multi-inferior debugging. See
3271 "Debugging Multiple Inferiors" in the manual for more information.
3272 Although availability still depends on target support, the command
3273 set is more uniform now. The GNU/Linux specific multi-forks support
3274 has been migrated to this new framework. This implied some user
3275 visible changes; see "New commands" and also "Removed commands"
3276 below.
3277
3278 * Target descriptions can now describe the target OS ABI. See the
3279 "Target Description Format" section in the user manual for more
3280 information.
3281
3282 * Target descriptions can now describe "compatible" architectures
3283 to indicate that the target can execute applications for a different
3284 architecture in addition to those for the main target architecture.
3285 See the "Target Description Format" section in the user manual for
3286 more information.
3287
3288 * Multi-architecture debugging.
3289
3290 GDB now includes general supports for debugging applications on
3291 hybrid systems that use more than one single processor architecture
3292 at the same time. Each such hybrid architecture still requires
3293 specific support to be added. The only hybrid architecture supported
3294 in this version of GDB is the Cell Broadband Engine.
3295
3296 * GDB now supports integrated debugging of Cell/B.E. applications that
3297 use both the PPU and SPU architectures. To enable support for hybrid
3298 Cell/B.E. debugging, you need to configure GDB to support both the
3299 powerpc-linux or powerpc64-linux and the spu-elf targets, using the
3300 --enable-targets configure option.
3301
3302 * Non-stop mode debugging.
3303
3304 For some targets, GDB now supports an optional mode of operation in
3305 which you can examine stopped threads while other threads continue
3306 to execute freely. This is referred to as non-stop mode, with the
3307 old mode referred to as all-stop mode. See the "Non-Stop Mode"
3308 section in the user manual for more information.
3309
3310 To be able to support remote non-stop debugging, a remote stub needs
3311 to implement the non-stop mode remote protocol extensions, as
3312 described in the "Remote Non-Stop" section of the user manual. The
3313 GDB remote stub, gdbserver, has been adjusted to support these
3314 extensions on linux targets.
3315
3316 * New commands (for set/show, see "New options" below)
3317
3318 catch syscall [NAME(S) | NUMBER(S)]
3319 Catch system calls. Arguments, which should be names of system
3320 calls or their numbers, mean catch only those syscalls. Without
3321 arguments, every syscall will be caught. When the inferior issues
3322 any of the specified syscalls, GDB will stop and announce the system
3323 call, both when it is called and when its call returns. This
3324 feature is currently available with a native GDB running on the
3325 Linux Kernel, under the following architectures: x86, x86_64,
3326 PowerPC and PowerPC64.
3327
3328 find [/size-char] [/max-count] start-address, end-address|+search-space-size,
3329 val1 [, val2, ...]
3330 Search memory for a sequence of bytes.
3331
3332 maint set python print-stack
3333 maint show python print-stack
3334 Show a stack trace when an error is encountered in a Python script.
3335
3336 python [CODE]
3337 Invoke CODE by passing it to the Python interpreter.
3338
3339 macro define
3340 macro list
3341 macro undef
3342 These allow macros to be defined, undefined, and listed
3343 interactively.
3344
3345 info os processes
3346 Show operating system information about processes.
3347
3348 info inferiors
3349 List the inferiors currently under GDB's control.
3350
3351 inferior NUM
3352 Switch focus to inferior number NUM.
3353
3354 detach inferior NUM
3355 Detach from inferior number NUM.
3356
3357 kill inferior NUM
3358 Kill inferior number NUM.
3359
3360 * New options
3361
3362 set spu stop-on-load
3363 show spu stop-on-load
3364 Control whether to stop for new SPE threads during Cell/B.E. debugging.
3365
3366 set spu auto-flush-cache
3367 show spu auto-flush-cache
3368 Control whether to automatically flush the software-managed cache
3369 during Cell/B.E. debugging.
3370
3371 set sh calling-convention
3372 show sh calling-convention
3373 Control the calling convention used when calling SH target functions.
3374
3375 set debug timestamp
3376 show debug timestamp
3377 Control display of timestamps with GDB debugging output.
3378
3379 set disassemble-next-line
3380 show disassemble-next-line
3381 Control display of disassembled source lines or instructions when
3382 the debuggee stops.
3383
3384 set remote noack-packet
3385 show remote noack-packet
3386 Set/show the use of remote protocol QStartNoAckMode packet. See above
3387 under "New remote packets."
3388
3389 set remote query-attached-packet
3390 show remote query-attached-packet
3391 Control use of remote protocol `qAttached' (query-attached) packet.
3392
3393 set remote read-siginfo-object
3394 show remote read-siginfo-object
3395 Control use of remote protocol `qXfer:siginfo:read' (read-siginfo-object)
3396 packet.
3397
3398 set remote write-siginfo-object
3399 show remote write-siginfo-object
3400 Control use of remote protocol `qXfer:siginfo:write' (write-siginfo-object)
3401 packet.
3402
3403 set remote reverse-continue
3404 show remote reverse-continue
3405 Control use of remote protocol 'bc' (reverse-continue) packet.
3406
3407 set remote reverse-step
3408 show remote reverse-step
3409 Control use of remote protocol 'bs' (reverse-step) packet.
3410
3411 set displaced-stepping
3412 show displaced-stepping
3413 Control displaced stepping mode. Displaced stepping is a way to
3414 single-step over breakpoints without removing them from the debuggee.
3415 Also known as "out-of-line single-stepping".
3416
3417 set debug displaced
3418 show debug displaced
3419 Control display of debugging info for displaced stepping.
3420
3421 maint set internal-error
3422 maint show internal-error
3423 Control what GDB does when an internal error is detected.
3424
3425 maint set internal-warning
3426 maint show internal-warning
3427 Control what GDB does when an internal warning is detected.
3428
3429 set exec-wrapper
3430 show exec-wrapper
3431 unset exec-wrapper
3432 Use a wrapper program to launch programs for debugging.
3433
3434 set multiple-symbols (all|ask|cancel)
3435 show multiple-symbols
3436 The value of this variable can be changed to adjust the debugger behavior
3437 when an expression or a breakpoint location contains an ambiguous symbol
3438 name (an overloaded function name, for instance).
3439
3440 set breakpoint always-inserted
3441 show breakpoint always-inserted
3442 Keep breakpoints always inserted in the target, as opposed to inserting
3443 them when resuming the target, and removing them when the target stops.
3444 This option can improve debugger performance on slow remote targets.
3445
3446 set arm fallback-mode (arm|thumb|auto)
3447 show arm fallback-mode
3448 set arm force-mode (arm|thumb|auto)
3449 show arm force-mode
3450 These commands control how ARM GDB determines whether instructions
3451 are ARM or Thumb. The default for both settings is auto, which uses
3452 the current CPSR value for instructions without symbols; previous
3453 versions of GDB behaved as if "set arm fallback-mode arm".
3454
3455 set disable-randomization
3456 show disable-randomization
3457 Standalone programs run with the virtual address space randomization enabled
3458 by default on some platforms. This option keeps the addresses stable across
3459 multiple debugging sessions.
3460
3461 set non-stop
3462 show non-stop
3463 Control whether other threads are stopped or not when some thread hits
3464 a breakpoint.
3465
3466 set target-async
3467 show target-async
3468 Requests that asynchronous execution is enabled in the target, if available.
3469 In this case, it's possible to resume target in the background, and interact
3470 with GDB while the target is running. "show target-async" displays the
3471 current state of asynchronous execution of the target.
3472
3473 set target-wide-charset
3474 show target-wide-charset
3475 The target-wide-charset is the name of the character set that GDB
3476 uses when printing characters whose type is wchar_t.
3477
3478 set tcp auto-retry (on|off)
3479 show tcp auto-retry
3480 set tcp connect-timeout
3481 show tcp connect-timeout
3482 These commands allow GDB to retry failed TCP connections to a remote stub
3483 with a specified timeout period; this is useful if the stub is launched
3484 in parallel with GDB but may not be ready to accept connections immediately.
3485
3486 set libthread-db-search-path
3487 show libthread-db-search-path
3488 Control list of directories which GDB will search for appropriate
3489 libthread_db.
3490
3491 set schedule-multiple (on|off)
3492 show schedule-multiple
3493 Allow GDB to resume all threads of all processes or only threads of
3494 the current process.
3495
3496 set stack-cache
3497 show stack-cache
3498 Use more aggressive caching for accesses to the stack. This improves
3499 performance of remote debugging (particularly backtraces) without
3500 affecting correctness.
3501
3502 set interactive-mode (on|off|auto)
3503 show interactive-mode
3504 Control whether GDB runs in interactive mode (on) or not (off).
3505 When in interactive mode, GDB waits for the user to answer all
3506 queries. Otherwise, GDB does not wait and assumes the default
3507 answer. When set to auto (the default), GDB determines which
3508 mode to use based on the stdin settings.
3509
3510 * Removed commands
3511
3512 info forks
3513 For program forks, this is replaced by the new more generic `info
3514 inferiors' command. To list checkpoints, you can still use the
3515 `info checkpoints' command, which was an alias for the `info forks'
3516 command.
3517
3518 fork NUM
3519 Replaced by the new `inferior' command. To switch between
3520 checkpoints, you can still use the `restart' command, which was an
3521 alias for the `fork' command.
3522
3523 process PID
3524 This is removed, since some targets don't have a notion of
3525 processes. To switch between processes, you can still use the
3526 `inferior' command using GDB's own inferior number.
3527
3528 delete fork NUM
3529 For program forks, this is replaced by the new more generic `kill
3530 inferior' command. To delete a checkpoint, you can still use the
3531 `delete checkpoint' command, which was an alias for the `delete
3532 fork' command.
3533
3534 detach fork NUM
3535 For program forks, this is replaced by the new more generic `detach
3536 inferior' command. To detach a checkpoint, you can still use the
3537 `detach checkpoint' command, which was an alias for the `detach
3538 fork' command.
3539
3540 * New native configurations
3541
3542 x86/x86_64 Darwin i[34567]86-*-darwin*
3543
3544 x86_64 MinGW x86_64-*-mingw*
3545
3546 * New targets
3547
3548 Lattice Mico32 lm32-*
3549 x86 DICOS i[34567]86-*-dicos*
3550 x86_64 DICOS x86_64-*-dicos*
3551 S+core 3 score-*-*
3552
3553 * The GDB remote stub, gdbserver, now supports x86 Windows CE
3554 (mingw32ce) debugging.
3555
3556 * Removed commands
3557
3558 catch load
3559 catch unload
3560 These commands were actually not implemented on any target.
3561
3562 *** Changes in GDB 6.8
3563
3564 * New native configurations
3565
3566 NetBSD/hppa hppa*-*netbsd*
3567 Xtensa GNU/Linux xtensa*-*-linux*
3568
3569 * New targets
3570
3571 NetBSD/hppa hppa*-*-netbsd*
3572 Xtensa GNU/Lunux xtensa*-*-linux*
3573
3574 * Change in command line behavior -- corefiles vs. process ids.
3575
3576 When the '-p NUMBER' or '--pid NUMBER' options are used, and
3577 attaching to process NUMBER fails, GDB no longer attempts to open a
3578 core file named NUMBER. Attaching to a program using the -c option
3579 is no longer supported. Instead, use the '-p' or '--pid' options.
3580
3581 * GDB can now be built as a native debugger for debugging Windows x86
3582 (mingw32) Portable Executable (PE) programs.
3583
3584 * Pending breakpoints no longer change their number when their address
3585 is resolved.
3586
3587 * GDB now supports breakpoints with multiple locations,
3588 including breakpoints on C++ constructors, inside C++ templates,
3589 and in inlined functions.
3590
3591 * GDB's ability to debug optimized code has been improved. GDB more
3592 accurately identifies function bodies and lexical blocks that occupy
3593 more than one contiguous range of addresses.
3594
3595 * Target descriptions can now describe registers for PowerPC.
3596
3597 * The GDB remote stub, gdbserver, now supports the AltiVec and SPE
3598 registers on PowerPC targets.
3599
3600 * The GDB remote stub, gdbserver, now supports thread debugging on GNU/Linux
3601 targets even when the libthread_db library is not available.
3602
3603 * The GDB remote stub, gdbserver, now supports the new file transfer
3604 commands (remote put, remote get, and remote delete).
3605
3606 * The GDB remote stub, gdbserver, now supports run and attach in
3607 extended-remote mode.
3608
3609 * hppa*64*-*-hpux11* target broken
3610 The debugger is unable to start a program and fails with the following
3611 error: "Error trying to get information about dynamic linker".
3612 The gdb-6.7 release is also affected.
3613
3614 * GDB now supports the --enable-targets= configure option to allow
3615 building a single GDB executable that supports multiple remote
3616 target architectures.
3617
3618 * GDB now supports debugging C and C++ programs which use the
3619 Decimal Floating Point extension. In addition, the PowerPC target
3620 now has a set of pseudo-registers to inspect decimal float values
3621 stored in two consecutive float registers.
3622
3623 * The -break-insert MI command can optionally create pending
3624 breakpoints now.
3625
3626 * Improved support for debugging Ada
3627 Many improvements to the Ada language support have been made. These
3628 include:
3629 - Better support for Ada2005 interface types
3630 - Improved handling of arrays and slices in general
3631 - Better support for Taft-amendment types
3632 - The '{type} ADDRESS' expression is now allowed on the left hand-side
3633 of an assignment
3634 - Improved command completion in Ada
3635 - Several bug fixes
3636
3637 * GDB on GNU/Linux and HP/UX can now debug through "exec" of a new
3638 process.
3639
3640 * New commands
3641
3642 set print frame-arguments (all|scalars|none)
3643 show print frame-arguments
3644 The value of this variable can be changed to control which argument
3645 values should be printed by the debugger when displaying a frame.
3646
3647 remote put
3648 remote get
3649 remote delete
3650 Transfer files to and from a remote target, and delete remote files.
3651
3652 * New MI commands
3653
3654 -target-file-put
3655 -target-file-get
3656 -target-file-delete
3657 Transfer files to and from a remote target, and delete remote files.
3658
3659 * New remote packets
3660
3661 vFile:open:
3662 vFile:close:
3663 vFile:pread:
3664 vFile:pwrite:
3665 vFile:unlink:
3666 Open, close, read, write, and delete files on the remote system.
3667
3668 vAttach
3669 Attach to an existing process on the remote system, in extended-remote
3670 mode.
3671
3672 vRun
3673 Run a new process on the remote system, in extended-remote mode.
3674
3675 *** Changes in GDB 6.7
3676
3677 * Resolved 101 resource leaks, null pointer dereferences, etc. in gdb,
3678 bfd, libiberty and opcodes, as revealed by static analysis donated by
3679 Coverity, Inc. (http://scan.coverity.com).
3680
3681 * When looking up multiply-defined global symbols, GDB will now prefer the
3682 symbol definition in the current shared library if it was built using the
3683 -Bsymbolic linker option.
3684
3685 * When the Text User Interface (TUI) is not configured, GDB will now
3686 recognize the -tui command-line option and print a message that the TUI
3687 is not supported.
3688
3689 * The GDB remote stub, gdbserver, now has lower overhead for high
3690 frequency signals (e.g. SIGALRM) via the QPassSignals packet.
3691
3692 * GDB for MIPS targets now autodetects whether a remote target provides
3693 32-bit or 64-bit register values.
3694
3695 * Support for C++ member pointers has been improved.
3696
3697 * GDB now understands XML target descriptions, which specify the
3698 target's overall architecture. GDB can read a description from
3699 a local file or over the remote serial protocol.
3700
3701 * Vectors of single-byte data use a new integer type which is not
3702 automatically displayed as character or string data.
3703
3704 * The /s format now works with the print command. It displays
3705 arrays of single-byte integers and pointers to single-byte integers
3706 as strings.
3707
3708 * Target descriptions can now describe target-specific registers,
3709 for architectures which have implemented the support (currently
3710 only ARM, M68K, and MIPS).
3711
3712 * GDB and the GDB remote stub, gdbserver, now support the XScale
3713 iWMMXt coprocessor.
3714
3715 * The GDB remote stub, gdbserver, has been updated to support
3716 ARM Windows CE (mingw32ce) debugging, and GDB Windows CE support
3717 has been rewritten to use the standard GDB remote protocol.
3718
3719 * GDB can now step into C++ functions which are called through thunks.
3720
3721 * GDB for the Cell/B.E. SPU now supports overlay debugging.
3722
3723 * The GDB remote protocol "qOffsets" packet can now honor ELF segment
3724 layout. It also supports a TextSeg= and DataSeg= response when only
3725 segment base addresses (rather than offsets) are available.
3726
3727 * The /i format now outputs any trailing branch delay slot instructions
3728 immediately following the last instruction within the count specified.
3729
3730 * The GDB remote protocol "T" stop reply packet now supports a
3731 "library" response. Combined with the new "qXfer:libraries:read"
3732 packet, this response allows GDB to debug shared libraries on targets
3733 where the operating system manages the list of loaded libraries (e.g.
3734 Windows and SymbianOS).
3735
3736 * The GDB remote stub, gdbserver, now supports dynamic link libraries
3737 (DLLs) on Windows and Windows CE targets.
