gdb/README

   1                      README for gdb-5.1 release
   2                 Updated 20 October 2001 by Andrew Cagney
   3
   4 This is GDB, the GNU source-level debugger.
   5 A summary of new features is in the file `NEWS'.
   6
   7 See the GDB home page at http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/ for up to
   8 date release information, mailing list links and archives, etc.
   9
  10
  11 Unpacking and Installation -- quick overview
  12 ==========================
  13
  14    In this release, the GDB debugger sources, the generic GNU include
  15 files, the BFD ("binary file description") library, the readline
  16 library, and other libraries all have directories of their own
  17 underneath the gdb-5.1 directory.  The idea is that a variety of GNU
  18 tools can share a common copy of these things.  Be aware of variation
  19 over time--for example don't try to build gdb with a copy of bfd from
  20 a release other than the gdb release (such as a binutils release),
  21 especially if the releases are more than a few weeks apart.
  22 Configuration scripts and makefiles exist to cruise up and down this
  23 directory tree and automatically build all the pieces in the right
  24 order.
  25
  26    When you unpack the gdb-5.1.tar.gz file, you'll find a directory
  27 called `gdb-5.1', which contains:
  28
  29   COPYING       config.sub    intl         missing         opcodes
  30   COPYING.LIB   configure     libiberty    mkinstalldirs   readline
  31   Makefile.in   configure.in  libtool.m4   mmalloc         sim
  32   README        djunpack.bat  ltcf-c.sh    move-if-change  symlink-tree
  33   bfd           etc           ltcf-cxx.sh  mpw-README      texinfo
  34   config        gdb           ltcf-gcj.sh  mpw-build.in    utils
  35   config-ml.in  gettext.m4    ltconfig     mpw-config.in   ylwrap
  36   config.guess  include       ltmain.sh    mpw-configure
  37   config.if     install-sh    md5.sum      mpw-install
  38
  39 You can build GDB right in the source directory:
  40
  41       cd gdb-5.1
  42       ./configure
  43       make
  44       cp gdb/gdb /usr/local/bin/gdb     (or wherever you want)
  45
  46 However, we recommend that an empty directory be used instead.
  47 This way you do not clutter your source tree with binary files
  48 and will be able to create different builds with different
  49 configuration options.
  50
  51 You can build GDB in any empty build directory:
  52
  53       mkdir build
  54       cd build
  55       <full path to your sources>/gdb-5.1/configure
  56       make
  57       cp gdb/gdb /usr/local/bin/gdb     (or wherever you want)
  58
  59 (Building GDB with DJGPP tools for MS-DOS/MS-Windows is slightly
  60 different; see the file gdb-5.1/gdb/config/djgpp/README for details.)
  61
  62    This will configure and build all the libraries as well as GDB.  If
  63 `configure' can't determine your system type, specify one as its
  64 argument, e.g., `./configure sun4' or `./configure decstation'.
  65
  66    If you get compiler errors during this stage, see the `Reporting
  67 Bugs' section below; there are a few known problems.
  68
  69    GDB requires an ISO C (ANSI C) compiler.  If you do not have an ISO
  70 C compiler for your system, you may be able to download and install
  71 the GNU CC compiler.  It is available via anonymous FTP from the
  72 directory `ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/gcc'.
  73
  74    GDB can be used as a cross-debugger, running on a machine of one
  75 type while debugging a program running on a machine of another type.
  76 See below.
  77
  78
  79 More Documentation
  80 ******************
  81
  82    All the documentation for GDB comes as part of the machine-readable
  83 distribution.  The documentation is written in Texinfo format, which
  84 is a documentation system that uses a single source file to produce
  85 both on-line information and a printed manual.  You can use one of the
  86 Info formatting commands to create the on-line version of the
  87 documentation and TeX (or `texi2roff') to typeset the printed version.
