- README for gdb-4.9 release
- Updated 10-May-93 by Fred Fish
+ README for GDB release
-This is GDB, the GNU source-level debugger, presently running under un*x.
-A summary of new features is in the file `NEWS'.
+This is GDB, the GNU source-level debugger.
+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.
+
+GDB's bug tracking data base can be found at
+http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/bugs/
Unpacking and Installation -- quick overview
==========================
-In this release, the GDB debugger sources, the generic GNU include
+ The release is provided as a gzipped tar file called
+'gdb-VERSION.tar.gz', where VERSION is the version of GDB.
+
+ 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-4.9 directory. The idea is that a variety of GNU
+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 or gas
-release), especially if the releases are more than a few weeks apart.
+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.
-When you unpack the gdb-4.9.tar.z or gdb-4.9.tar.Z file, you'll find
-a directory called `gdb-4.9', which contains:
+ When you unpack the gdb-VERSION.tar.gz file, it will create a
+source directory called `gdb-VERSION'.
- Makefile.in config.sub* glob/ opcodes/
- README configure* include/ readline/
- bfd/ configure.in libiberty/ texinfo/
- config/ etc/ mmalloc/
- config.guess* gdb/ move-if-change*
+You can build GDB right in the source directory:
-To build GDB, you can just do:
+ cd gdb-VERSION
+ ./configure --prefix=/usr/local (or wherever you want)
+ make all install
- cd gdb-4.9
- ./configure
- make
- cp gdb/gdb /usr/local/bin/gdb (or wherever you want)
+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.
-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. sun4 or decstation.
+You can build GDB in any empty build directory:
-If you get compiler warnings during this stage, see the `Reporting Bugs'
-section below; there are a few known problems.
+ mkdir build
+ cd build
+ <full path to your sources>/gdb-VERSION/configure [etc...]
+ 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. See below.
+(Building GDB with DJGPP tools for MS-DOS/MS-Windows is slightly
+different; see the file gdb-VERSION/gdb/config/djgpp/README for details.)
+ 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'.
-More Documentation
-******************
+ 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
+
+ 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:
+
+ make: *** No rule to make target `../bfd/bfd.h', needed by `gdb.o'. Stop.
+
+ If you get other compiler errors during this stage, see the `Reporting
+Bugs' section below; there are a few known problems.
- The GDB 4 release includes an already-formatted reference card,
-ready for printing with PostScript or GhostScript, in the `gdb'
-subdirectory of the main source directory. (In `gdb-4.9/gdb/refcard.ps'.)
-If you can use PostScript or GhostScript with your printer, you can
-print the reference card immediately with `refcard.ps'.
+ 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:
- The release also includes the source for the reference card. You
-can format it, using TeX, by typing:
+ /berman/migchain/source/gdb-VERSION/gdb/configure --help
- make refcard.dvi
+ (Take note of how this differs from the invocation used to actually
+configure the build tree.)
- The GDB reference card is designed to print in landscape mode on US
-"letter" size paper; that is, on a sheet 11 inches wide by 8.5 inches
-high. You will need to specify this form of printing as an option to
-your DVI output program.
+ 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' subdirectory. The main Info file is
-`gdb-VERSION-NUMBER/gdb/gdb.info', and it refers to subordinate files
+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
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'.
+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-4.9', in the case of version 4.9), you can make
-the Info file by typing:
+source directory (`gdb-VERSION'), you can make the Info file by
+typing:
- cd gdb
- make gdb.info
+ 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.
+ 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,
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-NUMBER/texinfo' directory.
+`gdb-VERSION/texinfo' directory.
If you have TeX and a DVI printer program installed, you can typeset
-and print this manual. First switch to the the `gdb' subdirectory of
-the main source directory (for example, to `gdb-4.9/gdb') and then type:
+and print this manual. First switch to the `gdb' subdirectory of
+the main source directory (for example, to `gdb-VERSION/gdb') and then type:
+
+ 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.dvi
+ make gdb.pdf
+
+For this to work, you will need the PDFTeX package to be installed.
Installing GDB
`gdb' program.
The GDB distribution includes all the source code you need for GDB in
-a single directory, whose name is usually composed by appending the
-version number to `gdb'.
+a single directory. That directory contains:
- For example, the GDB version 4.9 distribution is in the `gdb-4.9'
-directory. That directory contains:
+`gdb-VERSION/{COPYING,COPYING.LIB}'
+ Standard GNU license files. Please read them.