3738
3739 * GDB now supports a faster verification that a .debug file matches its binary
3740 according to its build-id signature, if the signature is present.
3741
3742 * New commands
3743
3744 set remoteflow
3745 show remoteflow
3746 Enable or disable hardware flow control (RTS/CTS) on the serial port
3747 when debugging using remote targets.
3748
3749 set mem inaccessible-by-default
3750 show mem inaccessible-by-default
3751 If the target supplies a memory map, for instance via the remote
3752 protocol's "qXfer:memory-map:read" packet, setting this variable
3753 prevents GDB from accessing memory outside the memory map. This
3754 is useful for targets with memory mapped registers or which react
3755 badly to accesses of unmapped address space.
3756
3757 set breakpoint auto-hw
3758 show breakpoint auto-hw
3759 If the target supplies a memory map, for instance via the remote
3760 protocol's "qXfer:memory-map:read" packet, setting this variable
3761 lets GDB use hardware breakpoints automatically for memory regions
3762 where it can not use software breakpoints. This covers both the
3763 "break" command and internal breakpoints used for other commands
3764 including "next" and "finish".
3765
3766 catch exception
3767 catch exception unhandled
3768 Stop the program execution when Ada exceptions are raised.
3769
3770 catch assert
3771 Stop the program execution when an Ada assertion failed.
3772
3773 set sysroot
3774 show sysroot
3775 Set an alternate system root for target files. This is a more
3776 general version of "set solib-absolute-prefix", which is now
3777 an alias to "set sysroot".
3778
3779 info spu
3780 Provide extended SPU facility status information. This set of
3781 commands is available only when debugging the Cell/B.E. SPU
3782 architecture.
3783
3784 * New native configurations
3785
3786 OpenBSD/sh sh*-*openbsd*
3787
3788 set tdesc filename
3789 unset tdesc filename
3790 show tdesc filename
3791 Use the specified local file as an XML target description, and do
3792 not query the target for its built-in description.
3793
3794 * New targets
3795
3796 OpenBSD/sh sh*-*-openbsd*
3797 MIPS64 GNU/Linux (gdbserver) mips64-linux-gnu
3798 Toshiba Media Processor mep-elf
3799
3800 * New remote packets
3801
3802 QPassSignals:
3803 Ignore the specified signals; pass them directly to the debugged program
3804 without stopping other threads or reporting them to GDB.
3805
3806 qXfer:features:read:
3807 Read an XML target description from the target, which describes its
3808 features.
3809
3810 qXfer:spu:read:
3811 qXfer:spu:write:
3812 Read or write contents of an spufs file on the target system. These
3813 packets are available only on the Cell/B.E. SPU architecture.
3814
3815 qXfer:libraries:read:
3816 Report the loaded shared libraries. Combined with new "T" packet
3817 response, this packet allows GDB to debug shared libraries on
3818 targets where the operating system manages the list of loaded
3819 libraries (e.g. Windows and SymbianOS).
3820
3821 * Removed targets
3822
3823 Support for these obsolete configurations has been removed.
3824
3825 alpha*-*-osf1*
3826 alpha*-*-osf2*
3827 d10v-*-*
3828 hppa*-*-hiux*
3829 i[34567]86-ncr-*
3830 i[34567]86-*-dgux*
3831 i[34567]86-*-lynxos*
3832 i[34567]86-*-netware*
3833 i[34567]86-*-sco3.2v5*
3834 i[34567]86-*-sco3.2v4*
3835 i[34567]86-*-sco*
3836 i[34567]86-*-sysv4.2*
3837 i[34567]86-*-sysv4*
3838 i[34567]86-*-sysv5*
3839 i[34567]86-*-unixware2*
3840 i[34567]86-*-unixware*
3841 i[34567]86-*-sysv*
3842 i[34567]86-*-isc*
3843 m68*-cisco*-*
3844 m68*-tandem-*
3845 mips*-*-pe
3846 rs6000-*-lynxos*
3847 sh*-*-pe
3848
3849 * Other removed features
3850
3851 target abug
3852 target cpu32bug
3853 target est
3854 target rom68k
3855
3856 Various m68k-only ROM monitors.
3857
3858 target hms
3859 target e7000
3860 target sh3
3861 target sh3e
3862
3863 Various Renesas ROM monitors and debugging interfaces for SH and
3864 H8/300.
3865
3866 target ocd
3867
3868 Support for a Macraigor serial interface to on-chip debugging.
3869 GDB does not directly support the newer parallel or USB
3870 interfaces.
3871
3872 DWARF 1 support
3873
3874 A debug information format. The predecessor to DWARF 2 and
3875 DWARF 3, which are still supported.
3876
3877 Support for the HP aCC compiler on HP-UX/PA-RISC
3878
3879 SOM-encapsulated symbolic debugging information, automatic
3880 invocation of pxdb, and the aCC custom C++ ABI. This does not
3881 affect HP-UX for Itanium or GCC for HP-UX/PA-RISC. Code compiled
3882 with aCC can still be debugged on an assembly level.
3883
3884 MIPS ".pdr" sections
3885
3886 A MIPS-specific format used to describe stack frame layout
3887 in debugging information.
3888
3889 Scheme support
3890
3891 GDB could work with an older version of Guile to debug
3892 the interpreter and Scheme programs running in it.
3893
3894 set mips stack-arg-size
3895 set mips saved-gpreg-size
3896
3897 Use "set mips abi" to control parameter passing for MIPS.
3898
3899 *** Changes in GDB 6.6
3900
3901 * New targets
3902
3903 Xtensa xtensa-elf
3904 Cell Broadband Engine SPU spu-elf
3905
3906 * GDB can now be configured as a cross-debugger targeting native Windows
3907 (mingw32) or Cygwin. It can communicate with a remote debugging stub
3908 running on a Windows system over TCP/IP to debug Windows programs.
3909
3910 * The GDB remote stub, gdbserver, has been updated to support Windows and
3911 Cygwin debugging. Both single-threaded and multi-threaded programs are
3912 supported.
3913
3914 * The "set trust-readonly-sections" command works again. This command was
3915 broken in GDB 6.3, 6.4, and 6.5.
3916
3917 * The "load" command now supports writing to flash memory, if the remote
3918 stub provides the required support.
3919
3920 * Support for GNU/Linux Thread Local Storage (TLS, per-thread variables) no
3921 longer requires symbolic debug information (e.g. DWARF-2).
3922
3923 * New commands
3924
3925 set substitute-path
3926 unset substitute-path
3927 show substitute-path
3928 Manage a list of substitution rules that GDB uses to rewrite the name
3929 of the directories where the sources are located. This can be useful
3930 for instance when the sources were moved to a different location
3931 between compilation and debugging.
3932
3933 set trace-commands
3934 show trace-commands
3935 Print each CLI command as it is executed. Each command is prefixed with
3936 a number of `+' symbols representing the nesting depth.
3937 The source command now has a `-v' option to enable the same feature.
3938
3939 * REMOVED features
3940
3941 The ARM Demon monitor support (RDP protocol, "target rdp").
3942
3943 Kernel Object Display, an embedded debugging feature which only worked with
3944 an obsolete version of Cisco IOS.
3945
3946 The 'set download-write-size' and 'show download-write-size' commands.
3947
3948 * New remote packets
3949
3950 qSupported:
3951 Tell a stub about GDB client features, and request remote target features.
3952 The first feature implemented is PacketSize, which allows the target to
3953 specify the size of packets it can handle - to minimize the number of
3954 packets required and improve performance when connected to a remote
3955 target.
3956
3957 qXfer:auxv:read:
3958 Fetch an OS auxilliary vector from the remote stub. This packet is a
3959 more efficient replacement for qPart:auxv:read.
3960
3961 qXfer:memory-map:read:
3962 Fetch a memory map from the remote stub, including information about
3963 RAM, ROM, and flash memory devices.
3964
3965 vFlashErase:
3966 vFlashWrite:
3967 vFlashDone:
3968 Erase and program a flash memory device.
3969
3970 * Removed remote packets
3971
3972 qPart:auxv:read:
3973 This packet has been replaced by qXfer:auxv:read. Only GDB 6.4 and 6.5
3974 used it, and only gdbserver implemented it.
3975
3976 *** Changes in GDB 6.5
3977
3978 * New targets
3979
3980 Renesas M32C/M16C m32c-elf
3981
3982 Morpho Technologies ms1 ms1-elf
3983
3984 * New commands
3985
3986 init-if-undefined Initialize a convenience variable, but
3987 only if it doesn't already have a value.
3988
3989 The following commands are presently only implemented for native GNU/Linux:
3990
3991 checkpoint Save a snapshot of the program state.
3992
3993 restart <n> Return the program state to a
3994 previously saved state.
3995
3996 info checkpoints List currently saved checkpoints.
3997
3998 delete-checkpoint <n> Delete a previously saved checkpoint.
3999
4000 set|show detach-on-fork Tell gdb whether to detach from a newly
4001 forked process, or to keep debugging it.
4002
4003 info forks List forks of the user program that
4004 are available to be debugged.
4005
4006 fork <n> Switch to debugging one of several
4007 forks of the user program that are
4008 available to be debugged.
4009
4010 delete-fork <n> Delete a fork from the list of forks
4011 that are available to be debugged (and
4012 kill the forked process).
4013
4014 detach-fork <n> Delete a fork from the list of forks
4015 that are available to be debugged (and
4016 allow the process to continue).
4017
4018 * New architecture
4019
4020 Morpho Technologies ms2 ms1-elf
4021
4022 * Improved Windows host support
4023
4024 GDB now builds as a cross debugger hosted on i686-mingw32, including
4025 native console support, and remote communications using either
4026 network sockets or serial ports.
4027
4028 * Improved Modula-2 language support
4029
4030 GDB can now print most types in the Modula-2 syntax. This includes:
4031 basic types, set types, record types, enumerated types, range types,
4032 pointer types and ARRAY types. Procedure var parameters are correctly
4033 printed and hexadecimal addresses and character constants are also
4034 written in the Modula-2 syntax. Best results can be obtained by using
4035 GNU Modula-2 together with the -gdwarf-2 command line option.
4036
4037 * REMOVED features
4038
4039 The ARM rdi-share module.
4040
4041 The Netware NLM debug server.
4042
4043 *** Changes in GDB 6.4
4044
4045 * New native configurations
4046
4047 OpenBSD/arm arm*-*-openbsd*
4048 OpenBSD/mips64 mips64-*-openbsd*
4049
4050 * New targets
4051
4052 Morpho Technologies ms1 ms1-elf
4053
4054 * New command line options
4055
4056 --batch-silent As for --batch, but totally silent.
4057 --return-child-result The debugger will exist with the same value
4058 the child (debugged) program exited with.
4059 --eval-command COMMAND, -ex COMMAND
4060 Execute a single GDB CLI command. This may be
4061 specified multiple times and in conjunction
4062 with the --command (-x) option.
4063
4064 * Deprecated commands removed
4065
4066 The following commands, that were deprecated in 2000, have been
4067 removed:
4068
4069 Command Replacement
4070 set|show arm disassembly-flavor set|show arm disassembler
4071 othernames set arm disassembler
4072 set|show remotedebug set|show debug remote
4073 set|show archdebug set|show debug arch
4074 set|show eventdebug set|show debug event
4075 regs info registers
4076
4077 * New BSD user-level threads support
4078
4079 It is now possible to debug programs using the user-level threads
4080 library on OpenBSD and FreeBSD. Currently supported (target)
4081 configurations are:
4082
4083 FreeBSD/amd64 x86_64-*-freebsd*
4084 FreeBSD/i386 i386-*-freebsd*
4085 OpenBSD/i386 i386-*-openbsd*
4086
4087 Note that the new kernel threads libraries introduced in FreeBSD 5.x
4088 are not yet supported.
4089
4090 * New support for Matsushita MN10300 w/sim added
4091 (Work in progress). mn10300-elf.
4092
4093 * REMOVED configurations and files
4094
4095 VxWorks and the XDR protocol *-*-vxworks
4096 Motorola MCORE mcore-*-*
4097 National Semiconductor NS32000 ns32k-*-*
4098
4099 * New "set print array-indexes" command
4100
4101 After turning this setting "on", GDB prints the index of each element
4102 when displaying arrays. The default is "off" to preserve the previous
4103 behavior.
4104
4105 * VAX floating point support
4106
4107 GDB now supports the not-quite-ieee VAX F and D floating point formats.
4108
4109 * User-defined command support
4110
4111 In addition to using $arg0..$arg9 for argument passing, it is now possible
4112 to use $argc to determine now many arguments have been passed. See the
4113 section on user-defined commands in the user manual for more information.
4114
4115 *** Changes in GDB 6.3:
4116
4117 * New command line option
4118
4119 GDB now accepts -l followed by a number to set the timeout for remote
4120 debugging.
4121
4122 * GDB works with GCC -feliminate-dwarf2-dups
4123
4124 GDB now supports a more compact representation of DWARF-2 debug
4125 information using DW_FORM_ref_addr references. These are produced
4126 by GCC with the option -feliminate-dwarf2-dups and also by some
4127 proprietary compilers. With GCC, you must use GCC 3.3.4 or later
4128 to use -feliminate-dwarf2-dups.
4129
4130 * Internationalization
4131
4132 When supported by the host system, GDB will be built with
4133 internationalization (libintl). The task of marking up the sources is
4134 continued, we're looking forward to our first translation.
4135
4136 * Ada
4137
4138 Initial support for debugging programs compiled with the GNAT
4139 implementation of the Ada programming language has been integrated
4140 into GDB. In this release, support is limited to expression evaluation.
4141
4142 * New native configurations
4143
4144 GNU/Linux/m32r m32r-*-linux-gnu
4145
4146 * Remote 'p' packet
4147
4148 GDB's remote protocol now includes support for the 'p' packet. This
4149 packet is used to fetch individual registers from a remote inferior.
4150
4151 * END-OF-LIFE registers[] compatibility module
4152
4153 GDB's internal register infrastructure has been completely rewritten.
4154 The new infrastructure making possible the implementation of key new
4155 features including 32x64 (e.g., 64-bit amd64 GDB debugging a 32-bit
4156 i386 application).
4157
4158 GDB 6.3 will be the last release to include the the registers[]
4159 compatibility module that allowed out-of-date configurations to
4160 continue to work. This change directly impacts the following
4161 configurations:
4162
4163 hppa-*-hpux
4164 ia64-*-aix
4165 mips-*-irix*
4166 *-*-lynx
4167 mips-*-linux-gnu
4168 sds protocol
4169 xdr protocol
4170 powerpc bdm protocol
4171
4172 Unless there is activity to revive these configurations, they will be
4173 made OBSOLETE in GDB 6.4, and REMOVED from GDB 6.5.
4174
4175 * OBSOLETE configurations and files
4176
4177 Configurations that have been declared obsolete in this release have
4178 been commented out. Unless there is activity to revive these
4179 configurations, the next release of GDB will have their sources
4180 permanently REMOVED.
4181
4182 h8300-*-*
4183 mcore-*-*
4184 mn10300-*-*
4185 ns32k-*-*
4186 sh64-*-*
4187 v850-*-*
4188
4189 *** Changes in GDB 6.2.1:
4190
4191 * MIPS `break main; run' gave an heuristic-fence-post warning
4192
4193 When attempting to run even a simple program, a warning about
4194 heuristic-fence-post being hit would be reported. This problem has
4195 been fixed.
4196
4197 * MIPS IRIX 'long double' crashed GDB
4198
4199 When examining a long double variable, GDB would get a segmentation
4200 fault. The crash has been fixed (but GDB 6.2 cannot correctly examine
4201 IRIX long double values).
4202
4203 * VAX and "next"
4204
4205 A bug in the VAX stack code was causing problems with the "next"
4206 command. This problem has been fixed.
4207
4208 *** Changes in GDB 6.2:
4209
4210 * Fix for ``many threads''
4211
4212 On GNU/Linux systems that use the NPTL threads library, a program
4213 rapidly creating and deleting threads would confuse GDB leading to the
4214 error message:
4215
4216 ptrace: No such process.
4217 thread_db_get_info: cannot get thread info: generic error
4218
4219 This problem has been fixed.
4220
4221 * "-async" and "-noasync" options removed.
4222
4223 Support for the broken "-noasync" option has been removed (it caused
4224 GDB to dump core).
4225
4226 * New ``start'' command.
4227
4228 This command runs the program until the begining of the main procedure.
4229
4230 * New BSD Kernel Data Access Library (libkvm) interface
4231
4232 Using ``target kvm'' it is now possible to debug kernel core dumps and
4233 live kernel memory images on various FreeBSD, NetBSD and OpenBSD
4234 platforms. Currently supported (native-only) configurations are:
4235
4236 FreeBSD/amd64 x86_64-*-freebsd*
4237 FreeBSD/i386 i?86-*-freebsd*
4238 NetBSD/i386 i?86-*-netbsd*
4239 NetBSD/m68k m68*-*-netbsd*
4240 NetBSD/sparc sparc-*-netbsd*
4241 OpenBSD/amd64 x86_64-*-openbsd*
4242 OpenBSD/i386 i?86-*-openbsd*
4243 OpenBSD/m68k m68*-openbsd*
4244 OpenBSD/sparc sparc-*-openbsd*
4245
4246 * Signal trampoline code overhauled
4247
4248 Many generic problems with GDB's signal handling code have been fixed.
4249 These include: backtraces through non-contiguous stacks; recognition
4250 of sa_sigaction signal trampolines; backtrace from a NULL pointer
4251 call; backtrace through a signal trampoline; step into and out of
4252 signal handlers; and single-stepping in the signal trampoline.