  88
  89    GDB includes an already formatted copy of the on-line Info version
  90 of this manual in the `gdb/doc' subdirectory.  The main Info file is
  91 `gdb-5.1/gdb/doc/gdb.info', and it refers to subordinate files
  92 matching `gdb.info*' in the same directory.  If necessary, you can
  93 print out these files, or read them with any editor; but they are
  94 easier to read using the `info' subsystem in GNU Emacs or the
  95 standalone `info' program, available as part of the GNU Texinfo
  96 distribution.
  97
  98    If you want to format these Info files yourself, you need one of the
  99 Info formatting programs, such as `texinfo-format-buffer' or
 100 `makeinfo'.
 101
 102    If you have `makeinfo' installed, and are in the top level GDB
 103 source directory (`gdb-5.1', in the case of version 5.1), you can make
 104 the Info file by typing:
 105
 106       cd gdb/doc
 107       make info
 108
 109    If you want to typeset and print copies of this manual, you need
 110 TeX, a program to print its DVI output files, and `texinfo.tex', the
 111 Texinfo definitions file.  This file is included in the GDB
 112 distribution, in the directory `gdb-5.1/texinfo'.
 113
 114    TeX is a typesetting program; it does not print files directly, but
 115 produces output files called DVI files.  To print a typeset document,
 116 you need a program to print DVI files.  If your system has TeX
 117 installed, chances are it has such a program.  The precise command to
 118 use depends on your system; `lpr -d' is common; another (for PostScript
 119 devices) is `dvips'.  The DVI print command may require a file name
 120 without any extension or a `.dvi' extension.
 121
 122    TeX also requires a macro definitions file called `texinfo.tex'.
 123 This file tells TeX how to typeset a document written in Texinfo
 124 format.  On its own, TeX cannot read, much less typeset a Texinfo file.
 125  `texinfo.tex' is distributed with GDB and is located in the
 126 `gdb-5.1/texinfo' directory.
 127
 128    If you have TeX and a DVI printer program installed, you can typeset
 129 and print this manual.  First switch to the the `gdb' subdirectory of
 130 the main source directory (for example, to `gdb-5.1/gdb') and then type:
 131
 132       make doc/gdb.dvi
 133
 134    If you prefer to have the manual in PDF format, type this from the
 135 `gdb/doc' subdirectory of the main source directory:
 136
 137       make gdb.pdf
 138
 139 For this to work, you will need the PDFTeX package to be installed.
 140
 141
 142 Installing GDB
 143 **************
 144
 145    GDB comes with a `configure' script that automates the process of
 146 preparing GDB for installation; you can then use `make' to build the
 147 `gdb' program.
 148
 149    The GDB distribution includes all the source code you need for GDB in
 150 a single directory, whose name is usually composed by appending the
 151 version number to `gdb'.
 152
 153    For example, the GDB version 5.1 distribution is in the `gdb-5.1'
 154 directory.  That directory contains:
 155
 156 `gdb-5.1/{COPYING,COPYING.LIB}'
 157      Standard GNU license files.  Please read them.
 158
 159 `gdb-5.1/bfd'
 160      source for the Binary File Descriptor library
 161
 162 `gdb-5.1/config*'
 163      script for configuring GDB, along with other support files
 164
 165 `gdb-5.1/gdb'
 166      the source specific to GDB itself
 167
 168 `gdb-5.1/include'
 169      GNU include files
 170
 171 `gdb-5.1/libiberty'
 172      source for the `-liberty' free software library
 173
 174 `gdb-5.1/mmalloc'
 175      source for the GNU memory-mapped malloc package
 176
 177 `gdb-5.1/opcodes'
 178      source for the library of opcode tables and disassemblers
 179
 180 `gdb-5.1/readline'
 181      source for the GNU command-line interface
 182      NOTE:  The readline library is compiled for use by GDB, but will
 183      not be installed on your system when "make install" is issued.
 184
 185 `gdb-5.1/sim'
 186      source for some simulators (ARM, D10V, SPARC, M32R, MIPS, PPC, V850, etc)
 187
 188 `gdb-5.1/intl'
 189      source for the GNU gettext library, for internationalization.
