- README for gdb-3.98 beta release
- John Gilmore 31 July 91
+ README for GDB release
-This is GDB, the GNU source-level debugger, presently running under
-un*x. This is a beta test version of GDB version 4, and has not been
-extensively tested. It surely has some bugs, both bugs that were
-present in version 3, and new bugs. If your favorite bugfix is not
-yet present here, I encourage you to port it into this version and
-then send the diffs to bug-gdb@prep.ai.mit.edu.
+This is GDB, the GNU source-level debugger.
-A summary of features new since gdb-3.5 is in the file `WHATS.NEW'.
+A summary of new features is in the file `gdb/NEWS'.
+Check the GDB home page at http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/ for up to
+date release information, mailing list links and archives, etc.
- Unpacking and Installation
+GDB's bug tracking data base can be found at
+http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/bugs/
-This release moves the generic GNU include files, the BFD ("binary file
-description") library, the getopt routines, obstacks, and the readline
-library into the parent directory of gdb. The idea is that a variety
-of GNU tools can share a common copy of these things.
+Unpacking and Installation -- quick overview
+==========================
-These generic files are packaged separately from GDB, in a tar file
-called "bfd.ilrt-3.98.tar.Z". ("ilrt" stands for include, libiberty,
-readline, texinfo). Unpack that tar file in the same directory in
-which you unpacked the gdb-3.98.tar.Z file, so that for example the
-'bfd' directory sits next to the 'gdb' directory. The whole top-level
-directory will look like this with `ls -F':
+ The release is provided as a gzipped tar file called
+'gdb-VERSION.tar.gz', where VERSION is the version of GDB.
- Makefile.in configure* include/ texinfo/
- README.configure configure.in libiberty/
- bfd/ gdb/ readline/
+ The GDB debugger sources, the generic GNU include
+files, the BFD ("binary file description") library, the readline
+library, and other libraries all have directories of their own
+underneath the gdb-VERSION directory. The idea is that a variety of GNU
+tools can share a common copy of these things. Be aware of variation
+over time--for example don't try to build GDB with a copy of bfd from
+a release other than the GDB release (such as a binutils release),
+especially if the releases are more than a few weeks apart.
+Configuration scripts and makefiles exist to cruise up and down this
+directory tree and automatically build all the pieces in the right
+order.
-Once you have this stuff unpacked, and your current directory is here,
-you can type:
+ When you unpack the gdb-VERSION.tar.gz file, it will create a
+source directory called `gdb-VERSION'.
- ./configure HOSTNAME
- make
+You can build GDB right in the source directory:
-and all the libraries, as well as GDB will be configured and built.
-If you get compiler warnings during this stage, see the `Reporting Bugs'
-section below; there are a few known problems.
+ cd gdb-VERSION
+ ./configure --prefix=/usr/local (or wherever you want)
+ make all install
-GDB can be used as a cross-debugger, running on a machine of one type
-while debugging a program running on a machine of another type. You
-configure it this way by specifying `./configure host -target=target';
-see below.
+However, we recommend that an empty directory be used instead.
+This way you do not clutter your source tree with binary files
+and will be able to create different builds with different
+configuration options.
+You can build GDB in any empty build directory:
- More Documentation
+ mkdir build
+ cd build
+ <full path to your sources>/gdb-VERSION/configure [etc...]
+ make all install
-The GDB manual is much expanded and improved. For online browsing,
-gdb/gdb.info is the main file, and there are gdb/gdb.info-1 through -6
-files that can be installed into your main `info' tree. If you want a
-printed version of the manual, you can run, from the GDB source
-directory,
+(Building GDB with DJGPP tools for MS-DOS/MS-Windows is slightly
+different; see the file gdb-VERSION/gdb/config/djgpp/README for details.)
- make gdb.dvi
+ This will configure and build all the libraries as well as GDB. If
+`configure' can't determine your system type, specify one as its
+argument, e.g., `./configure sun4' or `./configure decstation'.
-to make the TeX device-independent output file. This assumes you have
-a running TeX on your system. The source for the GDB manual is in
-doc/gdb.texinfo (and a few other files it includes), provided with
-this distribution. The Makefile attempts to use the texinfo.tex
-supplied as part of the BFD-and-libraries tar file, since the manual
-uses Texinfo-2 which is not in common use yet.
+ Make sure that your 'configure' line ends in 'gdb-VERSION/configure':
+ /berman/migchain/source/gdb-VERSION/configure # RIGHT
+ /berman/migchain/source/gdb-VERSION/gdb/configure # WRONG
- Configuration Details (extracted from gdb.texinfo)
+ The GDB package contains several subdirectories, such as 'gdb',
+'bfd', and 'readline'. If your 'configure' line ends in
+'gdb-VERSION/gdb/configure', then you are configuring only the gdb
+subdirectory, not the whole GDB package. This leads to build errors
+such as:
- GDB is distributed with a `configure' script that automates the
-process of preparing GDB for installation; you can then use `make'
-to build the `gdb' program.
+ make: *** No rule to make target `../bfd/bfd.h', needed by `gdb.o'. Stop.
- The `configure' script that's specific to GDB is distributed in
-the main GDB source directory. However, building GDB also requires
-several other directories of source common to multiple GNU programs.
-These directories (GNU libraries and includes) are distributed
-separately, but their `configure' scripts and `Makefile's are
-designed to work together. To ensure that GDB's `Makefile' can find
-all the pieces, you should make a single overall directory to hold
-the directories of source for GNU libraries and includes, and you
-should install the GDB source directory there too. In this
-Appendix, we refer to the directory of GNU source directories as GNUSRC.