-`gdb-4.9/configure (and supporting files)'
- script for configuring GDB and all its supporting libraries.
+`gdb-VERSION/bfd'
+ source for the Binary File Descriptor library
-`gdb-4.9/gdb'
- the source specific to GDB itself
+`gdb-VERSION/config*'
+ script for configuring GDB, along with other support files
-`gdb-4.9/bfd'
- source for the Binary File Descriptor library
+`gdb-VERSION/gdb'
+ the source specific to GDB itself
-`gdb-4.9/include'
+`gdb-VERSION/include'
GNU include files
-`gdb-4.9/libiberty'
+`gdb-VERSION/libiberty'
source for the `-liberty' free software library
-`gdb-4.9/opcodes'
+`gdb-VERSION/opcodes'
source for the library of opcode tables and disassemblers
-`gdb-4.9/readline'
+`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.
-`gdb-4.9/glob'
- source for the GNU filename pattern-matching subroutine
+`gdb-VERSION/sim'
+ source for some simulators (ARM, D10V, SPARC, M32R, MIPS, PPC, V850, etc)
-`gdb-4.9/mmalloc'
- source for the GNU memory-mapped malloc package
+`gdb-VERSION/texinfo'
+ The `texinfo.tex' file, which you need in order to make a printed
+ manual using TeX.
-'gdb-4.9/sim'
- source for some simulators (z8000, H8/300, H8/500, etc)
+`gdb-VERSION/etc'
+ Coding standards, useful files for editing GDB, and other
+ miscellanea.
+
+ 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-NUMBER' source directory, which in this example
-is the `gdb-4.9' directory.
+from the `gdb-VERSION' directory.
- First switch to the `gdb-VERSION-NUMBER' source directory if you are
-not already in it; then run `configure'. Pass the identifier for the
-platform on which GDB will run as an argument.
+ First switch to the `gdb-VERSION' source directory if you are
+not already in it; then run `configure'.
For example:
- cd gdb-4.9
- ./configure HOST
- make
-
-where HOST is an identifier such as `sun4' or `decstation', that
-identifies the platform where GDB will run.
+ cd gdb-VERSION
+ ./configure
+ make
- Running `configure HOST' followed by `make' builds the `bfd',
-`readline', `mmalloc', and `libiberty' libraries, then `gdb' itself.
+ 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.
does not recognize this automatically when you run a different shell,
you may need to run `sh' on it explicitly:
- sh configure HOST
+ sh configure
If you run `configure' from a directory that contains source
-directories for multiple libraries or programs, such as the `gdb-4.9'
-source directory for version 4.9, `configure' creates configuration
-files for every directory level underneath (unless you tell it not to,
-with the `--norecursion' option).
-
- You can run the `configure' script from any of the subordinate
-directories in the GDB distribution, if you only want to configure that
-subdirectory; but be sure to specify a path to it.
-
- For example, with version 4.9, type the following to configure only
-the `bfd' subdirectory:
-
- cd gdb-4.9/bfd
- ../configure HOST
+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'
argument to `--srcdir', you can leave out the `--srcdir' option; it
will be assumed.)
- For example, with version 4.9, you can build GDB in a separate
+ For example, you can build GDB in a separate
directory for a Sun 4 like this:
- cd gdb-4.9
+ cd gdb-VERSION
mkdir ../gdb-sun4
cd ../gdb-sun4
- ../gdb-4.9/configure sun4
+ ../gdb-VERSION/configure
make
When `configure' builds a configuration using a remote source
The `Makefile' that `configure' generates in each source directory
also runs recursively. If you type `make' in a source directory such
-as `gdb-4.9' (or in a separate configured directory configured with
-`--srcdir=PATH/gdb-4.9'), you will build all the required libraries,
+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
you can use it to test your guesses on abbreviations--for example:
% sh config.sub sun4
- sparc-sun-sunos411
+ sparc-sun-sunos4.1.1
% sh config.sub sun3
- m68k-sun-sunos411
+ m68k-sun-sunos4.1.1
% sh config.sub decstation
- mips-dec-ultrix42
+ mips-dec-ultrix4.2
% sh config.sub hp300bsd
m68k-hp-bsd
% sh config.sub i386v
- i386-unknown-sysv
+ i386-pc-sysv
% sh config.sub i786v
Invalid configuration `i786v': machine `i786v' not recognized
-`config.sub' is also distributed in the GDB source directory
-(`gdb-4.9', for version 4.9).