 190      This is slightly modified from the standalone gettext
 191      distribution you can get from GNU.
 192
 193 `gdb-5.1/texinfo'
 194      The `texinfo.tex' file, which you need in order to make a printed
 195      manual using TeX.
 196
 197 `gdb-5.1/etc'
 198      Coding standards, useful files for editing GDB, and other
 199      miscellanea.
 200
 201 `gdb-5.1/utils'
 202      A grab bag of random utilities.
 203
 204    Note: the following instructions are for building GDB on Unix or
 205 Unix-like systems.  Instructions for building with DJGPP for
 206 MS-DOS/MS-Windows are in the file gdb/config/djgpp/README.
 207
 208    The simplest way to configure and build GDB is to run `configure'
 209 from the `gdb-VERSION-NUMBER' source directory, which in this example
 210 is the `gdb-5.1' directory.
 211
 212    First switch to the `gdb-VERSION-NUMBER' source directory if you are
 213 not already in it; then run `configure'.
 214
 215    For example:
 216
 217       cd gdb-5.1
 218       ./configure
 219       make
 220
 221    Running `configure' followed by `make' builds the `bfd',
 222 `readline', `mmalloc', and `libiberty' libraries, then `gdb' itself.
 223 The configured source files, and the binaries, are left in the
 224 corresponding source directories.
 225
 226    `configure' is a Bourne-shell (`/bin/sh') script; if your system
 227 does not recognize this automatically when you run a different shell,
 228 you may need to run `sh' on it explicitly:
 229
 230       sh configure
 231
 232    If you run `configure' from a directory that contains source
 233 directories for multiple libraries or programs, such as the `gdb-5.1'
 234 source directory for version 5.1, `configure' creates configuration
 235 files for every directory level underneath (unless you tell it not to,
 236 with the `--norecursion' option).
 237
 238    You can run the `configure' script from any of the subordinate
 239 directories in the GDB distribution, if you only want to configure that
 240 subdirectory; but be sure to specify a path to it.
 241
 242    For example, with version 5.1, type the following to configure only
 243 the `bfd' subdirectory:
 244
 245       cd gdb-5.1/bfd
 246       ../configure
 247
 248    You can install `gdb' anywhere; it has no hardwired paths. However,
 249 you should make sure that the shell on your path (named by the `SHELL'
 250 environment variable) is publicly readable.  Remember that GDB uses the
 251 shell to start your program--some systems refuse to let GDB debug child
 252 processes whose programs are not readable.
 253
 254
 255 Compiling GDB in another directory
 256 ==================================
 257
 258    If you want to run GDB versions for several host or target machines,
 259 you need a different `gdb' compiled for each combination of host and
 260 target.  `configure' is designed to make this easy by allowing you to
 261 generate each configuration in a separate subdirectory, rather than in
 262 the source directory.  If your `make' program handles the `VPATH'
 263 feature correctly (GNU `make' and SunOS 'make' are two that should),
 264 running `make' in each of these directories builds the `gdb' program
 265 specified there.
 266
 267    To build `gdb' in a separate directory, run `configure' with the
 268 `--srcdir' option to specify where to find the source. (You also need
 269 to specify a path to find `configure' itself from your working
 270 directory.  If the path to `configure' would be the same as the
 271 argument to `--srcdir', you can leave out the `--srcdir' option; it
 272 will be assumed.)
 273
 274    For example, with version 5.1, you can build GDB in a separate
 275 directory for a Sun 4 like this:
 276
 277      cd gdb-5.1
 278      mkdir ../gdb-sun4
 279      cd ../gdb-sun4
 280      ../gdb-5.1/configure
 281      make
 282
 283    When `configure' builds a configuration using a remote source
 284 directory, it creates a tree for the binaries with the same structure
 285 (and using the same names) as the tree under the source directory.  In
 286 the example, you'd find the Sun 4 library `libiberty.a' in the
 287 directory `gdb-sun4/libiberty', and GDB itself in `gdb-sun4/gdb'.