+ If you get other compiler errors during this stage, see the `Reporting
+Bugs' section below; there are a few known problems.
- At a minimum, to build GDB you need the directories
+ GDB's `configure' script has many options to enable or disable
+different features or dependencies. These options are not generally
+known to the top-level `configure', so if you want to see a complete
+list of options, invoke the subdirectory `configure', like:
-`GNUSRC/gdb'
- the source specific to GDB itself
+ /berman/migchain/source/gdb-VERSION/gdb/configure --help
+
+ (Take note of how this differs from the invocation used to actually
+configure the build tree.)
+
+ GDB requires a C++11 compiler. If you do not have a
+C++11 compiler for your system, you may be able to download and install
+the GNU CC compiler. It is available via anonymous FTP from the
+directory `ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/gcc'. GDB also requires an ISO
+C standard library. The GDB remote server, GDBserver, builds with some
+non-ISO standard libraries - e.g. for Windows CE.
+
+ GDB can optionally be built against various external libraries.
+These dependencies are described below in the "`configure options"
+section of this README.
+
+ GDB can be used as a cross-debugger, running on a machine of one
+type while debugging a program running on a machine of another type.
+See below.
+
+
+More Documentation
+******************
+
+ All the documentation for GDB comes as part of the machine-readable
+distribution. The documentation is written in Texinfo format, which
+is a documentation system that uses a single source file to produce
+both on-line information and a printed manual. You can use one of the
+Info formatting commands to create the on-line version of the
+documentation and TeX (or `texi2roff') to typeset the printed version.
+
+ GDB includes an already formatted copy of the on-line Info version
+of this manual in the `gdb/doc' subdirectory. The main Info file is
+`gdb-VERSION/gdb/doc/gdb.info', and it refers to subordinate files
+matching `gdb.info*' in the same directory. If necessary, you can
+print out these files, or read them with any editor; but they are
+easier to read using the `info' subsystem in GNU Emacs or the
+standalone `info' program, available as part of the GNU Texinfo
+distribution.
+
+ If you want to format these Info files yourself, you need one of the
+Info formatting programs, such as `texinfo-format-buffer' or
+`makeinfo'.
+
+ If you have `makeinfo' installed, and are in the top level GDB
+source directory (`gdb-VERSION'), you can make the Info file by
+typing:
+
+ cd gdb/doc
+ make info
+
+ If you want to typeset and print copies of this manual, you need
+TeX, a program to print its DVI output files, and `texinfo.tex', the
+Texinfo definitions file. This file is included in the GDB
+distribution, in the directory `gdb-VERSION/texinfo'.
+
+ TeX is a typesetting program; it does not print files directly, but
+produces output files called DVI files. To print a typeset document,
+you need a program to print DVI files. If your system has TeX
+installed, chances are it has such a program. The precise command to
+use depends on your system; `lpr -d' is common; another (for PostScript
+devices) is `dvips'. The DVI print command may require a file name
+without any extension or a `.dvi' extension.
+
+ TeX also requires a macro definitions file called `texinfo.tex'.
+This file tells TeX how to typeset a document written in Texinfo
+format. On its own, TeX cannot read, much less typeset a Texinfo file.
+ `texinfo.tex' is distributed with GDB and is located in the
+`gdb-VERSION/texinfo' directory.
-`GNUSRC/bfd'
- source for the Binary File Descriptor Library
+ If you have TeX and a DVI printer program installed, you can typeset
+and print this manual. First switch to the `gdb' subdirectory of
+the main source directory (for example, to `gdb-VERSION/gdb') and then type:
-`GNUSRC/include'
+ make doc/gdb.dvi
+
+ If you prefer to have the manual in PDF format, type this from the
+`gdb/doc' subdirectory of the main source directory:
+
+ make gdb.pdf
+
+For this to work, you will need the PDFTeX package to be installed.
+
+
+Installing GDB
+**************
+
+ GDB comes with a `configure' script that automates the process of
+preparing GDB for installation; you can then use `make' to build the
+`gdb' program.
+
+ The GDB distribution includes all the source code you need for GDB in
+a single directory. That directory contains:
+
+`gdb-VERSION/{COPYING,COPYING.LIB}'
+ Standard GNU license files. Please read them.
+
+`gdb-VERSION/bfd'
+ source for the Binary File Descriptor library
+
+`gdb-VERSION/config*'
+ script for configuring GDB, along with other support files
+
+`gdb-VERSION/gdb'
+ the source specific to GDB itself
+
+`gdb-VERSION/include'
GNU include files
-`GNUSRC/libiberty'
+`gdb-VERSION/libiberty'
source for the `-liberty' free software library
-`GNUSRC/readline'
+`gdb-VERSION/opcodes'
+ source for the library of opcode tables and disassemblers
+
+`gdb-VERSION/readline'
source for the GNU command-line interface
+ NOTE: The readline library is compiled for use by GDB, but will
+ not be installed on your system when "make install" is issued.
-Each of these directories has its own `configure' script. GNUSRC has
-an overall `configure' script, which is distributed with the GNU
-libraries and includes.
+`gdb-VERSION/sim'
+ source for some simulators (ARM, D10V, SPARC, M32R, MIPS, PPC, V850, etc)
- `configure' is designed to be called recursively, so it is most
-convenient to run `configure' from the GNUSRC directory. The
-simplest way to configure and build GDB is the following:
+`gdb-VERSION/texinfo'
+ The `texinfo.tex' file, which you need in order to make a printed
+ manual using TeX.
- cd GNUSRC
- ./configure HOST
- make
+`gdb-VERSION/etc'
+ Coding standards, useful files for editing GDB, and other
+ miscellanea.
-where HOST is something like `sun4' or `vax', that identifies the
-platform where GDB will run. This builds the three libraries `bfd',
-`readline', and `libiberty', then `gdb' itself. The configured
-source files, and the binaries, are left in the corresponding source
-directories.
-
- You can install `gdb' anywhere; it has no hardwired paths.
-However, you should make sure that the shell on your path (named by
-the `SHELL' environment variable) is publicly readable; some systems
-refuse to let GDB debug child processes whose programs are not
-readable, and GDB uses the shell to start your program.
-
-
- Configuration Subdirectories
-
- If you build GDB for several host or target machines, and if your
-`make' program handles the `VPATH' feature (GNU `make' does), it is
-most convenient instead to build the different GDB configurations in
-subdirectories (separate from the source). `configure' does this
-for you when you simultaneously specify several configurations; but
-it's a good habit even for a single configuration. You can specify
-the use of subdirectories using the `+forcesubdirs' option
-(abbreviated `+f'). For example, you can build GDB on a Sun 4 as
-follows:
-
- cd GNUSRC
- ./configure +f sun4
- cd Host-sun4/Target-sun4
+ Note: the following instructions are for building GDB on Unix or
+Unix-like systems. Instructions for building with DJGPP for
+MS-DOS/MS-Windows are in the file gdb/config/djgpp/README.
+
+ The simplest way to configure and build GDB is to run `configure'
+from the `gdb-VERSION' directory.
+
+ First switch to the `gdb-VERSION' source directory if you are
+not already in it; then run `configure'.
+
+ For example:
+
+ cd gdb-VERSION
+ ./configure
+ make
+
+ Running `configure' followed by `make' builds the `bfd',
+`readline', `mmalloc', and `libiberty' libraries, then `gdb' itself.
+The configured source files, and the binaries, are left in the
+corresponding source directories.
+
+ `configure' is a Bourne-shell (`/bin/sh') script; if your system
+does not recognize this automatically when you run a different shell,
+you may need to run `sh' on it explicitly:
+
+ sh configure
+
+ If you run `configure' from a directory that contains source
+directories for multiple libraries or programs, `configure' creates
+configuration files for every directory level underneath (unless
+you tell it not to, with the `--norecursion' option).
+
+ You can install `gdb' anywhere; it has no hardwired paths. However,
+you should make sure that the shell on your path (named by the `SHELL'
+environment variable) is publicly readable. Remember that GDB uses the
+shell to start your program--some systems refuse to let GDB debug child
+processes whose programs are not readable.
+
+
+Compiling GDB in another directory
+==================================
+
+ If you want to run GDB versions for several host or target machines,
+you need a different `gdb' compiled for each combination of host and
+target. `configure' is designed to make this easy by allowing you to
+generate each configuration in a separate subdirectory, rather than in
+the source directory. If your `make' program handles the `VPATH'
+feature correctly (GNU `make' and SunOS 'make' are two that should),
+running `make' in each of these directories builds the `gdb' program
+specified there.
+
+ To build `gdb' in a separate directory, run `configure' with the
+`--srcdir' option to specify where to find the source. (You also need
+to specify a path to find `configure' itself from your working
+directory. If the path to `configure' would be the same as the
+argument to `--srcdir', you can leave out the `--srcdir' option; it
+will be assumed.)
+
+ For example, you can build GDB in a separate
+directory for a Sun 4 like this:
+
+ cd gdb-VERSION
+ mkdir ../gdb-sun4
+ cd ../gdb-sun4
+ ../gdb-VERSION/configure
make
- When `configure' uses subdirectories to build programs or
-libraries, it creates nested directories `Host-HOST/Target-MACHINE'.
-This is because GDB can be configured for cross-compiling: GDB can
-run on one machine (the host) while debugging programs that run on
-another machine (the target). You specify cross-debugging targets
-by giving the `+target=MACHINE' option to `configure'. Specifying
-only hosts still gives you two levels of subdirectory for each host,
-with the same machine-name suffix on both. On the other hand,
-whenever you specify both hosts and targets on the same command
-line, `configure' creates all combinations of the hosts and targets you
-list.
+ When `configure' builds a configuration using a remote source
+directory, it creates a tree for the binaries with the same structure
+(and using the same names) as the tree under the source directory. In
+the example, you'd find the Sun 4 library `libiberty.a' in the
+directory `gdb-sun4/libiberty', and GDB itself in `gdb-sun4/gdb'.
+
+ One popular reason to build several GDB configurations in separate
+directories is to configure GDB for cross-compiling (where GDB runs on
+one machine--the host--while debugging programs that run on another
+machine--the target). You specify a cross-debugging target by giving
+the `--target=TARGET' option to `configure'.
When you run `make' to build a program or library, you must run it
-in a configured directory. If you made a single configuration,
-without subdirectories, run `make' in the source directory. If you
-have `Host-HOST/Target-MACHINE' subdirectories, run `make' in those
-subdirectories.
+in a configured directory--whatever directory you were in when you
+called `configure' (or one of its subdirectories).
+
+ The `Makefile' that `configure' generates in each source directory
+also runs recursively. If you type `make' in a source directory such
+as `gdb-VERSION' (or in a separate configured directory configured with
+`--srcdir=PATH/gdb-VERSION'), you will build all the required libraries,
+and then build GDB.
+
+ When you have multiple hosts or targets configured in separate
+directories, you can run `make' on them in parallel (for example, if
+they are NFS-mounted on each of the hosts); they will not interfere
+with each other.
+
+
+Specifying names for hosts and targets
+======================================
+
+ The specifications used for hosts and targets in the `configure'
+script are based on a three-part naming scheme, but some short
+predefined aliases are also supported. The full naming scheme encodes
+three pieces of information in the following pattern:
+
+ ARCHITECTURE-VENDOR-OS
+
+ For example, you can use the alias `sun4' as a HOST argument or in a
+`--target=TARGET' option. The equivalent full name is
+`sparc-sun-sunos4'.
+
+ The `configure' script accompanying GDB does not provide any query
+facility to list all supported host and target names or aliases.
+`configure' calls the Bourne shell script `config.sub' to map
+abbreviations to full names; you can read the script, if you wish, or
+you can use it to test your guesses on abbreviations--for example:
+
+ % sh config.sub sun4
+ sparc-sun-sunos4.1.1
+ % sh config.sub sun3
+ m68k-sun-sunos4.1.1
+ % sh config.sub decstation
+ mips-dec-ultrix4.2
+ % sh config.sub hp300bsd
+ m68k-hp-bsd
+ % sh config.sub i386v
+ i386-pc-sysv
+ % sh config.sub i786v
+ Invalid configuration `i786v': machine `i786v' not recognized
+
+`config.sub' is also distributed in the GDB source directory.
+
+
+`configure' options
+===================
+
+ Here is a summary of the `configure' options and arguments that are
+most often useful for building GDB. `configure' also has several other
+options not listed here. There are many options to gdb's `configure'
+script, some of which are only useful in special situation.
+*note : (autoconf.info)Running configure scripts, for a full
+explanation of `configure'.
+
+ configure [--help]
+ [--prefix=DIR]
+ [--srcdir=PATH]
+ [--target=TARGET]
+ [--host=HOST]
+ [HOST]
+
+You may introduce options with a single `-' rather than `--' if you
+prefer; but you may abbreviate option names if you use `--'. Some
+more obscure GDB `configure' options are not listed here.
+
+`--help'
+ Display a quick summary of how to invoke `configure'.
+
+`-prefix=DIR'
+ Configure the source to install programs and files under directory
+ `DIR'.
+
+`--srcdir=PATH'
+ *Warning: using this option requires GNU `make', or another `make'
+ that compatibly implements the `VPATH' feature.*
+ Use this option to make configurations in directories separate
+ from the GDB source directories. Among other things, you can use
+ this to build (or maintain) several configurations simultaneously,
+ in separate directories. `configure' writes configuration
+ specific files in the current directory, but arranges for them to
+ use the source in the directory PATH. `configure' will create
+ directories under the working directory in parallel to the source
+ directories below PATH.
+
+`--host=HOST'
+ Configure GDB to run on the specified HOST.
+
+ There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available
+ hosts.
- Each `configure' and `Makefile' under each source directory runs
-recursively, so that typing `make' in GNUSRC (or in a
-`GNUSRC/Host-HOST/Target-MACHINE' subdirectory) builds all the
-required libraries, then GDB.
+`HOST ...'
+ Same as `--host=HOST'. If you omit this, GDB will guess; it's
+ quite accurate.
+
+`--target=TARGET'
+ Configure GDB for cross-debugging programs running on the specified
+ TARGET. Without this option, GDB is configured to debug programs
+ that run on the same machine (HOST) as GDB itself.
+
+ There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available
+ targets.
+
+`--enable-targets=TARGET,TARGET,...'
+`--enable-targets=all`
+ Configure GDB for cross-debugging programs running on the
+ specified list of targets. The special value `all' configures
+ GDB for debugging programs running on any target it supports.
+
+`--with-gdb-datadir=PATH'
+ Set the GDB-specific data directory. GDB will look here for
+ certain supporting files or scripts. This defaults to the `gdb'
+ subdirectory of `datadir' (which can be set using `--datadir').
+
+`--with-relocated-sources=DIR'
+ Sets up the default source path substitution rule so that
+ directory names recorded in debug information will be
+ automatically adjusted for any directory under DIR. DIR should
+ be a subdirectory of GDB's configured prefix, the one mentioned
+ in the `--prefix' or `--exec-prefix' options to configure. This
+ option is useful if GDB is supposed to be moved to a different
+ place after it is built.
+
+`--enable-64-bit-bfd'
+ Enable 64-bit support in BFD on 32-bit hosts.
+
+`--disable-gdbmi'
+ Build GDB without the GDB/MI machine interface.
+
+`--enable-tui'
+ Build GDB with the text-mode full-screen user interface (TUI).
+ Requires a curses library (ncurses and cursesX are also
+ supported).
+
+`--with-curses'
+ Use the curses library instead of the termcap library, for
+ text-mode terminal operations.
+
+`--with-debuginfod'
+ Build GDB with libdebuginfod, the debuginfod client library. Used
+ to automatically fetch source files and separate debug files from
+ debuginfod servers using the associated executable's build ID.
+ Enabled by default if libdebuginfod is installed and found at
+ configure time. debuginfod is packaged with elfutils, starting
+ with version 0.178. You can get the latest version from
+ 'https://sourceware.org/elfutils/'.
+
+`--with-libunwind-ia64'
+ Use the libunwind library for unwinding function call stack on ia64
+ target platforms.
+ See http://www.nongnu.org/libunwind/index.html for details.
+
+`--with-system-readline'
+ Use the readline library installed on the host, rather than the
+ library supplied as part of GDB. Readline 7 or newer is required;
+ this is enforced by the build system.
+
+`--with-system-zlib
+ Use the zlib library installed on the host, rather than the
+ library supplied as part of GDB.
+
+`--with-expat'
+ Build GDB with Expat, a library for XML parsing. (Done by
+ default if libexpat is installed and found at configure time.)
+ This library is used to read XML files supplied with GDB. If it
+ is unavailable, some features, such as remote protocol memory
+ maps, target descriptions, and shared library lists, that are
+ based on XML files, will not be available in GDB. If your host
+ does not have libexpat installed, you can get the latest version
+ from `http://expat.sourceforge.net'.
+
+`--with-libiconv-prefix[=DIR]'
+ Build GDB with GNU libiconv, a character set encoding conversion
+ library. This is not done by default, as on GNU systems the
+ `iconv' that is built in to the C library is sufficient. If your
+ host does not have a working `iconv', you can get the latest
+ version of GNU iconv from `https://www.gnu.org/software/libiconv/'.
+
+ GDB's build system also supports building GNU libiconv as part of
+ the overall build. See the GDB manual instructions on how to do
+ this.
+
+`--with-lzma'
+ Build GDB with LZMA, a compression library. (Done by default if
+ liblzma is installed and found at configure time.) LZMA is used
+ by GDB's "mini debuginfo" feature, which is only useful on
+ platforms using the ELF object file format. If your host does
+ not have liblzma installed, you can get the latest version from
+ `https://tukaani.org/xz/'.
+
+`--with-mpfr'
+ Build GDB with GNU MPFR, a library for multiple-precision
+ floating-point computation with correct rounding. (Done by
+ default if GNU MPFR is installed and found at configure time.)
+ This library is used to emulate target floating-point arithmetic
+ during expression evaluation when the target uses different
+ floating-point formats than the host. If GNU MPFR is not
+ available, GDB will fall back to using host floating-point
+ arithmetic. If your host does not have GNU MPFR installed, you
+ can get the latest version from `http://www.mpfr.org'.
+
+`--with-python[=PYTHON]'
+ Build GDB with Python scripting support. (Done by default if
+ libpython is present and found at configure time.) Python makes
+ GDB scripting much more powerful than the restricted CLI
+ scripting language. If your host does not have Python installed,
+ you can find it on `http://www.python.org/download/'. The oldest
+ version of Python supported by GDB is 2.6. The optional argument
+ PYTHON is used to find the Python headers and libraries. It can
+ be either the name of a Python executable, or the name of the
+ directory in which Python is installed.
+
+`--with-guile[=GUILE]'
+ Build GDB with GNU Guile scripting support. (Done by default if
+ libguile is present and found at configure time.) If your host
+ does not have Guile installed, you can find it at
+ `https://www.gnu.org/software/guile/'. The optional argument
+ GUILE can be a version number, which will cause `configure' to
+ try to use that version of Guile; or the file name of a
+ `pkg-config' executable, which will be queried to find the
+ information needed to compile and link against Guile.
+
+`--enable-source-highlight'
+ When printing source code, use source highlighting. This requires
+ libsource-highlight to be installed and is enabled by default
+ if the library is found.
+
+`--with-xxhash'
+ Use libxxhash for hashing. This has no user-visible effect but
+ speeds up various GDB operations such as symbol loading. Enabled
+ by default if libxxhash is found.
+
+`--without-included-regex'
+ Don't use the regex library included with GDB (as part of the
+ libiberty library). This is the default on hosts with version 2
+ of the GNU C library.
+
+`--with-sysroot=DIR'
+ Use DIR as the default system root directory for libraries whose
+ file names begin with `/lib' or `/usr/lib'. (The value of DIR
+ can be modified at run time by using the "set sysroot" command.)
+ If DIR is under the GDB configured prefix (set with `--prefix' or
+ `--exec-prefix' options), the default system root will be
+ automatically adjusted if and when GDB is moved to a different
+ location.
+
+`--with-system-gdbinit=FILE'
+ Configure GDB to automatically load a system-wide init file.
+ FILE should be an absolute file name. If FILE is in a directory
+ under the configured prefix, and GDB is moved to another location
+ after being built, the location of the system-wide init file will
+ be adjusted accordingly.
+
+`--with-system-gdbinit-dir=DIR'
+ Configure GDB to automatically load system-wide init files from
+ a directory. Files with extensions `.gdb', `.py' (if Python
+ support is enabled) and `.scm' (if Guile support is enabled) are
+ supported. DIR should be an absolute directory name. If DIR is
+ in a directory under the configured prefix, and GDB is moved to
+ another location after being built, the location of the system-
+ wide init directory will be adjusted accordingly.
+
+`--enable-build-warnings'
+ When building the GDB sources, ask the compiler to warn about any
+ code which looks even vaguely suspicious. It passes many
+ different warning flags, depending on the exact version of the
+ compiler you are using.
+
+`--enable-werror'
+ Treat compiler warnings as werrors. It adds the -Werror flag to
+ the compiler, which will fail the compilation if the compiler
+ outputs any warning messages.
+
+`--enable-ubsan'
+ Enable the GCC undefined behavior sanitizer. By default this is
+ disabled in GDB releases, but enabled when building from git.
+ The undefined behavior sanitizer checks for C++ undefined
+ behavior. It has a performance cost, so if you are looking at
+ GDB's performance, you should disable it.
+
+`--enable-unit-tests[=yes|no]'
+ Enable (i.e., include) support for unit tests when compiling GDB
+ and GDBServer. Note that if this option is not passed, GDB will
+ have selftests if it is a development build, and will *not* have
+ selftests if it is a non-development build.
- If you run `configure' from a directory (such as GNUSRC) that
-contains source directories for multiple libraries or programs,
-`configure' creates the `Host-HOST/Target-MACHINE' subdirectories in
-each library or program's source directory. For example, typing:
+`configure' accepts other options, for compatibility with configuring
+other GNU tools recursively.
- cd GNUSRC
- configure sun4 +target=vx960
-creates the following directories:
+Remote debugging
+=================
- GNUSRC/Host-sun4/Target-vx960
- GNUSRC/bfd/Host-sun4/Target-vx960
- GNUSRC/gdb/Host-sun4/Target-vx960
- GNUSRC/libiberty/Host-sun4/Target-vx960
- GNUSRC/readline/Host-sun4/Target-vx960
+ The files m68k-stub.c, i386-stub.c, and sparc-stub.c are examples
+of remote stubs to be used with remote.c. They are designed to run
+standalone on an m68k, i386, or SPARC cpu and communicate properly
+with the remote.c stub over a serial line.
-The `Makefile' in `GNUSRC/Host-sun4/Target-vx960' will `cd' to the
-appropriate lower-level directories (such as
-`GNUSRC/bfd/Host-sun4/Target-vx960'), building each in turn.
+ The directory gdbserver/ contains `gdbserver', a program that
+allows remote debugging for Unix applications. GDBserver is only
+supported for some native configurations.
- When you have multiple hosts or targets configured, you can run
-`make' on them in parallel (for example, if they are NFS-mounted on
-each of the hosts); they will not interfere with each other.
+ The file gdbserver/README includes further notes on GDBserver; in
+particular, it explains how to build GDBserver for cross-debugging
+(where GDBserver runs on the target machine, which is of a different
+architecture than the host machine running GDB).
- `configure' Options
+Reporting Bugs in GDB
+=====================
- Here is a summary of all the `configure' options and arguments
-that you might use for building GDB:
+ There are several ways of reporting bugs in GDB. The prefered
+method is to use the World Wide Web:
- configure [+destdir=DIR] [+forcesubdirs] [+norecur] [+rm]
- [+target=MACHINE...] HOST...
+ http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/bugs/
-You may introduce options with the character `-' rather than `+' if
-you prefer; but options introduced with `+' may be truncated.
+As an alternative, the bug report can be submitted, via e-mail, to the
+address "bug-gdb@gnu.org".
-`+destdir=DIR'
- DIR is an installation directory *path prefix*. After you
- configure with this option, `make install' will install GDB as
- `DIR/bin/gdb', and the libraries in `DIR/lib'. If you specify
-
- `+destdir=/usr/local', for example, `make install' creates
- `/usr/local/bin/gdb'.
+ When submitting a bug, please include the GDB version number, and
+how you configured it (e.g., "sun4" or "mach386 host,
+i586-intel-synopsys target"). Since GDB supports so many
+different configurations, it is important that you be precise about
+this. The simplest way to do this is to include the output from these
+commands:
-`+forcesubdirs'
- Write configuration specific files in subdirectories of the form
+ % gdb --version
+ % gdb --config
- Host-MACHINE/Target-MACHINE
+ For more information on how/whether to report bugs, see the
+Reporting Bugs chapter of the GDB manual (gdb/doc/gdb.texinfo).
- (and configure the `Makefile' to write binaries there too).
- Without this option, if you specify only one configuration for
- GDB, `configure' will use the same directory for source,
- configured files, and binaries. This option is used
- automatically if you specify more than one HOST or more than
- one `+target=MACHINE' option on the `configure' command line.
-`+norecur'
- Configure only the directory where `configure' is executed; do
- not propagate configuration to subdirectories.
+Graphical interface to GDB -- X Windows, MS Windows
+==========================
-`+rm'
- Remove the configuration specified by other arguments.
+ Several graphical interfaces to GDB are available. You should
+check:
-`+target=MACHINE ...'
- Configure GDB for cross-debugging programs running on each
- specified MACHINE. You may specify as many `+target' options
- as you wish. To see a list of available targets, execute `ls
- tconfig' in the GDB source directory. Without this option, GDB
- is configured to debug programs that run on the same machine
- (HOST) as GDB itself.
+ https://sourceware.org/gdb/wiki/GDB%20Front%20Ends
-`HOST ...'
- Configure GDB to run on each specified HOST. You may specify as
- many host names as you wish. To see a list of available hosts,
- execute `ls xconfig' in the GDB source directory.
+for an up-to-date list.
-`configure' accepts other options, for compatibility with configuring
-other GNU tools recursively; but these are the only options that
-affect GDB or its supporting libraries.
+ Emacs users will very likely enjoy the Grand Unified Debugger mode;
+try typing `M-x gdb RET'.
+
+
+Writing Code for GDB
+=====================
+
+ There is information about writing code for GDB in the file
+`CONTRIBUTE' and at the website:
+
+ http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/
+
+in particular in the wiki.
+
+ If you are pondering writing anything but a short patch, especially
+take note of the information about copyrights and copyright assignment.
+It can take quite a while to get all the paperwork done, so
+we encourage you to start that process as soon as you decide you are
+planning to work on something, or at least well ahead of when you
+think you will be ready to submit the patches.
+
+
+GDB Testsuite
+=============
+
+ Included with the GDB distribution is a DejaGNU based testsuite
+that can either be used to test your newly built GDB, or for
+regression testing a GDB with local modifications.
+
+ Running the testsuite requires the prior installation of DejaGNU,
+which is generally available via ftp. The directory
+ftp://sources.redhat.com/pub/dejagnu/ will contain a recent snapshot.
+Once DejaGNU is installed, you can run the tests in one of the
+following ways:
+ (1) cd gdb-VERSION
+ make check-gdb
- Languages other than C
+or
-C++ support has been integrated into gdb. GDB should work with FORTRAN
-programs. (If you have problems, please send a bug report; you may
-have to refer to some FORTRAN variables with a trailing underscore).
-There is an effort to produce a GDB that works with Modula-2. I am not
-aware of anyone who is working on getting gdb to use the syntax of any
-other language. Pascal programs which use sets, subranges, file
-variables, or nested functions will not currently work.
+ (2) cd gdb-VERSION/gdb
+ make check
+or
- Kernel debugging
+ (3) cd gdb-VERSION/gdb/testsuite
+ make site.exp (builds the site specific file)
+ runtest -tool gdb GDB=../gdb (or GDB=<somepath> as appropriate)
-I have't done this myself so I can't really offer any advice.
-Remote debugging over serial lines works fine, but the kernel debugging
-code in here has not been tested in years. Van Jacobson claims to have
-better kernel debugging, but won't release it for ordinary mortals.
+When using a `make'-based method, you can use the Makefile variable
+`RUNTESTFLAGS' to pass flags to `runtest', e.g.:
+ make RUNTESTFLAGS=--directory=gdb.cp check
- Remote debugging
+If you use GNU make, you can use its `-j' option to run the testsuite
+in parallel. This can greatly reduce the amount of time it takes for
+the testsuite to run. In this case, if you set `RUNTESTFLAGS' then,
+by default, the tests will be run serially even under `-j'. You can
+override this and force a parallel run by setting the `make' variable
+`FORCE_PARALLEL' to any non-empty value. Note that the parallel `make
+check' assumes that you want to run the entire testsuite, so it is not
+compatible with some dejagnu options, like `--directory'.
-The files m68k-stub.c and i386-stub.c contain two examples of remote
-stubs to be used with remote.c. They are designeded to run standalone
-on a 68k or 386 cpu and communicate properly with the remote.c stub
-over a serial line.
+The last method gives you slightly more control in case of problems
+with building one or more test executables or if you are using the
+testsuite `standalone', without it being part of the GDB source tree.
-The file rem-multi.shar contains a general stub that can probably
-run on various different flavors of unix to allow debugging over a
-serial line from one machine to another.
+See the DejaGNU documentation for further details.
-The files remote-eb.c and remote-nindy.c are two examples of remote
-interfaces for talking to existing ROM monitors (for the AMD 29000 and the
-Intel 960 repsectively).
-Remote-vx.c and the vx-share subdirectory contain a remote interface for the
-VxWorks realtime kernel, which communicates over TCP using the Sun
-RPC library. This would be a useful starting point for other remote-
-via-ethernet back ends.
+Copyright and License Notices
+=============================
-[This section seems to be out of date, I have never seen the "rapp"
-program, though I would like to. FIXME.]
-`rapp' runs under unix and acts as a remote stub (like rem-multi.shar
-distributed with GDB version 3). Currently it just works over UDP
-(network), not over a serial line. To get it running
-* Compile GDB on the host machine as usual
-* Compile rapp on the target machine, giving for both host and target
- the type of the target machine
-* Install "gdb" in /etc/services on both machines.
+Most files maintained by the GDB Project contain a copyright notice
+as well as a license notice, usually at the start of the file.
+To reduce the length of copyright notices, consecutive years in the
+copyright notice can be combined into a single range. For instance,
+the following list of copyright years...
- Reporting Bugs
+ 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991-1993, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
-The correct address for reporting bugs found in gdb is
-"bug-gdb@prep.ai.mit.edu". Please email all bugs to that address.
+... is abbreviated into:
-"mcheck.c", line 32, will produce a pointer conversion warning, which
-can be ignored.
+ 1986, 1988-1989, 1991-1993, 1999-2000, 2007-2011
-When gdb reads object files produced by the Sun bundled C compiler,
-you will often get a "bad block start address patched" message. You
-can shut off such messages with the command `set complaint 0' (which
-you can put in your ~/.gdbinit if you like). Messages like this
-during symbol reading indicate some mismatch between the object file
-and GDB's symbol reading code (in this case, it's a mismatch
-between the specs for the object file format, and what Sun's compiler
-actually outputs).
+Every year of each range, inclusive, is a copyrightable year that
+could be listed individually.
-If you port gdb to a new machine, please send the required changes
-to bug-gdb@prep.ai.mit.edu. If your changes are more than a few
-lines, obtain and send in a copyright assignment from gnu@prep.ai.mit.edu, as
-described in the section `Writing Code for GDB'.
-
-
- X Windows versus GDB
-
-xgdb is obsolete. We are not doing any development or support of it.
-
-There is an "xxgdb", which shows more promise, which was posted to
-comp.sources.x.
-
-For those intersted in auto display of source and the availability of
-an editor while debugging I suggest trying gdb-mode in gnu-emacs
-(Try typing M-x gdb RETURN). Comments on this mode are welcome.
-
-
- About the machine-dependent files
-
-tconfig/<machine>
-This contains Makefile stuff for when the target system is <machine>.
-It also specifies the name of the tm-XXX.h file for this machine.
-
-xconfig/<machine>
-This contains Makefile stuff for when the host system is <machine>.
-It also specifies the name of the xm-XXX.h file for this machine.
-
-tm-XXX.h (tm.h is a link to this file, created by configure).