4253
4254 Please note that kernel bugs are a limiting factor here. These
4255 features have been shown to work on an s390 GNU/Linux system that
4256 include a 2.6.8-rc1 kernel. Ref PR breakpoints/1702.
4257
4258 * Cygwin support for DWARF 2 added.
4259
4260 * New native configurations
4261
4262 GNU/Linux/hppa hppa*-*-linux*
4263 OpenBSD/hppa hppa*-*-openbsd*
4264 OpenBSD/m68k m68*-*-openbsd*
4265 OpenBSD/m88k m88*-*-openbsd*
4266 OpenBSD/powerpc powerpc-*-openbsd*
4267 NetBSD/vax vax-*-netbsd*
4268 OpenBSD/vax vax-*-openbsd*
4269
4270 * END-OF-LIFE frame compatibility module
4271
4272 GDB's internal frame infrastructure has been completely rewritten.
4273 The new infrastructure making it possible to support key new features
4274 including DWARF 2 Call Frame Information. To aid in the task of
4275 migrating old configurations to this new infrastructure, a
4276 compatibility module, that allowed old configurations to continue to
4277 work, was also included.
4278
4279 GDB 6.2 will be the last release to include this frame compatibility
4280 module. This change directly impacts the following configurations:
4281
4282 h8300-*-*
4283 mcore-*-*
4284 mn10300-*-*
4285 ns32k-*-*
4286 sh64-*-*
4287 v850-*-*
4288 xstormy16-*-*
4289
4290 Unless there is activity to revive these configurations, they will be
4291 made OBSOLETE in GDB 6.3, and REMOVED from GDB 6.4.
4292
4293 * REMOVED configurations and files
4294
4295 Sun 3, running SunOS 3 m68*-*-sunos3*
4296 Sun 3, running SunOS 4 m68*-*-sunos4*
4297 Sun 2, running SunOS 3 m68000-*-sunos3*
4298 Sun 2, running SunOS 4 m68000-*-sunos4*
4299 Motorola 680x0 running LynxOS m68*-*-lynxos*
4300 AT&T 3b1/Unix pc m68*-att-*
4301 Bull DPX2 (68k, System V release 3) m68*-bull-sysv*
4302 decstation mips-dec-* mips-little-*
4303 riscos mips-*-riscos* mips-*-sysv*
4304 sonymips mips-sony-*
4305 sysv mips*-*-sysv4* (IRIX 5/6 not included)
4306
4307 *** Changes in GDB 6.1.1:
4308
4309 * TUI (Text-mode User Interface) built-in (also included in GDB 6.1)
4310
4311 The TUI (Text-mode User Interface) is now built as part of a default
4312 GDB configuration. It is enabled by either selecting the TUI with the
4313 command line option "-i=tui" or by running the separate "gdbtui"
4314 program. For more information on the TUI, see the manual "Debugging
4315 with GDB".
4316
4317 * Pending breakpoint support (also included in GDB 6.1)
4318
4319 Support has been added to allow you to specify breakpoints in shared
4320 libraries that have not yet been loaded. If a breakpoint location
4321 cannot be found, and the "breakpoint pending" option is set to auto,
4322 GDB queries you if you wish to make the breakpoint pending on a future
4323 shared-library load. If and when GDB resolves the breakpoint symbol,
4324 the pending breakpoint is removed as one or more regular breakpoints
4325 are created.
4326
4327 Pending breakpoints are very useful for GCJ Java debugging.
4328
4329 * Fixed ISO-C build problems
4330
4331 The files bfd/elf-bfd.h, gdb/dictionary.c and gdb/types.c contained
4332 non ISO-C code that stopped them being built using a more strict ISO-C
4333 compiler (e.g., IBM's C compiler).
4334
4335 * Fixed build problem on IRIX 5
4336
4337 Due to header problems with <sys/proc.h>, the file gdb/proc-api.c
4338 wasn't able to compile compile on an IRIX 5 system.
4339
4340 * Added execute permission to gdb/gdbserver/configure
4341
4342 The shell script gdb/testsuite/gdb.stabs/configure lacked execute
4343 permission. This bug would cause configure to fail on a number of
4344 systems (Solaris, IRIX). Ref: server/519.
4345
4346 * Fixed build problem on hpux2.0w-hp-hpux11.00 using the HP ANSI C compiler
4347
4348 Older HPUX ANSI C compilers did not accept variable array sizes. somsolib.c
4349 has been updated to use constant array sizes.
4350
4351 * Fixed a panic in the DWARF Call Frame Info code on Solaris 2.7
4352
4353 GCC 3.3.2, on Solaris 2.7, includes the DW_EH_PE_funcrel encoding in
4354 its generated DWARF Call Frame Info. This encoding was causing GDB to
4355 panic, that panic has been fixed. Ref: gdb/1628.
4356
4357 * Fixed a problem when examining parameters in shared library code.
4358
4359 When examining parameters in optimized shared library code generated
4360 by a mainline GCC, GDB would incorrectly report ``Variable "..." is
4361 not available''. GDB now correctly displays the variable's value.
4362
4363 *** Changes in GDB 6.1:
4364
4365 * Removed --with-mmalloc
4366
4367 Support for the mmalloc memory manager has been removed, as it
4368 conflicted with the internal gdb byte cache.
4369
4370 * Changes in AMD64 configurations
4371
4372 The AMD64 target now includes the %cs and %ss registers. As a result
4373 the AMD64 remote protocol has changed; this affects the floating-point
4374 and SSE registers. If you rely on those registers for your debugging,
4375 you should upgrade gdbserver on the remote side.
4376
4377 * Revised SPARC target
4378
4379 The SPARC target has been completely revised, incorporating the
4380 FreeBSD/sparc64 support that was added for GDB 6.0. As a result
4381 support for LynxOS and SunOS 4 has been dropped. Calling functions
4382 from within GDB on operating systems with a non-executable stack
4383 (Solaris, OpenBSD) now works.
4384
4385 * New C++ demangler
4386
4387 GDB has a new C++ demangler which does a better job on the mangled
4388 names generated by current versions of g++. It also runs faster, so
4389 with this and other changes gdb should now start faster on large C++
4390 programs.
4391
4392 * DWARF 2 Location Expressions
4393
4394 GDB support for location expressions has been extended to support function
4395 arguments and frame bases. Older versions of GDB could crash when they
4396 encountered these.
4397
4398 * C++ nested types and namespaces
4399
4400 GDB's support for nested types and namespaces in C++ has been
4401 improved, especially if you use the DWARF 2 debugging format. (This
4402 is the default for recent versions of GCC on most platforms.)
4403 Specifically, if you have a class "Inner" defined within a class or
4404 namespace "Outer", then GDB realizes that the class's name is
4405 "Outer::Inner", not simply "Inner". This should greatly reduce the
4406 frequency of complaints about not finding RTTI symbols. In addition,
4407 if you are stopped at inside of a function defined within a namespace,
4408 GDB modifies its name lookup accordingly.
4409
4410 * New native configurations
4411
4412 NetBSD/amd64 x86_64-*-netbsd*
4413 OpenBSD/amd64 x86_64-*-openbsd*
4414 OpenBSD/alpha alpha*-*-openbsd*
4415 OpenBSD/sparc sparc-*-openbsd*
4416 OpenBSD/sparc64 sparc64-*-openbsd*
4417
4418 * New debugging protocols
4419
4420 M32R with SDI protocol m32r-*-elf*
4421
4422 * "set prompt-escape-char" command deleted.
4423
4424 The command "set prompt-escape-char" has been deleted. This command,
4425 and its very obscure effet on GDB's prompt, was never documented,
4426 tested, nor mentioned in the NEWS file.
4427
4428 * OBSOLETE configurations and files
4429
4430 Configurations that have been declared obsolete in this release have
4431 been commented out. Unless there is activity to revive these
4432 configurations, the next release of GDB will have their sources
4433 permanently REMOVED.
4434
4435 Sun 3, running SunOS 3 m68*-*-sunos3*
4436 Sun 3, running SunOS 4 m68*-*-sunos4*
4437 Sun 2, running SunOS 3 m68000-*-sunos3*
4438 Sun 2, running SunOS 4 m68000-*-sunos4*
4439 Motorola 680x0 running LynxOS m68*-*-lynxos*
4440 AT&T 3b1/Unix pc m68*-att-*
4441 Bull DPX2 (68k, System V release 3) m68*-bull-sysv*
4442 decstation mips-dec-* mips-little-*
4443 riscos mips-*-riscos* mips-*-sysv*
4444 sonymips mips-sony-*
4445 sysv mips*-*-sysv4* (IRIX 5/6 not included)
4446
4447 * REMOVED configurations and files
4448
4449 SGI Irix-4.x mips-sgi-irix4 or iris4
4450 SGI Iris (MIPS) running Irix V3: mips-sgi-irix or iris
4451 Z8000 simulator z8k-zilog-none or z8ksim
4452 Matsushita MN10200 w/simulator mn10200-*-*
4453 H8/500 simulator h8500-hitachi-hms or h8500hms
4454 HP/PA running BSD hppa*-*-bsd*
4455 HP/PA running OSF/1 hppa*-*-osf*
4456 HP/PA Pro target hppa*-*-pro*
4457 PMAX (MIPS) running Mach 3.0 mips*-*-mach3*
4458 386BSD i[3456]86-*-bsd*
4459 Sequent family i[3456]86-sequent-sysv4*
4460 i[3456]86-sequent-sysv*
4461 i[3456]86-sequent-bsd*
4462 SPARC running LynxOS sparc-*-lynxos*
4463 SPARC running SunOS 4 sparc-*-sunos4*
4464 Tsqware Sparclet sparclet-*-*
4465 Fujitsu SPARClite sparclite-fujitsu-none or sparclite
4466
4467 *** Changes in GDB 6.0:
4468
4469 * Objective-C
4470
4471 Support for debugging the Objective-C programming language has been
4472 integrated into GDB.
4473
4474 * New backtrace mechanism (includes DWARF 2 Call Frame Information).
4475
4476 DWARF 2's Call Frame Information makes available compiler generated
4477 information that more exactly describes the program's run-time stack.
4478 By using this information, GDB is able to provide more robust stack
4479 backtraces.
4480
4481 The i386, amd64 (nee, x86-64), Alpha, m68hc11, ia64, and m32r targets
4482 have been updated to use a new backtrace mechanism which includes
4483 DWARF 2 CFI support.
4484
4485 * Hosted file I/O.
4486
4487 GDB's remote protocol has been extended to include support for hosted
4488 file I/O (where the remote target uses GDB's file system). See GDB's
4489 remote protocol documentation for details.
4490
4491 * All targets using the new architecture framework.
4492
4493 All of GDB's targets have been updated to use the new internal
4494 architecture framework. The way is now open for future GDB releases
4495 to include cross-architecture native debugging support (i386 on amd64,
4496 ppc32 on ppc64).
4497
4498 * GNU/Linux's Thread Local Storage (TLS)
4499
4500 GDB now includes support for for the GNU/Linux implementation of
4501 per-thread variables.
4502
4503 * GNU/Linux's Native POSIX Thread Library (NPTL)
4504
4505 GDB's thread code has been updated to work with either the new
4506 GNU/Linux NPTL thread library or the older "LinuxThreads" library.
4507
4508 * Separate debug info.
4509
4510 GDB, in conjunction with BINUTILS, now supports a mechanism for
4511 automatically loading debug information from a separate file. Instead
4512 of shipping full debug and non-debug versions of system libraries,
4513 system integrators can now instead ship just the stripped libraries
4514 and optional debug files.
4515
4516 * DWARF 2 Location Expressions
4517
4518 DWARF 2 Location Expressions allow the compiler to more completely
4519 describe the location of variables (even in optimized code) to the
4520 debugger.
4521
4522 GDB now includes preliminary support for location expressions (support
4523 for DW_OP_piece is still missing).
4524
4525 * Java
4526
4527 A number of long standing bugs that caused GDB to die while starting a
4528 Java application have been fixed. GDB's Java support is now
4529 considered "useable".
4530
4531 * GNU/Linux support for fork, vfork, and exec.
4532
4533 The "catch fork", "catch exec", "catch vfork", and "set follow-fork-mode"
4534 commands are now implemented for GNU/Linux. They require a 2.5.x or later
4535 kernel.
4536
4537 * GDB supports logging output to a file
4538
4539 There are two new commands, "set logging" and "show logging", which can be
4540 used to capture GDB's output to a file.
4541
4542 * The meaning of "detach" has changed for gdbserver
4543
4544 The "detach" command will now resume the application, as documented. To
4545 disconnect from gdbserver and leave it stopped, use the new "disconnect"
4546 command.
4547
4548 * d10v, m68hc11 `regs' command deprecated
4549
4550 The `info registers' command has been updated so that it displays the
4551 registers using a format identical to the old `regs' command.
4552
4553 * Profiling support
4554
4555 A new command, "maint set profile on/off", has been added. This command can
4556 be used to enable or disable profiling while running GDB, to profile a
4557 session or a set of commands. In addition there is a new configure switch,
4558 "--enable-profiling", which will cause GDB to be compiled with profiling
4559 data, for more informative profiling results.
4560
4561 * Default MI syntax changed to "mi2".
4562
4563 The default MI (machine interface) syntax, enabled by the command line
4564 option "-i=mi", has been changed to "mi2". The previous MI syntax,
4565 "mi1", can be enabled by specifying the option "-i=mi1".
4566
4567 Support for the original "mi0" syntax (included in GDB 5.0) has been
4568 removed.
4569
4570 Fix for gdb/192: removed extraneous space when displaying frame level.
4571 Fix for gdb/672: update changelist is now output in mi list format.
4572 Fix for gdb/702: a -var-assign that updates the value now shows up
4573 in a subsequent -var-update.
4574
4575 * New native configurations.
4576
4577 FreeBSD/amd64 x86_64-*-freebsd*
4578
4579 * Multi-arched targets.
4580
4581 HP/PA HPUX11 hppa*-*-hpux*
4582 Renesas M32R/D w/simulator m32r-*-elf*
4583
4584 * OBSOLETE configurations and files
4585
4586 Configurations that have been declared obsolete in this release have
4587 been commented out. Unless there is activity to revive these
4588 configurations, the next release of GDB will have their sources
4589 permanently REMOVED.
4590
4591 Z8000 simulator z8k-zilog-none or z8ksim
4592 Matsushita MN10200 w/simulator mn10200-*-*
4593 H8/500 simulator h8500-hitachi-hms or h8500hms
4594 HP/PA running BSD hppa*-*-bsd*
4595 HP/PA running OSF/1 hppa*-*-osf*
4596 HP/PA Pro target hppa*-*-pro*
4597 PMAX (MIPS) running Mach 3.0 mips*-*-mach3*
4598 Sequent family i[3456]86-sequent-sysv4*
4599 i[3456]86-sequent-sysv*
4600 i[3456]86-sequent-bsd*
4601 Tsqware Sparclet sparclet-*-*
4602 Fujitsu SPARClite sparclite-fujitsu-none or sparclite
4603
4604 * REMOVED configurations and files
4605
4606 V850EA ISA
4607 Motorola Delta 88000 running Sys V m88k-motorola-sysv or delta88
4608 IBM AIX PS/2 i[3456]86-*-aix
4609 i386 running Mach 3.0 i[3456]86-*-mach3*
4610 i386 running Mach i[3456]86-*-mach*
4611 i386 running OSF/1 i[3456]86-*osf1mk*
4612 HP/Apollo 68k Family m68*-apollo*-sysv*,
4613 m68*-apollo*-bsd*,
4614 m68*-hp-bsd*, m68*-hp-hpux*
4615 Argonaut Risc Chip (ARC) arc-*-*
4616 Mitsubishi D30V d30v-*-*
4617 Fujitsu FR30 fr30-*-elf*
4618 OS/9000 i[34]86-*-os9k
4619 I960 with MON960 i960-*-coff
4620
4621 * MIPS $fp behavior changed
4622
4623 The convenience variable $fp, for the MIPS, now consistently returns
4624 the address of the current frame's base. Previously, depending on the
4625 context, $fp could refer to either $sp or the current frame's base
4626 address. See ``8.10 Registers'' in the manual ``Debugging with GDB:
4627 The GNU Source-Level Debugger''.
4628
4629 *** Changes in GDB 5.3:
4630
4631 * GNU/Linux shared library multi-threaded performance improved.
4632
4633 When debugging a multi-threaded application on GNU/Linux, GDB now uses
4634 `/proc', in preference to `ptrace' for memory reads. This may result
4635 in an improvement in the start-up time of multi-threaded, shared
4636 library applications when run under GDB. One GDB user writes: ``loads
4637 shared libs like mad''.