 288
 289    One popular reason to build several GDB configurations in separate
 290 directories is to configure GDB for cross-compiling (where GDB runs on
 291 one machine--the host--while debugging programs that run on another
 292 machine--the target).  You specify a cross-debugging target by giving
 293 the `--target=TARGET' option to `configure'.
 294
 295    When you run `make' to build a program or library, you must run it
 296 in a configured directory--whatever directory you were in when you
 297 called `configure' (or one of its subdirectories).
 298
 299    The `Makefile' that `configure' generates in each source directory
 300 also runs recursively.  If you type `make' in a source directory such
 301 as `gdb-5.1' (or in a separate configured directory configured with
 302 `--srcdir=PATH/gdb-5.1'), you will build all the required libraries,
 303 and then build GDB.
 304
 305    When you have multiple hosts or targets configured in separate
 306 directories, you can run `make' on them in parallel (for example, if
 307 they are NFS-mounted on each of the hosts); they will not interfere
 308 with each other.
 309
 310
 311 Specifying names for hosts and targets
 312 ======================================
 313
 314    The specifications used for hosts and targets in the `configure'
 315 script are based on a three-part naming scheme, but some short
 316 predefined aliases are also supported.  The full naming scheme encodes
 317 three pieces of information in the following pattern:
 318
 319      ARCHITECTURE-VENDOR-OS
 320
 321    For example, you can use the alias `sun4' as a HOST argument or in a
 322 `--target=TARGET' option.  The equivalent full name is
 323 `sparc-sun-sunos4'.
 324
 325    The `configure' script accompanying GDB does not provide any query
 326 facility to list all supported host and target names or aliases.
 327 `configure' calls the Bourne shell script `config.sub' to map
 328 abbreviations to full names; you can read the script, if you wish, or
 329 you can use it to test your guesses on abbreviations--for example:
 330
 331      % sh config.sub sun4
 332      sparc-sun-sunos4.1.1
 333      % sh config.sub sun3
 334      m68k-sun-sunos4.1.1
 335      % sh config.sub decstation
 336      mips-dec-ultrix4.2
 337      % sh config.sub hp300bsd
 338      m68k-hp-bsd
 339      % sh config.sub i386v
 340      i386-pc-sysv
 341      % sh config.sub i786v
 342      Invalid configuration `i786v': machine `i786v' not recognized
 343
 344 `config.sub' is also distributed in the GDB source directory
 345 (`gdb-5.1', for version 5.1).
 346
 347
 348 `configure' options
 349 ===================
 350
 351    Here is a summary of the `configure' options and arguments that are
 352 most often useful for building GDB.  `configure' also has several other
 353 options not listed here.  *note : (configure.info)What Configure Does,
 354 for a full explanation of `configure'.
 355
 356      configure [--help]
 357                [--prefix=DIR]
 358                [--srcdir=PATH]
 359                [--norecursion] [--rm]
 360                [--enable-build-warnings]
 361                [--target=TARGET]
 362                [--host=HOST]
 363                [HOST]
 364
 365 You may introduce options with a single `-' rather than `--' if you
 366 prefer; but you may abbreviate option names if you use `--'.
 367
 368 `--help'
 369      Display a quick summary of how to invoke `configure'.
 370
 371 `-prefix=DIR'
 372      Configure the source to install programs and files under directory
 373      `DIR'.
 374
 375 `--srcdir=PATH'
 376      *Warning: using this option requires GNU `make', or another `make'
 377      that compatibly implements the `VPATH' feature.*
 378      Use this option to make configurations in directories separate
 379      from the GDB source directories.  Among other things, you can use
 380      this to build (or maintain) several configurations simultaneously,
 381      in separate directories.  `configure' writes configuration
 382      specific files in the current directory, but arranges for them to
 383      use the source in the directory PATH.  `configure' will create
 384      directories under the working directory in parallel to the source
 385      directories below PATH.