-This file contains macro definitions about the target machine's
-registers, stack frame format and instructions.
-
-xm-XXX.h (xm.h is a link to this file, created by configure).
-This contains macro definitions describing the host system environment,
-such as byte order, host C compiler and library, ptrace support,
-and core file structure.
-
-<machine>-opcode.h
-<machine>-pinsn.c
-These files contain the information necessary to print instructions
-for your cpu type. <machine>-opcode.h includes some large initialized
-data structures, which is strange for a ".h" file, but it's OK since
-it is only included in one place. <machine>-opcode.h is shared
-between the debugger and the assembler (if the GNU assembler has been
-ported to that machine), whereas <machine>-pinsn.c is specific to GDB.
-
-<machine>-tdep.c
-This file contains any miscellaneous code required for this machine
-as a target. On some machines it doesn't exist at all. Its existence
-is specified in the tconfig/XXX file.
-
-<machine>-xdep.c
-This file contains any miscellaneous code required for this machine
-as a host. On some machines it doesn't exist at all. Its existence
-is specified in the xconfig/XXX file.
-
-infptrace.c
-This is the low level interface to inferior processes for systems
-using the Unix ptrace call in a vanilla way. Some systems have their
-own routines in <machine>-xdep.c. Whether or not it is used
-is specified in the xconfig/XXX file.
-
-coredep.c
-Machine and system-dependent aspects of reading core files. Some
-machines use coredep.c; some have the routines in <machine>-xdep.c.
-Whether or not it is used is specified in the xconfig/XXX file.
-Now that BFD is used to read core files, virtually all machines should
-use coredep.c and should just provide fetch_core_registers in
-<machine>-xdep.c.
-
-exec.c
-Machine and system-dependent aspects of reading executable files.
-Some machines use exec.c; some have the routines in <machine>-tdep.c
-Since BFD, virtually all machines should use exec.c.
-
-
- Writing Code for GDB
-
-We appreciate having users contribute code that is of general use, but
-for it to be included in future GDB releases it must be cleanly
-written. We do not want to include changes that will needlessly make
-future maintainance difficult. It is not much harder to do things
-right, and in the long term it is worth it to the GNU project, and
-probably to you individually as well.
-
-Please code according to the GNU coding standards. If you do not have
-a copy, you can request one by sending mail to gnu@prep.ai.mit.edu.
-
-If you make substantial changes, you'll have to file a copyright
-assignment with the Free Software Foundation before we can produce a
-release that includes your changes. Send mail requesting the copyright
-assignment to gnu@prep.ai.mit.edu. Do this early, like before the
-changes actually work, or even before you start them, because a manager
-or lawyer on your end will probably make this a slow process.
-
-Please try to avoid making machine-specific changes to
-machine-independent files. If this is unavoidable, put a hook in the
-machine-independent file which calls a (possibly) machine-dependent
-macro (for example, the IGNORE_SYMBOL macro can be used for any
-symbols which need to be ignored on a specific machine. Calling
-IGNORE_SYMBOL in dbxread.c is a lot cleaner than a maze of #if
-defined's). The machine-independent code should do whatever "most"
-machines want if the macro is not defined in param.h. Using #if
-defined can sometimes be OK (e.g. SET_STACK_LIMIT_HUGE) but should be
-conditionalized on a specific feature of an operating system (set in
-tm.h or xm.h) rather than something like #if defined(vax) or #if
-defined(SYSV). If you use an #ifdef on some symbol that is defined
-in a header file (e.g. #ifdef TIOCSETP), *please* make sure that you
-have #include'd the relevant header file in that module!
-
-It is better to replace entire routines which may be system-specific,
-rather than put in a whole bunch of hooks which are probably not going
-to be helpful for any purpose other than your changes. For example,
-if you want to modify dbxread.c to deal with DBX debugging symbols
-which are in COFF files rather than BSD a.out files, do something
-along the lines of a macro GET_NEXT_SYMBOL, which could have
-different definitions for COFF and a.out, rather than trying to put
-the necessary changes throughout all the code in dbxread.c that
-currently assumes BSD format.
-
-Please avoid duplicating code. For example, in GDB 3.x all the stuff
-in infptrace.c was duplicated in *-dep.c, and so changing something
-was very painful. In GDB 4.x, these have all been consolidated
-into infptrace.c. infptrace.c can deal with variations between
-systems the same way any system-independent file would (hooks, #if
-defined, etc.), and machines which are radically different don't need
-to use infptrace.c at all. The same was true of core_file_command
-and exec_file_command.
-
-
- Debugging gdb with itself
-
-If gdb is limping on your machine, this is the preferred way to get it
-fully functional. Be warned that in some ancient Unix systems, like
-Ultrix 4.0, a program can't be running in one process while it is being
-debugged in another. Rather than doing "./gdb ./gdb", which works on
-Suns and such, you can copy gdb to gdb2 and then do "./gdb ./gdb2".
-
-When you run gdb in this directory, it will read a ".gdbinit" file that
-sets up some simple things to make debugging gdb easier. The "info"
-command, when executed without a subcommand in a gdb being debugged by
-gdb, will pop you back up to the top level gdb. See .gdbinit for details.
-
-If you use emacs, you will probably want to do a "make TAGS" after you
-configure your distribution; this will put the machine dependent
-routines for your local machine where they will be accessed first by a
-M-period.
-
-Also, make sure that you've compiled gdb with your local cc or taken
-appropriate precautions regarding ansification of include files. See
-the Makefile for more information.
\f
(this is for editing this file with GNU emacs)
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