4638
4639 * ``gdbserver'' now supports multi-threaded applications on some targets
4640
4641 Support for debugging multi-threaded applications which use
4642 the GNU/Linux LinuxThreads package has been added for
4643 arm*-*-linux*-gnu*, i[3456]86-*-linux*-gnu*, mips*-*-linux*-gnu*,
4644 powerpc*-*-linux*-gnu*, and sh*-*-linux*-gnu*.
4645
4646 * GDB now supports C/C++ preprocessor macros.
4647
4648 GDB now expands preprocessor macro invocations in C/C++ expressions,
4649 and provides various commands for showing macro definitions and how
4650 they expand.
4651
4652 The new command `macro expand EXPRESSION' expands any macro
4653 invocations in expression, and shows the result.
4654
4655 The new command `show macro MACRO-NAME' shows the definition of the
4656 macro named MACRO-NAME, and where it was defined.
4657
4658 Most compilers don't include information about macros in the debugging
4659 information by default. In GCC 3.1, for example, you need to compile
4660 your program with the options `-gdwarf-2 -g3'. If the macro
4661 information is present in the executable, GDB will read it.
4662
4663 * Multi-arched targets.
4664
4665 DEC Alpha (partial) alpha*-*-*
4666 DEC VAX (partial) vax-*-*
4667 NEC V850 v850-*-*
4668 National Semiconductor NS32000 (partial) ns32k-*-*
4669 Motorola 68000 (partial) m68k-*-*
4670 Motorola MCORE mcore-*-*
4671
4672 * New targets.
4673
4674 Fujitsu FRV architecture added by Red Hat frv*-*-*
4675
4676
4677 * New native configurations
4678
4679 Alpha NetBSD alpha*-*-netbsd*
4680 SH NetBSD sh*-*-netbsdelf*
4681 MIPS NetBSD mips*-*-netbsd*
4682 UltraSPARC NetBSD sparc64-*-netbsd*
4683
4684 * OBSOLETE configurations and files
4685
4686 Configurations that have been declared obsolete in this release have
4687 been commented out. Unless there is activity to revive these
4688 configurations, the next release of GDB will have their sources
4689 permanently REMOVED.
4690
4691 Mitsubishi D30V d30v-*-*
4692 OS/9000 i[34]86-*-os9k
4693 IBM AIX PS/2 i[3456]86-*-aix
4694 Fujitsu FR30 fr30-*-elf*
4695 Motorola Delta 88000 running Sys V m88k-motorola-sysv or delta88
4696 Argonaut Risc Chip (ARC) arc-*-*
4697 i386 running Mach 3.0 i[3456]86-*-mach3*
4698 i386 running Mach i[3456]86-*-mach*
4699 i386 running OSF/1 i[3456]86-*osf1mk*
4700 HP/Apollo 68k Family m68*-apollo*-sysv*,
4701 m68*-apollo*-bsd*,
4702 m68*-hp-bsd*, m68*-hp-hpux*
4703 I960 with MON960 i960-*-coff
4704
4705 * OBSOLETE languages
4706
4707 CHILL, a Pascal like language used by telecommunications companies.
4708
4709 * REMOVED configurations and files
4710
4711 AMD 29k family via UDI a29k-amd-udi, udi29k
4712 A29K VxWorks a29k-*-vxworks
4713 AMD 29000 embedded, using EBMON a29k-none-none
4714 AMD 29000 embedded with COFF a29k-none-coff
4715 AMD 29000 embedded with a.out a29k-none-aout
4716
4717 testsuite/gdb.hp/gdb.threads-hp/ directory
4718
4719 * New command "set max-user-call-depth <nnn>"
4720
4721 This command allows the user to limit the call depth of user-defined
4722 commands. The default is 1024.
4723
4724 * Changes in FreeBSD/i386 native debugging.
4725
4726 Support for the "generate-core-file" has been added.
4727
4728 * New commands "dump", "append", and "restore".
4729
4730 These commands allow data to be copied from target memory
4731 to a bfd-format or binary file (dump and append), and back
4732 from a file into memory (restore).
4733
4734 * Improved "next/step" support on multi-processor Alpha Tru64.
4735
4736 The previous single-step mechanism could cause unpredictable problems,
4737 including the random appearance of SIGSEGV or SIGTRAP signals. The use
4738 of a software single-step mechanism prevents this.
4739
4740 *** Changes in GDB 5.2.1:
4741
4742 * New targets.
4743
4744 Atmel AVR avr*-*-*
4745
4746 * Bug fixes
4747
4748 gdb/182: gdb/323: gdb/237: On alpha, gdb was reporting:
4749 mdebugread.c:2443: gdb-internal-error: sect_index_data not initialized
4750 Fix, by Joel Brobecker imported from mainline.
4751
4752 gdb/439: gdb/291: On some ELF object files, gdb was reporting:
4753 dwarf2read.c:1072: gdb-internal-error: sect_index_text not initialize
4754 Fix, by Fred Fish, imported from mainline.
4755
4756 Dwarf2 .debug_frame & .eh_frame handler improved in many ways.
4757 Surprisingly enough, it works now.
4758 By Michal Ludvig, imported from mainline.
4759
4760 i386 hardware watchpoint support:
4761 avoid misses on second run for some targets.
4762 By Pierre Muller, imported from mainline.
4763
4764 *** Changes in GDB 5.2:
4765
4766 * New command "set trust-readonly-sections on[off]".
4767
4768 This command is a hint that tells gdb that read-only sections
4769 really are read-only (ie. that their contents will not change).
4770 In this mode, gdb will go to the object file rather than the
4771 target to read memory from read-only sections (such as ".text").
4772 This can be a significant performance improvement on some
4773 (notably embedded) targets.
4774
4775 * New command "generate-core-file" (or "gcore").
4776
4777 This new gdb command allows the user to drop a core file of the child
4778 process state at any time. So far it's been implemented only for
4779 GNU/Linux and Solaris, but should be relatively easily ported to other
4780 hosts. Argument is core file name (defaults to core.<pid>).
4781
4782 * New command line option
4783
4784 GDB now accepts --pid or -p followed by a process id.
4785
4786 * Change in command line behavior -- corefiles vs. process ids.
4787
4788 There is a subtle behavior in the way in which GDB handles
4789 command line arguments. The first non-flag argument is always
4790 a program to debug, but the second non-flag argument may either
4791 be a corefile or a process id. Previously, GDB would attempt to
4792 open the second argument as a corefile, and if that failed, would
4793 issue a superfluous error message and then attempt to attach it as
4794 a process. Now, if the second argument begins with a non-digit,
4795 it will be treated as a corefile. If it begins with a digit,
4796 GDB will attempt to attach it as a process, and if no such process
4797 is found, will then attempt to open it as a corefile.
4798
4799 * Changes in ARM configurations.
4800
4801 Multi-arch support is enabled for all ARM configurations. The ARM/NetBSD
4802 configuration is fully multi-arch.
4803
4804 * New native configurations
4805
4806 ARM NetBSD arm*-*-netbsd*
4807 x86 OpenBSD i[3456]86-*-openbsd*
4808 AMD x86-64 running GNU/Linux x86_64-*-linux-*
4809 Sparc64 running FreeBSD sparc64-*-freebsd*
4810
4811 * New targets
4812
4813 Sanyo XStormy16 xstormy16-elf
4814
4815 * OBSOLETE configurations and files
4816
4817 Configurations that have been declared obsolete in this release have
4818 been commented out. Unless there is activity to revive these
4819 configurations, the next release of GDB will have their sources
4820 permanently REMOVED.
4821
4822 AMD 29k family via UDI a29k-amd-udi, udi29k
4823 A29K VxWorks a29k-*-vxworks
4824 AMD 29000 embedded, using EBMON a29k-none-none
4825 AMD 29000 embedded with COFF a29k-none-coff
4826 AMD 29000 embedded with a.out a29k-none-aout
4827
4828 testsuite/gdb.hp/gdb.threads-hp/ directory
4829
4830 * REMOVED configurations and files
4831
4832 TI TMS320C80 tic80-*-*
4833 WDC 65816 w65-*-*
4834 PowerPC Solaris powerpcle-*-solaris*
4835 PowerPC Windows NT powerpcle-*-cygwin32
4836 PowerPC Netware powerpc-*-netware*
4837 Harris/CXUX m88k m88*-harris-cxux*
4838 Most ns32k hosts and targets ns32k-*-mach3* ns32k-umax-*
4839 ns32k-utek-sysv* ns32k-utek-*
4840 SunOS 4.0.Xi on i386 i[3456]86-*-sunos*
4841 Ultracomputer (29K) running Sym1 a29k-nyu-sym1 a29k-*-kern*
4842 Sony NEWS (68K) running NEWSOS 3.x m68*-sony-sysv news
4843 ISI Optimum V (3.05) under 4.3bsd. m68*-isi-*
4844 Apple Macintosh (MPW) host and target N/A host, powerpc-*-macos*
4845
4846 * Changes to command line processing
4847
4848 The new `--args' feature can be used to specify command-line arguments
4849 for the inferior from gdb's command line.
4850
4851 * Changes to key bindings
4852
4853 There is a new `operate-and-get-next' function bound to `C-o'.
4854
4855 *** Changes in GDB 5.1.1
4856
4857 Fix compile problem on DJGPP.
4858
4859 Fix a problem with floating-point registers on the i386 being
4860 corrupted.
4861
4862 Fix to stop GDB crashing on .debug_str debug info.
4863
4864 Numerous documentation fixes.
4865
4866 Numerous testsuite fixes.
4867
4868 *** Changes in GDB 5.1:
4869
4870 * New native configurations
4871
4872 Alpha FreeBSD alpha*-*-freebsd*
4873 x86 FreeBSD 3.x and 4.x i[3456]86*-freebsd[34]*
4874 MIPS GNU/Linux mips*-*-linux*
4875 MIPS SGI Irix 6.x mips*-sgi-irix6*
4876 ia64 AIX ia64-*-aix*
4877 s390 and s390x GNU/Linux {s390,s390x}-*-linux*
4878
4879 * New targets
4880
4881 Motorola 68HC11 and 68HC12 m68hc11-elf
4882 CRIS cris-axis
4883 UltraSparc running GNU/Linux sparc64-*-linux*
4884
4885 * OBSOLETE configurations and files
4886
4887 x86 FreeBSD before 2.2 i[3456]86*-freebsd{1,2.[01]}*,
4888 Harris/CXUX m88k m88*-harris-cxux*
4889 Most ns32k hosts and targets ns32k-*-mach3* ns32k-umax-*
4890 ns32k-utek-sysv* ns32k-utek-*
4891 TI TMS320C80 tic80-*-*
4892 WDC 65816 w65-*-*
4893 Ultracomputer (29K) running Sym1 a29k-nyu-sym1 a29k-*-kern*
4894 PowerPC Solaris powerpcle-*-solaris*
4895 PowerPC Windows NT powerpcle-*-cygwin32
4896 PowerPC Netware powerpc-*-netware*
4897 SunOS 4.0.Xi on i386 i[3456]86-*-sunos*
4898 Sony NEWS (68K) running NEWSOS 3.x m68*-sony-sysv news
4899 ISI Optimum V (3.05) under 4.3bsd. m68*-isi-*
4900 Apple Macintosh (MPW) host N/A
4901
4902 stuff.c (Program to stuff files into a specially prepared space in kdb)
4903 kdb-start.c (Main loop for the standalone kernel debugger)
4904
4905 Configurations that have been declared obsolete in this release have
4906 been commented out. Unless there is activity to revive these
4907 configurations, the next release of GDB will have their sources
4908 permanently REMOVED.
4909
4910 * REMOVED configurations and files
4911
4912 Altos 3068 m68*-altos-*
4913 Convex c1-*-*, c2-*-*
4914 Pyramid pyramid-*-*
4915 ARM RISCix arm-*-* (as host)
4916 Tahoe tahoe-*-*
4917 ser-ocd.c *-*-*
4918
4919 * GDB has been converted to ISO C.
4920
4921 GDB's source code has been converted to ISO C. In particular, the
4922 sources are fully protoized, and rely on standard headers being
4923 present.
4924
4925 * Other news:
4926
4927 * "info symbol" works on platforms which use COFF, ECOFF, XCOFF, and NLM.
4928
4929 * The MI enabled by default.
4930
4931 The new machine oriented interface (MI) introduced in GDB 5.0 has been
4932 revised and enabled by default. Packages which use GDB as a debugging
4933 engine behind a UI or another front end are encouraged to switch to
4934 using the GDB/MI interface, instead of the old annotations interface
4935 which is now deprecated.
4936
4937 * Support for debugging Pascal programs.
4938
4939 GDB now includes support for debugging Pascal programs. The following
4940 main features are supported:
4941
4942 - Pascal-specific data types such as sets;
4943
4944 - automatic recognition of Pascal sources based on file-name
4945 extension;
4946
4947 - Pascal-style display of data types, variables, and functions;
4948
4949 - a Pascal expression parser.
4950
4951 However, some important features are not yet supported.
4952
4953 - Pascal string operations are not supported at all;
4954
4955 - there are some problems with boolean types;
4956
4957 - Pascal type hexadecimal constants are not supported
4958 because they conflict with the internal variables format;
4959
4960 - support for Pascal objects and classes is not full yet;
4961
4962 - unlike Pascal, GDB is case-sensitive for symbol names.
4963
4964 * Changes in completion.
4965
4966 Commands such as `shell', `run' and `set args', which pass arguments
4967 to inferior programs, now complete on file names, similar to what
4968 users expect at the shell prompt.
4969
4970 Commands which accept locations, such as `disassemble', `print',
4971 `breakpoint', `until', etc. now complete on filenames as well as
4972 program symbols. Thus, if you type "break foob TAB", and the source
4973 files linked into the programs include `foobar.c', that file name will
4974 be one of the candidates for completion. However, file names are not
4975 considered for completion after you typed a colon that delimits a file
4976 name from a name of a function in that file, as in "break foo.c:bar".
4977
4978 `set demangle-style' completes on available demangling styles.
4979
4980 * New platform-independent commands:
4981
4982 It is now possible to define a post-hook for a command as well as a
4983 hook that runs before the command. For more details, see the
4984 documentation of `hookpost' in the GDB manual.
4985
4986 * Changes in GNU/Linux native debugging.
4987
4988 Support for debugging multi-threaded programs has been completely
4989 revised for all platforms except m68k and sparc. You can now debug as
4990 many threads as your system allows you to have.
4991
4992 Attach/detach is supported for multi-threaded programs.
4993
4994 Support for SSE registers was added for x86. This doesn't work for
4995 multi-threaded programs though.
4996
4997 * Changes in MIPS configurations.
4998
4999 Multi-arch support is enabled for all MIPS configurations.
5000
5001 GDB can now be built as native debugger on SGI Irix 6.x systems for
5002 debugging n32 executables. (Debugging 64-bit executables is not yet
5003 supported.)
5004
5005 * Unified support for hardware watchpoints in all x86 configurations.
5006
5007 Most (if not all) native x86 configurations support hardware-assisted
5008 breakpoints and watchpoints in a unified manner. This support
5009 implements debug register sharing between watchpoints, which allows to
5010 put a virtually infinite number of watchpoints on the same address,
5011 and also supports watching regions up to 16 bytes with several debug
5012 registers.
5013
5014 The new maintenance command `maintenance show-debug-regs' toggles
5015 debugging print-outs in functions that insert, remove, and test
5016 watchpoints and hardware breakpoints.
5017
5018 * Changes in the DJGPP native configuration.
5019
5020 New command ``info dos sysinfo'' displays assorted information about
5021 the CPU, OS, memory, and DPMI server.
5022
5023 New commands ``info dos gdt'', ``info dos ldt'', and ``info dos idt''
5024 display information about segment descriptors stored in GDT, LDT, and
5025 IDT.
5026
5027 New commands ``info dos pde'' and ``info dos pte'' display entries
5028 from Page Directory and Page Tables (for now works with CWSDPMI only).
5029 New command ``info dos address-pte'' displays the Page Table entry for
5030 a given linear address.
5031
5032 GDB can now pass command lines longer than 126 characters to the
5033 program being debugged (requires an update to the libdbg.a library
5034 which is part of the DJGPP development kit).
5035
5036 DWARF2 debug info is now supported.
5037
5038 It is now possible to `step' and `next' through calls to `longjmp'.
5039
5040 * Changes in documentation.
5041
5042 All GDB documentation was converted to GFDL, the GNU Free
5043 Documentation License.
5044
5045 Tracepoints-related commands are now fully documented in the GDB
5046 manual.
5047
5048 TUI, the Text-mode User Interface, is now documented in the manual.
5049
5050 Tracepoints-related commands are now fully documented in the GDB
5051 manual.
5052
5053 The "GDB Internals" manual now has an index. It also includes
5054 documentation of `ui_out' functions, GDB coding standards, x86
5055 hardware watchpoints, and memory region attributes.
5056
5057 * GDB's version number moved to ``version.in''
5058
5059 The Makefile variable VERSION has been replaced by the file
5060 ``version.in''. People creating GDB distributions should update the
5061 contents of this file.
5062
5063 * gdba.el deleted
5064
5065 GUD support is now a standard part of the EMACS distribution.
5066
5067 *** Changes in GDB 5.0:
5068
5069 * Improved support for debugging FP programs on x86 targets
5070
5071 Unified and much-improved support for debugging floating-point
5072 programs on all x86 targets. In particular, ``info float'' now
5073 displays the FP registers in the same format on all x86 targets, with
5074 greater level of detail.