 386
 387 `--norecursion'
 388      Configure only the directory level where `configure' is executed;
 389      do not propagate configuration to subdirectories.
 390
 391 `--rm'
 392      Remove the configuration that the other arguments specify.
 393
 394 `--enable-build-warnings'
 395      When building the GDB sources, ask the compiler to warn about any
 396      code which looks even vaguely suspicious.  You should only using
 397      this feature if you're compiling with GNU CC.  It passes the
 398      following flags:
 399         -Wimplicit
 400         -Wreturn-type
 401         -Wcomment
 402         -Wtrigraphs
 403         -Wformat
 404         -Wparentheses
 405         -Wpointer-arith
 406
 407 `--target=TARGET'
 408      Configure GDB for cross-debugging programs running on the specified
 409      TARGET.  Without this option, GDB is configured to debug programs
 410      that run on the same machine (HOST) as GDB itself.
 411
 412      There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available
 413      targets.
 414
 415 `--host=HOST'
 416      Configure GDB to run on the specified HOST.
 417
 418      There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available
 419      hosts.
 420
 421 `HOST ...'
 422      Same as `--host=HOST'.  If you omit this, GDB will guess; it's
 423      quite accurate.
 424
 425 `configure' accepts other options, for compatibility with configuring
 426 other GNU tools recursively; but these are the only options that affect
 427 GDB or its supporting libraries.
 428
 429
 430 Host/target specific installation notes
 431 =======================================
 432
 433 hppa2.0-hp-hpux10.20
 434
 435 Due to a problem with libiberty/regex.c, GDB does not build on HP/UX
 436 10.20 when using the HP supplied compiler.
 437
 438 Due to bit rot problems, GDB does not work on HP/UX 10.20 when built
 439 with GCC.
 440
 441
 442 hppa2.0w-hp-hpux11.00
 443
 444 Due to a problem with ltconfig and long argument lines, GDB does not
 445 configure on HP/UX 11.00.
 446
 447
 448 alpha-dec-osf5.1
 449
 450 Due to a problem in GDB's symbol table reader, GDB builds but does not
 451 run on this platform.  See gdb/237.
 452
 453
 454 Remote debugging
 455 =================
 456
 457    The files m68k-stub.c, i386-stub.c, and sparc-stub.c are examples
 458 of remote stubs to be used with remote.c.  They are designed to run
 459 standalone on an m68k, i386, or SPARC cpu and communicate properly
 460 with the remote.c stub over a serial line.
 461
 462    The directory gdb/gdbserver/ contains `gdbserver', a program that
 463 allows remote debugging for Unix applications.  gdbserver is only
 464 supported for some native configurations, including Sun 3, Sun 4, and
 465 Linux.
 466
 467    There are a number of remote interfaces for talking to existing ROM
 468 monitors and other hardware:
 469
 470         remote-adapt.c   AMD 29000 "Adapt"
 471         remote-array.c   Array Tech RAID controller
 472         remote-bug.c     Motorola BUG monitor
 473         remote-e7000.c   Hitachi E7000 ICE
 474         remote-eb.c      AMD 29000 "EBMON"
 475         remote-es.c      Ericsson 1800 monitor
 476         remote-est.c     EST emulator
 477         remote-hms.c     Hitachi Micro Systems H8/300 monitor
 478         remote-mips.c    MIPS remote debugging protocol
 479         remote-mm.c      AMD 29000 "minimon"
 480         remote-nindy.c   Intel 960 "Nindy"
 481         remote-nrom.c    NetROM ROM emulator
 482         remote-os9k.c    PC running OS/9000
 483         remote-rdi.c     ARM with Angel monitor
 484         remote-rdp.c     ARM with Demon monitor
 485         remote-sds.c     PowerPC SDS monitor
 486         remote-sim.c     Generalized simulator protocol
 487         remote-st.c      Tandem ST-2000 monitor
 488         remote-udi.c     AMD 29000 using the AMD "Universal Debug Interface"
 489         remote-vx.c      VxWorks realtime kernel
 490
 491    Remote-vx.c and the vx-share subdirectory contain a remote
 492 interface for the VxWorks realtime kernel, which communicates over TCP
 493 using the Sun RPC library.  This would be a useful starting point for
 494 other remote- via-ethernet back ends.