+`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. *note : (configure.info)What Configure Does,
-for a full explanation of `configure'.
+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]
- [--norecursion] [--rm]
- [--target=TARGET] HOST
+ [--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 `--'.
+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'.
directories under the working directory in parallel to the source
directories below PATH.
-`--norecursion'
- Configure only the directory level where `configure' is executed;
- do not propagate configuration to subdirectories.
+`--host=HOST'
+ Configure GDB to run on the specified HOST.
+
+ There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available
+ hosts.
-`--rm'
- Remove the configuration that the other arguments specify.
+`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
There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available
targets.
-`HOST ...'
- Configure GDB to run on the specified HOST.
-
- There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available
- hosts.
+`--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-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.
`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.
+other GNU tools recursively.
-Languages other than C
-=======================
+Remote debugging
+=================
-GDB provides some support for debugging C++ programs, however that support
-only works well with GNU C++, and even then only on systems that use stabs
-debugging format. In particular, cfront based compilers such as Sun's C++
-are not fully supported.
+ 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.
-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.
+ The directory gdb/gdbserver/ contains `gdbserver', a program that
+allows remote debugging for Unix applications. GDBserver is only
+supported for some native configurations, including Sun 3, Sun 4, and
+Linux.
-Pascal programs which use sets, subranges, file variables, or nested functions
-will not currently work.
+ The file gdb/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).
-Partial Modula-2 and Chill support is now in GDB.
+Reporting Bugs in GDB
+=====================
-Kernel debugging
-=================
+ There are several ways of reporting bugs in GDB. The prefered
+method is to use the World Wide Web:
-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 has
-better kernel debugging, but the UC lawyers won't let FSF have it.
+ http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/bugs/
+As an alternative, the bug report can be submitted, via e-mail, to the
+address "bug-gdb@gnu.org".
-Remote debugging
-=================
+ 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:
-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 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.
-
-Some working remote interfaces for talking to existing ROM monitors
-are:
- remote-adapt.c AMD 29000 "Adapt"
- remote-eb.c AMD 29000 "EBMON"
- remote-es1800.c Ericsson 1800 monitor
- remote-hms.c Hitachi Micro Systems H8/300 monitor
- remote-mips.c MIPS remote debugging protocol
- remote-mm.c AMD 29000 "minimon"
- remote-nindy.c Intel 960 "Nindy"
- remote-sim.c Generalized simulator protocol
- remote-st2000.c Tandem ST-2000 monitor
- remote-udi.c AMD 29000 using the AMD "Universal Debug Interface"
- remote-vx.c VxWorks realtime kernel
- remote-z8k.c Zilog Z8000 simulator
-
-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.
-
-Remote-udi.c and the 29k-share subdirectory contain a remote interface
-for AMD 29000 programs, which uses the AMD "Universal Debug Interface".
-This allows GDB to talk to software simulators, emulators, and/or bare
-hardware boards, via network or serial interfaces. Note that GDB only
-provides an interface that speaks UDI, not a complete solution. You
-will need something on the other end that also speaks UDI.
-
-
-Reporting Bugs
-===============
-
-The correct address for reporting bugs found in gdb is
-"bug-gdb@prep.ai.mit.edu". Please email all bugs, and all requests for
-help with GDB, to that address. Please include the GDB version number
-(e.g. gdb-4.9), and how you configured it (e.g. "sun4" or "mach386
-host, i586-intel-synopsys target"). If you include the banner that GDB
-prints when it starts up, that will give us enough information.
-
-For more information on how/whether to report bugs, see the GDB Bugs
-section of the GDB manual (gdb/doc/gdb.texinfo).
-
-Known bugs:
-
- * Under Ultrix 4.2 (DECstation-3100) or Alphas under OSF/1, we have
- seen problems with backtraces after interrupting the inferior out
- of a read(). The problem is caused by ptrace() returning an
- incorrect value for the frame pointer register (register 15 or
- 30). As far as we can tell, this is a kernel problem. Any help
- with this would be greatly appreciated.
-
- * On the SPARC GDB reports incorrect values of struct arguments to
- functions, for the seventh and subsequent arguments. We have been looking
- at this but no fix is available yet.
-
- * On DECstations there are warnings about shift counts out of range in
- various BFD modules. None of them is a cause for alarm, they are actually
- a result of bugs in the DECstation compiler.
-
- * Notes for the DEC Alpha using OSF/1:
- The debugging output of native cc has two known problems; we view these
- as compiler bugs.
- The linker miscompacts symbol tables, which causes gdb to confuse the
- type of variables or results in `struct <illegal>' type outputs.
- dbx has the same problems with those executables. A workaround is to
- specify -Wl,-b when linking, but that will increase the executable size
- considerably.
- If a structure has incomplete type in one file (e.g. "struct foo *"
- without a definition for "struct foo"), gdb will be unable to find the
- structure definition from another file.
- It has been reported that the Ultrix 4.3A compiler on decstations has the
- same problems.
-
- If you compile gdb with gcc-2.4.5, you will get many warnings,
- but these can be ignored for now. Again, this problem is Alpha-specific.
-
-GDB can produce warnings about symbols that it does not understand. By
-default, these warnings are disabled. You can enable them by executing
-`set complaint 10' (which you can put in your ~/.gdbinit if you like).
-I recommend doing this if you are working on a compiler, assembler,
-linker, or gdb, since it will point out problems that you may be able
-to fix. Warnings produced during symbol reading indicate some mismatch
-between the object file and GDB's symbol reading code. In many cases,
-it's a mismatch between the specs for the object file format, and what
-the compiler actually outputs or the debugger actually understands.
-
-
-X Windows versus GDB
-=====================
+ % gdb --version
+ % gdb --config
+
+ For more information on how/whether to report bugs, see the
+Reporting Bugs chapter of the GDB manual (gdb/doc/gdb.texinfo).
+
+
+Graphical interface to GDB -- X Windows, MS Windows
+==========================
+
+ Several graphical interfaces to GDB are available. You should
+check:
+
+ https://sourceware.org/gdb/wiki/GDB%20Front%20Ends
-There is an "xxgdb", which seems to work for simple operations,
-which was posted to comp.sources.x.
+for an up-to-date list.
-For those interested 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.
+ Emacs users will very likely enjoy the Grand Unified Debugger mode;
+try typing `M-x gdb RET'.
Writing Code for GDB
=====================
-There is a lot of information about writing code for GDB in the
-internals manual, distributed with GDB in gdb/doc/gdbint.texinfo. You
-can read it by hand, print it by using TeX and texinfo, or process it
-into an `info' file for use with Emacs' info mode or the standalone
-`info' program. In particular, see the nodes Getting Started,
-Debugging GDB, New Architectures, Coding Style, Clean Design, and
-Submitting Patches.
-
-If you are pondering writing anything but a short patch, especially
-take note of the information about copyrights in the node Submitting
-Patches. It can take quite a while to get all the paperwork done, so
+ 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
=============
-There is a dejagnu based testsuite available for testing your newly
-built gdb, or for regression testing gdb's with local modifications.
-The testsuite is distributed separately from the base gdb distribution
-for the convenience of people that wish to get either gdb or the testsuite
-separately.
+ 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:
-The name of the testsuite is gdb-4.9-testsuite.tar.z. You unpack it in the
-same directory in which you unpacked the base gdb distribution, and it
-will create and populate the directory gdb-4.9/gdb/testsuite.
+ (1) cd gdb-VERSION
+ make check-gdb
-Running the testsuite requires the prior installation of dejagnu, which
-should be available via ftp. Once dejagnu is installed, you can run
-the tests in one of two ways:
+or
- (1) cd gdb-4.9/gdb (assuming you also unpacked gdb)
+ (2) cd gdb-VERSION/gdb
make check
or
- (2) cd gdb-4.9/gdb/testsuite
- make (builds the test executables)
+ (3) cd gdb-VERSION/gdb/testsuite
make site.exp (builds the site specific file)
runtest -tool gdb GDB=../gdb (or GDB=<somepath> as appropriate)
-The second method gives you slightly more control in case of problems with
-building one or more test executables, in case you wish to remove some
-test executables before running the tests, or if you are using the testsuite
-'standalone', without it being part of the gdb source tree.
+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
+
+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 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.
+
+See the DejaGNU documentation for further details.
+
+
+Copyright and License Notices
+=============================
+
+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...
+
+ 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991-1993, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
+
+... is abbreviated into:
+
+ 1986, 1988-1989, 1991-1993, 1999-2000, 2007-2011
-See the dejagnu documentation for further details.
+Every year of each range, inclusive, is a copyrightable year that
+could be listed individually.
\f
(this is for editing this file with GNU emacs)
projects / deliverable / binutils-gdb.git / blobdiff