5075
5076 * Improvements and bugfixes in hardware-assisted watchpoints
5077
5078 It is now possible to watch array elements, struct members, and
5079 bitfields with hardware-assisted watchpoints. Data-read watchpoints
5080 on x86 targets no longer erroneously trigger when the address is
5081 written.
5082
5083 * Improvements in the native DJGPP version of GDB
5084
5085 The distribution now includes all the scripts and auxiliary files
5086 necessary to build the native DJGPP version on MS-DOS/MS-Windows
5087 machines ``out of the box''.
5088
5089 The DJGPP version can now debug programs that use signals. It is
5090 possible to catch signals that happened in the debuggee, deliver
5091 signals to it, interrupt it with Ctrl-C, etc. (Previously, a signal
5092 would kill the program being debugged.) Programs that hook hardware
5093 interrupts (keyboard, timer, etc.) can also be debugged.
5094
5095 It is now possible to debug DJGPP programs that redirect their
5096 standard handles or switch them to raw (as opposed to cooked) mode, or
5097 even close them. The command ``run < foo > bar'' works as expected,
5098 and ``info terminal'' reports useful information about the debuggee's
5099 terminal, including raw/cooked mode, redirection, etc.
5100
5101 The DJGPP version now uses termios functions for console I/O, which
5102 enables debugging graphics programs. Interrupting GDB with Ctrl-C
5103 also works.
5104
5105 DOS-style file names with drive letters are now fully supported by
5106 GDB.
5107
5108 It is now possible to debug DJGPP programs that switch their working
5109 directory. It is also possible to rerun the debuggee any number of
5110 times without restarting GDB; thus, you can use the same setup,
5111 breakpoints, etc. for many debugging sessions.
5112
5113 * New native configurations
5114
5115 ARM GNU/Linux arm*-*-linux*
5116 PowerPC GNU/Linux powerpc-*-linux*
5117
5118 * New targets
5119
5120 Motorola MCore mcore-*-*
5121 x86 VxWorks i[3456]86-*-vxworks*
5122 PowerPC VxWorks powerpc-*-vxworks*
5123 TI TMS320C80 tic80-*-*
5124
5125 * OBSOLETE configurations
5126
5127 Altos 3068 m68*-altos-*
5128 Convex c1-*-*, c2-*-*
5129 Pyramid pyramid-*-*
5130 ARM RISCix arm-*-* (as host)
5131 Tahoe tahoe-*-*
5132
5133 Configurations that have been declared obsolete will be commented out,
5134 but the code will be left in place. If there is no activity to revive
5135 these configurations before the next release of GDB, the sources will
5136 be permanently REMOVED.
5137
5138 * Gould support removed
5139
5140 Support for the Gould PowerNode and NP1 has been removed.
5141
5142 * New features for SVR4
5143
5144 On SVR4 native platforms (such as Solaris), if you attach to a process
5145 without first loading a symbol file, GDB will now attempt to locate and
5146 load symbols from the running process's executable file.
5147
5148 * Many C++ enhancements
5149
5150 C++ support has been greatly improved. Overload resolution now works properly
5151 in almost all cases. RTTI support is on the way.
5152
5153 * Remote targets can connect to a sub-program
5154
5155 A popen(3) style serial-device has been added. This device starts a
5156 sub-process (such as a stand-alone simulator) and then communicates
5157 with that. The sub-program to run is specified using the syntax
5158 ``|<program> <args>'' vis:
5159
5160 (gdb) set remotedebug 1
5161 (gdb) target extended-remote |mn10300-elf-sim program-args
5162
5163 * MIPS 64 remote protocol
5164
5165 A long standing bug in the mips64 remote protocol where by GDB
5166 expected certain 32 bit registers (ex SR) to be transfered as 32
5167 instead of 64 bits has been fixed.
5168
5169 The command ``set remote-mips64-transfers-32bit-regs on'' has been
5170 added to provide backward compatibility with older versions of GDB.
5171
5172 * ``set remotebinarydownload'' replaced by ``set remote X-packet''
5173
5174 The command ``set remotebinarydownload'' command has been replaced by
5175 ``set remote X-packet''. Other commands in ``set remote'' family
5176 include ``set remote P-packet''.
5177
5178 * Breakpoint commands accept ranges.
5179
5180 The breakpoint commands ``enable'', ``disable'', and ``delete'' now
5181 accept a range of breakpoints, e.g. ``5-7''. The tracepoint command
5182 ``tracepoint passcount'' also accepts a range of tracepoints.
5183
5184 * ``apropos'' command added.
5185
5186 The ``apropos'' command searches through command names and
5187 documentation strings, printing out matches, making it much easier to
5188 try to find a command that does what you are looking for.
5189
5190 * New MI interface
5191
5192 A new machine oriented interface (MI) has been added to GDB. This
5193 interface is designed for debug environments running GDB as a separate
5194 process. This is part of the long term libGDB project. See the
5195 "GDB/MI" chapter of the GDB manual for further information. It can be
5196 enabled by configuring with:
5197
5198 .../configure --enable-gdbmi
5199
5200 *** Changes in GDB-4.18:
5201
5202 * New native configurations
5203
5204 HP-UX 10.20 hppa*-*-hpux10.20
5205 HP-UX 11.x hppa*-*-hpux11.0*
5206 M68K GNU/Linux m68*-*-linux*
5207
5208 * New targets
5209
5210 Fujitsu FR30 fr30-*-elf*
5211 Intel StrongARM strongarm-*-*
5212 Mitsubishi D30V d30v-*-*
5213
5214 * OBSOLETE configurations
5215
5216 Gould PowerNode, NP1 np1-*-*, pn-*-*
5217
5218 Configurations that have been declared obsolete will be commented out,
5219 but the code will be left in place. If there is no activity to revive
5220 these configurations before the next release of GDB, the sources will
5221 be permanently REMOVED.
5222
5223 * ANSI/ISO C
5224
5225 As a compatibility experiment, GDB's source files buildsym.h and
5226 buildsym.c have been converted to pure standard C, no longer
5227 containing any K&R compatibility code. We believe that all systems in
5228 use today either come with a standard C compiler, or have a GCC port
5229 available. If this is not true, please report the affected
5230 configuration to bug-gdb@gnu.org immediately. See the README file for
5231 information about getting a standard C compiler if you don't have one
5232 already.
5233
5234 * Readline 2.2
5235
5236 GDB now uses readline 2.2.
5237
5238 * set extension-language
5239
5240 You can now control the mapping between filename extensions and source
5241 languages by using the `set extension-language' command. For instance,
5242 you can ask GDB to treat .c files as C++ by saying
5243 set extension-language .c c++
5244 The command `info extensions' lists all of the recognized extensions
5245 and their associated languages.
5246
5247 * Setting processor type for PowerPC and RS/6000
5248
5249 When GDB is configured for a powerpc*-*-* or an rs6000*-*-* target,
5250 you can use the `set processor' command to specify what variant of the
5251 PowerPC family you are debugging. The command
5252
5253 set processor NAME
5254
5255 sets the PowerPC/RS6000 variant to NAME. GDB knows about the
5256 following PowerPC and RS6000 variants:
5257
5258 ppc-uisa PowerPC UISA - a PPC processor as viewed by user-level code
5259 rs6000 IBM RS6000 ("POWER") architecture, user-level view
5260 403 IBM PowerPC 403
5261 403GC IBM PowerPC 403GC
5262 505 Motorola PowerPC 505
5263 860 Motorola PowerPC 860 or 850
5264 601 Motorola PowerPC 601
5265 602 Motorola PowerPC 602
5266 603 Motorola/IBM PowerPC 603 or 603e
5267 604 Motorola PowerPC 604 or 604e
5268 750 Motorola/IBM PowerPC 750 or 750
5269
5270 At the moment, this command just tells GDB what to name the
5271 special-purpose processor registers. Since almost all the affected
5272 registers are inaccessible to user-level programs, this command is
5273 only useful for remote debugging in its present form.
5274
5275 * HP-UX support
5276
5277 Thanks to a major code donation from Hewlett-Packard, GDB now has much
5278 more extensive support for HP-UX. Added features include shared
5279 library support, kernel threads and hardware watchpoints for 11.00,
5280 support for HP's ANSI C and C++ compilers, and a compatibility mode
5281 for xdb and dbx commands.
5282
5283 * Catchpoints
5284
5285 HP's donation includes the new concept of catchpoints, which is a
5286 generalization of the old catch command. On HP-UX, it is now possible
5287 to catch exec, fork, and vfork, as well as library loading.
5288
5289 This means that the existing catch command has changed; its first
5290 argument now specifies the type of catch to be set up. See the
5291 output of "help catch" for a list of catchpoint types.
5292
5293 * Debugging across forks
5294
5295 On HP-UX, you can choose which process to debug when a fork() happens
5296 in the inferior.
5297
5298 * TUI
5299
5300 HP has donated a curses-based terminal user interface (TUI). To get
5301 it, build with --enable-tui. Although this can be enabled for any
5302 configuration, at present it only works for native HP debugging.
5303
5304 * GDB remote protocol additions
5305
5306 A new protocol packet 'X' that writes binary data is now available.
5307 Default behavior is to try 'X', then drop back to 'M' if the stub
5308 fails to respond. The settable variable `remotebinarydownload'
5309 allows explicit control over the use of 'X'.
5310
5311 For 64-bit targets, the memory packets ('M' and 'm') can now contain a
5312 full 64-bit address. The command
5313
5314 set remoteaddresssize 32
5315
5316 can be used to revert to the old behaviour. For existing remote stubs
5317 the change should not be noticed, as the additional address information
5318 will be discarded.
5319
5320 In order to assist in debugging stubs, you may use the maintenance
5321 command `packet' to send any text string to the stub. For instance,
5322
5323 maint packet heythere
5324
5325 sends the packet "$heythere#<checksum>". Note that it is very easy to
5326 disrupt a debugging session by sending the wrong packet at the wrong
5327 time.
5328
5329 The compare-sections command allows you to compare section data on the
5330 target to what is in the executable file without uploading or
5331 downloading, by comparing CRC checksums.
5332
5333 * Tracing can collect general expressions
5334
5335 You may now collect general expressions at tracepoints. This requires
5336 further additions to the target-side stub; see tracepoint.c and
5337 doc/agentexpr.texi for further details.
5338
5339 * mask-address variable for Mips
5340
5341 For Mips targets, you may control the zeroing of the upper 32 bits of
5342 a 64-bit address by entering `set mask-address on'. This is mainly
5343 of interest to users of embedded R4xxx and R5xxx processors.
5344
5345 * Higher serial baud rates
5346
5347 GDB's serial code now allows you to specify baud rates 57600, 115200,
5348 230400, and 460800 baud. (Note that your host system may not be able
5349 to achieve all of these rates.)
5350
5351 * i960 simulator
5352
5353 The i960 configuration now includes an initial implementation of a
5354 builtin simulator, contributed by Jim Wilson.
5355
5356
5357 *** Changes in GDB-4.17:
5358
5359 * New native configurations
5360
5361 Alpha GNU/Linux alpha*-*-linux*
5362 Unixware 2.x i[3456]86-unixware2*
5363 Irix 6.x mips*-sgi-irix6*
5364 PowerPC GNU/Linux powerpc-*-linux*
5365 PowerPC Solaris powerpcle-*-solaris*
5366 Sparc GNU/Linux sparc-*-linux*
5367 Motorola sysV68 R3V7.1 m68k-motorola-sysv
5368
5369 * New targets
5370
5371 Argonaut Risc Chip (ARC) arc-*-*
5372 Hitachi H8/300S h8300*-*-*
5373 Matsushita MN10200 w/simulator mn10200-*-*
5374 Matsushita MN10300 w/simulator mn10300-*-*
5375 MIPS NEC VR4100 mips64*vr4100*{,el}-*-elf*
5376 MIPS NEC VR5000 mips64*vr5000*{,el}-*-elf*
5377 MIPS Toshiba TX39 mips64*tx39*{,el}-*-elf*
5378 Mitsubishi D10V w/simulator d10v-*-*
5379 Mitsubishi M32R/D w/simulator m32r-*-elf*
5380 Tsqware Sparclet sparclet-*-*
5381 NEC V850 w/simulator v850-*-*
5382
5383 * New debugging protocols
5384
5385 ARM with RDI protocol arm*-*-*
5386 M68K with dBUG monitor m68*-*-{aout,coff,elf}
5387 DDB and LSI variants of PMON protocol mips*-*-*
5388 PowerPC with DINK32 monitor powerpc{,le}-*-eabi
5389 PowerPC with SDS protocol powerpc{,le}-*-eabi
5390 Macraigor OCD (Wiggler) devices powerpc{,le}-*-eabi
5391
5392 * DWARF 2
5393
5394 All configurations can now understand and use the DWARF 2 debugging
5395 format. The choice is automatic, if the symbol file contains DWARF 2
5396 information.
5397
5398 * Java frontend
5399
5400 GDB now includes basic Java language support. This support is
5401 only useful with Java compilers that produce native machine code.
5402
5403 * solib-absolute-prefix and solib-search-path
5404
5405 For SunOS and SVR4 shared libraries, you may now set the prefix for
5406 loading absolute shared library symbol files, and the search path for
5407 locating non-absolute shared library symbol files.
5408
5409 * Live range splitting
5410
5411 GDB can now effectively debug code for which GCC has performed live
5412 range splitting as part of its optimization. See gdb/doc/LRS for
5413 more details on the expected format of the stabs information.
5414
5415 * Hurd support
5416
5417 GDB's support for the GNU Hurd, including thread debugging, has been
5418 updated to work with current versions of the Hurd.
5419
5420 * ARM Thumb support
5421
5422 GDB's ARM target configuration now handles the ARM7T (Thumb) 16-bit
5423 instruction set. ARM GDB automatically detects when Thumb
5424 instructions are in use, and adjusts disassembly and backtracing
5425 accordingly.
5426
5427 * MIPS16 support
5428
5429 GDB's MIPS target configurations now handle the MIP16 16-bit
5430 instruction set.
5431
5432 * Overlay support
5433
5434 GDB now includes support for overlays; if an executable has been
5435 linked such that multiple sections are based at the same address, GDB
5436 will decide which section to use for symbolic info. You can choose to
5437 control the decision manually, using overlay commands, or implement
5438 additional target-side support and use "overlay load-target" to bring
5439 in the overlay mapping. Do "help overlay" for more detail.
5440
5441 * info symbol
5442
5443 The command "info symbol <address>" displays information about
5444 the symbol at the specified address.
5445
5446 * Trace support
5447
5448 The standard remote protocol now includes an extension that allows
5449 asynchronous collection and display of trace data. This requires
5450 extensive support in the target-side debugging stub. Tracing mode
5451 includes a new interaction mode in GDB and new commands: see the
5452 file tracepoint.c for more details.
5453
5454 * MIPS simulator
5455
5456 Configurations for embedded MIPS now include a simulator contributed
5457 by Cygnus Solutions. The simulator supports the instruction sets
5458 of most MIPS variants.
5459
5460 * Sparc simulator
5461
5462 Sparc configurations may now include the ERC32 simulator contributed
5463 by the European Space Agency. The simulator is not built into
5464 Sparc targets by default; configure with --enable-sim to include it.
5465
5466 * set architecture
5467
5468 For target configurations that may include multiple variants of a
5469 basic architecture (such as MIPS and SH), you may now set the
5470 architecture explicitly. "set arch" sets, "info arch" lists
5471 the possible architectures.
5472
5473 *** Changes in GDB-4.16:
5474
5475 * New native configurations
5476
5477 Windows 95, x86 Windows NT i[345]86-*-cygwin32
5478 M68K NetBSD m68k-*-netbsd*
5479 PowerPC AIX 4.x powerpc-*-aix*
5480 PowerPC MacOS powerpc-*-macos*
5481 PowerPC Windows NT powerpcle-*-cygwin32
5482 RS/6000 AIX 4.x rs6000-*-aix4*
5483
5484 * New targets
5485
5486 ARM with RDP protocol arm-*-*
5487 I960 with MON960 i960-*-coff
5488 MIPS VxWorks mips*-*-vxworks*
5489 MIPS VR4300 with PMON mips64*vr4300{,el}-*-elf*
5490 PowerPC with PPCBUG monitor powerpc{,le}-*-eabi*
5491 Hitachi SH3 sh-*-*
5492 Matra Sparclet sparclet-*-*
5493
5494 * PowerPC simulator
5495
5496 The powerpc-eabi configuration now includes the PSIM simulator,
5497 contributed by Andrew Cagney, with assistance from Mike Meissner.
5498 PSIM is a very elaborate model of the PowerPC, including not only
5499 basic instruction set execution, but also details of execution unit
5500 performance and I/O hardware. See sim/ppc/README for more details.
5501
5502 * Solaris 2.5
5503
5504 GDB now works with Solaris 2.5.
5505
5506 * Windows 95/NT native
5507
5508 GDB will now work as a native debugger on Windows 95 and Windows NT.
5509 To build it from source, you must use the "gnu-win32" environment,
5510 which uses a DLL to emulate enough of Unix to run the GNU tools.
5511 Further information, binaries, and sources are available at
5512 ftp.cygnus.com, under pub/gnu-win32.
5513
5514 * dont-repeat command
5515
5516 If a user-defined command includes the command `dont-repeat', then the
5517 command will not be repeated if the user just types return. This is
5518 useful if the command is time-consuming to run, so that accidental
5519 extra keystrokes don't run the same command many times.
5520
5521 * Send break instead of ^C
5522
5523 The standard remote protocol now includes an option to send a break
5524 rather than a ^C to the target in order to interrupt it. By default,
5525 GDB will send ^C; to send a break, set the variable `remotebreak' to 1.
5526
5527 * Remote protocol timeout
5528
5529 The standard remote protocol includes a new variable `remotetimeout'
5530 that allows you to set the number of seconds before GDB gives up trying
5531 to read from the target. The default value is 2.
5532
5533 * Automatic tracking of dynamic object loading (HPUX and Solaris only)
5534
5535 By default GDB will automatically keep track of objects as they are
5536 loaded and unloaded by the dynamic linker. By using the command `set
5537 stop-on-solib-events 1' you can arrange for GDB to stop the inferior
5538 when shared library events occur, thus allowing you to set breakpoints
5539 in shared libraries which are explicitly loaded by the inferior.
5540
5541 Note this feature does not work on hpux8. On hpux9 you must link
5542 /usr/lib/end.o into your program. This feature should work
5543 automatically on hpux10.
5544
5545 * Irix 5.x hardware watchpoint support
5546
5547 Irix 5 configurations now support the use of hardware watchpoints.
5548
5549 * Mips protocol "SYN garbage limit"
5550
5551 When debugging a Mips target using the `target mips' protocol, you
5552 may set the number of characters that GDB will ignore by setting
5553 the `syn-garbage-limit'. A value of -1 means that GDB will ignore
5554 every character. The default value is 1050.
5555
5556 * Recording and replaying remote debug sessions
5557
5558 If you set `remotelogfile' to the name of a file, gdb will write to it
5559 a recording of a remote debug session. This recording may then be
5560 replayed back to gdb using "gdbreplay". See gdbserver/README for
5561 details. This is useful when you have a problem with GDB while doing
5562 remote debugging; you can make a recording of the session and send it
5563 to someone else, who can then recreate the problem.
5564
5565 * Speedups for remote debugging
5566
5567 GDB includes speedups for downloading and stepping MIPS systems using
5568 the IDT monitor, fast downloads to the Hitachi SH E7000 emulator,
5569 and more efficient S-record downloading.
5570
5571 * Memory use reductions and statistics collection
5572
5573 GDB now uses less memory and reports statistics about memory usage.
5574 Try the `maint print statistics' command, for example.
5575
5576 *** Changes in GDB-4.15:
5577
5578 * Psymtabs for XCOFF
5579
5580 The symbol reader for AIX GDB now uses partial symbol tables. This
5581 can greatly improve startup time, especially for large executables.
5582
5583 * Remote targets use caching
5584
5585 Remote targets now use a data cache to speed up communication with the
5586 remote side. The data cache could lead to incorrect results because
5587 it doesn't know about volatile variables, thus making it impossible to
5588 debug targets which use memory mapped I/O devices. `set remotecache
5589 off' turns the the data cache off.
5590
5591 * Remote targets may have threads
5592
5593 The standard remote protocol now includes support for multiple threads
5594 in the target system, using new protocol commands 'H' and 'T'. See
5595 gdb/remote.c for details.
5596
5597 * NetROM support
5598
5599 If GDB is configured with `--enable-netrom', then it will include
5600 support for the NetROM ROM emulator from XLNT Designs. The NetROM
5601 acts as though it is a bank of ROM on the target board, but you can
5602 write into it over the network. GDB's support consists only of
5603 support for fast loading into the emulated ROM; to debug, you must use
5604 another protocol, such as standard remote protocol. The usual
5605 sequence is something like
5606
5607 target nrom <netrom-hostname>
5608 load <prog>
5609 target remote <netrom-hostname>:1235
5610
5611 * Macintosh host
5612
5613 GDB now includes support for the Apple Macintosh, as a host only. It
5614 may be run as either an MPW tool or as a standalone application, and
5615 it can debug through the serial port. All the usual GDB commands are
5616 available, but to the target command, you must supply "serial" as the
5617 device type instead of "/dev/ttyXX". See mpw-README in the main
5618 directory for more information on how to build. The MPW configuration
5619 scripts */mpw-config.in support only a few targets, and only the
5620 mips-idt-ecoff target has been tested.
5621
5622 * Autoconf
5623
5624 GDB configuration now uses autoconf. This is not user-visible,
5625 but does simplify configuration and building.
5626
5627 * hpux10
5628
5629 GDB now supports hpux10.
5630
5631 *** Changes in GDB-4.14:
5632
5633 * New native configurations
5634
5635 x86 FreeBSD i[345]86-*-freebsd
5636 x86 NetBSD i[345]86-*-netbsd
5637 NS32k NetBSD ns32k-*-netbsd
5638 Sparc NetBSD sparc-*-netbsd
5639
5640 * New targets
5641
5642 A29K VxWorks a29k-*-vxworks
5643 HP PA PRO embedded (WinBond W89K & Oki OP50N) hppa*-*-pro*
5644 CPU32 EST-300 emulator m68*-*-est*
5645 PowerPC ELF powerpc-*-elf
5646 WDC 65816 w65-*-*
5647
5648 * Alpha OSF/1 support for procfs
5649
5650 GDB now supports procfs under OSF/1-2.x and higher, which makes it
5651 possible to attach to running processes. As the mounting of the /proc
5652 filesystem is optional on the Alpha, GDB automatically determines
5653 the availability of /proc during startup. This can lead to problems
5654 if /proc is unmounted after GDB has been started.
5655
5656 * Arguments to user-defined commands
5657
5658 User commands may accept up to 10 arguments separated by whitespace.
5659 Arguments are accessed within the user command via $arg0..$arg9. A
5660 trivial example:
5661 define adder
5662 print $arg0 + $arg1 + $arg2
5663
5664 To execute the command use:
5665 adder 1 2 3
5666
5667 Defines the command "adder" which prints the sum of its three arguments.
5668 Note the arguments are text substitutions, so they may reference variables,
5669 use complex expressions, or even perform inferior function calls.
5670
5671 * New `if' and `while' commands
5672
5673 This makes it possible to write more sophisticated user-defined
5674 commands. Both commands take a single argument, which is the
5675 expression to evaluate, and must be followed by the commands to
5676 execute, one per line, if the expression is nonzero, the list being
5677 terminated by the word `end'. The `if' command list may include an
5678 `else' word, which causes the following commands to be executed only
5679 if the expression is zero.
5680
5681 * Fortran source language mode
5682
5683 GDB now includes partial support for Fortran 77. It will recognize
5684 Fortran programs and can evaluate a subset of Fortran expressions, but
5685 variables and functions may not be handled correctly. GDB will work
5686 with G77, but does not yet know much about symbols emitted by other
5687 Fortran compilers.
5688
5689 * Better HPUX support
5690
5691 Most debugging facilities now work on dynamic executables for HPPAs
5692 running hpux9 or later. You can attach to running dynamically linked
5693 processes, but by default the dynamic libraries will be read-only, so
5694 for instance you won't be able to put breakpoints in them. To change
5695 that behavior do the following before running the program:
5696
5697 adb -w a.out
5698 __dld_flags?W 0x5
5699 control-d
5700
5701 This will cause the libraries to be mapped private and read-write.
5702 To revert to the normal behavior, do this:
5703
5704 adb -w a.out
5705 __dld_flags?W 0x4
5706 control-d
5707
5708 You cannot set breakpoints or examine data in the library until after
5709 the library is loaded if the function/data symbols do not have
5710 external linkage.
5711
5712 GDB can now also read debug symbols produced by the HP C compiler on
5713 HPPAs (sorry, no C++, Fortran or 68k support).
5714
5715 * Target byte order now dynamically selectable
5716
5717 You can choose which byte order to use with a target system, via the
5718 commands "set endian big" and "set endian little", and you can see the
5719 current setting by using "show endian". You can also give the command
5720 "set endian auto", in which case GDB will use the byte order
5721 associated with the executable. Currently, only embedded MIPS
5722 configurations support dynamic selection of target byte order.
5723
5724 * New DOS host serial code
5725
5726 This version uses DPMI interrupts to handle buffered I/O, so you
5727 no longer need to run asynctsr when debugging boards connected to
5728 a PC's serial port.
5729
5730 *** Changes in GDB-4.13:
5731
5732 * New "complete" command
5733
5734 This lists all the possible completions for the rest of the line, if it
5735 were to be given as a command itself. This is intended for use by emacs.
5736
5737 * Trailing space optional in prompt
5738
5739 "set prompt" no longer adds a space for you after the prompt you set. This
5740 allows you to set a prompt which ends in a space or one that does not.
5741
5742 * Breakpoint hit counts
5743
5744 "info break" now displays a count of the number of times the breakpoint
5745 has been hit. This is especially useful in conjunction with "ignore"; you
5746 can ignore a large number of breakpoint hits, look at the breakpoint info
5747 to see how many times the breakpoint was hit, then run again, ignoring one
5748 less than that number, and this will get you quickly to the last hit of
5749 that breakpoint.
5750
5751 * Ability to stop printing at NULL character
5752
5753 "set print null-stop" will cause GDB to stop printing the characters of
5754 an array when the first NULL is encountered. This is useful when large
5755 arrays actually contain only short strings.
5756
5757 * Shared library breakpoints
5758
5759 In SunOS 4.x, SVR4, and Alpha OSF/1 configurations, you can now set
5760 breakpoints in shared libraries before the executable is run.
5761
5762 * Hardware watchpoints
5763
5764 There is a new hardware breakpoint for the watch command for sparclite
5765 targets. See gdb/sparclite/hw_breakpoint.note.
5766
5767 Hardware watchpoints are also now supported under GNU/Linux.
5768
5769 * Annotations
5770
5771 Annotations have been added. These are for use with graphical interfaces,
5772 and are still experimental. Currently only gdba.el uses these.
5773
5774 * Improved Irix 5 support
5775
5776 GDB now works properly with Irix 5.2.
5777
5778 * Improved HPPA support
5779
5780 GDB now works properly with the latest GCC and GAS.
5781
5782 * New native configurations
5783
5784 Sequent PTX4 i[34]86-sequent-ptx4
5785 HPPA running OSF/1 hppa*-*-osf*
5786 Atari TT running SVR4 m68*-*-sysv4*
5787 RS/6000 LynxOS rs6000-*-lynxos*
5788
5789 * New targets
5790
5791 OS/9000 i[34]86-*-os9k
5792 MIPS R4000 mips64*{,el}-*-{ecoff,elf}
5793 Sparc64 sparc64-*-*
5794
5795 * Hitachi SH7000 and E7000-PC ICE support
5796
5797 There is now support for communicating with the Hitachi E7000-PC ICE.
5798 This is available automatically when GDB is configured for the SH.
5799
5800 * Fixes
5801
5802 As usual, a variety of small fixes and improvements, both generic
5803 and configuration-specific. See the ChangeLog for more detail.
5804
5805 *** Changes in GDB-4.12:
5806
5807 * Irix 5 is now supported
5808
5809 * HPPA support
5810
5811 GDB-4.12 on the HPPA has a number of changes which make it unable
5812 to debug the output from the currently released versions of GCC and
5813 GAS (GCC 2.5.8 and GAS-2.2 or PAGAS-1.36). Until the next major release
5814 of GCC and GAS, versions of these tools designed to work with GDB-4.12
5815 can be retrieved via anonymous ftp from jaguar.cs.utah.edu:/dist.
5816
5817
5818 *** Changes in GDB-4.11:
5819
5820 * User visible changes:
5821
5822 * Remote Debugging
5823
5824 The "set remotedebug" option is now consistent between the mips remote
5825 target, remote targets using the gdb-specific protocol, UDI (AMD's
5826 debug protocol for the 29k) and the 88k bug monitor. It is now an
5827 integer specifying a debug level (normally 0 or 1, but 2 means more
5828 debugging info for the mips target).
5829
5830 * DEC Alpha native support
5831
5832 GDB now works on the DEC Alpha. GCC 2.4.5 does not produce usable
5833 debug info, but GDB works fairly well with the DEC compiler and should
5834 work with a future GCC release. See the README file for a few
5835 Alpha-specific notes.
5836
5837 * Preliminary thread implementation
5838
5839 GDB now has preliminary thread support for both SGI/Irix and LynxOS.
5840
5841 * LynxOS native and target support for 386
5842
5843 This release has been hosted on LynxOS 2.2, and also can be configured
5844 to remotely debug programs running under LynxOS (see gdb/gdbserver/README
5845 for details).
5846
5847 * Improvements in C++ mangling/demangling.
5848
5849 This release has much better g++ debugging, specifically in name
5850 mangling/demangling, virtual function calls, print virtual table,
5851 call methods, ...etc.
5852
5853 *** Changes in GDB-4.10:
5854
5855 * User visible changes:
5856
5857 Remote debugging using the GDB-specific (`target remote') protocol now
5858 supports the `load' command. This is only useful if you have some
5859 other way of getting the stub to the target system, and you can put it
5860 somewhere in memory where it won't get clobbered by the download.
5861
5862 Filename completion now works.
5863
5864 When run under emacs mode, the "info line" command now causes the
5865 arrow to point to the line specified. Also, "info line" prints
5866 addresses in symbolic form (as well as hex).
5867
5868 All vxworks based targets now support a user settable option, called
5869 vxworks-timeout. This option represents the number of seconds gdb
5870 should wait for responses to rpc's. You might want to use this if
5871 your vxworks target is, perhaps, a slow software simulator or happens
5872 to be on the far side of a thin network line.
5873
5874 * DEC alpha support
5875
5876 This release contains support for using a DEC alpha as a GDB host for
5877 cross debugging. Native alpha debugging is not supported yet.
5878
5879
5880 *** Changes in GDB-4.9:
5881
5882 * Testsuite
5883
5884 This is the first GDB release which is accompanied by a matching testsuite.
5885 The testsuite requires installation of dejagnu, which should be available
5886 via ftp from most sites that carry GNU software.
5887
5888 * C++ demangling
5889
5890 'Cfront' style demangling has had its name changed to 'ARM' style, to
5891 emphasize that it was written from the specifications in the C++ Annotated
5892 Reference Manual, not necessarily to be compatible with AT&T cfront. Despite
5893 disclaimers, it still generated too much confusion with users attempting to
5894 use gdb with AT&T cfront.
5895
5896 * Simulators
5897
5898 GDB now uses a standard remote interface to a simulator library.
5899 So far, the library contains simulators for the Zilog Z8001/2, the
5900 Hitachi H8/300, H8/500 and Super-H.
5901
5902 * New targets supported
5903
5904 H8/300 simulator h8300-hitachi-hms or h8300hms
5905 H8/500 simulator h8500-hitachi-hms or h8500hms
5906 SH simulator sh-hitachi-hms or sh
5907 Z8000 simulator z8k-zilog-none or z8ksim
5908 IDT MIPS board over serial line mips-idt-ecoff
5909
5910 Cross-debugging to GO32 targets is supported. It requires a custom
5911 version of the i386-stub.c module which is integrated with the
5912 GO32 memory extender.
5913
5914 * New remote protocols
5915
5916 MIPS remote debugging protocol.
5917
5918 * New source languages supported
5919
5920 This version includes preliminary support for Chill, a Pascal like language
5921 used by telecommunications companies. Chill support is also being integrated
5922 into the GNU compiler, but we don't know when it will be publically available.
5923
5924
5925 *** Changes in GDB-4.8:
5926
5927 * HP Precision Architecture supported
5928
5929 GDB now supports HP PA-RISC machines running HPUX. A preliminary
5930 version of this support was available as a set of patches from the
5931 University of Utah. GDB does not support debugging of programs
5932 compiled with the HP compiler, because HP will not document their file
5933 format. Instead, you must use GCC (version 2.3.2 or later) and PA-GAS
5934 (as available from jaguar.cs.utah.edu:/dist/pa-gas.u4.tar.Z).
5935
5936 Many problems in the preliminary version have been fixed.
5937
5938 * Faster and better demangling
5939
5940 We have improved template demangling and fixed numerous bugs in the GNU style
5941 demangler. It can now handle type modifiers such as `static' or `const'. Wide
5942 character types (wchar_t) are now supported. Demangling of each symbol is now
5943 only done once, and is cached when the symbol table for a file is read in.
5944 This results in a small increase in memory usage for C programs, a moderate
5945 increase in memory usage for C++ programs, and a fantastic speedup in
5946 symbol lookups.
5947
5948 `Cfront' style demangling still doesn't work with AT&T cfront. It was written
5949 from the specifications in the Annotated Reference Manual, which AT&T's
5950 compiler does not actually implement.
5951
5952 * G++ multiple inheritance compiler problem
5953
5954 In the 2.3.2 release of gcc/g++, how the compiler resolves multiple
5955 inheritance lattices was reworked to properly discover ambiguities. We
5956 recently found an example which causes this new algorithm to fail in a
5957 very subtle way, producing bad debug information for those classes.
5958 The file 'gcc.patch' (in this directory) can be applied to gcc to
5959 circumvent the problem. A future GCC release will contain a complete
5960 fix.
5961
5962 The previous G++ debug info problem (mentioned below for the gdb-4.7
5963 release) is fixed in gcc version 2.3.2.
5964
5965 * Improved configure script
5966
5967 The `configure' script will now attempt to guess your system type if
5968 you don't supply a host system type. The old scheme of supplying a
5969 host system triplet is preferable over using this. All the magic is
5970 done in the new `config.guess' script. Examine it for details.
5971
5972 We have also brought our configure script much more in line with the FSF's
5973 version. It now supports the --with-xxx options. In particular,
5974 `--with-minimal-bfd' can be used to make the GDB binary image smaller.
5975 The resulting GDB will not be able to read arbitrary object file formats --
5976 only the format ``expected'' to be used on the configured target system.
5977 We hope to make this the default in a future release.
5978
5979 * Documentation improvements
5980
5981 There's new internal documentation on how to modify GDB, and how to
5982 produce clean changes to the code. We implore people to read it
5983 before submitting changes.
5984
5985 The GDB manual uses new, sexy Texinfo conditionals, rather than arcane
5986 M4 macros. The new texinfo.tex is provided in this release. Pre-built
5987 `info' files are also provided. To build `info' files from scratch,
5988 you will need the latest `makeinfo' release, which will be available in
5989 a future texinfo-X.Y release.
5990
5991 *NOTE* The new texinfo.tex can cause old versions of TeX to hang.
5992 We're not sure exactly which versions have this problem, but it has
5993 been seen in 3.0. We highly recommend upgrading to TeX version 3.141
5994 or better. If that isn't possible, there is a patch in
5995 `texinfo/tex3patch' that will modify `texinfo/texinfo.tex' to work
5996 around this problem.
5997
5998 * New features
5999
6000 GDB now supports array constants that can be used in expressions typed in by
6001 the user. The syntax is `{element, element, ...}'. Ie: you can now type
6002 `print {1, 2, 3}', and it will build up an array in memory malloc'd in
6003 the target program.
6004
6005 The new directory `gdb/sparclite' contains a program that demonstrates
6006 how the sparc-stub.c remote stub runs on a Fujitsu SPARClite processor.
6007
6008 * New native hosts supported
6009
6010 HP/PA-RISC under HPUX using GNU tools hppa1.1-hp-hpux
6011 386 CPUs running SCO Unix 3.2v4 i386-unknown-sco3.2v4
6012
6013 * New targets supported
6014
6015 AMD 29k family via UDI a29k-amd-udi or udi29k
6016
6017 * New file formats supported
6018
6019 BFD now supports reading HP/PA-RISC executables (SOM file format?),
6020 HPUX core files, and SCO 3.2v2 core files.
6021
6022 * Major bug fixes
6023
6024 Attaching to processes now works again; thanks for the many bug reports.
6025
6026 We have also stomped on a bunch of core dumps caused by
6027 printf_filtered("%s") problems.
6028
6029 We eliminated a copyright problem on the rpc and ptrace header files
6030 for VxWorks, which was discovered at the last minute during the 4.7
6031 release. You should now be able to build a VxWorks GDB.
6032
6033 You can now interrupt gdb while an attached process is running. This
6034 will cause the attached process to stop, and give control back to GDB.
6035
6036 We fixed problems caused by using too many file descriptors
6037 for reading symbols from object files and libraries. This was
6038 especially a problem for programs that used many (~100) shared
6039 libraries.
6040
6041 The `step' command now only enters a subroutine if there is line number
6042 information for the subroutine. Otherwise it acts like the `next'
6043 command. Previously, `step' would enter subroutines if there was
6044 any debugging information about the routine. This avoids problems
6045 when using `cc -g1' on MIPS machines.
6046
6047 * Internal improvements
6048
6049 GDB's internal interfaces have been improved to make it easier to support
6050 debugging of multiple languages in the future.
6051
6052 GDB now uses a common structure for symbol information internally.
6053 Minimal symbols (derived from linkage symbols in object files), partial
6054 symbols (from a quick scan of debug information), and full symbols
6055 contain a common subset of information, making it easier to write
6056 shared code that handles any of them.
6057
6058 * New command line options
6059
6060 We now accept --silent as an alias for --quiet.
6061
6062 * Mmalloc licensing
6063
6064 The memory-mapped-malloc library is now licensed under the GNU Library
6065 General Public License.
6066
6067 *** Changes in GDB-4.7:
6068
6069 * Host/native/target split
6070
6071 GDB has had some major internal surgery to untangle the support for
6072 hosts and remote targets. Now, when you configure GDB for a remote
6073 target, it will no longer load in all of the support for debugging
6074 local programs on the host. When fully completed and tested, this will
6075 ensure that arbitrary host/target combinations are possible.
6076
6077 The primary conceptual shift is to separate the non-portable code in
6078 GDB into three categories. Host specific code is required any time GDB
6079 is compiled on that host, regardless of the target. Target specific
6080 code relates to the peculiarities of the target, but can be compiled on
6081 any host. Native specific code is everything else: it can only be
6082 built when the host and target are the same system. Child process
6083 handling and core file support are two common `native' examples.
6084
6085 GDB's use of /proc for controlling Unix child processes is now cleaner.
6086 It has been split out into a single module under the `target_ops' vector,
6087 plus two native-dependent functions for each system that uses /proc.
6088
6089 * New hosts supported
6090
6091 HP/Apollo 68k (under the BSD domain) m68k-apollo-bsd or apollo68bsd
6092 386 CPUs running various BSD ports i386-unknown-bsd or 386bsd
6093 386 CPUs running SCO Unix i386-unknown-scosysv322 or i386sco
6094
6095 * New targets supported
6096
6097 Fujitsu SPARClite sparclite-fujitsu-none or sparclite
6098 68030 and CPU32 m68030-*-*, m68332-*-*
6099
6100 * New native hosts supported
6101
6102 386 CPUs running various BSD ports i386-unknown-bsd or 386bsd
6103 (386bsd is not well tested yet)
6104 386 CPUs running SCO Unix i386-unknown-scosysv322 or sco
6105
6106 * New file formats supported
6107
6108 BFD now supports COFF files for the Zilog Z8000 microprocessor. It
6109 supports reading of `a.out.adobe' object files, which are an a.out
6110 format extended with minimal information about multiple sections.
6111
6112 * New commands
6113
6114 `show copying' is the same as the old `info copying'.
6115 `show warranty' is the same as `info warrantee'.
6116 These were renamed for consistency. The old commands continue to work.
6117
6118 `info handle' is a new alias for `info signals'.
6119
6120 You can now define pre-command hooks, which attach arbitrary command
6121 scripts to any command. The commands in the hook will be executed
6122 prior to the user's command. You can also create a hook which will be
6123 executed whenever the program stops. See gdb.texinfo.
6124
6125 * C++ improvements
6126
6127 We now deal with Cfront style name mangling, and can even extract type
6128 info from mangled symbols. GDB can automatically figure out which
6129 symbol mangling style your C++ compiler uses.
6130
6131 Calling of methods and virtual functions has been improved as well.
6132
6133 * Major bug fixes
6134
6135 The crash that occured when debugging Sun Ansi-C compiled binaries is
6136 fixed. This was due to mishandling of the extra N_SO stabs output
6137 by the compiler.
6138
6139 We also finally got Ultrix 4.2 running in house, and fixed core file
6140 support, with help from a dozen people on the net.
6141
6142 John M. Farrell discovered that the reason that single-stepping was so
6143 slow on all of the Mips based platforms (primarily SGI and DEC) was
6144 that we were trying to demangle and lookup a symbol used for internal
6145 purposes on every instruction that was being stepped through. Changing
6146 the name of that symbol so that it couldn't be mistaken for a C++
6147 mangled symbol sped things up a great deal.
6148
6149 Rich Pixley sped up symbol lookups in general by getting much smarter
6150 about when C++ symbol mangling is necessary. This should make symbol
6151 completion (TAB on the command line) much faster. It's not as fast as
6152 we'd like, but it's significantly faster than gdb-4.6.
6153
6154 * AMD 29k support
6155
6156 A new user controllable variable 'call_scratch_address' can
6157 specify the location of a scratch area to be used when GDB
6158 calls a function in the target. This is necessary because the
6159 usual method of putting the scratch area on the stack does not work
6160 in systems that have separate instruction and data spaces.
6161
6162 We integrated changes to support the 29k UDI (Universal Debugger
6163 Interface), but discovered at the last minute that we didn't have all
6164 of the appropriate copyright paperwork. We are working with AMD to
6165 resolve this, and hope to have it available soon.
6166
6167 * Remote interfaces
6168
6169 We have sped up the remote serial line protocol, especially for targets
6170 with lots of registers. It now supports a new `expedited status' ('T')
6171 message which can be used in place of the existing 'S' status message.
6172 This allows the remote stub to send only the registers that GDB
6173 needs to make a quick decision about single-stepping or conditional
6174 breakpoints, eliminating the need to fetch the entire register set for
6175 each instruction being stepped through.
6176
6177 The GDB remote serial protocol now implements a write-through cache for
6178 registers, only re-reading the registers if the target has run.
6179
6180 There is also a new remote serial stub for SPARC processors. You can
6181 find it in gdb-4.7/gdb/sparc-stub.c. This was written to support the
6182 Fujitsu SPARClite processor, but will run on any stand-alone SPARC
6183 processor with a serial port.
6184
6185 * Configuration
6186
6187 Configure.in files have become much easier to read and modify. A new
6188 `table driven' format makes it more obvious what configurations are
6189 supported, and what files each one uses.
6190
6191 * Library changes
6192
6193 There is a new opcodes library which will eventually contain all of the
6194 disassembly routines and opcode tables. At present, it only contains
6195 Sparc and Z8000 routines. This will allow the assembler, debugger, and
6196 disassembler (binutils/objdump) to share these routines.
6197
6198 The libiberty library is now copylefted under the GNU Library General
6199 Public License. This allows more liberal use, and was done so libg++
6200 can use it. This makes no difference to GDB, since the Library License
6201 grants all the rights from the General Public License.
6202
6203 * Documentation
6204
6205 The file gdb-4.7/gdb/doc/stabs.texinfo is a (relatively) complete
6206 reference to the stabs symbol info used by the debugger. It is (as far
6207 as we know) the only published document on this fascinating topic. We
6208 encourage you to read it, compare it to the stabs information on your
6209 system, and send improvements on the document in general (to
6210 bug-gdb@prep.ai.mit.edu).
6211
6212 And, of course, many bugs have been fixed.
6213
6214
6215 *** Changes in GDB-4.6:
6216
6217 * Better support for C++ function names
6218
6219 GDB now accepts as input the "demangled form" of C++ overloaded function
6220 names and member function names, and can do command completion on such names
6221 (using TAB, TAB-TAB, and ESC-?). The names have to be quoted with a pair of
6222 single quotes. Examples are 'func (int, long)' and 'obj::operator==(obj&)'.
6223 Make use of command completion, it is your friend.
6224
6225 GDB also now accepts a variety of C++ mangled symbol formats. They are
6226 the GNU g++ style, the Cfront (ARM) style, and the Lucid (lcc) style.
6227 You can tell GDB which format to use by doing a 'set demangle-style {gnu,
6228 lucid, cfront, auto}'. 'gnu' is the default. Do a 'set demangle-style foo'
6229 for the list of formats.
6230
6231 * G++ symbol mangling problem
6232
6233 Recent versions of gcc have a bug in how they emit debugging information for
6234 C++ methods (when using dbx-style stabs). The file 'gcc.patch' (in this
6235 directory) can be applied to gcc to fix the problem. Alternatively, if you
6236 can't fix gcc, you can #define GCC_MANGLE_BUG when compling gdb/symtab.c. The
6237 usual symptom is difficulty with setting breakpoints on methods. GDB complains
6238 about the method being non-existent. (We believe that version 2.2.2 of GCC has
6239 this problem.)
6240
6241 * New 'maintenance' command
6242
6243 All of the commands related to hacking GDB internals have been moved out of
6244 the main command set, and now live behind the 'maintenance' command. This
6245 can also be abbreviated as 'mt'. The following changes were made:
6246
6247 dump-me -> maintenance dump-me
6248 info all-breakpoints -> maintenance info breakpoints
6249 printmsyms -> maintenance print msyms
6250 printobjfiles -> maintenance print objfiles
6251 printpsyms -> maintenance print psymbols
6252 printsyms -> maintenance print symbols
6253
6254 The following commands are new:
6255
6256 maintenance demangle Call internal GDB demangler routine to
6257 demangle a C++ link name and prints the result.
6258 maintenance print type Print a type chain for a given symbol
6259
6260 * Change to .gdbinit file processing
6261
6262 We now read the $HOME/.gdbinit file before processing the argv arguments
6263 (e.g. reading symbol files or core files). This allows global parameters to
6264 be set, which will apply during the symbol reading. The ./.gdbinit is still
6265 read after argv processing.
6266
6267 * New hosts supported
6268
6269 Solaris-2.0 !!! sparc-sun-solaris2 or sun4sol2
6270
6271 GNU/Linux support i386-unknown-linux or linux
6272
6273 We are also including code to support the HP/PA running BSD and HPUX. This
6274 is almost guaranteed not to work, as we didn't have time to test or build it
6275 for this release. We are including it so that the more adventurous (or
6276 masochistic) of you can play with it. We also had major problems with the
6277 fact that the compiler that we got from HP doesn't support the -g option.
6278 It costs extra.
6279
6280 * New targets supported
6281
6282 Hitachi H8/300 h8300-hitachi-hms or h8300hms
6283
6284 * More smarts about finding #include files
6285
6286 GDB now remembers the compilation directory for all include files, and for
6287 all files from which C is generated (like yacc and lex sources). This
6288 greatly improves GDB's ability to find yacc/lex sources, and include files,
6289 especially if you are debugging your program from a directory different from
6290 the one that contains your sources.
6291
6292 We also fixed a bug which caused difficulty with listing and setting
6293 breakpoints in include files which contain C code. (In the past, you had to
6294 try twice in order to list an include file that you hadn't looked at before.)
6295
6296 * Interesting infernals change
6297
6298 GDB now deals with arbitrary numbers of sections, where the symbols for each
6299 section must be relocated relative to that section's landing place in the
6300 target's address space. This work was needed to support ELF with embedded
6301 stabs used by Solaris-2.0.
6302
6303 * Bug fixes (of course!)
6304
6305 There have been loads of fixes for the following things:
6306 mips, rs6000, 29k/udi, m68k, g++, type handling, elf/dwarf, m88k,
6307 i960, stabs, DOS(GO32), procfs, etc...
6308
6309 See the ChangeLog for details.
6310
6311 *** Changes in GDB-4.5:
6312
6313 * New machines supported (host and target)
6314
6315 IBM RS6000 running AIX rs6000-ibm-aix or rs6000
6316
6317 SGI Irix-4.x mips-sgi-irix4 or iris4
6318
6319 * New malloc package
6320
6321 GDB now uses a new memory manager called mmalloc, based on gmalloc.
6322 Mmalloc is capable of handling mutiple heaps of memory. It is also
6323 capable of saving a heap to a file, and then mapping it back in later.
6324 This can be used to greatly speedup the startup of GDB by using a
6325 pre-parsed symbol table which lives in a mmalloc managed heap. For
6326 more details, please read mmalloc/mmalloc.texi.
6327
6328 * info proc
6329
6330 The 'info proc' command (SVR4 only) has been enhanced quite a bit. See
6331 'help info proc' for details.
6332
6333 * MIPS ecoff symbol table format
6334
6335 The code that reads MIPS symbol table format is now supported on all hosts.
6336 Thanks to MIPS for releasing the sym.h and symconst.h files to make this
6337 possible.
6338
6339 * File name changes for MS-DOS
6340
6341 Many files in the config directories have been renamed to make it easier to
6342 support GDB on MS-DOSe systems (which have very restrictive file name
6343 conventions :-( ). MS-DOSe host support (under DJ Delorie's GO32
6344 environment) is close to working but has some remaining problems. Note
6345 that debugging of DOS programs is not supported, due to limitations
6346 in the ``operating system'', but it can be used to host cross-debugging.
6347
6348 * Cross byte order fixes
6349
6350 Many fixes have been made to support cross debugging of Sparc and MIPS
6351 targets from hosts whose byte order differs.
6352
6353 * New -mapped and -readnow options
6354
6355 If memory-mapped files are available on your system through the 'mmap'
6356 system call, you can use the -mapped option on the `file' or
6357 `symbol-file' commands to cause GDB to write the symbols from your
6358 program into a reusable file. If the program you are debugging is
6359 called `/path/fred', the mapped symbol file will be `./fred.syms'.
6360 Future GDB debugging sessions will notice the presence of this file,
6361 and will quickly map in symbol information from it, rather than reading
6362 the symbol table from the executable program. Using the '-mapped'
6363 option in a GDB `file' or `symbol-file' command has the same effect as
6364 starting GDB with the '-mapped' command-line option.
6365
6366 You can cause GDB to read the entire symbol table immediately by using
6367 the '-readnow' option with any of the commands that load symbol table
6368 information (or on the GDB command line). This makes the command
6369 slower, but makes future operations faster.
6370
6371 The -mapped and -readnow options are typically combined in order to
6372 build a `fred.syms' file that contains complete symbol information.
6373 A simple GDB invocation to do nothing but build a `.syms' file for future
6374 use is:
6375
6376 gdb -batch -nx -mapped -readnow programname
6377
6378 The `.syms' file is specific to the host machine on which GDB is run.
6379 It holds an exact image of GDB's internal symbol table. It cannot be
6380 shared across multiple host platforms.
6381
6382 * longjmp() handling
6383
6384 GDB is now capable of stepping and nexting over longjmp(), _longjmp(), and
6385 siglongjmp() without losing control. This feature has not yet been ported to
6386 all systems. It currently works on many 386 platforms, all MIPS-based
6387 platforms (SGI, DECstation, etc), and Sun3/4.
6388
6389 * Solaris 2.0
6390
6391 Preliminary work has been put in to support the new Solaris OS from Sun. At
6392 this time, it can control and debug processes, but it is not capable of
6393 reading symbols.
6394
6395 * Bug fixes
6396
6397 As always, many many bug fixes. The major areas were with g++, and mipsread.
6398 People using the MIPS-based platforms should experience fewer mysterious
6399 crashes and trashed symbol tables.
6400
6401 *** Changes in GDB-4.4:
6402
6403 * New machines supported (host and target)
6404
6405 SCO Unix on i386 IBM PC clones i386-sco-sysv or i386sco
6406 (except core files)
6407 BSD Reno on Vax vax-dec-bsd
6408 Ultrix on Vax vax-dec-ultrix
6409
6410 * New machines supported (target)
6411
6412 AMD 29000 embedded, using EBMON a29k-none-none
6413
6414 * C++ support
6415
6416 GDB continues to improve its handling of C++. `References' work better.
6417 The demangler has also been improved, and now deals with symbols mangled as
6418 per the Annotated C++ Reference Guide.
6419
6420 GDB also now handles `stabs' symbol information embedded in MIPS
6421 `ecoff' symbol tables. Since the ecoff format was not easily
6422 extensible to handle new languages such as C++, this appeared to be a
6423 good way to put C++ debugging info into MIPS binaries. This option
6424 will be supported in the GNU C compiler, version 2, when it is
6425 released.
6426
6427 * New features for SVR4
6428
6429 GDB now handles SVR4 shared libraries, in the same fashion as SunOS
6430 shared libraries. Debugging dynamically linked programs should present
6431 only minor differences from debugging statically linked programs.
6432
6433 The `info proc' command will print out information about any process
6434 on an SVR4 system (including the one you are debugging). At the moment,
6435 it prints the address mappings of the process.
6436
6437 If you bring up GDB on another SVR4 system, please send mail to
6438 bug-gdb@prep.ai.mit.edu to let us know what changes were reqired (if any).
6439
6440 * Better dynamic linking support in SunOS
6441
6442 Reading symbols from shared libraries which contain debugging symbols
6443 now works properly. However, there remain issues such as automatic
6444 skipping of `transfer vector' code during function calls, which
6445 make it harder to debug code in a shared library, than to debug the
6446 same code linked statically.
6447
6448 * New Getopt
6449
6450 GDB is now using the latest `getopt' routines from the FSF. This
6451 version accepts the -- prefix for options with long names. GDB will
6452 continue to accept the old forms (-option and +option) as well.
6453 Various single letter abbreviations for options have been explicity
6454 added to the option table so that they won't get overshadowed in the
6455 future by other options that begin with the same letter.
6456
6457 * Bugs fixed
6458
6459 The `cleanup_undefined_types' bug that many of you noticed has been squashed.
6460 Many assorted bugs have been handled. Many more remain to be handled.
6461 See the various ChangeLog files (primarily in gdb and bfd) for details.
6462
6463
6464 *** Changes in GDB-4.3:
6465
6466 * New machines supported (host and target)
6467
6468 Amiga 3000 running Amix m68k-cbm-svr4 or amix
6469 NCR 3000 386 running SVR4 i386-ncr-svr4 or ncr3000
6470 Motorola Delta 88000 running Sys V m88k-motorola-sysv or delta88
6471
6472 * Almost SCO Unix support
6473
6474 We had hoped to support:
6475 SCO Unix on i386 IBM PC clones i386-sco-sysv or i386sco
6476 (except for core file support), but we discovered very late in the release
6477 that it has problems with process groups that render gdb unusable. Sorry
6478 about that. I encourage people to fix it and post the fixes.
6479
6480 * Preliminary ELF and DWARF support
6481
6482 GDB can read ELF object files on System V Release 4, and can handle
6483 debugging records for C, in DWARF format, in ELF files. This support
6484 is preliminary. If you bring up GDB on another SVR4 system, please
6485 send mail to bug-gdb@prep.ai.mit.edu to let us know what changes were
6486 reqired (if any).
6487
6488 * New Readline
6489
6490 GDB now uses the latest `readline' library. One user-visible change
6491 is that two tabs will list possible command completions, which previously
6492 required typing M-? (meta-question mark, or ESC ?).
6493
6494 * Bugs fixed
6495
6496 The `stepi' bug that many of you noticed has been squashed.
6497 Many bugs in C++ have been handled. Many more remain to be handled.
6498 See the various ChangeLog files (primarily in gdb and bfd) for details.
6499
6500 * State of the MIPS world (in case you wondered):
6501
6502 GDB can understand the symbol tables emitted by the compilers
6503 supplied by most vendors of MIPS-based machines, including DEC. These
6504 symbol tables are in a format that essentially nobody else uses.
6505
6506 Some versions of gcc come with an assembler post-processor called
6507 mips-tfile. This program is required if you want to do source-level
6508 debugging of gcc-compiled programs. I believe FSF does not ship
6509 mips-tfile with gcc version 1, but it will eventually come with gcc
6510 version 2.
6511
6512 Debugging of g++ output remains a problem. g++ version 1.xx does not
6513 really support it at all. (If you're lucky, you should be able to get
6514 line numbers and stack traces to work, but no parameters or local
6515 variables.) With some work it should be possible to improve the
6516 situation somewhat.
6517
6518 When gcc version 2 is released, you will have somewhat better luck.
6519 However, even then you will get confusing results for inheritance and
6520 methods.
6521
6522 We will eventually provide full debugging of g++ output on
6523 DECstations. This will probably involve some kind of stabs-in-ecoff
6524 encapulation, but the details have not been worked out yet.
6525
6526
6527 *** Changes in GDB-4.2:
6528
6529 * Improved configuration
6530
6531 Only one copy of `configure' exists now, and it is not self-modifying.
6532 Porting BFD is simpler.
6533
6534 * Stepping improved
6535
6536 The `step' and `next' commands now only stop at the first instruction
6537 of a source line. This prevents the multiple stops that used to occur
6538 in switch statements, for-loops, etc. `Step' continues to stop if a
6539 function that has debugging information is called within the line.
6540
6541 * Bug fixing
6542
6543 Lots of small bugs fixed. More remain.
6544
6545 * New host supported (not target)
6546
6547 Intel 386 PC clone running Mach i386-none-mach
6548
6549
6550 *** Changes in GDB-4.1:
6551
6552 * Multiple source language support
6553
6554 GDB now has internal scaffolding to handle several source languages.
6555 It determines the type of each source file from its filename extension,
6556 and will switch expression parsing and number formatting to match the
6557 language of the function in the currently selected stack frame.
6558 You can also specifically set the language to be used, with
6559 `set language c' or `set language modula-2'.
6560
6561 * GDB and Modula-2
6562
6563 GDB now has preliminary support for the GNU Modula-2 compiler,
6564 currently under development at the State University of New York at
6565 Buffalo. Development of both GDB and the GNU Modula-2 compiler will
6566 continue through the fall of 1991 and into 1992.
6567
6568 Other Modula-2 compilers are currently not supported, and attempting to
6569 debug programs compiled with them will likely result in an error as the
6570 symbol table is read. Feel free to work on it, though!
6571
6572 There are hooks in GDB for strict type checking and range checking,
6573 in the `Modula-2 philosophy', but they do not currently work.
6574
6575 * set write on/off
6576
6577 GDB can now write to executable and core files (e.g. patch
6578 a variable's value). You must turn this switch on, specify
6579 the file ("exec foo" or "core foo"), *then* modify it, e.g.
6580 by assigning a new value to a variable. Modifications take
6581 effect immediately.
6582
6583 * Automatic SunOS shared library reading
6584
6585 When you run your program, GDB automatically determines where its
6586 shared libraries (if any) have been loaded, and reads their symbols.
6587 The `share' command is no longer needed. This also works when
6588 examining core files.
6589
6590 * set listsize
6591
6592 You can specify the number of lines that the `list' command shows.
6593 The default is 10.
6594
6595 * New machines supported (host and target)
6596
6597 SGI Iris (MIPS) running Irix V3: mips-sgi-irix or iris
6598 Sony NEWS (68K) running NEWSOS 3.x: m68k-sony-sysv or news
6599 Ultracomputer (29K) running Sym1: a29k-nyu-sym1 or ultra3
6600
6601 * New hosts supported (not targets)
6602
6603 IBM RT/PC: romp-ibm-aix or rtpc
6604
6605 * New targets supported (not hosts)
6606
6607 AMD 29000 embedded with COFF a29k-none-coff
6608 AMD 29000 embedded with a.out a29k-none-aout
6609 Ultracomputer remote kernel debug a29k-nyu-kern
6610
6611 * New remote interfaces
6612
6613 AMD 29000 Adapt
6614 AMD 29000 Minimon
6615
6616
6617 *** Changes in GDB-4.0:
6618
6619 * New Facilities
6620
6621 Wide output is wrapped at good places to make the output more readable.
6622
6623 Gdb now supports cross-debugging from a host machine of one type to a
6624 target machine of another type. Communication with the target system
6625 is over serial lines. The ``target'' command handles connecting to the
6626 remote system; the ``load'' command will download a program into the
6627 remote system. Serial stubs for the m68k and i386 are provided. Gdb
6628 also supports debugging of realtime processes running under VxWorks,
6629 using SunRPC Remote Procedure Calls over TCP/IP to talk to a debugger
6630 stub on the target system.
6631
6632 New CPUs supported include the AMD 29000 and Intel 960.
6633
6634 GDB now reads object files and symbol tables via a ``binary file''
6635 library, which allows a single copy of GDB to debug programs of multiple
6636 object file types such as a.out and coff.
6637
6638 There is now a GDB reference card in "doc/refcard.tex". (Make targets
6639 refcard.dvi and refcard.ps are available to format it).
6640
6641
6642 * Control-Variable user interface simplified
6643
6644 All variables that control the operation of the debugger can be set
6645 by the ``set'' command, and displayed by the ``show'' command.
6646
6647 For example, ``set prompt new-gdb=>'' will change your prompt to new-gdb=>.
6648 ``Show prompt'' produces the response:
6649 Gdb's prompt is new-gdb=>.
6650
6651 What follows are the NEW set commands. The command ``help set'' will
6652 print a complete list of old and new set commands. ``help set FOO''
6653 will give a longer description of the variable FOO. ``show'' will show
6654 all of the variable descriptions and their current settings.
6655
6656 confirm on/off: Enables warning questions for operations that are
6657 hard to recover from, e.g. rerunning the program while
6658 it is already running. Default is ON.
6659
6660 editing on/off: Enables EMACS style command line editing
6661 of input. Previous lines can be recalled with
6662 control-P, the current line can be edited with control-B,
6663 you can search for commands with control-R, etc.
6664 Default is ON.
6665
6666 history filename NAME: NAME is where the gdb command history
6667 will be stored. The default is .gdb_history,
6668 or the value of the environment variable
6669 GDBHISTFILE.
6670
6671 history size N: The size, in commands, of the command history. The
6672 default is 256, or the value of the environment variable
6673 HISTSIZE.
6674
6675 history save on/off: If this value is set to ON, the history file will
6676 be saved after exiting gdb. If set to OFF, the
6677 file will not be saved. The default is OFF.
6678
6679 history expansion on/off: If this value is set to ON, then csh-like
6680 history expansion will be performed on
6681 command line input. The default is OFF.
6682
6683 radix N: Sets the default radix for input and output. It can be set
6684 to 8, 10, or 16. Note that the argument to "radix" is interpreted
6685 in the current radix, so "set radix 10" is always a no-op.
6686
6687 height N: This integer value is the number of lines on a page. Default
6688 is 24, the current `stty rows'' setting, or the ``li#''
6689 setting from the termcap entry matching the environment
6690 variable TERM.
6691
6692 width N: This integer value is the number of characters on a line.
6693 Default is 80, the current `stty cols'' setting, or the ``co#''
6694 setting from the termcap entry matching the environment
6695 variable TERM.
6696
6697 Note: ``set screensize'' is obsolete. Use ``set height'' and
6698 ``set width'' instead.
6699
6700 print address on/off: Print memory addresses in various command displays,
6701 such as stack traces and structure values. Gdb looks
6702 more ``symbolic'' if you turn this off; it looks more
6703 ``machine level'' with it on. Default is ON.
6704
6705 print array on/off: Prettyprint arrays. New convenient format! Default
6706 is OFF.
6707
6708 print demangle on/off: Print C++ symbols in "source" form if on,
6709 "raw" form if off.
6710
6711 print asm-demangle on/off: Same, for assembler level printouts
6712 like instructions.
6713
6714 print vtbl on/off: Prettyprint C++ virtual function tables. Default is OFF.
6715
6716
6717 * Support for Epoch Environment.
6718
6719 The epoch environment is a version of Emacs v18 with windowing. One
6720 new command, ``inspect'', is identical to ``print'', except that if you
6721 are running in the epoch environment, the value is printed in its own
6722 window.
6723
6724
6725 * Support for Shared Libraries
6726
6727 GDB can now debug programs and core files that use SunOS shared libraries.
6728 Symbols from a shared library cannot be referenced
6729 before the shared library has been linked with the program (this
6730 happens after you type ``run'' and before the function main() is entered).
6731 At any time after this linking (including when examining core files
6732 from dynamically linked programs), gdb reads the symbols from each
6733 shared library when you type the ``sharedlibrary'' command.
6734 It can be abbreviated ``share''.
6735
6736 sharedlibrary REGEXP: Load shared object library symbols for files
6737 matching a unix regular expression. No argument
6738 indicates to load symbols for all shared libraries.
6739
6740 info sharedlibrary: Status of loaded shared libraries.
6741
6742
6743 * Watchpoints
6744
6745 A watchpoint stops execution of a program whenever the value of an
6746 expression changes. Checking for this slows down execution
6747 tremendously whenever you are in the scope of the expression, but is
6748 quite useful for catching tough ``bit-spreader'' or pointer misuse
6749 problems. Some machines such as the 386 have hardware for doing this
6750 more quickly, and future versions of gdb will use this hardware.
6751
6752 watch EXP: Set a watchpoint (breakpoint) for an expression.
6753
6754 info watchpoints: Information about your watchpoints.
6755
6756 delete N: Deletes watchpoint number N (same as breakpoints).
6757 disable N: Temporarily turns off watchpoint number N (same as breakpoints).
6758 enable N: Re-enables watchpoint number N (same as breakpoints).
6759
6760
6761 * C++ multiple inheritance
6762
6763 When used with a GCC version 2 compiler, GDB supports multiple inheritance
6764 for C++ programs.
6765
6766 * C++ exception handling
6767
6768 Gdb now supports limited C++ exception handling. Besides the existing
6769 ability to breakpoint on an exception handler, gdb can breakpoint on
6770 the raising of an exception (before the stack is peeled back to the
6771 handler's context).
6772
6773 catch FOO: If there is a FOO exception handler in the dynamic scope,
6774 set a breakpoint to catch exceptions which may be raised there.
6775 Multiple exceptions (``catch foo bar baz'') may be caught.
6776
6777 info catch: Lists all exceptions which may be caught in the
6778 current stack frame.
6779
6780
6781 * Minor command changes
6782
6783 The command ``call func (arg, arg, ...)'' now acts like the print
6784 command, except it does not print or save a value if the function's result
6785 is void. This is similar to dbx usage.
6786
6787 The ``up'' and ``down'' commands now always print the frame they end up
6788 at; ``up-silently'' and `down-silently'' can be used in scripts to change
6789 frames without printing.
6790
6791 * New directory command
6792
6793 'dir' now adds directories to the FRONT of the source search path.
6794 The path starts off empty. Source files that contain debug information
6795 about the directory in which they were compiled can be found even
6796 with an empty path; Sun CC and GCC include this information. If GDB can't
6797 find your source file in the current directory, type "dir .".
6798
6799 * Configuring GDB for compilation
6800
6801 For normal use, type ``./configure host''. See README or gdb.texinfo
6802 for more details.
6803
6804 GDB now handles cross debugging. If you are remotely debugging between
6805 two different machines, type ``./configure host -target=targ''.
6806 Host is the machine where GDB will run; targ is the machine
6807 where the program that you are debugging will run.
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