 495
 496    Remote-udi.c and the 29k-share subdirectory contain a remote
 497 interface for AMD 29000 programs, which uses the AMD "Universal Debug
 498 Interface".  This allows GDB to talk to software simulators,
 499 emulators, and/or bare hardware boards, via network or serial
 500 interfaces.  Note that GDB only provides an interface that speaks UDI,
 501 not a complete solution.  You will need something on the other end
 502 that also speaks UDI.
 503
 504
 505 Reporting Bugs
 506 ===============
 507
 508    The correct address for reporting bugs found in gdb is
 509 "bug-gdb@gnu.org".  Please email all bugs, and all requests for help
 510 with GDB, to that address.  Please include the GDB version number
 511 (e.g., gdb-5.1), and how you configured it (e.g., "sun4" or "mach386
 512 host, i586-intel-synopsys target").  Since GDB now supports so many
 513 different configurations, it is important that you be precise about
 514 this.  If at all possible, you should include the actual banner that
 515 GDB prints when it starts up, or failing that, the actual configure
 516 command that you used when configuring GDB.
 517
 518    For more information on how/whether to report bugs, see the GDB
 519 Bugs section of the GDB manual (gdb/doc/gdb.texinfo) or the
 520 gdb/CONTRIBUTE file.
 521
 522
 523 Graphical interface to GDB -- X Windows, MS Windows
 524 ==========================
 525
 526    Several graphical interfaces to GDB are available.  You should
 527 check:
 528
 529         http://sourceware.cygnus.com/gdb/#gui
 530
 531 for an up-to-date list.
 532
 533    Emacs users will very likely enjoy the Grand Unified Debugger mode;
 534 try typing `M-x gdb RET'.
 535
 536
 537 Writing Code for GDB
 538 =====================
 539
 540    There is a lot of information about writing code for GDB in the
 541 internals manual, distributed with GDB in gdb/doc/gdbint.texinfo.  You
 542 can read it by hand, print it by using TeX and texinfo, or process it
 543 into an `info' file for use with Emacs' info mode or the standalone
 544 `info' program.
 545
 546    If you are pondering writing anything but a short patch, especially
 547 take note of the information about copyrights in the node Submitting
 548 Patches.  It can take quite a while to get all the paperwork done, so
 549 we encourage you to start that process as soon as you decide you are
 550 planning to work on something, or at least well ahead of when you
 551 think you will be ready to submit the patches.
 552
 553
 554 GDB Testsuite
 555 =============
 556
 557    Included with the GDB distribution is a DejaGNU based testsuite
 558 that can either be used to test your newly built GDB, or for
 559 regression testing a GDB with local modifications.
 560
 561    Running the testsuite requires the prior installation of DejaGNU,
 562 which is generally available via ftp.  The directory
 563 ftp://sourceware.cygnus.com/pub/dejagnu/ will contain a recent
 564 snapshot.  Once DejaGNU is installed, you can run the tests in one of
 565 the following ways:
 566
 567   (1)   cd gdb-5.1
 568         make check-gdb
 569
 570 or
 571
 572   (2)   cd gdb-5.1/gdb
 573         make check
 574
 575 or
 576
 577   (3)   cd gdb-5.1/gdb/testsuite
 578         make site.exp   (builds the site specific file)
 579         runtest -tool gdb GDB=../gdb    (or GDB=<somepath> as appropriate)
 580
 581 The last method gives you slightly more control in case of problems
 582 with building one or more test executables or if you are using the
 583 testsuite `standalone', without it being part of the GDB source tree.
 584
 585 See the DejaGNU documentation for further details.
 586
 587 \f
 588 (this is for editing this file with GNU emacs)
 589 Local Variables:
 590 mode: text
 591 End: